Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

“The Pier” has been a landmark of downtown St. Petersburg since 1899 when Peter Demens connected the Orange Belt Railroad to a half-mile wharf. D. F. Brantley started the first Pier Pavilion in 1895, and a “Municipal Pier” debuted in 1913.  But it is the 1926 “Million Dollar Pier” (postcarded here) that long-time residents remember.

The Million Dollar Pier was the place to be - whether it was for a veteran’s meeting, a high school dance or a just getting a Coke at the drive-in. In the days before air conditioning, the way to cool off was to take a drive out to this community center pier. Cruise boats docked at the pier and during World War II so did the military ships.

The city began tearing down Million Dollar Pier in 1967, and opened today’s inverted pyramid structure in 1973.  In 1978, the city installed a laser on the third floor of the inverted pyramid, sending a “beam of green” up the pier to downtown.  It never really worked great, and was removed in the mid 80s.

The Pier got a $12 million makeover in 1988, with a lovely shade of turquoise contrasting the pale yellow building.

You may have noticed that The Pier Aquarium is looking to move off The Pier, and over to Baywalk.  It seems that after 35 years, The Pier and the building at the end of it are falling apart.  So now the city is looking for ideas on what to do with The Pier.

To do it right, some have suggested we look at other piers across the nation, such as Chicago’s Navy Pier (pictures), Santa Monica Pier (pics), and San Francisco’s Pier 39 (pics).

But maybe we ought to knock it down and replace it with a bridge to Ruskin.

You got any ideas?

Your Weekly Rays Update

Overall: 58-40
Last Week: AL Won All Star Game, Jays (2-1)
This Week: OAK, @ KC

Considering this was the first All Star game that had any real importance to the Rays (for obvious reasons), it was good to see the three Rays play well in it. Evan Longoria had a game tying RBI hit in the bottom of the 8th and Scott Kazmir picked up the win in one inning of relief work. Even Dioner Navarro helped turn a key double play in the 9th inning (although Navarro also gave up a run on an error the inning before). We all know the Rays are a young team but all three Rays who played in the All Star game were 24 or younger. That’s just the fifth time since 1963 a team has sent three players 24 or younger to the All Star game.

Tampa Bay…58—40 __ .592
Boston………….58—43 __ .574
New York……..54—45 __ .545
Baltimore…….48—50 __ .490
Toronto……….48—51 __ .485

The Rays probably don’t deserve to be in first in the division considering the seven games they dropped before the All Star break, yet there they are. We have three Red Sox losses to the Angels to thank for that. Of concern is the fact that the Rays play dreadful on the road (19-25). The Rays have been saved by their home record (41-15) but it’s difficult to consider the team a serious playoff contender unless they can improve their road record.

HERE WE GO AGAIN
A Commission has been formed as a joint effort between St Petersburg, Pinellas and the Rays to find a site for a new stadium. The Commission, called A Baseball Community, Inc. is looking for applications for the 9 member committee that will head this coalition. The Times Stadium blog, Ballpark Frankness, has a guess at the potential membership of this committee and the biggest question seems to be, will someone from the anti-stadium group, POWW, be allowed on the committee? Personally, I’m torn on the value of adding someone from POWW to this group.

LONGORIA HOT, UPTON NOT
Apologies for the uncreative headline but Longoria has been on fire since the All Star break with 3 homeruns in his last three games. On the flip side BJ Upton has played poorly lately and Joe Maddon has moved Upton around in the lineup to take pressure off of Upton until he finds his swing. Upton is not the only Ray struggling (Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena have as well) so you have to wonder how long can a rookie (i.e. Longoria) essentially carry the Rays offense?.

PERCIVAL BACK
Reliever Troy Percival returns from the 15 day DL and should pitch sometime this week. While the Rays bullpen as a whole is much improved from last season Percival seems to provide a calming influence for a young team.

PLAYOFF ODDS: 84%
(Courtesy Baseball Prospectus)

Starting a discussion about what makes a “real” Cuban sandwich can elicit strong opinions and unearth longstanding feuds. There is one ingredient on which all the sandwich sectarians agree. It’s not a Cuban sandwich without authentic Cuban bread. The ingredients are simple enough; flour, water, salt, yeast and lard. But the result cannot be duplicated outside the family owned bakeries of Tampa and Miami; a crusty torpedo that would make any Frenchman envious.

My introduction to the staple came at age six, when I entered the Hillsborough County school system from more Northern climes. I doubt the recipe has changed much in 25 years. The public school version of the Cuban sandwich consists of one or two thin slices of cheap boiled ham and salami, one slice of stinky government cheese, pale neon green pickles and mustard on five to six inches of semi-fresh Cuban bread; a logic defying composition, MUCH GREATER than the sum of it’s parts.

The bread was so hard and chewy that it often led to the lunchtime extraction of the last of my baby teeth. New teeth grew in, almost as fast as I grew an appetite for that most Cuban of confections. At least once a week, and later as a daily option, the Cuban sandwich was the heart of the school lunch menu. As bland and unassuming as it sounds, that simple chewy sandwich was a welcome relief from the reheated Salisbury steak and chicken nuggets. Throughout our school years, my classmates and I consumed millions.

More than just a meal, the Cuban sandwich was my introduction to the history and cultural identity of Tampa Bay. The sandwich was a bridge that connected me to the Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders, the mysterious minarets of the Plant Hotel, cigar factory workers of Ybor and the Diaspora of communist Cuba’s refugees; some of whom were my classmates.

I’d like to think that the Cuban sandwich has given me a certain kind of cultural identity, something that everyone who has grown up in Tampa Bay has in some part shared. As I’ve traveled to and lived in other cities across the country, I’ve sampled many imitation Cubans. Their similarity to and difference from the five inch version that I had in school fondly reminds me of bay area and that culture and history that we’ve all shared.

That’s why it saddens me to read that Pinellas County schools will no longer be serving locally baked Cuban bread in their cafeterias. For the students and staff, who will now dine on soft and starchy instant-bake rolls of the frozen variety, it’s not just a culinary tragedy. It’s a cultural tragedy.

Here’s hoping that Hillsborough schools will not follow suit. For pennies on the dollar, Cuban bread is worth a little extra dough.

The Red Bull Flugtag was presented here on Saturday, for the first time in Tampa Bay, and I attended with a group of friends along with another 110,000 people or so. The arrow in the photo indicates roughly where I was. See me? I’m jumping up and down and waving! Hello!

In case you’re not familiar with it, Flugtag, a German term meaning “Flying Day”, consists of teams of people building homemade, human-powered flying machines and piloting them off a 30-foot high deck in hopes of achieving flight. They never do, though.

So it’s basically the Superbowl of putting on ridiculous costumes, building stuff and pushing it off a ledge into water. And yes, this is as funny and entertaining as it sounds. When it comes to free entertainment, it’s hard to beat people falling into water. Include costumes and flying machines that don’t - just adds bonus points.

Tampa is one of three cities to host the event this year, the others being Chicago and Portland, Oregon later this summer. Red Bull has sponsored about 40 of these so far and we (Tampa) set an attendance record, more than doubling the 50,000 that had been projected. I’m not surprised; literally everyone I spoke to for the last two weeks was planning on going. I think event planners were caught off guard:

• It was scheduled to begin at 1:00 and we got there at 11:00 when gates were supposed to open. But it was obvious that a lot of people had gotten in and set up camp much earlier than that, as evidenced by us ending up where we did.
• In spite of previously published warnings about things that wouldn’t be allowed in, there weren’t even cursory bag searches taking place, at least not at the gate where we entered (right outside the convention center).
• Food and beverage locations were few and far between, which was a matter of major concern because with that many people packed in that tightly, smack in the middle of the day, smack in the middle of July (why didn’t they schedule it for later, like around dusk?), remaining hydrated was of vital importance. Just because we were closer to the hospital than the launch pad doesn’t mean I wanted to go there. Eventually, even though we drank plenty of fluids, our group just couldn’t hang so we left around 2:00 and watched the rest of it from The Press Box. We had a good time but it was just too hot and too crowded to be enjoyable after a while.
• A group of people who were probably a little put out would be those presenting and attending METROCON which was taking place simultaneously at the Tampa Convention Center. Some of the more elaborately costumed anime fans might have had legitimate concerns about being mistakenly tossed into the drink by overly lubricated enthusiastic Flugtaggers.
• I don’t think there were nearly enough police officers on hand to handle traffic. We left well before the end and we still wound up stuck in pretty thick traffic on the way out. I can’t even imagine what it was like when the event was over.
• Lastly, I don’t understand why the city didn’t take advantage of the event to publicize the Riverwalk. After all, that’s really where it took place. For all the publicity the event got leading up to the big day, there was never a mention of Mayor Iorio’s legacy project and it’s proximity to the convention center as well as all the exciting cultural/dining/retail shopping opportunities offered in downtown Tampa…or will be some day…hopefully. I don’t know. It just seems like somebody in marketing would have thought of that, that’s all.

Overall, it was fun but there is a lot of room for improvement if/when it comes back.

(Cross posted at Ridiculously inconsistent trickle of consciousness)

Despite a last-ditch effort by developer interests to weaken wetland protections last Thursday, interested citizens prevailed and your county commissioners adopted the final batch of wetland rule changes without any modifications.

Having failed to persuade EPC staff to agree to any weakening of the rules in this last part of the Hybrid, developers frantically lobbied county commissioners to stick last-minute changes into the proposal.

Speaking against those changes were representatives of the League of Women Voters, U-CAN, R-LAND, Sierra Club, Audubon, Tomorrow Matters!, Seffner Community Alliance, Taylor Road Civic Association, and several unaffiliated citizens. A few developers and agricultural interests spoke for looser regulations, but they were outnumbered and outmatched.

A key to the success of the conservationists was that many of their email and letters showed commissioners that they clearly understood the key points included in the changes.  Developers’ demands were couched in harmless-sounding doublespeak like “net environmental benefits” or “classification of wetlands,” but citizens pointed out how those innocent-sounding buzzwords would weaken wetland protections.

Still, Commissioner Jim Norman pushed hard for the “classification of wetlands” modification, which would have made it easier to destroy some wetlands deemed “low class.” This idea was opposed by EPC staff, all 3 advisory committees and the non-developer citizens involved.

Commissioner Brian Blair tried to lend support to Norman, but Blair didn’t seem to understand the issues well enough to do more than flail about, finally resorting to reading a letter out loud.  Blair wrongly claimed the letter was written by a member of the EPC’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG). In fact, the letter was written by Mike Peterson, speaking for the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, not TAG.  Peterson is also known as a lawyer for developers.

(Side note - I wonder if Tampa Realtors approve of their spokesperson calling for weaker wetland protections?  He previously led Tampa Realtors to call for the total elimination of EPC wetland protections, and this letter reiterates that position.  It’s obvious how it would benefit Peterson’s developer-clients to be allowed to destroy wetlands to build more houses, but how would it benefit Realtors to have neighborhoods flooded by wetland destruction just so their market could also be flooded with more houses for sale, depressing prices?)

Thankfully, Commissioner Mark Sharpe argued firmly against Norman’s pitch for the requests for modifications, noting some of the economic benefits of strong environmental protections. 

Likewise, Commissioner Rose Ferlita moved to adopt the rules as proposed, and flatly refused to allow Blair & Norman to pollute her motion with any language that would direct EPC to weaken wetland protections.

If not for the concerted efforts of those above-mentioned groups and other interested parties, it is my belief that the already compromised rules would have been put off again, eventually leading to further weakening of wetlands rules. Instead, the concerns of citizens were heard by your county commissioners, and Mark Sharpe’s compelling arguments thwarted attempts to delay. With no commissioner wanting to be singled out as voting against wetlands (given all the heat the public & press has directed at them on this issue), the motion passed unanimously.

For more, see the Times and Tribune on the hearing, and the Times’ preview. The Tribune also printed an editorial and Denise Layne’s Op Ed before the hearing, both calling on commissioners to approve EPC staff’s proposal as is. At the hearing, all 3 of Blair’s Democratic opponents spoke in favor of EPC’s staff recommendation. Hear them all on this audio clip of WMNF’s excellent coverage. Full captioning of the hearing is here.

Th Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission offers free gator-hunting classes:

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is offering alligator hunters no-cost, three-hour classes to help them prepare for the Aug. 15 – Nov. 1 statewide alligator harvest. Reservations are not required to attend a class.

Attendance is not mandatory for licensed hunters, but the FWC recommends that participants attend, especially if they have not previously hunted for alligators. Class topics include preparing for the hunt, hunting techniques and safety, harvesting and processing, caring for your alligator hide and alligator hunting rules and regulations. Also, persons who do not have an alligator harvest permit can attend if they want to learn what hunting alligators is all about.

As it says, you don’t have to sign up. Just show up on Aug. 2, 1-4pm at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. Hwy. 301 N. (use the Orient Road entrance). For directions, call 800-345-FAIR (3247) or visit www.floridastatefair.com.

All hunt permits have been sold for this year; however, alligator trapping “agent” permits are available for $52. Agent permits enable permit holders to assist a licensed trapper in taking alligators but only in the presence of that trapper.

For those of us not interested in playing with native critters who can eat us, you can learn all about the dinosaur descendants by downloading the FWC’s All About Gators Coloring Book from the kids & gators section of the website.

With a surprising show of common sense, the Hillsborough County School Board disallows any use of cell phones or other electronic devices:

Beginning the first day of school, that cell phone better be off and out of sight — or else…

“We see it, we take it” is the new mantra…

That includes lunch. No exceptions once the first bell rings.

“We’re going to have to be really clear that this is a rule that applies to every student, every day, every time you walk onto campus,” School Board member Candy Olson said.

Why such a strong statement? Because the school board previously pandered to helicopter parents who felt the need to be in touch with their kids throughout the day. In fact, they are already getting complaints about the new ruling:

Assistant superintendent for administration Lewis Brinson already has received e-mails from parents complaining that the rule amounts to a violation of their constitutional rights.

Good grief! You wonder how these parents can make it through the day.

The kids are at school to learn. They should be allowed to do that with no distractions at all. You don’t have a “constitutional right” to disrupt education.

Even though their lack of foresight originally assisted to this problem, we commend for the School Board for correcting the problem and finally getting this one right.

Now, about these busing problems…

It’s time once again for Creative Loafing’s annual Best of the Bay voting for 2008!

In previous years, we have been honored to be recognized by Creative Loafing’s readers and editors as being one of the top local websites:

• 2007 - First place Creative Loafing Best of the Bay 2007 - Best Local Blog, Readers’ Choice.
• 2006 - First place Creative Loafing Best of the Bay 2006, Reader’s choice for Best Local Blog.
• 2005 - First place Weekly Planet’s Best of the Bay 2005, Editor’s choice for Best Local Website.
• 2005 - Third place Weekly Planet’s Best of the Bay 2005, Reader’s choice for Best Local Blog.

We certainly are proud of these honors from all of you, and are happy that you are keeping Sticks of Fire on your reading list.

Alas, the time has come once again to see if we can still hang.  There have been a bunch of new blogs and bloggers started up in the past year, and some of them are simply fantastic.  We enjoy reading several of them, and any number of them could knock Sticks of Fire out of the top spot.

Of course, there is so much more to Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay than just websites. You can vote for the best neighborhood, your favorite art gallery, the worst road, the best thrift store, and so much more.  In fact, you must vote in 25 of the categories (there are 100 categories this year, and we list them all after the jump below).

Make sure you vote for YOUR FAVORITES by Aug. 13, 2008, and CL promises to publish the results on Sept. 17.

So vote for the Best of the Bay right now, or cut & paste the list of categories below in order to give ‘em all some thought.

(more…)