Among those things that Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms is adamantly against is the very concept of an elected countywide mayor. The irony is that without her polarizing presence, one that fails to recognize the inevitable synergy between unincorporated county and the economic hub that is the city of Tampa, there likely would be no county mayor issue.
Month: January 2006
Ahmadinejihad?
Latest decree from Tehran is that, “until further notice,” CNN is banned. At a recent news conference on Iran’s nuclear research, CNN botched a translation of comments by Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The network mistranslated “nuclear technology” into “nuclear weapons.”
However, Iran is not claiming mistranslations for the apocalyptic Ahmadinejad’s comments calling for Israel to be “wiped off the map” or terming the Holocaust a “myth.” Those were all too accurate.
Print Media Still Had An Option In Mine Tragedy
Much has been written in the aftermath of the tragic Sago mine disaster in West Virginia. It was a cruel nightmare for families and an almost untenable predicament for most daily newspapers.
What happened was the perfect miscommunication storm for print media. Television, in effect, gets a mulligan. Shelf life is not a concern. What was said five minutes ago is lost in the ether. “This just in” immediacy trumps all.
But deadline hell and breaking news is as bad as it gets in the newspaper business; that’s how Tom Dewey won the presidency and the Lightning lost the Stanley Cup final. Then add a major measure of human nature: being able to convey miraculously good news in an industry too often defined by all that goes awry in the world.
Thus we have headlines and drop heads such as: ( St. Petersburg Times ) “They’re alive! Miners found”/”Twelve of the West Virginia miners that had been trapped 260 feet below the surface are found hours after the body of one was recovered.” And such as: ( Tampa Tribune ) “12 Miners Survive Ordeal”/”Rescuers first found body of 1 from crew.”
Having said that, however, there is still the case for following the fundamentals, even – especially — in a worst-case crucible. When dealing with split-second decisions and less than take-it-to-the-bank sources, equivocation is a virtue. This isn’t Monday morning quarterbacking; this is a bet-hedging, journalistic rule of thumb.
Here’s how the Times-Tribune of Scranton (Penn.) handled it: “Families: Miners Alive”/”One body found, 12 allegedly living 41 hours after blast.”
When your source – amid a welter of emotions and a din of voices — is a family member or “they,” it’s imperative to include a qualifier. That’s the realistic best that can be done under such extenuating circumstances. The presses can only be held so long.
Sago mustn’t become shorthand for media screw-up, but a reminder for reflection. Nobody’s motives or ethics should be impugned. Nobody got it absolutely right; but some got it less wrong. And that matters.
Mayor Takes Charge
Politicians always have trouble finessing the “legacy” question. If their answer is too candidly concrete, it seems hubristic. As in “monument to me.” It’s easier, and typically more relevant, to talk in terms of “direction” and “progress” across a spectrum of issues.
While Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio won’t be able to escape the art museum as a barometer of achievement or disappointment, she has been taking on the monumental, decidedly unsexy task of infrastructure upgrades. Some long overdue, others merely due on her watch.
The stormwater fee was the former. A start in the retrofitting of a system long overburdened and unaddressed. An example of the latter is the recently announced $1,500-per-unit impact fee to pay for rapidly accelerating water distribution needs in downtown and South Tampa.
Not surprisingly, developers have taken umbrage. Only they called it “blindsiding.” Some city council members resented a fait accompli approach.
Presumably, Iorio could have been more forthcoming, even though the code call is hers — as authorized and implemented by the Water Department director.
But maybe it just comes down to this. Absent the fees, higher water bills are inevitable. The bottom line is growth paying for itself – too frequently an oxymoronic concept around here.
Yes, the mayor could have been more inclusive in her approach. Maybe even hosted a public forum, and demurely sat through another naysayers’ field trip. The minimum result, of course, would have been delay while the usual suspects played their agenda games.
Some times the top elected official just needs to get out in front of a problem and lead.
A Ride Like No Other
Valerie Hnatio-Dotts, 37, of Palm Harbor knew her boyfriend had something different in mind for her birthday. He said the recently purchased bracelet was merely Part I.
Kyle Cutcheon, 39, said they were going to do something unique and fun. He told her to dress casually–and include a hat, sunglasses and sneakers. And be ready before sunrise. Cutcheon, a loan officer for Bay Lending Corp. in St. Petersburg, had reserved a late summer, hot air balloon ride with Tampa-based American Balloons Inc.
The Lutz-Land O’Lakes area never looked so good, recalls Cutcheon. “You see everything, and you see it quietly,” he says. “I had no idea of the number of lakes; we saw horses out of their stables. And the sunrise was the best–as you’re floating through the air. Very romantic.”
It was “breathtaking and peaceful,” says Hnatio-Dotts. “It was romantic for him to even think of that.”
For Tom Warren, the FAA-certified pilot/owner of American Balloons, it was a familiar response. But it’s never another day at the office when you’re in a basket under a flame and 100,000 cubic feet of nylon-encased hot air, floating serenely 500 to 1,000 feet above it all. Above pastures, farms, ponds and neighborhoods–as well as fauna as diverse as deer, wild hogs, alligators, hawks and eagles.
On average, he’ll stay up for an hour–and travel 10-12 miles. He works with a seven-member crew that includes his wife and his mother. The former acts as crew chief, the latter is a notary and has performed marriage ceremonies prior to lift-off. There is also a chase crew in a van that is in radio contact with the pilot and follows the balloon’s path.
“I always enjoy it,” says Warren, who also owns T & A Truck Inc. of Tampa. “You see areas of Florida you can’t see any other way. Nothing is disturbed.”
For the most part, Warren’s world is a customer base largely comprised of celebrants: birthdays, Mother’s Days, anniversaries, engagements, weddings. Individually, the cost is $160 per person, which includes a champagne toast and light brunch. It’s $450 per couple–for an exclusive “sweetheart flight” in the 5′ x6′ basket.
It’s all part of an international pattern. Balloon rides–once the exclusive province of hobbyists and tourists to haunts more exotic than north Tampa–have never been more popular. There are no fewer than a half dozen companies in the Bay Area offering hot air balloon rides. Some have multiple balloons.
“The popularity is at an all-time high,” says veteran pilot Joe Settecasi, who owns Bay Balloons, Inc. of Tampa. “The technology is better, the equipment top of the line, and people now see ballooning as a safe, unique and wonderful experience.
“Plus there’s that element of romance,” adds Settecasi. “I would say that 95 per cent of those I took up were couples. They love the sense of the world waking up. It also lends itself to surprise, although you have to invent a pretty good lie to get up that early.”
That early hour is critical for such a weather-sensitive pursuit. Balloons must have stable air. The energy of the sun is an unwelcome variable. Surface winds of more than about 7 mph are problematic.
“We refuse to fly unless it’s safe,” underscores Warren. “We get weather updates like a 747 pilot. There’s nothing more peaceful, and we want to keep it that way.”
Ironic Iconic
Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., the architect of “borking,” is as iconic an inquisitor as the Senate Judiciary Committee has. His presence is also the most ironic. He’s the only member to be thrown out of law school (for cheating.) How many nominees would have loved to have thrown that one back at him as he postured for his nightly news sound bite during Supreme Court nominee hearings?
Barnum & Bailey & Hip Hop?
The venerable Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is now ringless. Change, of course, is a constant, and it’s never good business to ignore demographic – and technological – updates. But elephants doing tricks to hip hop? Shouldn’t PETA be weighing in on this one?
Farris’ Apology
Finally, after all the smug preening and all the “Ferris Buelleresque” attaboys from the media, something sensible has come out of that Baghdad misadventure experienced by 16-year-old Farris Hassan of Fort Lauderdale. He finally apologized to those owed one the most: the U.S. military. He had to be transported out of Iraq over land, which was more than an inconvenient expense. Since everything that moves militarily in Iraq is a target, soldiers risked their lives to secure his.
They ought to garnish his allowance too.
Columbia Keeps Giving Back
By virtue of being around for a century, the Columbia Restaurant has impacted this area as few enterprises could or ever will. Even through the toughest of urban renewal times, the Columbia continued to anchor Ybor City and keep Tampa on the map.
Now Columbia president and co-owner Richard Gonzmart has upped the ante on impact. As part of its centennial celebration, the Columbia will donate $1 million – or $100,000 per decade – to local charities, including half to the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute.That affects a lot of folks who have never had Columbia-prepared paella or rice and beans.
“We’re thankful we’re here,” explained Gonzmart.
No, thank YOU.
Ronda Losing Her Groove?
Those who love or loathe Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms would agree on this much: She’s not your stereotypical, all-things-to-all-constituencies politician. What you see – and what you hear – is what you get. She minces no words. Big N, little w. On anything. Until now.
When asked at a recent Florida Coalition To Protect Marriage news conference if she will be a candidate for Tom Lee’s District 10 state Senate seat, she was uncharacteristically non-committal. “I don’t know if I am or not,” she coyly told the Tribune, sounding not unlike, alas, any traditional candidate enjoying the speculation.