Category: Tampa Bay
An empty Tropicana Field for a Tampa Bay Rays game in September 2019.
It’s stuff that has to do with the region – from events, to news, to sports, to politics to music.
"It's Your Store" – almost no more
The Shoppes at Boot Ranch started to be constructed around the time I moved into Palm Harbor 19 years ago. The first major tennent was a mid-west food chain named Jewel Osco… The plaza was still under construction and by the time it was finished, there would be a Target and a Eckerd Drug store as well.
By the time I was in middle school — I think seventh grade (circa 1992) — Jewel Osco was being sold to another supermarket chain that had a bigger presence in Florida: Idaho-based Albertsons.
AlbertsonsAnd so it went for 17 years. I’ve shopped at this location from time to time, I’ve worked at this location and made a bunch of friends (and lost a few along the way)… There have been highs and lows… But the standard that has been maintained is that Albertsons was around and I had a history there. I have nostalgia hit me often at this location.
But this morning I ventured to Albertsons to do some shopping and what I encountered was just plain sad. Of course, it’s already known that Publix bought Albertsons locations throughout Florida and the new location in Boot Ranch would and will serve Publix well and dandy compared to their antiquated store across the street in East Lake Woodlands…
But to see Albertsons on the way out was painful. 10-20 percent off signs were up on every aisle, the meat racks were bare, and the store was not receiving shipments from certain grocers or companies any more it seemed. I mean, how many supermarkets do you go into and find the Little Debbie snack rack completely empty?
Of course, other racks remained full because of poor decisions by whoever made them initially — why were George Foreman grilles on sale in a supermarket? Or Hummingbird feeders/food? Their boxes were worn down from sitting on racks for extended periods of time with no one actually purchasing the items. This was the case for a lot of things in this store and I would not be surprised if any of these items I am thinking of (mostly small appliances) had been on the shelves since I worked at the store 12 years ago.
Certain bulk racks had been taken down near the entrance and the store seemed void while filled. Yes, it was a Sunday morning at a supermarket but for one reason or another, this location never drew in the teeming masses that Publix draws in across the street and elsewhere in Palm Harbor.
I really wish I had brought my camera when I was at the store. I don’t know what Publix plans for the location. A renovation? Or just a retrofit? I really hope they don’t rebuild the building, but I could honestly see it happening with how aged and infrastructure is.
I ache with nostalgia, thinking of bagging groceries inside that store and hauling shopping carts in the parking lot back into the building from October 1995 until December 1996. There are good and bad memories that come to mind, along with current troubles in my head and heart that also have roots at that store. But in the end, I bow to the hand of commerce and progress. I hope I get to the store again before it closes and changes to Publix… But that remains to be seen if it shall happen.
Albertsons to Publix for Cash Considerations
It finally happened.
Albertsons Tampa Bya locations have been sold to Publix supermarkets. Why do I say it finally happened? Because I had posted in the past that East Lake Woodlands publix was done for in it’s current incarnation. Now it is assured.
Meanwhile I hope everythign turns out ok for long time friends who work at the 500 East Lake Road Albertsons that will become Publix.
The history of Tropicana Field and Tampa Bay’s quest for MLB is one hell of a book
One of the hot topics around the Tampa Bay metro region right now is the Tampa Bay Rays proposed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida. I’m not going to bother getting into the arguments but after reading a few knee-jerk reactions and misinformation about the plans… Well, I felt it was important that people actually familiarize themselves with why the Dome was built in St. Petersburg in the first place.
I read Stadium for Rent by local author Bob Andelman during high school and it showed the battle — political and logistical – to get Major League Baseball in town.
It’s out of print but there are copies for sale out there, also the entire thing is available at the above link. It’s very much worth a read for both pro and anti-stadium people. I oppose the stadium for economic issues (the timing sucks, Stu) as well as logistical reasons, but it’s important to be armed with the facts instead of making up hearsay or misconstruing what is really going on.
I plan on buying a used copy of Stadium For Rent for quick reference in the future. I’ve held it in high regard long enough….
Why is that stadium in St. Pete anyway? "Stadium fot Tent" shows why
One of the hot topics around the Tampa Bay metro region right now is the Tampa Bay Rays proposed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida. I'm not going to bother getting into the arguments but after reading a few knee-jerk reactions and misinformation about the plans... Well, I felt it was important that people actually familiarize themselves with why the Dome was built in St. Petersburg in the first place.
URL: https://www.johnnyfonts.com/2008/05/20/stadium-for-rent-bob-andelman/
Do us all a favor, Media General…
For the umpteen-hundreth time, the Tampa Tribune / WFLA / TBO mothership is trying to cut corners and cut costs in order to boost the stock price of Mother Corporate.
So, Media General, here is my suggestion to you: Sell the Tribune, sell WFLA, sell TBO.
The Tribune has been butchered for decades now – decades – because Mother Corporate wants to boost stock price and cut costs. I have heard nothign for years upon years about an expansion of coverage. I’ve only heard fo cutbacks “in order to serve you better”.
The fact is, Media General can’t afford their media trifecta, their “Crown jewel”. The evidence is that they keep cutting corners and further contract these two mainstays of the Tampa Bay area (and their online counterpart) in an effort to please Wall Street.
A little wet, but much more normal
So it’s almost nine PM here in Pinellas County and for the day, the Pinellas County official rain gauge has registered over 2.5 inches of rain, and well over 14 for the year.
That’s a sharp contrast to last year where we had only 10 and a half inches of rain going into July.
You can't get there from here
It’s spring now and Florida’s weather is perfect. Touching near eighty with blue sky stretching as far as you can see. A wisp of cloud here and there and breezes just keep things right.
Perfect weather and perfect to go out and do stuff in, right?
So I got the urge to get out and about the Bay area during this past week and – just to humor myself, I checked PSTA‘s web site in order to see if there was a bus route I coudl take to get elsewhere in the Tampa Bay metro area. And herein lies the mockery of mass transit options in Tampa Bay or poor use of tools that have been newly employed on local web sites.
So earlier in the week I wanted to go across county lines to downtown Tampa and meet up with a friend to hang out. Cynically, I already knew the chances of me finding anything were slim to none (means to get into the other county) or impossibly out-of-my-way… But I decided to humor myself and just go to the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority’s website and see what I could find… Read More
East Lake Class of 1997
OK, so lets start with soemthing short and undetailed: I graduated high school ten years ago back in June.
Yup, that’s right, it’s been ten years since the summer of 1997 — when the Spice Girls were still somehow relevant, when that little probe touched down on Mars and shocked and awed the US and the rest of the world (OK, that was July… I’m just referencing the past here).
Well, next week will be my 10 year high school reunion from what has been announced over and over again to registered alumni on MySpace. Some people are out of this world excited about this. On the other hand, I had a former classmate tell me in person (and I am paraphrasing here) “I don’t want to see those people.”
Me? I’m the latter but at the same time, I’m a bit of the former. I’d love to see or talk to some people that I knew and were friends with again – touch base and what not…. Then I remember how odd High School was for me socially: not the normal variety of High School awkwardness that most go through but try being hearing-impaired to a grand extent on top of it.
This is where I should insert a colorful anecdote or two about social awkwardness without ones hearing — like thinking someone asking me if I worked at Publix was asking me if I supported abortion, or the time someone simply asked if I was going to a homecoming dance and I had no clue what they said and just guessed they wanted paper — but I’d rather not. Besides, both those aforementioned encounters were with people above and below the Class of 1997 and this is supposed to be about those people.
You know, over the years in my online endeavors, I’ve hoped to come across some of my friends or past acquaintances by chance and sometimes less by chance and more deliberately. I’ve hoped to hear from some people through this web site or through some of the alumni directories that I’ve been registered with… But mix in the social ineptitude from my high school days and you don’t have that happening.
That’s why darling, it’s regrettable, that you are so god damned forgettable…
On another note, I had someone else contact me on the night of their ten-year high school reunion…. Someone I hadn’t heard or seen in close to 19 years… An old classmate and friend from my childhood on Long Island (who was taking the same position as I — not attending her reunion). So my cynicism about people not getting in touch with me over the past does get muted just a bit from that. Not just that but it made me feel better knowing I wasn’t, ahem, so “god damned forgettable”.
east Lake’s graduating class of 1997 was somewhere around 700 — give or take — and only 75 are committed to the reunion. Me? I’ll be in Los Angeles and on a jet plane home during the reunion events next weekend – so nix the idea of me and my shadow being anywhere near this.
Of course, I’m not sullying those who are attending or those who wish to attend…. I’m not trying to knock high school reunions in general either. I am trying to point out that sometimes, the link to a past you didn’t enjoy isn’t going to be popular. And me as a link to the past tends to be highly unpopular.
Just in time for the weekend
…an ode to Suburban Hell:
Pleasant Valley Sunday
Gerry Goffin and Carole King
The local rock group down the street
is trying hard to learn their song
to serenade the weekend squire
who just came out to mow his lawnAnother Pleasant Valley Sunday
(Sunday)
Charcoal burning everywhere
Rows of houses that are all the same
and no one seems to careSee Mrs. Gray, she’s proud today
because her roses are in bloom
And Mr. Green, he’s so serene
He’s got a TV in every roomAnother Pleasant Valley Sunday
(Sunday)
here in Status Symbol Land
Mothers complain about how hard life is
and the kids just don’t understandCreature comfort goals
they only numb my soul
and make it hard for me to see
My thoughts all seem to stray
to places far away
I need a change of sceneryAnother Pleasant Valley Sunday
(Sunday)
Charcoal burning everywhere
Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
here in Status Symbol LandAnother Pleasant Valley Sunday
(Ahhhh Pleasant Valley Sunday)
Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
(Ahhhh Pleasant Valley Sunday)
(repeat X times)
Dry and true
So there has been rain in the Tampa Bay area the last few days, yay rain…
…Whoopty friggin’ do.
Anyone in Pinellas County that wants to think we’re in the clear with drought conditions need only look at the official Pinellas county rain gauge on their web site. It feels sick and cruel that the tally through today (July 2nd) is 10.59 inches of rain for the year.
2007 is half way finished and we’re only about one fifth of the way to the average rainfall total (Clearwater, Florida’s average yearly rainfall total is 49 inches according to Florida Living Network. The St. Pete Chamber of Commerce lists the city of St. Petersburg’s annual rainfall total at 48+ Inches).
We haven’t hit the Fourth of July yet, nor the peak of the hurricane season (two sub-tropical storms and only a bit of rain from both) and I’m fearing how our water outlook will come November.
Palm Harbor, Yahoo'ed
I’m a regular user of Yahoo! Local as a tool… Pretty good for looking up local information and I find the interface a lot better than online Yellow Page listings in general.
That being said, there are still problems there…
Local businesses need to be reviewed and sometimes listings need to be removed. For instance, Jaguar Coffee has been gone from Palm Harbor for years upon years (how I miss Java Jungle — Jaguar Coffee’s predecessor) and yet their listing still exists. Same with the now-closed Palm Harbor Ale House as well as other businesses.
The Yahoo Local listings are very much an online social network of reviews and user driven content… But of course users have to be willing to get active on their own Yahoo Local area in order for the content to be accurate.
Taking a chance
Yesterday I had something happen that hasn’t happened before… Well, it has but I wasn’t confident to the same degree when it happened in the past. I wasn’t compelled to act immediately like I did…
I applied for a job.
Not just a job, but a high profile job.
Not just a high profile job, but one in a different city, in a different region…
Not just a high profile job in a different city, but one that is being offered by a campaign attached to a former presidential candidate.
I really should be more skeptical — and I am in a lot of fashions — towards the job I applied for with John Kerry. It was advertised on Daily Kos and that means hundreds of thousands will not only see this thing but probably apply for a job too.
The thing is… I know this job. I AM this job. I have been doing most of the roles that are described in the online agenda for years on my own. I’ve done them voluntarily, I’ve done them for next to nothing… I know this role, I have confidence I could do this job and do it well.
But in the end, it ain’t up to me now is it? At least not right now.
I’ve never lived away from home for more than a few days. I have been 2300 miles from home without family oir friends around as a social safety net though. While Boston would be like that, it’s much easier to reach my extended family in New York and Connecticut.
What’s gonna happen now? I don’t know… Could I even get up to Boston for an interview? Let alone find myself taking the position? have no clue, but I know one thing — I am that job. I have confidence in that fact and I only wish I had this opportunity more often, closer to home, to prove it.
Don't let these lapse
Last year, I purchased a couple domain names – TampaBayRail.com and TampaBayRail.net. I intended to launch a web site on mass-transit and address the Tampa Bay area as one region. Not a separate-but-equal take that local government has had in the past on transit solutions. But those plans were soon forgotten as other issues worked into my life (including hand surgery, political campaigns and walking the dog).
Now, for those of you aware of what the local blogosphere has to offer, you already know David Pinero has Tampa Rail.org up and running. Pinero’s site is a great civic orientated pro-rail web site. The plan in my noggin’ with my own blog/site were just to ride the “rail” names but talk about all transit issues in general. But all of this is really beside the point, so let’s move on.
Basically, time goes by, the seasons change, the Gators were champs and John Grahame sucks. A few weeks ago I got notification from my domain registration company that both domain names were soon going to expire. I could renew the domain names for however-many-years I’d like or I could simply let them disappear into the digital tumbleweeds of the interweb. They’d likely be snatched up by a spammer or domain-name broker with no interest in Tampa, Tampa Bay, transit in Tampa Bay or rail in the region.
The whole thought reminded me of what happened to the previous official website that the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County operated regarding a rail system. A few years back (2002), those governments held the rights to TampaRail.com (check the wayback machine). For some reason, the powers that be (City of Tampa? Hillsborough County?) let that domain name expire around 2003. The name was quickly snatched up and exploited by a Russian domain name broker. The web site and url shifted to BlueHeronMedia.com, then ended up drifting into oblivion before being removed from their servers. Tampa’s official rail website was as dead as the pro-rail movement in the region. But the movement is now stirring again.
This past summer, we were all witness to the grand spectacle of the Hillsborough Expressway Authority trying to launch a new sprawlway through the region. Along with Mayor Pam Iorio (and the Tampa Bay Partnership and Tampa International Airport) renewing a push for a regional rail system through the Tampa Bay area. Emphasis on the Tampa Bay regionalism of their presented interest.
So, what’s a guy to do? I have control of TampaBayRail.com and .net. I could sell them and possibly recoup some of the costs of the domain names — eventually. Instead, I decided to do some good. I offered both domains to the City of Tampa. You entrepreneurs may see this as a waste of money on my part, but just consider it a good deed.
Suffice to say, the city was receptive of the idea, so both names are now controlled by Mayor Pam. I don’t expect you to see a regional rail website any time soon, but there is the possibility for a united Tampa Bay rail effort on the web — with TampaBayRail.com potentially it’s base location on the web.
Who was that masked man?
I got a memory sticking out in my mind in the Tampa Bay area. One that doesn’t have an answer every time I look around Google or something…
I can remember in the early 1990’s here in North Pinellas, there was a candidate running for office that was of some noteriety… He would end up losing but the fact he was running in the first place made him noteworthy.
Yes, that Bob Barker…
IMDB says nothing of him once running for any elected office. I don’t know why I have this memory that he ran but I am certain he was on local public access along with other such stuff in the early 1990’s — maybe 1990, 91 or 92 to be exact.
Where do these memories come from with no proof at all of them existing? Oh well…
Pinellas Disconnectocrats
(NOTE — my post below has nothing to do with the Pinellas Democratic Party, it’s members or it’s direction. Apologies beforehand for any confusion or any suggestions this was targeting the local party.)
I’m getting pissed off.
I’m a user on a non-official Pinellas Democrta mailing list/user group and I’m just shocked and dismayed. Somewhat because of what is said on this, but mostly because these are (supposedly) Democrats saying it. I’m not sure if I should accept this as the normal discontent of Democratic voters or if I should feel this is wingnuttery going on?
Losing a room mate
Many of you don’t know this but about 19 months ago or so I contact a guy who was using blogspot to post his items for his Tampa based blog, about me hosting his blog and upgrading things for him.
It’s been a long, strange trip but in the 14 months I’ve been officially hostingSticks of Fire, it’s gone from blogspot hotspot to dot-com phenom. I knew at the time I approached Tommy about upgrading things that he had something great going on… Little did I know how much it would grow.
Tommy Duncan is probably the Bay area’s most unheralded media star. He gets invites to speak in various capacities (round table discussions, conferences, TV spots) and pretty much has Tampa covered with himself and his cast of supporting writers.
And now, Tommy has taken the next step by getting into a business alliance with Tampa Gold. When that officially kicks off, Tommy will be departing from my server space at Dreamhost and going to the land of far-far-away… Or on shared hosting package with Tampa Gold, take your pick.
I haven’t seen profit from hosting Tommy’s site and I haven’t requested payment for doing so. I never stuck in some personal reference (“Hosted by Dreamhost” etc) or anything like that… It made me feel good to be doing this.
But to just make a long story short, I want to wish my buddy well with his new venture and I hope it takes him where I couldn’t take him — to his rightful place at the to of local pop culture and beyond.
Assets, liabilities and idiocy
Just why does the St. Petersburg Times persist with ranking candidates assets and liabilities as financial clout or debts? A political candidate’s financial porfolio should play absolutely no part in how a voter decides his or her vote.
True assets and liabilities are determined to voters by candidates philosophies, their standces on issues and their endorsements and the identity of campaign contributors. The fact a candidate has 2 mortgage’s on his/her house isn’t going to effect their votes unless they are shady individuals to begin with.
Another nail in Amtrak's coffin?
I’m not trying to knock Amtrak as so much declare there is a major need of a revamped national railway system…
This latest incident is proof positive of it.
Amtrak, the federal rail authority, operates passanger service throughout the continental United States. Where the federal government has been more than happy to subsidize the auto industry and the airline industry, Amtrak has been another story…
Operating on antiquated tracks, sharing tracks (and playing second fiddle) with freight trains and having a sub-par/failure of a High Speed Rail option are proof positive Amtrak needs a makeover. Congress and the current administration are fast to say that it’s weight should be shed entirely but that’s really lacking forsight.
The network needs to be upgraded — via a private entity or the federal government — and would provide thousands of jobs by doing so. Ultimately it can shrink dependance on foreign oil…
…but of course, you can’t do it any time soon. The financial black hole fo the Bush administration prevents us from doing that.
Restriction-less
The St. Petersburg Times ran a story today about how watering restrictions are needed — Now — in Hillsborough County. It also went on to point out restrictions in place:
Commissioners put off until May 17 a hearing on whether to reduce watering to once weekly from two days. Some other area governments, such as Pinellas County and Brooksville, already impose that sound restriction. With the last heavy rain in February, and nothing significant expected for weeks, the region’s demand for water has soared. Last month’s demand was 22 percent higher than what utility officials expected. And for the first time, demand in Hillsborough outstripped Pinellas. Hillsborough commissioners should have seen the impact they could have made to help the region scrimp along until the wet summer months.
Excuse me, did you say Pinellas?
Living at the top’o’the’bay here in Pinellas county, I’ve seen neighbors watering twice a day every day for the past few weeks. I’ve seen absolutely nothing in the paper (be it the Times or the free Suncoast News ) suggesting Pinellas is restricting water usage, let alone enforcing watering restrictions.
I don’t know if this is bad journalism (I doubt it) or more like bad – if not terrible – enforcement and advertisement of watering rules in county.
Bigotry against Hearing Impaired: Performance Computer Group of Tampa
What decade do we live in? The 1950’s or the 2000’s?
I’ve got a laptop computer I basically can’t use not because it’s not in working order but because it doesn’t have the capablity to do what I need it to do and thus it makes the machine expendable. I’ve been looking for a way to move the laptop without losing a ton of money on the deal.
I looked on the Tampa Tribune‘s website and through their classified ads in an effort to look through the Laptop market and see if anyone was trying to purchase laptop computers in Tampa. I found www.tampanotebooks.com which is operated by Performance Computer Group. They’ve got a shop on Dale Maybry and they say that they buy used laptops – working or not.
I figured to call them up and see how much I could get for my machine… A phone call isn’t such a painful thing after all. Even if it is Voice Carry Over through the Florida Telecommunications Relay Service.
So I called up Performance Computer Group of Tampa — three ring slater a man picks up and the text that comes across my TDD phone reads thus:
“Uh, we don’t do any Relay calls. OK, thank you.”
*Click*
Some people don’t get what a Relay call is… It’s when someone deaf is calling you through a carry over service. It is not an excuse for you to treat a caller like a complete piece of shit. I’ve dealt with that from Bright House Customer Service and Capital One customer service as well. Usually I call back and get a representative that isn’t such a moron.
But in this case? The company just lost my business and came off like he was against the Relay system to begin with. “Why bother? Just some deaf clown trying to hassel me.”
Missing Piece of History — Jim Morrison in Clearwater
I’ve read a couple of books on Jim Morrison and the Doors (favorites? Riders on the Storm by John Densmore and No One Here Gets Out Alive by Danny Sugerman, Jerry Hopkins) and I’ve been enamoured by Jim Morrison’s poetry and lyrical artistry. I’ve always been curious and captivated about his time in Clearwater, Florida after his parents sent him to live with his grandparents and go to St. Petersburg Junior College.
I’ve finally found more than any book would tell. I’ve found more than some books have speculated.
In all of these books, the writers have simply thrown a quick mention to Jim Morrison’s girlfriend for 3 years, Mary Werbelow, and then dismissed her as nothing much but a sideshow to Jim’s life of excess and glamour. The problem is that Mary held a bigger piece of Jim within her than many – including me – are able to comprehend. I’ve been taught that Pamela Courson was supposedly everything to Jim and this Mary girl was just a quick fix before the main course was served in Venice Beach (meaning the Doors formation).
That’s not the case.
Mary has refused interviews for 40 years up until now. His connections to Tampa Bay are further shown and his connections to Mary as well (The Crystal Ship was for her, The beginning and end of The End were talking about her). I’d also say The beginning of Stoned Immaculate is a reference to meeting Mary:
One summer night, going to the pier
I ran into two young girls
The blonde one was called Freedom
The dark one, Enterprise
We talked and they told me this story
The article by the Times talks about how Jim met Mary at Pier 60 on Clearwater Beach while she was with another friend (also named Mary).
At any rate, I’m just real excited about this for no other reason than more information being made clear. Much like Deep Throat finally coming out – some secrets aren’t left up to imagination….
Put a bullseye on E.L. Woodlands Publix
East Lake Woodland’s Publix has been around for… Oh, I don’t know how long… It’s on the cusp of the ritzy and posh Pinellas suburb of East Lake and draws shoppers form East Lake, Oldsmar, Palm Harbor and Saftey Harbor…
…in the smallest Publix in the area.
The store is almost always under renovation — every couple of years things are re-painted, re-aligned and what not. The only problem is that these renovations don’t do much to fix the flaws of the building in general and how Publix is trying to operate the store on less floorspace than most standard Publix supermarkets.
Crowded aisles, support beams int he middle of aisles, lack of selection due to lack of space… It all factors in to simply hurt the location and can’t be remedied by simply white-washing the building over and over again.
I’m counting the days until I hear this store is to be closed, demolished and then rebuilt… And trust me, it will happen. Tarpon Springs (US 19 and Tarpon Avenue) Publix just underwent such a change. Us 19 / Curlew Publix was a former Grocery store – but after the store was leased it resulted in a all out demolition of the where the store would be and renovation of the shopping center. Dunedin has a store that was totally demolished and rebuilt, and Coral Landings Publix (Palm Harbor on US 19 north of Tampa Road) was built just to the south of an existing Publix that served the Highland Lakes retirement community (that stoer is now a Stein Mart).
The biggest problem facing Publix, I would think, replacing the building is the lack of space for them to play around with in the shopping center. They are next to a key driveway for the shopping plaza and a high tension power line cooridor.
Tricky to work with – not impossible though.
Losing the location for a couple of months would hurt but I would think the windfall would be well worth it. A superior store to local rivals and a death grip on North Pinellas as the MUST Super Market with superior quality staff, service and selection…
The Myth of Rain
It is SO FRIGGIN’ HOT!
September in Tampa Bay is supposed to be just like August, or July, or June — hot, humid, and wet… The wetness is supposed to come from not only tropical showers but the chance of a tropical system (Tropical Storm or Hurricane) coming through the area. On average, Tampa Bay gets almost 3 and a half inches of rain in September.
In 2005? We’ve gotten two hundreths of an inch of rain.
Things are drying and dying out at an incredible rate and you have to wonder just when we’re goign to go back to severe drough warnings and conservation in the area…. We’ve grown since the early and mid 1990’s when we were last stuck in a drought and water consumption must be at an all time high…
The reason it’s so dry and hot? Thank both Hurriance Katrina and Hurricane Ophelia. Katrina sapped the moisture in the region as she headed for Louisiana and then Ophelia formed and not only absorbed moisture but blew dry winds from the Carolinas right over Florida…
With that wind pattern — all we have is heat and haze… It’s disgusting, it’s painful and there is no end in sight despite Tropical Storm Rita’s projected forray across the Strait of Florida.
I’m upset I am heading to Los Angeles early next month right now — I’ll be going rom dry and hot to dry and cooler… I’d like MOIST. I’d like RAIN… I’d like WET…
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In The Neighborhood
Taking my buddy Tommy’s cue, I decided to sign up Boltsmag onto the Blog Feed map:
It’s sorta cool to see other blogs around me but at the same time — some of those blogs are troubling.
Real Estate
It’s scary to find that there are more places I can afford rent wise in Los Angeles than there are in teh Tampa Bay region.
Unless I suddenly win the lottery that is :}
Walk like a Sabal
Jenna’s got something going for her and going against her at her apartment in central Clearwater. She happens to live in the Sabal Walk apartment complex which is near the corner of Highlands Avenue and Union street.
The complex is close to shopping, which is a plus. It’s not far from Clearwater Beach or the Intercostal Waterway which is also excellent. It’s at a central location close to her parents and her friends (such as this Artful Dodger) and it’s got a hell of a lot of floorspace for a one bedroom apartment. It’s also reasonably priced.
…but there’s a reason for that.
Jenna moved in when we were dating in February and before she moved in, she found a huge piece of sheetrock removed from the ceiling. The Office Manager said there had been a leak but it was fixed. It only took a couple of days in the apartment to find out it wasn’t however.
And Jenna waited, and complained, and waited for the roof to be repaired. The only means of repair that Sabal Walk employed was poking a hole in the sheet-rock so that water would flow out more easily… That and vacuuming up water that accumulated in the bedroom.
It took until just this past week to get the roof repaired — four months?! And yet there are other incidents around the complex where the apartments are leaking.
Of course, this is disregarded by the powers that be. I didn’t mention that the majority of the Sabal Walk populace is minority. Anywhere else and there’s a media sensation about slum-lording at Sabal Walk.
But down in central Clearwater, also known as Crackwater, it’s simply written off.
SO just for future reference — Sabal Walk happens to have pretty good prices if you’re willing to deal with poor maintenance. You also better not be some bigot or you might not enjoy your stay.
Skypoint and Tecocam
Being developement minded (and by developement, I don’t mean paving over wetlands to build Wal-Marts — Ugh) I like seeing all the projects that are finally going on in Downtown Tampa to further strengthen the urban core.
And though I can’t get downtown that often to keep tabs of things, I tend to hang out on Skyscrapercity just to (hopefully) see pictures of developements as they progress. Unfortunately that isn’t often the case (meaning no one posts photos as-so-much talks about things and expects everyone to know what the deal is because they’ve seen it first hand).
So I’m actually a little giddy that I am going to be able to follow developement of the Skypoint Apartments by using the Tampa Electric Company’s webcam
Will wonders never cease?
Well, Johnny wrote letters to the Clearwater City Councel along with Pam Iorio and Rick Baker (in seperate letters) discussing the possibility of a ferry link between cities….
Well? Gues what? Someone else thought that Tampa and St. Pete could be a great ferry route and are funding a study on it.
They are at least looking into it – not because of what I wrote but just because. I’m happy about that though.
Pinellas Rail's Backwards Tale
Well, well, well, the Pinellas County MPO gave their blessing to a slightly-poor-but-better-than-nothing Monorail system in Pinellas County. The seeds of Mass transit are either sown or they are buried before their funeral has commenced.
I’m not a big fan of the separate-but-equal mass transit planning of the Bay area, that’s part of the reason why I call the plan slightly poor. I’m also not a fan of the idea that the current scheme basically ignores commuters in North Pinellas who have the farthest to travel.
But my opinions on Pinellas County Mass Transit and the proposal are better than my opinion on some of the comments coming from Pinellas County Commissioners who are against the concept. Let’s take Susan Latvala for example:
“I just think we’re too developed to integrate something into our system,” County Commissioner Susan Latvala said. “We’re way too far down the road for this.”
When things get built out – that’s when Mass Transit comes into play. Why doesn’t that logic register with Latvala? Has she ever been out of Pinellas County? What IS the solution if not a rail system? Wider roads? More roads?
I guess Susan is resigned to the idea that every commissioner from this point on should be convincing Pinellas County residents they can’t do shit about traffic…
This plan is part of a coordinated mass-transit effort that Karen Seel can’t quite grasp:
“In 95-degree weather, will someone really take the rail and walk the rest of the way?” said Seel, the MPO chairwoman.
I guess she doesn’t have much confidence in how well coordinated this will be with buses and trolleys as was stated in the MPO endorsement. Buses running in coordination with rail stations cut down on wait times. As it stands right now, Pinellas County buses are running in a non-coordinated effort and in poor run times. Seel’s statement gives blessing for this – not seeing mass transit improvements tied to the monorail system.
Either it’s a step forward or a step deeper into the back-water politics of Tampa Bay. Only time will tell if Pinellas will make the right call on mass transit instead of allowing further traffic fatalities and headaches because of commission indolence and fears of the unknown.
Hoyt Hamilton, come on down!
I got a response from Councilmember Hoyt Hamilton of the Clearwater City Council over the Ferry idea that I floated with them.
He brought up the fact that they had offered a free ferry in 2000 and it saw a little bit of ridership and before it, a private ferry was in service that charged 3 bucks round trip and did poorly.
I got encouraged that someone replied at all… And now I’ve gotten my head on straight and typed up another letter, thanking him for it and then talking about some issues that I have with what he brought up.
The Free Ferry operated on weekends alone. I have no clue what the hours were. It operated for 3 months total and saw some 2650 riders. Losses were 500 smackers a day. Ok, good. Now how come you were only operating it on weekends when tourists are on Clearwater Beach or trying to get to the beach all week? Were you specifically tryign to cater to the locals who would be beach hopping on the weekend?
How much advertising was part of this free ferry service? I wasn’t a beach visitor in 2000 and don’t recall any press about the ferry being in existence – let alone publicity about using it to get to and from Clearwater Beach.
If you’re goign to do something, you can’t just do it half assed. That’s what Clearwater seems to have done with the ferry while it was in operation. I’ve been out on the beach during tourist season this year and I’ve seen how the spring break crowd is confined to the strip…. That or traffic dodging while trying to walk the Clearwater Memorial Causeway.
My reply letter is already typed up and ready to send. I’m glad I got a response. Now let’s see if Pam Iorio (or one of her staff) or Rick Baker (or one of his staff) reply.
Got Marketing? Segway of Clearwater doesn't
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m big on the Segway HT. The media laughs at it, people in general ridicule it and everyone I have seen ride it smiles instantly and loses their negative tone at least for a while when onboard.
It’s a thing of freedom to the disabled – though not medically approved by the FDA. It’s a vehicle of fun for those who are tired of the automobile.
And it’s the most poorly marketed item possible at Segway of Tampa Bay – Clearwater.
While Tampa Bay lacks mass transit – a vital part of the Segway’s appeal to get where you’re going faster while not quite going bike speed and going much faster than foot speed – it has traffic issues that have been brought up time and again by moi and others aroudn the blogosphere. People are looking for alternatives for short commutes and such and Seg of Clearwater is no where in sight.
Downtown Tampa is currently undergoing a developement boom and those who are going to be living downtown are going to need a means to get around that shouldn’t include the car – something that will travel where the TECO Streetcar won’t. St. Petersburg already has a large urban populous. Segway of TB – Clearwater? They’re on the beach showing off the device but not actually catering to potential customers. To show up on Clearwater Beach with the device sells the item like a novelty to the masses and not as a legit means of transportation.
Going to their web site, they laude sight seeing over mobility. They avoid the transit question because they happen to be exotic car dealers – why shut out one means of business with your other means of business?
It frustrates me when something that can be used is mis-advertised or just plain swept under the rug. Such is the Segway in this suburban hell.
Just what does it take?
I can get pissed at the election but what good does that do?
I’d like to move but what good does that do changing things? Improving things…
What does it take to actually run for political office? US House of Reps for example… I don’t think The Distinguished Gentlemen is that great of a point in trying to get a gauge of this.
I've failed you, Rebecca McKinney
There’s been a story that has been runnng pretty strongly through the Tampa Bay Area for the last week… It’s something that I take a personal interest in… No, that’s not correct. Or it just feels wrong and short stepping for me to say I take a personal interest in it.
Let me start by telling you the situation: A sixteen year old girl by the name of Rebecca McKinney was hit and killed on McMullen Booth road in Pinellas County, Florida last week. She was crossing 6 lanes of highway after the school bus dropped her off.
I tell you that I take what happened personally not because I am related to Rebecca McKinney – I never knew her. I never met her. I take personal interest in this because I feel like I have failed Rebecca McKinney and thousands of pedestrians and motorists around Pinellas County and in the Tampa Bay Area.
I’ve been vocal in the past 6 years about various transit conditions in Pinellas County. You can point out absurdities left and right, which I did, but what it comes down to is change. And from an advocates point of view, I changed absolutely shit.
And for that I apologize to Rebecca McKinney’s friends and family.
I’m not a government official – I just badgered them time and again and didn’t accomplish anything. I’m not a Department of Transportation worker. I’m just a citizen who wanted those assclowns to stop mis-designing roads and thoroughfares and making other bad decisions based on money and not wanting to spend.
The reason I feel I failed her, that I indirectly caused Rebecca’s death, is that I’ve grown tired of the rhetoric. I wasn’t vigilent… I couldn’t have changed things myself alone but I could have kept trying. I should have kept trying. I should have kept writing, I should have stopped being pissed off at the fact certain St. Petersburg Times editors weren’t thinking my letters newsworthy… Or my letters to Pinellas County Commissioners were turned into mush because of political bullshit being spewed from those very County COmmissioners who are out of touch with conditions out there. Heck, I should have started to badger Pinellas County Sherrif’s for their lack of policing the roads. There own cruisers tend to speed instead of doing traffic duty.
And what’s going to come of Rebecca’s death? That also makes me angry – there will be talk, denials, there will be scapegoats made out to appease those upset by what happened. There will be planning, workshops, there will be community forums…
And yet nothing will change. There won’t be vast improvements made for pedestrians. There won’t be driving alternatives for daily commuters who were witness to this accident. There won’t be help for law-enforcement officials to make sure drivers obey the laws of the road. The simplest plan will be adopted, the one that costs the county the least amount of money. Commissioners will applaud it and say it’s a step in the right direction…
And then nothing…
…until the next tradgedy.
A 16 year old girl was robbed of her life, of her future. If the Pinellas County School Board, the Pinellas County Commission, the Pinellas Sheriffs office and the Department of Transportation want to dismiss this like I believe they will ultimately do – it’s blood on their hands. If these bastards don’t think changes are in order – no matter what the cost, for the sake of lives young and old – then let them be escorted out of office post haste.
This is the 21st Century in Tampa Bay and the market is one of – if not the – worst for pedestrians and for motorsts alike. I’m sick and tired of the thrift-shopping solutions for transit woes from government officials.
Rebecca McKinney probably wouldn’t have died if changes had come to how we do things around here.
And for that, I’m sorry. My vigelence may be renewed, but at too high a cost.
There’s a sexual joke in here somewhere regarding Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Charley has decided not to give Tampa Bay a blow job but instead decided to go down on Charolette to the south.
Figures
OK, power was never turned off here and I am angry at my kneejerk family who decides to give me vague news. The huge news is we in the Tampa Bay Metroplex have escaped the full wrath of Charley and are instead getting second-hand frontal bands in his wake.
In a related Story 10 Tampa Bay News has been the absolute worst storm broadcast I have ever seen. It doesn’t help things when your studio is in a prime evacuation zone well away from urban centers in St. Petesburg or Tampa, but when your transmission quality bottoms out in your new location and you stop getting outside information? That’s horrid.
Give Paul Delagato big props for not only carrying the ball passed to him by his mentor and Flrodia weather guru Roy Leap, but for goving above and beyond to get news information and updates to people at home when the information becomes availible. Of course, Howard Shapiro and “Drunk” ANdy Johnson also deserve props for being part of teh best weather coverage in Tampa / St. Pete, but Delagdo is WTVT’s main weather personality and head meteorologist.
More weather coming in so we aren’t in the clear yet but this was a big, big, BIG escape for Tampa Bay. No one was crying wolf with this storm from the get go and the region handled the evacuations and such swimmingly.
Atonement
I posted last night about Hit for the Cycle and Charles Hamilton’s quest to bike to every MLB baseball stadium. I also posted about how crappy the Devil Rays game was for him and how much of a hard time the Rays gave him.
Well, in an attempt to make up for the sins of the local team, I’ve been trying to give some extra press to Charles by emailing local sports personalities. I’ve also offered to host his site and set up a web log for him — if he wants it. I’ve also offered to buy tickets at another stadium for him in case he needs them… because if the Devil Rays won’t give him a freebie, a Devil Rays FAN will do what he can to set him up for a freebie.
