We had a chance to check out the new playground in Auburndale. I had been by a few months ago while they were re-doing it and never got around to going to see the finished product. All I can say is "WOW!" They did a spectacular job and it looks fantastic.

There are a few more pictures of the park in my photostream.

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Sebring, FL now has a Starbucks, Winter Haven does not.

I mean come on.

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I was in downtown Lakeland on Sunday for another event and happened upon the Florida Criterium Championships. Luckily I had my camera and was able to take a few shots. The full photoset is here.

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It's like this: Nicholas Negroponte head of MIT's Media Lab, declared in 1998 that the digital revolution was over. If that's the case, what's up with all this "digital" media around us? How is it shaping the way artists create work? The answer is, in surprising ways!

Polk Museum of Art decided it wanted to find out how artists in the state of Florida were taking advantage of technology, so it created a juried competition that was open to instructors and professors at Florida's public and private universities and colleges. They got the typical digital photography and films, but they also got paintings, prints, and (...get this!...) ceramics!

The show is called Digital Art in the Post-Digital Age: Works by Florida Faculty and it opens for viewing on Saturday, May 24. Don't worry, though. You don't have to rush over to see it THAT DAY. It'll be up through September 7.

Oh, and don't miss the reception on May 30. It's for this show and Karsh, Leonard, and Bagert: A Photographic Legacy. Herman Leonard and Jenny Bagert, two of the artists in that exhibition, will talk about their work at 6:00pm, and then the reception will begin at about 7. Stetson University's Mobile Performance Group will be doing their thing a couple of times before the whole thing ends at 8:30. $10 gets you in the door and it's a cash bar. I know I'll be there!

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It's been over two months since the News Chief was purchased by The Ledger. How's the outlook? I think this photo of the 'News Chief' sign might offer some foreshadowing.

Looks a bit temporary. You figure they could get a more permanent sign. In my review of the sale one of the points I made was that it didn't make sense for The Ledger to operate the News Chief under a separate masthead. They're competing against themselves. Their non-purchase of the Chief's facilities also raised this flag.

When will it happen? You know the statement that says something like, "We gave it our best shot, but unfortunately economic forces......"

3 months? 6 months? Perhaps we'll start a pool. I'll take either July 23rd or October 23rd.

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Is very depressing.....EOM

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Whew! It is hot out there, but let me tell you, Volvo Mayfaire is EXCELLENT this year.

People of all ages are coming out and enjoying the great art and the great food to be found around the lake. And a lot of people are wandering into Polk Museum of Art for a few minutes of AC and to see even more wonderful artwork.

So far, the MayFerries have been a big hit. Every time I see one, it's full! And when I was driving one this morning, the people I picked up were really pleased to be able to catch a lift.

We're looking forward to finishing off a great day, and celebrating some more at Mayfaire Saturday Night tonight. Be sure to come on down to Lake Morton in Downtown Lakeland before 5pm to see the art, and then mosey over to Lake Mirror for music by The Rogues and fireworks at 9pm. I'll see you there!

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That's probably as close as I'll ever get to commuter rail in Central Florida. It's my son's LEGO train set.

The defeat of the CSX incentive-laden bill has been hailed as a savings to taxpayers. Two quick questions though

1. When in the next few decades do you think building a commuter rail line will be cheaper?
2. How do you plan on building a rail line without some sort of involvement from CSX?

Here are a few quick answers:

1. Now or Never? If there is one certainty other than death and taxes, it's that major public-infrastructure projects don't get cheaper over time. So if you're complaining about the cost now, just wait a few years....especially when we don't have any Federal funds. Throw in a connection to Tampa and watch the cost get even higher. However land is a bit cheaper today than it was two years ago. Perhaps this recession is good for something :-)
2. Good Luck. They own the major rail lines in the area, so that leaves you with three options: a. build your own, sure....any estimate on what that right-of-way would be? b. deal with the devil, CSX that is....and I bet after this last go around they won't be lowering their price...or c. Use the center of I-4, after all that's what we widened it for right?

Once again regionalism has screwed over the area. Lakeland doesn't want more freight trains, Orlando is sick of them and wants commuter rail, Winter Haven doesn't seem to care as long as their is tax revenue to be gained. South Florida doesn't like funding an Orlando rail initiative with limited immunity, even though they benefit from a similar deal. The Four Corners is growing with residents that work and play in the Osceola/Orange area and we just killed their rail deal, that should go over well. The list can go on and on.

I hope that something good will come out of all this. Hopefully the entire region will begin to think about a good rail system, but it's going to be hard for any Orlando politician to deal with Lakeland for a bit. They'll get over it.....but when?

One day the planning will start and then the finger-pointing will resume all over. What's that...you want to build a high-speed rail connection between Orlando and Tampa but bypass downtown Lakeland and Winter Haven? No way!

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Will there ever be decent rail in Central Florida? In the past year I've seen a number of great commuter rail systems, but alas I don't think we'll ever get there.

I am often in San Francisco/San Jose/Palo Alto for business and I often use CalTrain when I'm there. I don't know the political/financial back-story on CalTrain, but I know it works for me and works well. If I'm at my Palo Alto office, I can get on CalTrain and be in the city within an hour and thanks to EVDO, I can work the entire way...or I can just relax. Something a car never allows. If only we had something like this in Florida.

I experienced something similar in the UK recently. Work had me staying in Windsor, but London was just a short/reliable train-ride away. The SouthWest Trains service was great and I ended up using it for three round-trips in 4 days. On two occasions I used it during rush hour. It's hard to imagine folks in Florida switching to a train-commute lifestyle, but I enjoyed it. Part of this is the make-up of our urban centers.......or perhaps more specifically our lack of urban centers. It would be nice to live in the English countryside and have work be a nice train commute.

Of course, once I arrive in San Francisco or London there is a good subway/transport system in place there to get me around the rest of the city. Something Orlando and Tampa are missing.

That's one of the often cited issues related to subways/rail systems. Cities like London/New York/Chicago had systems in place that allowed development around them. Trying to build after the fact is difficult and expensive, just ask MARTA about that.

When F O X, that's Florida Overland Express to you newbies, or whatever it was going to be called was a glimmer of hope I was just that, hopeful. I was traveling to Jacksonville quite a bit and the drive was killing me. I looked forward to sitting back, relaxing and doing some work while somebody else took care of the transit. Ah yes, dreams of the TGV and Thalys from my honeymoon in Europe.

So I'll repeat the question, will there ever be decent rail in Central Florida?

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So the CSX project is dead? The Ledger talks about the end of the CSX bill, while the News Chief talks about how the Integrated Logistics Center (ILC) is still on track (sorry for the bad pun):

Neither the intermodel center nor the ILC were dependent upon the commuter rail plan getting through the Legislature, said Sease, the CSX spokesman. If anything, it was the other way around, he said, adding that the commuter rail system will not work without the Winter Haven terminal.

That's the quote in the News Chief from CSX's Gary Sease. Is this true? Perhaps. If it is, things are about to get much more interesting, after all, we're just finishing season one.

Lakeland was upset with increased train traffic brought on by the ILC, or was it the commuter rail plan? Either way, they lobbied hard and won, at least they think they did. After all the CSX deal is dead. Well at least the commuter rail portion of it. But CSX says they're not related.

If the ILC goes through, then Lakeland will have their cake and eat it too, except the opposite...what's that? Losing your cake and paying for it too?

If the ILC is built, expect more freight traffic. What's stopping CSX from running more freight traffic through Lakeland/Polk County? After all, they own the tracks, can they do what they want? Actually that's a good question, Billy/Tom? Can they just do what they want, does it require any government approval to increase the number of trains, or can they just do it?

If so, then let's look at the recap: Lakeland helps defeat the commuter rail bill and manages to upset most of the Orlando area in the process. Then, at the end of the day it still might see more train traffic.

What's the next step?

What's that....the Van Fleet trail? Sure, that's easy for Lakeland....make it Polk City's problem, after all they're a bit below the lower-middle-class status and won't mind more trains.

What's the solution for commuter rail? Will we ever see a commuter line from Tampa to Orlando? And can that be done without involving CSX? Ask Dennis Ross (from The Ledger):

"They still hold all of the cards," Ross said, referring to the railroad corporation's ownership of the tracks.

In Part 2 I'll look at some recent commuter rail experiences I've had and in Part 3...well, we'll see.

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