It will be interesting how LaTourette will respond to this call to action by O'Neill. LaTourette's latest polling shows him with a 10%+ lead over O'Neill but the election has just started. The east side of Cleveland has definitely faced more economic troubles then Cleveland's west side. Parts of Trumbull and Ashtabula Counties which are also in the district have suffered some of the worst economic situtations in the country. O'Neill is on the right track to changing OH-14 back to a Democratic seat, but it will take a lot more to get this district to switch from a semi-popular incumbent.
Good Morning. I would like to thank everyone who is in attendance this morning, particularly some of my friends and elected officials, labor leaders and business leaders from throughout Northeast Ohio. (Name two or three) I have convened this event in front of this wonderful old abandoned rail station for the purpose of celebrating our past and announcing my vision for our future in mass transit in Northeast Ohio. For the reality is that they are tied together. We used to have rail transit to this very site.
As a candidate for the Congress of the United States, I have learned that voters want their elected officials to provide a vision for the future and programs that bring that vision into reality. But more importantly, they demand that our leaders actually lead in times of uncertainty. And to that end, it is essential today that I speak with clarity.
Working men and women in Northeast Ohio are caught in the crossroads of diminishing job opportunities and ever increasing difficulty in getting to the jobs that they can find. It is not uncommon for a working person to spend a full QUARTER of what they earn to get to work and that is simply not acceptable. With gasoline at $4.00 a gallon and climbing it has just become economically impractical to spend two hours a day on a congested freeway to get to your job.
The primary role of government is not to create jobs, but to foster an atmosphere where American companies have the incentive and opportunity to grow -- and employ more Americans. In 1950, that meant freeways, as President Eisenhower unveiled his playbook in 1954 to pave the way to job and the suburbs. That playbook no longer works, yet seemingly our leaders in Washington seem to be too narrowly focused on progress through pouring more concrete. It's time to compliment our highways with high-speed commuter rail.
Some seven years ago in 2001 NOACA completed a feasibility study which clearly demonstrated that a commuter rail line along the North Shore was not only feasible, but an economically good idea as well. It is estimated that the "Lake Shore Line" could take a full 7,000 cars off the road daily. We stand here today in front of the abandoned rail station in Willoughby, which significantly I note has been moved...and we stand directly between two rail lines which literally used to link Lake county to downtown Cleveland. They are active lines with excess capacity. There is no reason for this region to be without rail service to University Circle, downtown Cleveland, and Cleveland Hopkins airport. No reason at all.
Today I challenge everyone in attendance to answer a simple question. What is stopping us today? Why does the Red Line of the RTA start at Public Square and stop in East Cleveland and not Mentor and beyond? Why does the Blue Line of the RTA start at Public Square and stop at Warrensville Heights, and not Solon and beyond to Hudson?
The answer is simple. Commuter rail and its more popular sibling light rail have never had a champion from Northeast Ohio in Congress. That has to change, and I am that person. And so I pledge to you all assembled here today...send Bill O'Neill to Congress and I will take the NOACA feasibility study off the shelf...I will dust it off...and together we will DEMAND THAT IT BE IMPLEMENTED.
Much talk has surfaced recently about high speed rail and the Tri-C corridor and I also want to speak clearly about that subject. There are limited federal dollars available, and I believe it is essential that before we spend billions on a dream system that would, even under the most optimistic scenario, not be up and running for a decade, we should first spend money on an existing system that will have a real and immediate impact on jobs in Northeast Ohio.
The time for commuter rail is here. It is a jobs issue, it's a growth issue, it's an environmental issue. Let's get to work!
Thank you and I will now answer any questions you may have.
Amish continue to survive even without a car in very rural communities. Of course they distance themselves from a lot of the modern inventions that have came into existence in the last 200 years, they still rely on some of them. I think we should look at parts of their lifestyle to improve our own. Buying local, using only what you need and living sustainably are key values that they preach everyday. I'm not advocating that we throw away everything modern, just that we do what's best for our long term sustainability.UNITY, Ohio (AP) -- They may use horses instead of autos for transportation, but the rising cost of gasoline is still pinching the wallets of members of an Amish community in southern Ohio.
Dan Miller, a carpenter and horse breeder who bought an Adams County market in July, says several items have doubled in price from last year to this year.
Those include taking care of a horse, the cost of propane and the fuel that runs his coolers at the market.
Miller says he along with his wife and five children will make fewer trips by taxi to surrounding areas because a 10-mile trip has risen from $10 to $25.
And we’ll also invest in our ports, roads, and high-speed rails – because I don’t want to see the fastest train in the world built halfway around the world in Shanghai, I want to see it built right here in the United States of America.McCain on the other hand has shown that he doesn't care for Amtrak, Mass Transit and any hope we had for developing alternative fuels under a presidency run by him has affectively disappeared. I don't necessarily care if people vote for McCain if this issue isn't important to them, but please be informed when you select that name on a ballot.
Toyota is best know for the Prius Hybird, but what is unknown will the Prius be converted to a plug-in hybrid or will it be a new design. What is know is that it will use lithium-ion batteries instead of nickel-metal hydride which is currently used in the hybird Prius vehicles.It's been a while since we heard anything about the proposed Anaheim-Las Vegas maglev train. As of Friday, the project is moving forward as part of a transportation bill signed by President Bush that puts aside $45 million for the 300 mile-per-hour train. While the project initially called for a $3- to $5 billion budget, this little chunk of money will get things rolling (or, as the case may be, floating). The train is projected to whisk people from Disneyland to Vegas in under two hours. No word on proposed launches or actual construction, but we assume Disney will get involved with some extra cash at this point.
It's becoming all too familiar once again as we as a country can not foresee our future even though the history is all written down. We like to avoid being told we're doing something wrong instead of listening to facts reported by scientists and historians that show we are at an age where cheap gas will not last. What does our president do when faced with the fact that our environment is being destroyed? He threatens to block laws in congress because it could raise gas prices by 0.53 cents.Rising fuel prices have hit public transportation harder than consumers. Diesel, the main fuel for bus systems, has gone up 40% since the beginning of the year to an average $4.72 a gallon last week. Regular gasoline is up 27%. Adding to the crunch: Transit budgets that are largely funded by sales tax revenue are shrinking as consumers spend less in response to tough economic times.
“We’re all getting killed,” says Cal Marsella, general manager for Denver’s Regional Transportation District.
To compensate, many agencies have been canceling plans to expand service, raiding emergency funds and raising fares to stay in budget. When that’s not enough, agencies are resorting to cuts in service. In a survey of the nation’s public transit agencies to be released Friday, the American Public Transportation Association, which lobbies for greater support of public transit, found that 19% of bus operators responding are cutting service to some degree, while 21% of rail operators are doing the same.
It's amazing that people still call for more highways, when all we need to do is tear them down and redesign how we live our lives. If there is anyone out that would rather live in the first image please tell me because I have some oceanfront property in Tennessee to sell you.
Company CEO Jason Pyle says the algal oil is chemically identical to light sweet crude and compatible with America's $1.5 trillion petroleum infrastructure, making it a direct replacement for oil. Although the algal fuels refined from it emit as much carbon dioxide as conventional fuels, the company says the emissions are offset by the photosynthetic process that uses sunlight, water and C02 to create algal crude.
