Latest news with #Brightline
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Are powerful people in both parties involved in an Epstein cover-up?
Two-party scandal? President Trump and MAGA are pointing the finger at former President Biden, asking why he didn't reveal the entire Jeffrey Epstein file while in office. No doubt it's a distraction tactic, but actually, that's a fair question. We know that former President Bill Clinton and other top Democrats flew aboard the 'Lolita Express,' Epstein's 200-seat aircraft. To where and why, I wonder. Are powerful people in both political parties engaged in a cover-up? Mac Melvin, Key Biscayne Disturb this groove As an ordinary citizen not schooled in economics, my understanding is that the Federal Reserve's mandate is to maintain full employment and price stability. It's a delicate dance of adjusting interest rates down during periods of low employment (to stimulate businesses to produce and hire more) and adjusting rates up to keep prices in line. Fiscal policy, on the other hand, is determined by politicians deciding how much to tax and spend. When the Fed and politicians try to 'dance' together, we can expect fiscal responsibility to prevail. (During the Clinton administration, the national debt was eliminated and we had a surplus, so it can be done.) When politicians spend more than they raise in taxes, it puts pressure on the Fed to lower rates due to the cost of the national debt. A harmonious dance preserves the value of the currency. A reckless dance partner — Congress and the administration, unnecessarily cutting taxes for the rich — increases the national debt and upsets the balance. Because the U.S. dollar is not backed by a tangible asset (gold), it is a fiat currency, which can easily be devalued by requiring the Fed to print too many dollars to cover excessive spending and/or requiring the Fed to reduce interest rates, leading to inflation. We need better dance partners and less ego. Richard Masington, Coral Gables Brightline blameless My thanks to the author of the July 22 letter, 'Narrow margins,' who wrote in defense of Brightline. I, too, felt that the Herald's reporting, which seeks to blame Brightline for the deaths that have occurred on its tracks, was off base. If I am driving at a fairly fast speed and someone suddenly jumps or walks directly into the path of my oncoming car and I hit and kill them, I might feel many emotions, but I certainly would not blame myself. Brightline is doing all it can. In any of these cases, what does the Herald expect Brightline to do? Joanne Miles, Hollywood Rail safety I've been reading the Herald's ongoing coverage of Brightline Florida train deaths. Please keep up the good work. I have been trying for years to get more safety features added to this high-speed train, such as 24 hour/7 days a week live video cameras, like those on I-95 and the Florida Turnpike. With such cameras, the train engineer will have more time to stop. Thomas Ladomirak, Fort Pierce Arts attacked I am the artistic director and founder of Karen Peterson and Dancers, a nonprofit that has been working in Miami-Dade County for more than 35 years. We have a national and international reputation for featuring choreography by dancers with and without disabilities. The Miami Herald and ArtBurst have featured my work since our first performance in 1990 at the New World School of the Arts. I am dismayed that 'Loud and Live,' a private for-profit company with a sparse track record, is now managing Tropical Park. The Miami-Dade contract requires Loud and Live to pay through its revenue streams $250,000 annually to the A3 Foundation, formed in 2023 and run by Francisco Petrirena, who is also chief of staff to Art Noriega, Miami's city manager. Meanwhile, my organization, with its 35 years of consistent outreach work in Miami-Dade's dance and disability communities, is facing significant budget cuts. I moved to Miami four decades ago seeking opportunities to create, perform and give back. I am very concerned about arts inequality, sweetheart deals and budget slashes in Miami today. Karen Peterson Corash, Miami Federal grant I'm amazed at the display of chutzpah by U.S. Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart and Carlos Giménez at the groundbreaking of the new cargo facility to serve Miami's airport and seaport. Part of the $33.5 million cost was a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. That grant was provided under then USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg. This fact was left out of the Herald's July 23 report. I remind readers that Díaz-Balart, Giménez, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and former Sen. Marco Rubio, all voted against the bipartisan Biden Infrastructure Bill 2021-2022, which funded this project. Transparency is a beautiful thing. Dolores Mendoza, Coral Gables Inspect hypocrisy Re: the July 23 story, 'DeSantis announces inspections of local government spending in Broward.' What a hypocrite! DeSantis and his wife's Hope Florida initiative is being investigated by his Republican-led legislature for potential money laundering and fraud. They funneled taxpayer money through Hope Florida to fight ballot initiatives for marijuana and abortion. They also failed to file any financial forms with the state. So much for Florida's DOGE. John Meic, Davie Miami election Re: the July 23 Miami Herald online editorial, 'Miami power grab: It took a judge to remind city leaders they can't cancel democracy.' My thanks to Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Judge Valerie Manna Schultz for honoring the law and protecting the rights of our citizens. Readers may recall that it also took another wise judge to remind three previous city commissioners and a mayor that their desire to rezone Mercy Hospital to build luxury condos was also illegal spot-zoning. Unfortunately, citizens seldom receive justice unless they have the will and means to take issues to our courts. We can only hope that the next batch of elected representatives will be more law-abiding and responsible to citizens. Harry E. Gottlieb, Coconut Grove Upside down The Trump administration is accusing former President Barack Obama of treason for attempting to undermine the legitimacy of Donald Trump's 2016 election victory. Yet, Trump pardoned the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrectionists and the case against him for attempting to disrupt President Biden's 2020 election victory was abandoned. The world is truly upside down. Sometimes, it seems we are living in the world of Alice in Wonderland, where things get 'curiouser and curiouser.' Peter M. Brooke, Doral Miami zoning In 2021-2022, the Miami21 Task Force (with members selected by the Miami City Commission) discussed more than 100 suggestions for potential improvements to the city's zoning code. These were organized into a report by my firm, DPZ CoDesign. Not one of the recommendations resembled the proposal for the Transit Station Neighborhood Development. Miami21 already encourages transit-oriented development (TOD) with several incentives. If there is to be further encouragement of TOD, it can be done within the current framework, which maintains protection of neighborhoods while promoting transit-oriented and pedestrian-friendly development of underdeveloped commercial corridors. Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, partner, DPZ CoDesign, Miami Wrestler's death I am saddened to learn of the passing of Hulk Hogan. His name was synonymous with professional wrestling, transcending the industry to become an American pop culture fixture. My condolences to his fans, friends and family. Paul Bacon, Hallandale Beach Nation at risk I attended a Common Cause online seminar recently, along with 2,000 people from across the nation. The frustration and angst over ordinary citizens' lack of power to influence the course of any governmental action in any sphere at any level dominated the discussion. And this is after only six months of a four-year presidential term. The audacious autocracy of this government is beyond what any novelist could conceptualize. One can only conclude that the apocalypse has arrived and America is dystopia. Barry J. White, Kendall
Bloomberg
22-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Florida's High-Speed Rail Rattles Investors, Defying Its Promise
The Brightline train running from Miami to Orlando, lauded as an alternative vision for the future of American rail travel, is making some investors anxious. The concerns have amped up since Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Brightline was going to delay an interest payment on $1.2 billion of bonds it issued through the municipal-bond market, one of several different types of debt issued by various arms of the company.
Miami Herald
22-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Killer Train: Should tax dollars pay for a private train?
When then-Brightline executive Mike Reinenger appeared before Congress in 2017, he told lawmakers the private train company would not be using any taxpayer dollars. 'It's completely an investment of private capital,' he said. Today, seven years after the rail company opened for business, nearly a half-billion taxpayer dollars have been allocated to projects related to Brightline trains, a joint investigation by the Miami Herald and WLRN News has found. Taxpayers paid for the construction of stations in Miami, Aventura and Boca Raton. Taxpayers are paying to add more cars to Brightline trains, so they can carry more passengers. Taxpayers are footing the bill for a new bridge over the St. Lucie River in Stuart — replacing a drawbridge that is lowered so often for Brightline trains, it's choking boat traffic in the river. Taxpayers have funded studies to expand the Brightline route. And taxpayers have indirectly subsidized the private train company through federal grants to sheriff's offices — for deputies to patrol Brightline's tracks for trespassing pedestrians. All in all, the funding adds up to $486 million, according to the Herald/WLRN investigation — much more than what has been previously reported. More than $100 million of the $486 million total has been allocated to address rampant safety issues in what became the deadliest stretch of railroad in the nation after Brightline trains started running. The public safety money began to flow as politicians and residents raised alarms over the early death toll. As of now, 182 people have been struck and killed by Brightline trains, the Herald/WLRN reported last week. In the majority of cases, medical examiners ruled the deaths accidents or listed the causes as undetermined. About 41 percent were ruled suicides. SHARE YOUR STORY: Have you worked for Brightline? We want to hear from you Brightline officials told Herald/WLRN reporters that their early pledges not to use public funds applied only to the costs of upgrading train tracks and other railroad infrastructure — not building stations or installing safety features. According to Brightline, the company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on safety-related measures. In the second episode of the podcast 'Killer Train,' the Herald and WLRN explore the debate over whether tax dollars should support a private train company — a question that has divided one coastal Florida city.
Miami Herald
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Congress is sitting silently as Trump destroys the U.S. government
Stupid policies On July 14, the U.S. Supreme Court enabled the executive branch to cripple the Department of Education by firing 1,400 employees. Add these actions to the disastrous firings at the U.S. State Department; purges of expertise at Justice; massive layoffs at Interior, including 1,500 at the National Park Service; destruction of USAID; even the planned elimination of NOAA climate laboratories. Why? A good question that begs for more than bumper-sticker banality like, 'we are putting an end to Biden-era madness.' Ask your congresspersons in what universe is the reckless expulsion of expertise a great idea? Ask them if the country is made great by tearing up international agreements, withdrawing from global organizations, treating international trade as buffoonery and empowering dictators like Russian President Putin? Ask them if America is better if the balance of executive, legislative and judicial branches of government are obliterated under the unqualified leadership of a single man? Does anyone remember Fidel Castro? We are seeing the destruction of government institutions that have served us not perfectly, but effectively, for decades. This is unforgivably stupid, sad and unnecessary. Yet it seems perfectly acceptable to our elected representatives. We should let them know they're tragically wrong. Thomas Carsey, Palmetto Bay Narrow margins Re: the July 16 Miami Herald online editorial, 'Brightline's deadly tracks: Why blaming train's victims is a lethal cop-out.' Did the Miami Herald or WLRN bother to notice the 'No Trespassing' signs along the FEC Right of Way (RoW)? Or note that railroad tracks are private property and that unauthorized people who cross onto the RoW are trespassers? All the crossings where pedestrians and traffic are allowed to cross are protected with crossing gates, numerous flashing red lights and loud bells when a train is approaching. This means pedestrians and traffic must stop and not cross the tracks. People who live near the train tracks (many have been present in South Florida for more than 100 years) had the audacity to complain about train horns, so now most South Florida rails are quiet zones and the engineers can only sound the horn in an emergency; by then, it is almost too late. Virtually every person who was hurt or killed by Brightline, Tri-Rail, CSX and FEC is at fault and responsible for their actions. Perhaps it is way easier to blame the trains and that is what the people want to hear. We live in an overdeveloped, overpriced, overcrowded area where self-centered, self-important people are distracted by their Smartphones as they walk and drive about. They are causing accidents or getting themselves and maybe others killed. That is the root of the problem. The train always wins. When you see tracks, think trains and do not compromise safety features just to save 30 seconds in your life, because it could be the end of your life. Cully Waggoner, West Kendall Fallen stars Cuba's government recently said there are no beggars, just fakers in the island nation. In the U.S., our government cuts Medicaid and politicians claim that poor people don't really need it and are engaged in waste and fraud. In Venezuela, the Maduro regime made political enemies disappear. In the U.S., ICE is making people disappear and has gone after visitors with legitimate visas but the 'wrong' political beliefs. The U.S. also has deported people to Venezuela, and Maduro can make them disappear. In the past, Nazis built concentration camps, originally for political prisoners. Recently, Florida built one in the Everglades. Perhaps we are choosing the wrong role models. Chris Cosner, Pinecrest Broken treaties When is a contract not a contract? When dealing with the federal government, which has clawed back monies already committed to PBS and foreign aid. These entities had promised jobs and commitments to other projects. Now it appears that any contract the United States agrees to is just day-to-day. Our allies and citizens can no longer rely on the word of our government. What have we become? Sol Yanowitz, Miami Sensible act The 'Dignity Act,' as proposed by U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, is a rational start to sorely needed immigration reform in this country. Introduce the bill and get started on meaningful debate. If President Trump wants to be remembered for a popular and positive major domestic political shift, like Presidents Reagan and Nixon decades earlier, this is the perfect issue and time. David Ward, Reno, NV Costly lots Why is the Village of Islamorada considering spending $500,000 in taxpayer funds to create 30 parking spots — more than $16,000 per space — on public property to benefit the private, gated Angler's Reef community? These $52 million-plus homes already provide private parking. If they need overflow space for guests, trailers, or renters paying $930 nightly, that's a private planning issue — not a public burden. When nearby Hog Heaven Sports Bar & Grill needed parking, it bought adjacent land. Why can't Angler's Reef lease or buy its own parcel, or pave over a few overpriced and overbuilt condos? The proposed lot would destroy natural vegetation on Windley Key's median, degrading the landscape for 22,000 passing vehicles and contradicting our Village's environmental goals. Angler's Reef doesn't even allow public access. Allowing well-connected and well-represented private HOAs to offload costs onto taxpayers sets a dangerous precedent, not to mention legal liability. The taxpayer funds could go to real community needs, like road safety for all 7,000 residents, not just the wealthy, many of whom are absentee landlords. Public funds should serve the public, not subsidize gated luxury. Islamorada must choose capitalism over cronyism. Ken Thomas, Islamorada Clean up MIA Though we live in Southwest Florida, we most often fly out of Miami International Airport. Signage to the airport is confusing and frustrating; most troubling however, is the airport's condition: dirty and disorganized, with elevators, people movers, or escalators usually (or always) out of order. This is especially striking when we return from Asian or European airports, which are beautiful and efficient. I am always ashamed when I land at MIA and think this is the first impression foreign travelers have of our country. If this is the best that MIA Director and CEO Ralph Cutié can do, then maybe it is time for a new director. Eva Sands, Bonita Springs Detention camp As a board member of the Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida, I condemn the establishment of the Everglades detention center known as 'Alligator Alcatraz.' As a member of the Jewish community of Naples, I am against this abomination that sits an hour from our home. The Florida Immigration Coalition — and now a Democratic delegation — have seen for themselves the deplorable conditions inside the detention camp that echos our own Jewish history over the centuries. We, as Floridians, as Jews and as human beings cannot be silent in the face of this pure evil. Lisa Freund, Naples Horrible planning A recent plane crash near Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines has been horrible for the nearby residents who must deal with this. The city wants a safety study done, but no one has addressed the actual problem. The airport was built in 1943 by the U.S. Navy for training. Over the years, the city allowed housing developments near and around the airport. How short-sighted by city leaders. The small planes are sometimes flown by inexperienced pilots in training. There is no place for them to go if they have an emergency. There must be a clear swath for emergencies. This can be accomplished by purchasing, then razing, nearby homes. The cost would be tremendous. And who will pay for relocating the displaced residents? Robert Lynch, Davie
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brightline's South Florida ridership grows for first time in years and this is why
For the first time in about two years, the private passenger train Brightline is gaining riders in South Florida following its reintroduction of commuter passes for the tri-county area, but ridership in the region still lags far behind 2023 figures. More than 84,000 people rode Brightline between Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties in June, a 7% increase from one year prior, the company's latest ridership report published July 14 said. It was the second month in a row that Brightline's South Florida year-on-year ridership grew. A Brightline spokesperson credited this renewed growth in part to the new commuter pass it launched in May for South Florida riders — a 40-ride package with costs as low as $15 per ride — that is almost as cheap as the $10-per-ride program it killed in 2024. More: Brightline lost more than half a billion dollars in 2024, report says What's Brightline's new South Florida commuter pass again? Brightline killed its original South Florida commuter pass in June 2024 as part of a strategy to dissuade riders from that region in favor of filling seats with passengers paying higher fares to and from the company's Orlando International Airport station. But Brightline brought back the South Florida pass after it added two rail cars to each of its trains in April that it had bought with $33.8 million in tax money it received in January from the Federal Railroad Administration. The Biden administration gave the company the grant so it could revive its South Florida commuter pass. Brightline originally promised to do so by the end of March, but did not meet its deadline because the new rail cars were not delivered by then, the company has said. The South Florida program includes a 40-ride pass between the train's West Palm Beach and Miami stations for $599, or about $15 per ride. The price is the same between the Boca Raton and Miami stations. Brightline said in May, when it launched the new commuter pass, that it would be available in "limited quantities." Representatives for the company on July 16 did not answer questions on whether or when it would stop offering the pass. How much money is Brightline making? The train in June 2023 carried about 150,000 passengers up and down South Florida, almost double what it carried in the region in June 2025. Total ridership, including trips to and from Brightline's Orlando station, was nearly 255,000 in June. More than 164,000 people went to and from Orlando. Brightline brought in a total of $16.9 million in June, an 11% increase from one year prior. Revenue from Jan. 1 through June totaled $105.9 million, up 12% from the first six months of 2024. Brightline lost about $549 million in 2024, in large part due to paying $218 million to refinance its debt of about $4.6 billion. Chris Persaud covers transportation in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email news tips and ideas to cpersaud@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Brightline's South Florida ridership grows for first time in two years Solve the daily Crossword
