Daily Loaf

As speculation continues on what led to Thursday’s crazed shooting spree by Nidal Hassan at Fort Hood yesterday, the Secretary of Veteran Affairs, General Eric Shinseki, is scheduled to speak today on the USF Tampa campus.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her underlings will be working furiously today to try to gather the 218 votes she needs to pass a health care reform bill that includes a public option tomorrow.

And the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce intends to honor Mayor Rick Baker tomorrow for all of the successes  that the Chamber believes have occurred under the Baker administration.  But there are activists who say the whole story needs to be told, and they plan on protesting the event tomorrow night.

We may not have an audio podcast up today.  But we’ll be back for certain on Monday a.m.

What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this last week:

Builder goes green with their eco-friendly homes in Terrace Park, Tampa- One company, Rising Force Construction, has undertaken the task of creating affordable, energy efficient homes that promote sustainable living in Terrace Park, an established neighborhood just south of the University of South Florida.

Two more screenings scheduled for Fresh: New thinking about what we’re eating- You now have two more chances to see this new film about what’s wrong with the mega-industrial food industry.

Hope springs from tragedy: A city rebuilds to become better, stronger and greener- Greensburg, Kansas rebuilds to be an all green city. Vote in their green home design competition!
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Lady Liberty, ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone – only darkness every day. Our St. Pete house just ain’t a home when she goes away. You can forget about solar panels in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mayor Rick Baker has completely robbed the city of all sunshine. And as for Lady Liberty, I wonder if she’s gone to stay. (Click here to hear the song that’s already playing in your head)

The St. Pete times recently reported that agenda items that come before the St. Petersburg City Council are a “done deal” before they are brought to a public forum, according to Councilman Jim Kennedy. This means that any time you or any member of the public speak at a city hearing, your testimony and evidence will not be considered by the board because they have already made up their mind in a meeting with the mayor days before. “It may be a done deal because it has been analyzed and its been massaged” said Kennedy, who openly admits that the Mayor regularly conducts private meetings with council members to ensure his ideas will get a majority vote.
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St. Petersburg, charming and picturesque as the city is, has suffered one consistant complaint from its residents: the lack of a city curbside recycling program. I’ve even made this complaint from myself, finding it odd that North Pinellas would have curbside recycling, while a more progressive and environmentally aware area of the same county would not.

Under the watch of Mayor Rick Baker, St. Petersburg became the first “green city” in Florida, and once the example was set, many other Sunshine State cities followed (often encouraged by Mayor Baker himself). The Mayor even drives a hybrid car, so the lack of curbside recycling is not through a lack of consideration for the environment, inconsistent as that seems at the surface.

I knew there had to be a logical explanation for it, though. Surely Mayor Baker must have a reason for not implementing such a program, especially with so many voter’s voices in favor of it, so when I had a chance to talk to the man, it was one of the first questions I asked him.

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Children’s Book Week (May 11-17), a national celebration since 1919 now administered by the Children’s Book Council, kicks off in Tampa Bay with a number of bookish events, including:

Spaghetti Dinner at the Library Inspire a love of learning and celebrate Children’s Book Week with Mayor Rick Baker at the 11th annual event. Mayor Baker reads a special story in the community room before inviting everyone to a free spaghetti dinner. Each child in attendance also receives a free book. 6 p.m. Mon., May 11, Johnson Branch Library, 1059 18th Ave. S., St. Petersburg. Call library at 727-893-7113 to confirm there’s still space; reservations closed officially on Saturday.

Todd Parr at Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library. Bestselling children’s book author Todd Parr comes to town to read from his books and talk about what it’s like to be a children’s author. Parr’s 25 books include The I Love You Book, It’s Okay to Be Different and the beloved Otto series. His characters also inspired the award-winning television show ToddWorld. Books will be available for purchase for Todd to autograph after each program. Meet Todd at Bloomingdale (10:15 a.m.), Keel (1:30 p.m.) and New Tampa (4 p.m.) libraries today.

Educator’s Evening Learn about great book ideas for recommended reading and classroom curriculum additions, along with giveaways, door prizes and  discounts. In order to best serve the needs of the audience, please call in advance with the grade level you teach. 6 p.m. Mon., May 11, Inkwood Books, Tampa, free, 813-253-2638, inkwoodbooks.com.

For today’s non-book events, read on: Read the rest of this entry »

Go Red for Women Luncheon This American Heart Association-sponsored event features three women who receive a Go Red makeover and the first female winner of NBC’s The Biggest Loser, Ali Vincent (above), as the keynote speaker.  11 a.m. Wed., May 6, A La Carte Event Pavilion, Tampa, $125, 813-831-5190.

Tale of Two Cities: Tampa and St. Petersburg. It’s the Battle of the Bay, as Mayors Iorio and Baker face off at Centro Asturiano in Ybor to discuss the history, culture and characters of Cigar City and Sunshine City. It’s an opportunity for residents to compare the history smarts of their top public officials, and a chance for the mayors to one-up each other on their towns’ relative merits. Wed., May 6, 7-8:30 p.m. Centro Asturiano, 1913 N. Nebraska Ave, Tampa, 727-873-2006. Sponsored by Florida Humanities Council. Free admission.

Lifetime of Laughter Comedy Benefit. A comedy show to raise funds for diabetes research features Mark Eddie, who combines stand-up with guitar, and Ybor’s own Roy Johnson, winner of the 2006 Maxim/Bud Light Real Man of Comedy competition in Atlantic City. Wed., May 6, 8 p.m., The Tampa Improv, Ybor City, $20.

A little furniture store from Sweden opens today. If you aren’t already in line by the time you read this, maybe you’d better wait for the crowds to thin out before you visit. Think July. Read the rest of this entry »

Memorable moments from attending my first World Series game last night:

1) St. Pete Mayor Rick Baker getting booed. Well, not Baker exactly. It’s just that, while he was making his way through the crowds in the stadium concourse,he got bunched up with a scrum of red-clad Phillies fans — who regularly drew boos every time they were spotted by vocal Rays fans (of which there were a few). So they weren’t really booing at the mayor – I don’t think.

2)  The climb up to the double-letter seats in the 300 section (formerly known as tarp seats). Now I know I really don’t want to lose that bet with Brian Howard in Philly.

3) The fact that it’s just as much fun to scream and cheer and cowbell like crazy from up in the ‘cheap’ seats as it would be, say, from the seats directly behind the dugout (although you do get a better view there of Raymond shaking his/her rump).

4) The ultimate Rayhawk: Perfectly dyed and positioned atop one bald guy’s head to look like he’d found a raccoon tail and stuck it to his scalp.

5) The sweet predictability of it all: The Rays lived up to Tampa Bay’s expectations that Philly would give us trouble all the way to the last inning, and yet the Rays would, as always, triumph. And the Phillies lived up to their fans’ expectations that the team would have ample opportunities to seal the deal, and yet  would, as always, choke (11 men left on base!). For further insight into the city that never gets the respect it deserves, particularly from its own citizens, read my former Philly City Paper colleague Howard Altman (now with the Trib) on Philly’s self-flagellation complex. (Favorite line: ‘Philly fans hate everyone and everything, but nothing as much as themselves.”)

But never let it be said that Philadelphia phans can’t trash-talk; now they’re saying Rays crowds are just too darned friendly.