Gulf Coast rail service moves ahead

The return of passenger rail service along the Gulf Coast from New Orleans to Mobile, Ala., moved one step closer to reality on Sept. 21 when the Federal Railroad Commission authorized a $178M grant to improve the tracks and build a new platform at the Alabama site. 

The announcement means the service, which has been suspended since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, could resume as early as the first quarter of 2024. 

A second rail project - for a New Orleans to Baton Rouge - did not fare well. The federal agency denied a $108M grant application, U.S. Rep. Garrett Graves (R-Baton Rouge) confirmed. 

A third Louisiana service application for the Interstate 20 corridor between Meridian and Dallas was not immediately known. (NOLA.com 09/21/22) New Orleans-Mobile passenger rail service gets federal grant | Local Politics | nola.com  

NOLA aviation charity offers funding for volunteer flights

The Charitable Aviation Foundation, a nonprofit group based in New Orleans, will offer funding support for volunteer pilot organizations (VPOs) engaged in charitable flights that benefit people, patients, animals and communities. 

Founder Jay Taffet noted he established the foundation to further the efforts of the about 100 U.S. organizations that fly more than 50,000 charity flights a year. 

The foundation raises money from aviation and non-aviation sources to help VPOs employ staff and recruit pilots, as well as purchase software and administrative systems required to pursue their missions.

“There are thousands of pilots around the country that volunteer their time" for these type airlifts. The organizations that match these volunteer pilots on humanitarian missions are indispensable to the wider nonprofit community,” said Taffet. “Unfortunately, there is very little funding visibility for these VPOs and, thus, a shortage of funds to expand their mission and impact.” 

The foundation will award grants to VPOs based on stated needs and will fund only those groups that meet or exceed the standards set by the Air Care Alliance, which promotes charity flights. 

“We actively solicit grant applications from the VPOs…towards quick-turn funding in support of their mission and services,” Taffet said. (NOLA.com 09/21/23)