Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Opposition to All Aboard Florida: down to the last gasps?

From this story in the New Times by Chris Joseph it would appear so:
     Count amateur archaeologists among those who oppose All Aboard Florida. In a 44-page lawsuit filed by Old Vero Ice Age Sites Committee, a nonprofit archaeology group, the group alleges that the U.S. Department of Transportation illegally approved funding for the privately run high-speed rail project, which is projected to run 32 express passenger trains a day from Miami through Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach to Orlando. The lawsuit says it’s illegal, because the environmental impact the trains would bring has yet to be fully determined.
     The lawsuit, filed in Indian River County, asks a federal court to void the Transportation Department's approval of $1.75 billion in tax-exempt bonds. The bonds will be used to replace an as-of-yet approved Federal Railroad Administration loan.
     According to documents filed with the IRS, the Old Vero Ice Age Sites Committee is chaired by Randy Old, an army vet and banker who has lived in the Far East and Jordan. It's unclear from the group's website whether any of the board members have scientific experience in archaeology.
The meeting date and time has been set for All Aboard Florida's request for the tax exempt bonds. Kim Miller at the Real Time Blog has all that information.