Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Reader Karan contacted us to let us know that Forbes Magazine says Tampa ranks #8 in best cities for clean water according to Forbes.  Most cities have high levels of some contaminants and low levels of most.  It sounds like the drinking water in Tampa Bay includes average numbers of all contaminants:

While this sunny spot came in eighth on our list, none of the individual contaminant levels examined were low enough to make it in the top 10. The Tampa-St. Petersburg- Clearwater area was only among the top 15 for its haloacetic acid and lead levels, and its bacteria level was well above average among the cities on our list.

Forbes.com found that the cleanest water can be found in Des Moines, Iowa, and Miami came in 4th cleanest.  Pittsburgh is 9th.

Brendan McLaughlin found that the metro area of Tampa currently holds the title of “worst cheating quotient”.

Uh.. uhmmmm….. uh..

San Diego is almost as bad? And St. Louis too?

TripAdvisor says that Fort De Soto Park’s North Beach is the top beach in the entire United States.

Dr. Beach told you that years ago. He also said that Caladesi Island is number two.

After hearing how miserable Tampa Bay is for walking, we get this from Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater:

Charming Florida Town Named America ’s “Most Walkable”

Dunedin’s Top Ranking Debunks Brookings Institution Study

The Pinellas County town of Dunedin was voted America ’s “Most Walkable Small City” on Dec. 7, the result of a survey sponsored by RunThePlanet.com, an influential runner’s Web site based in Seattle, Washington.

The city’s abundant sunshine, mild year-round climate, pedestrian-friendly thoroughfares and compact downtown area landed it the top spot in the survey’s “Small Community” category. Boulder, Colorado and Washington, DC were voted the country’s most walkable medium and large cities, respectively.

“We’re excited to receive official recognition of what we have known all along,” said Dunedin Mayor Bob Hackworth, whose tree-lined, 108-year-old municipality near the Gulf of Mexico is internationally famous for its Scottish heritage and links to the PGA Tour. “This is an immensely walkable and liveable city, and we’re proud to be at the top of the list of America ’s best,” he added.

Frank Roy, co-owner of Meranova Guest Inn in downtown Dunedin, says the town’s walkability is a hit with visitors, too.

“Our guests are often surprised that they can walk everywhere they need to go, whether it’s for shopping, nightclubbing, or five-star dining,” he said, adding that the town’s pedestrian-friendly nature is advantageous for local restaurateurs as well.

The survey’s results came in stark contrast to a study released earlier in the week by the Washington, DC-based Brookings Institution, which ranked the Tampa Bay Area last in “walkability” among America ’s top 30 metropolitan areas. That study used mass transit figures and demographic statistics to support its conclusions, whereas the RunThePlanet.com ranking relied on a survey of visitors who had actually visited - and walked - cities and towns across America.

“That the Brookings study relied on statistical analysis rather than actual experience of visitors shows how raw data can be misleading,” said DT Minich, executive director of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater.

“There’s much more to the St. Pete/Clearwater area than any spreadsheet could ever convey, and we’re pleased that Dunedin was voted number one by people who actually know it,” he added.

Links: Brookings Institute - Walkable Urban Places, Run The Planet - America’s Most Walkable Cities

I’ve been ignoring this story, figuring the odds are just too great for it to actually happen. But after 12 attempts in the 2007 NFL season, The Miami Dolphins still has not won a game. In this day and age of NFL parity, it’s virtually impossible to A) win every game or B) lose every game. Of course, this is Florida, where we buck the odds every day (hey! There’s a slogan for ya!).

Back before 1978, NFL teams only played 14 games per year. The 1972 Miami Dolphins won all fourteen, two playoff games, and the Super Bowl to go 17-0, creating the NFL’s only perfect season. The New England Patriots won 21 in a row (18 reg. season) spanning 2003, the ‘03 playoffs & Super Bowl, and 2004. The Patriots are currently on a 12 game winning streak for this year.

But let’s take a look at the other side. The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost every single game, and ended with a final record of 0-14. Furthermore, the Bucs lost the first 12 games in 1977 for 26 losses in a row, a record that stands today. Miami is currently 0-12 for 2007, and with a season-ending loss last year, they have 13 losses in a row. They are unlikely to lose the final 4 games this year, and even more unlikely to lose the first nine games next year. So it would seem the 0-26 record is safe.

But even though it will be difficult for Miami to lose the next 4 games, it is certainly a possibility. The Carolina Panthers lost 15 in a row in 2001, after winning the season opener. Members of the ‘76 Bucs say they don’t want anyone to suffer through a winless season. Batman Wood wouldn’t wish that on his worst enemy. I don’t want any other team to have a winless season, either. But not because I care about their feelings. I just love the notoriety of laying claim to being the absolute worst at something.

Go Miami!

The first annual HealthSaver Caffeinated Cities Survey, commissioned by HealthSaver, a national emerging health care discount service, found that Tampa is the second most caffeinated city in the country, compared to 19 other major American cities. Chicago ranked No.1 as the most caffeinated city, while San Francisco/Oakland was the least caffeinated.

I found this out by reading the Tampa Tribune, where Damn Fine Writer Jeff Houck went to get a couple quotes from a local coffee seller. But it ain’t the coffee that puts Tampa Bay near the top.

As you would expect, Seattle drinks the most coffee, while Tampa comes in 7th in the percentage of coffee drinkers. Chicagoans eat the most chocolate sweets, while we here in Tampa rank 6th for chocolate consumption. The chocoholics in Chicago likely wash down those sweet goodies with caffeinated sodas - they are number one in the soda category too, while Tampa has the 5th highest consumption (by %) of sodas - just behind the Coca-Cola hometown of Atlanta (#4). Riverside / San Bernardino / Ontario drinks the most energy drinks, and Tampa Bay is just above the average at number nine. Finally, Miami residents claim to have five times the average ingestion of Caffeine Pills. This is the only category where Tampa Bay is below average, at number 13 overall.

Apparently, the reason Tampa Bay is ranked number two overall is because we are ingesting caffeine-laden pain relievers and washing it down with a cold, refreshing glass of Iced Tea. Tampa ranks number 2 in both of those categories. Miami drinks the most tea (includes hot teas), folks from Phoenix are popping the most pills. Affinion Group Media has the entire National Survey report online.

I sip coffee most every morning, and generally consume about 55 ounces by noon. On most days, I’ll have just a half of Coke (never Pepsi) in the afternoon. I’m not a big chocolate eater, but I’ll enjoy a candy bar or milkshake now and again. I typically drink a tall glass of milk with dinnertime meals at home, and iced tea when eating out (maybe twice a week). I see no need for energy drinks or caffeine pills, and had to look it up to find out that my preferred pain reliever Naproxen Sodium (Aleve) has no caffeine.

Maxim just wrote about America’s Top 10 Party Cities, and Tampa has made yet another list. We’re number 6:

It’s four o’clock: Do you know where your dad is? He’s probably at one of the city’s 49 strip clubs. That’s more booby-barns than you’ll find in Vegas. Yes, the city’s median age is a list-high 40.45 years, but citizens down 5.41 cases of beer at home annually.

Of course, Mayor Pam says having fun doesn’t necessarily mean hanging out at strip bars or drinking until the wee hours.

Beer consumption, total number of strip clubs and condom sales are part of the data. In calculating the party quotient, they also use the number of 24-hour restaurants, modeling agencies, divorces, gambling laws, residents’ median ages, and number of colleges.

Here’s the entire list:
10. Chicago
9. Dallas
8. New Orleans
7. Detroit
6. Tampa
5. Las Vegas
4. New York
3. Atlanta
2. Los Angeles
1. Miami

Oh - I almost forgot… Meet us at Bobalouies’ for Happy Hour this Friday.

The City of Tampa has once again earned the title of Best of the Web in the City Portal category.

The Center for Digital Government evaluates state, city and local government web sites, and ranks them based on innovation, efficiency, economy, and functionality for improved citizen access.

The City of Tampa has consistently done well in the Best of the Web competition, having previously won in 2002, and capturing third place in 2005 and second place in 2006. From the City’s press release this year:

Earlier this year, the City of Tampa’s Technology and Innovation Department spearheaded a complete redesign of the city’s web site to make it more customer-friendly. TampaGov.net, host to more than 6,000 pages of information and useful applications, was redesigned with the goal of providing a more consistent, accessible and successful user experience. Among the improvements was an innovative “Tampa Neighborhoods” service that provides extensive up-to-date information on association contacts, meeting schedules, maps, reports, crime statistics, flood zones, areas of interest and more. These enhancements, combined with TampaGov’s already extensive e-government offerings such as online bill pay, allow the public to access their city government 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You can find all the finalists and winners in the State, County, and City categories for 2007 after the jump.

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After being the 13th largest TV market in the nation for several years, the Tampa Bay area jumped up over Seattle in 2005 to become the 12th biggest.

It was short lived.

This year, Phoenix jumped up over Tampa Bay in the number of TV homes, making us 13th again.