Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Tampa’s entrant in American Idol, Jessica Sierra, survived the first cuts last night. I’m not a big fan of the show, but some of these kids have great talent. If you participate in these sorts of things, consider casting your vote for your hometown contestant Jessica. By the way, Jessica, if you happen to read this, you have a standing invitation to come jam with the band anytime.

You know a blog is going to be great when it begins:

First off, f*ck “Blogs.” I hate them and all who use them. I can’t explain why and I don’t have the time.

That’s the beginning of Serge A. Storms blog (it’s technically not really a blog). Serge A. Storms is the hero from Tim Dorsey’s fantastic series. You know Tampa author Tim Dorsey. His books are all based in the Great State of Florida, and include such characters as Johnny Vegas, the accidental virgin. Buy Dorsey’s latest book, Torpedo Juice, at your favorite local bookstore.

According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, Lakeland based Publix won the top spot in customer satisfaction again.

On the other hand, Jacksonville based Winn Dixie filed for bankruptcy this morning.

What happened to The Tampa Project? The Tribune promised a comprehensive series, and started punching them out like gangbusters, with stories in May (development), June (history) and July (leadership). August was delayed, presumably because of hurricanes, but they were back at it in September (economic development). October got skipped, and then there was another in November (the waterfront). December and January included nothing, and February is now well more than half over. The series thus far has been very good, and has elicited positive response from various members of the community. I believe the self examination is necessary, and the hometown paper is the right avenue to display it. But why are we still waiting for the stories about the arts? Law enforcement? Transportation? Where is the report on sports and their place in Tampa? Tourism is important to the area. But is it too important? An entire Sunday’s worth of ink could be devoted to race relations and discrimination. C’mon guys, what’s the holdup?

I’ve been a fan of the Buccaneers since about 1984. I began going to the games in ‘85, and started buying season tickets shortly thereafter. The team was not very good then, but I enjoyed seeing them live. Tampa Stadium was always only half-full, and I liked the thrill of sitting on the edge of my seat, absolutely certain the team would begin a winning streak any minute. As you know, ten years later when Malcolm Glazer bought the team, his kids put Rich McKay in charge, and with Tony Dungy as the head coach, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became a consistently good football team, reaching the playoffs five out of six years. The pinnacle as a fan was when they played for and won the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Since they won that Super Bowl, It hasn’t been as fun to root for them. I don’t know why. It could be that they reached the pinnacle, and now there is no reason for living. It could be my failure to figure out exactly what the Gruden/Allen regime is trying to do. It could be that I growed up, and it’s just not as important as it once seemed. Likely it’s a combination of all of those things, plus some. I’ve been quiet about the recent price hike on tickets to the games. Almost shocked into disbelief, I guess. For seats to the first season in the new stadium (1998), I paid $48 for each ticket. This year’s invoice is at $71 plus 2.50 service charge and sales tax for each seat. That’s a 48% increase in 7 years. Not to mention the chickensh*t move to sneak the news out on the Friday before the Super Bowl, just like last year. Add that to the fact that I’ve never liked that the NFL forces their best customers to buy seats for the practice games. I’m just not sure I can justify the expense any more.

PopStat found an article in USA Today highlighting the Trump Tower Tampa, and reporting on the popularity of high-rise living. The main thrust of the piece (Nice view: Cities of all sizes embracing high-rise living) is that small towns (such as Tampa) want these super-luxurious condos. From my perspective, most of the cities mentioned are not what I would consider small. I don’t think their objective was to slight Tampa specifically, but they were intent on making this place sound like a tiny town.

…city of 321,000 is perhaps best known nationally for its Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the Super Bowl two years ago, and tourist attractions such as Busch Gardens. It might be the last place one would expect to find people living among the clouds… (emphasis mine)

Certainly population is the best way to compare areas, but to limit the comparison to within city limits is misleading. I think you can find a better comparison using television markets. Our “city of 321,000” is part of the nation’s 13th largest DMA (TV market) which includes well over 1.6 million TV homes. The article goes on to include other small towns that are jumping on the high-rise residential bandwagon, namely Denver (city pop. 554,000, #18 DMA), Milwaukee (597,000 #32), Portland, ME (#75), Seattle (573,000 #12), Miami (362,000 #17), and Las Vegas (559,000 #51). Even if you know nothing about market share, you do recognize that most of those listed are able to support pro sports franchises, so one can hardly call them small. If not for the association with gambling, there would be at least one franchise in Vegas, too. Portland, Maine (city population 64,000) (the Trail Blazers are in Oregon) is the last place I’d expect to find people living in luxurious condos, not Tampa. I suppose USA Today considers anything outside Chicago, LA, and Manhattan to be small.

Update Monday, 3:29pm: Amber Alert Canceled

Amber Alert Issued for 2 Florida Boys
Posted: Sunday February 20 9:44 PM CT

The Springfield Police Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, issued the Amber Alert on Sunday night after the boys were apparently abducted in Springfield on Sunday. Springfield is just east of Panama City Florida.

Caleb Howard, 2 yrs., white male, 2′, 35 lbs. with brown eyes and brown hair. He was last seen wearing a long sleeved camo shirt, dark blue pants and Spiderman socks.

David Howard, 7 yrs., white male, 65 lbs. with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing gray and navy blue windbreaker pants and a navy blue t-shirt and sneakers.

The children are believed to be in danger.

Police are looking for Angela Howard, 26 yrs., white female, 5′9″, with sandy brown hair and brown eyes. She is believed to be in the company of a white male with a black bushy beard.

The suspect vehicle is white Mercury with Florida Tag number T76FPG.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Springfield Police Department at 850-872-7545 or 911.

Visit http://codeamber.c.topica.com/maadcN4abeptVbexbzVbafpLR8/ for more information.

I was almost paying attention* to NewsChannel 8 Thursday night. During a story about cars being stolen and broken into around Bayfront Hospital, when asked by a reporter if there is a particular hot spot for car thieves, the St. Pete Police Chief or spokesman or someone said “Yeah, the whole city!”

*Ya know, it’d be a lot easier to remember this stuff, if WFLA’s website put up the text** of their newscasts.

** Or if I were smart enough to write it down at the time.

The other day, I told you of a helpful program for existing business owners. So what have I got for those of you that have not yet opened your own place? Business plan writing assistance, of course.

The Tampa Jaycees are sponsoring a business plan competition for Tampa Bay entrepreneurs under the age of 40. Young entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to submit their business plans for review and advice from a panel of local business leaders. The first fifty plans will be ranked. If you need help, the USF Small Business Development Center has classes for entrants. The special class is offered to those who pay their registration fees before March 1 and will include an overview of how to write a business plan as well as SBDC software. StarTecFlorida is another sponsor and has a little more info.