"The proper way to destroy a flag that is old or has become soiled is to burn it." Sen. John Glenn

TESTIMONY OF FORMER SENATOR JOHN GLENN AGAINST THE FLAG DESECRATION AMENDMENT 

Senator John Glenn - Testimony before Senate Judiciary Committee, 4/28/99

For those who served in the armed services, we risked our lives because we believed it was our duty to defend our nation. I can tell you that in combat you do not start out thinking about the philosophy of our nation. When you start a run on a ground position from the air, through antiaircraft, or lead a patrol where people are getting shot, you do not think about those philosophical thoughts. It is the survival of the moment that holds your attention. Only later do you think about some of these great philosophical thoughts. 

But every last tiny fiber in our flag stands for someone who has given his or her life to defend what it stands for. Many of us here have as many friends in Arlington Cemetery, bearing silent witness to our flag, as we do bearing public witness to it in the world of the living. Maybe that is why I have so little patience, and even less sympathy, for those pathetic and insensitive few who would demean and defile our nation's greatest symbol of sacrifice. They deserve harsh censure.  

President Obama Awards John Glenn with Medal of Freedom

But, in what I view as their demented ways, they also have my pity because they cannot, apparently, feel the pride and the exhilaration that comes from being called to a purpose larger than ones own self. They cannot feel the pride in our nation and what it stands for, even though not perfect as yet; the pride in a nation whose very strength rests in a guarantee of freedom of expression for every single person, whether that person agrees with the majority, or not. It is a guarantee that some misguided souls exploit for their own egotistical, self-centered purposes.  

I believe that the members of this Committee have a special responsibility to recognize that it would be a hollow victory indeed if we preserved the symbol of our freedoms by chipping away at those fundamental freedoms themselves. Let the flag fully represent all the freedoms spelled out in the Bill of Rights, not a partial, watered-down version that alters its protections.  

The flag is the nation's most powerful and emotional symbol. It is our most sacred symbol. And it is our most revered symbol. But it is a symbol. It symbolizes the freedoms that we have in this country, but it is not the freedoms themselves. That is why this debate is not between those who love the flag on the one hand and those who do not on the other. No matter how often some try to indicate otherwise, everyone on both sides of this debate loves and respects the flag. The question is, how best to honor it and at the same time not take a chance of defiling what it represents.  

Monument of U.S. flag raised at Iwo-Jima

Those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, who died following that banner, did not give up their lives for a red, white and blue piece of cloth. They died because they went into harm's way, representing this country and because of their allegiance to the values, the rights and principles represented by that flag and to the Republic for which it stands.  

Without a doubt, the most important of those values, rights and principles is individual liberty: The liberty to worship, to think, to express ourselves freely, openly and completely, no matter how out of step those views may be with the opinions of the majority. In that first amendment to the Constitution we talk about freedom of speech, of religion, or the press and right to assemble.  

The Bill of Rights was not included in the Constitution. The Bill of Rights was added after the Constitution was passed. Some states refused to ratify the Constitution because it did not have a Bill of Rights defining basic human rights that they wanted this country to stand for. James Madison worked to get a Bill of Rights put together while the Constitution was already in existence.  

The Congress passed the first 10 amendments known today as the Bill of Rights. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly are protected in the First Amendment.  

That commitment to freedom is encapsulated and encoded in our Bill of Rights, perhaps the most envied and imitated document anywhere in this world. The Bill of Rights is what makes our country unique. It is what has made us a shining beacon of hope, liberty, of inspiration to oppressed peoples around the world for over 200 years.  

In short, it is what makes America, America. Those 10 amendments to the Constitution we call the Bill of Rights have never been changed or altered by one iota, by one word, not a single time in all of American history. That is how our forefathers have looked at the Bill of Rights. There was not a single word of change during any of our foreign wars, and not during recessions or depression or panics. Not a single change when we were going through great national times of trials and tribulations and times of great emotion and anger like the Vietnam era, when flag after flag was burned or desecrated, far more often than they are today. Even during all that time, our first amendment remained unchanged and unchallenged.  

The amendment under consideration today goes directly to the issue of freedom of speech. We are talking about freedom of expression. The Supreme Court has held on two separate occasions that no matter how great the majority, the minority, under our Bill of Rights, has the right of expression. That expression is protected by freedom of speech.  

Do we want to take a chance on reducing our freedom of speech? What about freedom of the press? Do we want to open even a tiny chance to restrict our ability to assemble peaceably? And do we want to take a chance that we would not be able to petition our government for redress of grievances? Those are the things that are covered in that first amendment, known as the Bill of Rights.  

I think there is only one way to weaken the fabric of our country, our unique country, our country that stands as a beacon before other nations around this world and that is to allow the few misguided souls to lessen the freedom that we all share.  

One of the most exhilarating things that can ever happen to a man or woman is to be able to represent their country and be called to something, to a purpose larger than themselves. I feel sorry for people who have never had that experience. It is something you cannot really explain.  

Of course some may argue that the First Amendment is not and has never been absolute, that we already have restrictions on freedoms of expression and that a prohibition on flag burning would simply be one more? After all, it is said that freedom of speech does not extend to slander, libel, revealing military secrets, or of yelling 'fire' in a crowded theater. That is true. To the extent that flag burning would incite others to violence in response does not constitute a clear and present danger, and that is what the Supreme Court ruled. The difference here is whether it is a clear and present danger that we have every right to try to avert.  

I believe that this argument misses a key distinction, and that distinction is that all those restrictions on free speech I just mentioned threaten real and specific harm to other people, harm that would come about because of what the speaker said, not because of what the listeners did.  

To say that we should restrict speech or expression that would outrage a majority of listeners or move them to violence is to say that we will tolerate only those kinds of expression that the majority agrees with, or at least does not disagree with too much. That would do nothing less than gut the First Amendment.  

What about the argument that flag desecration is an act and is not a form of speech or expression that is protected by the First Amendment? Well, I think that argument is a bit specious. Anybody burning a flag in protest is clearly saying something. They are making a statement by their body language, and what they are doing makes a statement that maybe speaks far, far louder than the words they may be willing to utter on such an occasion.  

They are saying something, just the same way as people who picket, or march in protest, or use other forms of symbolic speech expressing themselves. Indeed, if we did not view flag burners as something we find offensive and repugnant, we surely would not be debating their right to do so.  

Let me say a word about something that has gotten short shrift in this debate, something we should consider very carefully. I am talking about the practical problems with this amendment. Let us say we pass it, the States pass it, it becomes an amendment, and we change the Constitution. Then what a nightmare we would have enforcing it.  

If Congress and States are allowed to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag, how precisely are we defining the flag? We do not have an official flag, as such, with an exact size, type, kind of ink, dyes, or fabric. There is no official flag, as such. So does this amendment refer to only manufactured flags of cloth or nylon of a certain size or description, such as the one we fly over the Capitol? Does it refer to the small paper flags on a stick we hand out to children at political rallies or stick in a cupcake at a banquet? Those flags are often tossed on the floor or in a garbage can at conclusion of an event. How about during the 1976 bicentennial when vendors were selling flag bikini swimsuits for women and boxer shorts for men.  

Retired Flags Burned (photo by Bob Walter)

Remember that the proper way to destroy a flag that is old or has become soiled is to burn it. But what if you do it in protest? What was the intent? Every lawyer will tell you that the toughest thing to prove is intent.  

I do not know what the courts would do in a case like that. We can go on with all kinds of examples here of how this would be very difficult to administer, and it would be subject to 50 different interpretations. I might be able to do something in Ohio, and I drive across the Ohio River to Kentucky, West Virginia, or Pennsylvania and the same thing might be illegal.  

This amendment should be defeated. The dangers from it far outweigh the threat that we have to the flag. I simply do not believe that this is a major problem for this country requiring an amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.  

Our most revered symbol stands for freedom but is not freedom itself. We must not let those who revile our way of life trick us into diminishing our great gift or even take a chance of diminishing our freedoms. 

What I learned from this election by Smart Growth America

This election season was tumultuous  and divisive. For me, as president of an organization working to improve Americans’ lives by building better communities, it has brought a mixture of uncertainty, alarm, and hope.  

First, the uncertainty. With regard to economic development, tax policy, housing, infrastructure, and other federal programs that affect communities, the policies of President-elect Trump are not clear. In the coming weeks he will presumably appoint people to lead key departments such as Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Treasury, and that may give more indication of his agenda for these issues. 

President-elect Trump has signaled his intention to make infrastructure a priority but the details are not yet known and the details matter enormously. The last major infrastructure investment surge came as part of the Obama Administration's stimulus package in 2009, and that emphasized getting money out the door quickly to "shovel-ready" projects that were intended to inject mkoney into the economy and avert a great depression. We are not in such urgent economic straits now and replicating that model—dumping money into formula programs—would be a mistake. While many stimulus projects were badly needed, others were conceived decades earlier and were outmoded. In many cases, states built loads of new infrastructure while existing systems crumbled. We must do better.

The next wave of infrastructure money needs to fund investment, not just spending. Paying people to dig a hole and fill it up again creates jobs but doesn't add value to the economy. New infrastructure investment must add value to the economy, ideally by awarding money on a competitive basis rather than by formula, being flexible, measuring how projects serve broader goals, preserving the investments we've already made, and leveraging local and private investment. Federal agencies have already started to move in this direction. The Trump Administration could give this shift huge momentum. Many have said that paying for this investment will require some form of tax reform. If that is the case, Congress and the Administration will have a real opportunity to improve housing opportunities as well. Our recent recommendations for the incoming administration includes more details about what this could look like.

Notwithstanding federal policy uncertainty, the election also gave reason for optimism. The division among voters nationally received enormous attention, but local election results were the latest demonstration of an electorate largely united on the need to improve our cities, towns, and neighborhoods and the path to get there. Measures to fund biking, walking, and transit passed around the country in both Democrat and Republican counties and towns. In fact, seventy-one percent of transit measures passed, continuing the trend that's been true since 2000. Voters also passed affordable housing measures like Measure A1 in Alameda County, CA, and new bonds for affordable housing in Rhode Island. With all the market and citizen demand for walkable development, Complete Streets, and the community revitalization that has happened in the past 20 years, it's hard to remember that in the mid-90s the conventional wisdom had cities dying a slow death amid an endless march of development into the countryside. Local governments, citizens working in neighborhoods, and people choosing walkable, lively neighborhoods made these victories happen. This election cycle demonstrated remarkable agreement that we're moving in the right direction. The new administration can ensure that federal policies and infrastructure investments help cities and citizens continue to build on the remarkable progress that's been made.

But communities are more than roads, transit, and buildings. They are also the place where our culture and democracy manifest. The United States has always been a melting pot, a grand experiment where people of different backgrounds have come together and not only survived but prospered. People around the world consider this country a place where anyone can make a good life for themselves and their families through education and hard work. This ideal is realized and actualized in communities and neighborhoods where people live. And true to America's heritage, our current demographics, and our aspirations, Smart Growth America seeks to improve the lives of all Americans by helping to create communities where everyone can thrive no matter their race, religion, gender, income level, or ability. The rhetoric in this election has been deeply divisive, has contributed to fear and stereotyping, and has emboldened expressions of racism and bigotry. The fear and hate engendered are completely at odds with building better communities, at odds with what the vast majority of Americans want, and at odds with the character that has made this country great and an example for the world. 

In his post-election speech Donald Trump said he wants to be a president to all Americans. And we need him to be, because there is truth in the old saying, "United we stand, divided we fall." However, coming together isn't simply the result of the completion of the election. It will take leadership in word and deed from the new administration to show that all Americans will be valued for the contributions they can make to the country. It means working even harder to create the country we aspire to be. Our neighborhoods, towns, and cities are part of that aspiration. I am proud to be part of that mission, and hope to have your support as we move forward.

Sincerely,

Geoff Anderson

President and CEO,

Smart Growth America

What I learned from this election by Smart Growth America

This election season was tumultuous  and divisive. For me, as president of an organization working to improve Americans’ lives by building better communities, it has brought a mixture of uncertainty, alarm, and hope.  

This election season was tumultuous  and divisive. For me, as president of an organization working to improve Americans’ lives by building better communities, it has brought a mixture of uncertainty, alarm, and hope.  

First, the uncertainty. With regard to economic development, tax policy, housing, infrastructure, and other federal programs that affect communities, the policies of President-elect Trump are not clear. In the coming weeks he will presumably appoint people to lead key departments such as Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Treasury, and that may give more indication of his agenda for these issues. 

President-elect Trump has signaled his intention to make infrastructure a priority but the details are not yet known and the details matter enormously. The last major infrastructure investment surge came as part of the Obama Administration's stimulus package in 2009, and that emphasized getting money out the door quickly to "shovel-ready" projects that were intended to inject mkoney into the economy and avert a great depression. We are not in such urgent economic straits now and replicating that model—dumping money into formula programs—would be a mistake. While many stimulus projects were badly needed, others were conceived decades earlier and were outmoded. In many cases, states built loads of new infrastructure while existing systems crumbled. We must do better.

The next wave of infrastructure money needs to fund investment, not just spending. Paying people to dig a hole and fill it up again creates jobs but doesn't add value to the economy. New infrastructure investment must add value to the economy, ideally by awarding money on a competitive basis rather than by formula, being flexible, measuring how projects serve broader goals, preserving the investments we've already made, and leveraging local and private investment. Federal agencies have already started to move in this direction. The Trump Administration could give this shift huge momentum. Many have said that paying for this investment will require some form of tax reform. If that is the case, Congress and the Administration will have a real opportunity to improve housing opportunities as well. Our recent recommendations for the incoming administration includes more details about what this could look like.

Notwithstanding federal policy uncertainty, the election also gave reason for optimism. The division among voters nationally received enormous attention, but local election results were the latest demonstration of an electorate largely united on the need to improve our cities, towns, and neighborhoods and the path to get there. Measures to fund biking, walking, and transit passed around the country in both Democrat and Republican counties and towns. In fact, seventy-one percent of transit measures passed, continuing the trend that's been true since 2000. Voters also passed affordable housing measures like Measure A1 in Alameda County, CA, and new bonds for affordable housing in Rhode Island. With all the market and citizen demand for walkable development, Complete Streets, and the community revitalization that has happened in the past 20 years, it's hard to remember that in the mid-90s the conventional wisdom had cities dying a slow death amid an endless march of development into the countryside. Local governments, citizens working in neighborhoods, and people choosing walkable, lively neighborhoods made these victories happen. This election cycle demonstrated remarkable agreement that we're moving in the right direction. The new administration can ensure that federal policies and infrastructure investments help cities and citizens continue to build on the remarkable progress that's been made.

But communities are more than roads, transit, and buildings. They are also the place where our culture and democracy manifest. The United States has always been a melting pot, a grand experiment where people of different backgrounds have come together and not only survived but prospered. People around the world consider this country a place where anyone can make a good life for themselves and their families through education and hard work. This ideal is realized and actualized in communities and neighborhoods where people live. And true to America's heritage, our current demographics, and our aspirations, Smart Growth America seeks to improve the lives of all Americans by helping to create communities where everyone can thrive no matter their race, religion, gender, income level, or ability. The rhetoric in this election has been deeply divisive, has contributed to fear and stereotyping, and has emboldened expressions of racism and bigotry. The fear and hate engendered are completely at odds with building better communities, at odds with what the vast majority of Americans want, and at odds with the character that has made this country great and an example for the world. 

In his post-election speech Donald Trump said he wants to be a president to all Americans. And we need him to be, because there is truth in the old saying, "United we stand, divided we fall." However, coming together isn't simply the result of the completion of the election. It will take leadership in word and deed from the new administration to show that all Americans will be valued for the contributions they can make to the country. It means working even harder to create the country we aspire to be. Our neighborhoods, towns, and cities are part of that aspiration. I am proud to be part of that mission, and hope to have your support as we move forward.

Sincerely,

Geoff Anderson

President and CEO,

Smart Growth America

First successful coup d'éta of the United States of America

Donald John Trump Sr. along with his White Nationalists "Alt-Right" have effectively succeeded in the first coup d'éta of the United States of America by a political agent and its aggressors.

How is this a coup?

For the purpose of this paper I use the Clayton Thyne and Jonathan Powell's database assessment as to the types of coups in the twenty-first century. http://www.jonathanmpowell.com/coup-detat-dataset.html Then using the Predictors of a coup by way of "mentions of ethnic factionalism, supportive foreign governments, leader inexperience, slow growth, commodity price shocks, and poverty." http://aaronbelkin.org/pdfs/articles/Toward%20a%20Structural%20Understanding%20of%20Coup%20Risk.pdf

Relying on these definitions, I list the many actions and mentions by Donald John Trump Sr. which implicates his power grab as a coup.

1. Trump intends to detain or incarcerate his political opponent Hillary Clinton.  http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-10-10/trump-made-history-threatening-jail-clinton-if-he-becomes-president

2. Trump has colluded with Newt Gingrich to mislead the American citizen about the 2016 status of the US by echoing the exact statements Newt Gingrich promoted in the Contract with America in 1994. Gingrich said, "It is an objective fact, if you are going to be honest about it, that we are in the middle of the largest moral and societal crisis we have had maybe in the country’s history. 

The result has been a breakdown in trust in government. I think there are very deep reasons we are in trouble." http://www.classzone.com/books/am_05_shared/pdf/psource/TAS03_34_1070_PS.pdf

3. Trump aligned with former USSR KGB Agent, now indefinite president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. He along with his White Nationalists "Alt-Right" Party publicly sought Vladimir Putin to manipulate the 2016 presidential general election. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/donald-trump-putins-puppet/2016/10/10/451f099e-8f0e-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html?utm_term=.29c173816c67

4. Donald John Trump Sr. acted as a de facto US president by conspiring with the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader to deny the sitting and legitimate president of the United States of America, Barak Hussein Obama, a hearing for his Supreme Court Justice nominee as is allowed and mandated by the Constitution of United States of America. http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/cruz-supreme-court-blockade-230363

5. Trump acting as de facto president and commander-in-chief initiated the disbandment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/21/donald-trump-america-automatically-nato-allies-under-attack

6. Trump acting as de facto president and commander-in-chief promoted the advancement of Vladimir Putin's goal to retake sovereign nations (previously taken by force to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) and reclaim them as part of Putin's Russia, regardless of their legitimate and recognized sovereignty prior to forming the Soviet Union. http://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-to-look-at-recognizing-crimea-as-russian-territory-lifting-sanctions-putin/

7. Trump acting as the de facto commander-in-chief, in collusion with The Red Army's Comrade Supreme Commander, Vladimir Putin, has supported Putin's withdrawal from the Nuclear Security Pact. https://www.ft.com/content/03dfeb98-aa88-11e6-9cb3-bb8207902122

8. Trump acting as de facto president and commander-in-chief has encouraged hostilities to the countries at its southern border, ignoring the Monroe Doctrine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe_Doctrine

9. Trump becomes president elect because the Electoral College has been gerrymandered by the Republican Alt-Right Party. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2108706?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Help a Service Dog find a Veteran with Disabilities

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it is piloting a protocol to implement veterinary health benefits for mobility service dogs approved for Veterans with a chronic impairment that substantially limits mobility associated with mental health disorders. 

“We take our responsibility for the care and safety of Veterans very seriously,” said VA Under Secretary for Health, Dr. David J. Shulkin. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is committed to providing appropriate, safe and effective, compassionate care to all Veterans. Implementing the veterinary health benefit for mobility service dogs approved for Veterans with a chronic impairment that substantially limits mobility associated with mental health disorders may prove to be significantly beneficial for some Veterans.  The Service Dog Benefits Pilot will evaluate this premise.” 

VA has been providing veterinary benefits to Veterans diagnosed as having visual, hearing or substantial mobility impairments and whose rehabilitation and restorative care is clinically determined to be optimized through the assistance of a guide dog or service dog. With this pilot, this benefit is being provided to Veterans with a chronic impairment that substantially limits mobility associated with a mental health disorder for whom the service dog has been identified as the optimal way for the Veteran to manage the mobility impairment and live independently.

Service dogs are distinguished from pets and comfort animals because they are specially trained to perform tasks or work for a specific individual with a disability who cannot perform the task or accomplish the work independently.  To be eligible for the veterinary health benefit, the service dog must be trained by an organization accredited by Assistance Dogs International in accordance with VA regulations.

Currently, 652 Veterans with approved guide or service dogs receive the veterinary service benefit. This Pilot is anticipated to provide the veterinary service benefit to up to 100 additional Veterans with a chronic impairment that substantially limits mobility associated with a mental health disorder.

The VA veterinary service benefit includes comprehensive wellness and sick care (annual visits for preventive care, maintenance care, immunizations, dental cleanings, screenings, etc.), urgent/emergent care, prescription medications, and care for illnesses or disorders when treatment enables the dog to perform its duties in service to the Veteran.

Additional information about VA’s service dog program can be found at http://www.prosthetics.va.gov/ServiceAndGuideDogs.asp

___________________________________________

New Horizons Service Dogs is a non-profit organization which specializes in training service dogs for individuals with mobility and balance disabilities, Facility Dogs, Autism, and PTSD

The Veterans program is a growing aspect at New Horizons Service Dogs, Inc. Veterans coming home from war often suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), or were wounded in action. A service dog is a huge asset in helping the Veteran adjust back to everyday life.  Through specific commands, a service dog can give the extra support or space needed in social situations, as well as assist in everyday tasks like retrieving a dropped item or getting help in an emergency.  New Horizons Service Dogs, Inc is proud to serve the men and women who so willingly gave of themselves to ensure our freedom.

To find out how you can help contact click here 

Help a Service Dog find a Veteran with Disabilities

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it is piloting a protocol to implement veterinary health benefits for mobility service dogs approved for Veterans with a chronic impairment that substantially limits mobility associated with mental health disorders. 

“We take our responsibility for the care and safety of Veterans very seriously,” said VA Under Secretary for Health, Dr. David J. Shulkin. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is committed to providing appropriate, safe and effective, compassionate care to all Veterans. Implementing the veterinary health benefit for mobility service dogs approved for Veterans with a chronic impairment that substantially limits mobility associated with mental health disorders may prove to be significantly beneficial for some Veterans.  The Service Dog Benefits Pilot will evaluate this premise.” 

VA has been providing veterinary benefits to Veterans diagnosed as having visual, hearing or substantial mobility impairments and whose rehabilitation and restorative care is clinically determined to be optimized through the assistance of a guide dog or service dog. With this pilot, this benefit is being provided to Veterans with a chronic impairment that substantially limits mobility associated with a mental health disorder for whom the service dog has been identified as the optimal way for the Veteran to manage the mobility impairment and live independently.

Service dogs are distinguished from pets and comfort animals because they are specially trained to perform tasks or work for a specific individual with a disability who cannot perform the task or accomplish the work independently.  To be eligible for the veterinary health benefit, the service dog must be trained by an organization accredited by Assistance Dogs International in accordance with VA regulations.

Currently, 652 Veterans with approved guide or service dogs receive the veterinary service benefit. This Pilot is anticipated to provide the veterinary service benefit to up to 100 additional Veterans with a chronic impairment that substantially limits mobility associated with a mental health disorder.

The VA veterinary service benefit includes comprehensive wellness and sick care (annual visits for preventive care, maintenance care, immunizations, dental cleanings, screenings, etc.), urgent/emergent care, prescription medications, and care for illnesses or disorders when treatment enables the dog to perform its duties in service to the Veteran.

Additional information about VA’s service dog program can be found at http://www.prosthetics.va.gov/ServiceAndGuideDogs.asp

___________________________________________

New Horizons Service Dogs is a non-profit organization which specializes in training service dogs for individuals with mobility and balance disabilities, Facility Dogs, Autism, and PTSD

The Veterans program is a growing aspect at New Horizons Service Dogs, Inc. Veterans coming home from war often suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), or were wounded in action. A service dog is a huge asset in helping the Veteran adjust back to everyday life.  Through specific commands, a service dog can give the extra support or space needed in social situations, as well as assist in everyday tasks like retrieving a dropped item or getting help in an emergency.  New Horizons Service Dogs, Inc is proud to serve the men and women who so willingly gave of themselves to ensure our freedom.

To find out how you can help contact click here 

Black and Minority Urbnites were Considered Blight

The construction of American highways provided for unprecedented economic growth but it also tore apart Black and Minority communities in the urban core
Help Stop Tampa Bay Express (STOP TBX) and the widening of I-275 sign up

Will this plan to redesign Florida Avenue & Tampa Street/Highland Avenue Corridor Study meet the expectations of the Local Residents?

Tampa FL - Metropolitan Planning Organization* (MPO) of Hillsborough County has wrapped up a study looking at options for reconfiguring the one-way pair of Florida Avenue and Tampa Street (which becomes Highland Avenue north of Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd). The idea to transform the roadways came from citizens in the midst of rehabilitating homes in the surrounding neighborhoods. They recognized that at times (what planners refer to as "off peak") the roads carry little traffic; the wide lanes allow cars to drive fast; the lack of bike lanes or complete sidewalks makes getting around unsafe, and without on-street parking the small lot sizes make it difficult for businesses to develop. Then with the completion of Invision Tampa and its identification of Florida/ Tampa/ Highland as important roads for connecting people by bus, bike, or walking from downtown to the north and as locations for infill development, the MPO took on the challenge of studying what could be done. Working closely with city staff and the FDOT, as these are state roads, a number of alternatives were evaluated for how well they could meet the varied needs these roadways serve. The most promising design removes one lane in each direction and repurposes that lane for multi-modal or community needs, such as a transit way, on-street parking, or separated bikeway.  The study gives the FDOT and City of Tampa a great starting point for moving forward with a more in-depth study which will include engaging the neighborhoods for guidance. Click here to read the 15 minute overview. To view the entire presentation and final report please click here to visit the MPO website .  For more information contact Gena Torres at 813.273.3774 x357 or torresg@plancom.org. *Reposted from Plan Hillsbrough  newsletter

National Transportation Expert Lambasts TBX

MPO to meet and decide whether to keep controversial project in short term plan

Tampa, Fla., June 22, 2016 – Gabe Klein last spoke out against the Tampa Bay Express project on January 29, 2016, when speaking to the Urban Land Institute Tampa Bay chapter he called TBX the “worst project” he has seen in his years of traveling the country and said the plan to add express toll lanes to area interstates are nationally regarded as a "boondoggle."

Klein, the author of "Start Up City: Inspiring Private and Public Entrepreneurship, Getting Projects Done, and Having Fun,” was quoted by the Tampa Bay Business Journal as stating, "It’s staggering, actually…"Places like Tampa can be successful, but you've gotta spend your money on something other than a freeway.” (1)

In advance of the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) board meeting to be held June 22, 2016 at 6 p.m., Klein was again asked to respond to his thoughts about the project.

"The combination of faulty data combined with a history of overstatement for toll road performance, admitted lack of financial analysis by the state, bulldozing of homes and businesses ala 1950's urban renewal (disproportionately affecting minorities according to a civil rights lawsuit filed with the federal government), and blatant political payback by The Governor to the road building industry - this is a staggeringly irresponsible project in my opinion,” said Klein. “I thought the days of these "stimulus" projects that destroy value in cities was drawing to a close. FDOT, Governor Scott, and the business interests that stand to gain from this $9.3 billion total expenditure are proving that irresponsible fiscal policy are alive and well in America. There is a difference between "spending" and "investing" in Tampa-St Petersburg's future."

In the months since Klein’s comments to development and real estate professionals were reported on, the grassroots movement Sunshine Citizens, part of the Stop TBX Coalition, has continued to mount major opposition to the TBX project. The group has grown from a handful of neighborhood associations to encompass over 35 member organizations that span from churches and Statewide non-profits such as the Pastors on Patrol, Sierra Club and 1000 Friends of Florida, to political parties as diverse as the Libertarian Party of Hillsborough to the Green Party of Hillsborough. Now, with continued exposure of flawed data, traffic projections and

cost/benefit analysis, the attention on TBX has broadened to national attention.

The TBX project is slated to cost about $3-6 billion. Variable rate toll lanes would be added to I- 275 and Interstate 4, beginning at Bearss Avenue and extending to Pinellas County in the west and out to Plant City in the east.

TBX faces a crucial vote to be included or removed from the MPO’s short term transportation improvement program. The board’s members will decide whether to include TBX in the TIP, or remove it. If removed, it will not likely receive funding to proceed.

“What does it say about FDOT and this project when nationally recognized experts on transportation and growing entrepreneurial ecosystems like Gabe Klein can so easily point out how flawed TBX is?” said Michelle Cookson, of Sunshine Citizens. “The citizens of the Tampa Bay region know TBX is a sham- a 20-year-old plan dusted off, just to stick variable rate toll lanes on our interstates. It will not provide for viable transit and multi modal transportation that the region desperately needs in order to compete versus other metropolitan areas. We need to reject TBX and are moving the conversation to where it should have been all along - on comprehensive, multi modal transportation plan that will drive private sector investment, transit oriented development and elevate the region- to draw top employers, opportunities and economic prosperity.”

In the past year, due to efforts by the StopTBX Coalition, increasing media attention has been placed on examining the TBX project. Findings that have been revealed include:

*TBX disproportionately impacts minority and low-income communities (2)

* Most residents of the city and throughout the county won't have access to the variable rate toll lanes. The lanes planned for I-275 skip over the majority of Central Tampa and the people

who live there.(1)

*Tolls could rise up to $2 for a single mile during rush hour, according to an estimate in FDOT's master plan. At that rate, it would cost $15 to travel 71/2 miles from Bearss Avenue to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, resulting in a $30 daily commute expense.

*TBX is the costliest public works project in Tampa Bay history

*TBX is based on a 20-year-old plan- mounting evidence shows that projections used to justify highway widening projects are grossly over estimated and incorrect (3)

* TBX does not provide for feasible transit that serves more people efficiently and is less environmentally impactful.

* Additionally, TBX will cause the loss of historic homes, churches, businesses, parks and green space with massive widening and expansion of I-275, I-4 and the Downtown Interchange.

The StopTBX Coalition has successfully and rapidly grown. Drawing interest, support and media attention from all over the Tampa Bay area, the coalition is made up of neighborhood associations, business owners, residents and advocacy groups. The group has organized many actions in direct response to and opposition of the FDOT’s Tampa Bay Express project (TBX), which will drastically widen I-275 and I-4, decimate the Tampa urban core and substantially harm efforts for multi modal transportation and economic growth in Tampa Bay. Please see the attached list of coalition members.

About Sunshine Citizens

Sunshine Citizens is a non-partisan, grassroots advocacy group focused on smarter growth and transit solutions. We are actively building coalitions of like-minded groups, citizens and local leaders in Tampa Bay who share our vision for better transportation, smarter growth and positive economic development for our area.

Website: www.StopTBX.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SunshineCitizens

Twitter: https://twitter.com/suncitizens @SunCitizens

Media Contact:

Michelle Cookson, Sunshine Citizens

mcooksonfl@mac.com

About Gabe Klein

Gabe Klein is an entrepreneur, author, investor and former government official. Klein has

served as Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and as Director

of the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT). Prior, to that Klein was an

Executive with Boston-based Zipcar. He is the author of Start-Up City: Inspiring Private and Public Entrepreneurship, Getting Projects Done, and Having Fun

FDOT's TBX Express Lanes are a Safety Hazard to First Responders

Tampa, FL - As the discussion of the TBX moves closer to an inevitable decision it's important to recognize Tampa is being asked to sacrifice its urban core's economic viability and building lanes that are dangerous.

"Research on toll roads in Tampa by Sisinnio Concas, a professor at the University of South Florida’s Center for Urban Transportation Research, found that the improved access delivered by new toll roads to neighborhoods in the suburbs of Tampa and Miami increased land and property prices in both areas by about 5 percent." Not all properties values are affected by freeways in the same way. Proximity to the freeway was observed to have a negative effect on the value of detached single-family homes, writes Jason Carey. In other words the Historic Heights Bungalow style homes would decline in value and blight would take over.

In a research paper for AZDOT, Impact of Highways on Property Values: Case Study of the Superstition Freeway Corridor, Jason Carey writes, "Highway users might expect to benefit from reduced travel time, reduced vehicle operating costs, and reductions in the frequency and severity of crashes." It appears the opposite is true. Instead of fewer crashes the Florida State Troopers reported 12,000 + crashes in a span of three years on the I-95 express lanes. In fact, March 5, 2011 "was the deadliest I-95 accident in Miami-Dade County for at least the past decade, according to an analysis of crash report by WLRN, Florida International University professor Jeffrey Onsted and The New Tropic." FDOT's express lane has received the ire of law enforcement. "Florida Highway Patrol Troopers are extremely reluctant to make any traffic stops in the express lanes, for fear of placing the motorists

School Bus Crash on I-95 Miami Express Lane 

they stop, and themselves, in danger from the traffic speeding along side." We recently found out the Tampa express lanes on the segment north of the Downtown Interchange will be reduced from 12' to 11'. The allowed minimum width by FHWA is 12 feet.

With these many safety concerns and loss of property values, the Tampa Bay Express Lanes are DOA.

To find out more about Stop TBX click here

Pasco MPO votes for quality of life for its residents but leaves Tampa with a cloud of bad air

May 11, 2016:
by Mauricio Rosas
Pasco County, FL - At an early morning public meeting, when most people are at work, Pasco's MPO wasted no time to approve the Tampa Bay Express (TBX) toll lanes. The leading supporter of the Tampa Bay Express (TBX) toll lanes and widening of I-275 in Pasco county is Commissioner Mike Moore of Wesley Chapel. He said, "the project would lessen commute times for Pasco motorists and enhance their quality of life." He fails to acknowledge the negative impact to Tampa's historic urban core, which will be adversely affected unlike Pasco County's suburbs.   They won't have their homes relocated or neighborhoods destroyed. On the contrary they'll have an entrance to a highway without them incurring any impact to their  suburban lifestyle. 

They'll jump on the expressway and travel through Tampa's historic district without a  care in the world. Their daily commute may cost an average of $15 to $20 a day but since they live in Pasco suburbs, I imagine they can afford it.  Meanwhile, Tampa's urban core is going to continue to struggle with the car centric lifestyle of suburbia.  And every time they come to events or work in and around  Tampa's downtown, the locals are stuck with the burden of congestion and transit paralysis. 

I bet, if those in Pasco County and Wesley Chapel were suddenly faced with extending I 275 through their neighborhood's they would be in an uproar.  However, unlike the Pasco  MPO, the residents of Pasco county would  most likely choose mass transportation to commute into the Tampa area but that solution is not on the table, most probably because it's not suitable to their suburban lifestyle.

At the end of the MPO meeting, Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority Director Ramond Chiaramonte remarked how TBX is a "critical project for our region."   Except that when he talks about the region, he's talking about the suburban areas who will not feel any negative impact to their communities. The impact they may feel will be their paychecks reduced from the expense of the toll  lanes. 

Stay up to date on the latest from the STOP TBX please visit their website click here 

Millions budgeted for TBX project property acquisition and demolition pulled

Kera Mashek - ABC Action News

6:15 PM, Apr 27, 2016

TAMPA - There's now a cloud hanging over the future of the controversial Tampa Bay expressway project. 

The TBX project promises to make your commute easier, but many say construction of the highway will sacrifice historic homes and businesses. 

Now, it looks like there's less cash to tear down some of those properties.
  
After community marches and packed meetings grassroots effort to stop the Tampa Bay Express may now have a small victory. 

$24.5 million in FDOT's budget for buying up property to build TBX was just pulled out and tucked into another project.  

Where did the money go? Ask your County Commissioner, click here

"Overall, it meets one of the things we've been asking, which is stop pushing through funding to acquire properties and stop demolishing them.  If this project is not funded, and you say it isn't going to happen, why destroy properties when you don't know where the road's going to go yet," said Michelle Cookson with Sunshine Citizens & Stop TBX Coalitions.

"It's going to be years before crews turn even a teaspoon of dirt on this project.  We don't need to sit with vacant lots or boarded up buildings for two, three, four years before the project even begins," said Lisa Montelione, Tampa City Councilwoman & Metro Planning Org. board member.

Not to mention, Hillsborough County's Metropolitan Planning Organization isn't even voting on whether to approve TBX for another two months.

"If the department of transportation is saying that this project is moving forward, I think that's a little presumptuous because it can't move forward without this vote in June," said Montelione.

And there are still a lot of unanswered questions about the TBX project itself.

"How many people, how many human beings lives are going to be disrupted?  We still don't have that number.  How many properties that are irreplaceable will be lost? We still don't have that true number," Cookson said.

The county has demanded FDOT give that information at the May MPO meeting. 

All of those pieces will help determine whether the tolled expressway becomes a reality.

_________________________________________________________

Take action to Stop TBX click here

* Where did the money go? Edited by Mauricio Rosas

Executive Director of TBARTA, Chiaramonte seals the deal for I 275 Expansion

Raymond A. Chiaramonte, Executive Director of TBARTA (Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority) seals the deal for 275 expansion. 

In response to a letter Chiaramonte writes:

Dear Mr. John Q. Public,

Thank you for your email. We greatly appreciate your interest in transportation issues in the Tampa Bay area, specifically Hillsborough County. With over 450,000 new residents expected in Hillsborough alone by 2040, it is certainly an imperative that citizens stay engaged to provide the best possible solutions that benefit not just us, but the region as a whole.

Regarding TBARTA (Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority), we do not advocate for transit alone – the needs of our region expand beyond a single mode – but address the needs and choices of all commuters, including car, bicycle, walking, boating, carpooling, transit, as well as expanding options for freight across the seven-county region of Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, and Manatee County. We also work closely with Polk County, and constantly collaborate with HART, PSTA, PCPT, MCAT, SCAT, and other transit agencies and planning authorities to advocate for solutions to our regional transportation issues.

There is no transportation mode silver bullet solution that will address all of the issues that we face to keep our region a place individuals want to live, work, commute and play. We live in a very complex, rapidly growing metropolitan area where all modes must be expanded to meet our ever increasing needs. To start, it is critical that we acknowledge, as a region, the multifaceted nature of urban transportation, and that to remain competitive with other regions throughout the state and country, we will need to be flexible in our approach. The key to this will be to remain collaborative and committed to open discourse throughout the process, making regular improvements through review and assessment of how the proposed solutions address the needs of our communities. Your engagement has been, and continues to be meaningful proof that we are well on our way to successfully addressing this challenge.

Specifically regarding the Tampa Bay Express lane project (TBX), the project is confined to the same areas as the original build of the interstate system did in the 1960’s. There is little if any new Right-of-Way needed north of Martin Luther King Boulevard or west of downtown since the envelop for the project is already largely in place. Construction is also almost totally within existing ROW between downtown Tampa east to the Polk Parkway. The only area where some additional right of way is needed is the area of the existing interchange between I-4 and I-275 near downtown Tampa. FDOT is working with the community to try and come up with final designs that could actually improve some existing situations in that area. It is important that community leaders participate in this effort in making sure this 20-year-old project is implemented in the best possible way.

The importance of this project to connect the region together cannot be over emphasized. The TBX lanes are the foundation of a project that includes 4 out of the 8 top regional priorities for TBARTA’s seven-county region. These projects form the core of the region’s main transportation plan providing access to Hillsborough County’s regional centers. As you probably know, Hillsborough employment nodes form the largest job centers in West Central Florida, this includes Tampa International Airport, the University of South Florida, the largest hospitals, largest port, largest convention center, largest museum area, and Busch Gardens, the largest attraction. Tampa International Airport just alone serves over 4,000,000 people annually from outside Hillsborough County, roughly 11,000 people a day (20,000 daily if you include Hillsborough residents). These numbers make up only 39% of airport passengers – the other 61% of passengers are tourists who do not live in the region, but use our roadways.

Along with the attractors mentioned, Hillsborough County absorbs huge amounts of incoming traffic each day with 230,000 vehicles entering from the north and 240,000 vehicles entering from the west; this is not even considering the traffic from the east and south. These lanes will greatly help in separating some of this pass-through traffic from local traffic. These are facts that exist and must be dealt with using all forms of transportation solutions.

The plan for TBX lanes include the opportunity for express bus transit connecting the immediate areas outside the City of Tampa, and will ultimately include the entire seven-county region with premium transit. The express bus system now in place in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale has 2,500 boarding’s a day on its express lanes. This will provide an important move forward for premium bus transit while at the same time in some cases providing the transit envelope for future rail transit. The TBX lanes will also allow emergency vehicles and school buses an opportunity to bypass existing traffic. We have to start expansion of transit somewhere and the express lanes provide the opportunity for doing that.

The reconstruction of the interstate system to serve the immense transportation needs of a region approaching 4,000,000 in population can help address neighborhood issues that already exist through consideration of sound walls, landscaping, trails, CPTED design, iconic gateways, lighting and other possible amenities to be considered as part of the design process.

The bottom line: this is a way for the Tampa Bay Area to move forward toward transit that can include both bus and rail in the future. It is our turn for a major project in this region. The money will go to another region if we do not follow through. If we let this opportunity pass, we will only be that much further behind in addressing our transportation problems. This can be a win/win situation if we work together. We can’t work on solutions unless we move forward and work together on a plan through the PDE process.

Again, we appreciate your interest in this issue, and hope that in the future we are able to engage in an open dialogue about transportation options for our future. We look forward to this opportunity.

Best Regards,

Ray

Ramond A. Chiaramonte

Executive Director

Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA)

New address: 4350 West Cypress Street, Suite 700 | Tampa, FL 33607

P: 813-282-8200 | 800-998-RIDE (7433) | F: 813-282-8700