Category: Tampa Bay

Alabama is the favorite. But no one will be shocked if Clemson wins–after it embarrassed Ohio State. But one sure winner of the College Football Playoff National Championship game–regardless of scoreboard details–is Tampa.

Now we can quibble about the economic impact. Official hosts always see an economic-impact bonanza. Hotel visitor room nights plus direct media and visitor spending can’t help but be worth a couple hundred million dollars. Previous championship game hosts will swear to it. On the other hand, more than a few economists–including USF’s own economic-impact denier Phil Porter–will tell you said impact is negligible, especially in a winter-visitor venue.

What shouldn’t be debated, however, is that Tampa, which beat out Miami, San Antonio, Minneapolis, Jacksonville and Santa Clara for the game, will benefit from the massive media attention. The network coverage–from now through prime-time Monday is something no chamber of commerce or visitor bureau could ever afford.

It will remind the national audiences that Tampa, despite those four Super Bowls, a Women’s Final Four in basketball, the 2012 GOP convention and the more recent Bollywood Oscars, has improved its game. The timing on the Riverwalk couldn’t be more propitious. Plus those cutaway and back-from-commercial-break shots of Bayshore Boulevard, Harbour Island, Ybor City, Aquarium, cruise liners, palm trees, beaches and tank-top boaters and laid-back anglers are priceless.

No, the direct economic impact will be less than is touted by the usual suspects, but the bottom line on upgraded-brand exposure–via network TV and on-site visitors–will keep paying dividends.

First the (relatively) good news. Hillsborough County pedestrian deaths are down 25 percent. The bad news: 39 pedestrians died in 2016, an unacceptably tragic number. Moreover, 12 county bicyclists also died last year. Hillsborough is the deadliest county in the Tampa Bay region.

The bottom line: More signalized crosswalks, improved lighting, lower speed limits and better education initiatives are helpful– but band aid measures in an area still geared to driving everywhere. And while bike lanes help, only 6 percent of Tampa roads have them. Progress is frustratingly incremental.

It’s all a graphic reminder that absent a major mass transit investment–from rail to ferry–we won’t make the sort of inroads that are needed to reverse the our-way-is-the-highway mentality. Perhaps unincorporated county voters should finally reconsider the ongoing implications of mess transit around here. Those pushing a sales-tax referendum are not just rail junkies and the chamber of commerce. They are those who are deadly serious about quality of life.

No, it wasn’t stop-the-presses type news. Merely meaningful.

We recently saw the unveiling of the latest bronze busts along the Riverwalk’s Historic Monument Trail. There are now 24–Native American, African-American, Latino and Anglo. Consequential contributors to this city across a spectrum of years and causes.

We also heard the formal announcement that the eight-year-old Tampa Bay History Center will be undergoing its first major expansion. The significant addition to its top floor will increase the permanent exhibit area–one that will include a cartography center.

Honoring historical figures and preserving and highlighting an area’s history are always eventful. They tell our story. It’s important, as Mayor Bob Buckhorn noted at the Riverwalk ceremony, “to remember how we got here.” It gives perspective to moving forward.

But even more so in a region such as Tampa Bay and a city such as Tampa, where so many residents are from somewhere else. I’m from Philadelphia, for example, and my wife is from Chicago. We’re not here because of inertia. We’ve relocated here and stayed here because we love this town–from its Latin roots to its enticing geography–and we love its potential going forward. I know we speak for many.

It’s critically important that we don’t see our surroundings as just ever-improving pivot points to better lives and career opportunities but as integral parts of a shared identity. Our collective history is a unifying force. It’s what makes us “us”–not just residents of a cool place to live, do business and raise a family.

By saluting those who came before us, we recognize our own roles in the continuum. Bronze busts and olde world cartography are graphic testimonials of who came earlier. They are also reminders that we are all part of this special, eclectic, societal fabric, this diverse mosaic that is our Tampa home.

Teacher discipline takes various forms with school districts. From warnings and file notes to suspensions and firings.

Pasco County recently had to make the call on a Wesley Chapel High special education teacher who had told a group of black students that President-elect Trump could have them deported “back to Africa.” That’s appalling.

The superintendent, Kurt Browning, called the incident “incredibly inappropriate”–but shy of a firing offense. The teacher was given a three-day suspension and transferred to Mitchell High. Transfers-as-discipline are not exactly unheard of.

I doubt I’m the only one who finds such discipline disturbing. I think a lot of parents of Mitchell High students would feel the same way. Transferring a problem is not addressing–let alone solving–it.

Earlier this year Cuba’s Habana Compás Dance played the Straz Center. Earlier this month, the Straz Center’s Board visited Cuba. Early next year the Grammy-nominated Tiempo Libre music group will perform at the Straz, and hopes are high for a Cuban National Ballet appearance. The commitment is obvious.
And last Sunday the Cuban nexus was further underscored when the highly interactive, 11-piece Havana Cuba All-Stars ensemble put its Cuban roots son music on display at the Straz. It was part of the celebrated group’s debut tour of the U.S. The crowd of 778 (capacity 960) was more than receptive. Couples danced in the Ferguson Hall aisles.
“Cuban culture is part and parcel of our own Tampa culture,” points out Straz President and CEO Judy Lisi. “We want to introduce this community to the world. The arts in Cuba–from performing to visual–are fantastic.
“When our board was in Cuba,” recalled Lisi, “we were reminded that Cubans regard Tampa as a sister city. As things open up, Tampa could be the place.”

BTW, the All-Stars’ band leader (and Trumpet 1) Michel Padrón gave a shout-out to Jose Martí and his historical Tampa connection. No reference, notably enough, to the death of Fidel Castro.

It speaks volumes, doesn’t it, when Hillsborough County has to officially ban workers–most notably firefighters–from belonging to the Crips, Bloods, Hells Angels, the Outlaws and the Pagans.

The Bucs finally won a home game–and did so in impressive fashion by thrashing the Chicago Bears, 36-10. But that’s not what dominated the media account of Sunday’s game. The spotlight was shared with Mike Evans’ anti-Trump gesture.

Evans, the Bucs talented receiver, remained seated on the bench when everybody in RayJay not in a wheelchair stood for the national anthem. It was his way of symbolizing his disapproval of Donald Trump’s election. “I know when something’s not right,” explained Evans.

Two points.

First, Mike Evans exercised a constitutional right on behalf of a cause that matters mightily. And peaceful protests are as American as football. Evans is also ahead of the curve. In January the Million Women March comes to Washington the day after the inauguration. In effect, Evans is in the vanguard of concerned Americans who are saying: “For blatantly obvious reasons, we don’t approve of these election results. But we do, of course, accept them. Now it’s up to you, Mr. President-We-Don’t-Approve-Of-And-Didn’t-Vote-For to prove us–the popular vote plurality–wrong.”

Second, the timing was awful. Something this important–and provocative–needs to be thought through. Sunday happened to be a “Salute to Service” military tribute–the Bucs way of honoring America’s veterans. Any national anthem demonstration on such an occasion was inappropriate at best, disrespectful at worst.

Moreover, Bucs ownership and head coach Dirk Koetter were blindsided. As was Vincent Jackson, Evans’ mentor, who has created a foundation to assist military families.

One more thing. Apparently Evans didn’t vote, a more traditional manifestation of core beliefs and conscience.

Come to think of it, the sun did come up last Wednesday and life has continued on despite some unfriending and averted glances. In fact, some good stuff actually happened. To wit:

* Incoming Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran is saying all the right things about ethical changes that include reining in the role and status of lobbyists. This doesn’t sound like the Flori-duh we’ve come to decry.

* Tampa continues to make transit inroads, so to speak. The Cross-Bay Ferry project is off to a successful debut. A temporary rideshare pact has been approved by the PTC. The free, Downtowner shuttle service is now operational. HART has launched a ride-sharing, app-based service to complement the bus system.

* We’ll soon see the implementation of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s “Bigs in Blue” program, which pairs police officers with elementary and middle-school students. It’s an effort to address the fraught relationship between officers and the communities they serve. Tampa is no exception, and every effort by police to bond with their communities is more than welcome. In fact, it’s necessary.

* Imagine, a new parcel near the Riverwalk could be coming on line. If Mayor Bob Buckhorn gets his way–and he tends to on Riverwalk-related matters–the ugly duo of the John F. Germany Public Library annex and its neighboring auditorium could be razed to make way for a synergistic upgrade, possibly a park.

* Amendment 2 passed, and I have glaucoma.

* Hillsborough County went Democratic.

* Did we mention the Bucs beat the Bears?

That’ll have to do. It’s part of therapy. And getting back in the game.

Two responses to the dress-code fast times at Ridgewood High in Pasco County:

* With so many serious issues–over-testing and teacher morale for openers–this is a time-consuming priority?

* One word: uniforms.

* Who says Tampa can’t get its transit act together? Recent events underscore that big-thinking,  visionary, elected officials are not taking a pass on joining the 21st century. Without raising any taxes, Hillsborough County commissioners recently made it official: Better intersections for Balm and Gibsonton are on the way.

* While downtown Tampa–absent city-only referendum help from the Legislature–remains transportation challenged, transit inroads are hardly out of the question. Exhibit A: the Downtowner, a new, three-year shuttle service. Funding for the free, app-driven, daily service is provided by the Tampa Downtown Partnership, the city of Tampa, the Florida DOT and local businesses.

The Downtowner is comprised of 12 electric vehicles that can accommodate five passengers. They can travel up to 25 mph. Call it a modest model of multi-party cooperation. Also call it what qualifies as transit progress around here.

* I’ll admit I’m still in the skeptics’ camp when it comes to self-driving vehicles. In fact, news of the first commercial shipment by a (Uber Technologies) self-driving truck–making a Colorado beer run of 51,000 cans of Budweiser–seemed like entrepreneuring under the influence.

“Our professional driver was out of the driver’s seat for the entire 120-mile journey down I-25, monitoring the self-driving system from the sleeper berth in the back,” noted a Uber Technologies statement.

Good, I’m glad there were no unexpected glitches such as the one that led to that fatal crash of a Tesla Model S on autopilot earlier in the year. But, one question is blatantly begged. As long as he’s in the truck, why not have that professional driver behind the wheel?