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Orlando struggles to go green for both driving and living; the rest of the region worries about taxes, education, and drugs.
Green:
Fancy that: Going green isn’t lap of luxury, Orlando says
Downtown Orlando condos, nearby neighborhoods attract people fighting high gas prices, home-sales slump
Our position: Region’s bus system should do more now to get riders on [...]

The economy is again a main topic in the regional newspapers. Today’s articles discuss saving money by using the bus and over-the-air TV. The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority received some funding, and companies are moving retail locations to save money also top the news. Finally, an Orlando columnist was happy to see the Central Florida Partnership’s “Regional Rally for Rail”.

Travelers cut costs by boarding the bus

Free TV: How to live without cable, Direct dishes and the bills that go with them

Transit Authority Receives Funding

Rising Gas Prices Resulting In Changes in Retail Locations

Partnership may be a main engine for commuter rail

The Sentinel and Ledger editorial boards seem to see the CSX rail project differently: Our position: If Crist is really “green” leader, he will get OK for commuter trains (Sentinel) and Double Down On Rail Plan (Ledger)
The Sentinel has a Hurricane Survival Guide and the Tribune asks if Floridians have taken A Step Up In [...]

Far be it for me to criticize a Ledger article, but what were they thinking with the piece headlined Proposed Rail Facility Is ‘In the Middle of Nowhere? You might have missed it since it ran in the East Polk news section of the paper. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Flu and deadlines have kept me from pointing out some recent articles in the always fun “main steam media.”

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You must read Fasano has concerns about CSX proposal

Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, told the Buzz this morning he has “concerns” over the proposed $490-million deal that would have the state buying rail lines from CSX, and over proposed legislation that would exempt CSX from any liability as they operate.

Don’t miss the comments:

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Yesterday Billy Townsend, re-introduced Polk County to the fine readers of the Tampa Tribune:

You know Polk’s rap.

It’s the county of oranges, phosphate mountains and trailer parks. It’s where they spread hepatitis through meth use, once elected a white supremacist sheriff, and often find themselves in perp walks on Orlando or Tampa Bay TV.

If that lead doesn’t convince you to read his story, you’re a lifelong Lakeland resident and consider that old news. Townsend takes a good look into the perception though. (Read his blog for a point that didn’t make it into the article.)

Three years ago, when I was looking to move here, I made a few inquiries about Lakeland. I didn’t hear about the sheriff, but meth was mentioned. However, I was moving from the Northern meth capital and it didn’t seem to be a big change. I heard much more about how boring I’d find life in Lakeland.

Well, if Lakeland is boring, I don’t want to be excited. I like life here. I’m just afraid we’re in a rush to join Tampa or Orlando.

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“There’s an old police saying,” Judd said. “No people, no problems; a few people, a few problems; a lot of people, a lot of problems.”

Who knew Sheriff Grady Judd was so hip? That had to be a reference to The Notorious B.I.G’s most famous quote, “The more money you make, the more problems you get.”

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Remember when Wired noticed Polk County? Well, they’ve kept an eye on Florida. Their blogger, Brandon Keim, was pleased with this week’s Florida Board of Education vote:

The 4-3 vote was obtained by including a last-minute amendment to the standards. Suggested last Friday by religious conservatives and dubbed the “academic freedom proposal,” the amendment required that the curriculum’s references to “evolution” be replaced by the “scientific theory of evolution.”

The amendment’s supporters called the language change a victory — and it is, though not in the way they imagine.

Not only will Florida’s students learn about evolution; they’ll also learn that the scientific definition of a theory is different from the everyday definition, referring not to wild-eyed speculation but to a vast body of observation and testing that confirms a hypothesis so strongly that it might as well be considered fact.

A big thank-you, then, to religious critics of evolution education. The language change will better help Florida’s children understand not only evolution, but science itself.

Lately, you’ve not found a lot of CSX coverage here on Lakeland Local. Frankly, I’ve had nothing to add over what the Tribune and Ledger have reported. Also, I believe the project is getting plenty of non-media scrutiny from the Downtown Lakeland Partnership and the Stop CSX in Polk County website. Plus, three Ledger blogs are covering aspects of the CSX story: Tom Palmer, Diane Lacey Allen, and Bill Rufty.

Still, I’ll be watching Monday’s 9 am Lakeland City Commission meeting. According to the agenda, the commission will vote on Resolution 08-007 “Resolution Indicating Support for Alternatives to the Proposed CSX Integrated Logistics Center (ILC) Facility.” You can watch also on the Web or on cable at channel 622.

I fear we’ll hear more about Quiet Zones than rerouting freight trains. You might want to read a Federal report form 2000 (pdf) One telling statistic: “55 percent of the collisions occurred when motorists deliberately drove around lowered gates. These collisions occurred 128 percent more often at crossings with whistle bans than at other crossings.” That’s why to create Quiet Zones you must first install gates that can’t be driven around.

Well, unless you live in Orlando:

Tuesday, Eyewitness News timed the CSX train sitting on the tracks along South Street. It didn’t move for 30 minutes. Traffic was so backed up that drivers started getting out of their cars. Some even lifted up the crossing arms so they could make an illegal u-turn and go around the train.

Eyewitness News confronted a CSX employee, asking what the legal limit is that they can block the road.

“All day,” was the response. — WFTV

Again, this isn’t a noise problem; it’s a traffic problem. We have at least six crossings to consider. Spending money to close New York and create quiet zones is throwing money down a rabbit hole. The zones really aren’t quiet. You can’t silence the rumble of a mile long train. Quiet Zones are not permanent installations. They have to be re-approved every three years. Yes, after they’re constructed you’ll have to maintain them at additional cost. I wonder who will pay for that?

In the latest Gainesville Sun you can find a telling comment or two:

The $491 million project, which would add commuter trains to a 61.5-mile stretch of CSX rail line in the Orlando area, would route roughly eight or nine freight trains per day from that rail line onto the CSX line that cuts through Hawthorne, Waldo and other parts of eastern Alachua County, said Fred Wise, manager of the FDOT’s Rail Office. To help accommodate the expected increase in train delays, the FDOT is planning to build an overpass on SR 26 near Orange Heights sometime in 2010, when the increased freight traffic is expected, Wise said. Gaineseville.com

“Eight or nine trains” per day. If Lakeland is getting only “four or five” then could someone show me where the other four or five are getting off the line? I’m serious. I’m sure there’s a spot on that winding rail map I missed.

The FDOT is building an overpass on SR 26. Orange Heights has a population of, well, you know I can’t find population figures for Orange Heights. Look up the numbers and you’re usually referred to nearby Hawthorne with a population of 1415. Looking at a Google map of Orange Heights only shows about five or six streets.

I’m sure Orange Heights is a great town, but what kind of traffic do they have on SR 26 to warrant an overpass?

Wise continued his work to help the citizens affected by the increase in traffic:

Wise said FDOT employees also have met with officials in Starke to improve signals at rail crossings and make other safety-related changes.

“The goal is to mitigate the impacts of this to make sure there’s a smooth transition to the increase in freight traffic,” Wise said. — Gaineseville.com

Stake Florida, population 5,769, will have a “smooth transition to the increase in freight traffic.”

I am sure all the citizens of Lakeland, Florida, population 89,108, can applaud the FDOT for ensuring the continued vitality of our smaller cities.

While doing a little research on Orange Heights, I found an interesting paragraph:

Initial construction was not easy because not everyone wanted the railroads. Mrs. Laughinhouse-Stephens told how some settlers met the railroad track layers with shotguns. Her father, who was the railroad track foreman in charge of getting the tracks through the towns, said that the law was if the tracks were laid and the trains passed over them, then the tracks were secure and could not be taken out again. The crews often finished laying track during the night; the train ran early in the morning, and the land owners woke to find the deed done. — Hawthorne Florida History

I will offer no additional comment to that.