Opinions to go Online

Better late than even later.

Plaudits to City Council for showing common sense and enlightened self-interest by formally agreeing (5-0) to be the catalyst for bringing together local and national officials to brainstorm on a plan for improving Tampa-Cuban relations. Imagine, pursuing any and all opportunities for trade during a recession! But it’s a start, however belated.

The good news is that an all-call will go out to key players: from Mayor Pam Iorio to representatives of the Hillsborough County Commission, Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, the Tampa Port Authority and Tampa-area congressional delegation. The flip side: these are the same players who have been initiative-challenged forever on this subject. At best, settling for incremental progress, such as pushing — without result yet — for direct Tampa-to-Havana flights.

Moreover, there is the ever-possible scenario that anything to do with Cuba — an incongruous  relic of American Cold War foreign policy — is still an intimidating, political hot potato to some. And consequently these well-intentioned plans could easily get “committeed” to death.

Steve Michelini, the managing director of Tampa’s World Trade Center, was direct in what this city’s agenda should be: “Tampa must be more active and more aggressive in becoming a trading partner with Cuba.” Added well-connected Tampa gadfly Al Fox: “This is a local issue. Cuba is open. We’re shutting ourselves out.”

Indeed, although the counterproductive federal embargo is now in its 48th year, U.S. law does permit exports of agricultural products and medicines as well as medical and telecommunications equipment to Cuba.

 And while officials gather and work on a plan that could benefit the state, the region, the port and the city, look who’s actually going to Cuba this month.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it will be Georgia Gov. Sonny Purdue. He’ll be leading his state’s trade delegation. The free-market Republican wants a trade upgrade from Georgia’s approximately $42.5 million in farm-product exports (mostly frozen chicken) to Cuba.

“Georgia is strategically located to Cuba with Hartsfield Jackson International Airport and both of our ports,” pointed out Heidi Green, deputy commissioner for global commerce with the Georgia Department of Economic Development. She makes an excellent point. Why wouldn’t Florida’s northern neighbor want to take advantage of its “strategic location?” Who wouldn’t?

Here’s another version of the man-bites-dog syndrome.

We know that in this city you can’t open a bar within 1,000 feet of a church. Makes sense. There’s plenty of precedent and lots of obvious reasons.

But how about opening a church within 1,000 feet of a bar? Who would want to? Who cares?

Actually, some Ybor City property owners with wet zoning probably do care. That’s because the Church of Scientology, not to be confused with a cathedral of Christian convention, is greatly expanding its token presence — an 8th Avenue information center — in Ybor City. The COS recently purchased the Ybor Square complex.

It also bought some uncertainty, if not unease, among some bottom-line neighbors.

Will COS “parishioners” patronize local establishments? Will Scientology’s shear presence and proselytizing reputation amount to a stress-test for surrounding businesses?  Or will it amount to much ado about nothing — except for that matter of a city block coming off the tax rolls during a recession?

It wouldn’t pass legal muster and nuance, but wouldn’t it be fitting — and fair to taxpayers — if incompetence were sufficient reason to fire for “cause”? And, yes, I was thinking of this county’s vision-challenged, action-avoiding, soon-to-be-severanced administrator.

Teaching, as anyone who has ever been a teacher or a student knows, is a hybrid process, one not given easily to outcome quantification. So many variables. The classroom is not a widget shop.

And yet, kids, involved parents, fellow teachers, police resource officers, guidance counselors, administrators and probably school bus drivers and cafeteria personnel can tell you who the good teachers are. It’s that obvious; it’s that acknowledged. They’re tough; they’re demanding; they’re fair; they’re consistent; they’re funny; they’re creative; they’re spontaneous and they’re relevant and respected. Dedication is a given. Their reputations precede them. Class to class, year to year.

Everybody also knows who’s ineffective because they’re boring or discipline-challenged. They know who’s been using the same lesson plan from a generation ago. They also know who’s frazzled and hopes to escape to guidance counseling or administration.

I trust the county’s $200-million partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will validate these real-world verities through its various assessment and accountability tools. But I confess to being particularly skeptical of the district’s plan to hire a consultant whose job will be to measure the year-to-year, “value-added” contribution of every teacher to every student.

“We need formulas for every teacher of every subject,” explains David Steele, Hillsborough’s chief information and technology officer who has now added the title of project director, Empowering Effective Teachers Grant.

There’s value, to be sure, in fairly assessing teacher effectiveness and rewarding accordingly. Teachers and students deserve no less. But there’s also value in knowing what doesn’t lend itself to formulaic quantification. Anyone not think making a difference in a kid’s life is, by definition,  rife with subjectivity? Anyone not think coming up short may be attributable to factors beyond the teacher’s control?  Anyone not think this might be a formula for formula’s sake?