[nfbmi-talk] From Ann Arbor

Fri Oct 8 02:57:14 UTC 2010

Hi,

Send away!

Warmest Regards,

Fred

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Marcus Simmons
Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2010 8:14 PM
To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] From Ann Arbor

Eloquent statement. Can we send it to our senators and representatives?
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fred Wurtzel" <f.wurtzel at comcast.net>
To: "'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 2010 7:27 PM
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] From Ann Arbor

> Hello,
>
>
>
> For those of us missing Newsline, here is an important editorial from the
> House of Representatives Speaker Pro Tem from Ann Arbor.  Of course
> transportation is important to all of us blind folks.
>
>
>
> Guest column - House Speaker Pro Tempore Pam Byrnes, D-Lyndon Township
>
> Guest column:
>
> Michigan can't lag behind on high-speed rails
>
> Posted: Oct 4, 2010 at 8:24 PM [Oct 4, 2010]
>
> A massive national effort is underway to upgrade our transportation
> infrastructure.
>
> While the current federal administration is setting the nationwide vision
> for rail
>
> travel, Michigan is dangerously close to falling out of the equation.
>
> Our state has routinely cut funding for Amtrak. Our rail service from
> Detroit to
>
> Chicago takes 5.5 hours, is unreliable and doesn't run frequently enough. 
> We
> can
>
> no longer dodge this critical investment. Unless we want to be left 
> behind,
> Michigan
>
> must show Washington we're truly committed to a comprehensive overhaul of
> our rail
>
> system. We must continue to modernize our rails now to attract federal
> dollars to
>
> make that happen.
>
> A comprehensive effort for transit in our state would lay the ground work
> for Michigan
>
> to reap all the benefits high-speed rail travel has to offer: creating
> construction
>
> jobs, connecting businesses and helping them grow, cutting travel time to
> hubs like
>
> Chicago by a couple hours, reducing our dependency on foreign oil and
> helping new
>
> industries locate here.
>
> The drawbacks of not upgrading our rail system should serve as even 
> greater
> motivation
>
> to act. With all of Michigan's economic struggles, we can't afford to fall
> further
>
> behind. We've all seen the devastating effects of the auto industry's 
> delay
> in adjusting
>
> to the global economy and how it helped deepen our recession - we're 
> paying
> for it
>
> daily in lost jobs, home foreclosures and continued cuts to priorities 
> like
> education
>
> and public safety.
>
> High-speed rail will make Michigan a better place for businesses to 
> succeed.
> We have
>
> top-notch research institutions, unparalleled manufacturing know-how and
> fine colleges
>
> and universities that continue to produce qualified graduates. It would be
> tragic
>
> to let this all fall by the wayside because we're not connected to a 
> modern
> regional
>
> transit system.
>
> Naysayers will roll out the same old arguments about government spending.
> And I understand
>
> that, but we're not isolated from global change. We can't sit idle, 
> because
> the world
>
> will leave us behind - and they'll do it in part - on high-speed rails. We
> don't
>
> have a choice. Yes, this will take investment, but innovation and progress
> always
>
> do.
>
> I'm not saying we need a 220-mph bullet train tomorrow - that's not really
> feasible
>
> without smaller steps first - but we need to move Michigan forward. 
> Letting
> our transportation
>
> fall even more behind is like putting a big "Closed For Business" sign up
> across
>
> Michigan. We can't afford that. We need jobs, we need businesses and we 
> need
> investment.
>
> Investors, entrepreneurs and federal transportation officials are looking
> decades
>
> down the road to determine how to use their resources today.
>
> We can't let our short-term struggles force us into short-sighted policies
> that
>
> will hinder our recovery and haunt us for the next century. The stakes are
> just too
>
> high.
>
> The future of our state and our children will be dictated by the decisions
> we make
>
> today. If we choose not to develop high-speed rail we will lose more jobs,
> more employers
>
> and more investment. We need all those things to rebuild our economy, move
> Michigan
>
> forward and create a brighter tomorrow. We need to develop high-speed rail
> in Michigan
>
> and we need to do it quickly.
>
> House Speaker Pro Tempore Pam Byrnes, D-Lyndon Township, can be contacted 
> by
> phone
>
> at (517) 373-0828 or toll-free at (800) 645-1581. Her e-mail address is
>
> pambyrnes at house.mi.gov
>
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