Fix it now

From Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell’s blog:

If I had to make a prediction, the folks pushing for a gay-marriage ban will either change their techniques or simply stop trying to make their case in person before this campaign is over — because their effort to do so today in Orlando fell pretty darn flat.

The affair was a lunch debate at Tiger Bay of Orlando between John Stemberger, who’s leading the “marriage protection amendment,” and Nadine Smith with Fairness for All Families, which is opposing the ban.

Stemberger can be personable and affable. But in today’s performance, he sounded more angry and ineffective. Rather than staying focused on the amendment he’s championing, he called Smith’s arguments “pathetic.” He tried to scare the crowd with the potential of gay-friendly decisions by “activist judges” and “Governor Live-and-let-live” (his name for Charlie Crist). And when looking for an anecdote of a gay person, Stemberger threw out comments from Rosie O’Donnell as a rationale for why Floridians should rally behind him.

Smith, on the other hand, kept her cool and focused on two things: 1) that gay marriage is already illegal in this state. (”The day before this election, same sex couples can’t marry,” she said. “The day after this election, same sex couples can’t marry.) 2) And the fact that this amendment could actually take away rights from unmarried couples (straight and gay) when it comes to things like healthcare and end-of-life decisions. (”You do not protect your marriage in any way by taking away other people’s rights.”)

Debating Florida’s November referendum that would ban gay marriages (and other civil union benefits, including possibly some for unmarried straight couples) seems a cottage industry these days. Two more debates are scheduled, and both should be good ones.

First, the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club also has a gay marriage debate on the books:

Friday, April 4, 2008 • 12:00 Noon - 1:15 p.m.
St. Petersburg Yacht Club • 11 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg

What’s at stake for all Floridians?
The proposed Marriage Protection Amendment is the subject of our debate. Speaking in favor of the amendment is John Stemberger, Orlando lawyer and head of the Florida Family Council, which spearheaded the amendment. Speaking against Amendment #2 is Nadine Smith, Executive Director of Equality Florida and member of the Fairness for All Families campaign. Florida law already bans gay marriage, so what will this amendment actually do? Do Florida marriages need protection from “activist judges?” Is this an effort by social conservatives to stimulate the vote and help conservative candidates? Will this measure really harm Florida’s senior citizens? The sparks will fly at this debate; you won’t want to miss it. We’re hosting the Florida Association of Tiger Bay Clubs, so space will be limited.

RSVP deadline: Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Second, there is a gay marriage debate planned for USF St. Petersburg:

7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8 in the Campus Activities Center (corner of 2nd St. S and 6th Ave S.), John Corvino and Glenn T. Stanton, two of the nation’s leading and opposing voices on same-sex marriage, will debate each other and then take questions. The debate is free and open to the public. Complimentary parking is available in the campus parking garage.

Corvino (pictured at left) is a philosophy professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich. and the editor of Same Sex: Debating the Ethics, Science and Culture of Homosexuality. His writing has appeared in national and regional print media, in scholarly anthologies and on the Web site Independent Gay Forum.

Stanton works with Focus on the Family as the Senior Analyst for Marriage and Sexuality and the Director of Social Research and Cultural Affairs. He has authored or contributed to nine books, including Why Marriage Matters: Reasons to Believe in Marriage in Postmodern Society and Marriage on Trial: The Case against Same-Sex Marriage and Parenting.

Stanton (pictured at right) argues that same-sex marriages would erode our understanding of humanity by treating male or female as optional for the family. Corvino argues that recognizing same-sex unions would be good not only for gay people, but also for society at large, since society has an interest in promoting happy, stable and loving relationships.

Organizers on three continents are planning green events on April 1 as part of a “Fossil Fools Day” awareness campaign aimed at outing all the ways that fossil fuels are intertwined in our lives. From Rising Tide North America:

Anywhere you live, fossil fools are going to be engaging in destruction, poisoning of communities, and other filthy, climate changing business. Most of us live (sometimes ignorantly) in the shadow of toxic, combustion or extraction activities. Even if you don’t live near these points of destruction, unless your living off the grid, your utility company gets most of its energy from fossil fuels…and that’s despite any photos of wind turbines or solar panels on their website, or “green” options they are more then happy to charge you extra for on your bill.

If you’re not sure who they are, the first step to taking action on the fossil fools in your community is finding them!

From its list of Fossil Foolery you are encouraged to engage in:

1. Stop the pumps

As the main public face of the oil industry not to mention the fact that they are everywhere, gas stations are a great place to highlight the connection between car culture, climate change, and environmental justice. Aside from being one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases, there is not an oil company on this planet that has not been party to human rights atrocities. Whether it is Shell killing environmental activists in Nigeria or ChevronToxico dumping toxic waste on indigenous lands in the Amazon there are plenty of examples to make the connection between the destruction of the Earth and these companies’ assaults on human rights.

Consider such tactics as blockading the entrance to a gas station, locking down to gas pumps, or having a die-in in front of the gas station. It is quite easy to gain access to the roof for a banner drop with the use of a extension ladder. It should also be noted that all gas stations have safety shut off buttons that will shut off gas pumps in case of an emergency, which are generally located on the outside of the station. If a global climate meltdown isn’t an emergency, we don’t know what is!

…

4. Kick corporate research off your (or anybody’s) campus

Universities, in collaboration with corporations, are developing new technologies using fossil fuel extraction and burning. Many schools in coal states have research facilities dedicated to the perpetuation of this dirty fuel, while schools in oil states like Texas focus on petroleum. Chances are that any major university will be involved in some aspect of perpetuating our addiction to fossil fuels. Capitalizing on the need for alternative energy sources many universities are raking in big bucks setting up agrofuels research centers. Not only will agrofuels not create meaningful reductions in greenhouse gases, they create a host of new environmental and social problems. BP’s $500 million facility proposed for UC Berkeley is already meeting strong resistance. Do some research, get creative, and kick the fossil fools in the butt and then off your campus.

No word on whether any of the organized events are slated for Tampa Bay. More info about the planetwide Fossil Fools Day at this site.

Alex Pickett interviewed Taryn Sabia, the co-founder of Tampa’s Urban Charrette, for this week’s print edition.  Sabia, 29, and fellow architect Adam Fritz have held a series of workshops on how to improve Tampa’s urban design, transit systems and overall sustainability. These workshops, or “charrettes,” have brought together a broad range of stakeholders, including Tampa city councilmembers Linda Saul-Sena and John Dingfelder, the Hillsborough County Planning Commission, University of South Florida professors, Tampa Bay Builders Association members and developers like Daren Booth (of The Heights project) and Greg Minder (of SkyPoint). Read the entire interview here.

CL: How do you get the masses excited about sustainability and urban design?

Sabia: We try to show examples where great projects have been done in other places. Giving people a visual definition of what density is, because density is a very difficult concept to understand. … You want people to see that if you put density in particular places — and you do it purposely and if it’s designed well — then great things can happen. You can start to have vibrant centers for your neighborhood. Your neighborhood is actually protected, because you’re putting density where it belongs. You’re grouping density in areas to support retail, shops and restaurants. You need a certain amount of density in order to support a certain amount of retail. If it’s done well, it can be a really wonderful thing for neighborhoods. It’s something that attracts people from other places but also gives the neighborhood itself an area where people can meet, gather, do things and not have to drive a half hour outside of their neighborhood to get the things they need.

Does this mean you want to stack us all in little apartments downtown?

The idea is that we don’t make everyone do that, but that we provide choices. We’re not suggesting that everyone has to live in small apartments and not have their suburban homes. It’s not about one or the other; it’s about accommodating all of them and connecting all of them, so people aren’t so separated.

It’s also about managing our growth for the future. Because, inevitably, density is coming. People are coming, and large numbers of them. We need to think about how we’re going to deal with that.

What should we focus on first?

Transit is absolutely at the forefront. TBARTA [Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority] has just started doing public workshops. … It is so vital that people get out and speak, let their voice be heard and write letters to the TBARTA board and city council members. … People look and say, “Well, that is the 2050 plan.” But it’s not. We could have these things in 10 years if we push and fight for them. Let our elected officials know that we not only support it, that we support it now.

Read the entire interview here.

What is the easiest way to assuage a community’s concerns over a lack of economic development? Hand out free money, apparently. But money is not free, and the cost to our local communities is far worse than the perceived benefits.

In all the meetings I’ve seen for economic development, businesses sum up their needs from government simply: GET OUT OF THE WAY. They don’t need a handout; they just need government to stop holding their heads under the water. Unfortunately for businesses, this desire to let the free market operate does not create increased government power and influence; it does not require people to appear before the city council or administration on bended knee; it does not require an increased bureaucracy, or more taxes. This no-cost option merely allows for basic American competitiveness.

Despite these pleas Tampa economic development always takes the same tenor: regulate the heck out of everyone, driving up costs in both time and money, and then dribble back about 10 percent in the form of loans or, worse, grants. It is this economic waste that has crippled many of our neediest communities, but the pattern continues.

In these communities, an oft-repeated pattern emerges. Citizens reach a point where they have had enough. They feel as if the city has abandoned them, and they get together form a community group and slam into the bureaucracy. Eventually the powers that be extend a piece branch and offers to do economic analysis, followed by a plan. It is somewhere in this line of thought were thing go awry, plans drag out and we start to see government take a disruptive role. It does so in the most subtle of ways, starting with “let’s work together” as they actively encourage the community group to apply for grants and to run civic programs. While many say this is the city empowering local residents, what results is a corrupting of the organization, with the community group’s bread buttered by the bureaucratic mess.

It is important to understand that these community groups had nothing but the best of intentions, like many idealists when they first go to work for government. But the lure of power and money make simple fixes unattractive.

Here is the simplest example: A city creates, let’s say, a facade program aimed at encouraging businesses to fix up the outside of their structures. The incentive comes in the form of grants or loans to accomplish this. Local civic groups are quickly drafted to develop the criteria for how the facades should look or who qualifies for the loans/grants. And, of course, administering the program and getting a cut of the money they are disbursing for “overhead and administrative costs.”

The city takes a cut using the same rationale. All of a sudden, $100,000 in taxes aimed at improving a community’s aesthetics is now $80,000. (Of course, this is exactly what happened in 2004-2005 in West Tampa using federal grant money, which comes from our taxes. You can download an excruciatingly dull description of the program from 2004 planning documents in this .pdf file; just search for the term “facade” and you will find the description.)

Now let’s say a business proposes cutting regulations instead. Well, there is no money in that for the city. It would lose money on permit fees. It would need less staff to review permits and perform inspections or to administer programs. At the same time, the community group can’t collect money for programs that requires no administration, so this no-cost idea is quickly killed.

Under this scenario, the community suffers as well. In line for the government program dollars, the groups that administer these programs feel that if they stand up to the city to change the rules or make things work better the programs will be eliminated. Once-vocal community groups quickly are silenced.

Editor’s note: Spencer Kass is one of our regular guest bloggers who writes about urban and Tampa city government issues. He is a principal in Landmarc Realty in West Tampa.

Legislation sponsored by Rep. Kevin Ambler has come under fire by many concerned citizens, specifically because of the inclusion of the City-County Planning Commission in the bill.

HB 723 is about a power shift of several local boards including the Environmental Protection Commission, the Tampa Sports Authority and The Planning Commission. The EPC board right now consists solely of the Board of County Commissioners. Yes, that same BOCC that tried to kill our wetlands last summer which is reason enough to decrease the BOCC’s power on the EPC.

I don’t have time to follow the Sports Authority so I can’t comment on that board. (But here’s an earlier PoHo piece on how that board spends your tax dollars.) The Planning Commission, however, currently has equal representation of city and county. Many concerned citizens, myself included, feel that our Planning Commission serves us well as is and do not want to see a shift in power giving the County the edge with more representation which is what this bill is proposing.

The three local municipal governments — the City of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City — have voted against a change on the Planning Commission. On Nov. 13, 2007, our own BOCC voted unanimously to support this bill ONLY if the Planning Commission was removed from it. That is why it was strange when on Dec. 7, County Administrator Pat Bean told Hillsborough legislators that the BOCC would still support the bill if Mr. Ambler left the Planning Commission in it.

These transcripts and a letter written by Commissioner Sharpe who clearly opposes any changes to the Planning Commission can be seen on Mariella Smith’s blog post on this subject at Sticks of Fire. Mr. Ambler waived the rules at the delegation meeting and voted on this issue without a quorum. It seems like the political agendas of a few politicians have overridden the will of the people as well as local governments.

Why then did Rep. Ambler push this bill without a quorum? Why did Pat Bean say the BOCC would support the inclusion even though they voted against it? That is what many citizens are asking our delegation. We are also asking that they hold another meeting due to the unfinished business of this controversial bill. R-LAND and UCAN members have posted a letter for anyone sharing the same views to use and it goes right to our delegation and committee members. You can access it here.

Why is giving our BOCC the edge on any board a bad idea? Again I cite the EPC example. Why are citizens so concerned about the Planning Commission? Because the Planning Commission is the only objective agency we have free of political bias and hidden agendas. They promote smart growth and discourage sprawl. The knowledge of its staff is unparalleled, and they are charged with being the keepers of our comprehensive plan, the county’s blueprint for growth. They make recommendations to our Planning Commissioners (who are appointed by the city and the county) and they in turn vote on issues to make recommendations to the BOCC. The BOCC gets the final word on growth, and that fact alone says they ALREADY have the edge.

Here’s how to contact Ambler or any state representative to let them know how you feel about the proposed changes to these three boards.

It’s SayNo2. It’s referring to Amendment 2, the November referendum that would place a prohibition against same-sex marriages and possibly even civil union benefits for heterosexual partners into the Florida Constitution. From announcement to supporters:

We hope SayNo2 will be easy to remember and reinforce how dangerous Amendment 2 is to all Floridians. With SayNo2, our message will be simple:

Say No 2 taking away existing benefits and legal protections.

Say No 2 hurting Florida’s seniors who are unmarried by choice.

Say No 2 eliminating shared health care and pension benefits.

Say No 2 someone else deciding who can visit you in the hospital.

Say No 2 more government intrusion into our private lives.

With a new name comes a new Internet home: www.SayNo2.com.

Visitors to www.SayNo2.com will find an expanding and welcoming resource on the “marriage protection” amendment, including facts and stats on the amendment and the campaign, the experience of other states, how to get involved, how to contribute, and media resources – including the nine major newspapers in Florida that have already opposed the amendment.

SayNo2’s strategy mirrors the strategy of the only effort that turned back the anti-gay marriage forces, in a Nov. 2006 vote in Arizona, by appealing to straights and gays alike with the dangers of a constitutional provision such as Amendment 2.

Florida Red and Blue is one of two major groups fighting against Amendment 2, with Fairness for All Families being the other. Its current logo is below.

The New York Times reports that key leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, representing the second-largest religious affiliation behind Roman Catholicism, are pushing for the group to change its myopic stance on climate change:

44 Southern Baptist leaders have decided to back a declaration calling for more action on climate change, saying its previous position on the issue was “too timid.” [CNN puts the number at 46]

Yet its current president, the Rev. Frank Page, signed the initiative, “A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change.” Two past presidents of the convention, the Rev. Jack Graham and the Rev. James Merritt, also signed.

“We believe our current denominational engagement with these issues has often been too timid, failing to produce a unified moral voice,” the church leaders wrote in their new declaration.

For a church as large (16 million members) and conservative as the Southern Baptists to put global warming as a priority and stop denying its existence is a major shift and even more repudiation of the Bush Administration’s eight years of sticking its head in the sand on carbon emissions and their impact.

The SBC’s current stance, adopted June 2007, hewed more closely to the Bush stance, with its criticism of the economic impacts of adopting Kyoto and its explanation of rising global temperatures as a function of recovering from the Little Ice Age. Its June 2006 resolution on the matter was even more strident, saying, “Some environmental activists are seeking to advance a political agenda based on disputed claims, which not only impacts public policy and in turn our economic well-being, but also seeks to indoctrinate the public, particularly students in public institutions …”

In contrast, here is the proposed declaration on the environment by the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative:

Though the claims of science are neither infallible nor unanimous, they are substantial and cannot be dismissed out of hand on either scientific or theological grounds. Therefore, in the face of intense concern and guided by the biblical principle of creation stewardship, we resolve to engage this issue without any further lingering over the basic reality of the problem or our responsibility to address it. Humans must be proactive and take responsibility for our contributions to climate change—however great or small.

Among the 46 signatories of the proposed declaration is the leader of Tampa Bay’s largest and most influential Southern Baptist congregation, Pastor Ken Whitten of the Idlewild Baptist Church.

Full text of declaration here.

You can e-mail your reaction and/or support to Pastor Whitten here.

(file photo of 2006 Southern Baptist Convention meeting: Matt and Cyndi Maxson)

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater lost more jobs from January 2007 to January 2008 than anywhere else in the state of Florida, according to stats released today by the state’s Agency for Workforce Innovation.

11, 700 jobs went bye-bye from greater Tampa Bay over the 12-month period.

(Waiting a few seconds for that to sink in.)

Hot on our tails were Bradenton-Sarasota (-11,100 jobs) and the Fort Myers area (-10,800 jobs). Not a good year for the gulf coast.

Download the numbers here (.pdf file)

The Tampa Chamber, for its part, counters with news of the creation of 410 aircraft maintenance jobs at Tampa International Airport.

Editor’s Note: Spencer Kass is a new Fix It Now blogger, a neighborhood association president (Virginia Park in Tampa), and a fixture at Tampa City Hall meetings. We wrote about Spencer and his brother, Jarrett, in 2006 when they proposed a creative re-use of the aging Fort Homer Hesterly Armory: “Spencer and Jarrett Kass of Landmarc Realty are transplants from Long Island via Boca Raton, but they have quickly ingrained themselves in West Tampa as developers and real estate and mortgage brokers. Their energy is high; their understanding of the plight of West Tampa thorough.” Spencer is going to contribute occasional posts on the special challenges that Tampa faces:

First I want to thank Wayne and Creative Loafing for giving the residents of Tampa a place to discuss some of the fundamental issues facing the city and its future.

Tampa is a city of contradictions: we want to lead the way into the future, as long as we go second; we want to prevent urban sprawl, but not at the expense of our residential districts; we want affordable housing, as long as it conforms to our regulations. It is these and many other contradictions that make people scratch their heads when looking at Tampa. A city of unsurpassed potential, Tampa has remained stuck in somewhere between neutral and reverse, leaving many asking: Why? And even more saying: No longer.

Urban density is one of the fundamental issues facing Tampa, and while some are ready to embrace the city’s place in the future, others have remained stuck in the past, worried that development will change place they have always known. In the upcoming months, city officials and interested residents will begin discussions of its comprehensive plan, the road map for the city’s future. It is this discussion that will guide Tampa’s growth and development for years to come. In the past the city has handled these conflicting interests by playing an unfortunate game of splitting the baby, and treating these seemingly contradictory views — the past and the future — as a zero sum game, with only winners and losers. It is this approach which has led to years of animosity between neighbors, builders, businesses and government and left none better off for it.

In the upcoming weeks and months ahead I look forward to discussing changing the fundamental nature of the questions about density, growth and economic development and showing how it is not about picking winners and losers but about bringing growth and prosperity to all the citizens of Tampa.

(file photo: Nick Ledford/some rights reserved) 

The student-produced newspaper The Minaret is reporting a possible showdown looming between the University of Tampa faculty and UT President Ron Vaughn over domestic partner benefits:

In the strongest statement to date, the faculty senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution Monday in support of domestic partner benefits, threatening to take their grievances to UT’s board of trustees and writing that “any further delay is without warrant.”

The resolution, which was confrontational in tone, was delivered sometime Wednesday to President Ronald Vaughn and Provost Janet McNew.

…  The faculty, which voted 19 in favor of the resolution with one abstention and no one opposed, attached a DPB fact sheet to the resolution for the president and provost.

The fact sheet contained statistics and research findings in support of extending DPB. It said studies have shown that same-sex DPB coverage costs less on average than provisions for opposite sex couples.

It also said that a Human Rights Campaign study found not a single reported case of a DPB package being fraudulently used, that 88 percent of the top 50 ranked American universities offer DPB, and that the other three Tier One Regional Universities-UT being the fourth-all offer DPB.

The National Gay News in December reported that among state employees in Florida, “[c]urrently, the University of Florida, Florida International University, Broward Community College, Florida Keys Community College, Hillsborough Community College and Miami-Dade College are the only state employers offering the full range of domestic partner benefits. Those benefits include health insurance, as well as sick leave and bereavement leave.” According to its website, USF in 2005 considered offering domestic partnership benefits but there is no evidence it was ever adopted, and the status of USF’s same-sex benefits could not immediately be determined.

(UT President Ron Vaughn/credit: University of Tampa) 

As we await the end of a 2-year planning process at TBARTA to see if we will get a rail plan for Tampa Bay, Amtrak may move ahead on its own, according to a tbo.com story:

The rail agency hopes Florida will embrace intercity rail as roads become clogged and gas prices soar.

Amtrak would like to eventually see trains running back and forth between cities such as Tampa and Orlando, or Jacksonville and Miami.

Rail officials are in the midst of a weeklong swing through the state to meet local officials and tout the advantages of rail.

On Monday, Amtrak officials met with state Reps. Ed Homan, R-Temple Terrace, and Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, and state Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland. Tuesday, they met in Tampa with Mayor Pam Iorio.

The catch? They ain’t giving it away:

Fourteen states have deals with Amtrak for intercity rail. The largest is California, which pays the rail agency $84 million a year to run 16 daily roundtrips between Oakland and Sacramento and 10 daily roundtrips from Los Angeles to San Diego.

On the low end is Vermont. It pays $4 million for a single daily roundtrip from New York to Montpelier, the state’s capital, and to St. Albans near Lake Champlain and the Canadian border.

Amtrak officials stress that no routes or station stops have been decided in Florida, though they hope their tour will drum up support for the idea.

Full story here. Info on current Amtrak travel deals within Florida here. Fact Sheet on Amtrak in Florida here (.pdf download). Want to weigh in with the quasigovernmental train company about this idea, one way or the other? Contact the Amtrak Customer Advisory Committee.

(file photo: John Mueller/some rights reserved)

Here’s the nice thing about effective and strong advocacy groups: they do the work so you don’t have to. Case in point is 1000 Friends of Florida, a group committed to responsible growth and conservation. They just put up a new page that will track growth management legislation in the current legislative session. You can even sign up for e-mail updates.

InTown Homes‘ first big dream was to revive West Tampa to its glory days as a major urban destination. Now the developer is adding to that lofty goal the ability to cut its residents’ carbon footprints.

InTown, the brainchild of former Hillsborough County Commissioner Ed Turanchik and his business partner Teresa Caddick, is unveiling a new design for its affordable homes this week, a Mediterranean-style home that cuts energy use by 25-50 percent.

“We think this is an important milestone in housing in the Bay area as it shows that environmentally sound, energy efficient workforce housing can be built at an attainable price,” Turanchik said last week. The price tag for the new MoMed model: $194,000, $199,000 or $204,000, depending on how many energy-saving features you want. He projects that a monthly electric bill for the middle-priced model will be about $65. And then there’s the environmental savings: an annual reduction of carbon emissions of 5.4 tons, 52 pounds of sulphur dioxide and nearly 30 pounds of nitrogen oxide. Some of the housing materials (including the carpeting) are made from recycled products, but the real savings come from the MoMed’s small and flat roof, which is painted white to reflect sunlight and offers a smaller surface to heat than conventional housing.

“When gas gets up to $4 a gallon, this urban neighborhood is going to look even more attractive,” Turanchik said. The first MoMed, in fact, has already been sold to an empty-nester couple from Davis Islands who wanted lower taxes, insurance bills and energy costs.

InTown has survived the housing slump, putting 35 new homes into West Tampa, which at its height in the early 20th century was the fifth largest city in Florida. Turanchik insisted on using urban designs rather than city-mandated suburban guidelines that pushed homes farther back from sidewalks.

Some thoughts on how to fix our transportation mess? Share them with the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) as it delves into creating a Regional Transportation Master Plan. The new agency plans a a series of community meetings as the first of many steps writing a transportation plan for Tampa Bay’s seven counties. Step one covers major regional transportation corridors.

Seven “open house” style community workshops will be held March 10-20 from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. and are open to anyone:

Hillsborough County – Monday, March 10
Hilton Garden Inn (I-75 & Fletcher), 13305 Tampa Oaks Blvd, Temple Terrace

Pinellas County – Thursday, March 13
Holiday Inn Select (Ulmerton & Roosevelt), 3535 Ulmerton Rd., Clearwater

Sarasota County – Thursday, March 20
Sarasota County Technical Institute Cafeteria, Building 5 (Beneva & Proctor), 4748 Beneva Rd., Sarasota

Manatee County – Monday, March 17
Bradenton Auditorium, 1005 Barcarrota Blvd., Bradenton

Hernando County – Tuesday, March 11
Hernando County Courthouse, 20 N. Main St., Brooksville

Citrus County – Wednesday, March 12
Lecanto Government Building, Room 166, 3600 W. Sovereign Path, Lecanto

Pasco County – Tuesday, March 18
West Pasco Government Center, 7530 Little Road, New Port Richey

The Hillsborough County Commission, not the greatest friend to mass transit around these parts, is scheduled for a briefing from the new Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA). The meeting is open to the public, so those who aren’t busy, say, earning a living, can attend on Wednesday, March 5 Thursday, March 6, at 11:15 a.m. in the County Center building at 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. in downtown Tampa.

From the TBARTA announcement:

“At the request of Commissioner Ken Hagan, Hillsborough County Commissioner and TBARTA Board Member, Bob Clifford from the Florida Department of Transportation will make a formal presentation to the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners regarding TBARTA’s mission and how it will directly affect the citizens they were elected to represent,” said Shelton Quarles, TBARTA Chairman.

TBARTA’s goal is to reach out to at least 250 organizations in its seven-county region during 2008, in order to obtain the much-needed public input required for a successful and relevant Master Plan. To find out where TBARTA representatives will be speaking, or to request a presentation for your civic or community group, visit www.TBARTA.com.

The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority was created by the Florida Legislature in 2007 to plan and develop a multimodal transportation system that will connect the seven counties of the Tampa Bay region. These counties include Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota. TBARTA’s mission is to improve mobility and expand multimodal transportation options for passengers and freight throughout the seven-county region. The legislature has mandated that TBARTA must create a Regional Transportation Master Plan for the Tampa Bay region by July 2009. The goal of this Master Plan is to engage the public in developing a vision for regional integration of transportation systems and foster partnerships with government agencies and business entities.

Pinellas County commissioners already got their briefing, last week. But dozens of other governmental briefings lie in the weeks ahead, including:

• Tampa City Council – March 27
• Bradenton City Council – March 5
• Sarasota City Commission – today
• Sarasota County Commission – March 19

You can also request a briefing for your own civic group by clicking this link.

You can also download the current briefing list from TBARTA in a .pdf file.

(photo courtesy Tom Stovall/flickr.com. Some rights reserved.)