Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Didn’t we see this in every sitcom over the past 3 decades?  A couple of kids room together, but can’t get along, so they paint a line across, splitting the bedroom in two.  Neither kid can cross the line to their brother’s side.

The Tampa Sports Authority has come up with a plan to paint a line across Raymond James Stadium, so Hillsborough Fire Rescue and Tampa Fire Rescue can both work during Bucs games.

Under a plan being worked out… both agencies would attend to fans and football players at games at Raymond James Stadium.

One agency would take the east and north end of the football complex; the other would take the south and west.

I can see it now:

City Guy:  “Hey County!  I just saw a fan fall down over there in your stands.”

County Guy:  “Listen here, City.  Why don’t you keep your eyes on your OWN sideline.  I’ll know if someone over here needs help.” 

City Guy:  “We’ve been doing this a lot longer than you.  I’m surprised you even found the stadium.”

County Guy:  “You City Guys are jerks!  You don’t know everything.  In fact, some drunk guy just jumped the wall and is running across the field in your end zone - you better go catch him.”

City Guy:  “You’re such a tool.  That field runner just came from YOUR sideline - that makes him your responsibility.  And YOU probably don’t even know HOW to use a taser.”

County Guy:  “Why you, I oughtta.”

Of course, by the end of the half-hour episode, those wacky kids learn their lesson that we all need to get along in order to get ahead.

The Tribune editorial board makes some pretty good points with Wednesday’s editorial about St. Pete Beach’s voter-clogged growth approval process.

St. Pete Beach has become a living laboratory to study the statewide consequences of a proposed constitutional amendment called Hometown Democracy.

But regardless of how the town decides it wants to grow, the issues are bewildering. In an earlier vote on a plan, voters saw signs saying vote yes to save the hotels along with signs saying vote no to save the hotels.

Issues have been oversimplified in the campaigns as homeowners vs. developers, preservation vs. growth, low-rise vs. high-rise, tourist trap or serene residential retreat, decay vs. progress.

Voters could easily end up unknowingly voting against their own best interests. That’s no way to run a little city, and it’s certainly no way to run a state.

Go read the whole thing.

The Tampa City Council’s main task is to pass a budget for the city.  A workshop to discuss a six-month budget update was originally scheduled for a Tuesday, but your Tampa City Council voted to hold it on a regular council meeting day to make sure council members could attend.

Of the seven council members, four missed the meeting, which had to be canceled for lack of a quorum (four needed).  I guess Gwen Miller, John Dingfelder, Joseph Caetano and Charlie Miranda had other things to do.

Deputy City Clerk Sandy Marshall said she hasn’t seen a meeting canceled because of lack of a quorum in the 21 years she’s worked for the city.

It’s gonna be a mess downtown.

If you plan to head downtown for the ObamaRally and haven’t left your house yet, get in the car now. Parking is going to be, uh, trying.

For those of you content to just read about it, The Tribune’s William March is liveblogging the event.

We have said before that Buddy Johnson is not fit to be the Supervisor of Elections.  He continues to prove us right.

He’s not real good with the money stuff:  Thanks to his banker’s generous lending policy, the guy has property all over the Tampa Bay area, yet he seems to have trouble paying his taxes on time.

He not real good with bad employees:  Buddy Johnson has a history of letting people go with big severance pay on the condition of silence.  To be fair, that practice is county-wide and like the Tribune, we would like to know what’s up with that.

He hires and promotes questionably:  Johnson hired his boyhood Little League teammate Jim Reed in 2003 at $50,000.   Reed got five raises or promotions within 19 months, and left the office this week making $125,000.  Reed is wisely bailing on Johnson to move to Virginia to be with his wife, former Managing Editor of the Tampa Tribune, Donna Reed.

At least he is competent at the election stuff, right?  Uh, nope.  He has non-citizens registering to vote, and mistakes in nearly every election are well documented, too.  Not to mention his attempt to collect illegal contributions for his own campaign.

Still, through all of that, he is undeterred, and is running for reelection as Supervisor of Elections this year.

I suppose he still has his connections.  For instance, his campaign treasurer is also his banker.

There is no way that even county Republicans can get behind this guy for reelection.

So the question is will they find someone to run against him in the primary?  Or will they just concede the race to Phyllis?

The Grapefruit Gal and I were fortunate to attend the Rays’ home opener against the Mariners last week from field-level seats, and as announced back in February, recent Bucs retiree Mike Alstott threw out the first pitch. Curiously, he was joined by an unannounced guest: Governor Charlie Crist, who also threw out the first pitch at last year’s home opener.

Certainly I’m not arguing the Gov was stealing the spotlight from one of Tampa Bay’s most popular athletes, especially being one of St. Pete’s native sons, but I noticed a peculiarity in the Rays’ treatment of their two guests that really stood out.

The Rays traditionally supply the honored first-pitch guest with a customized uniform featuring their name and some kind of relevant number. For Alstott, that meant his instantly-recognizable #40. Rays slugger Jonny Gomes caught for Alstott, and honored the tough-nosed running back by wearing an Alstott Bucs jersey. Yet the Rays skimped on Alstott’s jersey, giving him a cheap “replica” Rays shirt instead of the more expensive “authentic” ones like the players on the field wear. Note the lack of a ray patch on his sleeve and the cheap replica-style letters and numbers on the back.

Meanwhile, check out the jersey the Rays supplied Governor Crist with. It’s a legitimate authentic one, complete with Ray patch and authentic nameplate and numbers.

(Note to the Gov: tucking a jersey into your jeans makes you look like a dork. Plus, it shows off your fish-themed belt, which is also dorky.)

So why did the Governor get to share the spotlight with the A-Train? Why did he get a nicer jersey? I’m sure it has nothing to do with Rays ownership depending on his support for their new waterfront stadium plans. And what’s with his number? 12? I can’t see any immediate significance to the number, unless it’s a clever early promotion for a ‘12 presidential run.

Then again, this picture from last year’s opening day shows Crist sporting a #12 jersey yet again. (And that hideous fish-belt.) So what is it?

(Check out my full Flickr stream from opening day here.)

State Legislators are still trying to kill local environmental protections.  Now the Senate has passed a bill to do just that.  Of course, they are trying to make sure those pro sports franchises keep their tax breaks too.  Meanwhile, Disney World doesn’t want anyone to see politicians at their theme parks, so they created a politician FastPass in the hopes that they hurry up and leave.

This week’s Newsbits:

Tom Scott will be the new chairman of the Tampa City Council. Gwen Miller goes from chair to vice-chair.

Bob Henriquez got a new gig as an administrator for the state Department of Children & Families. He was the only applicant for the unadvertised position which pays $105,000 per year.

County Commission Chairman Jim Norman is gonna run for the State Senate in 2010.

New Beginnings wants $125,000 from Hillsborough County for 1,000 voice-mail accounts and 1,400 identification cards for the homeless. The County Commission seems fairly receptive.

The American Institute of Architects picked Tampa for their Center for Communities by Design Long-term Sustainability project. The idea is to create a plan for communities to meet environmental, economic and social needs of today without harming future generations.

Brandon residents have had enough with the suggestion of a bypass through their area, but it continues to come up time and time again.

Ybor City wants to completely do away with panhandling.

Muscovy Ducks are causing rifts in a Town ‘n’ Country neighborhood.