Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 26, 2009, at 8:24 am
The now-rejected watefront ballpark; will St. Pete-Pinellas also be rejected?
And the other shoe drops. It was predictable after the outburst earlier this week from Tampa Bay Rays President Matt Silverman about poor attendance at the Phillies series that it was just setting the table for a St. Petersburg departure. Now, comes confirmation that it is very actively being considered.
The A Baseball Community, studying everything from new sites for a Rays stadium to how to boost ticket sales, now confirms that three of the five geographic areas it is analyzing are in Hillsborough County. The three are in Westshore, downtown Tampa and east of the city at/near the Florida State Fairgrounds. Those sites join mid-Pinellas County (the Feather Sound/Carillon area) and downtown St. Petersburg on the list of five regions under study.
The astronauts trained at lots of sites in the U.S. and around the world, at least a couple of which humans had turned into wildernesses. According to Diamond, “Since human settlement began, most of [Iceland's] original trees and vegetation have been destroyed, and about half of the original soils have eroded into the ocean. As a result … large areas … that were green at the time that Vikings landed are now lifeless brown desert.” Similarly, much of the area around Sudbury, Ontario, was a moonscape in the 1960s due to nickel smelting.
In neither case, however, was environmental devastation the main draw for NASA. Instead it was geological features. Although the real purpose of the moon shots was bragging rights, the nominal goal was scientific exploration. One thing the moon had plenty of was rocks, and that meant geology training lest the astronauts wander right past the specimens they were supposedly there to study.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 24, 2009, at 2:13 pm
Love this story. Just love this story.
Soon-to-be-former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford first came up missing, then his staff explained that he was hiking alone on the Appalachian Trail, then earlier today came word she was cruising off the coast of Argentina. Now, the truth.
Yes, it’s another woman.
From CNN:
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Wednesday, amid speculation over his whereabouts for the last several days, that he has been engaged in an extramarital affair with an Argentinian woman.
“I’ve been unfaithful to my wife,” Sanford told a news conference in Columbia, the state capital. “I developed a relationship with what started as a dear, dear friend from Argentina.”
His voice choking at times, Sanford apologized to his wife and four sons, his staff and supporters, and said he would resign immediately as head of the Republican Governors Association. The affair was discovered five months ago, Sanford said.
Watch the video of his admission from a live news conference after the jump:
I noticed it 30 years ago, when I began teaching. In my history class, students seemed to have little interest in the cast of characters until photography came along. Pictures changed the way we looked at history. We were never as interested in George Washington as were in Abraham Lincoln. It was because of those portraits of Lincoln, where we could look into his haunted eyes.
You can’t hide from pictures. The horrific video of a young woman, Neda Agha-Soltan, bleeding out on a Tehran street not only makes the political upheaval in Iran more tangible, it also shows the power of new media. We don’t turn to television, toward any immaculately dressed network news anchor, to see these images. We click on YouTube and get handheld cell phone video from a helpless bystander.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 24, 2009, at 10:06 am
The News Media Guildi is protesting (and rightly) on behalf of its members at the AP because of new social media policies at the news organization that will now require reporters and editors to remove comments and other info on their Facebook pages that don’t meet AP standards.
“It is making some people cringe,” said Kevin Keane, News Media Guild administrator. “It is not appropriate for a company that heralds free speech.”
Keane also objected to another portion of the new rules that states: “Posting material about the AP’s internal operations is prohibited on employees’ personal pages.”
“You can’t tell people not to talk about anything internal to AP,” Keane said. “It is too broad. People have the right.”
Equally is its backwards policy on reporters using Twitter to communicate news. Here is both the Facebook and Twitter provisions from AP’s Q&A-format policy:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 24, 2009, at 9:14 am
For decades, Tampa has faced a conundrum; every day tens of milions of gallons of treated wastewater is dumped into Tampa Bay, wasted in a word. In St. Petersburg, treated wastewater is used for residential lawn watering, thanks to the foresightful construction of special water lines in neighborhoods. But Tampa’s attempts to re-use its wastewater hasn’t met with the same success.
So now the Tampa City Council wants to skip the whole lawn watering step and move right to drinking the highly treated sewer water. It voted yesterday to ask voters in a 2010 referendum if they want to build a system to deliver the potty product back to their drinking faucets.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 23, 2009, at 3:52 pm
It’s funny the things you remember — and don’t remember — about your friends when they die. I spent much of the afternoon searching my brain for a tiny detail about Phyllis Busansky among the thousands of bits of info I know about her over the past two decades.
A drink. I can’t remember the last line of a 1991 Tampa Tribune article that I wrote about Phyllis on the night she completed her major opus, an effort to create a decades-ahead-of-its-time indigent health care plan in Hillsborough County. I remember how she gathered allies, the narrative approach the story was written in, the delight in my editors when they read it. The last line had her going out for a drink after the vote (I was along) and detailed exactly what she drank.
But it’s gone, lost in the recesses of my brain and not available online.
Phyllis Busansky — who died on the job at an elections conference in St. Augustine overnight Monday — was a unique political force in Tampa Bay. She was a domineering presence, physically and mentally, smart and savvy, with top columnists’ phone numbers at the top of her speed dial and an unwavering enthusiasm that led to her say the word “fabulous” at least once every 10 minutes.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 23, 2009, at 2:40 pm
Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat: Winning a mayoral forum or debate is not the most meaningful thing in a campaign. The myriad gatherings of the 10 mayoral candidates in St. Petersburg that have already occurred and are yet to occur likely won’t alter the Sept. 1 primary outcome one iota.
Why?
Because such forums are a place that can only do a candidate harm. Stumble, or stumble badly, and the media coverage can magnify it into major damage. “Win” such a debate and not only will the MSM mostly not declare you the winner, but you have only “won” in front of a few hundred people, at most.
The way campaigns are really won are through spending campaign contributions on direct mail, television and radio advertising and through a concerted grass-roots voter contact effort.
So that brings me to reporting the “results” of Monday night’s mayoral forum held by the St. Pete Pride organizers at the King of Peace MCC. The “winners”?
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 23, 2009, at 11:05 am
From Congresswoman Kathy Castor:
Phyllis will be well remembered in our hearts for her brave leadership, for her open, gregarious style and for her ability to fix problems that were tough to tackle. Her legacy as the primary author of the Hillsborough County Health Care Plan lives on every day in the improved health of our neighbors and our community. She was truly passionate about making sure those who least could afford medical services had an advocate on their side. She already was showing that passion as Supervisor of Elections, working to guarantee that voters’ rights were protected in Hillsborough County. My thoughts and prayers are with her family. She will be sorely missed.
From Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio:
I am shocked by the death of Phyllis. How sad that death claimed her just as she was embarking on a new challenge that she loved very much. The public needed her and this was her calling. I had the pleasure of serving with Phyllis on the County Commission and her passion for helping those who needed help the most was something I always admired. This is a great loss to both her family and to our community.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 23, 2009, at 9:42 am
Phyllis Busansky was a friend of mine, and I worked on her various political efforts, including her stint as the director of welfare reform in Florida, so it is with great sadness I pass along news of her death today, from ABC Action News:
Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Phyllis Busansky has been found dead in her hotel room in St. Augustine, according to Pam Iorio.
Ms. Busansky was supposed to be participating in a conference in St. Augustine. When she didn’t show, coworkers came looking for her, and found her dead in her hotel room.
Foul play is not suspected.
I spoke with a mutual friend who mentioned that Phyllis had a health problem earlier this year in which she was hospitalized but that they thought it was simply hyperventilation. Busansky did battle lung cancer in 2007 but told friends she was cleared of the disease after surgery.
She was 72 and had battled lung cancer. She died in her sleep, said Sigrid Tidmore, spokeswoman for the Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections office.
“Honestly, this is all I know,” Tidmore said.
Tidmore was with Busansky last night, before she went to sleep about 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. She said Busansky was not complaining of any pain. When Busansky didn’t respond to phone calls this morning after not showing up to today’s conference meetings, hotel security went to check on her and found her dead, Tidmore said.
(Busansky’s office says she was 73, but the Times says records show she was 72.)
Tidmore went on to say that everyone connected to Busansky was in shock, that she was very vibrant and had lots of plans for the office. I can attest; I ran into Phyllis two weeks ago in Bamboozle in downtown Tampa and she was her usual exuberant self, eliciting a promise from me that I would pay a call on her to hear about her innovations at the office in a few weeks, after she was done traveling.
Busansky was a mainstay of local Democratic politics for the past two decades, after winning a seat on the Hillsborough County Commission in the late 1980s as part of a reform effort that brought progressives to that board.
Under state law, Republican Gov. Charlie Crist will appoint a successor until voters choose a new supervisor in the 2010 elections.
UPDATE: This statement just in from the Supervisor of Elections Office:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 22, 2009, at 4:34 pm
Elaine Silvestrini over at the Tampa Tribune has a great story to go with all the Brian Blair news today: One of Blair’s benefactors, the late Ralph Hughes, a top Money Man and power broker in Hillsborough County politics and business, died owing millions of dollars to the Internal Revenue Service.
The agency has filed a claim with Hughes’ family trust seeking more than $69 million in unpaid income and business taxes and interest for the years 2003 to 2007.
Hughes’ beneficiaries – his widow and two of his three children – are contesting the IRS claim, arguing Hughes paid millions in taxes.
After Hughes died at age 77 on June 27, 2008, Hillsborough County commissioners voted to rename the county’s Moral Courage Award for him. The decision was controversial, with detractors accusing commissioners of repaying their benefactor and injecting politics into what was supposed to be a nonpartisan award.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 22, 2009, at 2:27 pm
OK, so this was shot long before former wrestler and Hillsborough politician Brian Blair’s arrest on child abuse charges this weekend, but we’re pretty sure here at PoHo Central that the always erudite Iron Sheik feels the same way about that “jabroni” Blair today as he did back in March.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 22, 2009, at 11:38 am
In video now just hitting TV news websites, Brian Blair calls the family fight and his arrest “an unfortunate situation” and “a misunderstanding that could have been prevented.”
Fox 13’s Warren Elly has a report on that station’s website, here is the link (sorry, but the video didn’t embed into our software.)
According to Elly’s story, Blair told reporters on the way out of jail:
“It’s a misunderstanding that could have been prevented. I have over 7,000 hours mentoring children and the last thing I’d ever do is hurt a kid. Sometimes the hardest kids to mentor are you own. I guess that’s all I’ll say for now,” Blair told FOX 13.
Elly came by Creative Loafing before Blair’s release and I taped a short interview about what this does to Blair’s political career. Blair told reporters upon his release that his supporters would understand his actions once they hear the full story, but I’m kind of doubting that. Blair is not dead politically in the sense that he won’t ever quit the game, but he can’t possibly win public office after this.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 22, 2009, at 10:54 am
Ah, the evolution of media. Murphy-Goode winery is looking for a blogging-tweetering “social media whiz” who is into wine to move into their vineyards home for six months and jump-start its viral marketing efforts.
CL’s own wine expert, Corkscrew author Taylor Eason, is an applicant, and here is her video:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 22, 2009, at 8:32 am
At a first appearance hearing this morning, a judge has ordered that jailed former Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair be released on his own recognizance, without any bond posted, commonly referred to as ROR. Blair likely won’t clear the jail’s long release process until this afternoon.
According to one reporter at the scene, Blair’s wife, Toni, spoke briefly to media to say only that her sons were fine, but she made no other comment.
Blair was arrested this weekend and charged with two counts of child abuse after getting into a fight with his teenage sons, shown in this photograph from his campaign website Blair continues to maintain.
Brian Blair, the former pro wrestler and Hillsborough County commissioner, is facing child abuse charges after he allegedly got into a scuffle with his teenage boys.
Blair, 52, was arrested his home on 12702 Boulevard N shortly after 5 am and booked into the Orient Road Jail at 12:45 p.m, jail records show.
According to Hillsborough Sheriff’s spokesman Larry McKinnon, Blair got into an argument with his two two teen-aged sons that turned physical, sheriff’s Deputy Larry McKinnon said.
“It was a family argument between him and his sons and during the altercation at least one was battered,” McKinnon said.
The Times adds these details from the arrest report:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 21, 2009, at 6:00 am
Ed.’s note: Brian and Taylor were kind enough to have me sit in on their food and wine podcast last week. I have to remember to have them to talk politics on my HoCast. Cross-posted from the Daily Loaf:
By Michelle Schenck CL Green Community contributor
Everyone has a pet peeve or two. It is common to get slightly annoyed with a member of the human race every now and again, even if it is something small, like the way way a person slurps their cup of morning joe or the last person in the bathroom not replacing the toilet paper roll. It is the way that you confront and handle these matters, if at all, that turns these pet peeves into issues.
For example, when I was a little girl, I used to see a family member (they shall remain nameless) leave the water faucet on while doing the dishes. She or he would start to wash a dish, walk away to do something else, and then come back. I didn’t understand why they didn’t just turn the water off if they were going to step away for 15-20 seconds at a time? It seemed like such a huge waste of water even at a young age when the words “green” didn’t really mean much to me.
I would say time and time again to “Stop doing that!” It became frustrating and eventually became a pet peeve of mine. As I grew older, though, I was able to talk to that same person about this habit in a better, less screamy and immature way. I would talk to them about the importance of conserving water and to only use it when you are in need of it, not just because they can. They finally understood my point and, at least around me, has always made a conscious effort to turn off that faucet when they weren’t using it. It felt good to get a pet peeve off my chest so to speak while also instilling a green action in a family member.
Now days, I still get those pet peeve feelings but I feel a little more confident expressing myself in a mature manner about these peeves, at least if I have some form of relationship with the person. When I go to the beach, for example, if a friend just throws their water bottle or any trash for that matter on the sand and walks away, I will confront them about it. Nine times out of 10, a trash or recycling can is nearby and I just laughingly look at them and say, “Really?!” They usually laugh a little too and realize their mistake, pick it up, and throw it away. Sometimes people just need a little light-hearted reminder from their friends or co-workers about green actions.
As readers, what kind of green pet peeves do you have and what have you done to bring these peeves to light? Have you confronted anyone or groups of people about it? What kind of tactics do you think are acceptable to confront someone about green actions? Please post here.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 19, 2009, at 4:51 pm
My column for next week’s print edition is about St. Pete City Council candidate Steve Kornell, who faces a tough run against Angela Rouson for the seat that Jamie Bennett is leaving. I caught up with him at an Ybor City fundraiser attended by Hillsborough progressives for this podcast chat.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 19, 2009, at 4:20 pm
A curious piece of political literature has been hitting South Tampa homes over the past few days as a handful of County Commissioner Ken Hagan’s supporters do what is called a “lit drop” of campaign literature.
Only it is not really campaign literature, or at least, it doesn’t carry the necessary campaign disclosures that a campaign advertisement would carry. Nor is it a county government piece, as it points out that it was “Not produced at taxpayer’s expense.”
That left some Democrats e-mailing me furiously about how this was akin to the stealth campaign that Buddy Johnson ran with federal dollars in 2008, the one being probed by the Feds and the St. Pete TImes’ Jeff Testerman. And it caught the attention of at least one Democrat who has been thinking about running against the Republican Hagan in 2010.
The Obama Justice Department has reached out to major gay rights organizations and scheduled a private meeting for next week with the groups, in an apparent effort to smooth over tensions in the wake of the controversy over the administration’s defense in court of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Tracy Russo, a spokesperson for Justice, confirmed the meeting to me, after I posted … that top gay rights lawyers were miffed that administration lawyers had rebuffed their requests to meet and discuss ongoing litigation involving DOMA.
At the meeting — which hasn’t been announced and is expected to include leading gay rights groups like GLAD and Lambda Legal — both sides are expected to hash out how to proceed with pending DOMA cases.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 19, 2009, at 9:53 am
Our sister paper, the Chicago Reader, and its excellent media writer Michael Miner has a piece about the (ta-dah) future of journalism, but it makes some good points to ponder, including this one:
EveryBlock cofounder Daniel X. O’Neil, speaking on the panel “Why the News Still Matters,” went this tweet one better. “I think there’s just a lot of real unnecessary negativism about journalism,” he told the 170 or so people in attendance. “Frankly, I think it’s going to be great. I swear to God we’ll look back ten years from now and we’ll all be making an insane amount of money and we’re going to look at each other and we’re going to say, ‘Hey, you were there that day! Remember, we all thought we were screwed?’ No, we’re not. Everything’s great. It’s literally impossible for the answer to the question ‘What happened?’ not to be valuable.”
Wow, the rosiest assessment ever. I believe I am going to be making an “insane amount of money” in 10 years. Just not in journalism.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 19, 2009, at 7:24 am
The file-sharing battle against industry group RIAA is not going so well. The only person to take the RIAA to trial over its file-sharing crackdown has lost, again, and lost even bigger, in a retrial:
A jury ruled Thursday that Jammie Thomas-Rasset must pay fines totaling $1.92 million to the RIAA, as a penalty for violating the copyrights on 24 songs.
The trial was Thomas-Rasset’s second, after the first was declared a mistrial. Thomas-Rasset is the only defendant accused of violating copyright to go to trial. The decision was reported Thursday by the Associated Press.
Th fine works out to $80,000 per song.
“There’s no way they’re ever going to get that,” said Thomas-Rasset, a 32-year-old mother of four from the central Minnesota city of Brainerd, told the AP. “I’m a mom, limited means, so I’m not going to worry about it now.”
Read the PCMag story. And here is a fuller AP account.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 19, 2009, at 6:54 am
That is the hope of legislators, who saw Gov. Charlie Crist sign a bill on Thursday that will curtail the practice of state workers who go through a state retirement DROP program, only to resurface with their same jobs 30 days later, giving them a pension and a salary.
You may recall the controversy earlier this year when Hillsborough Planning Commission chief Bob Hunter did just that, drawing attention from 10 Connects’ investigative reporter Mike Deeson and support from a group of activists, including PoHo’s own Kelly Cornelius.
State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said the bill he and Rep. Robert Schenck, R-Spring Hill, sponsored during the 2009 legislative session is specially appropriate in these tough budget times. Fasano said it is not fair that some high-paid public officials arrange to draw their pensions and continue working.
The law won’t take effect until July 1, 2010, so employees who retire before then will still be allowed to return to work after 30 days and keep their pensions. But the new statute will require a six-month break in service, which Fasano said will prevent elected big shots from “double dipping.”
“The six-month ban on re-employment will put a stop to the abuse of this system by elected officials, and judges in particular,” said Fasano. “Those individuals will not be able to take a six-month break from their elected or appointed positions. It will also keep senior management from ‘retiring’ and coming right back to their old positions at a higher salary, since their position will have to remain unfilled for six months.”
Sidestepping critics who say it won’t solve Florida’s pill-mill problem, Gov. Charlie Crist signed long-fought legislation Thursday designed to crack down on clinics and doctors who dole out excessive narcotic painkillers — mainly in South Florida.
The law will force pain clinics, pharmacies and doctors selling pain drugs to log every prescription into a statewide computer database, where the medical officials and police can detect drug dealers and addicts who go from office to office amassing hundreds of pills a day.
Also, the law gives state regulators new powers to inspect and closely oversee clinics owned by investors, a segment of the business that police identify as a blatant source of illegal narcotic pills.
“I’m thrilled,” said Tina Reed, a Davie mother whose adult son used to be an addict and runner for a dealer, and who had been part of a coalition lobbying for the bill (SB 462). “It may not be a perfect bill but the fact is we have a database established that we can work on. We’re not cured of this crisis, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
Tampa is competing in the National Civic League ’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference today, and judging of the various communities’ projects has already started. Tampa’s presentation featured a booming entrance, with the Middleton High School drum line, and civic activists and city employees side-by-side talking about their three projects.Tampa will find out tomorrow night at about 7 p.m. if it gets the title and the bragging rights that goes with it.
Here are the details, as summarized in the AAC conference program:
Tampa, Florida
Economic Development in East Tampa As one of the older developed areas of the city, East Tampa declined during the 1960’s and 70’s period of Urban Development. In 2003, Tampa Mayor Iorio announced that one of her strategic initiatives would be the transformation of East Tampa to a community with flourishing recreational, social and culture activities. The City of Tampa staff focused on the assets of East Tampa with the idea of creating a model to use in other challenged areas of Tampa, reaching out to the residents and challenging them to create a vision for their neighborhood. The residents collaborated with the government, schools, universities, churches, sports organizations, businesses, and non-profit organizations. Responding to resident participation, the City of Tampa launched an aggressive campaign called Operation Commitment. The goals included rooting out crime, prostitution, drugs and code violations. At the same time, the City of Tampa created the East Tampa Development Division to focus exclusively on the economic and civic revitalization of the area. In doing so, it took the important step of designating East Tampa as a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) eligible for Tax Increment Financing (TIF). To date, over $21 million dollars has been generated providing the necessary financial resources to upgrade aging infrastructure, resurface streets, add sidewalks and make corridor beautifications.
[Shown in the photo gallery above are the new Fair Oaks Park renovations and the Cyrus Green Pool]
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 18, 2009, at 9:19 am
Tampa’s hometown delegation for the All-America City Awards being hosted at the Marriott Waterside took the stage this morning behind the Middleton High School drum line, providing a blast of energy to an already interesting but lower-key set of community presentations. That’s Mayor Pam Iorio at the center, in a blue suit, after she spent time posing for pictures with former Mayor Sandy Freedman, who led Tampa in 1990 when it was last given the AAC designation.
The group highlighted three civic projects: Improvements in East Tampa, the new 40th Street Bridge and road widening, and a holiday celebration in Sulphur Springs.
Thirty communities are vying for 10 slots to be designated an All-America City. The winners will be announced tomorrow night. CL is staffing today and tomorrow’s presentations, and you can follow on Twitter, either my tweets (@poho) or by following the hashtag #aac on our All-America Tweet Feed.
Claire Enders, the chief executive of Enders Analysis, told a Commons committee that newspapers would close across Britain because revenues would collapse by 52% – or £1.3bn – between 2007 and 2013.
“We are expecting up to half of all the 1,300 titles will close in the next five years,” Enders told the Commons culture, media and sport select committee hearing on the future of local and regional media.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 17, 2009, at 2:00 pm
The National Civic League ’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference starts today in Tampa, and a common theme for cities is revitalizing downtowns. Here is Erie, Penn.’s effort along those lines:
Just as in many other urban communities in the latter half of the 20th century, residents began moving outside the city limits and into the suburbs. Part of the city’s present day vision is to bring those families and young professionals back downtown by offering new and attractive urban living options. Downtown Erie’s 70-block core has been broken up into phases with different projects designed to fit each area. Some of the projects include streetscaping, façade renovations, and lighting and park improvements. In several other areas, the goal is to provide different levels of housing including market rate housing, low to moderate income housing, and some luxury housing, as well as office space and opportunity for commercial and retail development. The plan calls for approximately $56 million in real estate development, representing 40,000 square feet of commercial development, 143 residential units, parks and street improvements. Presently the Erie Redevelopment Authority and various development partners have approximately $6 million of mixed-use development under construction and another $12 million in projects are planned for construction in the next 6 to 24 months.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-19 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 17, 2009, at 11:16 am
Twelve-year-olds throughout the world are in mourning today as the rumored corporate shrinkage of MySpace is coming true. About 480 workers will be hitting the bricks by the end of the day, according to its news release:
MYSPACE REDUCES STAFF BY NEARLY 30%
Return to Start-Up Culture a Focus for Company Moving Forward
LOS ANGELES—June 16, 2009—As part of a plan to restructure itself into a more innovative, efficient, and entrepreneurial business, MySpace announced today that it will reduce its staff by nearly 30%. This restructuring plan crosses all U.S. divisions of the company and lowers the total number of domestic staff at MySpace to 1,000 employees.
“Simply put, our staffing levels were bloated and hindered our ability to be an efficient and nimble team-oriented company,” said MySpace Chief Executive Officer Owen Van Natta. “I understand that these changes are painful for many. They are also necessary for the long-term health and culture of MySpace. Our intent is to return to an environment of innovation that is centered on our user and our product.”
“MySpace grew too big considering the realities of today’s marketplace,” said Jonathan Miller, News Corporation’s CEO of Digital Media and Chief Digital Officer. “I believe this restructuring will help MySpace operate much more effectively both structurally and financially moving forward. I am confident in MySpace’s next phase under the leadership of Owen and his team.”
Is Facebook far behind? Although we loooooove us some Facebook…
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 17, 2009, at 10:30 am
The National Civic League ’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference starts today in Tampa. We’re highlighting one nominated project from each of the 30 competing communities (10 will be named AAC’s). Here is Toledo, Ore.:
In 2005, the City built a state-of-the-art skatepark for the youth of Toledo. Youngsters had lobbied city council for a park, prompting a city councilor to apply to Oregon State Parks for funding. It was built on a lot donated by the city, with an adjacent lot donated by a landowner. The Siletz Tribe also contributed funds to the project. The new facility is located next to an area the city had already developed as a recreational area, with a city park, swimming pool and library nearby. The presence of the skate park has increased use of the adjacent facilities, and it provides a space for youth to gather and recreate. Volunteers help monitor the park, and youth help maintain it. An art project was organized to add interest to the area, and an adjacent business allowed its outside wall to be used for a mural. A volunteer art director helped Toledo elementary students design and complete the mural using donated materials. Landscaping design was donated and volunteers installed the landscaping. The park has earned notice from around the region, and is a destination for skateboarders.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-19 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
The National Civic League ’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference starts today in Tampa. We’re highlighting one nominated project from each of the 30 competing cities (10 will be named AAC’s). Here is Wooster, Ohio:
Wooster, Ohio
Knights Field Park
A successful collaboration between government, community organizations, residents, and developers led to the recent transformation of Wooster’s Knights Field Park from a “low use” neighborhood park to one that now attracts children and families from all parts of the city and county. In 2005, the Kiwanis club asked the city’s parks manager for an opportunity to build a new playground at Knights Field. Funding was obtained through the state’s community development block grant program, a design firm was retained, and neighborhood schoolchildren were employed as “design consultants” to assist in the design of the playground. With the Kiwanians providing the labor and city park staff acting as project managers, the playground was built over a two-day period. In addition, a neighborhood improvement association created a butterfly garden, and, in 2007, Knights Field pool was converted to a “sprayground.” The third step in the revitalization of the park was the opening of Kiddie City, a kid-sized community meant for the use of young children operating tricycles, bicycles, big wheels and small electric vehicles. As a consequence of this revitalization effort, park officials have seen a dramatic increase in the usage of Knights Field Park, and the City of Wooster received the 2008 Award of Excellence from the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-19 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 16, 2009, at 3:40 pm
Trimming the fat at the top of the St. Petersburg City Hall pecking order would help mayoral hopeful Kathleen Ford trim property tax rates in the city by 8.5 percent, according to a proposed budget she released this afternoon.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 16, 2009, at 2:28 pm
The National Civic League ’s 2009 All-America City Awards gets in full swing tomorrow morning in Tampa. We’re highlighting one nominated project from each of the 30 competing cities (10 will be named AAC’s). Here is Cpl. Max Klinger’s favorite city, Toledo, Ohio:
Food needs are rising for many people in the Toledo community due to economic conditions. In an effort to meet this need and make Toledo a more livable community, area leaders and organizations have been exploring how the use of growing systems in urban settings can meet rising local food needs. Experimental efforts have already been underway in the region for the past two years through the production of various community gardens. Toledo GROWs is the community gardening outreach program of Toledo Botanical Garden. Toledo GROWs offers organizational resources and technical assistance to support the development of sustainable garden projects that serve people of diverse ages and abilities. Toledo GROWs has collaborated with dozens of Toledo organizations to create over sixty community gardens throughout the city. In 2008, over two thousand citizens participated in community gardens. These participants received free seeds and free plants as well as educational opportunities. The greenhouses also provide employment to youth in their neighborhoods while eliminating hunger, transforming blighted lots and strengthening communities.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-19 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
The National Civic League ’s 2009 All-America City Awards gets in full swing tomorrow morning in Tampa. We’re highlighting one nominated project from each of the 30 competing cities (10 will be named AAC’s). Here is Somerville, Mass., a Boston suburb:
Over the past several years, the City of Somerville has increased its focus on creating a transparent, inclusive form of municipal government for all community members and through a variety of media, to create a more inclusive and responsive community. This idea includes the creation of a government management model that not only tracks administrative trends and constituent requests to increase accountability, but also provides the City’s residents with the opportunity to respond to and provide feedback on City initiatives and the annual budget process, to create an inclusive, transparent form of government. To that end, in 2004, Somerville adopted the CitiStat model of management, dubbed “SomerStat,” which institutes a series of regular forums with all City departments and key decision-makers to identify problems, assess success of service delivery and track constituent concerns, determine opportunities for improvement and, along with the City’s 311 Customer Service Center, provide data on departments’ service demand and delivery, as partially determined by residents. Somerville’s goal is to build and sustain a continuous, positive relationship and ongoing conversation between City government and community members, and all of these tools have increasingly made that goal a reality.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-19 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 16, 2009, at 10:30 am
The National Civic League ’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference is starting to register guests tonight in Tampa. We’re highlighting one nominated project from each of the 30 competing cities (10 will be named AAC’s). Here is Benson, N.C.’s delicious entry:
In 2003, Jan Matthews-Hodges won the Blue Ribbon and Best in Show at the North Carolina State Fair for her pound cake, and The Pound Cake Company was born. With the help of a $7,500 Microenterprise Loan from the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, Jan started the Pound Cake Company in a small downtown location as a part-time enterprise. In fall 2005, Jan began making plans to expand her business, but she needed a much larger space to do so. While Jan was perfecting her pound cake recipe, the Town of Benson, in October 2004, acquired the dilapidated shell of the old Benson Middle School. The goal in this acquisition was to create a business incubator in hopes of creating new jobs for the Town. The Pound Cake Company was to be the first tenant. Government partnerships and grants led to a full-time business in what used to be the Benson Middle School Cafeteria, employing between 15-20 full-time personnel. The Pound Cake Company now distributes to Lowes Foods, The Fresh Market, A Southern Season Gourmet Market and Whole Foods Market. What started as a part-time bakery has become a full fledged industry that will employ over 40 Benson citizens by the end of 2010.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-19 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 16, 2009, at 6:29 am
The Tampa Bay Rays continue their inevitable move OUT of St. Petersburg and to a mid-Pinellas location after being denied a waterfront ballpark and realizing, “Hey, we could be closer to tens of thousands of new fans if we weren’t stuck in The Burg’s downtown.”
The latest evidence? The Rays commissioned a study on rehabbing Tropicana Field. Even with improvements and a retractable roof, to the tune of $471 million, the Trop would only be a “B-, B+” kind of facility, the report concluded.
The Rays, however, want an A+ home. Rays stadium procurer Mike Kalt wrote to the A Baseball Community meeting, according to the Times, “We believe the study leaves little doubt that a renovation of Tropicana Field would not be a prudent course of action going forward.”
I did not go seeking my scandalous affair with Governor C., it found me.
The first time I met C. was on a freezing cold February evening. The temperature had fallen to an unbelievably low 68 degrees, and I was forced to wear a t-shirt due to the extreme temperature. Fate, my older sister, had dragged me, reluctantly, along with her to a charity fashion show she was modeling in at the Vinoy in St. Petersburg.
It was a half hour drive from our apartment in Tampa. If I had known the way things were going to turn out, would I have still crossed the Howard Frankland, or would I have paused and reconsidered when I reached West Shore Plaza, stopping in the mall for some window shopping at BCBG before heading back to my mundane middle class life? I cannot honestly say whether the Destiny St. Clair I was then would have been so bold as to willingly embark upon the life I have since lived, but as I reflect now, I’m glad it all happened. Read the rest of this entry »
The National Civic League starts early registration in Tampa tonight as it gets ready to open the 2009 All-America City Awards conference. We’re highlighting one nominated project from each of the 30 competing cities (10 will be named AAC’s). Here is Statesville, N.C.:
In 1990, Fifth Street Ministries began running emergency, winter and battered women’s shelters. In 1991, faced with inadequate space and a deteriorating facility, Fifth Street Ministries moved to a dilapidated and abandoned school. The move allowed the soup kitchen to move into a functioning cafeteria and the expansion of the winter shelter program into a year-round night shelter. In subsequent years, additional services were offered, including a free health and medical center, a children’s program, and a thrift store that provided clothing and employment opportunities for shelter guests. In 2008, Fifth Street Ministries provided 58,247 meals, 11,005 shelter nights in the overnight shelter, 13,335 shelter nights in the emergency shelter, and 7,852 shelter nights in the battered women’s shelter. 350 volunteers donated well over 5,000 volunteer hours to make this possible. The need for Fifth Street Ministries’ services continues to grow and, with the help of community partners, Fifth Street Ministries opened a new facility on December 6, 2008. It has room for overnight guests, a cafeteria, and rooms for counseling, training, education and support groups. The new facility also enables Fifth Street Shelters to offer transitional housing and additional training in a variety of areas.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-19 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 15, 2009, at 2:16 pm
Officials with the National Civic League are arriving in Tampa today to begin prepping for the opening of registration on Tuesday night for the 2009 All-America City Awards conference. We’re highlighting one nominated project from each of the 30 competing cities (10 will be named AAC’s). Here is Kinston, N.C.
Kinston, North Carolina
Little-by-Little
In 2007, a local financial institution, the “little bank,” partnered with Partnership for Children along with Lenoir County and Southeast Elementary School to meet the challenge of providing a long-term mentoring program for elementary school children, and the “Little-by-Little” program was born. Each student is partnered with a mentor, or Buddy, from the community that nurtures their education and encourages them to dream big. Every nine weeks, the students are given specific goals in comprehension, behavioral, and accelerated reading. If the students meet their goals, $50 is put aside for the student’s college tuition. Students are also awarded a $50 end of year bonus if all four, nine week goals are met throughout the year. This money will build over time and if students continue to work hard, excel, and meet their goals, they could have up to $3000 to use for college tuition or books. The intention of the program is to work and follow these children until they have finished high school. Other partners in the program include local attorneys, business owners, District Court Judges, Assistant DA, and local churches. Southeast Elementary and its collaborative partners believe that “little-by-little” is a way to provide support and teach children the value of setting and achieving goals both personal and educational.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-19 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 15, 2009, at 12:19 pm
Take it with a grain of salt, but fired Jamie Bennett campaign manager Peter Schorsch (first a GOP political consultant, then avowedly Democrat in his outlook) has endorsed (sort of) Republican Bill Foster, probably the most conservative of the candidates, for mayor of St. Petersburg.
After savagely dismissing Deveron Gibbons and Scott Wagman, Schorsch writes:
Bill Foster is the devil we know. I disagree with Bill Foster’s rightwing worldview, but I think he would do right for our city. He is a good person with a wonderful family, a fact that reflects well on Foster. Sure, he can be clunky at times. He can be holier-than-thou most of the time, but the city will be safe in his hands.
Instead of raising money from developers and lobbyists, Foster first wrote a 15-page plan about how he would lead the city. I don’t think anyone has read the Foster Formula other than me and Cristina Silva, but if you have, you know that there is some serious thought in it. Particularly on public safety, Foster has the most sensible approach to leading St. Petersburg.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 15, 2009, at 7:55 am
It is a only bit of a surprise (and far from “stunning,” as the campaign puts it), since Deveron Gibbons has long been a supporter of Charlie Crist and a beneficiary of the Gov’s appointments, but Crist has publicly endorsed Gibbons in the mayor’s race in St. Petersburg. Normally, politicians running in their own races have their hands full and stay out of other campaigns where they could make enemies. Nonethless, Crist is on board with Team Gibbons. Here is the news release, and DL the entire release after the jump:
Of all the things that have changed in China over the past 30 years, transportation has undergone one of the most obvious of transformations. Where city streets once swarmed with bicycles, they are now full of automobiles. Cars clog intersection and expressways. Their exhaust clouds the sky and the air is full of the sound of horns. But zipping through the congestion is the vanguard of another transportation revolution: vehicles that use no gas, emit no exhaust and are so quiet they can surprise the unwary pedestrian.
In China, electric bicycles are leaving cars in the dust. Last year, Chinese bought 21 million e-bikes, compared with 9.4 million autos. While China now has about 25 million cars on the road, it has four times as many e-bikes. Thanks to government encouragement and a population well versed in riding two wheels to work, the country has become the world’s leading market for the cheap, green vehicles, helping to offset some of the harmful effects of the country’s automobile boom. Indeed, as engineers around the world scramble to create eco-friendly, plug-in electric cars, China is already ahead of the game. Says Frank Jamerson, a former GM engineer turned electric-vehicle analyst: “What’s happening in China is sort of a clue to what the future will be.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 14, 2009, at 8:17 am
The Gainesville Sun has an article detailing how right-wing Attorney General Bill McCollum has dropped code words friendly to social conservatives in a bid to appeal to moderate voters in his bid for Florida Governor.
The Gainesville Sun reports that Republican Bill McCollum is moderating his political views and appealing to the Charlie Crist voters in his run for Florida Governor. The article points out that McCollum’s support for includng sexual orientation in Hate Crimes laws and the fact that his finance chairman’s lead oppositon to Amendment 2 has drawn the ire of arch conservatives including form Christian Coalition leader Dennis Baxley.
His finance team chairman is Jonathan Kislak, who last year led a group that unsuccessfully opposed a constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage in the state. McCollum says he disagrees with his friend on that issue.
Just because some of the winger groups are “upset” at McCollum not breathing fire on stem-cell research or hate crimes or God knows what else doesn’t mean that McCollum has fundamentally changed his stripes.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 14, 2009, at 8:09 am
As the new models for journalism start to emerge, here is another piece of that puzzle, from The New York Times:
Four nonprofit groups devoted to investigative journalism will have their work distributed by The Associated Press, The A.P. will announce on Saturday, greatly expanding their potential audience and helping newspapers fill the gap left by their own shrinking resources.
Starting on July 1, the A.P. will deliver work by the Center for Public Integrity, the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University, the Center for Investigative Reporting, and ProPublica to the 1,500 American newspapers that are A.P. members, which will be free to publish the material.
The A.P. called the arrangement a six-month experiment that could later be broadened to include other investigative nonprofits, and to serve its nonmember clients, which include broadcast and Internet outlets.
Seven months after her election to the Pinellas County School Board, Nina Hayden has decided she wants to go to Tallahassee. Hayden, an attorney in the Public Defender’s Office, confirmed on Thursday that she will run for Sen. Charlie Justice’s seat in 2010.
Q. So you’ve made up your mind not to run for School Board again. Was that a difficult decision?
When I first signed on for School Board, I wasn’t sure where I would be in two years. I already was passionate about kids. I had a history of being involved with children and young people in the community. Did I have future aspirations to go to Tallahassee? Of course. Did I expect it to happen so soon? Not really. That’s where the decision came into play. I looked at the political climate of Florida. I saw how important education had become. It’s always been important, but now it’s more so. We’re dealing with a situation where we’ve sort of been bailed out by the stimulus money. But that’s going to run out. It’s going to be a crucial time in the state of Florida. That’s why I’m going to Tallahassee.
Well, your bank account may already know this, but a new Wachovia report says that Florida was hit the hardest by the recession.
Here’s your depressing factoids:
* Florida went into recession nine months ahead of the rest of the country.
* Excess real estate is more abundant then the rest of the country, duh.
* The Unemployment rate in Florida is expted to reach 11%, a total loss of 720,000 jobs.
* Net household wealth dropped by $1.2 trillion, with 2/3 of that coming from financial assets.
This afternoon’s featured community in the National Civic League’s 2009 All-America City Awards (the conference convenes in Tampa next week) is Belton, Mo.:
The city of Belton had long needed a swimming pool to replace its aging outdoor facility. The city also knew the community wanted an indoor facility that could be used year-round. Additionally, the Belton School District had sponsored swim teams for more than 20 years, but has never had local facilities at its disposal. The park department and school district began discussions on how they could work together to meet the needs of the community and students. After several meetings, representatives of the Belton School District and the Belton Park Department signed a memorandum of understanding on March 27, 2006, that set the stage for an indoor aquatic center in Belton. The agreement provides the park department with the additional operating revenue it needs to make the indoor facility possible. At the same time, the agreement allows the school district to be a preferred user of the facility. After many years of planning and negotiation, the aquatic center was officially opened on December 29, 2008. This project brought people together to find solutions for both the school district and the community at large.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-18 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
This afternoon’s featured community in the National Civic League’s 2009 All-America City Awards (the conference convenes in Tampa next week) is Albany, N.Y.:
As Albany commemorates 2009 as the 400th year since legendary explorer Henry Hudson first sailed to its shores, a floating educational institution, inspired by his voyages, completes its first decade of discovery. The Half Moon, a stunningly accurate replica of Hudson’s ship, is committed not only to preserving an important part of national heritage, but also is dedicated to educating youth by inspiring a love of history and fostering community involvement. Created in 1989 at the Port of Albany’s snowdock, The Half Moon was designed to be a unique method to teach youth in the Capital Region about their state’s rich history and heritage, and, most importantly, about themselves. As part of an annual curriculum for thousands of students, the Half Moon has been an incredible “hands on” sailing history lesson for more than 500 selected local young people since its maiden voyage ten years ago. At least twice every year, twelve middle-schoolers man the ship on a “Voyage of Discovery” from Lower New York Harbor to Albany. Students spanning the entire Capital District are involved, from city and rural school districts with incredibly diverse backgrounds.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-18 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 12, 2009, at 5:30 am
This morning’s project from the nominees inthe 2009 All-America City Awards conference coming to Tampa starting next Wednesday is not an entirely new idea: community visioning. The difference, as our in-depth coverage continues, is that is sounds like Wichita is not letting its vision document sit on a dusty shelf:
Wichita, Kansas Visioneering Wichita Visioneering Wichita (VW) is about achieving far-reaching, but attainable goals to make the region an excellent place to live. In 2004, residents from throughout the region gave input on efforts and priority to issues, including creating jobs, increasing per-capita income, ensuring education at every age and various quality of life initiatives. A process was created where the community could reach consensus on major issues of local, regional and statewide importance. Thousands of volunteers and hundreds of organizations worked together to create a long-term plan. Ten community issues were selected for the VW working document, and strategies were set for each goal, with over 500 organizations and community groups attaching themselves to one or more strategies. These vision partners agreed to work together to commit time, staff and resources to making individual strategies reality. Although the accomplishments to date are impressive, it is Visioneering Wichita’s process that is remarkable. Visioneering Wichita is about the gift of collaboration, the realization of a dream and the empowerment of a community.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-19 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists. CL and this blog will provide live tweeting and blog coverage from the presentations on Thursday and Friday morning.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 12, 2009, at 5:00 am
CL’s Straight Dope column examines the worst stock-market crash in U.S. history, the 1929 crash. Somebody must have made money in that down market, right?
An excerpt:
I recently discovered your site/column, and after spending days and nights reading, I’m convinced you are indeed the world’s smartest person and so best qualified to answer my question: Who made money during the 1929 stock market crash? I know being so smart, you’re probably laughing all the way to the bank during this one.–Bernard, currently in Accra, Ghana
Can’t complain, but smart didn’t have much to do with it. Forget to invest in your retirement account: if you don’t bet, you can’t lose. You can’t beat a system like that.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 11, 2009, at 3:09 pm
Revitalization is a constant theme in the projects nominated as part of the 2009 All-America City Awards conference coming to Tampa starting next Wednesday.
CL is providing the most in-depth coverage of the civic gathering because a) it’s important to reconnect people with their communities and b) the 30 communities involved in presenting their best public-private partnerships provide Tampa Bay civic activists a great opportunity to “steal” a few good ideas.
This interesting project is from a suburb of Des Moines about how school kids got involved to rehab their local park:
Windsor Heights, Iowa
Colby Park Playground
Colby Park is the larger of Windsor Heights’ two parks, and it is highly visible from an interstate that traverses the Des Moines metropolitan area. Aging and poorly planned, the park was in need of revitalization, and the City formed an ad hoc committee to create a comprehensive concept for the park. The first, most pressing area was the playground. The Windsor Heights Foundation had set aside money for new playground equipment, and the City partnered with a local school to help design the playground area. As part of a school program that offers ‘real world’ experiences to students, city staff worked with 6th and 7th graders to create a curriculum which would have them develop the architectural plan for the playground. The students created plans that included the recommended location of the equipment, the budget, and safety and accessibility factors. The students made presentations to the Windsor Heights Foundation, and the Foundation was so impressed with the students’ work that they increased the funding for the equipment by nearly 39% in order to achieve the optimal plan. The City Council also committed $100,000 to redeveloping the playground area. The playground was completed in the spring of 2007. The children learned valued life skills and can now play in the park they helped create.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-19 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists. CL and this blog will provide live tweeting and blog coverage from the presentations on Thursday and Friday morning.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 11, 2009, at 11:01 am
Ouch. This one goes into the “I-don’t-know-whether-to-laugh-or-cry-or-both” file. Correspondent Jason Jones intones, “You guys are like a walking Colonial Williamsburg.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 11, 2009, at 10:10 am
Should local governments have spent your tax dollars in campaigns for referenda such as the Penny for Pinellas?
Senate Bill 216 is now law, and its top advocate, St. Petersburg state Sen. Charlie Justice is pretty happy about it. SB 216 bans local governments from spending tax dollars to educate voters about referenda, a process that is both defended by government as a necessary means of explaining tricky civic issues and criticized by those who say it is merely advocacy campaigning with taxpayer money.
I’ve got both sides of the issue on it. First, Justice, who issued this statement upon Gov. Charlie Crist signing the bill:
The National Civic League’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference convenes in Tampa next week. Here is a look at one of the nominees that will present their best civic projects, Des Moines, Iowa:
Des Moines, Iowa
Urban Revitalization Core West 18th St. to East 18th St.
Since 2004, downtown Des Moines has gone through a renaissance to become what is now the pièce de résistance of the metropolitan area. This rebirth took place with the outpouring of support from the public and private sectors and community members. The City Council held broad public meetings to solicit a downtown vision and consulted with experts in revitalization to begin our renaissance. The Council created catalysts throughout the downtown to generate future development across the core of our community. The developments are a mix of new and rehabilitated construction which preserves the historical integrity of downtown architecture while promoting opportunities for new infill design. The catalysts involved in downtown revitalization over the last five years have significantly contributed to the rebirth of Des Moines’ urban core. With a minimum of city investment, historical buildings have been preserved, green initiatives implemented, housing stock added, entertainment districts created. Future phases of revitalization are planned and include ways to enhance the connectivity between the western and eastern edges of downtown and expand into residential neighborhoods.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-18 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 10, 2009, at 8:38 am
Great article in our Washington City Paper sister pub last week by Andrew Beaujon about how the changes to adult-use ads at Craigslist could affect the alt-newspaper industry.
From the article:
Last year Craigslist, which lists 18 employees on its “about us” page, made somewhere between $20 and $80 million dollars. So why is its CEO, Jim Buckmaster, so p.o.’d about sex ads in alt-weeklies?
Because these bottom-feeding free publications are making an erotic comeback in the classifieds biz, with an assist from law enforcement.
Buckmaster has even taken to the blogosphere to air his frustrations with alt-weekly encroachment. In a recent post, he lists several titles of adult ads he found on backpage.com, a collection of classifieds sites owned by Village Voice Media (VVM). “Cum lay your hotdog on my bun for memorial day” (Dallas); “Let me put you to bed backdoor available $80? (Columbia, S.C.); “An Irish blowjob and a cum showering rainbow” (New York). He links to a screenshot of the last ad, which has photos of a woman performing fellatio.
“It’s worth noting that these ads’ TITLES ALONE contain more explicit content than you will find in all craigslist adult service ads combined,” he writes in the post.
It is an interesting subject given the historical use and reliance on adult-use advertising by publications such as Creative Loafing. It always pits free speech (free love?) advocates against those who have concerns about the objectification of women and the violence that can result.
In our new CLTampa.com, the hottest-growing section seems to be the often explicit Sex & Love articles, to the point where some readers (and CL staffers, in internal discussions and e-mails) have raised questions about the balance between news and erotica/porn/sex coverage. Our publisher and classified ad manager tell me, unlike in Washington, that our adult-use advertising hasn’t seen a bump upward since the change in Craigslist policy.
The National Civic League’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference convenes in Tampa next week. Here is another look at one of the 30 nominees that will present their best civic projects, Richmond, Ind.:
Motivated by the Wayne County Learning Corporation’s Education Summit of October, 2007, the entire community set out to address the 30% high school drop out rate by raising third-grade reading levels. This community explored two approaches: one adult-centered, the other led by youth. Adult-centered response: Two local business people began and, with the help of over two hundred community contributors and volunteers, raised $150,000 and conducted the first Third Grade Reading Academy. During the summer of 2008, a four-week intervention reading program was developed to generate an interest and enthusiasm for reading and to involve key local institutions. Of the 145 eligible students who had not passed their ISTEP (the state’s) Language Arts test, 118 participated and raised their scores by 50%. Youth-centered response: The youth believe that the key to addressing drop outs is to motivate through interactive activities inside and out of school, and cite three efforts. My Will is a weekly group meeting of up to 30 high school girls to address personal problems and support each other. Stage One is Richmond Civic Theatre’s youth theatre involving 250 youth in up to three productions each year. The net benefit is personal development and increased civic/community engagement. Civic Hall is a 936 seat performing arts venue owned and operated by Richmond Community Schools providing “wonderful opportunities for students to perform in a professional setting.”
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-18 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
This afternoon’s featured community in the National Civic League’s 2009 All-America City Awards (the conference convenes in Tampa next week) is South Bend, Ind.:
Facing dismal retail and housing trends in its Northeast Neighborhood, the City of South Bend brought together neighbors and leaders from the University of Notre Dame along with three key institutions within or on the neighborhood borders: Madison Center, Memorial Hospital of South Bend and Saint Joseph’s Regional Medical Center. They incorporated the NNRO in 2000 as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit for the neighborhood’s social, physical and economic revitalization. The institutions served as funding partners, committing a collective $1.75 million over the initial five years. This community partnership has resulted in transformed relationships among neighbors, the university, and private and public sectors, as well as in hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in retail, residential, and commercial development.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-18 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
State Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach made it official Monday, announcing he will run for attorney general and bringing the party one step closer to a three-way Democratic primary.
State Sen. Dave Aronberg of Greenacres announced for the office last week, and former state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua is expected to announce soon.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 9, 2009, at 5:00 am
The National Civic League’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference convenes in Tampa next week. Here is a look at one of the 30 nominees that will present their best civic projects, Fort Wayne, Ind.:
From 1991 to 2008, the number of immigrants and refugees from various parts of the world has grown from 44 to 3,644 an increase of 1274%. The United Way of Allen County held community forums to address the specific services and needs for the refugee community. As a result of this forum, a federal grant was submitted to the Office of Refugee Resettlement for funding by a coalition consisting of several community agencies to develop a refugee resource center that will serve as a one stop location. The coalition received the grant and in November 2008, The Refugee Resource Center was officially opened. The Center provides services and educational classes that help refugees access healthcare, employment, learn English and other skills. Currently, nine agencies provide on-site services, and two organizations provide off-site services as part of a Refugee Resource Coalition. Current coalition partners include: Saint Joseph Community Health Foundation; the Burmese Advocacy Center; the Allen County Lead and Healthy Homes Program; the Reclamation Project; Indiana Family and Social Services Agency; Advantage Health Solutions; Super Shot; East Allen County School Corporation; Neighborhood Christian Legal Services; Catholic Charities; and IVY Tech Community College.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-18 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 8, 2009, at 2:18 pm
Major has-been Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin gets another round with a national audience tonight, appearing on Sean Hannity’s unquestioning show to say “I told you so” about Barack Obama. She’s flogging the right-wing bullshit about how we are creeping toward socialism. (See the Political Whore post debunking that.)
From the interview, leaked (conveniently) to Drudge Report:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 8, 2009, at 12:29 pm
The National Civic League’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference convenes in Tampa next week, and I’m continuing to post information about the various city projects that are nominated for recognition.
AAC nominee Carbondale, Ill., nominated its neighborhood stabilization program and a job-opportunities Teen Futures program, as well as this arts-related effort:
Carbondale, Illinois
Varsity Center for the Arts
Following the closure of the historic Varsity Theater, an open forum was held to bring community members together to discuss its future. Overwhelmingly, community members suggested that the building become a “center for the arts,” and although they worked hard to gain support, the building owner remained skeptical. In 2005, Carbondale’s largest community theater troop, the Jackson Stage Company, lost its home. This, coupled with closure of the Varsity Theater, presented a unique opportunity. The City approached the owners of the Varsity and asked them to donate the building to create the much needed cultural center and a home for The Stage Company. The building owner agreed, and The Stage Company, in partnership with Carbondale Community Arts, began a new campaign to raise funds for the Varsity Center for the Arts. The Stage Company was able to generate the enthusiasm of the local citizens and Carbondale Community Arts helped to anchor the facility as a regional attraction. In October of 2008, the Stage Company held their first performance at the Center and received an amazing response. Through all of the hard work of the community, area organizations and businesses, the Varsity Center for the Arts has put “art in the heart of Carbondale.”
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-18 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 8, 2009, at 6:23 am
Big Oil’s offshore drilling scheme appears to be making a comeback. A start-up political group is looking to gather petition signatures and put the idea on the ballot, bypassing the politically sensitive Legislature.
Claiming that offshore drilling is the answer to the nation’s addiction to foreign oil, conservative activists are gearing up a constitutional drive to lift Florida’s 20-year-old ban.
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Sponsors of the drive, FloridaOil.org, are exploring a unique approach to getting around what has long been considered the third rail of Florida politics, one so charged that a last-minute attempt in the Legislature this spring quickly died when Senate President Jeff Atwater, a Republican from North Palm Beach, put his foot down.
“Atwater proved that we can’t rely on the Legislature,” said the group’s chief organizer, Dan Baldauf of Bradenton. “Legislators actually prefer that we do it this way, because it helps them keep their hands clean.”
This sounds like it is more about folks who want to procure some spending cash from the oil and gas companies than a legit movement with any legs. The story notes that the group has raised just $2,000 so far but expects a lot more once it attracts the attention of the oil-producing companies.
Although carefully worded polls will show support for offshore drilling, this is a big loser at the ballot box.
With the National Civic League’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference convening in Tampa in just nine days, I’m posting information about the various city projects that are nominated for recognition.
To recap again, 30 cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-18 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
AAC nominee Windsor, Colo., nominated its Teen Advisory Board and two projects related to a disaster last year, when an EF3 tornado struck the town, killing one and leaving a 35-mile swath of destruction:
Windsor, Colorado
Northern Colorado Tornado Long Term Recovery Team (Individual)
On May 22, 2008, the town of Windsor, Colorado was struck by an EF 3 tornado. Following the initial emergency response, the question was asked: how can the community organize to monitor the recovery process? This sparked the proposal for a long term recovery committee that would include a collaboration of volunteers, nonprofit organizations, government, and the private sector to assist residents as they put their lives back together. The Long Term Recovery Team (LTRT) was formed, with the mission to strengthen area-wide disaster coordination by sharing information, assisting individuals and families that have specific unmet needs, and by providing a coordinated effort to bring available resources together to aid in the recovery of northern Colorado residents affected by the storms. To date, the LTRT has responded in the following ways: four community meetings, two door-to-door formal needs assessments, 603 crisis counseling contacts, 10,691 pieces of informative material distributed, several storm related presentations, several food and holiday food distributions, monitored home rebuilding in hardest hit areas, 65 families mentored through case management, landscaping assistance and projected distribution of over $150,000 in financial assistance.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 7, 2009, at 5:00 pm
The next city in my series highlighting the great civic works of some U.S. communties in the National Civic League’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference is Rancho Cordova, Calif., a six-year-old city looking for innovative solutions.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-18 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Rancho Cordova’s three nominated projects all involved public safety, but its most interesting nominee could provide a model of cooperation and savings in a county such as, say, Pinellas, where duplication and excessive cost to maintain dozens of small and large law enforcement agencies can drive taxes up.
Rancho Cordova worked with the local sheriff’s office in this way:
Rancho Cordova, California
Shared Command Model Police Agency
The Rancho Cordova Police Department (RCPD), in a unique partnership with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department (SSD), has formed the Shared Command Model Police Agency. The Shared Command enables both the RCPD and the SSD to maximize manpower at a reduced cost to both agencies. Some of the benefits include: sharing of specific personnel and resources,
cross response capability for emergency or life threatening calls for service, reduction of operational costs without losing service, and a regional approach to the delivery of law enforcement services. In addition, the shared command reduces the “red tape” approval process commonly required when requesting resources through outside agencies. RCPD and SSD personnel frequently partner together for public/officer safety, public education, and demonstrations. The demonstrations give the community an opportunity to educate themselves about crime prevention, personal safety, and ways to improve the overall quality of life in their neighborhoods and communities. The effectiveness of this structure can be seen in a steadily declining crime rate, even as the population of Rancho Cordova continues to grow.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 7, 2009, at 3:35 pm
With a little more than a week to go until the National Civic League’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference convenes in Tampa, I’m posting information about the various city projects that are nominated for recognition.
To recap again, 30 cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-18 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
AAC nominee Inglewood, Calif., nominated three of its most successful efforts, including an urban retail center that revitalized a dilapidated neighborhood, a neighborhood noise suppression effort to buffer people who live near LAX and this project:
Inglewood, California
Youth Auto Repair Apprenticeship
In a city where employment rates have been historically low, job training programs for Inglewood’s youth addresses an important need and remains essential for Inglewood’s sustained workforce. In 2006, the City of Inglewood and the Los Angeles Opportunity Industrialization Center (LAOIC) launched the Youth Auto Repair Apprenticeship. Since, the city’s Fleet Management and Transit Services have trained more than 120 young students at Inglewood Unified School District and other schools throughout Los Angeles, at no cost to the student. Inglewood and LAOIC partnered with South Bay Workforce Investment Board, South Bay One-Stop Business and Career Centers, County of Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, the County Department of Public Social Services, and the school district to offer morning maintenance classes for academic credit to 10-15 high school students each semester. LAOIC’s mission is to provide quality training and employment to economically disadvantaged people of all races and backgrounds, enabling them to become self-sufficient.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 7, 2009, at 6:00 am
Here’s an advance look at my print column that will run in next Wednesday’s issue of Creative Loafing:
Green in 2008: Gov. Charlie Crist when being green was easier, with Michael Rea of the Carbon Trust in the U.K. signing an agreement for Florida and that nation to “share expertise on low carbon innovation and investment and to jointly develop strategies to attract low carbon industries.”
Photo: Florida Governor’s Office
They were heady, green days for Charlie Crist in July 2008 as he flew to London to attend a global climate-change conference and hobnob with members of Parliament to discuss the planet’s growing environmental crisis.
Back in the day, Crist shared a national spotlight with the likes of movie star Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, gaining attention as a group of state leaders who stepped up for the environment when George W. Bush’s administration turned a blind eye to science.
It was zenith of his 2007 pledge to turn Florida green, lower emissions and grow a biofuel industry. Last year, he laid out a $200 million investment in his green vision. But today, as Crist is all but a lame duck governor running for the U.S. Senate, very few of those hopes and promises have come true. Blame the knuckle-draggers in the Legislature. Blame the recession. Or, if you are like some environmentalists in the state, blame Crist for not having the strength or guile to get his way on green.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 4, 2009, at 3:36 pm
With less than two weeks to go until the National Civic League’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference convenes in Tampa, I’m going to begin posting information about the various city projects that are nominated for recognition.
To recap, 30 cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-18 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
AAC nominee Fort Smith, Ark., is a city of 80,000+ on the banks of the Arkansas River at the Oklahoma state border. Its three AAC nominees are its successful effort to keep an Air National Guard air wing operating in the region, its selection in 2007 as the new home of the U.S. Marshals Service Museum and its Meals for Kids program, which I’m featuring here in a summary provided by the National Civic League:
Fort Smith, Ark.
Meals for Kids
The Community Services Clearinghouse (CSC) is an organization that serves as an information-sharing agency and works with area churches, civic groups and community agencies to connect with real people with needs. In its Meals for Kids program, CSC feeds more than 2,400 public school students across the region each Friday, by filling backpacks with nutritional meals and sending students home with nonperishable foods for the weekend. No applications are required. Any student is eligible for the program – based on a recommendation from a child’s school. Professional nutritionists assist with the selection of foods to be placed in each child’s backpack on Fridays. Typical meals include juice, cereal, pudding, fruit cups, and some source of protein. The Greater Fort Smith region truly believes “No child should ever go hungry,” and volunteer organizations not only write checks to fund the weekly program, some groups also help assemble the backpacks each week.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 4, 2009, at 3:14 pm
With less than two weeks to go until the National Civic League’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference convenes in Tampa, I’m going to begin posting information about the various city projects that are nominated for recognition.
The reason? No. 1, because I am a civics geek. I believe that not only should communities work together to improve themselves but that citizens have a moral responsibility to be part of that process. No. 2, Tampa Bay civic activists can learn a lot from how 30 other cities are doing it, stealing a few good ideas along the way that we can use here at home.
And No. 3, Tampa is a finalist.
To recap, 30 cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-18 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best.
One of the finalists is Phoenix, Ariz., which submitted three projects: its Urban Higher Education effort, its parks and land preservation program and its pro-teen library initiative.
I’m going to focus on the Urban Higher Ed project, as that seems to hold lessons for Tampa Bay. From the National Civicl League’s summary of the project:
Phoenix, Arizona Urban Higher Education
Life-altering drug discoveries, collaboration between high school students and international bioscience leaders, and a new, vibrant, urban university campus are among the results of Phoenix’s decision to build the future. The impact of the community’s nearly half-billion dollar investment in urban education can be measured by research partnerships, student success, a downtown renaissance, and a steady flow of creative ideas resulting in economic activity exceeding $4 billion. Funding came from the city’s 2006 Citizens Bond Program, organized by more than 700 residents and supported overwhelmingly by voters. The result? Two academic campuses, the Phoenix Biomedical Campus and the new ASU Downtown Phoenix campus, are blossoming in downtown Phoenix, where previously educational opportunities were limited. The community’s investment and partnerships for research and education eventually will create 26,000 jobs, educate 18,000 students and spur an economic impact of $2.6 billion annually.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 4, 2009, at 1:30 pm
The Atlantic has a great column by Conor Clarke that should be required reading for every numnut who is going around spouting off that President Barack Obama has turned this nation into a socialist satellite. Yes, we can argue the wisdom of the GM bailout/semi-nationalization (and it appears, at least at this point, to be a bad deal for us taxpayers) but we are farrrrr from a socialist nation as a result, as Clark points out in his column and in this amazing graphic:
Do me and The Atlantic a favor and read the entire column and pass it along via e-mail to your goofy friends/relatives who bombard you with BS email about how we are becoming socialists.
The New Hampshire Legislature approved revisions to a same-sex marriage bill on Wednesday and Gov. John Lynch promptly signed the legislation, making the state the sixth in the nation to let gay couples wed.
The bill had been through several permutations in an effort to satisfy Mr. Lynch and certain legislators that it would not force religious groups that oppose gay marriage to participate in ceremonies celebrating it.
Mr. Lynch, who previously supported civil unions but not marriage for gay couples, said in a statement that he had heard “compelling arguments that a separate system is not an equal system.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 3, 2009, at 4:54 pm
“I had a politician who called me up one day and chewed me out because she was seated in the back dining room,” he recalls. The key to getting a seat in the vaunted main room is not status, it’s timing, he reveals. Agliano tells the hostesses to fill the back room and bar first. Those rooms are farther from the entrance, and it takes more time for the hostesses to go back and forth once the lunch rush hits. — Creative Loafing, 6.11.08
It was THE place to be and be seen in Tampa politics, for fundraisers and just to see who is chatting up who at lunch. Now, the Valencia Garden tradition of political intrigue is over. (And I need a new spot for a lunch date I had set for there next Tuesday.)
A padlock at the entrance to the Valencia Garden restaurant on Kennedy Boulevard today had patrons and others wondering: What is happening at the iconic local business?
Owner David Agliano confirmed late Wednesday afternoon the business is closing. He is informing his employees.
I wrote about David and how he sets (or doesn’t set) part of the city’s political agenda. The story started like this:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 3, 2009, at 1:19 pm
The old saw that you heard from Mayor Rick Baker and Police Chief Chuck Harmon was that despite perceptions and neighborhood leaders’ unhappiness, the crime rate in St. Petersburg was actually going down.
Not any more.
The Times is reporting that in the first four months of the year, crime is up:
Crime is on the rise in the city, jumping up 7 percent the first four months of this year.
The rise is fueled mostly by an increase in property crimes, which have risen 8 percent from January to April, according to police department statistics. Violent crime is up 3 percent.
The most serious jump may be in Midtown, which has seen a 16 percent rise in property crimes, including a 39 percent leap in auto thefts.
And here’s the obligatory “No shit, Sherlock” quote from Harmon:
“This is only four months of data, it’s early,” said Police Chief Chuck Harmon. “But these are trends you don’t want to see continue.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 3, 2009, at 10:28 am
2008’s winner for Best Politician, Sen. Charlie Justice
Times flies when you’re struggling to make ends meet, but it is rapidly approaching that time in each summer when a Tampa Bayite’s thoughts turn to … Best of the Bay!!
This year, as we expand and make voting for the best goods, services, places, people, restaurants, bars, strip clubs, etc. more fun and interactive, we’re going to start by asking you: What categories in People, Places and Politics (the equivalent of our News & Politics section, my personal bailiwick as your Political Whore) would you like to see in the balloting?
Here are a few of the classics and new CL staff ideas we hope to feature this year (after the jump):
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 3, 2009, at 7:52 am
While I appreciate the Gator sentiment in this House floor appearance by Jacksonville Congresswoman Corrine Brown, word that she is mulling a U.S. Senate bid makes me think that perhaps we might want a Senator who could actually read a simple congratulatory message.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 3, 2009, at 5:00 am
Ed Helm, l’enfant terrible of St. Petersburg Democratic politics, has gathered up his lance and mounted the steed of another political campaign for mayor. The St. Petersburg Times reports that Helm filed paperwork late last Friday, citing the “lack of a progressive voice” in the already crowded field of nine.
From the Times:
“I think it’s important there be a progressive voice,” said Helm, who retired after 26 years as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Labor. “I’m confident in terms of who I am, what I’ve been and that I’ll be speaking with a progressive voice. That’s part of what I want to see happen.”
The playbook for Helm focuses on the notion that government can and should do more to help residents. Among his first ideas: the city should explore offering a public access channel for residents to communicate, initiate curbside recycling citywide and grind deeper into neighborhoods to fight crime.
It’s unclear how strong Helm’s support could be, given his late entry into the race and the polarizing figure he has become in local politics. He was ousted as chairman of the Pinellas Democratic Party in 2006 after only four months because local Democrats grew tired of his aggressive leadership style. ? And much of the county’s elected Democratic leadership has openly shunned Helm.
In Helm’s last mayoral effort, in 2005, he got his clock cleaned by current Mayor Rick Baker. Our own Max Linsky wrote a profile of the longshot effort, noting just how much Helm is able to convince some diehards of his positions and viability:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 2, 2009, at 12:44 pm
Cristina Silva has a great story over at Bay Buzz about how the St. Petersburg City Council has a letter queued up to go to Gov. Charlie Crist urging a veto of SB 216, a good-government bill by local Sen. Charlie Justice.
Upshot is that city officials want to keep the ability to spend your money to tell you how to vote on city referenda or other issues. They say this bill is overly broad and could result in local elected officials getting arrested, they say. It is on the St. Petersburg City Council agenda for Thursday’s meeting, so if you can go and tell them to stuff it, that might be a good idea.
Download the draft letter in .pdf format after the jump:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 2, 2009, at 10:56 am
Bill McCollum, currently the most dangerous weasel in Florida politics, yesterday announced the endorsements of 60 state legislators. (This is, of course, a meaningless gesture. I remember having the endorsements of just about every member of the House during my work managing the 2004 Johnnie Byrd for US Senate campaign and look where that got him. A fourth-place primary finish.)
The nine West Central Florida Republicans lining up to stroke their presumptive nominee (perhaps not presumptive? Recall our earlier story about possible challenger Paula Dockery) are Sens. Victor Crist, Mike Fasano and Nancy Detert; and Reps. Ed Homan, Ed Hooper, Faye Culp, John Legg, Peter Nehr and Will Weatherford.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 2, 2009, at 10:41 am
I never really talk about it much or pimp it to you, but indulge me for a sec: Our News & Politics section page is a great companion to this blog and has lots more headlines, video, Twitter feeds and podcasts than you will find here on any given day.
Here’s how it works:
NEWS HEADLINES: All the important news in Tampa Bay and Florida politics and public affairs that we don’t have time to expand upon with a separate story in PoHo ends up being aggregated into our News & Politics section, with links to the original articles. In other words, I find the news so you don’t have to. Just read the headline and blurb, or click on the link and read the whole thing. Plus, headlines from PoHo posts automatically feed into the News & Politics section, so if you miss checking on PoHo you won’t miss a blog post.
TWITTER FEED: If the word “Tampa” or the hashtag “#cltampa” is in a tweet, it will show up on our Twitter Feed panel. Sort of a cross between micronews and voyeurism.
PODCASTS: Our streaming podcast player for the Political Whore podcast is always on the News & Politics section front, so if you missed an episode and can’t find it in the blog archives you can get it easily.
USER COMMENTS: The most recent three comments on PoHo blog roll up here, no matter which post they were posted on.
CL TV: I scour the best political videos and news bites on YouTube and elsewhere and post them here, so that you can get lost in the joy of streaming video and screw off for another 2-3 hours at work. Wanna see Tom Tancredo call La Raza the Latino equivalent of the KKK? This is the place to do it.
CONTRIBUTORS: Click on each PoHo contributor’s picture to learn more about them and see their latest posts.
If you haven’t checked it out, give it a shot and let me know if you like, dislike or want me to add new features or types of news to it.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 2, 2009, at 6:45 am
Yes, I know, it is a wonky issue. SB 360. Most Floridians don’t give a crap about growth management. Just get the economy going and cut my taxes to near nothing while boosting public services, parks and investments in infrastructure, they figure.
Right.
But Charlie Crist’s cowardly signing Monday of the bill that the St. Petersburg Times says sets back Florida’s growth management by 20 years. He didn’t have a public signing, opting instead for a 5 p.m. news release from his flacks. How shameful not only to do the wrong thing but to hide like a guilty 5-year-old while doing it.
Signing SB 360 leaves Crist’s legacy as a popular governor who didn’t fight the tough fights and who made his decisions on a matrix of how many influential Floridians and/or voters would love him for it. On that scale, SB 360 had lots of upside (campaign contributions for his Senate campaign in 2010) and no downside (the handful of environmentalists and planners who give a crap about such things doesn’t amount to enough to elect the local dog catcher).
And this man wants to be our next U.S. senator? What a chickenshit.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 1, 2009, at 1:28 pm
Sonia Sotomayor with her kids nephews at a ballgame. She certainly will have to be alert for foul balls in the confirmation process. (photo courtesy of whitehouse.gov)
This week’s podcast breaks down the Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination with Tampa media lawyer David Snyder. We talk about her race-based rulings, her temperament, Rush Limbaugh and Tom Tancredo’s charges of reverse racism and whether judges really do/should make policy or not.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 1, 2009, at 6:39 am
So far, so good…
Today is the first day of the 2009 hurricane season but a new poll has found that very few people on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts are ready for a bad storm.
Mason-Dixon’s survey found, for instance, that two-thirds of the respondents didn’t have a hurricane survival kit at the ready. The shocking results?
The term “sprawl” was coined in 1956 and is defined as unplanned greenfield (undeveloped land) development on the periphery of urban areas that is generally single-use, single-story, low density, inexpensive to build, and requires little knowledge or expertise to create. Sprawl gobbles up our farmlands and woodlands while increasing dependency on fossil fuel, fosters obesity because you have to drive everywhere, diminishes the natural environment, decreases the feasibility of mass transit, all while failing to create a “sense of place” or build community.
There was once a time in America (before the second World War) when sprawl didn’t exist. The ascent of sprawl to the predominant development form in the United States is based on many criteria: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 28, 2009, at 10:44 am
“Answer me this question, because I am very much interested in trying to replace Obama. Okay?”
That is how U.S. Sen. Roland Burris opens the door to the idea of being appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the Senate seat left open by the election of Barack Obama. This comes during a taped conversation with Robert Blagojevich, the former gov’s brother and fundraising muscle. Robert Blagojevich, as you may recall from our coverage, is a University of Tampa graduate, and gave the commencement address there a few years back.
But then Burris goes on to say that since it is known that he wanted the appointment, that he couldn’t be raising money for Blago without it being seen as an attempt to buy the seat. Burris said, “Rob, I’m in a dilemma right now trying to help the governor. I’m now trying to figure out what the hell the best thing to do. I know I could give him a check, myself.”
Which he never did.
So, should Roland Burris be removed from the Senate on the basis of this conversation?
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 28, 2009, at 9:42 am
By Heidi Lux Daily Loaf contributor
Cross-posted from the Daily Loaf blog.
I have a secret I can no longer keep. It burns my soul and pains my conscience. I had an affair. I loved a man powerful in Florida politics, and he loved me back. I cannot reveal his name. My honor and his lawyers do not permit me. I will refer to him only as C. He currently seeks more power, and I know that rumors will begin to fly, so I submit my story publicly to save us both, and our love, from the public’s harsh scrutiny.
It all began in the winter of 2008. I was a 19-year-old USF student, wandering through my studies with no real direction, still trying to find myself among the textbooks and study halls. My life did not live up to my name – Destiny St. Clair – and my bright red hair spoke of an excitement I could not claim. I was, I must say, average in every way, certainly not the type you might soon expect to be sipping champagne on yachts with the most powerful man in the state.
I can remember the exact moment my life changed forever. Jan. 30, 2008, the day John McCain won the Florida Republican primaries. “That man is such a silver fox,” my older sister, Fate, said as we watched the announcement on TV. C. was standing at a podium behind John McCain, looking pleased as they announced the elderly senator’s victory. “How is that man even still a bachelor.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 28, 2009, at 5:00 am
Here’s a tease to this week’s Straight Dope column in the print edition of CL:
With the dearth of good real estate on Earth, I’ve been considering alternatives. One obvious candidate is Mars. However, in its current orbit, it’s too nippy and the air is too thin to satisfy anyone except Sherpas. How much energy would it take to move Mars into Earth’s orbit? Would it work better if we moved Venus instead because of its similar size to Earth? Please answer quickly as I need to finalize my retirement plans.–James Borowiec
I have to tell you, I admire the balls behind this concept. We’ve already got one planet pretty much hosed. Why not go for two?
Read the rest of Straight Dope and don’t miss it in our weekly print edition, as well.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 27, 2009, at 2:05 pm
Just released from Tampa City Hall is Mayor Pam Iorio’s memo supporting a planned City Council vote tomorrow to lift the Bay area’s toughest lawn-watering ban that prohibited anything but limited hand-watering of lawns.
The memo:
I am pleased to report that our reservoir level is currently at 21.8 feet, and Hillsborough River flows are 152 million gallons per day at Morris Bridge. In my May 19th memorandum to you, I said we would support a relaxation of the water restrictions if the reservoir exceeded 21 feet and rate of flow in the river exceeded 60 million gallons per day.
Since rains have continued throughout the Hillsborough River watershed and the two thresholds placed on our water supply have been exceeded, I am recommending that our existing emergency water use ordinance be amended to adopt the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Phase IV modified level, effective June 1, 2009. With your concurrence, an amended ordinance will be walked onto City Council agenda at the Thursday, May 28th meeting.
The Phase IV restrictions will:
• Allow customers to irrigate with sprinkler systems once a week on their designated watering day.
Watering hours for most customers are Midnight to 4 a.m.; however, hours are specified for property
sizes and irrigation methods.
• Limit non-turf irrigation by low volume methods to three days per week.
• Limit pressure washing to that conducted by commercial businesses.
• Prohibit residential car washing.
• Apply 78 degree requirement in water-cooled buildings to government facilities and common areas only.
Again, I would like to thank you for your vote in adopting very tough water restrictions that saved hundreds of millions of gallons of water.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 27, 2009, at 1:19 pm
From our sister blog, News Bites, at the Chicago Reader, comes a good wrap-up of the story gripping that city and making onto the third or fourth story on the morning news shows: the smoking gun in the case of Senator Roland Burris and whether his appointment by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is tainted:
The Sun-Times and Tribune both ran partial transcripts Wednesday of a conversation between Roland Burris and Robert Blagojevich last November 13 about the Senate seat president-elect Obama was vacating and Burris longed to be appointed to.
But the transcript in the Tribune ends at roughly the point where the Sun-Times’s transcript begins. As a result, the Tribune version of the conversation supports the idea that Burris did nothing improper — an impression reinforced by the headline to the page-one story accompanying the transcript: “Burris talks cash, Senate on recording / Senator: Wiretap backs his denials of pay to play.”
The Tribune transcript has Burris making it clear to the brother of the then-governor: “I’m very much interested in, in trying to replace Obama,” and then fretting about appearances. Burris says, “I’m a high-profile person….I’m trying to figure out how in the hell, and since you called me I will be honest with you….And I’m trying to figure out how to deal with this and still be in the consideration for the appointment….And, and if I do that I guarantee you that, that will get out and people said, ‘Oh, Burris is doing a fundraiser,’ and, and then Rod and I both gonna catch hell….And if I do get appointed that means I bought it.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 27, 2009, at 12:53 pm
Having just spent some time in the Florida Keys snorkeling a few reefs I have to say this is good news: a huge, decommissioned U.S. Navy vessel, the Hoyt S. Vandenberg, was sunk seven miles off the Key West shore to provide a new artificial reef.
After a decade of planning, it took less than two minutes Wednesday for the 522-foot USS Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg to sink as the Keys’ newest artificial reef. It was under water by 10:23 a.m. — held up 23 minutes by a sea turtle that needed time to swim out of the way.
The ship now rests in 140 of feet of water at 24.27 north latitude, 81.44 west longitude.
The former U.S. Navy and Air Force vessel, which sat in the government’s mothball fleet in Virginia from 1983 until she was moved to Key West in April, was towed to the scuttling site from her berth at the East Quay Wall just before 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 27, 2009, at 10:11 am
More newsroom cuts at the Media General news outlets in Tampa have been announced from the News Center on Parker Street. From TBO.com:
The Florida Communications Group today laid off 25 full-time positions from its newsrooms at The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and WFLA News Channel 8.
The reasoning is familiar to those following economics of the news industry: The continued downturn in advertising revenue across nearly all media outlets.
“This is unfortunately the same song in the sixth verse,” said Janet Coats, executive editor and vice president at FCG who oversees the combined newsroom. “Conditions have not changed in advertising.”
Two sources tell me the cuts include reporters Rich Shopes and Valerie Kalfrin and political editor Tom Arthur.
UPDATE: More of the journalists who were affected in the Comments section below.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 27, 2009, at 9:54 am
For those tracking the grandaddy of bad growth management bills in this year’s Legislature, Mary Ellen Klas (@meklas) of the Miami Herald just tweeted:
Crist hints at a veto of HB 1171 the so-called State Farm bill, deregulating well-capitalized insurers, but sign growth management Sb 360.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 27, 2009, at 9:40 am
Here’s an interesting idea from New American Media’s Roberto Lovato, writing in HuffPo about the Supreme Court confirmation process for Sonia Sotomayor:
Rather than allow herself to be put at the center of another racism and sexism-laden political circus around the qualifications of a candidate who brings more real-life prosecutorial and actual judicial experience than any other Supreme Court nominee in the last 100 years, Sotomayor should consider another strategy. She — and we — should instead view those hearings as nothing less than a trial to determine whether the GOP is ready to make restitution for its role in a number of judicial and political wrongdoings perpetrated in the Bush era. Those wrongdoings include unleashing unprecedented and dangerous political attacks on Latinos, and breaching the political and electoral contract the “new GOP” said it wanted with Latinos, one of the country’s most important voting blocs.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 27, 2009, at 6:25 am
The first shot in the confirmation battle over Sonia Sotomayor is out there, a video appearance by the judge at Duke University in which, ABC News reported, she said that the district appeals court is where “policy is made.”
If that is true, that would make her an “activist” judge, a label that is radioactive and would create a real problem for Barack Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court.
So what did she say, exactly? And what did she mean?
The left-leaning Media Matters defends her and says her words were taken out of context, that ABC (and others) erred in their characterizations. That spin is being echoed by Democrats on this morning’s news shows. It goes like this:
In fact, Sotomayor was responding to a student who asked the panel to contrast the experiences of a district court clerkship and a circuit court clerkship. Sotomayor’s remarks from the Duke panel discussion … :
SOTOMAYOR: The saw is that if you’re going into academia, you’re going to teach, or as Judge Lucero just said, public interest law, all of the legal defense funds out there, they’re looking for people with court of appeals experience, because it is — court of appeals is where policy is made. And I know — and I know this is on tape and I should never say that because we don’t make law, I know. OK, I know. I’m not promoting it, and I’m not advocating it, I’m — you know. OK. Having said that, the court of appeals is where, before the Supreme Court makes the final decision, the law is percolating — its interpretation, its application. And Judge Lucero is right. I often explain to people, when you’re on the district court, you’re looking to do justice in the individual case. So you are looking much more to the facts of the case than you are to the application of the law because the application of the law is non-precedential, so the facts control. On the court of appeals, you are looking to how the law is developing, so that it will then be applied to a broad class of cases. And so you’re always thinking about the ramifications of this ruling on the next step in the development of the law. You can make a choice and say, “I don’t care about the next step,” and sometimes we do. Or sometimes we say, “We’ll worry about that when we get to it” — look at what the Supreme Court just did. But the point is that that’s the differences — the practical differences in the two experiences are the district court is controlled chaos and not so controlled most of the time.
Watch the video clip after the jump, and you make the call:
