The Last Train to Leander

One of the things I loved when I moved to Portland, OR, was the light rail. There was nothing more satisfactory than riding to work during the morning/evening rush hour, laughing maniacally as I passed all those poor saps stuck in the bumper to bumper traffic, their precious gasoline slowly idling out of their tail pipes into the ether. The appreciation of the light rail in OR was actually brought on by the fact that, in 2004, I voted 'yes' to the Austin commuter rail. Five years later and Austin has yet to see it. Perhaps this is due to the environmentalists claiming that the train would be too loud (Hello! It's a bunch of steel cars with steel wheels on a steel track. Of course, it's going to make a little noise) or the fact that, out of the $214 million Capital Metro had reserved in 2002, they have spent so much money on other projects that they can't afford the $85-115 million it would take to fund the commuter rail.

In this article, the author talks about Capitol Metro's inadequacy when it comes to actually starting the commuter rail. Granted they have attempted to get outside help, calling on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to offer expertise, but this hasn't been enough to get the ball rolling in the right direction. He (or she, as it were. Apparently, no one thought it important to give the author credit for writing this article...) appears to be appealing to those of us who voted for the commuter rail and are somewhat perplexed that it has yet to be completed. He/she has good points regarding the discrepancy when it comes to where the funding for the light rail seems to be disappearing to and how this is hurting Capitol Metro's already injured image in the public eye.

The author ends the article with a modicum of support for Capitol Metro's return to steady footing; although, this support is waning fast. It's very obvious, even to Capitol Metro supporters, that they have a long way to go before they can fix this blunder of a project. This area is bursting at the seams with new growth and the highways, as well as most people's sanity, could use the break from all the vehicular mayhem.

The Titty Tax

Sounds tit-illating, doesn't it? Do you ever wonder why the cover charge at a strip joint is so high? It isn't just to pay the waitresses, strippers, bouncers, bartenders, etc... A portion of that money is actually placed into a fund for sexually assaulted survivor programs. Seems a little ironic that a business based solely on sex should have to contribute to any fund that helps victims of violent behavior that most likely derived from visiting such an establishment.

House Bill 1751, 'The Topless Tax', is actually in limbo. It was considered unconstitutional and now sits in appeals. Despite this fact, the state comptroller still collects the surcharge from all 167 sexually oriented businesses in the state. As a result, all of that money meant for survivor programs is now just sitting in an account. $11.2 million, completely unspent.

Love them or hate them, these businesses exist all around us. Our right to free speech makes them possible. This article is an interesting read because most of us rarely spare a moment to think about what these businesses could possibly give back to society, besides an evening of lewd entertainment.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A744363