Nothing like a bit of an existential threat to focus republican legislators on that most foreign of concepts, work. Witness this article in Business Review.
The man who once called Amtrak's intercity passenger rail service "embarrassing as hell" was delighted on Wednesday to unveil the first initiatives toward bringing high-speed rail to the state.
Joseph Bruno, the state Senate's Majority Leader, announced $22 million in projects that bring the state closer to that goal. Half of that money will go to the Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak station to add a fourth train track, extend platforms and demolish an existing building.
Hooray, high-speed rail! No downside to this, right?
Wrong. Buried in the body of the story is the actual lede, which is:
All the projects spawn from a $5 million study several years ago on the possibility of creating a high-speed rail corridor between Buffalo and New York City.
In short, the story really should read: "Kicking and screaming after years of footdragging and delay, Joe Bruno finally does something that could have been done several years ago."
