Category: Tampa Bay

It’s now official. Press-conference-at-Union-Station official.

Tampa City Council fixture Linda Saul-Sena is formally in the race for the District 5 countywide Hillsborough County Commission seat being vacated by the term-limited Jim Norman. Her main opposition will be Commission Chairman Ken Hagan, now in his third term, who will resign his District 2 seat. Some outtakes and observations:

*Conventional wisdom took a beating after Kevin Beckner’s historic win over Brian Blair. In effect, all liberal-vs-conservative/city-vs-county bets are off. Saul-Sena, a Democrat and five-term Council member, will be formidable. She’s more than the avatar of the arts, the patron saint of preservation, the goddess of green and the personification of perkiness.

*Her themes, as she underscored them at her press conference, were those that can resonate county-wide. Growth management and transportation will be prominent. She trotted out a line that we’ll be seeing often. It’s no longer about “Build, build, build,” she declared, but “Jobs, jobs, jobs.” Expect to see her play up her Metropolitan Planning Organization experience – especially in response to those inevitably portraying her as a South Tampa elite out to advance a liberal agenda.

Saul-Sena deplored the “lack of collaboration between city and county.” For too long, she stressed, too many have seen the city as the “doughnut hole” and the county as “the doughnut.” It’s in everyone’s interest, she said, to keep the focus on “a more prosperous and sustainable future” for the county.

*It speaks volumes that she has Mitch Kates, the street-smart, take-no-prisoners strategist in her corner. That’s how serious Saul-Sena is. Recall that Kates is the same campaign advisor used by Beckner – as well as Mary Mulhern, who upset incumbent, up-county Republican Shawn Harrison for a Tampa City Council seat. Saul-Sena is not a negative campaigner, but Kates will take the gloves off. That means less-than-flattering references to Hagan’s take on the environment/wetlands and developers, as well as a reputation for eschewing debates.

*Saul-Sena faces a major financing challenge. She hasn’t had to raise serious money in years. When she was re-elected to her citywide District 3 Council seat in 2007, she was unchallenged. Now she faces a Republican opponent who is sitting on more than $200,000 in contributions. She said she’ll be tapping into her sizable support network and expects to raise about $300,000.

But it could be worse, she said with a smile and a shrug. “Alex Sink has to raise about $30 million. Now that’s daunting.”

*Everyone certainly “got” the Union Station press-conference venue. All the history and all the implications for the future. And Saul-Sena doesn’t mind reminding listeners that she “led the effort to save it.” But some media types wondered if something out in the county – in effect, Ken Hagan’s backyard – would have made more strategic sense.

*Saul-Sena seemed genuinely taken aback by the two dozen or so supporters of the Tampa police union picketing outside Union Station before and during her indoor press conference. Tampa Police Benevolent Association members were saying she was no friend of the TPD because of her vote against a police step-pay raise. The wording, “Linda Saul-Sena: The Criminal’s Best Friend,” was the cheapest of shots. “Yes, I was surprised,” said Saul-Sena. “I have a great record in supporting the police.”

*For what it’s worth, the media – both electronic and print – seemed to take a dim view of the picketers. The sign-carriers came across, as one prominent columnist labeled it, as “cheesy.” Saul-Sena is hardly anti-cop and voted with the City Council super majority because all city employees — including police and fire — were being asked to take one for Team Tampa by foregoing raises during a ravaging, budget-slashing recession. One of the acknowledged ripple effects of deferred raises: fewer layoffs.

*I spoke with one picketer, who was polite, 50-something, and direct. There was nothing nuanced about the protest or his take. “It’s like George Bush said: ‘You’re either with us or against us,’” he explained. “You can’t have it both ways.”

*Imagine, Clueless Joe Cataeno, who cast the lone pro-union vote, is the police union’s only “friend.” Please.

No doubt about it, 2010 is a very big year for downtown Tampa. One that will feature the unprecedented debut of two museums, the new Tampa Museum of Art and the Glazer Children’s Museum. The double debut has even been recognized — and saluted — by USA Today, which recently touted Tampa among its top five “Destinations To Watch” in 2010.

Well, USA Today might want to update that museum shout-out about Tampa. This city also features one of the top five museums in the country. That would be the Museum of Science & Industry near USF. Early in the new year, MOSI will be feted by the Institute of Museum and Library Service in a formal ceremony in Washington. More than 17,500 museums were eligible for the prestigious honor: the National Medal for Museum and Library Service.

MOSI is the largest non-profit science center in the Southeast. Its calling, science learning, has never been more relevant. In a global economy that increasingly places a premium on science and innovation, MOSI is much more than an impressive amenity. Arguably, it’s a necessity – one that understands the value of community outreach. And it’s in our own backyard.

Well done, MOSI President Wit Ostrenko.

How appropriate. The name Iorio is back at the University of South Florida.

For years John Iorio, the late father of Mayor Pam Iorio, was a popular and revered English professor at USF. Now his daughter has agreed to teach an honors class on mass transit at USF in the spring. She also agreed to forego the position’s $2,300 stipend.

The course will doubtless be, in part, a forum for light rail, the mayor’s most passionate priority. Moreover, nothing will be off the record. And it may presage something more permanent down the road for the mayor, who is known to be intrigued by a post-politics, higher-ed calling. She leaves City Hall next spring.

But for now, it means the Iorio name literally lives on at USF. As it should.

Time was when Tampa was to the arts what Las Vegas was to family values. Guggenheim was “Crazy” – not Solomon or Peggy. Live entertainment meant spring training, wrestling, boxing, greyhound racing, jai alai playing and flamenco dancing at the Columbia Restaurant. And some never tired of reliving that vintage performance of Elvis at the Armory.

While other, often smaller, cities were turning to the arts for downtown revivals in the 1960s, Tampa was still clinging to its industrial roots – and ambience. Sarasota would have its Van Wezel Hall and St. Petersburg its Mahaffey Theater. Tampa had its Curtis Hixon Hall. USF played basketball there.

But by the 1980s, Tampa had fast-forwarded to the point that it was prominently mentioned in John Naisbitt’s best-seller, “Megatrends,” as one of “America’s Next Great Cities.” The futurist included Tampa on a short list of cities uniquely positioned to take advantage of the twin-dawning information and globalization ages. The Greater Tampa Chamber of commerce couldn’t order enough of those “great city” bumper stickers. It was decidedly heady stuff for a city that had been incrementally gaining recognition for its prototype airport; major seaport; growing, diverse economy; a large state university and even an NFL franchise.  

And yet. Tampa remained this embarrassingly late cultural bloomer. Even Clearwater had its Ruth Eckerd Hall by then.

And, candidly, how do you revel about being a “Next Great City” when the Nick Nuccio-era Curtis Hixon Hall is your concert venue? Sure, Janis Joplin played it and was even arrested there in the ‘60s. And, yes, CHH was quite suitable for Slim Whitman and the Miami Sound Machine. That, of course, was the problem.

Then came the game-changer.

Arts Awakening

Tampa knew it needed a first-class performing arts center because, well, cities worth their civic salt all seemed to have one. Arts emporiums were beginning to be touted as economic-development tools. They could help attract business. They could have a ripple effect in the economy. The result: the $57-million, 335,000-square-foot Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. It debuted in 1987. It was a product of municipal bonds, nine city-owned, dirt-lot acres and a pragmatic cadre of visionaries, including H.L. Culbreath, Hinks Shimberg, Frank Morsani and Mayor Bob Martinez.

But while civic leaders and local luminaries basked in a waterfront, acoustics-touted venue worthy of great performance, TBPAC lost money. Every year.  

Enter Judy Lisi as TBPAC president in 1992.

The Fairfield, Conn. native had been executive director of the prestigious Shubert Performing Arts Center in New Haven. She had the know-how and the know-who and had been a performer herself. She was Juilliard School of Music-trained in opera. She was also a playwright and a director.

In Tampa, she met “incredibly nice” people, she recalls. She also saw an impressive facility that was state-of-the-art and presciently multi-venued. It featured the 2,600-seat Carol Morsani Theatre, the 1,042-seat Louise Lykes Ferguson Theatre plus three more intimate theaters seating between 300 and 130 patrons.

Then she looked at the books and saw a $4-million deficit. She looked at the programming and saw why.

“I saw where changes could be made,” says Lisi. “They were heavy in the classics. They were paying top dollar for less than first-rate Broadway.

“You have to have a product that people want to see and that you can market,” she underscores. “You have to manage risk. We may be a not-for-profit, but we have to run it like a business. And things can change quickly in this business.”

Indeed. TBPAC, recently renamed the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, has been in the black since shortly after Lisi took over. It is known for much more than being the largest performing arts center in the Southeast. Annual attendance averages between 600,000 and 700,000. Billboard magazine just named it the third most successful performing arts venue (5,000 seats or less) in the country for the decade. Its economic impact on the region is now estimated at $100 million by Americans for the Arts.

“From the day Judy arrived, she has thrown herself into that position,” says Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio. “She’s energetic, positive and innovative. They do everything right over there.”

Thanks to Lisi, a nationally recognized impresario, the Straz has become a pre-eminent presenter of Broadway tours, the home of Opera Tampa and host of popular cabaret shows. She was also the driving force behind the Patel Conservatory, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. Last year Lisi, 63, added to her myriad honors by winning the “Patrick Hayes Award” for lifetime achievement from the International Society for the Performing Arts.

“Judy is really an icon in this community,” says Stu Rogel, chairman of the Tampa Bay Partnership. “Having the arts prosper is such a critical factor in the growth and prosperity of a community. She took a great facility and just added so much. She took that center and shaped and molded and grew it. And Judy can certainly take it to the next level.”

“Wonderland” Hopes

That next level can be summarized in three words: Broadway Genesis Project. It’s the most ambitious undertaking in the 22-year history of the center. The goal is nothing less than to literally grow its own Broadway-caliber productions. From scratch. And then hope the launch carries all the way to “The Great White Way.” And succeeds. And then tours.

That’s how you recoup your investment and enhance your reputation a hundred fold.

“What you’re doing is creating a work,” explains Lisi. “That’s really how an arts center builds its reputation. And if we get that reputation for doing something especially creative and ambitious, then Tampa does too.”

The reason the Broadway Genesis Project was viable, points out Lisi, is the unique Straz/Tampa wherewithal. “First was our state-of-the-art facilities,” says Lisi. That includes, she notes, a “perfect Broadway-type theater” in Ferguson, as well as technical and production capabilities, a costume shop and rehearsal studios. Plus a proven professional staff, a large subscription base, a track record of group and individual sales, responsive audiences and major-market media.

For several years the center had been setting aside Broadway Genesis Project money — about $3.5 million culled from the endowment — to properly fund a made-in-Tampa production worthy of a world premier. It would be the largest single Tampa Bay stage production ever. And, yes, the dour economy did create some in-house soul searching.

“With the economy, we – the Board and staff – did reconsider,” acknowledges Lisi. “However, institutionally we had already committed time and effort that the conclusion was to stay with the plan. Also, it was felt that this kind of ‘big idea’ would propel the institution forward as well as stimulate jobs and growth in a time that it was needed most.”

To that end, according to Lisi, the production of the first BGP show, “Wonderland: Alice’s New Musical Adventure,” will have pumped some $8 million into the local economy by the time it ends on Jan. 3. The cast and crew have been here since early October and all sets, props and costumes were produced locally.

Assuaging much of the Straz stress is the fact that “Wonderland” has been very well received and applauded as a boffo production. And, yes, I’ve seen it. I highly recommend it. It’s uplifting; it’s a visual feast; and it’s funny. Janet Dacal (Alice) is a gifted, charismatic talent. And, no, I wasn’t the only one to perceive a bit of a Sarah Palin send-up in the Queen of Hearts.

By next week, “Wonderland” will be in Houston for a month’s run at the Alley Theatre. There will be additional tweaking of the book as well as some high-tech cue changes. And more than a few crossed fingers back here at the Straz.

“We feel the show has potential to be developed in various ways, and that these revenue streams should not only return the original investment, but hopefully, over time, would return more which could be used for future projects,” assesses Lisi. “About $1.5 million will be returned right here in Tampa and more in Houston.”

And for the record, the Straz will certainly be considering another made-in-Tampa, Broadway Genesis Project, but probably not for another two years. The development process, says Lisi, takes that long. No decisions yet on what it might be.

But even if “Wonderland” makes a splash in New York and the tour circuit, the advent of “Broadway South” won’t be the Straz’s or Lisi’s only — or even most impacting — legacy.

“The success of the Center was a crucial part of growing Tampa,” says Tampa City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena. “It gave us exposure to the wider world, and it gave the wider world exposure to us. It’s a marvelous showcase for Tampa.”

Imagine Tampa without its arts catalyst.

“I can say we would not have the Patel Conservatory, the three museums, downtown residential, maybe even the new Riverwalk, maybe even the Aquarium and Channelside,” posits Lisi. “Since the Center was the first major cultural project, if it had not happened or had not succeeded, one could question whether these subsequent projects would have happened at all.”

But memories of Elvis at the Armory would still linger.

Sometimes we have to be reminded of what we take for granted. The holiday season always seems like an appropriate enough time.

A little perspective, then, on the University of South Florida. Believe it or not, there’s a lot going on at USF that has absolutely nothing to do with the hyper-emotional, overbearing football coach now in the cross hairs of unflattering national publicity.

Just this month we were again reminded of the implications of having a major, research-oriented state university in our midst.

In early December USF announced that it planned to develop a 60,000-square-foot medical training center — including a hotel — and it was zeroing in on the Heights, a 48-acre parcel north of the Hillsborough River. This would be the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation. It would target surgeons – internationally – who would come to CAMLS for training and certification in high-tech treatments. Simulators would be the basis of much of that training. It’s a niche USF has been presciently carving out.

The economic ripples, especially during a no-to-slow-growth period, could be significant. Over five years, CAMLS is projected to have a local impact in excess of $240 million. It would create an estimated 600-plus construction jobs and more than 200 permanent positions. Officials also foresee CAMLS as a recruiting magnet that could attract medical-device manufacturers, among others, to the area. It could also serve as a critical Heights’ catalyst for restaurants, retail and residential development. And it would even provide a welcome forum (bond issue) for both city and county officials to collaborate.

Sure, nothing is guaranteed, especially in this economy. But the wherewithal of a major research university to energize its surroundings, while pushing the envelope on high-tech training, is a real-world scenario — not a simulated one.

USF’s “Gatorade”

The CAMLS/Heights news, however, had to share the media spotlight with USF research that could yield the university a blockbuster payoff from its patent on an antidepressant drug. If successful, the promising drug, now known as TC-5214, has the potential to make a significant impact on the $20-billion market for antidepressants.

While trying not to sound giddy about TC-5214’s prospects, USF officials have been caught using the “G” word. Intimating that this could do for USF what Gatorade did for the University of Florida.

Currently, USF has a licensing agreement with Targacept, a North Carolina company that is working with AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical giant. AstraZeneca recently announced a $200-million investment in Targacept in a joint effort to develop, win FDA approval and market TC-5214. Even bigger investments will follow if development, regulatory and sales markers are met.

USF could strike it rich if milestone payments and royalties max out. (By policy, USF keeps 45 per cent to support its research mission.) But it won’t happen overnight. The clinical-testing process will take at least two years.

But the opportunity and the upside are, well, “Gatorade” huge. And while the USF-Targacept partnership results are not a forgone conclusion, the involvement of AstraZeneca is key. The Big Pharma big shot is not known to lavish nine-figure, initial investments on long-shots.

SRI Synergy

Then last week we were further reminded of USF’s research reach when SRI International unveiled its new, 37,000-square-foot building in downtown St. Petersburg. SRI is the erstwhile Stanford University scientific research institute – and a coup for St. Pete and the Tampa Bay Area.

SRI, which has had a local presence before debuting its new facility, specializes in finding commercial – and national security – applications for maritime research. Current projects include developing better underwater security sensors for protecting ports, such as Tampa’s. Much of SRI’s work is funded by the feds, especially the Department of Homeland Security. It’s expected that SRI will partner with USF on a number of projects.

SRI’s eastward migration was hardly happenstance. Sure, proximity to the U.S. Geological Survey and the NOAA Fisheries Services were inducements. But what put it over the top for SRI was the marine science research reputation of the University of South Florida. SRI’s director, Larry Langebrake, was formerly with USF’s Center for Ocean Technology.

And one more research ripple. Draper Laboratories, an MIT spin-off, was encouraged to set up shop in the Bay Area, in part, by the SRI/USF synergy scenario. Draper now has two facilities in this market: one at USF in Tampa where it does applied research. The other is in St. Petersburg, where it does nanotechnology-related manufacturing.

Sure, these are tough, challenging times. We look at the scary unemployment rates and the downturns in construction and tourism and a tax system seemingly in tatters – and it’s easy to focus on what’s wrong. And hearken back to the way it used to be in the go-go days of inevitable growth.

Then keep in mind the critical role that high tech and innovation must play for this area – and this country – to successfully bridge to tomorrow’s more diversified economy. Universities, because of their charge, and USF because of its niche priorities, are necessarily on the cutting edge.

No, we cannot take USF for granted. Actually, USF — from the looks of what happened this month — won’t let it happen.

Nobody seemed pleased – more like placated – last week as Pat Bean managed to cling to the job she has held for the last six years as Hillsborough County Administrator. The one that involves more than 5,000 employees and a $3 billion budget. The one that increasingly requires sophisticated, out-of-the-box, regional thinking. The one that shouldn’t have to tolerate ham-handed approaches to budget deficits. The one that almost nobody thinks she’s good enough at.

But to paraphrase James Carville, it’s about the salary, stupid.

By any measure except bond rating, Bean, 64, was not bargaining from strength. Not when most commissioners, among others, question her priorities, judgment, vision, initiative, leadership and innovation instincts. But they also know that the timing couldn’t be worse for taxpayers having to cough up Bean’s annual salary ($226,000) if she is fired. (Accrued vacation and sick-leave time would bring her severance package to more than $400,000.) Bean’s contract expires at the end of 2011.

The blatantly begged question, even in these turbulent economic times: But can the commissioners afford to keep her? There’s never been a greater premium put on the skill set of the County Administrator.

Finally, this was obviously not about pride – or Bean would have resigned rather than face further ridicule. The Commissioners ultimately decided to treat her like an intern. By next month, she has to prepare a list of goals and measurable objectives. She also had to write: “I will no longer be Exhibit A for dysfunctional county government” 100 times on a government-issue white board. Her evaluations will be quarterly – not annually.

In the end, it seemed that square one was being revisited when it came to the public’s perception of county government. “It’s critically important for them (elected commissioners) that they set the vision,” said Bean. “It’s not my job to set the vision.”

If you’re looking for a winner here, it would probably be the push for county mayor.

In its travel section, USA Today annually touts “Destinations To Watch” in the upcoming year. For 2010 that means – in top-5 order – Germany; Santa Fe, NM; Singapore; Tampa and Iceland. The criteria: unique festivals, special anniversaries or new developments.

“2010 is set to be a banner year in Tampa,” notes the national daily. It specifically cites the February opening of the new Tampa Museum of Art, the spring debut of Busch Gardens’ “Sesame Street Safari of Fun” and the fall opening of the Glazer Children’s Museum.

“Tampa is well-connected to the rest of the US,” adds USA Today, “and with air service from low-cost carriers including Air Tran, JetBlue and Southwest, airfares tend to stay competitively priced.”

Among those mentioned after Tampa: Hawaii, Istanbul, Vancouver, Capetown and Cuba.

There’s a new marshal in town.

That would be former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Mike Alstott, the newly named grand marshal of the 2010 Gasparilla Parade of Pirates. He’s only the fifth GM in the parade’s 106-year history. Arguably, he doesn’t have a tough act to follow. The most recent GMs were Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda in 1989.

According to John Fontana, the president of parade sponsor Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the popular “A-Train” was the perfect choice to reflect the parade’s twin themes of “responsibility and community.” In a statement, Alstott said he looked forward to helping make the event a “family tradition.”

Three points.

First, good luck morphing a drunkfest into a family event.

Second, excellent choice. Alstott is a quintessential family guy, community leader and one of the all-time Buccaneer greats.  He underscores as few others could the concerted effort being made this year to clean up Gasparilla. In the recent past, which includes the 2009 version, the parade necessarily invaded South Tampa residential neighborhoods with drunks and punks.  

Third, parade officials should seriously think about asking Alstott to consider options to sitting symbolically atop a float or in a convertible for the entire parade route. In fact, why not suggest that the “A-Train” hop off at Bayshore Boulevard and, say, Willow Avenue and help patrol — as only a former All-Pro fullback can — one of the ground-zero alleys. That’s where a marshal is really needed.   

It’s one of those votes that no politician wants to cast. It can help, but it will also hurt — and it can haunt.

That was the upshot of the recent 5-1 Tampa City Council vote not to grant pay raises to police officers this year.

It can help — in the societal sense — because the city, which doesn’t have the money to pay for the accustomed step plan increases for approximately 500 eligible officers, would have to offset the raises with layoffs elsewhere. No one should find that an equitable solution. It was time for everyone to Take One for Team Tampa. Councilman John Dingfelder framed it appropriately. “We are in tough times,” acknowledged Dingfelder. “Let’s tough it out together.”

It can also hurt, for nobody feels good about doing the right thing for the right reason when it involves saying “No” to the very people we charge with taking personal risk to protect us. In the case of Tampa, to those whose dedicated efforts have been borne out in a 46 percent drop in local crime since 2003.

“We value you, we honor you, and we are so grateful that you are serving in our city,” summed up Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena. “I just don’t know where we’re going to get the money.”

And it can haunt come election time. No elected official doesn’t want the endorsement of the TPD. A vote against an accustomed police pay hike, no matter that it was grounded in fiscal responsibility and empathy for workers whose jobs would be jeopardized, is still a political loser.

So, compliments to the Tampa Five – John Dingfelder, Gwen Miller, Charlie Miranda, Tom Scott and Linda Saul-Sena for having the civic savvy and guts to do the right thing despite a city council chamber packed with police and their ardent advocates. Mary Mulhern was not there, and Clueless Joe Caetano voted for the raise.