Once again, when it comes to Cuba, Carl Lindell is odd man out. Lindell is a savvy businessman and Tampa Port Authority board member who has been pushing for the Port of Tampa – and, by association, this region, state and country – to get pro-active about normalizing relations with Cuba. He recently [...]
No, this won’t be another screed on the orchestrated, in-your-face, shout-down dynamics of health care-reform, town hall meetings. The yelling, the signage and, alarmingly enough, the weaponry speak volumes. It’s getting harder and harder to separate philosophical libertarians from militia members and amateur anarchists. But in addition to firearms, can’t these people leave their [...]
The Rays have arguably done their part. Asked to stay competitive with the obscenely deep-pocketed Red Sox and Yankees, the Rays have more than kept up. They were in the World Series last year and are in the hunt for the playoffs again this season. But it’s not enough in a hybrid market such [...]
In six months Tampa’s often frustrating, labyrinthian path to a new art museum will be history. Rafael who? Courthouse option? Feb. 5 is the designated date for the riverfront debut of the new, $36-million Tampa Museum of Art. TMA will no longer be woefully undersized, uncommonly nondescript — and a lackluster, poor cousin to [...]
As we know, the reality of open travel between the U.S. and Cuba is in a state of flux. As we also know, Florida is positioned to be a major beneficiary. U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa has been working hard for months — out front and behind the scenes — to get [...]
Among America’s more high-profile antagonists is Venezuela. But for those looking for signs of encouragement in the strained Washington-Caracas relationship — beyond the Obama Administration’s pragmatic inclination to talk to America’s adversaries — it might lie in the Miss Universe contest. The newly crowned Miss Universe is from Venezuela. And her predecessor was also [...]
It should no longer be up for debate that high-speed rail makes eminent economic, as well as quality-of-life, sense for the I-4 corridor and the Tampa Bay region. And out of the Great Recession, ironically, comes the impetus to make it happen with rail-specific stimulus dollars. A couple of key points. For all of [...]
By some merciful, magnanimous stretch, maybe there could be a scintilla of compassion for that terminally cancerous, convicted Lockerbie bomber recently released from a Scottish prison. Maybe. A scintilla, mind you. But the ultimate outrage was the jubilant, flag-waving homecoming that greeted Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in his home country, Libya. Celebrants were bused in [...]
There are senseless deaths and then there are “senseless deaths.” Some are the awful, happenstance outcomes of wrong place-wrong time accidents. Some, and we as a grieving community experienced one recently, are tragic, line-of-duty scenarios involving unfathomable criminal motivation. And then there are those who needlessly, inexplicably put themselves in harm’s way. Isn’t there [...]
It’s too soon after the Woodstock anniversary, but once again Beloit College has reminded most of us what it’s like to be literally old school. The Wisconsin college has just published its annual “Mindset List for the Entering Class of 2013.” It’s a look at the frame of reference and, well, “mindset” of those [...]
