* Some things–national to local–are front-page givens–from outrageous presidential debates to a salacious Hulk Hogan trial. Then there is the merely interesting, news-judgment feature that could go anywhere. Thus, last Sunday’s coincidental, Times and Tribune front-page pieces on Melanie Lenz, the senior vice president for strategy and development for the Tampa Bay Rays.
She’s a key player in the search for–and design of–a new, next-generation ballpark. Lenz, who has a master’s degree in urban planning at the University of Pittsburgh, sounds like somebody who could work with–or for–Jeff Vinik, if it came to that.
* Speaking of Hogan (Terry Bollea), if we must, he was also in the news when his Clearwater memorabilia store had to be evacuated on Saturday. There was a structural issue with the building, and an autograph session was summarily ended. The city’s public information director said she didn’t know what caused the building to shift. Presumably, no one asked if she knew why anyone would still want a Hulk Hogan autograph.
* So we now know that Caitlyn Jenner, a rather high-profile conservative with her own reality-TV show, would like to be the “trans ambassador to the president of the United States.” With one caveat: If that president is Ted Cruz. As for Hillary Clinton: “She could care less about women,” according to Jenner.
We also know this. Jenner has always been a self-promoter. It undermines her credibility to make a truly meaningful contribution about the transgender folks among us who could use more societal understanding.
* Prosecutors now say that Doug Hughes, Ruskin’s most notorious gyrocopter pilot, came within seconds of colliding with a Delta flight before landing outside the U.S. Capitol last spring. If that proves to be the case, Hughes is lucky they’re only asking for 10 months in prison. Moreover, had there been a worst-case scenario, imagine how that would have reflected on the self-serving media that helped enable his stunt.