(The following appeared on the Lakeland Ledger website on February 17, 2011.)
LAKELAND, Fla. — Gov. Rick Scott has spoken: No high-speed rail in Florida.
The $2.8 billion project was expected to run along an 84-mile route between Orlando International Airport and downtown Tampa, with a stop in Lakeland.
If the project had proceeded, it would have been the first high-speed rail line in the United States. As a result, the project was the focus of international attention.
Lakeland and Polk County officials blasted the decision by Scott.
They said it was disappointing, lamentable, and showed a lack of vision.
The full story appears at www.theledger.com.