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jon_chaissonThrough today's Cheers and Jeers post on Daily Kos, here's what Portland ME is going to use for some of the stimulus package. And let's put every item of Sen. Coburn's Ixnay List in bold, shall we?
• $5.2 million for city schools
• $12 million to eliminate combined sewer outflows
• $1.5 million to upgrade city computer and telephone systems
• $8 million to make the city's 40 buildings energy-efficient
• $1 million to build a bike path from Veterans Bridge to West Commercial Street
• $1.2 million to build a marine-related fire station
• $300,000 to hire more police officers
• $7 million to renovate the city's fire stations
• $4 million to renovate the public library
• $3.7 million for school building improvements
• $8 million for road construction projects
• $9.5 million for deep-water cruise ship berth at Ocean Gateway terminal
• $5 million to reconstruct the International Marine Terminal
• $23 million to expand the Portland International Jetport terminal
• $2 million to install energy-efficient lighting and make sidewalk improvements downtown
• $5 million to build a bicycle trail through the Bayside neighborhood and a pedestrian bridge over Franklin Arterial
• $800,000 for improvements to the Eastern Promenade
Hmm. Sure, there's a few that could wait, like bicycle trails and whatnot...but overall, I think this is a damn good shopping list. I think adding stuff that's vital to the community--say, upkeep of museums, creation of places for kids to go so they don't end up tooling around town with nothing to do and getting in trouble--isn't a bad idea. And let's face it--those like me who have driven all around New England most of our lives know for a fact that WE NEED BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE. Most of New England's roads are falling apart and most of the money that should have gone to it ended up being used for the Big Dig in Boston. So the so-called "highway beautification project" ixnay that you mention, Sen. Coburn? Try keeping a car in good shape up there in New England--it's pretty damn hard. Oh, and the South Main Street Bridge in my hometown that hasn't been fixed in over a decade because of budget constraints? Yeah, don't be surprised if the thing collapses and some people start suing.
So yeah...you might want to rethink that Ixnay list of yours, chief.
• $5.2 million for city schools
• $12 million to eliminate combined sewer outflows
• $1.5 million to upgrade city computer and telephone systems
• $8 million to make the city's 40 buildings energy-efficient
• $1 million to build a bike path from Veterans Bridge to West Commercial Street
• $1.2 million to build a marine-related fire station
• $300,000 to hire more police officers
• $7 million to renovate the city's fire stations
• $4 million to renovate the public library
• $3.7 million for school building improvements
• $8 million for road construction projects
• $9.5 million for deep-water cruise ship berth at Ocean Gateway terminal
• $5 million to reconstruct the International Marine Terminal
• $23 million to expand the Portland International Jetport terminal
• $2 million to install energy-efficient lighting and make sidewalk improvements downtown
• $5 million to build a bicycle trail through the Bayside neighborhood and a pedestrian bridge over Franklin Arterial
• $800,000 for improvements to the Eastern Promenade
Hmm. Sure, there's a few that could wait, like bicycle trails and whatnot...but overall, I think this is a damn good shopping list. I think adding stuff that's vital to the community--say, upkeep of museums, creation of places for kids to go so they don't end up tooling around town with nothing to do and getting in trouble--isn't a bad idea. And let's face it--those like me who have driven all around New England most of our lives know for a fact that WE NEED BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE. Most of New England's roads are falling apart and most of the money that should have gone to it ended up being used for the Big Dig in Boston. So the so-called "highway beautification project" ixnay that you mention, Sen. Coburn? Try keeping a car in good shape up there in New England--it's pretty damn hard. Oh, and the South Main Street Bridge in my hometown that hasn't been fixed in over a decade because of budget constraints? Yeah, don't be surprised if the thing collapses and some people start suing.
So yeah...you might want to rethink that Ixnay list of yours, chief.
