Month: May 2004

Who would have thought that the city’s new ethics code would have impacted the Stanley Cup finals? But the code precluded Mayor Pam Iorio from being comped by the St. Petersburg Times for the opening game against Calgary, and she had to ante up for tickets. Guest luxury box ducats for the mayor and her husband had a face value of $700. Since the mayor can’t accept a gift in excess of $100, she paid for them. Sort of. With left over campaign money.

Here’s how that works.

After campaigns, politicians typically allocate a portion of left over funds to charity and to an “office account” for business-related items that are inappropriate to charge off to taxpayers. Iorio did both.

She wrote out $7,500 checks for the Boys and Girls Club and the Andy Aviles Scholarship Fund (in honor of the Robinson High Marine killed in Iraq). She also contributed $10,000 to the Community Foundation Scholarship Program that had been established by former Mayor Dick Greco. The remaining $10,000 went into the “office account.”

She tapped into that account, for example, when she treated the budget staff to lunch upon completion of her first budget. The same account covered the ticket value.

“The office account helps fill a gap,” explains Iorio. “Things that come up of a work nature that you don’t want to spend tax money on.”

It just happens that the nature of some work is more fun than others.

The real estate section of this month’s “Money” magazine carries a feature on “What Makes a Place Hot.” Florida was mentioned prominently.

Richard Florida, that is. He’s the popular author of “The Rise of the Creative Class” and a well-referenced guru to CreativeTampaBay.

Alas, Tampa didn’t make any of the top rankings, including America’s “Up & coming cities” (between 250,000 and 499,999 population) that will be attracting more than their share of creative sorts 10 years from now. The top five were: Saginaw, Mich.; Brockton, Mass.; Salem, Ore.; Charleston, W.Va.; and Madison, Wisc. Saginaw?

In fact, the state of Florida was limited to a lone, drive-by reference to Orlando as an “affordable place” that has appeal to “financial and tech companies.”

Moreover, states “Money,” Dr. Florida also believes that “the most attractive places in the next generation of cities may be Canadian — Toronto and Calgary. Calgary? Ouch.

Elsewhere in the real estate section, however, there was a spread on “Best Places To Live On The Coast.” Mentioned under Gulf of Mexico were Pass Christian, Miss., Rockport, Texas and Dunedin. Rationales for the latter included “a Main Street reminiscent of Mayberry,” proximity to the Pinellas Trail and Honeymoon Island State Park and a “beautiful waterfront” with “far fewer tourist traps” than nearby Clearwater.

It appears that St. Petersburg dodged a bullet a fortnight ago when the civil disturbance in Midtown didn’t morph into a full-fledged riot. That, of course, is small consolation to those merchants who did have their shops broken into and inventory hauled off. And then there were some wrong-time, wrong-place folks who genuinely feared for their lives.

But the big picture is clear; it could have been much worse. It could have been a reprise of 1996’s exercise in wanton destruction and serial torching.

This time the city was better prepared, and more community leaders spoke out against violence as an acceptable reaction to anything — including the run-up to the TyRon Lewis civil-suit verdict. This time the tired Uhuru rhetoric of revolt didn’t get much traction. This time the city had more to lose.

Since ’96, St. Petersburg has poured more than $100 million into the economically disadvantaged area on the city’s south side. The moniker “Midtown” was coined by Mayor Rick Baker to underscore a new beginning for the 5.5-square-mile area. Baker even jettisoned a police chief to appease the storm troopers of political correctness.

But here’s the message that still needs to resonate with Midtown’s 20,000 residents. There is a limit to government spending. Arguably, it has been reached. And it was mostly spent on key public infrastructure and amenities: new schools, a library, and recreation and healthcare centers. The city even spent $4 million to clear out 16 acres by buying rundown homes and businesses.

Here’s what has to happen now: The private sector needs to become the catalytic player. There is already activity afoot, but nothing like the commitment required for a viable foundation for tax-generating commerce and community-stabilizing jobs.

The private sector, suffice it to say, will not be induced to invest in Midtown if the marketing slogan, in effect, is: “Bring your business to Midtown and build your future here. It’s been nearly 8 years between lootings.”

There’s no room any more for bogus priorities such as the lionization of thugs like Lewis. Or for scapegoating the police. Certainly not when the overriding issues are black-on-black crime and community-corroding drug-dealing.

The onus is on Midtown’s residents to mount a zero- tolerance crusade against its self-destructive, loser elements. It’s time to serve notice that not only are the fear-mongering, time-warped Uhurus history — but so also are the tactics of extortion and the practice of generational victimization.

Frankly, it’s time the community seriously partnered with the police, especially when Midtown — representing less than 10 per cent of the city’s population — is responsible for more than 50 per cent of the homicides.

That’s not the sort of statistical beacon that impresses the private sector.

Tampa’s mid-sized, 14-year-old convention center is still on hold regarding expansion plans. That’s the latest, more or less, from John Moors, the man who runs it. Last year a task force gave a thumbs down to the idea of replacing the center for more than $300 million. But left open were expansion options with smaller price tags. (The center was built for $72 million in 1990.)

What the center grapples with is this:

*There’s more supply (new and expanded centers and hotels) out there than ever before, and the pressure is on to keep up with the “core competition,” notably Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville and, increasingly, Orlando.

*As a key part of the city’s economic-development tool kit, the center would like to “layer the business,” explains Moors. That is, be able to run more than one convention/trade show concurrently. As it is, a 3-day convention takes a week, including set-up and tear-down time. That’s 4 days of no economic impact.

*If they build it, will they, indeed, come? Business — especially since Sept. 11, 2001 — hasn’t been gangbusters lately, although bookings for 2006-2009 are looking “very positive,” says Moors.

These are the three scenarios that Moors ponders:

*Expansion with the addition of another headquarters hotel — one that would add about 800 rooms to the inventory. This would be “preferable,” notes Moors. And, no, the 371-room, Embassy Suites hotel that will break ground this summer across from the center, doesn’t count. It’s already factored in.

*Expansion with no such additional anchor hotel. This is “not preferable,” adds Moors.

*Status quo — even as the Sunbelt competition continues to heat up. This is, well, not preferable either.