osogato

I have to believe that Flynn will see the light. I don't know who he's been talking to this morning, but the fact that he is having conversations with the business community about funding operations seems hopeful, as does his statement that he feels more comfortable than he did on Tuesday. To keep my sanity intact, I'm going to take him at his word, and hold out some hope. I hope David Mann has a long talk with Flynn regarding why he is comfortable voting to proceed at this point, after getting assurances from SORTA that operational funding will be covered, and seeing the audit numbers.

Cindi Andrews ‏@cindiincincy 5m Flynn: There have been some productive talks this am - still looking for solution. Feel more comfort than tue that op costs can be covered. Angenette Levy ‏@Angenette5 37s Kevin Flynn says conversations ongoing with people today about private $$$ for streetcar funding. Won't reveal who @Local12

Cranley: "As you know it's a very small town..."

^Cranley also just said the same thing on cincinnati.com. Wow.

Supporters can only show up and speak today. Tomorrow there will be no public comment since special sessions of council don't require comments (and quite honestly won't change anything anyway since you can speak today). Also, please don't go in there accosting people on council who could be swing votes (berate Smitherman and Cranley all you want). This is a big point. We don't want to turn off either of the swing votes. I'd caution against berating anyone, whether they deserve it or not, as it may come across as petty and hurt our cause.

^ Cranley's number includes the operating costs that SORTA offered to take off the books yesterday.

And Cranley's response: Carl Weiser ‏@cweiser 2m BREAKING: Mayor @JohnCranley on KPMG study: 'I do not believe it is financially prudent to proceed." #cincystreetcar He claims the city will save over $100 million if the project is crancelled. Cranley will be answering questions at Cincinnati.com at noon today.

And there is this tweet from local COASTer Pete Witte: Pete Witte ‏@petewitte 11m Just build the freakin' #cincystreetcar BUT manage this project better and never ever choose to fund streetcar before basic services.

Scott Sloane on 700WLW: "I'm leaning toward saying let's finish the damn thing." Maybe the sky really is falling?!

From the Business Courier this morning: 'No, nein, nyet We're getting to the point where I'm thinking John Cranley's childhood puppy must have been run over by a streetcar.' Ha! http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2013/12/five-things-you-need-to-know-today12-18.html

Cranley was right. It doesn't cost $40 million to "say stop". It costs $50-80 million. I see this audit as very good news. Come on Mr. Flynn!!!

The audit is due to be delivered today at 10:00. Very interested to see what it holds. It will also be interesting to see how Cranley and Smitherman's "call to arms" goes, and how many anti-streetcar speakers show up at council today.

^ But, if he does cancel it, he can just blame the previous administration for starting it to begin with, as the lawsuits roll in and the city's budget is decimated. I'm very hopeful based on David Mann's statements, that the supporters will be able to break through Flynn's reluctance. It's going to be an interesting couple of days...

David Mann: “I’m ready to jump in. I’m awfully close to saying let’s go for it.” http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/12/17/vice-mayor-mann-on-streetcar-im.html

FTA head Peter Rogoff has already replied to City Council's letter sent yesterday. Considering what transpired this afternoon, it is interesting that he he advocates for the “earliest and strongest involvement of the area transit provider” in streetcar projects. That would be SORTA... The full text of the letter is attached at the link. Definitely worth a read. http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2013/12/17/feds-weigh-in-on-transit-involvement-in-streetcar/

Anyone hear of a response from David Mann after the presser? We're going to need both him and Flynn...

Cranley through out the old plan. It was to be funded by casino revenues.

Flynn says that if the audit comes back and costs are close to cancelling v. continuing, he will still need answers on operating costs. But, "we still have 2 days" to figure it out. Ugh... These guys are just sickening...

WCPO is also streaming. No sign of the Mayor yet. http://www.wcpo.com/live

^ A preview of today's press conference...

Tweet from 700WLW: Amy Murray says SORTA offer doesn't change anything... SORTA still funded by City. Wonders why funding was planned years ago.

I was wondering about this myself... Cranley could very well reject the offer saying that the City would still be indirectly paying for operations...

^ I'm sure Cincinnati.com will be live-streaming it. They've covered all the other pressers.

With Smitherman and Murray in attendance, it can't be good news. I'm sure Cranley had a back-up plan in case supporters were somehow able to secure the operating funds prior to Thursday's vote. Time to move on to the latest insane extortion attempt...

Cranley, Smitherman, Murray, and Flynn have scheduled a 2:30 press conference re: the streetcar. What now?