Category: Tampa Bay

Memo to Tampa and Tampa-area motorists who use Bayshore Boulevard:

On those days when it rains really, really hard – and there’s a strong wind, noticeably huge white caps in Hillsborough Bay, tons of water cascading over the balustrade and inevitably reoccurring high tides – think twice about staying on Bayshore.

There are plenty of side streets and some parallel routes, albeit less convenient. Use them. It doesn’t take long for Bayshore to become a no-wake zone. It’s not worth the risk, even at crawl-along speeds.

            Mayor Pam Iorio, fresh from her well-received, hope-amid-grim reality, state of the city presentation, added on a few more details – notably on light rail and governing during turbulent economic times. Plus some other asides.

            *In her speech, the mayor noted that “voters are well ahead of the politicians” on light rail. But, of course, the Hillsborough County Commission has to put it on the 2010 ballot first – along with the one-cent sales tax hike to pay for it.

            To that end, she is making a lot of rounds these days to speak to groups about that very subject. From HARTLine meetings to county workshops to suburban communities.

            Her light rail mantra: “jobs and smart growth.”

            “Even if you live in, say, Balm, and you just want to preserve what you have, mass transit is important for you too,” underscored Iorio. The reason: absent a light rail investment, sprawl scenarios will not be kind to such rural areas.

She said she can’t just assume that everyone knows the details and what, ultimately, is at stake. The fact that Tampa and Detroit are the notorious “Mess Transit Twins” hardly helps this city’s image or efforts to recruit “smart” industries that flat-out expect such infrastructure assets.

            And if light rail does, indeed, make the 2010 ballot, she will “campaign” hard for it and leverage all the “political capital” she can muster, she assures. The mayor acknowledges, however, that it could be a “fine line” between making maximum use of her forum and allowing opponents to narrowly frame it as “Pam’s Plan.”

            “If voters are presented with a sensible plan,” emphasized Iorio, “they will make the investment.”

            And while many observers feel that Iorio’s legacy will be the Riverwalk and all that is developing along it, she thinks otherwise.

            “Ultimately, I think it will be light rail,” she said. “I have made it a priority and a top agenda issue, and it has gained in support each year. I hope the voters will approve the one cent in 2010 but, regardless, I believe that eventually this county will have light rail.”

            *Super Bowl: Yes, it was well worth the trouble, and, no, the value ultimately can’t be calculated in terms of cherry-picked, economic-impact statistics, pointed out the mayor.  

            “It’s not based on any overblown economic figures,” she said. “It is based on what I saw – people here that would not otherwise have been here, spending money during a recession. And the views of Tampa to the rest of the nation – great marketing value.”

            *Stimulus funds: Federal money is already targeted for Tampa International Airport, public housing, and green energy plans. Iorio, however, thinks the biggest bang could come from a non-light rail transportation project.

            “If the Crosstown Connector project gets funded, it will be a big help,” assessed Iorio. “That construction job alone will create 16,000 jobs.”

             But stimulus money also comes with a reality check, noted Iorio. “Overall, it will help, but our economic problems run deeper than any stimulus package can adequately address.”  

            *Recession governing: In terms of priorities and schedule, what’s changed? “More listening. People want to share their stories with you. Also, I talk more to people in banking, real estate and other industries to get insight into the economy. I have to reassure people that we will get through this. And much more time spent on budget matters.”

            Among the chronic complaints from neighbors who live adjacent to the Gasparilla Pirate Fest invasion is that there are too many trespassers relieving themselves on private property. Long lines, ostensibly, prompt all the trespissing.

            Now the Hillsborough County Health Department has weighed in by noting that by state code the number of port-o-lets available was only about a third of what it should have been for a crowd of approximately 350,000. Instead of 800, it should have been about 2,300.

            But one key question is begged. Will more port-o-lets, even a lot more, improve matters enough?

Landscape and alley urination — and worse — is a symptom of something other than lengthy, port-o-let lines. It’s a function of too many drunks, many of them teens, who consider Gasparilla an anarchic street party — sans rules, proscriptions and inhibitions. We are reminded of that reality when the crowd for the Gasparilla Children’s Parade, which approaches the Pirate Fest version in multitude, has no such issues. That’s because those in the port-o-lets queues were fueled on bottled water and lemonade – not Bud Light.

Chances are, when city officials and parade coordinator EventFest gather next month for a follow-up meeting with affected residents, the matter of more port-o-lets will be high on the city of Tampa-EventFest to-do agenda. As will a better deployment of outnumbered police officers. As will a signal-sending mandate to arrest more punks and drunks.

That will help. But arguably, it will make it less worse, not notably better. Genies don’t rebottle that easily.

Realistically, there are only two viable alternatives if the “adult” version of Gasparilla is to become something other than the street party from hell.

            Give away catheters instead of beads – or change the venue, impressive Bayshore vistas notwithstanding.  As in away from neighborhoods that are necessarily invaded and violated.

Then there’s the precedent — and perspective — of what was just done by some parade organizers in Chicago.

            Since 1979 there has been an annual South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Its avowed purpose: a neighborhood-of-Beverly celebration of Gaelic heritage. It grew both in size (300,000) and controversy. The “problems” created were not anticipated 30 years ago. Crowd management, drunks, public safety. A lot has happened in a generation.

            We can identify.

Property destruction, fistfights, teens in alcohol-induced comas and public sex, urination and defecation weren’t always the hallmarks of the Gasparilla Pirate Fest.

            Anyway, the Chicago parade’s been canceled. The one that was referred to last month as “one of the great events in America” – by President Barack Obama.

State of the city speeches are typically by-the-numbers presentations, even when the presenter is a quintessential communicator such as Mayor Pam Iorio. Where else can you combine stormwater sediment trap projects, an important new (New Tampa) traffic-signal installation and the elimination of 200 parking meters (Ybor City) with the groundbreaking of museums (art and children’s) and the grand opening of a history center?

And it’s an ideal forum — with city council sitting behind you – to underscore your big agenda items – such as moving to light rail, going green and pushing the aesthetic virtues and pragmatic value of the cultural arts. In fact, the mayor gave a notable shout out to council for adopting a land-use plan that – for the first time – recognizes the role of transit in reshaping the community.

In previous years, there were more seats than there were sitters. This year, however, the city-employee-skewed crowd at the Tampa Convention Center (Ballroom D) was standing room only.

The mayor took note. And knew why. The economy. Jobs. Anxiety. Rumors. A sense that the rules were changing. That some perverse occupational rubicon was being crossed. The city’s workforce has dropped by 8 percent in the last two years. Next year’s budget is already projected to fall short by more than $30 million.

This would be no off-the-rack, state of the city address. No mere paean to the usual progress.

The mayor wears many hats. Among them: the chapeau of the Reassurer-in-chief.

“I think more city employees are here because they want to hear directly – no filters, no rumors,” said Iorio. “And I’m glad they’re here. I wanted to thank them personally for what they do.” And she did.

She also reminded them that even during a “severe budget challenge,” the city was “sensitive to the issue of job loss. There will be,” she underscored, “no drastic measures.

“We are careful, methodical and we plan for the long term,” stressed Iorio. She also implored employees to continue to come to work each day “with the same sense of dedication. Do not be fearful. Don’t listen to rumors.”

“We will continue to protect services and protect our employees,” she promised. And not “overpromise.”

“We keep our word,” said Iorio. “We do business the right way. We believe in transparent government.”

She also put the city into a bigger context. “Truly, we are in a time of new realities,” she assessed. “We’ve had recessions before, but this one is different – in scale, scope and size.” It has no “easy fix,” she pointed out.

Iorio used the “new realities” metaphor to reiterate her mass transit mantra: “Light rail: Where it goes, so goes smart investment.”

And as for auto reliance and suburban sprawl? She clearly believes it’s no viable way of life for the 21^st century.

“It’s a pattern of growth that’s not sustainable,” asserted Iorio. “Thinking like the past won’t cut it.”

She also waxed hopeful that if a one-cent sales tax hike for transit is on the 2010 ballot, it will get passed. As it is, only Tampa and Detroit – among major metro areas – are without meaningful mass transit. Iorio made it clear that she wanted the Hillsborough County Commission to do the right thing – and put the light-rail tax on next year’s ballot.

“I think the voters have been well ahead of the politicians on this issue,” she opined.

And sounding less like a mayor and more like a candidate for something else, she then noted the rent in America’s societal fabric. We have “lost a lot of trust in our institutions,” she said – enumerating bond-rating agencies, companies “too big to fail” and formerly sacrosanct pension and annuity investments.

“A lot of that trust is gone,” said Iorio. “That’s the job the president has – rebuilding trust.

“Our country has gotten away from (trust), but not here in our city,” she said. Iorio then segued into bullet points from a decreasing crime rate to an increasingly clean city to Super Bowl expenditures that came in ($400,000) under budget. “We work every day to gain trust,” she said.

Iorio also decried the national mania for equating “self worth” with “net worth.” “Our nation is truly troubled if that’s how we calculate our net worth,” she said.

“We keep investing in underground pipes, cultural assets and schools that we partner with,” pointed out Iorio. “I see people stepping up to help a neighbor. I see activism at new heights. Our net worth has nothing to do with a brokerage statement. Our net worth as a city is very high. Are there problems? ‘Yes.’ Are they insolvable? ‘No.’

“Our city stands strong,” stated Iorio. “We are the city of Tampa, and that means something.”

No Teleprompter

By all accounts, this was Mayor Pam Iorio’s most challenging state of the city speech. It had, of course, everything to do with the global recession and a Sunshine state sans a “stable source of revenue.” And the reality for municipalities such as Tampa means being forced into budget-cutting mode. Job/position and service losses inevitably result from declining tax collections.  

The mayor conceded the national and statewide economic realities — “not good on many levels” – and contrasted it with a can-do work ethic and a smart-growth agenda for Tampa. Light rail – and the growth it can spawn and the sort of businesses it can help attract – was a major theme.

So, was the mayor burning the midnight oil to prepare for her state-of-the-crucible pep talk? Hardly.

“Normally I see a prepared version that I can e-mail out,” said Liana Lopez, the mayor’s director of public affairs. “Not this time. As far as I know, she’s been working off 3×5 cards.”

Actually, not even that.

            For what those in attendance were according high marks for its interwoven themes and mix of grim reality and Iorion optimism was actually on a single piece of paper no more than 2 inches by 4 inches. With bullet-point themes inked in.

“I do better this way,” said the mayor. “I’m much more at ease.”

It was vintage Iorio. And it had to be.

            Nothing is more integral to good teaching than good teachers. Not class-size limits, not magnet schools, not SpringBoard curricula, not even cell-phone bans. Without the right person in front of a class, the wrong outcomes are guaranteed.

            So, now it looks like Hillsborough County will have to do without as many as 150 highly experienced teachers next year because of budget scenarios. These veteran teachers are on one-year contracts after having been brought back from retirement. They are in the $60,000 range — at the top end of the pay scale.

            The school district, which is in an onerous budget bind, has offered to rehire them at rookie pay ($37,000). But the teachers’ union had an issue with that. An out-of-state teacher with similar experience and degrees could come in and make as much as $25,000 more, it pointed out. 

            But the point is moot in a recessionary economy. Nobody’s going to be hired at the top of the scale. No matter how budgetary subplots play out in Tallahassee.

            Let the experienced teachers, the ones you never have enough of, decide for themselves if being back in the classroom is worth being paid the starting pay rate – especially during turbulent economic times.

            Then ask the students if it were worth it.

As a former teacher, I can’t help but see a strong correlation between SpringBoard, Hillsborough County’s controversial, hands-on, interactive math and language arts curriculum program, and the availability of $30 million in federal grants to pay for it.

            Always sensitive to criticism about being boring or irrelevant, the education establishment has often dabbled in gimmickry in the name of creativity and relevance.

To wit, it’s no surprise that the teaching of “Into the Wild” on iTunes, for example, would be better received by students than a traditional reading of “The Great Gatsby.” Or that that no hue and cry ensued when the reading and discussion of John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace” was replaced by a SpringBoard unit on the Cinderella theme that featured the movie “Ever After” with Drew Barrymore.

As might be expected, a number of students like it more. But what does that prove? That pandering works? That easy is more popular than challenging?

In general, contemporary literature has replaced many classics.

Here are two quotes that speak volumes:

“If you can read, you can read the classics on your own.” – Alice Wuckovich, SpringBoard language arts coordinator in Hillsborough.

“The reason they are called classic is because they have meaning across cultures and across time.” – Joyce VanTassle-Baska, executive director for the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary.

The real bottom line – not the one with federal-grant underwriting – remains as fundamental and basic as it’s always been. Good teachers equal good, relevant teaching — and the best chance for real learning. Good teachers will always incorporate discipline, common sense, creativity, relevance – and a sense of humor. They can adapt technology without a heavy-handed, government-subsidized mandate. It’s what good teachers do.

There are just not enough of them.

Get rid of tenure. That’s a whole separate issue — but hardly unrelated.

Next, if money can be made available for more film clips and popular music, maybe it can be made available for teacher salaries. Yes, those are separate pots, but something tells me an Obama administration, properly approached, would be receptive to alternatives to government-subsidized, off-the-rack, curriculum elixirs.

The need has never been more acute to attract those who understand that they are the conduits of the culture – not the enablers of its popular form. To attract those who won’t need gimmicks – but will need the support of administrators who know the difference between relevant and popular.  

Ironically, the best teachers are both. Always have been.

Let’s hear it for the students at Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg who are learning inside and outside of the classroom.

They take their textbook environmental studies at Lakewood’s Academy for Marine Science & Environmental Technology into the field. And into the tidal marshes.

Specifically, into the Terra Ceia Ecosystem Restoration Site where they recently planted cord grass — a good portion of which they grew in a school nursery — to help stabilize the shoreline. Such efforts have never been more needed.

            Sadly, the environmental academy has been impacted by budget cuts. Equipment and transportation are now lacking.

            So, the students are holding fund-raisers. Field trips will continue.

Obviously, the lessons learned are not limited to erosion prevention.

            Gasparilla – as in “How bad has it really gotten?” — continues to be in the news. Most recently, there was that high-profile meeting of city officials, police and the parade co-sponsor to hear the concerns of South Tampa residents. It’s their neighborhood that the Gasparilla Pirate Fest – the “adult,” Ye Mystic Krewe version – invades, in effect, each year.

The problem, which was well underscored, is that while Bayshore Boulevard is a gorgeous, linear-park venue, it’s ill-suited to a parade with 350,000 or more spectators. With bleachers and corporate tents pre-empting most of the space on the Hillsborough Bay side, the overwhelming majority of those in attendance are forced to the opposite, residential side.

What has resulted is the street party from hell – featuring thousands of drunks and punks, many of them teenagers, coursing through alleys, side streets and yards. The parade is incidental. The 1,200 police are woefully inadequate and have to be “judicious” – in the words of Police Chief Stephen Hogue – about picking their spots for arrests. They let, necessarily, a lot go without responding. Any arrest takes more than an hour to process.

Some outtakes and observations from the intense, often emotional, gathering:

·                           The devil is in the details – not the euphemisms. Words such as “rowdy”, “boorish” and bawdy are misleading. These homeowners spoke of graphic, ground-zero reality: from public urination, defecation, sex and property break-ins to vomiting, fighting and landscape trashing.

·                           Some homeowners were furious about the costs (fencing and off-duty officers) of property protection – often into four figures. It cost one condominium association $6,000 to fortify its site.

·                           “It’s out of hand. We’ve got to do better.” – Rose Ferlita, Hillsborough County Commissioner and Hyde Park resident.

·                           You know it’s more than your basic vent session when residents drop terms like “inverse eminent domain” and “attractive nuisance.” But down-right alarming was one gun-owning home-owner confirming with police his right to self protection when drunks unlawfully enter his home. And, indeed, some had at this year’s event.

·                           Part of the issue – and it largely goes unspoken unless a brouhaha ensues – is one of class. As in the image of South Tampa “elites.” As in: “Too damn bad. You’re rich enough to live there. Deal with the common folks enjoying themselves.” (This sort of perverted proletarian piffle was all over the TBO.com online reader commentary following the Tampa Tribune’s story about the meeting and resident complaints.)

·                           The corollary: “You shouldn’t have moved to a place with a parade. You knew that. It’s like moving to a golf course community and complaining when a golf ball comes in your yard.”

·                           The reality: No, it’s more like moving to a golf course community, only to have it convert to a Hip-Hop-themed miniature golf course with a gang-bangers’dunk tank next to your kids’ swing set.

·                           “We are not your adversary on this…We don’t condone underage drinking and indecent exposure…We will continue to have this dialogue…The city, (co-sponsor) Event Fest and the (Ye Mystic) Krewe will meet and get back to you. We will meet again 60 days from now for options.” – Santiago Corrada, Tampa’s neighborhood services coordinator.

   I’ll report back.

            A solution – of sorts – has been reached in the disagreement between the city and Hillsborough Community College regarding design guidelines for HCC construction in Ybor City. In a compromise between Mayor Pam Iorio and HCC President Gwen Stephenson, HCC will be exempt from needing Barrio Latino Commission approval.

            The upshot for HCC, which has contended that the city’s historic preservation guidelines don’t apply to them, is that they have also been granted other – de facto – exemptions when it comes to building in Ybor. They are obviously exempt from: historical integrity, community aesthetics, architectural relevance and higher educational leadership.

          As surely as we will count pollen, we can depend on the annual story about  Hillsborough County schools’ examination-exemption policy. And apparently we’re still allergic to sense. This policy continues to make none.

            In an effort to incentivize students to come to school, (yes, you read that correctly) Hillsborough started the exemption system a decade ago. Some of the requirements:

*Keep at least a C average in the class. Seriously, a C.

*Zero absences in every class equals four exemptions in the first semester

  and three in the second.

*Missing three days means two exam exemptions. Missing two days

  means one exempt exam.

            Inevitably, the policy led to two developments.  Some exemption-seeking students have come to school even when they are sick – thus contributing to others’ absences. And students and parents can be counted on to lobby for more leniency. To wit: Must family emergencies be counted? What about special-needs students? Etc.

            But just for argument’s sake, let’s try on this, however haplessly old-school, rationale. If a semester exam has value and validity, it has to be taken. By everybody.

It should assess what – cumulatively – has been learned by students. This is beyond quizzes and tests. If designed properly, an exam is a valuable pedagogical tool – not some superfluous, end-of-semester annoyance or attendance-motivating, educational carrot.

            One other point. Apologies to Woody Allen, but since when did just showing up count so much?