Biztimes:
The Obama administration plans to quickly reallocate money designated for high-speed rail if states granted the funds reject them, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
LaHood made the announcement Monday night to hundreds of politicians, businesspeople, urban planners and rail enthusiasts gathered in New York City to assess the state of high-speed rail in the United States. The three-day conference was presented by the U.S. High Speed Rail Association (USHSR).....
....Ohio Governor-elect John Kasich, also a Republican, has called a planned $400 million high-speed rail line to connect Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland a “dead train.”
....There are "a lot of states that would like to have access to that money," LaHood said, and reallocation will be done quickly.....
Kasich's narrow-mindedness has just closed the door on real vitalization and job creation. Perhaps if Kasich had a view of how the world moves and works, he would have had his eyes open to the realm of possibilities that passenger rail would have provided to Ohioans. Has he ever traveled on the amazing passenger rail systems in Europe or has he only been transported by limo?
As the saying goes, "Opportunity seldom knocks twice." How will Kasich replace those 16,000 jobs? Anyone? (If Kasich follows through on his planned cuts, those 16,000 lost jobs could be added to the possible 10,000 state employees that lose work.)
_________
> > > Gov.-elect John Kasich has made an announcement:Toledo Blade:
Gov.-elect John Kasich has named a farmer and state representative to be Ohio's next agriculture director.
State Rep. James Zehringer will replace Robert J. Boggs, who has served as head of the Ohio Department of Agriculture under outgoing Gov. Ted Strickland.....
......The 58-year-old Zehringer is owner and operator of Meiring Poultry and Fish Farm. He was appointed to the Ohio House in February 2007 and was re-elected without opposition this fall to a district representing Mercer, Preble and parts of Darke County....
In case you were wondering, Project Vote Smart has this about James "Jim" Zehringer's background:
Education:
Diploma, Fort Recovery High School
Professional Experience:
Owner/Operator, Meiring Poultry and Fish Farm
Political Experience:
Representative, Ohio State House of Representatives, 2007-present
Appointed, Ohio State House of Representatives, 2007
Mercer County Commissioner, 2003-2007
Zehringer would replace Gov. Ted Strickland's Director, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Robert J. Boggs. Here is part of the bio for Robert J. Boggs, from the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture:
....Boggs is currently vice president of the Midwest board of directors of the Food Export Association of the Midwest USA. He is also past president of the Midwest Association of State Departments of Agriculture and serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.
Raised on a small dairy farm in Ashtabula County, Boggs received his bachelor's degree in government from American University in Washington, D.C., and a master's in public administration from Kent State University. He served as a state representative and state senator for 24 years and as a county commissioner for 10 year....
As you can see, their backgrounds are entirely different.
!!!!!!!!! There is one more thing about James "Jim" Zehringer that you might find interesting!!!!!!!!!
From March 9, 2010 Talking Points Memo:
...Master of ceremonies and former state Rep. Jim Buchy, president of Buchy Food Service, opened his remarks at the Darke County Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday with a comparison between Obama and the 16th president.
According to audio recorded by someone at the dinner and obtained by TPMDC, the joke concludes with: "Lincoln was a skinny lawyer. Obama is a skinny lawyer. Lincoln was a Republican. Obama is a skinny lawyer. Lincoln was highly respected. Obama is a skinny lawyer. Lincoln was born in the United States. Obama is a skinny lawyer."
That was followed up with a more subtle crack from State Rep. James Zehringer, who said he read over Portman's Wikipedia entry, which starts by identifying him as an American lawyer. "Rob Portman is an American lawyer. That's the first sentence [on his Wikipedia page]. That's something our president can't say," Zehringer said....
(Audio is also available at the TPM link.)
Any questions??????