The Strange Case Of Coconut Road; AK Congressman Young Gets $10 mil "Earmark" For Rd In Balmy FL

[maddezmom]

Why would an Alaska congressman care about a road-building project in Florida?

Well, he might if a Florida real-estate developer helped him raise $40,000 just days before the congressman introduced a measure that includes a $10 million "earmark" for the project.

According to The New York Times, the funding for a program to upgrade a stretch of pavement "that touches five golf clubs" along Coconut Road near Fort Myers, Fla., "appeared mysteriously in a 2006 transportation bill written by Representative Don Young, Republican of Alaska."

Days earlier, a real estate developer who owns "as much as 40,000 acres" along the road helped organize a fund-raiser for Young at a Florida hotel.
While it's "no secret that campaign contributions sometimes lead to lucrative official favors," the Times says, rarely are the tradeoffs "quite as obvious as in the twisted case of Coconut Road."

It's not the first controversy for Young, who drew attention last year for steering "more than $200 million to a so-called bridge to nowhere reaching 80 people on Gravina Island, Alaska."


more:http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/07/the_skinny/main2897385.shtml

[BlueManDude]

1. Fiscal Conservatism.