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VICTORIA For all the talk from the B.C. Liberals about turning around the finances on the money-losing Port Mann toll bridge, the latest provincial budget suggests they are still a long way from reaching the balance point on the project.

The financial struggle is factored out in the latest service plan for the Transportation Investment Corporation, the stand-alone entity established by the Liberals to oversee construction, maintenance and tolling on the Port Mann/Highway 1 expansion project.

The current plan offers a telling contrast to the one laid out by the Liberals three years ago, as the project neared completion prior to commencement of the tolling regime in December 2012.

Back then, the Liberals were forecasting that tolls would be bringing in more than $200 million annually by this point. Losses were projected at under $30 million a year. And the break-even point was to be reached in the financial year beginning April 1, 2017, just before the next provincial election.

But as it says on the patent medicine bottles, actual results may vary from those advertised on the label. And in the case of the Port Mann, reality was not long in demolishing the Liberals more fanciful projections, witness the contents of the service plan released last week.

Tolling revenue for the current financial year, ending March 31, has been scaled down to $120 million. The vaunted $200 million in annual revenue is nowhere to be found in the projections for the following three years.

With revenue projections down and operating costs (mostly debt servicing) unchanged, losses have multiplied to $89 million, triple what the Liberals were projecting just three years ago.

Far from shrinking, the losses are expected to keep growing to $101 million in the financial year beginning April 1, $102 million the following year and $106 million the year after that which is the one when the tolling regime was originally slated to arrive at the break-even point.

Gone from the service plan is any mention of the original, cabinet-ordered directive that the Port Mann project be put on a positive net income footing as of the financial year starting April 1, 2017. The Liberals quietly dropped that target two years ago, and have yet to announce a new one.

No wonder: the successive losses mean a corresponding escalation in the corporations cumulative operating deficit. It is projected to just about double from the current $312 million to $621 million three years from now.

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Vaughn Palmer: Theres no bridging gap between fanciful Port Mann projections, reality

Democrats on a Maryland Senate panel grilled Gov. Larry Hogans nominee for transportation secretary Monday about the future of the Purple Line light-rail project and decided to call him back for more questions before voting on his confirmation.

It did not appear that the nomination of Pete K. Rahn was in serious jeopardy, but his rocky confirmation hearing which also touched on several other controversies highlighted continuing tensions between the Democratic-led legislature and the new Republican governor.

Besides putting off a vote on Rahn, the Senate Executive Nominations Committee delayed decisions on four other Hogan nominees Monday night, with one Democrat accusing Hogans choice for environment secretary of dodging and weaving in his responses to the panel.

After the hearings, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) predicted that some of Hogans nominations would draw some no votes from Democrats when they reach the Senate floor. But I think theyll be confirmed, Miller said, adding that the Senate should give Hogan wide discretion in choosing leading members of his administration.

Before Monday, the Senate had voted on 12 other of Hogans Cabinet nominees, approving all of them, though some after delays. Hogan spokesman Doug Mayer said the governor is confident that his latest batch of nominees will ultimately be successfully as well.

Governor Hogan has selected some of the best and brightest from Maryland and around the country to serve the people of our state, Mayer said. We have the utmost confidence that these talented and dedicated individuals will be confirmed.

Several Democrats pressed Rahn about the likelihood that Hogan will move forward with the Purple Line, the planned 16-mile rail connection between Prince Georges and Montgomery counties. Hogan expressed skepticism about the project during last years campaign, saying Maryland needed to focus more on building roads.

Transportation officials said last week that they were pushing back by five months a major bid deadline for companies seeking to build and operate the $2.45billion project.

Rahn said Monday that he has asked the firms to find ways to cut the projects cost without altering the lines length or route. He said he is maintaining an open mind on both the Purple Line and a light-rail line planned in Baltimore. I have not precluded these projects going forward, he told the senators.

Rahn was also pressed on Hogans proposal to cancel scheduled increases in gasoline taxes, which Democrats contend would leave very little money for either mass transit or road projects in coming years.

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Democrats grill nominee for Md. transportation chief about Purple Line

Democrats are chomping at the bit for a chance to replace disgraced ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver next year in the downtown seat he has held for the past four decades.

Silver, 70, indicted on federal corruption charges Thursday, was first elected to the Assembly in 1976 in a district that takes in the Lower East Side, Chinatown and the Financial District.

But the crafty pol, who was forced out as speaker Feb. 2, days after his corruption arrest, is contesting the charges brought by Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara, which allege the assemblyman accepted millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks.

If hes convicted, Silver would have to forfeit his seat, but some Democrats arent waiting to see whether the wounded politico survives the criminal case.

Im very seriously looking at running for his Assembly seat, said downtown Democratic district leader Paul Newell, who garnered nearly a quarter of the vote in a 2008 Democratic primary challenge to Silver.

People are saying, Its time to move forward. We need a new kind of representative, Newell said. Silver has lost a lot of his ability to deliver.

Another downtown Democratic district leader, lawyer Jenifer Rajkumar, also is eyeing Silvers seat, sources said. Rajkumar previously ran for City Council.

Baruch College public-affairs Professor Doug Muzzio said, Theres blood in the water. Im sure youre going to see more candidates who want to run for Silvers seat. Id be surprised if theres not more than two candidates.

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Democrats are itching to replace Sheldon Silvers seat

SPOKANE, Wash. -

Immigration reform is a topic that is constantly making headlines from the Executive Branch of government all the way down to local jurisdictions.

The issue currently remains halted at the national level after the Obama administration's actions for immigration reform were blocked by a U.S. District Court Judge's order. The order prevents the President from granting quasi-legal status and work permits to millions of undocumented immigrants.

Here in Spokane, a citizen initiative regarding immigration status is in the signature gathering phase. Jackie Murray is the sponsor of that initiative which aims to repeal a municipal code change that made a decade old police policy law. That policy prevents officers from asking about immigration status when a person is pulled over for something else.

Murray says the law has made Spokane a "sanctuary city", meaning it is a safe haven for undocumented immigrants.

Although she is behind the initiative, Murray tells KHQ that she is not against immigrants as a whole. Murray's father was a Jamaican immigrant but became a citizen through legal channels.

"It's the ones that aren't coming through the system that I object to," says Murray. "We don't know who they are and what they're up to. I just think everyone should have to jump through the same hoops."

Those who want more options for people trying to become U.S. citizens say it's not that simple.

"When advocates for immigration are very adamant about immigration reform and meaningful immigration reform, it's because there is no legal way," says Gloria Ochoa, Chair of the Commission on Hispanic Affairs.

Ochoa says there are two ways for immigrants to become citizens. The first is labor based, meaning you can come to the country if you can demonstrate a shortage of jobs, particularly in the fields of science and medicine. According to Ochoa there is no category for unskilled laborers to come to the U.S. for jobs.

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Immigration debate continues in Spokane

St. Louis, MO (PRWEB) February 24, 2015

Attorney Susan Cho Figenshau has spent a lot of time counseling her clients on the impact of President Obama's executive action regarding immigration policy since last November when the White House announced the executive orders. According to the New York Times (02/17/2015), a federal judge in Texas has ruled that the president's actions were unconstitutional. Now that the proposed programs have been delayed by the court order, clients and attorneys alike are seeing mass confusion.

Because the executive order was a widely-reaching action, some of Susan Cho Figenshau's clients are confused about what does and does not apply to them. Many of her clients are businesses and documented immigrants who are wondering how the action will impact their applications for green cards and work permits.

"Whereas all of us get frustrated when there's a lack of action, immigration law services clients are expressing concentrated, deeper frustration, " explained Susan Cho Figenshau. She added that the executive order and the backlash it has received are causing a gridlock in the entire immigration process for immigration lawyers, their clients, and employers of immigrants throughout the country.

The law firm is attempting to reduce the stress of navigating the immigration process for clients, and the uncertainty and frequent changes in expectations and timelines due to the President's executive order and resulting adverse reactions in congress and by this weeks court order.

The first phase of the executive order, an expansion of a 2012 program delaying deportation for immigrants brought to the United States as children (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program), was set to begin on February 18, 2015. Thousands of undocumented immigrants had already prepared to submit applications with filing fees prior to the February 17, 2015 court order. Although the expansion has been delayed indefinitely, would-be filers are looking to immigration lawyers for up-to-date information and to seize the opportunity if the expansion does roll out.

"This is a situation we have to watch day-by-day. As an immigration lawyer, my job is to look behind the headlines. Whereas headlines highlight undocumented immigrants, other components of the President's executive order and other components of proposed immigration legislation that has deep and broad impact on national security, employers, and legal immigrants," Susan Cho Figenshau stated.

About Susan Cho Figenshau, P.C.

Susan Cho Figenshau, P.C. is an immigration lawyer with 20 years of experience in immigration law. She represents employers in numerous fields, including technology, telecommunications, healthcare, educational and more. To learn more, visit http://www.strictlyimmigration.com

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Attorney Susan Cho Figenshau Discusses Recent Delays to Immigration Reform