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Last night, I had to recycle something fierce.

I was on vacation in Iowa all last week, and when I came home there was a mound of soda cans, plastic jugs, beer and wine bottles against my back door. (Thanks roomie!) For the rest of Pinellas County, this wouldn’t present a problem: you just carry the items a few feet to the curb.

But, alas, I live in St. Petersburg, where the only thing lacking more than curbside recycling is police officers.

As the last bit of light left the sky, I loaded the recyclables in my car and trucked them to a nearby recycle center at Crescent Lake. I pulled in just as another guy in a red Jeep threw his last beer bottles in a huge green dumpster and left.

I parked and began throwing my own recyclables in. The cans clinked. The paper swooshed. And the beer and wine bottles crashed. Loudly.

As I strolled back to my car, I heard a disembodied voice yelling about “smashing glass.” It was dark and I couldn’t find the man with my eyes. I called out, “Where are you yelling from?”

“Right here,” he replied. I looked behind a dumpster toward the street and spotted him: A hefty, middle-aged man. Despite the lack of light, I knew his face was beet red.

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The talk has been out there for weeks now, but now that Obama’s nomination win looks inevitable, there is no doubt pundits will be pontificating on well-known (and not so well-known) politicians contending for the spot.

The Mother Jones website has a great piece out on Obama’s possible VP choices, their strengths and weaknesses.

The writer doesn’t mention Hillary Clinton since that issue has been examined already. I personally don’t think an Obama-Clinton ticket can work. In my experiences talking with Democratic voters, many Obama supporters are disaffected voters that don’t trust Clinton. And I also think he’s a stronger candidate against McCain than the hated Hillary.

That said, who do you think would make a good VP for Obama? Someone with foreign policy experience? A woman or Latino? Or another progressive candidate with youthful good looks?

Just in time for Memorial Day:

Yesterday, coastal expert Dr. Stephen Leatherman — better known as “Dr. Beach” — named Caladesi Island State Park as America’s Top Beach for 2008.

If you’ve ever taken a trip out there, you know exactly why: The sand is white and powdery and the water is a perfect blue-green. There are plenty of kayak trails, a lush mangrove forest and tons of birds. Best of all, there are no roads and, by extension, cars. In fact, you have to take a boat to get there.

Fort DeSoto, a frequent Best of the Bay winner, won this award in 2005.

I’m sure the Pinellas County tourism authority is having a party right now. And I hate to poop in their punchbowl, but there are some troubled waters on Florida’s west coast.

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I got some props from St. Petersblog today over my cover story about the most endangered buildings in St. Pete. It’s good to hear people still appreciate an article on history; not exactly the most sexy material out there, you know.

One of the blog’s writers, Casey, makes a good point about the planned demolition of part of the 600 block of Central Avenue:

In fact, Alex points out a very disturbing fact about the city block in question (you know the awesome old store fronts on Central at 6th): “on May 1, the developer requested a demolition permit from the city, which is pending.” The assholes who bought that block kicked all of those shops out almost 2 years ago, leaving them as a horrible reminder of failure and now it appears their demolition is finally imminent – sad day.

The Central Avenue situation is one of the most infuriating spectacles of St. Pete development. That little strip was one of the most eclectic in the whole city and they moved those retailers out … for what? A vacant block on the city’s premiere entryway decorated with spraypaint and “no loitering” stenciling?

One of the interesting pieces of info I came across in my research is this clause in the preservation code: If a developer wants to tear down a building that has local historical landmark status, they must prove their financing before the City Council will approve demolition. This is not the case with buildings without landmark status, which is why you have several vacant lots downtown right now.

Why can’t they do that for all buildings in St. Pete? Doesn’t it make sense to actually have the money for a project before you start demolishing whole blocks?

It’s all about preservation and the Rays’ stadium proposal in this week’s Creative Loafing.

Be sure to check out the cover story on the nine most endangered historical buildings in St. Pete. Even if you already read the print edition, there’s some new information about the fate of the First Baptist Church and the older homes along Fourth Avenue North.

(David Warner has a related short piece on a book of postcards showing buildings of St. Pete’s past.)

Also, Wayne Garcia and I tackle the latest news on the Rays’ stadium proposal.

And blending the two topics together, St. Petersburg Preservation Inc. released a statement yesterday on the historical significance of not building a stadium on the waterfront. Download that letter below.

spp-statement-on-preservation-of-waterfront-park-and-rays-owners-proposal-052108.pdf

After returning to Florida two years ago, one of my first “urban explorations” was driving on down to Upham Beach and taking a swim. Nearly every summer day growing up, my grandmother, who worked on St. Pete Beach, used to bring my brother and I there for some fun in the sun.

But on this day, as I walked onto the sand, I swore some jaundiced whale had beached itself on the shore. On closer inspection, I discovered the huge, yellow mounds were sand-filled fabric tubes used for erosion control.

Over the last several years, Pinellas County officials noticed that erosion is particularly bad on this part of Long Key. For years, they’ve paid to bring in tons of sand to nourish the beach area, to little avail. The installation of these tubes was a last ditch effort to stop the erosion.

Well, not everyone likes the water barriers. One group even has a petition calling for their removal.

On May 9, the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization “dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches,” published the “Free Upham Beach Petition.” They claim these tubes are detrimental to the environment and seem to have amassed research backing their claims, including an United States Army Corps of Engineers’ Coastal Engineering Manual and several professors from Western Carolina University.

They want all five tubes off the beach — along with a promise of no additional tubes in the future.

This is the Surfrider Foundation’s first local campaign.

So what do you think? Should the jaundiced whale-looking tubes stay, as Pinellas County officials want. Or do you agree with the Surfrider Foundation’s call to action?
(Photo courtesy of Surfrider.org)

Obamaniacs, Pam Iorio endorsements and photos galore!

Check out Wayne Garcia’s coverage of the Obama rally here.

Last night, St. Petersburg Preservation Inc. held an awards ceremony for property owners who have shown a dedication to the city’s historical structures.

As promised, here is the list of the winners (after the jump):

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Just in case you Obamaniacs thought you could grab some tickets for the presidential (nominee) hopeful’s appearance at the Times Forum tomorrow, I thought I should let you know: they’re gone.

To the uninformed, Florida history might seem like an oxymoron. But it almost goes without saying that the state, and the Tampa Bay region, has a rich history.

In  many cases, the only things remaining from that era are the buildings. And during Tampa Bay’s waves of condo development, those historical structures have fallen fast.

In the next Creative Loafing, my cover story deals with the nine most endangered buildings in St. Petersburg. Some of the structures on the list might surprise you.

In the meantime, St. Petersburg Preservation Inc. is holding its annual Preservation Awards ceromony tonight that honors property owners who see the benefits in preserving the city’s historic structures.

SPPI is holding the event at The Studio@620, 620 First Ave. S. Reservations aren’t necessary and the history buffs plan to have a cash bar. (Woo!)

I’ll post the winners later tonight or early tomorrow morning.

There are very few times in a journalist’s life when he or she can write seriously about “bumper nutz.” This is one such time.

On April 17, our esteemed representatives in the Florida Senate banded together to rid our streets of a dubious menace — plastic reproductions of bull testicles hanging from rednecks’ cars.

In a state rocked by budget cuts, home foreclosures, a rising crime rate, deteriorating education and insurance woes, the Florida Legislature has found time to debate the merits of, ahem, “truckticles.”

Are we really surprised that Florida has its own category on Fark.com?

Unfortunately, the bumper nutz bill is only one such example of a state legislature blinded by partisan politics and lawmakers’ focus on trivial issues almost in spite of our larger problems. From a ban on cell phones to laws against baggy pants, lawmakers are wasting time and money — our money — debating essentially non-issues. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear they were smoking salvia. But alas, they’re trying to ban that, too.

In this week’s cover story, Wayne Garcia and I tackle the state legislature. Garcia pens a satirical GOP memo while I report on the 10 most inane bills introduced this session.

Check those out here and here.

Then head on over to the PoHo blog for updates on the bills mentioned in the story.

Breaking news from the Times:

TAMPA — Early this morning, someone swiped a 6-foot hot dog costume from a Sonic diner on Bearss Avenue.

The hot dog costume, worth $1,600, disappeared at 3:50 a.m., according to Hillsoborough sheriff’s officials.

A witness saw a man running from the restaurant with a big hot dog suit in his arms, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

So many possibilities with this one, folks …

(BTW, the photo above is not of the suspect. Apparently, the Internet is full of photos of people in hot dog costumes. This one is courtesy of Officergleason.)

… and now it’s time to think about the animals on it.

Florida Voices for Animals is holding an educational event at University of South Florida-Tampa on Thursday, April 24. The animal rights activists will hold a demonstration in front of the university library between 9 a.m. and noon.

From their release:

In honor of World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL April 20th-April 27), Florida Voices for Animals (FVA) is organizing a leafleting event at USF Tampa’s library. World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL) is an annual event designed to expose the plight of animals used for testing and research. WWAIL seeks to arouse concern for animals in laboratories as well as educate the public about the scientific, moral, and economic objections to animal experimentation, also known as vivisection. Although recent changes worldwide have brought major advancements for animals in labs to end their use in drug and chemical screening tests, millions still remain captive in laboratory cages, subject to intolerable cruelty. Scores of innocent beings endure torture, life long enclosures and ultimately death for obsolete, imprecise, and heartless animal experiments.

Lab testing is a sensitive subject — this demo could get interesting.

Gwendolyn Reese, one of the candidates running for St. Petersburg City Council’s vacant seat, returned my call today, offering up some insightful comments not only on her candidacy, but also the politics surrounding the selection process.

Reese, a longtime community activist and CEO of Infinite Solutions, has never run for office before, but after Ernest Williams vacated his council seat, she felt compelled to apply.

“I would not be a politician, I’ll be a public servant,” she says. “There is a distinction.”

Reese says many residents in District 6 — one of the most diverse districts in the city — did not feel they had been represented well over the last eight years.

“I had been hearing that many white people in the community felt that they had not been represented at all,” she explains. “They felt very excluded, but that was also the case in the African-American community. We did not feel like we had the ear to our representative and that there was somewhat of a disconnect.”

As for her priorities, Reese echoes the other applicants I talked to: the threat of budget cuts and the Rays’ stadium proposal.

“A major concern for the African-American community is the redevelopment of Tropicana Field,” she says. “Many in the community feel promises made to them [when the stadium was first built] were not kept.”

(Earlier this year, I highlighted those concerns in a story about the old Gas Plant neighborhood leveled for Tropicana Field. Read it here.)

But Reese’s most interesting comments were on the politics surrounding this campaign-less election. As Darden Rice, who ran for the District 6 seat in 2005, told me last week: “Mayoral politics is the real 600-pound gorilla in this room, which is determining how [the councilmembers] will vote.”

Reese echoed some of those concerns.

It’s almost as if there are “gatekeepers” that a candidate must get permission from in order to run, she says, “and that’s just not something that I do.”

“I’m surprised by people who feel a candidate is an excellent choice, but don’t feel like they can support them openly or at all because of a system that is in place,” she says. “… Experience should be the requirement, not loyalty to something or someone.”

That kind of thinking is not only detrimental to constituents, she says, but “our whole democratic system.”

The City Council appoints their next colleague on Thursday.

Last November, before the Rays’ new stadium proposal towered over St. Petersburg politics, neighborhood activists, among them some of Mayor Rick Baker’s most vocal critics, watched the local city council elections intently.

Two of their own — Westminster Heights Neighborhood Association president Wengay Newton and former Northeast High School coach Bill Dudley — were facing off against well-heeled candidates backed by Baker.

When Election Day results came in, and the two self-styled “outsiders” (narrowly) won, disaffected neighborhood leaders heralded the vote as a mandate for City Council to address issues of fiscal responsibility and public safety that had long been ignored.

Yet Newton and Dudley would represent only two votes on a seven-member council that has invariably supported Baker for years. Then, in March, one of the mayor’s strongest allies left the council to run for state House district 55. (Earnest Williams, a two-term councilmember, lost to Darryl Rouson.) Neighborhood leaders saw another chance: Karl Nurse, former three-term president of the Council of Neighborhood Associations, suggested he’d apply for the open council seat.

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Dena Gross Leavengood of Tomorrow Matters talks “sustainability” in The Influencers.

The whole CL staff gives you: “100 Ways To Go Green Right Now.”

And suburbanites are growing “the green” in this week’s Urban Explorer column.

There are a plethora of environmental-type events happening over the next several days, as CL details in this week’s “Green Issue.”

One event that didn’t make it in: Tampa Bay Green Drinks.

Just like Drinking Liberally began as an opportunity for politicos to socialize and debate, Green Drinks International formed to give the eco-concious a weekly chance to talk about environmental topics in a relaxed atmosphere.

In 2006, the Tampa Bay chapter held its first gathering and they’ve rapidly gained members since, according to organizer and member Sean Brennan.

Today, Tampa Bay Green Drinks meets again at Mac Dinton’s Irish Pub.

From Brennan:

What: The original Tampa Bay Green Drinks monthly gathering
Where: Mac Dinton’s Irish Pub & Restaurant – 405 South Howard Ave. Tampa, FL. **On the main wooden deck that is immediately on your left as you enter MacDinton’s from the parking lot side. WE WILL BE ON THE WOODEN DECK** IF IT RAINS, WE WILL BE IN ONE OF THE EMPTY ROOMS INSIDE MAC DINTON’S. Look for the hanging TBGD sign.
Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2008
Who: Those folks currently interested in, wanting to learn more about ‘being green’ or ’sustainability minded’, or for those that just want to get together with a good crowd and network to see how we can all become a little more environmentally friendly in the Tampa Bay area.
Time: 6:00pm
Why: Fun, knowledge, contacts, drinks, info, inspiration, business ideas and pleasure.
How: Walk, cycle, bus, taxi, swim, teleport or any other low impact method

So grab a Creative Loafing and stop by for some conversation, beer and maybe a compost tip or two. Don’t be late — there’s two-for-one beer specials until 7 p.m.

On Saturday, while reporting on a future Urban Explorer column, I passed by ArtLOUD’s colorful murals and wooden cut-outs on that desolate part of Franklin Street between the Tampa Theater and Fly Bar. It’s not the first time I’ve seen the two-block display, but it is the first time one of the pedestrian cut-outs caught my eye:

Is it just me, or does this cut-out look like it’s engaged in public urination?

The guys over at St. Petersblog continue to push the St. Pete curbside recycling issue in their own snarky way. Yesterday, they posted a link to a form letter you can use to write Mayor Rick Baker urging him to adopt curbside recycling. Today, they’ve added a scathing response to a form letter they received after e-mailing Mayor Baker.

Particularly galling to the bloggers is this paragraph written by Sanitation Coordinator Bill Sundstrom:

A curbside program would have an annual operating budget in excess of $3 million dollars; generate environmental detriments associated with additional fuel consumption (20,000 gallons per year), vehicle air emissions and potable water usage, with minimal impacts to extending the life span of the Pinellas County Landfill. The high cost of operating a curbside program must be compared to the low resource return, typically from a 2%-4% reduction of the waste stream. This imbalance represents a negative influence on resource conservation, which is the goal of recycling.

That’s my bold up there, because I’m calling bullshit on this one, too.

Last December, during a tour of Pinellas County’s Bridgeway Acres, I interviewed sanitation technician Rick Clarke, who told me recycling is crucial to the longevity of the county’s landfill.

“Seventy percent of this doesn’t need to be here,” he said as we stood on top of an 80-foot mound of trash (the highest point in Pinellas County, I might add). “If all we did was recycle paper, we’d chop a third of it right there.”

When I questioned him on his feelings about the lack of curbside in St. Pete, Clarke didn’t want to comment, though he did say, “Where cities have curbside, there is a lot less recyclables [at the landfill].”

The fact is, St. Pete adds a disproportionate amount of recyclable trash to the county’s landfill. Even the county has recognized this: they’re considering taking care of St. Pete’s recycling themselves.

I don’t blame St. Pete officials for not wanting to start an expensive program when the county might go ahead and pay for it. But tell citizens that and don’t spoon us bullshit like the letter above.

In the meantime, maybe environmental types should take a look at St. Pete Recycling Solutions.

(photo credit: Peter Kaminski on Flikr)

Here’s a guy I never thought I’d hear about again: Mumia Abu-Jamal, the former Black Panther and radio journalist on Philidelphia’s death row.

Abu-Jamal, convicted in 1982 of fatally shooting a Philly cop during a traffic stop, became a cause-celebre in the late 90s for all types of counter-culture types like anti-death penalty activists and black power groups, who, like Abu-Jamal, claimed he was the victim of a racist criminal justice system. At nearly every large-scale protest in the late 90s, you could find some guy hawking “Free Mumia” stickers emblazoned with the prisoner’s dreadlocked mug.

Then, around 2001, I suddenly stopped hearing about him. After George Bush strolled into office, it seemed progressive organizations had bigger worries than some taxi cab driver on death row. But Abu-Jamal’s lawyers have continued to fight for a new trial.

On March 27, Abu-Jamal was denied a new trial, but a panel of three judges did rule he deserved a re-sentencing. And, unless the district attorney pushes for a new sentencing trial, Abu-Jamal will leave death row for life in prison. There’s still chance for this to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, too.

Once again, cities on both coasts are planning rallies; Abu-Jamal gets another day in the spotlight; freemumia.com will get a million more hits; and somewhere, some guy is fishing out his shoe box full of those “Free Mumia” stickers.

(Photo credit: Glutnix on Flikr)