Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

On Saturday we checked out the Quincy Restaurant after watching a glowing video review of the soul food restaurant on Bright House’s Tampa Bay On Demand channel.  Quincy is located on N. 40^th St. in east Tampa by the Hillsborough River and down the road from Big John’s Alabama BBQ. 

When we showed up at Quincy around mid-day the small, humble-looking restaurant was empty save for one other couple.  That didn’t discourage us, though, as this was the same place Tampa Bay On Demand’s Jack Harris had raved about and had said that Tampa mayor Pam Iorio was a regular guest.  Sure enough pictures of Mayor Pam were up on the wall by the counte

After looking over the hand-written wall menu I ordered fried catfish with black eyed peas and tomatoes-and-okra, while Traci ordered baked chicken with fries and tomatoes-and-okra as well.  While northerners turn up their nose at catfish, I grew up in the south and don’t know any better. Each meal also came with cornbread.  At this point, I was still optimistic we were in for a treat.

Unfortunately, while the service was friendly and aimed to please, the food was just very average.  Everything might have been made fresh originally, but was clearly just re-heated by the time we had it.  Maybe things are different during the week.  In any case, this wasn’t the hidden gem that Jack Harris made the place out to be and we fell for.  Shame on us I guess for taking the bait.

While Quincy wasn’t worth the drive for us, I still think Tampa Bay On Demand (on Channel 340 for Bright House Networks customers) is worth checking out for local dining ideas and all sorts of other local content.  Of course, just take Jack Harris’ praise with a big grain of salt!

Bottom-line: We might have just caught Quincy on an off-day, but this wasn’t the tasty southern home-style cooking we were hoping for.  We’re still looking for that hidden gem.   

Inspection Scorecard: Last Inspection - February 2006 violations - Critical (3), Non-Critical (1).

Last year, I purchased a couple domain names - TampaBayRail.com and TampaBayRail.net. I intended to launch a web site on mass-transit and address the Tampa Bay area as one region. Not a separate-but-equal take that local government has had in the past on transit solutions. But those plans were soon forgotten as other issues worked into my life (including hand surgery, political campaigns and walking the dog).

Now, for those of you aware of what the local blogosphere has to offer, you already know David Pinero has Tampa Rail.org up and running. Pinero’s site is a great civic orientated pro-rail web site. The plan in my noggin’ with my own blog/site were just to ride the “rail” names but talk about all transit issues in general. But all of this is really beside the point, so let’s move on.

Basically, time goes by, the seasons change, the Gators were champs and John Grahame sucks. A few weeks ago I got notification from my domain registration company that both domain names were soon going to expire. I could renew the domain names for however-many-years I’d like or I could simply let them disappear into the digital tumbleweeds of the interweb. They’d likely be snatched up by a spammer or domain-name broker with no interest in Tampa, Tampa Bay, transit in Tampa Bay or rail in the region.

The whole thought reminded me of what happened to the previous official website that the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County operated regarding a rail system. A few years back (2002), those governments held the rights to TampaRail.com (check the wayback machine). For some reason, the powers that be (City of Tampa? Hillsborough County?) let that domain name expire around 2003. The name was quickly snatched up and exploited by a Russian domain name broker. The web site and url shifted to BlueHeronMedia.com, then ended up drifting into oblivion before being removed from their servers. Tampa’s official rail website was as dead as the pro-rail movement in the region. But the movement is now stirring again.

This past summer, we were all witness to the grand spectacle of the Hillsborough Expressway Authority trying to launch a new sprawlway through the region. Along with Mayor Pam Iorio (and the Tampa Bay Partnership and Tampa International Airport) renewing a push for a regional rail system through the Tampa Bay area. Emphasis on the Tampa Bay regionalism of their presented interest.

So, what’s a guy to do? I have control of TampaBayRail.com and .net. I could sell them and possibly recoup some of the costs of the domain names — eventually. Instead, I decided to do some good. I offered both domains to the City of Tampa. You entrepreneurs may see this as a waste of money on my part, but just consider it a good deed.

Suffice to say, the city was receptive of the idea, so both names are now controlled by Mayor Pam. I don’t expect you to see a regional rail website any time soon, but there is the possibility for a united Tampa Bay rail effort on the web — with TampaBayRail.com potentially it’s base location on the web.

145 years ago…

October 31, 1861 – Early in the American Civil War, Captain James McKay’s steamer, the Salvor, is impounded by the Federal Government and he is taken as a prisoner of war.

Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.

Found via the Right Wing Howler.  

The pink plastic flamingo, a Florida-inspired icon that has been reviled as kitschy bad taste and revered as retro cool, is dead at age 49.  Apparently, the factory that creates the plastic lawn ornaments will stop making them this year.  

Not from the bird-flu as reported months ago, but dying just the same.

But not all is lost.  Sticks of Fire has found a way for you to keep showing your love to the beautiful and wonderous pink flamingo.  I introduce the latest t-shirt creation from Brother Mike.  I suggest you guys would like the pink flamigo t-shirt.  And I’m certain you ladies don’t want to miss out on the pink flamingo thong.

Tampa Bay Business Journal: Tampa Bay dailies see circulation drops.

The Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times both suffered some of the steepest daily circulation declines in the Tampa Bay region over the past year showing what could be a continued declining interest in print news.

Throughout the region, daily newspaper circulation dropped 2.8 percent while Sunday circulation fell 2.6 percent. The Bradenton Herald was the only publication that saw an increase in its daily circulation numbers.

The Times was the only publication to see a slight increase in its Sunday papers, rising just 0.2 percent to 386,661 issues. The Tribune, on the other hand, dropped 4.8 percent from 291,749 in 2005 to 278,411 this year.

If you are an advertiser, you might start looking to the internet for alternative ways to get your message out.

WEDU hosted three debates Saturday and three more Monday to air Tuesday and Wednesday nights as we enter the week before the general election. They were moderated by Rob Lorei of WEDU’s Florida This Week and WMNF’s Radioactivity.Saturday started with U.S. District 5 candidate John Russell, (D), a nurse practitioner who relocated to Dade City from Buffalo, NY in the mid-90’s. His opponent is incumbent Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite, (R); she was not available for the debate.

Running to replace retiring Congressman Michael Bilirakis in the U.S. House Dist. 9 seat is former Hillsborough County Commissioner Phyllis Busansky (D), and Bilirakis’ son, Gus Bilirakis (R). I was in the studio for the live taping and observed both candidates being super nice to each other even before film started to roll. In a time when campaigns couldn’t possibly get any nastier, it made me a little bit verklempt. No one lost their manners during the debate either, but it did become a little heated at some points.

US District 10 was added at the last minute, with Samm Simpson (D), former VP of marketing at Raymond James, getting the whole half hour to herself as her opponent, 18-term Congressman C.W. “Bill”Young (R) was not available for the debate.

Monday’s debates will cover candidates for Florida Attorney General: Walter “Skip” Campbell (D.) and Bill McCollum (R.); US District 11 Kathy Castor (D.) and Eddie Adams Jr. (R.); and Florida’s chief Financial Officer Tom Lee (R.) and Alex Sink (D.).

Each debate is a half hour long. They will air on WEDU beginning on Halloween, Tuesday 10/31, at 8pm with John Russell; 8:30pm with district 9; and 9pm with District 11.

Wednesday’s debates also begin at 8pm, with the CFO race, Attorney General at 8:30PM, and District 10 candidate Samm Simpson at 9.

District 4 is that “South County” you have heard so much about. It’s everything east of 39 and south of Hwy 60, except along the coastline, which is district 1. The much beloved Ronda Storms is leaving to pursue a Senate seat.

Independent Jean Batronie, Republican Al Higginbotham and Democrat Lisa Rodriguez are campaigning to replace the irreplaceable Ms. Storms.

You can read Lisa’s Vision on her website. She has a lot of visions and not much ‘splaining about how she wants to pay for them.

GROWTH MANAGEMENT

• Improve Roads and Transportation
• Address Water and Stormwater issues
• Respect Community-based Plans

LOCAL SERVICES

• Enhance Fire and EMS services
• Support Sheriff’s Community Outreach
• Strengthen Code Enforcement

ENVIRONMENT

• Protect Coastal areas and Wetlands
• Improve Parks and Recreation areas
• Provide greenspace for communities

Jean Batronie (NPA) doesn’t include her position statements, but an interview in August gives an idea of what is important to her. Here is an excerpt:

• Growth Management-No doubt about it, it is a lot worse today than what it was back in 2004. If nothing is done now to stop all this developing, Tampa will be the next expensive city to live in right behind New York and San Francisco. Don’t get me wrong, growth is good for economy. But not when it runs rampant to the point that it puts heavy a burden on our county roads and threatens our natural resources; especially in the area of water and conservation. We MUST foster RESPONSIBLE growth.
• Transportation-We need a more reliable transportation system between Plant City, Brandon, and Tampa. This will help cut down on congestion, promote better traffic flow and help protect the environment.
• Community Trust-We have to bring HONESTY, TRUST, RESPECT and FAITH back to our local government by keeping the community better informed on the issues involving them. County officials must be held accountable to their constituency.
• Human Rights-Plain and simple; All men, and women are created equal and are endowed by the creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. REGARDLESS of race, creed, sex, age, national origin, religion, physical handicap, political affiliation, or SEXUAL ORIENTATION.

You might be able to find out more information on Jean’s other pages:

• Yahoo Group Vote 4 Jean
• Myspace Group Vote for Jean in 2006
• Myspace page
• Myspace Blog

Al Higginbotham (REP) doesn’t have a policy page or a stance on the issues or any vision listed, but it’s just as well – he has “Terms & Conditions” of using his website:

ALL CONTENTS ON THIS SITE ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT. EXCEPT AS SPECIFICALLY PERMITTED HEREIN, NO PORTION OF THE INFORMATION ON THIS WEB SITE MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM, OR BY ANY MEANS, WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM AL HIGGINBOTHAM VISITORS OR USERS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO MODIFY, DISTRIBUTE, PUBLISH, TRANSMIT OR CREATE DERIVATIVE WORKS OF ANY MATERIAL FOUND ON THIS SITE FOR ANY PUBLIC OR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.

Wait – pretend you didn’t read that – I don’t wanna get in trouble. Al does have a couple commercials you can watch.

You know that I have been including the Tribune Q&A article on our previous posts (BOCC D1 and BOCC D3). Districts four and five have a bit of a twist. It seems the Tribune chose to only provide answers from the Democrat and Republican candidates. In Districts 4 and 5, there are also independents running in the race. Jean Batronie says she was never given the questionnaire. And the Tribune does not list Batronie as an option on their BOCC district 4 index page. But since our election process allows independents to run (even if it doesn’t give ‘em much of a chance at winning), and Batronie is listed on the ballot, I asked Batronie to answer the Tribune’s questions. Please click below to see ALL District 4 candidates answers to the Tribune questions.

(more…)

115 years ago…

October 30, 1891 – A large fire, which threatened to destroy much of Clear Water Harbor (today’s Clearwater) is defeated by the quick response of the town’s residents, who set up a large bucket brigade to douse the flames.

Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.