A reporter for The Capital Times writes this meeting was "a train wreck."
(via the Badger Herald)
Showing posts with label Madison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Madison. Show all posts
Big ideas for downtown Madison
The draft Downtown Plan (PDF) for Madison, WI recommends 10 'big ideas' to focus on for the next 25 years:
- Reconnect downtown to Lake Mendota and Lake Monona
- Establish building standards that maintain "dramatic" and "postcard" views of the skyline and Capitol
- Build a new transportation center near Monona Terrace
- Improve transportation connections to, through and around downtown
- Promote sustainability via higher building density, mixed use and multi-modal transportation
- Strengthen the identity of individual neighborhoods and districts
- Embrace the preservation of historic structures
- Identify large sites for redevelopment and infill and adopt policies that stimulate investment there
- Reenergize the Mifflin area
- Transform an underutilized downtown block into a 1.75 acre public park
Kill rail, kill jobs
Antonio Perez, President of Talgo, the Spanish manufacturer of rail cars, says he's "shocked" Wisconsin has stopped work on the Madison-Milwaukee line. He recently opened a plant in Milwaukee - improvements for which the City committed up to $35M - and was hiring workers to build the cars. Fox 6 Milwaukee has the story:
Off the tracks in Wisconsin
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today says that passenger rail projects like the proposed Milwaukee-Madison line "could be an important economic development tool" but "residents are unlikely to support a system they perceive is being shoved down their throats."
The alleged "quiet deal" that provoked the editorial is likely more easily explained by stupidity and cowardice, not conspiracy or corruption, in the Democratic Party.
Wisconsin is broke and unemployed. One smart play - economically and politically - if you can sell it - is to publicly own, celebrate and lead $810 million to hire workers, place orders with suppliers and build modern infrastructure that connects two vital cities and better positions the state to compete in the 21st century.
The Democrats instead apparently opted to hide. They reportedly sealed the deal on a weekend and apparently didn't even issue a news release. Why not? Money and jobs is good news.
Republicans shrewdly seized on the their opponent's fear, using it to fill the rail deal full of spikes and win the governor seat. Informed observers now say "it's R.I.P. for high-speed rail in Wisconsin."
Update: Wisconsin DOT "temporarily interrupts" project work to "assess real world consequences" of completely killing rail line. Who's the most credible, independent auditor in the state?
The alleged "quiet deal" that provoked the editorial is likely more easily explained by stupidity and cowardice, not conspiracy or corruption, in the Democratic Party.
Wisconsin is broke and unemployed. One smart play - economically and politically - if you can sell it - is to publicly own, celebrate and lead $810 million to hire workers, place orders with suppliers and build modern infrastructure that connects two vital cities and better positions the state to compete in the 21st century.
The Democrats instead apparently opted to hide. They reportedly sealed the deal on a weekend and apparently didn't even issue a news release. Why not? Money and jobs is good news.
Republicans shrewdly seized on the their opponent's fear, using it to fill the rail deal full of spikes and win the governor seat. Informed observers now say "it's R.I.P. for high-speed rail in Wisconsin."
Update: Wisconsin DOT "temporarily interrupts" project work to "assess real world consequences" of completely killing rail line. Who's the most credible, independent auditor in the state?
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