Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could grab a spare bicycle at The Pier in St. Pete, and ride it to Tropicana Field for a ballgame, where someone else could use that same bike to get to the Dali Museum?  Once the Rays finish beating the Yankees, you could pick up another spare bicycle outside, and ride over to Baywalk, and put it in the bike rack with a handful of other bikes available to anyone to use for free.

Awesome idea, huh?  And the (turn down audio before clicking!) Green Bike Initiative wants to do just that:

Seeking to fill a niche need within our community, St. Pete’s Bike GREEN initiative was launched in March 2008 by cycling enthusiasts around Pinellas County. Having seen successful Public Utility Bike (PUB) programs in a number of European and American cities, founders Andrew Blikken and Brent Bruns decided the time had come for their own community to benefit from such an initiative.

It will never work.

The Tampa Downtown Partnership tried a similar program 10 years ago.  All 50 of the hideous orange bikes were stolen within a week.

Even Bike GREEN knows it.  In an interview with Big 13, BikeGreen.info founder Brent Bruns expects problems:

“We’re anticipating a thousand bikes to be stolen each month for six months, which is why we are launching with 8,000.”

Holy cow! - You’re telling me that you are going to flood downtown St. Pete with 8,000 green bicycles?  Imagine that for a second.  And then you expect 1,000 to be stolen each month for six months!  What happens in month 7?  Do people get bored with stealing bicycles every day?

And just how on earth are they raising money for 8,000 bicycles?  The obvious - they are selling handfuls of Altoids for $.25 each from vending machines.

This has success written all over it.

Tedd Webb and the Famunda All Stars are throwing a party to help out the Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

The Famunda All Stars are staging Koncert For Kiddz II Saturday night, May 17th at The Ritz-Ybor at the corner of 7th Ave and 15th Street in Ybor City. The Famundas will welcome local celebs such as Belinda Womack, Michael Clayton of the Tampa Bay Bucs, as well as TV giants like Brendan McGloughlin, Mike Deeson, pro wrestler Lanny Poffo, and newspaper elite Ernest Hooper, Steve Persall, and Bob Ross to sing for the benefit of The Pediatric Cancer Foundation. Bay News 9’s Jen Holloway, and Fox 13’s Charley Belcher will MC.

Tickets are on sale now, contact Tanya Loira at 813-839-9393. Corporate tables are $500 for 6 seats, while General Admission is $30.

This will be a great time, and I plan on hanging out there at the Ritz Theater in Ybor for a while, and partying with all the local celebrities: Michael Clayton of the Bucs, Sharon Taylor, Jeff Fisher, Belinda Womack, Lanny Poffo, Mike Deeson, Jerry Petuck, Brian Blair & The Oreos, Steve Persall, Ernest Hooper, Bob Ross, Jen Holloway, Charley Belcher, and more.

That’s this Saturday evening. The silent auction begins at 6pm, and the musical acts start around 8pm. As you can see be the list of guests above, there’s no telling what is going to happen.

Once they are finished, the Johnny G. Lyon Band starring Tommy Duncan is playing across the street at the Blue Shark, and you can be sure that we are going to party the rest of the night away there.

If you haven’t been to Ybor in a while, Saturday night is an excellent opportunity to reaquaint yourself. See you there!

My band, the JGLB will be playing two charity gigs this weekend. Proceeds from Sunday’s party at Hungry Harry’s benefit The Spring, and on Saturday, we are doing the Worlds Largest Hurricane Expo & Party (see info below) to benefit hurricane relief efforts of Krewes Kare and Angel Flight Southeast. I encourage you to come out and party with us this weekend, and make sure you come up and say hello.

Krewes Kare Tampa Bay presents:
The Stars Are In Alignment for The 3rd Annual “World’s Largest Hurricane Expo & Party” To benefit the hurricane relief efforts of Krewes Kare and Angel Flight Southeast.

“The stars must have been in perfect alignment,” says Krewes Kare President, Yvonne
Painton. “Everything came together at the right time. We received final approval of our 501(c)3
status from the I.R.S., our new website was launched (http://kreweskare.org/), and we’ve got a new, larger indoor and outdoor location for ‘The World’s Largest Hurricane Expo & Party.’ And, it’s all happened within the past month, thanks to the efforts of our members.”

This year’s event will be held on Saturday, May 3rd from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Zendah Grotto, which is behind the Tampa campus of the Hillsborough Community College, at 4402 West Ohio Avenue, and will feature live music from three bands, dancing, carnival-style games, a Hurricane preparedness expo, and a family fun area. All you can eat food and drinks provided by our sponsors as well as auctions, raffles and other giveaways. This year’s event promises to be the biggest and best, yet.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, and are 100-percent tax deductible. To purchase tickets or make a donation go to the website at www.kreweskare.org or call Yvonne Painton at 813.839.1302.

Krewes Kare, Inc. is a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization founded in 2005 to provide early response hurricane relief to affected areas inaccessible to the larger relief agencies. We are a partnership of Angel Flight Southeast and volunteers from the 50 plus parade krewes in the Tampa Bay area.

Be there or miss out!

On Sunday, May 4, the Johnny G. Lyon Band will kick off the Grand Finale of the annual Love Shouldn’t Hurt Poker Run and Rally at Hungry Harry’s Famous BBQ. Come party with us as we donate our time to rock the house for a great cause!

Excerpts from the press release:

On Sunday, May 4, 2008 the Tampa area will hear engines revving up in support of the 3rd Annual Love Shouldn’t Hurt Poker Run and Rally, benefiting “The Spring” of Tampa Bay sponsored by Florin Roebig Trial Attorneys. This event is repeatedly billed as “The Motorcycle Event of the Year.” It is circled in red on every riders calendar for its high energy, attention to detail, and the fact that it is planned FOR bikers BY bikers.

The Dangerous Curves Chapter of Women in the Wind is joining with The Web Riders to crank up this years event by featuring themed parties, prizes and games at every single stop of the run. Harleys, Hondas, BMWs and more will rumble in to register beginning at 9:00 am in the Performance Honda of Wesley Chapel. (28009 State Road 54, Wesley Chapel, FL 33542) Each riding chapter is attempting to win the massive Chapter Challenge Trophy by bringing more members than any other club. A hot breakfast awaits the participants as they buy one poker hand for $10 and additional hands for $5 each. Photographers will be on site for photo ops in front of the US flag backdrop with a Captain America chopper replica or on your own bike. The last bike out of the first party location is leaving at 11am.

Riders get a detailed map with directions leading them along the scenic country back roads to a series of party stops. Who better to host an All American Patriot Party than the VFW Post #8713? A Beach Party with dancers, games and a special Cuban buffet is awaiting the group at the Tropical Breeze Cuban Restaurant in Dade City. The Wild West Party at the San Antonio Restaurant & Lounge cranks up the music and energy level at the third stop of the day, preparing the participants for the BIG Party at the Final Party Stop of the day.

The Johnny G. Lyon Band begins rocking at 1:00 pm to propel the Hungry Harry’s Famous BBQ lakefront location into full tilt action as the riders roll into this final party stop. Adding in a live auction, bike show, appearances by local sports celebrities like Dave Andreychuck of the Lightning, vendors, more games, more prizes, a 50/50 raffle, Hungry Harry’s Famous BBQ and awarding the cash prize of $500 for the Best Poker Hand of the day, this truly will be an event to remember.

What else is important to remember? That every single dollar raised at this event is donated to The Spring of Tampa Bay. Since 1977, The Spring has provided sanctuary and services to more than 30,000 abused adults and their children. The Spring is the largest of Florida’s 41 certified domestic violence shelters and the first in the United States to have an accredited school on site. The Spring aims to be the premier provider of domestic violence services and a positive force for social change, creating a ‘zero tolerance’ attitude toward domestic violence in Hillsborough County.

Hey, this promises to be a great time all around, and we’re gonna be partying all afternoon. Why don’t you come join us, and help out The Spring at the same time?

Tampa Bay Website Highlight: The Sustany Foundation

The Sustany Foundation Vision:

To be the leading facilitator of sustainability in our community through efficient and effective aggregation and investment of resources.

The Sustany Foundation Mission Statement:

To increase the quality of life for Tampa Bay’s citizens today and into the future by promoting sustainability on a local level through education, investment, and culture. We will work to preserve Tampa Bay’s unique environmental attributes by developing and promoting systems and behavior focused on conservation and stewardship, while partnering with existing organizations whenever possible to leverage resources and avoid duplication of effort.

Learn more at sustany.org

I am the captain of a team participating in the Relay For Life of Temple Terrace®, which takes place at Greco Middle School on April 18th and 19th this year. Relay For Life®, the American Cancer Society’s signature event, is a fun-filled overnight experience designed to bring together those who have been touched by cancer. At Relay, people from within the community gather to celebrate survivors, remember those lost to cancer, and to fight back against this disease. Relay participants help raise money and awareness to support the American Cancer Society in its lifesaving mission to eliminate cancer as a major health issue.

We’re calling ourselves ‘Team Daddy-O Alley Katz’ and our theme is retro bowling.

I know, right? Someone actually appointed me to a position of leadership and responsibility, which is about as likely an occurrence as seeing the Hamburglar profiled on America’s Most Wanted.

Well, actually, it’s not like I’m completely unqualified. I am sincerely committed to the cause, which is raising money to find a cure for cancer and eliminating it once and for all. I don’t want to just defeat cancer, I want to defeat it and humiliate it in the process. I want to pull down cancer’s pants and make crude, derisive comments about its genitalia. I want to give cancer a swirly in front of all the other diseases. I want to date cancer’s mom just so I can steal all her money, call her crude names and tell her to go make me sandwiches. So obviously my heart is in the right place.

I’ve taken to my role as team captain and have done my best to motivate my team. I assured them of my sincerity and dedication by telling them that I had already gone so far as to have written “CAPTAIN” on the waistband of all my underwear… in Sharpie.

But working with volunteers is a challenge at times. It’s hard to make demands of busy people who are doing stuff for you in their spare time. I have to remind myself to be patient and encouraging when things aren’t moving quite as quickly as I’d like. And actually, our team is doing pretty well so far. But it takes effort to come up with ways to keep everyone interested and enthusiastic without being completely obnoxious about it.

I have little doubt that many of them will no longer want to speak to me when it’s all over. I’m basing that on the fact I have no doubt that I’ve already been so obnoxious that some of them don’t even want to speak to me right now.

Relay For Life® isn’t really a competition per se, but teams do challenge each other to do a good job as a matter of pride and in the interest of pushing each other to raise as much money as possible. When it’s over, the American Cancer Society recognizes the best teams’ efforts with trophies and prizes. So screw what I said before; it’s totally a competition.

There’s a team in our Relay that’s been at it for years and they win a majority of the awards every year. I’ve decided that I hate them. In my mind, I’ve decided to consider them smug know-it-alls who act like they invented cancer just so they could raise funds to eradicate it and make me feel inadequate in the process as a bonus. Now, you don’t have to tell me what a terrible person I am for feeling this way. I’m already fully aware that resenting a group of people for effectively raising funds to combat a horrible disease is about as reprehensible an act as you can think of. I’m ok with it though, because I want to win trophies and prizes.

Besides, it’s not that I don’t want them to raise a lot of money; I just want my team to raise more than they do. So as I was sitting around thinking of new ways to try to motivate my team, it occurred to me that I should use this totally unjustified and irrational hatred to my advantage and pass it along to the people on my team. I wonder why I haven’t thought of it before; exploiting people’s healthy desire to see their like-minded peers re-cast as hostile opponents is not only completely natural human instinct, but repeatedly proven to be a highly successful tactic! Hmm, I’m beginning to understand why I was selected to be captain…

Anyway, if you’d like to learn more about Relay For Life and contribute to our team’s efforts, I’ve put yet another link to the site right here.

(Cross posted at Ridiculously inconsistent trickle of consciousness)

This weekend is BIG for us; Tommy and I have been married for 5 years as of Saturday, March 1st. The little one will be at her mom’s house so we can do whatever we want! Well, kind of. The band plays Friday night so we only have Saturday and Sunday.

I looked over some of the lists out there, but have not found much that I feel like doing here locally. I already have plans Friday night with a girlfriend so I think Tommy and I will just disappear on Saturday and see where it takes us. Sometimes having a plan is not always the way to go.

Here’s what I will be doing Friday and then I wanted to mention an event on Saturday that is being held in Clearwater for The Spring of Tampa Bay. A very close friend of mine works for The Spring, and will be at this event collecting all the donations that go to a great cause. If you have the time and the $50/$60, please join them for their event.

Friday February 29 Don Rickles and Joan Rivers at Ruth Eckerd Hall. I won these tickets from 105.5 the Dove this week, so my girlfriend and I are heading out for some laughs. I have heard this show will have adult language and adult content some even say pretty raunchy! You can go online to purchase tickets at http://www.rutheckerdhall.com.

Saturday March 1 the 3rd Annual VIP Mardi Gras Charity Party will be held at the home of founder J. Michael Pinson with the proceeds to benefit The Spring of Tampa Bay. There will plenty of special guests from the who’s who list of Tampa Bay. All inclusive: New Orleans style crab & lobster claws, French baked scallops, seared tuna, shrimp gumbo, pasta, shrimp, prime filet and more. 3 Full Open Bars with New Orleans Rum Runners & martinis. Get there early the food and drinks are while supplies last. This is a Mardi Gras Party so bring your beads! Cocktail Dress Recommended. Men, no ties are required. Dress to be comfortable to have a relaxing and enjoyable evening.

Since 1977, The Spring of Tampa Bay has provided sanctuary and services to more than 30,000 abused adults and their children. The Spring is the largest of Florida’s 41 certified domestic violence shelters and the first in the United States to have an accredited school on site. Nearly half of the operating budget comes from private sources including: individuals, corporations, and foundations.

This is a great charity event and is one of the premier events of the year. They only sell 250 tickets to this event due to limited space, you may call the Pinson office at 813-855-3663 until Friday February 28th at 12 noon to purchase advance tickets at $50. After that time, all ticket sales will be at the door at $60 per person. The Pinson website with all the info is http://www.pinsonfoundation.org

Hillsborough County commissioner Rose Ferlita and Tampa city councilman Charlie Miranda are proposing that Legends Field be re-named George Steinbrenner Stadium in honor of New York Yankees principal owner and part-time Tampa resident George Steinbrenner.

If you’re a baseball fan who lays the conjoined plagues of outrageous player salaries and lack of competitive balance squarely at Steinbrenner’s feet, or if you just happen to have a (healthy) general hatred of the Yankees, you might have a problem with this on first sight. However, the fact of the matter is that Steinbrenner the man has been extremely generous to and supportive of a number of worthwhile endeavors here in Tampa (and elsewhere) for a very long time and is as deserving of anyone of some lifetime recognition. It makes as much sense as anything to name a ballpark after him.

What’s really disturbing and off-putting about it is Ferlita’s recurrent efforts to shove the New York Yankees down the county’s collective throat. In 2006, Ferlita led an unsuccessful bid to have the Yankees included on Tampa’s “City of Champions” signage that noted the championships of Tampa Bay’s Buccaneers, Lightning and Storm. In attempting to explain the logic behind her idea, Ferlita said the Devil Rays are “out in St. Petersburg. So to me, the Yankees are the home team.”

Never mind that the Yankees are “home” for about six weeks out of the year or that not one of the Yankees 26 world champions was ever won on behalf of Tampa. Or Tampa Bay for that matter. Regardless of what you think of the Rays’ prospects in the future, the odds are still 100% higher that there will be a local parade celebrating a championship for them before there’s one for the Yankees.

Also never mind the fact that the Yankees have only been “home” in Tampa since 1996. The Cincinnati Reds were the “home” team for 30 years before that. Local government honored the “home” team by neglecting Al Lopez Field, making it untenable and basically driving them out of town to Plant City so they could tear it down and build an ice arena. Ironically, as a result the monument built to honor the achievements of Tampa native Al Lopez was razed while he was still alive, and the property stayed undeveloped, serving as another parking lot for Bucs games, until Raymond James Stadium was built 10 years later.

Ferlita is quoted in the Tampa Tribune as saying “I want to do it as quickly as possible so maybe it would be in concert with their first (2008 spring training) game”. What’s the urgency? After all, next year there’s going to be a new high school in Lutz named after Steinbrenner. I would say that’s actually a more significant and profound monument to someone’s good works than re-naming a stadium. Why does there need to be a priority placed on establishing a second one? Well, you probably don’t get to wear your Yankees cap and pal around with Reggie Jackson and Yogi Berra at some stupid school grand opening, I guess.

Cross posted at Ridiculously inconsistent trickle of consciousness