State of The Union

[know1]

I liked it when he told weezy not to answer the door..wait.....was I watching the wrong show?

I was watching "Jubilee" on KET instead. Hard to beat the Lonesome River Band.

[Chubminnow]

I was watching "Jubilee" on KET instead. Hard to beat the Lonesome River Band.

Can't believe I didn't DVR that!! Grrrrr!!!!

[Chubminnow]

Here's some more of the "newly" created jobs I guess. (Be sure to make note of the FORIEGN Companies who are reaping the rewards) >>>>>

Obama delivers $8 billion in rail grants
Jan 28, 11:25 AM EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Thursday placed a down payment on an ambitious plan to develop high-speed rail as a way to boost regional economies and provide transportation alternatives to cars and air in fast-growing areas.

President Barack Obama headed to Florida to announce awards of $8 billion in grants to 31 states and the District of Columbia.

The awards are also billed as "job-creating opportunities", a priority underscored by Obama in his State of the Union address on Wednesday. U.S. unemployment stands at 10 percent.

More than 30 manufacturers and suppliers have committed to expanding or establishing operations in the United States if their projects are selected to help build passenger lines, officials said.

"Many of the companies are based overseas" since the U.S. virtually abandoned rail development in the 20th century to focus on highway development.

Experts say developing high-speed rail in the U.S. will likely take years, with costs in the tens of billions of dollars.

The largest of the $8 billion in rail grants, which originated in last year's economic stimulus package, will go to major corridors, with more than one-quarter of the funds dedicated to California.

The state will get $2.25 billion for a 400-mile connector between Los Angeles and San Francisco, with trains designed to travel up to 220 miles per hour, U.S. transportation officials said.

Florida will receive $1.25 billion to develop an 84-mile link between Tampa, Orlando and Miami. Trains would reach 168 mph.

Illinois will receive $1.1 billion for the Chicago HubNetwork from Chicago to St. Louis.

The U.S. long-haul passenger rail system is generally limited to Amtrak, a federally subsidized railroad corporation created from the remnants of private passenger service nearly four decades ago.

Amtrak's Acela Express service in the Northeast, the closest thing to U.S. high-speed service, carried 3 million people in the fiscal year ended last September 30, pulling in $409 million in ticket sales.

Transportation officials say companies with potential commitments on the table include: General Electric Co's transportation unit; "Canada's" Bombardier Inc; "French" consortium Alstom; "Germany's" Siemens; Lockheed Martin Corp; "Korea's" Hyundai Rotem Co, Hyundai Motor Co's heavy industry unit, and "Japan's" Nippon Sharyo Ltd.



Freight rails, which own much of the infrastructure outside of the Northeast, could also factor into high-speed development.