An Inconvenient Candidate?

Al Gore has spent a lot of time lately basking in the national – and international – limelight. Because of his catalytic role in the high-profile documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” he has been applauded and lauded for his consciousness-raising on behalf of global warming. Apparently he – and it – are pretty convincing.

Less credible, however, are his categorical denials of further interest in public office. As in re-upping for another presidential run in 2008.

“I have no interest in running for public office,” Gore recently told the New York Times. “I have run for office. I have run four national campaigns. I have found other ways to serve my country, and I am enjoying them.”

What Gore, 58, wants us to believe is that nothing is more important right now than devoting his energies into helping save the planet from itself. It’s a moral crusade.

He would also have us believe that — climactic Armageddon scenarios notwithstanding — he would absolutely preclude availing himself of the world’s best possible environmental forum with the most conceivable impact and leverage: the U.S. presidency.

What he told the Times is what the Times had to be told. Otherwise, Gore looks like the quintessential political opportunist who simply took his greenhouse slide show to the next level.

Look for Gore to undergo one more re-invention: Democratic deus ex machina. Waiting in the wings as the Democratic Party, sensing the presidency is theirs for the re-taking, looks longingly for the best “Anybody-But-Hillary” candidate as 2008 draws nigh. Which means the one who won the popular vote in 2000, who has spoken out against the war in Iraq and who has the ear of many in the international community could become lecturer-in-chief.

You can almost see Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, the presidential candidate backed personally by Gore in 2004, sketching his Gore ’08 draft slogan. “Save the Planet, Save the Country, Save the Party.”

Possibly in that order.

How ‘Bout Them Gators

It’s still too early for the University of Florida to accurately gauge what its national championship in basketball will mean to its bottom line. Licensee royalty reports are not in yet, and it’s still early for alumni-giving updates. But both figure to handsomely reflect the Gators’ finest athletic hour since the football team won it all in 1996.

According to UF Associate Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations Joe Hice, the anecdotal evidence is impressive. “People are talking about the university more — we know that,” he says. “It also makes a great starting point for a billion-dollar fund raising next year.”

But while Steve Spurrier’s championship team of ’96 helped put Florida on the map, Billy Donovan’s hoops champs can help put the Gator Nation brand on the globe.

“This helps us outside the U.S.,” says Hice, who was among the 6,000 Gator fans who watched the NCAA final on an O’Connell Center Jumbo-Tron. “Basketball is an international sport. So now there’s more awareness of us around the world, especially Europe. Interestingly, we have an (graduate school) office in Beijing, and our people were greeted with “Go Gators” cheers after beating UCLA.”

And for media insiders, yes, this is the same Joe Hice who made a name for himself in journalism and public relations circles in the Tampa Bay Area in the early ’80s. The hardcore UF alum has come full circle – and hit the ground running in Gainesville in this, his first year as associate vice president.

Couldn’t happen to a nicer, more talented guy.

Floridan: Eyesore to Icon

When it opened in 1927, Tampa’s 18-story Floridan Hotel was called the state’s tallest building. For the last two decades, it’s been called many other things — with “eyesore” probably topping any list. The venerable hotel, officially shuttered in 1987, had become a monument to plywood and roosting vultures.

What nobody called the erstwhile 1920s-’40s icon was “love at first sight.” Until, that is, Antonios Markopoulos happened along last April.

“I was fascinated by the (Renaissance Revival) architecture,” recalls Markopoulos. “From the minute I walked in, I felt that the Floridan embraced me. I visualized life again.”

Where others had seen a forlorn symbol of downtown’s decline, Markopoulos envisioned a reincarnation of its hey-day as an opulent destination for the well to do. Where other, ultimately unsuccessful, entrepreneurs had seen scenarios ranging from “affordable housing” to an assisted living facility, the 60-something Greek native saw an upscale, 220-room, boutique hotel with fine dining – topped off with two penthouses.

A lot of paperwork, tax credits and $6 million later, he was the owner-developer. Renovation costs have been estimated between $16 million and $20 million.

The admittedly ambitious goal is to open by the summer of 2007.

The city, the Tampa Downtown Partnership, preservationists and anybody else that cares to see an emblem of urban blight eliminated have been ecstatic over Markopoulos’ restoration plans.

“This is as important psychologically as physically,” assesses Christine Burdick, president of the TDP. “There are no great cities without symbols of their past.”

To Rodney Kite-Powell, the Tampa Bay History Center’s curator, the return of the Floridan validates a key preservation principle: history also means opportunity.

“A successful Floridan project would show that historic preservation can, and does, work as a viable business model,” notes Kite-Powell.

“The Floridan’s reopening as a boutique hotel would further solidify the fact that the north end of downtown will be populated 24 hours a day.”

Markopoulos’ venture underscores a basic, developmental rule of thumb: timing is everything. In the case of the Floridan, the right person at the right time.

First, Markopoulos is flush. In September 2004, he sold the Days Inn on Clearwater Beach for $40 million. He didn’t need financing for the Floridan.

Second, he has experience. He’s been in the hospitality business for 35 years; he knows how to run – and rehab — hotels. He won’t rely on a flag operator. He’s beyond hands-on; he’s literally been in all the Floridan’s crawl spaces and sub-basements.

Third, he hit Tampa just as downtown revitalization was finally materializing. Among projects proximate to the Floridan (at Florida Avenue and Cass Street) are: 975 condominiums as part of the Kress and Woolworth redevelopment; a 450-unit condo tower (including 12,000 square feet of retail) on the old Maas Brothers location; the 20-unit Arlington condominium; the 40-condo Residences of Franklin Street; the 12-condo Carriage House; and the four-unit Franklin Street City Lofts.

“When I was investigating the Floridan,” explains Markopoulos, “it became apparent that restoring it as a center of commercial activity would be a key part of Tampa’s downtown transformation. The Floridan will offer historic lodging for travelers, but more importantly, it will offer future generations insight into our history.”

The Art Of Cooperation In Pinellas County

For those who haven’t been paying attention and never cross Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg has long retired its somnolent “God’s waiting room” label. After fits and starts – including the late, less-than-lamented Bay Plaza effort – to make over its downtown, St. Petersburg found its niche: the arts. Mayor Rick Baker’s acknowledged ambition is for St. Petersburg to become “the cultural center for the state of Florida.”

Hizzoner wasn’t just waxing hyperbolic. St. Pete has a legitimate shot. A critical mass is more than manifest.

A mix of galleries, theaters, antique shops and the eclectic Arts Center complement the Museum of Fine Arts, the Salvador Dali Museum, the rehabbed Mahaffey Theatre, the permanent home for the Florida Orchestra and the planned Dale Chihuly glass gallery and studio. The world class waterfront is its own aesthetic.

The burgeoning arts scene has, in turn, encouraged and enticed an energizing mix of entrepreneurs, developers and visitors. Now it’s only fitting that the arts, a de facto tourist attraction, are being recognized as such. Increases in room nights and restaurant reservations can be quantified when there’s a Monet or Chihuly or Princess Diana exhibition in town.

As a result, Pinellas County’s Tourist Development Council will allot a percentage of the county’s new bed-tax hike – amounting to $750,000 – to specifically help promote museum exhibits. In future fiscal years that amount should increase. Such an earmark, it should be noted, sets a precedent.

It also sets an example of a county targeting a key — albeit non-traditional — asset in its hub market (read: major city) for special promotion. The St. Petersburg museums are bona fide visitor magnets; the Dali, moreover, has ongoing international cachet. And those visitors may also spend time at the beach or Sponge Docks or a mall. It’s in everybody’s vested interest – including a county with two dozen political fiefdoms – to promote any visitor beacon.

Call it the art of cooperation and an ode to common sense. Hopefully, the Hillsborough side of the Bay has taken note – and notes.

Outside The Lines

The baseball season is a quarter of the way through, and this much is apparent around here. The Rays are a more likeable, hopeful, also-ran team. When healthy, its eight position players are collectively better than many other teams’ starters. But the Rays can’t pitch Scott Kazmir every day.

After an impressive debut by new management – featuring free parking, tail-gating and bring-your-own treats, they have – well, kept at it. Up next, the promised, 10,000-gallon, sting ray tank. Installation behind the right centerfield wall is now underway.

But much less noticeable has been the Stuart Sternberg regime’s involvement in the community – away from Tropicana Field. Latest outside-the-lines contribution was the refurbishing of Oliver Field, an inner-city baseball facility near the Trop that had fallen on harder times than the Rays’ bullpen. Under the aegis of the Rays Field Renovation Program, the team – along with Bank of America – overhauled the field, its flawed drainage system and its shabby grandstand. The cost was in excess of $100,000.

Sure, the Rays got a PR boost from the Oliver Field renovation and rededication that featured Jackie Robinson’s daughter. But after the ribbons were cut, the speeches delivered and the cameo performers had departed, there remained a legacy no less important than satisfied fans. Teams with Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities League (the RBI League), a Major League Baseball initiative, will play there. This season.

Next up for the Rays: a similar inner-city field of dreams in Tampa.

Tipping or Talking Point?

Given President Bush’s track record in bringing democracy and stability to the Middle East and the Administration’s ever-eroding moral high ground, perhaps it’s time to think outside the sandbox. Talk to Iran.

Being backed into a face-saving, nationalistic corner is no safe place for an apocalyptic leader such as Mahmoud Amadinejad.

Kissinger talked to Le Duc Tho. Nixon spoke to Mao. Martin sat down with Lewis. Ali with Frazier. There’s precedent.

bin Laden Tape

So, Osama bin Laden has weighed in again. Another poke in the eye. This time to say the United States can’t even convict the right person for 9/11 complicity.

Actually, it’s yet another excuse to derisively remind America that we have a better chance of finding Jimmy Hoffa than him.

Silly Saudis

If those 20-something Saudi Arabian men who rode a Wharton High school bus had no malice or deception in mind, why did they initially claim to be Moroccan? Was this, as Ahmed Bedier, the director of the Central Florida Council on American-Islamic Relations, claims, purely a function of a language barrier?

Apparently so. And context, of course, is critical. Now it can be revealed.

The Wharton Wahabis explanation: “We thought they asked us where we wish we were from at that very moment. It was either Morocco or Ireland.”

Like Language

You don’t have to be a linguistics professor to know that as a “living” entity, language is always subject to change. Hence Latin is a “dead language.”

But a problem arises when language starts to fast forward – not evolve. Notice how accepting mainstream culture has become of pop parlance? I propose a modest moratorium:

*the verbal “sucks” is out — except for t-shirts and tattoos. No further comment.

*”Notoriety” is not the same as fame. Any more than notorious means famous.

*Unless a reference to awe-inspiring is intended, pass on the empty hyperbole that is “awesome” for the most mundane of contexts. “Those (skateboards, boxer shorts, American Idol contestants) are awesome.”

*”Swagger”: Walking around with an air of conceit and insolence used to be rather ill thought of. Now – at least in the athletic arena – it’s a quality seemingly worth courting. As in: “We need our guys to play with more of a ‘swagger.'” Do we really need to up the ante further on boorish, braggadocious behavior?

*”No problem.” Still not the politely correct response to “thank you.” It’s “you’re welcome.” Thank you.