Ray LaHood has given Rick Scott another week to mull over accepting 2.4 billion dollars in federal funding for High Speed Rail. The original deadline was today and as of yesterday Scott was still adamantly opposed. Today Scott and LaHood met in Washington and Scott was given another week to make the decision to accept funding.
St. Pete Times:Florida gets more time to vie for high-speed rail money
In a statement released Friday, LaHood said: "This morning I met with Governor Rick Scott to discuss the high speed rail project that will create jobs and economic development for the entire state of Florida. He asked me for additional information about the state's role in this project, the responsibilities of the Florida Department of Transportation, as well as how the state would be protected from liability. I have decided to give Governor Scott additional time to review the agreement crafted by local officials from Orlando, Tampa, Lakeland and Miami, and to consult with his staff at the state Department of Transportation. He has committed to making a final decision by the end of next week. I feel we owe it to the people of Florida, who have been working to bring high speed rail to their state for the last 20 years, to go the extra mile."
My optimistic take is that Scott must have expressed some degree of interest or LaHood would not have extended the deadline. Or that's what I'm hoping.