A Streetcar (Crossing) Named Bizarre

That audible sigh of relief you just heard likely came from Tampa Electric Co. officials. If so, it’s probably the prospect that TECO and its transmission totem poles could have real competition for unflattering publicity, corporate ham-handedness and headlines that won’t go away. CSX Transportation is on the case.

Expect to see, hear and infer a lot more about the simmering discord — and increasing dislike — between CSX and city officials responsible for Tampa’s successful, new trolley line. Mayor Pam Iorio and City Attorney Fred Karl are earning their stripes on this one. Now they understand what Dick Greco and Ron Rotella went through.

It’s all about where the trolley crosses CXS tracks just south of Fifth Avenue near Ybor City. Never mind that hundreds of cars, trucks, buses and cyclists cross these tracks daily without colliding with a train.

It’s all about how the conductor on the trolley communicates with the CSX flagman in his trailer to help make sure that trolleys and trains are not intersecting. Literally.

It’s also all about some uncertainty back in July. That’s when safety concerns were raised resulting from apparent conductor-flagman miscommunication.

While incidents didn’t become accidents, they sent an alarm that somebody needed to be, well, watching out for trains.

But, no, it wasn’t the flagman’s job; CSX doesn’t want any part of such liability. As a result, common sense is derailed.

In a division of labor that would make any Teamster drool, the flagman’s responsibility is to verify that the approaching trolley conductor actually sees the signal light, which is eminently visible. He then logs in the time the trolley passes. He then returns to his crossword puzzle. He doesn’t need a flag.

It’s good, old-fashioned, feather-bedding work if you can get it, and that’s why it goes to high-senority, maximum-wage CSX employees.

But if not a flag-less flagman, then who is actually going to look out for trains?

As it turns out, a streetcar field supervisor has recently been posted near the tracks. He climbs aboard all approaching trolleys. The supervisor and the conductor jointly radio the nearby flagman and then they all decree: “Yes, there are no trains coming.” Then the trolley crosses the tracks on the yellow caution signal. On the other side of the tracks, the supervisor gets off and awaits the next streetcar.

At a contracted price of $37.50 an hour, the position costs more than $2,000 a week — or more than $100,000 a year. And keep in mind that there are typically only three or four trains per day; some of them at hours when the trolley isn’t running.

Some recent historical perspective.

CSX has all the leverage; it’s their tracks.

Last year, it initially demanded a $500 million liability insurance policy to permit streetcars to cross those tracks. The $1 million premium, however, seemed prohibitive to the city. The parties then negotiated a two-year agreement, whereby the city would give CSX upwards of $300,000 a year, which would include paying for the flag-less flagman. The city also provided the air-conditioned trailer, installed signals and paid for the tracks’ interlocking mechanism.

Until July, it appeared that the city had at least bought itself some time.

Now there have been threats to shut down the trolley crossing and render the two-year agreement null and void. And CSX is still holding out for that $500 million insurance policy. There have been some frayed tempers — and some blinking. Negotiations continue, and Karl is still scrambling. Steep insurance premiums would likely mean invading the trolley’s endowment fund.

As one insider put it, “The streetcar could do 500,000 riders this year. The business community has embraced it; tourists love it; groups book it; and it’s talked about around the country. The CSX people are sharp, but they’re also arrogant and ruthless. They’re bullies.”

And they’re calling the shots.

And you haven’t heard the end of it.

Mayor Iorio As Tampa’s “Closer”

It should surprise no one that Mayor Pam Iorio, whose instincts are “hands-on” and “right away,” would personally intercede in a site plan for The Bellamy on Bayshore, a 26-story condominium tower. The 64-unit condo, between Knights and Wallcraft avenues, is properly zoned, but its main access — on Knights — is an issue. Knights is a narrow, residential street.

Iorio and Elton Smith, Tampa’s transportation chief, sat down with representatives of the developer, JMC Communities.

Iorio should be applauded for responding so directly and promptly to the legitimate concerns of a neighborhood. Two points, however.

This will be a precedent. And it won’t be the last pricey development with design-and-impact issues. Going to the city’s CEO won’t always be practicable.

She should be, in baseball parlance, the “closer.” There’s no one after that. But there are some “set-up” talents.

In the future, might not this be a role for someone like City Councilman John Dingfelder? The Bellamy is within his district (4) and his background includes some unique qualifications. Not only is he a veteran of Tampa’s Variance Review Board, he’s also professionally trained as a mediator.

Just for future reference.

Congressional Priorities

The country’s at war, unemployment is too high, homeland security feels inadequate and American foreign policy still seems arrogant and unilateral. But Congress is putting college football on notice that it doesn’t much care for the way a national champion is determined.

Keep up the good work.

And this just in. Momentum is now building in the House to undo anti-French backlash that had resulted in menu changes in the House cafeterias and dining halls. To wit: “freedom fries.”

As a result, french toast and french fries could soon return to their traditional “American” names.

Waytogo.

License To Shill

The Sons of Confederate Veterans is campaigning for a confederate flag license plate. The controversy, of course, is over its message. It’s either pride in Southern heritage or a symbol of oppression. Can’t please everyone.

But can’t we at least agree on this? We need another specialty license tag like we need more referendum items.

Maybe I’m just old-fashioned. But I like plates adorned with “The Sunshine State” or “The Peach State” or “The Dairy State” or “The First State” or “The Garden State” or “Land of Lincoln.” I like those little, corny tag lines of individuality and state pride. For embellishment, I also like recognizing the home county.

Beyond that — from a favorite team or alma mater allegiance to views on abortion, education, the arts and the environment — isn’t that what bumper stickers are for?

Music To Die For

Next month a Tampa rock band, Hell on Earth, says it will feature a “live suicide” onstage during a performance in St Petersburg. The theater owner isn’t pleased, and the Hemlock Society isn’t impressed. To the police, it would be a second-degree felony.

What’s truly weird, however, is the group’s “right-to-die” rationale. Hell on Earth, whose on-stage antics have included chocolate-syrup wrestling and grinding rats in a blender, wants to “raise awareness for dying with dignity.”

There’s got to be a more dignified way.

Robin Roberts: Hall Of Famer

“Robin Roberts.”

The sheer alliteration gives it a stage-name sound and a marquee look.

To a lot of contemporary sports fans, Robin Roberts certainly fits the attractive, articulate, black female sportscaster who first achieved national prominence in the 1990s as an ESPN Sportscenter co-anchor.

But there’s this other Robin Roberts. An affable, low-key, 76-year-old white guy in Temple Terrace who used to coach the baseball team at USF. He’s best known by fans who remember the 1950s.

Roberts was one of his era’s most dominant pitchers, winning 20 games or more for six consecutive years for the Philadelphia Phillies. Seemingly, he started every All-Star game in the ’50s. He’s in the Hall of Fame. He was to Philadelphia what Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were to New York, Ted Williams to Boston, Stan Musial to St. Louis, Warren Spahn to Milwaukee, Ralph Kiner to Pittsburgh, Ernie Banks to Chicago and Duke Snider to Brooklyn. He was Roger Clemens in red pin stripes.

He was on the cover of Time magazine in 1956. He was that big.

These days he still follows the game intensely and gets out on the links as often as possible. In fact, he can still shoot his age. He’s on the board of directors of the Hall of Fame and makes the occasional guest appearance and memorabilia visit. He still throws out his share of ceremonial first pitches.

And he continues to cherish the memories and friendships that Major League Baseball has afforded him. Any question can propel Roberts into a story-telling reverie. And there’s a bunch in his recently published book, “My Life In Baseball.”

Don’t look for “My Life” on the New York Times’ best seller list, but for the hard-core baseball fan, it’s a nice read — filled with tales of another time and musings on the game since then. Perhaps its most impressive facet is its minute, almost Bob Graham-like detail.

“I think a lot of athletes can recall details of their career, because it was so important to them,” explains Roberts. “I still remember stuff from grade school. I get a kick out of folks who come up to me and say, ‘Do you remember the day you struck out so and so in a certain situation?’ Well, of course, I do. I was there.

“I’m not so good, however, on birthdays,” he concedes. “I know my wife (Mary, to whom he has been married for 53 years) has never been all that impressed.”

By today’s standards, “My Life” is uncommonly non-controversial. Roberts is neither Jim Bouton nor David Wells. He was one of baseball’s good guys, and the book reads that way. It is, however, punctuated with a couple of anecdotes on Jackie Robinson’s racial crucible, and there’s a chapter devoted to Roberts’ significant involvement in the players’ union.

“The ‘innocence,’ if you will, is real,” says Roberts. “I was the kind of guy who went to the ballpark and then back to the hotel. I’m not pulling punches. That was my way of living.”

He is, however, considering a sequel, he says impishly. Even has a title: “All The Stuff I Left Out.”

Fans remember

Today, he enjoys opportunities to mix with those who recall yesteryear as if it were yesterday. They remember him winning 28 games in 1952, and that number 23 came when he pitched all 17 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. They remember his personal pitched battles with Brooklyn Dodger ace Don Newcombe and his mano a manos with Stan Musial. They remember him pitching 28 straight complete games — and, no, that’s not a typo. They remember he could hit and run the bases.

They remember when Roberts, pitching on two days rest, won the final, pennant-clinching game of the 1950 season, 4-1, against the Dodgers and was literally carried off Ebbets Field by his teammates. It put the Phillies, dubbed the “Whiz Kids” for their relative youth, into the World Series for only the second time in franchise history.

Roberts, however, revels more in the memory of center fielder Richie Ashburn throwing out the winning run at the plate, Dick Sisler hitting the game-winning home run and Jackie Robinson coming over to the Phillies’ clubhouse to personally congratulate the winners.

And they remember Roberts pitching 10 innings before Joe DiMaggio beat him with a home run in a 2-1 loss to the New York Yankees in game two of that ’50 Series.

“You know, while I was playing I didn’t have the feeling that I was that important to people,” says Roberts. “So it’s very gratifying to meet these fans now.

“It’s also funny in a way,” adds Roberts. “They all know that I gave up my share of home runs. Well, if I had known that someone was counting, I tell ’em, I wouldn’t have thrown so many.”

Then and now

Roberts’ career pre-dates free agency riches. He earned $530,000 — over 18 seasons. His top salary was $58,000. But he’s hardly resentful of the timing.

“Remember that the average annual household income in the United States in the mid-fifties was less than $4,000,” he points out.

“I’m certainly not one of those old ballplayers who insists that the way we did it was better,” states Roberts. “It was just different. I would, for example, much rather be pitching today with adequate rest and knowing I was going to go to the mound with great stuff.”

He even understands modern athletes, such as the Bucs’ Warren Sapp, who feel they owe fans nothing once the game ends.

“Look, when I won, I was pretty tired,” recalls Roberts. “When I lost, I wasn’t good company. Now you have people selling autographs and all

Birthday Bash For Dali

The countdown to the 100th birthday of Salvador Dali gets going in earnest next Wednesday (Sept. 24) at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. Florida First Lady Columba Bush will be among those gathering for announcements that will formally kick off a series of events in the Salvador Dali Centennial Festival culminating in the Surrealist master’s birthday on May 4, 2004.

Concurrent with cultural events in St. Petersburg will be those in Philadelphia; Venice, Italy; and Barcelona, Spain.

“Yogathon” For Enable America

There are more than 50 million disabled Americans, a staggering number. Nearly three quarters of them are unemployed, a disturbing number.

Enable America, Inc., a national group headquartered in Tampa, is a non-profit, civic-activist organization that helps address the issues associated with the disabled and their struggles for societal independence.

On Sunday, Sept. 28, South Tampa’s Yogani Studios will host a “Yogathon 2003” fund-raiser for Enable America at the Wyndham Westshore Hotel from noon to 7 p.m.

Registration/participation fee is $35. This fee, as well as all sponsorship money, will benefit Enable America.

“Yogathon” participants can enter at the top of each hour during the brief relaxation (savasana) period. The level of each class will progress as the “Yogathon” continues. Also included: “Yoga for Kids” classes from noon to 3:00 p.m. and a special “Yoga Nidra” relaxation and meditation session from 6-7:00 p.m.

“We want to emphasize that yoga is non-competitive,” says Annie Okerlin, owner and director of Yogani Studios. “Even if you have never practiced yoga, we urge you to come and participate and experience what will be a mutually rewarding event. We can do a lot of good for a lot of people.”

For Enable America, events such as “Yogathon 2003” raise funds and consciousness and complement the organization’s nationwide awareness campaign.

“It’s not just that there are more than 50 million disabled Americans,” says Richard Salem, chairman and founder of Enable America, “but more than 75 per cent of them are unemployed and struggling to become independent. This is a national tragedy, a waste of a lot of talent and resources.

“I think that ‘Yogathons’ in Tampa and elsewhere in this country can be particularly helpful,” adds Salem. “They tend to bring people together who are our natural constituents. Folks who care about people and about their communities.”

For information on “Yogathon 2003” registration and sponsorships, contact Yogani Studios, 251-9668. For more on Enable America, visit www.enableamerica.org.

No Happy Talk For New Newscast

I don’t remember the clamor for more newscasts, but we now have another one thanks to WTTA, Channel 38 and its recently debuted “38 News at Ten.”

But if I did miss the groundswell, I’ll assume it was for:

*Less “sweeps” sensationalism and gratuitous self promotions

*Fewer over-hyped hurricane teases — no matter how ominous the wave action is off the coast of Guinea-Bissau.

*Less inane, cheesy chatter among news readers

*A ban on news-context promos for the latest silly reality show on the affiliate’s network.

*A toning down of the all-Bucs’-bandwagon-all-the-time coverage

*A prohibition on goofy, man-in-the-street interviews on slow news days

*Eliminating invitations to viewers to vote on pressing issues: up or down on nuking North Korea, yes or no on recalling Vince Naimoli.

Having said that, let it also be said that “38 News at Ten” is not exactly a clone of the other five newscasts on broadcast and cable outlets. The mold is still intact, but they have tinkered.

The hour-long, 10:00 p.m. “38 News” features weekday and weekend anchors — David Klug and Susan Casper, respectively — flying solo. This is an obvious function of cost-cutting resulting from an economies-of-scale relationship with parent company Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides national feeds from its Hunt Valley, Md., headquarters.

But it’s not insignificant to viewers; two anchors are typically one too many. The tandem approach is driven by demographics, political correctness and on-air chemistry. At its best, it’s a show-biz package of pleasant-looking people and appealing personalities. At its worst, you get awkward scripting and annoying blather.

With the rather reserved Klug there was, of necessity, no “happy talk.” He’s a pro; it shows; and that’s enough. Save the banter for Seinfeld reruns, which follow at 11:00.

“If I had a dime for every person who says they hate ‘happy talk,’ I be rich enough to get out of the business,” says Channel 38 News Director Teresa Mallea. “That probably works better in the a.m. than at 10:00 p.m. Yes, we did it (solo anchors) for economies, but that’s a bonus.”

The “38 News” format — as with all of Sinclair’s 63 stations nationwide — includes commentary, which almost nobody does anymore. It means taking a stand, risking the perception of bias and using time that could otherwise be allocated to covering fires, accidents, murders and scandals.

Too bad, though, that the commentary wasn’t local. In the case of the debut newscast, it was conservative commentator Mark Hyman, Sinclair’s Maryland-based vice president for corporate relations, delivering a piece — from the all-embracing “News Central” — on safe-sex incongruities in San Francisco. That might not even be news in San Francisco.

A couple of other things. There’s a CNNesque crawl at the bottom of the screen, and a perky, easy-on-the-eyes weather person, Megan Glaros. The former is a distraction; the latter isn’t.

It would seem that “38 News'” is off to a credible and respectable start, especially for those otherwise out of the continuous, redundant national news loop. The integration between national news out of Maryland and local happenings from Tampa was smooth.

A fundamental problem, however, remains. Do we really need any more newscasts? Do we, in fact, need one more than we needed the “Jamie Foxx” show that “38 News” replaced at 10:00 p.m.? Not surprisingly, News Director Mallea thinks there’s a viable place for “38 News” in the Tampa Bay marketplace.

“When this station came into the market five years ago, everyone said there was no room for another affiliate,” says Mallea. “The station proved otherwise and is very successful financially. I look at this the same way. Especially at 10 o’clock. I think consumers like to have a choice.

“Our stance is that we’re a little bit different philosophically,” Mallea adds. “We’re more issue-oriented. For example, transportation is huge here