TCPalm: Brightline benefits from malodorous state government

By: Treasure Coast Newspapers Editorial Board

Malodorous: 1) having a bad odor; 2) highly improper

If you think Brightline's latest deal smells bad, you're correct.

If you think taxpayers deserve better, you're right on the mark.

When this type of institutional behavior is allowed to pass for good government, average citizens don't stand a chance.

On June 19, the passenger rail company, formerly known as All Aboard Florida, gained approval from the Orange County Commission for an environmental resource permit. In short, Brightline agreed to trade other land for the right to convert more than 100 acres of wetlands along the Beachline Expressway.

Brightline needs the wetlands for 22 miles of right-of-way adjacent to State Road 528 — part of the company's 235-mile passenger rail project that eventually will connect Miami to Orlando International Airport…