DeSantis Unleashes Death Train On Trump Supporters

The Brightline private train line has killed 104 Trump supporters since its recent startup. Roaring through sleepy towns at 80 miles an hour, many elderly don't even hear the whistle before they become a roadkill pancake. 

In small towns like Palm Bay Florida, the laidback pedestrians were used to slow moving freight trains. All that changed with Brightline's plan to join Miami and Orlando with a speedy connection. While the line invested $millions in new tracks and bridges capable of handling the speed up to 130mph, the human factor got no attention. On the contrary, complaints about the loud whistles will only increase the carnage. 

Perhaps the next president could control the border problem with a Brightline Train instead of a wall.

The above post supplied by Rainy Morning Chronicle, a sister publication.

above reprinted from December 27, 2023 

ADDENDUM NOVEMBER 28, 2024: As the Brightline speeds south from Orlando, and north from Miami, West Palm Beach is becoming the busy stop, gateway to the Winter Whitehouse on Palm Beach. Job seeking pilgrims, hat in hand, cross the waterway hoping for a spot in the new administration. Ironically, the blue blood enclave, once home to the Kennedy Clan, is now overrun with crass ambition, and even hosts the Kennedy outcast. Red hats have replaced Gucci, and other travesties which would have been considered nightmares a decade ago. Among the new carnies of our era, an elderly blogger with his fake press credentials.

Brightline Of Florida

While Biden and the new administration are promoting their $Trillion dollar infrastructure program,  and an improved Amtrak would supposedly be a benefit,  the Republic Of Florida has its own program, with no cost to the taxpayers.

The privately owned high speed train has been operating since 2018 between Miami and West Palm Beach.  Richard Branson, who spent this past weekend near outer space, envisioned a high speed Virgin Train brand between Orlando and Miami. While Virgin is no longer involved with the project,  the extension from West Palm Beach to Orlando is being built.  The Brightline extension requires seventeen new bridges and 170 miles of track. The new track is next to the old existing single track, now in use for freight.

The project is not without controversy. While very few towns would have a station or benefit from the high speed line, the train will be speeding through them.  A concern is the danger imposed by such high speed at all the crossings.

The new bridges are a massive undertaking. Shown above is the bridge construction over the Crane Creek in the Space Coast area.  A temporary bridge was constructed to hold the massive equipment necessary to build the new bridges.

Florida was developed a century ago by Henry Flagler and his train company. Private enterprise does still exist.

photocredit/molovinsky 

above reprinted from July 3, 2021 

ADDENDUM NOVEMBER 27, 2024:My concern about safety at crossings turned out to be frightfully true. After a century of slow moving freight trains, the ultra speed Brightline (130mph) is taking its toll at the crossings. The train  slows down to 80 miles an hour as it barrels through one town after another on the Space Coast.

Who Knew What and When in Allentown?

The reinstatement of the whistleblower suit by two Allentown police officers raises numerous questions. 

Was the judge too quick to dismiss it previously over a technicality?

Considering the arrest of a former officer over theft, what did Roca know about all these shenanigans referenced in the lawsuit?

Certainly a Hispanic chief is a premium to DEI obsessed mayor Tuerk, but if Tuerk didn't know about the alleged shenanigans before the suit, he certainly knew after it was filed the first time. With an upcoming election will Tuerk still stand behind Roca? Will Roca take an offer and leave Dodge before things hit the fan?

All the above appears to be an early Christmas present for Ed Zucal and Mota, but Tuerk will have five more months for damage control.

shown above old city  hall and police station by Church & Linden Sts.

Molovinsky Rejected By NASA For Seniors In Space Program

My quest to be a senior astronaut is officially over. Although I squeaked through the physical, I didn't do as well on the psychological profile.

Upon then arriving in Tallahassee,  I discovered that Governor Ron pulled the plug on my plan B.

I'm on the bus and should arrive back in Allentown around noon today.  I gave it my best, but I'm resigned to continue being a blogger.

above reprinted from January 25, 2024

ADDENDUM NOVEMBER 25, 2024:As alluded to above, I did see some physicians on the Space Coast. This weekend I learned that one of those physicians is on his way back to Washington, this time to be head of CDC under Trump. Dr. Dave Weldon previously served in Congress for fourteen years as the Space Coast's representative. I suppose that with the HIPAA regulations he secured the Cabinet position without even mentioning that I was a patient. With the new Musk/Trump axis, I expect the Space Coast to be humming. There is an older, artsy, lower rent section on the Indian River Lagoon, where I plan to secure a small satellite office to report on the new administration. Whether or not I can obtain access to Mar-a-Lago remains to be seen.

As Allentown Turns

There will be three candidates on the Democratic ballot for mayor this May.                                                              Current mayor Matt Tuerk will be the establishment candidate. All his campaigning will be in front of graffiti posing as murals. His speeches will be in both English and Spanish. Cynthia Mota will be the minority majority candidate. She will campaign from the Dominican Republic, exclusively in Spanish.  Ed Zucal will be the retro Better/Happy Days candidate, speaking in English from the Ritz and fairgrounds.

Allentown Police will not be enforcing double parking from a new headquarters, wedged between their current headquarters and city hall on the former landing. The plans alone will cost $1.5mil. Their new motto, "The shooting was an isolated incident, and no danger to the public", will be inscribed over the entrance.

molovinsky on allentown is looking for a new office in center city.  None of my former haunts, or even the buildings they were in, still exist. I asked J.B. Reilly for space, and he said I should call back after hell freezes over.

postcard from 1962 showing new city hall and police headquarters

A WPA Monday

A month ago Mondays, I climbed the steps at Fountain Park to speak to the stone masons repairing that iconic structure. The steps were built in 1936, and would soon serve thousands of men walking down from center city to the Mack factory, to produce trucks for the war effort. It took me ten years to get the masons there, but by now I had another pressing objective. In the last couple of years, the top of the wall at the double stairwell at Union Terrace had become open, threatening that structure with potential catastrophic damage. After learning that the masons had no assignment beyond the Fountain Park steps, I drove over to the Park and Recreation Office.

Lindsay Taylor, the new park director, has been fairly cordial to me, considering my reputation as a mauler of city bureaucrats. I explained that the top of the Union Terrace wall was open, and that I had serious doubts about it surviving another winter of freeze and thaw cycles.  I requested that the masons make an emergency repair on top of the wall, while other repairs needed there could be delayed. Taylor agreed to consult her park supervisor, Rick Holtzman, about my request. Later that morning, I spoke with Holtzman, who agreed that it would indeed be appropriate to reassign the masons.  The masons were replacing missing steps and repointing the Fountain Park stairwell,  through a grant from the Trexler Trust. The grant had been written and requested by Karen El-Chaar, from Allentown Friends of the Parks. El-Chaar had attended my meetings years earlier on the WPA structures, and I had since  conducted tours of Lehigh Parkway in conjunction with her organization. Holtzman requested that El-Chaar clear the repair at Union Terrace with the Trexler Trust, since their funds were designated to be spent at Fountain Park. The Trust gave their permission for the masons to be temporally reassigned.

By the weeks end the masons spend a day at the Terrace, and repaired the top of the wall. I'm grateful that Lindsay Taylor and the Trexler Trust responded to stabilize that structure, and optimistic that their commitment to  our WPA history will continue.  I will  in turn  continue on,  when necessary, mauling the bureaucrats.

The photograph above shows the WPA steps being built in Seattle. I'm sure an identical sight could be seen on Lawrence Street in 1936.

reprinted from November 16, 2015

ADDENDUM NOVEMBER 21,2024: It took nine years, but this summer/fall masons came back to Union Terrace to repoint the stage area, thanks to the Trexler Trust once again. Karen El-Chaar ended up appointed park director under Ray O'Connell, but has since been replaced under Matt Tuerk. Despite continuing to be outspoken about park issues, I'm lobbying to be included on the new Parknership board.