An article from Thursday's Florida Times-Union hasn't received a tremendous amount of press, but it should.  The article discussed the fact that, months after Congress passed Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus package, no bridges in Northeast Florida have been slated to receive any stimulus funds.  This is rather surprising in light of the fact that over 40 bridges in northeast Florida have been identified as "structurally obsolete."  While a number of the local bridges that have been ruled "structurally obsolete" are state bridges, there are also quite a few local bridges on the list, including the University Blvd at Arlington River Bridge and Coastline Drive.

Perhaps local voters should begin asking questions of the candidates running in the upcoming special elections, particularly the candidates for State Senate District 8.  Why aren't these bridges receiving adequate funding to be brought up to code?  After the Minneapolis events of August 1, 2007, one would think that bridges would be a priority---particularly in a city so dependent on them.

The full article can be read here.

Charles Dharapak

Despite Charlie Crist's very public embrace of Barack Obama and Obama's federal stimulus plan, Florida ranks dead last in dollars received per person according to a study by the Palm Beach Post.  Crist's endorsement of the stimulus, which brought the Governor considerable heat from deficit hawks within his own party, gave the President a much-needed bipartisan boost as he sold the plan to the American public earlier this year.  That involvement seems not to have paid off to many Floridians.

Florida TaxWatch's Dominic Calabro placed the blame on Florida's elected officials.  In an interview with the Palm Beach Post, Calabro alleged that the low return per resident showed "how inept Florida's government officials are."

The Post questions the ability of the stimulus to improve Florida's unemployment rate---something the President promised would be a result when he touted the stimulus in a Florida stop in February.

The low distribution has left many Floridians confused and left the President potentially vulnerable in a battleground state.  Read the Post's article in its entirety here.

The House just voted unanimously to extend the length of unemployment benefits up to 20 weeks, but after an emotionally partisan debate Republicans rejected $444 million in federal stimulus dollars to expand who is eligible for compensation.

Democrats assailed the move as heartless and misguided, saying the state can scale back on eligibility after the crisis has passed. Republicans suggested that would be "fraud" and said the expansion would cost businesses more and hurt the economic recovery. The Democratic amendment failed 45-70.

A project to deepen Jacksonville's ship channel scooped up $14.8 million from the federal government's stimulus package, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today.

The money will help pay for deepening a 5.3 mile stretch of the river up to the Talleyrand terminal. Jacksonville Port Authority Executive Director Rick Ferrin said the deeper water will make it possible for ships calling on Talleyrand to arrive and depart with more cargo on board. The depth after deepening will be 40 feet, according to the Army Corps, which will match the depth for 14.7 miles of channel from Atlantic Ocean.

House Republican leaders say they’re willing to accept most of the $2.9 billion in economic stimulus money Congress made available to Florida to help laid-off workers.

"Most" means everything but the $444 million in unemployment compensation money Gov. Charlie Crist and Senate Republicans want to spend to expand the number of people who would qualify for the checks in Florida.

Taking the money would require the state to pay roughly $70 million through the end of 2009 as its contribution to the program, but also potentially carries greater costs because the federal money only pays for the extra checks for two months, House staff said. It could also hasten the depletion of the state’s unemployment compensation trust fund – likely triggering an increase in unemployment taxes paid by businesses. The fund is scheduled to run dry by the end of June, but expanding the pool of potential applicants for unemployment checks could drain it sooner, staff said.

Mayor John Peyton said he is not enthusiastic about the stimulus package and doubts its ability to stimulate the economy.

“Our taking part of it is like giving an alcoholic whiskey,” said Peyton, speaking at the 2009 Jaxport Logistics & Intermodal Conference.

Peyton said Jacksonville would still try to take advantage of the money available despite his concerns about the spending increasing federal debt.

By that statement, I'm guessing the Mayor is calling Jacksonville an alcoholic?  I guess he's also admitting that he is a willing enabler?  After all, hasn't he already held a press conference touting the benefits of the stimulus and has another one scheduled with Rep. Brown?  Does that make the Mayor and Congresswoman Brown the irresponsible bartenders that continue to liquor us up? "Hold the fiscal responsibility and pass the Wild Turkey?"

Pardon me for being quite confused here.  It almost sounds like the Mayor is speaking out of both sides of his mouth in regards to the stimulus, but certainly he would never do something like that?

Where is Susie Wiles to spin a statement when you need her?

Gov. Charlie Crist signed the paperwork today to officially certify that Florida, like every other state, wants a piece of the federal stimulus pie. But unlike some other Republican governors (Louisiana's Bobby Jindal and South Carolina's Mark Sanford) who bashed the stimulus on one hand while holding the other out for money from Washington, Crist was unabashedly pro-Washington money.

"I find that a little amusing," Crist said. "I have colleagues who have at least intimated that this money from Washington is not something they welcome with open arms, yet 49 of 50 show up to get it."

The federal stimulus package will have at least a $38 million impact on the City of Jacksonville, said a spokeswoman for Mayor John Peyton.

The Florida Department of Transportation expects to receive funding for about $20 million worth of projects in Jacksonville, said Misty Skipper. The city expects about $12 million in funding for energy efficiency projects, but it’s not clear what types of projects are eligible.

Skipper said about $4 million will come through the state Department of Justice, and the city hopes to use it for its Jacksonville Journey program. The city will also receive about $2 million through community development block grants.

Gov. Crist and the Legislature should act as if the money from the stimulus bill is temporary, since it is. Unfortunately, the governor is acting as if the money will be permanent.

Even before he knows that the federal government will grant a waiver and let education money flow to Florida, Gov. Crist is putting his budget in turnaround before releasing it Friday. Out will be any serious budget cuts. Out will be any discussion of new revenue. In will be the lyrics to Happy Days Are Here Again, and talk of a new tax-cut proposal in 2010, when the governor is on the ballot for reelection or election to the Senate.

The governor's early comments amount to political hypocrisy and fiscal recklessness. Yes, Florida may get $12.2' billion from the stimulus, but only $2.5 billion to $3 billion probably will be allocated to close the potential state budget gap of $5 billion for 2009-10. The gap for 2010-11 is uncertain. Other money is targeted for construction and energy projects to create jobs. Most money for states is supposed to go out by Sept. 30, 2010, so the budget miracle won't last.

As a state senator, Gov. Crist tried to kill the tobacco lawsuit that created the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund. As governor, he raided the fund to balance the budget. Gov. Crist is a self-styled low-tax, small-government politician when it suits him. But he's celebrating the nearly $800 billion spending plan that could result in a federal tax increase and is big government at its very biggest.

In fact, nothing about the stimulus should stop the governor and Legislature from acting as if the money isn't coming. As Robert Weissert of Florida TaxWatch noted: "This is non-recurring money. If the state spends too much of it on recurring expenses (notably education and health care), there could be serious problems in that third year, when there won't be any help from Washington."

Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, suggested in an interview that the governor has been counting on the stimulus all along. In November, when Sen. Atwater stressed the need to look at the whole tax and budget system, "The governor said, 'That won't be necessary.''" Now, Sen. Atwater said, "It will be far more difficult to have a serious discussion of our tax structure."

He added: "We don't know the length and breadth of this recession. We are taking a great risk if we consider this some crazy golden bridge to the future. I don't know about new revenue, but I want to develop a fairer tax system that doesn't place the burden on a few people."

Like so many have already said, are there any doubts left that Charlie Crist is willing to sacrifice the long-term financial health of Florida on the altar of his personal political ambitions?