Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Once upon a time this was the game to watch starting with the NFC Championship game in ‘99 (I still think Bert Emanuel caught the ball) which the Rams won 6-11. The teams met the next season in an offensive explosion won by the Bucs 38-35. And in 2001 the Bucs won a hard fought game between the two teams 24-17. Since then both franchises have experienced enough struggles to make them long for the good ol’ days.

BY THE NUMBERS (DVOA and DAVE explained here)
Buccaneers
Offense: ppg, 18.5 - DVOA, 5.4% (#15) - DAVE, 3.5% (#13)
Defense: ppg, 17 - DVOA, -5.3% (#14) - DAVE, -6.9% (#9)
Rams
Offense: ppg, 14.5 - DVOA, -4.4% (#18) - DAVE, -7.1% (#23)
Defense: ppg, 22 - DVOA, -0.9% (#18) - DAVE, 9.7% (#28)

The numbers suggest the Bucs should be the favorite in this game, something which Vegas agrees with by making the Bucs four point favorites. Especially surprising is that the Bucs have a better offense than the Once Greatest Show on Turf, although when it’s this early in the season you never know how these numbers will play out during the season.

BY THE PLAYERS
Barrett Ruud vs. Steven Jackson
Since Scott Linehan took over the Rams from Mike Martz, he has turned the franchise into a run first team. And while runningback Steven Jackson has struggled his first two games (2 lost fumbles) he is still one of the more dangerous backs in the game. The Bucs defensive kryptonite has always been a power running game which is why Defensive Player of the Week Barrett Ruud will need to continue dominating the line of scrimmage. If Ruud can shut down Jackson the way he shut down Deuce McAllister last week the Bucs will be able to drop back into their heralded Tampa Two zone and pick apart the Rams passing game. If Jackson is able to run wild through the defense then all bets are off.

Editor’s note: Ed Turanchik sent this email in response to an earlier post about the Heritage Square proposal suddenly in question.

I truly hope that all members of City Council will support and embrace the Heritage Square project. The site is singularly inappropriate for affordable housing or market rate housing. The exception would be some very limited housing in connection with mixed use. At the same time, these parcels are particularly appropriate for office, restaurant, retail, and even limited industrial (which is consistent with its history). If Heritage Square can make hotel word, good for them. Further, there is a serious residential upsurge in West Tampa. There is not a corresponding business and commercial development upsurge. This is what West Tampa needs. Shops, businesses, restaurants and place making. I daresay that you will find vociferous and virtually united opinion on this point in our community.

Second, it would be wholly disheartening to the private sector if City Council were to now call into question a good project that won a long competition. It is difficult enough in the marketplace to arrange financing without layering on top of it uncertainty by government officials. That a project could be this far along and be called into question really borders on the absurd and pathetic. Unlike Ybor City, in which the City has invested close to $100 million in public funds (the sum of investments in the Street Car, parking garages, Centro Ybor etc), West Tampa’s resurgence has been fueled largely by private sector initiative and investment. I do not know whether Heritage Square can be pulled off, but the last thing it needs is for local elected leaders to undermine its prospects. I truly hope that this is a false alarm and that the City will rally around the Heritage Square entrepreneurs.

I sending this email as an investor in West Tampa and active member in the West Tampa Chamber of Commerce. As Chairman of the West Tampa Chamber of Commerce Marketing Committee, you should know that our committee believes that Heritage Square is a significant project and one that we are anxious to see come to fruition. I am copying to members of the Marketing Committee and other West Tampa activities so that they are aware of this potential issue.

Please feel free to post this to your web and to circulate it accordingly to all interested parties.

Ed Turanchik

My birthday just passed (don’t ask which one), and the Grapefruit Gal and I decided to celebrate it by supporting Jobsite Theater at their annual Jobsite Rocks event this past Saturday.

It’s not hyperbole to say that Jobsite is probably my favorite aspect of living in the Tampa Bay area. I discovered them through this Sticks post more than two years ago, and after winning tickets with a bizarre poem. I met Tommy at the show I attended, fell in love with Jobsite, and have since made some pretty nifty friends.

Jobsite Rocks always presents some kick-ass bands, and this year’s edition was no letdown as DJ Scott Imrich, The Vodkanauts, and Poetry N’ Lotion all rocked the house, with special guests taking the stage (including Artistic Director David Jenkins, who melted everyone’s faces off in a spot-on Ozzy Osbourne take). Tommy and Wifey even made an appearance, and though I once again failed to win any raffle prizes, the Grapefruit Gal and I went home having been entertained and with the warm feeling that we helped support my favorite thing about living here.

…but that’s not all, as we have to congratulate Jobsite on repeating as Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay top local theatre company. Their words are better than mine:

In a little less than 10 years, Jobsite has become the closest thing to a top Off-Broadway theater that the Bay area has to offer. [...] While the productions put on by other local theaters last season were hit-and-miss, Jobsite shows were consistently first-rate. If you believed in theater as an art form, if you looked to stage plays to provide you not just with entertainment but with illumination, Jobsite had to be your destination. Bay area culture wouldn’t be the same without it.

My votes for best actor (Steve Garland for The Pillowman) and actress (Ami Sallee Corley in Woman In Mind) also got the nod from CL’s critics, as did the multi-talented Katrina Stevenson for best costume designer.

Congratulations to everyone at Jobsite for completing another banner season and earning these well-deserved awards.

The next step toward the Hybrid compromise on our local wetlands regulations is a proposed rule change allowing certain exemptions from our local wetlands rules for agriculture.

I’m reminded of this anecdotal conversation between a man and woman:

“Would you sleep with me for a million dollars?”
“Well, I guess I might.”
“Would you sleep with me for five dollars?”
“Sir, what kind of a woman do you take me for?”
“Madam, we have already established that; now we’re merely haggling over the price.”

Once we decide that our wetlands are negotiable, as long as their destruction is for a good cause—like agriculture—then we open the bidding for other “good causes.” Why not schools? Ball parks? Affordable housing? A mixed-use development with new-urbanism features, upscale design, an affordable component and a commercial element bringing high-tech jobs? The developers are already complaining that it’s unfair not to give them whatever exemptions we give the farmers.

The exemption allows agricultural operations to fill wetlands under a quarter-acre in size, with no mitigation, as long as the wetlands they destroy don’t add up to more than a half-acre, cumulatively, on any one site. A quarter-acre is not chump change in the wetland department. At almost 11,000 square feet, it provides important ecological functions. Small isolated wetlands are crucial to the survival of various species of wildlife, and their hydrological benefits are cumulative. Several small wetlands add up to a large amount of flood protection and water filtration.

Commissioners are set to change the rule in just a few weeks. What’s the rush? And why isn’t the new Technical Advisory Committee reviewing this major rule change? One of the things that has set our local wetlands regulations apart from the state’s, for 22 years, is that we protect our small wetlands, and the state doesn’t. Before we start giving these protections away, let’s give the newly formed committee of scientists some time to look this over.

Commissioner Higginbotham has been in the lead on this Ag Exemption, and he should slow this freight train down to avoid the appearance of ramming it through just to hand a political favor to one special interest group. We need more public discussion before rushing to change our county’s wetland regulations that have served us well for over 20 years.

EPC will hold a workshop on the Ag Exemptions, Sept. 24, 6 – 8 p.m., at the Roger P. Stewart Center, near I-75 & MLK. They’ll answer questions and take public input. You can also submit your comments in writing, by October 5, to Andrew Zodrow, of EPC (copy your County Commissioners). Finally, you can have your 3-minute say at the public hearing when the commissioners will decide the matter, Oct. 18, 9:00 a.m., County Center, 2nd floor, in downtown Tampa.

Revisions are still being made in light of public input. I’ve submitted my concerns, addressing some details & consequences of the rule change. You can review the proposal and provide input too.

At today’s Tampa City Council Meeting an update on the planned renovation of the Ft. Homer Hesterly Armory on North Howard was discussed. It wasn’t pretty. 

Four of the city council members are newly elected and were not involved during the last years’ selection process.   Several issues were raised:  1. Some council members had been briefed by city staff about the project in the last few days, some were not.  2.  Mary Mulhern raised the main question of whether the Armory Committee had the power to select the proposed plan?.

The question caused attorneys to scramble.  Talk of breach of contract surfaced quickly.

It seems the real issue comes down to the intended use of the property, however, after over 2 years of hearings, requests for proposals, and negotiations;  this seems a little late to be bringing this up.  Mary Mulhern told us today that “affordable housing” was a better use for the property than a “hotel and a grocery store.”  Council member John Dingfelder indicated that the failure by Staff to provide every member with a briefing did not seem as it should be.

 An official with Intelident, the Heritage Square group, indicated surprise at the meeting’s tone and confirmed as we indicated previously that a signed contract is in place between them and the National Guard.

George Cornelius of Tampa Digital Studios was surprised at the potential turn at todays’ meeting indicating that his proposal could still be alive.  He indicated he still had an interest in following through with his original proposal that included over 400 rental apartments as well as, a film and sound stage with additional production facilities, and additional office spaces.

We have followed the Armory project extensively and have several key questions to raise.  

1.  With the tangle between the National Guard, the City Council, the Armory Committee and the Mayor/City Staff - how can you expect this deal to ever get done without someone bending some on the protocol of issues?

2.  After spending thousands of dollars over the past two years to present a bid that you think has been approved (or rejected as the case may be) only to have it all up for reconsideration again, why would any developer want to deal with the City of Tampa?

3.  Do you really think that a $200,000 and up home is “affordable”?  And in today’s real estate market where the Tampa Tribune headline reads: “Home Prices to Dip, Report Says” “Bay Area Might Suffer a 12% Decline”, who do you think is eager to stick their neck out to fund or build a residential property at this time?

4.   Buyer Beware!  Environmental problems have been reported to exist on the property and of course, the National Guard relocation (at a potential cost of about $3 million) has to be handled by any potential purchser(s) of this project.  How much is that going to cost?

5.  At the deciding meeting held at the Tampa Police Department, the decision of the volunteer Armory Committee was made clear- Heritage Square by Intelident - and voted on, however several days later, the top three proposals were submitted to the National Guard to the surprise of ALL of those that had submitted previously.  When one of the participants tried to get a copy of the tape of the meeting they were told that the tape had been turned over and did not record.  Our final questions: was the tape intentionally erased and if so, why and for what purpose?  And was it clear at that time that a single choice had been made or that three proposals would be submitted?

Economic forecasts have said that the Ft. Homer Hesterly Armory renovation could have a greater economic impact than the Channelside project. This gateway to the SOHO, Hyde Park, and Old West Tampa is too valuable to get lost in some bureaucratic shuffle. But, who really has the authority to make this project happen? And will the Heritage Square partners stay committed or throw up their hands and just walk away?  Watch for this on the Oct. 18th City Council agenda as all of the lawyers involved try to determine just who does have the authority to make this decision.

You can see the original proposals here.

**** ALERT FOLLOWS **********************

Amber Alert Issued for 10 Year Old Florida Boy
Posted: Thursday September 20, 2007: 2:45 PM CDT

The Broward County Sheriff’s office and the state of Florida issued the Amber Alert on Thursday afternoon after the child was apparently abducted in Pompano Beach.

Louis Gonzalez, a 10 year old Hispanic male with black hair and brown eyes, 5 feet tall and weighing 100 pounds. He was last seen wearing a Red Miami Heat number 3 Dwayne Wade jersey, red shorts, black Adidas sandals, and black socks.

The suspect is an unknown Hispanic male who is a suspect in a carjacking and should be considered armed and dangerous.

The suspect vehicle is a 2007 gray Nissan Maxima, with a Florida temporary tag. The left rear window says “Papo” and the right rear window says “Jess”.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Broward County Sheriff’s Office at 954-765-4321 or 911.

Visit http://codeamber.c.topica.com/maahVJoabBoNYbexbzVbafpLR8/ for more information

Edit: Alert has been canceled.

Last week Bruce Allen cut David Boston from the team after the news was released that the Bucs receiver was being prosecuted for a DUI. Allen made the right move cutting Boston, considering Czar Goodell is looking over every team’s hypothetical shoulder ready to hand down suspensions if they sneeze too loudly. There was little doubt that Boston was on something when he was pulled over some three weeks ago but Allen allowed due process to take its course before cutting all ties with Boston.

But if Boston was cut for his DUI then why has Jerramy Stevens not been cut for the exact same offense?

The actions of Jerramy occurred before he was a Buccaneer. The case you brought up is a player before one of our games under our jurisdiction.” -Bruce Allen

Allen seems to think the Bucs are not responsible for any crimes committed by their players BEFORE they joined the team. Which makes sense only in the same bizarro world where up is down and OJ is innocent.

To be clear, I defended the Stevens signing and believe players should be allowed a shot at redemption. But it reeks of hypocrisy for Allen to cut one player for a DUI and then keep another player despite the exact same offense, all the while claiming some magical veil of ignorance. Allen kept Stevens for one reason, the Bucs lack depth at tightend and need Stevens more than they needed Boston.

Editor’s Note: You may have read a bit about some changes coming to passenger and freight rail lines between Tampa and Orlando. The insider workings on the huge multi billion dollar deals are becoming apparent, but we haven’t had the time to properly find out exactly what is going on. So we asked our friend for a bit of help.

Chuck Welch is the publisher of Lakeland Local, and has been following this story since the Tampa Tribune first broke it. He’s written stories and compiled a bunch of articles and links that pertain to what is going on. We asked Chuck for an overview on what he has learned thus far. Here is his story.

Most people don’t think about railroads. Well, except when they’re waiting at a crossing or hearing that plaintive whistle in the distance.

Or the sound of that rail hub next door.

That’s a sound some Polk county residents don’t want to hear. But this is Sticks of Fire, and why should you be concerned with some Polk County Rail Hub in Winter Haven?

Well, sing along with me: Winter Haven is connected to Lakeland, and Lakeland is connected to Tampa, and Tampa is connected to Orlando and Orlando is connected to Jacksonville and Jacksonville is connected to Tallahassee and Tallahassee is connected to your wallet.

And that’s the way of politics.

I’m pretty new to Florida, but I heard there was once this great idea for a passenger train from Tampa to Orlando. From what I’ve read, that route is the busiest between Florida cities. Sounds like it was a great idea. Well, some thought so. Then some didn’t. Too bad it was killed, as it seemed like a huge forward step for the state.

Wait. Wasn’t I writing about a rail hub in Winter Haven and your wallet? Why, yes, yes I was and I still am. After the commuter train was derailed, someone stepped up with a new, bold plan. Give state money to CSX to improve its rails. Why? So CSX will move out of the way for a passenger rail in Orlando. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Not passenger rail from Tampa to Orlando, but just a 61 mile or so rail through the Orlando metro area. For the state to do that they are “purchasing” track from CSX, who will be “forced” to build a new rail hub to replace the old one on that track.

That means busier tracks for Lakeland, busier roads for Polk County, better facilities for CSX, and less money for you. You see, the state is paying over 450 million for the privilege of helping railroads improve their operations.

I know. I know. It doesn’t make sense. Who came up with this plan?

CSX.

Not surprised are you?

As recently as February, the project looked like a done deal. The fact all this is even in the news is primarily due to the work of a Tampa Tribune reporter stationed in far-flung Polk County. Billy Townsend has been on this story for months. Doing what no other Polk County reporter is doing: following the money. Here’s part of the introduction to a recent front page special report from the Tribune:

A plan to link Tampa and Orlando was the centerpiece of the state’s high-speed rail program. But three years ago, Gov. Jeb Bush helped lead the fight to kill it - with help from freight rail companies CSX and Florida East Coast Industries.

Their victory led to a new passenger rail plan for Florida and a boon for the railroads. The plan gives priority to the purchase of lines owned by CSX, a major Bush family campaign donor, and FEC, another politically connected railroad company.

I won’t try to explain every nuance of this project. In this short piece you won’t read how businessmen convinced a politician to use state money to improve their business. How less than 200, plus maybe 2000 became 8500. Today, you won’t read how a national company could claim they made no backup plans, and do so with a straight face.

After this little missive, you’re not going to decide if the major rail plans are good or bad for Florida. But I hope you spend the time to research the project for yourself. Please take that time. You have over 450 million reasons to look into this one.

Polk County Rail Hub Information Links

Polk County Rail Hub: This is a collection of links to every thing written about this project: Pro, Con and Indifferent. Plus some original maps and photos. I maintain the site, and I’m a couple of weeks behind.

Lakeland Local – My site, and all my CSX related entries. I started out indifferent to the project. I just wanted to get some straight answers. The answers are starting to come, and we may not like them.

Empirical Polk – A Winter Haven site published by well-respected author Josh Hallett. He has done some work on reporting the rail hub story.

Winter Haven Chamber – A blog written by the Winter Haven Chamber of Business. They are the de-facto CSX community outreach blog. I’ve spared a bit in print with the chamber, but this is the place to find the pro-CSX view.

The Media:

The Tampa Tribune is all over this story. Especially reporter Billy Townsend’s Polk County News Blog

The Ledger, paper of record in Polk County, not so much on the ball. Check out their site and search for CSX.

Winter Haven News Chief is barely in the game.

Today the developer’s puppets on our County Commission loaded our City-County Planning Commission with development interests. In appointing Hung Mai and Miller Dowdy to 4-year terms on the growth-guiding board, which already has plenty of builder support, they blatantly chose special interests over the public’s best interests. (See my earlier Sticks article and today’s Tribune Op-ed.)

On his application, Mai advertised his connections to these piggy-banks for county commissioners’ campaigns: Ralph Hughes, Stephen Dibbs and the Tampa Bay Builders Association, so commissioners would hear that cash register a-jinglin’ when they voted for him. Dowdy is a partner in Metro Area Properties, with development projects all over the county (download brochure).

When judging a developer’s proposal in a public hearing, how will these new planning commissioners be able to impartially weigh the interests of their colleagues against the interests of other citizens?

Here’s how the county commissioners’ vote broke down:

For Hung Mai: Blair, Hagan, Higginbotham, Norman, Sharpe
For Miller Dowdy: Blair, Hagan, Higginbotham, White

Also rans:

For Seth Boots: White, Ferlita
For Anne Madden: Norman
For Pam Prysner: Ferlita, Sharpe

The only candidate with no ties to developers who got any votes was Pam Prysner. She was the people’s choice, as evidenced by the many e-mails citizens sent supporting her. No other candidate had anything like her support among county residents. Unfortunately, that only matters to Ferlita & Sharpe.

If our Planning Commission becomes a rubber stamp for any Comprehensive Plan changes proposed by any builder, it will surely add impetus to the Hometown Democracy Amendment which would let citizens vote on these matters directly. (petition here)

We now have special interests on the Technical Advisory Committee that will be guiding the EPC Hybrid compromise on our wetlands regulations, and special interests on our Planning Commission, guiding growth in our county.

I’m fed up with developers running this county. If you are, too, please let your commissioners know. And please don’t forget come election time.