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We got a look at radical Rickenbacker Causeway plan. Here are the pros and cons
We got a look at radical Rickenbacker Causeway plan. Here are the pros and cons

Miami Herald

time5 days ago

  • Business
  • Miami Herald

We got a look at radical Rickenbacker Causeway plan. Here are the pros and cons

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Raquel Regalado calls her proposal to re-envision the Rickenbacker Causeway a 'beautifully crazy idea.' Miami does need outside-the-box thinking to address the traffic congestion and need for more green space that affect our quality of life. 'The Shoreline' is Regalado's plan, designed with help from a developer, to build a 25-foot-tall viaduct to split vehicles traveling to and from Key Biscayne from pedestrians and cars stopping at Virginia Key. Significantly, it would also increase waterfront recreational space. 'Any meeting that you have in Key Biscayne, the No. 1 complaint will be the Rickenbacker,' Regalado told the Herald Editorial Board. 'I've gotten stuck in it a million times as a county commissioner who has to go out there.' Her proposal falls somewhere between innovative and pie-in-the-sky. It has been well received by officials and residents in Key Biscayne, and it's worthy of consideration, if Miami-Dade can pull it off. That's a big if. The Shoreline is still in its very early stages — it hasn't even been presented to the full County Commission — so it's too soon for the Editorial Board to endorse it or oppose it. We recently met with Regalado and project designers and were left both impressed and with lingering questions. The project would send roughly 28,000 high-speed vehicles that head daily to and from Key Biscayne and fast bicycle pelotons to the top of the viaduct, which would have two lanes in either direction, plus 10-foot-wide shoulders. The viaduct would begin at the east end of the Powell Bridge and stretch the full length of Virginia Key to Bear Cut Bridge before it comes to ground level at the Crandon Marina entrance. The area below would be used for slower local traffic headed mostly to and from to Virginia Key (roughly 12,000 vehicles per day), bike and pedestrian paths. That would clear space for more beach, park and parking spaces. The project's intentions are noble; it would not only improve traffic but also pedestrian and bike safety, which is sorely needed given how dangerous the causeway currently is to anyone who's not in a car. 'We're creating, by elevating this [viaduct], an opportunity for mobility and for the free flow of traffic at higher speeds that do not affect or create a friction with those of us... riding our bikes or walking or just going to the beach,' Shoreline designer Juan Mullerat told the Editorial Board. The project also calls for traffic circles each at MAST Academy and the Marine Stadium entrance, which has no crosswalk, and vehicles would no longer cross bike lanes to get to the beach area. Regalado also envisions connecting the new recreational area of Rickenbacker to the Underline, a gem of a linear park in Miami, where underutilized space beneath the Metrorail is being transformed into 10 miles of bike and pedestrian paths and recreational areas. 'This vision is exactly what the Underline, we, hoped would happen,' Friends of The Underline founder Meg Daly said of the Shoreline. 'This inspirational approach to solving larger problems in having these hybrid projects really makes sense.' There are questions, though, about how much the Shoreline would cost. The Herald reported a figure of $475 million but a final estimate is not available yet. We suspect the project would cost a lot more than what's been reported. There's no direct comparison in terms of scope but the Interstate 395 'Signature Bridge' in downtown Miami is costing $840 million. And, then, by making it easier to reach Virginia Key and Key Biscayne, would the new Rickenbacker add pressure to increase development on these two environmentally sensitive islands? Developer David Martin, CEO of Terra Group, paid for the Rickenbacker plan design and has a vested interest in it — he recently purchased the old Silver Sands hotel property on Key Biscayne, the Herald reported. Some Rickenbacker users have also wondered whether the viaduct would be aesthetically pleasing. Another potential hiccup: Miami-Dade County already has been working on a master plan for the causeway that's not yet public. The county also just started a three-year planning process for a Bear Cut bridge replacement, the Herald reported. How easily could Regalado replace those plans? The Shoreline could spur a much-needed transformation of the Rickenbacker Causeway and its surroundings. It just has to be feasible. Click here to send the letter.

Philadelphia paper warns Fetterman to take Senate job seriously – ‘or step away'
Philadelphia paper warns Fetterman to take Senate job seriously – ‘or step away'

The Guardian

time02-06-2025

  • General
  • The Guardian

Philadelphia paper warns Fetterman to take Senate job seriously – ‘or step away'

The Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial board has issued a sharp rebuke of Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman in a new opinion piece, urging him to take his job 'seriously' and writing that 'it's time for Fetterman to serve Pennsylvanians, or step away.' In a strongly worded piece published on Sunday, the editorial board of the Philadelphia Inquirer, which endorsed Fetterman during his 2022 Senate campaign, said the first-term Democrat 'has missed more votes than nearly every other senator in the past two years' and 'regularly skips committee hearings, cancels meetings, avoids the daily caucus lunches with colleagues, and rarely goes on the Senate floor'. The editorial board also wrote that six former Fetterman staffers told an Inquirer reporter that Fetterman was frequently absent or spent hours alone in his office, avoiding colleagues and meetings. 'Being an elected official comes with public scrutiny,' the board wrote. 'If Fetterman can't handle the attention or perform his job, then in the best interest of the country and the nearly 13 million residents of Pennsylvania he represents, he should step aside.' 'Being an elected representative is a privilege, not an entitlement,' it added. 'Being a US senator is a serious job that requires full-time engagement.' Fetterman responded to the piece and allegations on Monday during a Fox News debate with Republican senator David McCormick. 'For me, it's very clear, it's just part of like this weird – this weird smear,' Fetterman said. 'The more kinds of, left kind of media continues to have these kinds of an attack, and it's just part of a smear and that's just not … it's just not accurate.' He continued: 'I've always been there, and for me, if I miss some of those votes, I've made 90% of them, and we all know those votes that I've missed were on Monday. Those are travel days and I have three young kids and … those are throwaway procedural votes that … they were never determined if they were important. That's a choice that I made.' Fetterman also reportedly claimed senators Bernie Sanders and Patty Murray had missed more votes than he has. 'Why aren't the left media yelling and demanding them and claiming they're not doing their job?' Fetterman said. In response, a spokesperson for Murray told Politico that most of her missed votes occurred during a vote-a-rama when her husband was hospitalized. A spokesperson for Sanders did not immediately respond to request for comment from Politico, but the outlet pointed out that according to data from a government transparency site, Sanders has missed 836 of 6,226 rollcall votes since 1991, or about 13.4%. Murray has missed 290 of 11,106 rollcall votes since 1993, or roughly 2.6%. By comparison, Politico reported that Fetterman has missed 174 of 961 rollcall votes, approximately 18.1%, in his first term, according to The editorial on Sunday comes as last month, New York magazine published an article on Fetterman which quoted several former and current Fetterman staffers who expressed concerns about the Senator's mental and physical health, and his behavior. In response, Fetterman dismissed the piece, calling it 'a one-source story, with a couple anonymous sources' and labeling it a 'hit piece from a very left publication'.

NJ Democratic governor candidates want to fight Trump and tackle affordability
NJ Democratic governor candidates want to fight Trump and tackle affordability

Yahoo

time02-06-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

NJ Democratic governor candidates want to fight Trump and tackle affordability

New Jersey voters in both parties have begun to vote to select their nominees for governor in the June 10 primary election. This spring, the USA TODAY Network New Jersey Editorial Board convened conversations with nearly all of the major candidates. We talked broadly about their campaigns, their agendas if nominated and elected and about the impact of the administration of President Donald Trump. Here are thoughts and impressions about candidates in the Democratic field, presented alphabetically: Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, 54, has spent a decade leading the Garden State's largest city and has been credited for taking innovative approaches to solving Newark's financial challenges while also working to fuel the city's ongoing renaissance. In framing his candidacy with the USA TODAY Network New Jersey Editorial Board, Baraka, just days after he was detained by federal Homeland Security agents outside Delaney Hall detention center, positioned himself as a leader who could bring new relevancy to his party. Baraka said he would re-center the New Jersey Democratic Party as the champion of working people — something he said his party had squandered in its more recent embrace of elites. 'We forgot how to fight,' Baraka said of his party. Baraka talked at length about his capacity to challenge the Trump administration, particularly on immigration. (The trespassing charge he was held on has since been dropped.) He also said he would continue to champion diversity, equity and inclusion policies if he clinches his party's nomination and the governorship. Baraka also believes his candidacy is informed by his experience as a mayor. He talked at length about the state's need to get its fiscal house in better order by seeking to raise revenues by increasing income taxes on the state's wealthy. Baraka also talked about the need to reconsider school funding formulas and said he would seek to consolidate small school districts. The 47-year-old mayor of Jersey City, who has held that office since 2013, declared his candidacy for governor in 2023. From the start, Fulop has framed his run as a maverick effort. He has eschewed support from establishment Democrats, including county organizations and has said he has been buoyed by the elimination of the county line ballot design, which had traditionally favored candidates favored by the Democratic machine. In turn, he has been supporting his own slates of candidates seeking seats in the New Jersey Assembly this fall. In conversations with the USA TODAY Network Editorial Board this spring, Fulop made the case that his experience as a mayor will suit him well as the Garden State's chief executive. Fulop was direct about his focus on fixing NJ Transit's funding and infrastructure woes. He was also unequivocal about his willingness to take on the Trump administration. 'I'm looking forward to fixing NJ Transit once and for all and being bold on that,' Fulop said. 'I think that's there's a lot of things we can do in a Trump era to send a message to the country that New Jersey has a different set of priorities.' Fulop, who says he has more than 15,000 volunteers supporting his campaign across New Jersey, seems eager to continue to reshape the New Jersey Democratic Party. That said, he also pledged continuity and said he would invite New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin to continue his service in a Fulop administration. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, the Tenafly Democrat who has served in Congress since 2016, has made a name for himself as a moderate who works across the aisle to pursue progress on various legislative priorities. He also presents a moderate choice for Democratic voters — with a vision for a term as governor that focuses on lowering taxes. Gottheimer, who has co-chaired the bipartisan Problem Solvers' Caucus, has been a champion of restoring the SALT deduction. He has also sounded the alarm about the growing affordability crisis in New Jersey and points to an ambitious plan to reduce taxes as the centerpiece of his gubernatorial campaign platform. Gottheimer has said New Jersey voters he has spoken with on the campaign trail — often in diners, as he has noted — are anxious and concerned about costs. Rising utility costs and potential economic disruption caused by Trump policy are just the latest drivers of that anxiety, he said. 'How do we get taxes down? How do we get costs down? How do we get life more affordable?' Gottheimer asked in framing his agenda in a recent conversation with the USA TODAY Network Editorial Board. Gottheimer says his tax plan deals with structural benefits and New Jersey's pension obligations. It would work to fuel economic growth in New Jersey, he said. Gottheimer is focused on growing New Jersey's business sector and adding jobs. Lower taxes, he said, will work to stem ongoing out-migration as New Jersey residents flee the Garden State. Gottheimer is also committed to creating a position in the gubernatorial administration that focuses on bringing federal dollars back to New Jersey. Gottheimer, 49, has also positioned himself as a defender of New Jersey values as the Trump agenda unfolds, noting that he continues to hear from voters that the president's new term is only adding to their broad anxieties about the nation's direction and its economy. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democrat from Montclair who has represented the Morris County-centric 11th Congressional District since she was first elected to Congress in the blue wave of 2018, presents New Jersey Democratic voters with a centrist agenda focused on affordability and managing the state's affairs with minimal disruption from the Trump administration. Sherrill has strongly advocated for the restoration of the SALT deduction, and has been a champion for reproductive, women's and LGBTQ rights. She has framed her campaign for governor around her commitment to affordability, and to protecting New Jersey values in the face of an ambitious Trump administration agenda that could level drastic cuts to federal programs — like Medicaid — in the Garden State. In conversations with the USA TODAY Network New Jersey editorial board this spring, Sherrill talked at length about the urgent need to solve a vexing housing crisis that is fueled by soaring prices and rents. She also said she would work to stimulate repurposing of existing infrastructure — like vacant office buildings — for reuse as housing. And she pledged to break apart what she characterized as a complex and sometimes thorny regulatory environment that she said stymies housing development in New Jersey. Sherrill also spoke at some length about the Garden State's looming energy crisis — utility rates are set to increase next month — and did not rule out expanding the state's nuclear energy generation capacity. Sherrill, 52, also pledged to assemble like-minded Democratic governors who oppose parts of the Trump agenda and said she would work to build coalitions of resistance and would continue to push back on administrative actions through ongoing lawsuits. When asked what she was hearing from voters on the campaign trail, Sherrill focused specifically on the Trump agenda and affordability. 'I'm hearing largely two things,' Sherrill said. 'One is 'What's coming from Washington is like nothing I've ever seen. I'm very scared,' and two is. 'I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to afford to live here.'' Sean Spiller, 49, a former mayor of Montclair who is president of the New Jersey Education Association, has framed his candidacy around delivering greater affordability to New Jersey by addressing housing costs, health care access, education access and energy affordability. Putting his focus on affordability into specific terms, Spiller has said he would pursue a reconfiguration of New Jersey's state income tax brackets with a focus on extracting more revenue from the Garden State's wealthiest residents. In addition, Spiller, the son of immigrants, told the USA TODAY New Jersey Editorial Board that he would actively resist aspects of the Trump agenda, including the push to deport undocumented migrants. 'People are fearful in many ways,' Spiller said, citing the uncertainties presented by the Trump agenda. 'People want to know, 'Hey, what are you going to do about it? How are you going to help?'' Spiller, a teacher, has the full backing of the powerful NJEA, which has pumped millions into his campaign. That support may have strings attached should Spiller run a successful campaign. He has advocated for 'pension justice' and has said he would reconfigure pension benefits for New Jersey's public-school educators. Steve Sweeney, the former Senate President who presided over the upper chamber in Trenton on the watches of former Gov. Chris Christie and Gov. Phil Murphy, is attempting to stage a comeback in his run for governor. Sweeney, who lost reelection in 2021 at the hands of former state Sen. Ed Durr, has framed his candidacy for governor around his considerable experience in Trenton. A former ironworker who served in the state Senate for 20 years with support from the powerful South Jersey Democratic Party machine, Sweeney, 65, makes the case that his years of experience helping to lead the Legislature sets him apart. 'I know where the lights in the bathroom are,' he quipped to the USA TODAY Network New Jersey editorial board. Among Sweeney's top priorities — beyond addressing affordability and defending New Jersey from aspects of the Trump agenda — would be an effort to reconsider the state budget process in Trenton, which he said needs to be considered from a multi-year perspective. Such an effort would help state departments plan more efficiently and, in turn, save taxpayers money, Sweeney argued. Further, Sweeney believes property taxes can be better stabilized if smaller New Jersey school districts were incentivized to merge. Sweeney, who said he supports due process for all, nonetheless said he would not support New Jersey's Immigrant Trust Directive, which has limited interactions between state and local law enforcement and federal entities like ICE, since 2018. This article originally appeared on NJ governor race: Democratic governor candidates want to fight Trump

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