Thursday, May 30, 2019

SOS! Stop the CA BRT and Save Our Streets


The SOS distress signal on PSTA is out.

PSTA ridership has declined 20% over the last 5 years. PSTA has been fiscally mismanaged for years and is currently bleeding its own reserves to keep operating.

But PSTA CEO Brad Miller, his staff and the governing PSTA Board have refused to responsibly address PSTA's failing financial position.

While PSTA is on its way to insolvency, PSTA is pursuing transit grants for a proposed $42 million Central Avenue BRT (CA BRT) that removes lanes of vehicle traffic and parking along its route for bus only lanes. This costly and unnecessary project duplicates existing routes and is a boondoggle and a bailout to financially distressed PSTA.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

State Asks Vinik to Explain Non-Registration of Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment

Reposted with permission from Jim Bleyer, Tampa Bay Beat


The Florida Department of State has notified Jeff Vinik that his corporation, Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment LLC, may be in non-compliance with state statutes and, therefore, subject to fines.

The company has been doing business in Florida since 2010 but never registered as a foreign corporation. By not registering, Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment has been able to shield its officers and directors from public scrutiny.

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Wheels Come Off Hillsborough Transit Planning

Cross post by permission of Jim Bleyer, Tampa Bay Beat and author Dr. Jim Davison


Hillsborough County’s Metropolitan Planning Organization has concocted an impractical transit scheme that involves tearing down 10 miles of Interstate-275 in favor of a boulevard concept, a plan ranked last by a survey of Tampa Bay citizens.

Thursday, May 2, 2019

All for Transportation's Pervasive Dishonesty

All for Transportation (AFT) has been dishonest from the start. They tried to create a false narrative last June that their tax hike ballot initiative was a "grassroots" initiative launched by everyday citizens.

That was quickly debunked.

Five special interests donors, including Jeff Vinik, Frank Morsani, Vinik's Water Street construction company Coastal Construction, Tampa Bay Partnership and Sykes Enterprises donated $150K each to get AFT's tax hike on the ballot.

The AFT tax hike initiative was a totally paid professional campaign job assisted by some political insiders (more to come on that subject).