SORTA's relentless drumbeat for a tax increase continues

Make no mistake: It is coming.  The bureaucrats at and consultants for SORTA are constantly beating a drum for more of your tax dollars.

The latest comes in today's headline in the Enquirer: Study: 75K Cincy jobs unreachable by transit.

Now, the "company line" from SORTA is that, starved for resources, if only they had more of your hard-earned tax dollars they could provide quality transportation services for poor people in our fair City. 

The only problem is that we told SORTA and City Council all of this before they decided to spend $148 million building the Streetcar to nowhere and committed another millions per year to Streetcar operations.

Community-based organizations who make it their job to be concerned about these same poor people – the NAACP, the Baptist Ministers Conference, the Homeless Coalition – spoke vociferously and repeatedly about how the Streetcar would take scarce tax dollars that could be used to connect poor people to jobs, healthcare and shopping, and spend it on a useless amusement park ride for yuppies and urban hipsters.

So, as far as COAST is concerned, SORTA has made its bed and it can sleep in it – without any more of our tax dollars!

And let’s never forget the words of the SORTA resolution on December 17, 2013, at the key moment in the Streetcar debate:

The Board of Trustees of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority has volunteered to assume responsibility for streetcar operating costs.

So long, farewell to Rick Bryan and Jim Sumner

COAST is shedding crocodile tears this morning at the loss of BlueAsholes Rick Bryan and Jim Sumner in yesterday's Blue Ash Council elections.

The very long-time Council members were well known for junkets to Germany on the taxpayer dime, a massive parks project that cost taxpayers millions, and of course bizarre and inexplicable support for the Cincinnati Streetcar of all things.  Both had attempted to use the Blue Ash platform as a launching pad toward higher office -- Sumner to County Commissioner and Bryan to State Representative.  Both failed as the Blue Ash schtick did not sell on a larger stage.  Both also supported every bad idea to emanate from Republican loins, such as Congressman Jean Schmidt and the Jail sales tax.

The defeats are as thoroughly welcome as they are surprising, which speaks to the need to recruit strong candidates in every race.

So Rick Bryan and Jim Sumner, we don't appreciate your years of service to the taxpayers.  Don't let the door hit you in the ass as you head out.  And please don't come back.