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Thursday, April 16, 2009
High-speed rail in Ohio: “Three-C” closer to reality
President Barack Obama Thursday announced a plan to use $8 billion in stimulus money and another $5 billion over five years to boost high-speed rail in the United States.
That could be good news for proponents of the so-called “Three-C” corridor, a route between Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
In making his announcement, Obama said that the first grants for high-speed projects and upgrades to existing high-speed rail could be awarded as soon as this summer. He identified 10 routes, including a “Chicago Hub” that included Chicago, Milwaukee and a handful of other midwestern cities including Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
That announcement was great news to Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who is among the backers of the “Three-C” route.
“Passenger rail service would create jobs and economic growth at a time when our state needs both,” he said.
His office reports that expanding passenger rail service in Ohio could ultimately create 16,700 permanent jobs, in addition to tens of thousands of construction jobs and generate more than $3 billion in development near stations.
The Federal Railroad Administration has already designated the “Three-C” and a route from Cleveland to Toledo as High-Speed Rail Corridors. The current proposal would use 260 miles of existing track to reach 5.9 million Ohioans, almost 60 percent of the state’s population.
Brown Wednesday sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urging him to devote federal stimulus funds toward passenger rail service in Ohio. Brown urged LaHood to allocate at least $1 billion in economic recovery funds for designated high-speed rail corridors, like the “3C” corridor, that do not currently have passenger rail service.
What do you think of the idea?
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TweetCalamity days to be taken away
Ohio’s school kids may be a little less jubilant the next time they get a snow day when they find out they’ll just have to make up the day later in the year.
On Thursday, April 16, House Democrats unveiled their revisions to Gov. Ted Strickland’s K-12 funding plan. Rather than embracing Strickland’s call to add 20 school days to the 180 days currently required, House Democrats decided to take away calamity days.
School districts currently get five calamity days each academic year - missed days that do not have to be made up. That number will shrink to three calamity days beginning next fall and two days the following academic year and one in following years.
State Rep. Clayton Luckie, D-Dayton, who used to serve on the Dayton Public Schools board, said it’s a way of adding class time without costing more money.
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TweetStrickland gives Morgan plenty to read
Gov. Ted Strickland released another 1,444 pages of documents to state Rep. Seth Morgan, R-Huber Heights, to satisfy his public records request regarding the governor’s school funding plan.
That’s on top of the 7,117 pages already released. And the governor’s spokeswoman said there is more coming.
Morgan filed records requests in March, seeking the basis for Strickland’s school funding plan. When Strickland didn’t respond completely, Morgan filed suit in the Ohio Supreme Court on April 6.
Strickland’s attorneys argue that a timely response depends on the scope of the documents sought, not on Morgan’s urgent need for the information. They also said immediate release of 8,700 e-mails might risk violating other laws. And they complained that Morgan has expanded his already broad records request to maintain an illusion that Strickland hasn’t complied with the request.
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TweetMary Taylor warns of huge budget deficit in the future
State Auditor Mary Taylor spent weeks crunching state budget numbers and came up with a hypothetical and scary number: $7.97 billion in red ink by June 2013.
Taylor, a certified public accountant, warned that the two-year state budget in the works right now is built on about $5 billion in one-time federal stimulus money and cash management maneuvers. When that money dries up and the demand for services marches on, Ohio’s budget will be facing a giant hole, she said.
Developing a state budget forecast is not a typical duty of the auditor. Taylor, who is the only Republican among the five statewide executive officeholders, sidestepped questions about whether this was politically motivated by saying her staff often helps local governments with forecasts and budgets.
“Quite frankly, it was to answer my question and what others have about where we’ll be in 2012 and 2013,” Taylor said.
Taylor used revenue projections provided by the Strickland administration and then assumed annual growth in Medicaid, education funding and other state expenses. She also assumes that programs that get federal stimulus money this year will continue to be funded by the state after the federal money is gone.
It’s unlikely that the state would see $8 billion in red ink by June 2013. The Ohio Constitution requires a balanced budget so state leaders would be required to make spending cuts before they ever got to the end of the two-year budget cycle.
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