Tampa Is…?

St. Pete cops call Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO):  Get this illegal immigrant guy, he’s a suspect in a rape in St. Pete.

HCSO Deputies get the guy on a misdemeanor.  Meanwhile, St. Pete cops called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asked for permission to hold the illegal immigrant further.  They get no response.

So the HCSO lets the guy go free.

Two weeks later, guy (allegedly) rapes girls in Apollo Beach.

HCSO catches the guy again, this time for rape.

Citizens want to know why Sheriffs let him go the first time.

Head Sheriff David Gee claims St. Pete cops never told HCSO he was a rape suspect.

US Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite wants to know how this happened, blasts Gee.

Gee defends Sheriffs office, loudly complains “St. Pete cops never told us the guy’s a rape suspect.”  Also points finger at Legislature, ICE, some guy standing nearby, and the blogosphere.

People are outraged and pointing their own fingers everywhere:

• SPTimes columnist Sue Carlton:  It’s a crime that politics has entered equation
• Tribune columnist Steve Otto:  Is anyone out there listening?
• SPT Editorial:  Immigration mess is Congress’ fault
• Tribune Editorial:  Search For Culprit In Immigrants’ Crime Spree Starts On Capitol Hill

To be sure, ICE and your US Legislators deserve some of the blame for basic stupidity.  But the HCSO makes ‘em look like geniuses.  Especially after what happened today.

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokesman revealed the truth:  “Ohhhh THAT guy?  Yeah, St. Pete cops DID tell HCSO about him.”

Today is primary election day in Hillsborough County. Primaries determine who will run for each political party in November.  Please make sure your voice is heard.

The Tampa Tribune has a list of all the area races and candidates, and here are those primary candidates for Hillsborough County elections:

Property Appraiser

• Rob Townsend (R)
• Rob Turner (R)

County Commission, District 2

• Tom Aderhold (R)
• Ken Hagan (R)

County Commission, District 6

• Brian Blair (R)
• Don Kruse (R)

County Commission, District 6

• Kevin Beckner (D)
• Denise Layne (D)
• Joe Redner (D)

Hillsborough County School Board, District 1

• Dave Schmidt
• Susan Valdes

Hillsborough County School Board, District 7

• Stephen Gorham
• Carol W. Kurdell
• Jason D. Mims

All of the Tampa Tribune Endorsements, and in Hillsborough: Rob Turner, Ken Hagan, Brian Blair, Kevin Beckner, Susan Valdes, Stephen Gorham.

All of the St. Pete Times Endorsements, and in Hillsborough: Rob Turner, Tom Aderhold, Brian Blair, Kevin Beckner, Susan Valdes, Carol W. Kurdell.

Feel free to leave your choice in the comments, and tell us why.

Investigative journalism is crucial.  In addition to exposing unethical immoral and illegal behavior, sometimes those journalists find simple (but expensive) stupidity and laziness.

Back in 2004, Greg Neal of Keystone Ventures envisioned a Tampa Sports Centre near Raymond James Stadium.  A couple of months later, HCC envisioned a retail complex including a hotel, conference center, restaurant, medical complex, public pool and sports facility in their “Front Yard” facing Dale Mabry.

In early 2005, Neal approached HCC, and suggested he could build the world-class sports-medicine destination with a luxury hotel and a culinary institute.  Four hundred jobs would be created, and students could learn from sports nutrition experts and hotel management programs.  In return, HCC would guarantee low rental rates on 40+ acres to Keystone for fifty years.

HCC was rightly intrigued, and asked for a proposal with details.

After collecting proposals from them and other parties in 2006, evaluators for HCC placed Keystone fourth behind Cheeseburger in Paradise, Steak N Shake, and a hotel from a George Steinbrenner company.  Although they found problems with the Keystone proposal, those top three did not include using the facilities for education, and HCC leaders kept Keystone on the short list. 

HCC then paid $768,000 to a real estate firm to oversee the project, and that firm gave HCC more specific reasons for denying Keystone’s proposal, such as a lack of experience and unfavorable lease terms.

In an email sent in May 2007, HCC VP Ron Wolf suggested they look out for “smoke and mirrors” from Keystone at a scheduled meeting.  They met with Greg Neal again, and were again blown away by his excitement and vision.  Seems they forgot about the smoke and mirrors, and were still talking about the grandiose opportunities in March of this year.

Luckily, the St. Pete Times took an interest in the story.  Doing the job that HCC leaders, HCC evaluators, and an $768,000 hired gun should have done, SPTimes reporter Thomas Lake has found that Greg Neal is full of sh*t. 

A St. Petersburg Times investigation of Neal’s claims and credentials found nearly 20 statements that were exaggerated, misleading, disputed, or downright false. And public administrators repeated some of those claims in official documents without independently confirming them.

What an outrage!  You would think that these basic background checks would be PART OF THE PROCESS by those entrusted to evaluate the proposal, yet none of it was discovered until the paper got involved.

Of course, in an attempt to save face, HCC plans to give Greg Neal an opportunity to address these new concerns in a meeting next month.

Thanks to Thomas Lake and the St. Pete Times for uncovering this nonsense.  It’s a damn shame we must have journalists doing the job of lazy, uninspired “leadership.”

As of the latest forecasts, Tampa Bay is still within Tropical Storm Fay’s cone of uncertainty.

To be on the safe side, local governments have closed the schools and government offices for tomorrow, and other government-related services will not run, such as trash pickup, and early voting.

• In Pinellas, A mandatory evacuation will go into effect on Tuesday at 6 a.m. for Level A evacuation areas and all mobile home residents.  Shelters are slated to open at 6 a.m.
• A recommendation was made that Hillsborough also evacuate mobile homes and Level A, but County Administrator wants to wait until after the 5pm advisory to make her decision.
• Polk County government is closing Tuesday also, and they encourage you to watch TV for further announcements.
• Pasco asks their residents to be ready to evacuate, but will make another announcement at 6pm.
• For Manatee County, voluntary evacuations for residents living in level A areas, and mandatory evacuations for all Manufactured Home residents began at noon today.

So even if Fay takes a hard left, fizzles out and disappears, things are going to be a bit screwy around here with some mandatory evacuations, kids & staff missing school, and government workers clogging up the Wal-Marts free to take care of their families.

Of course, the Business World continues unabated, and you will likely be notified on what to expect about five minutes before you leave.

Kids in Hillsborough County head back to school on Monday, and lots of those students are going to have to walk further to get to the bus stop:

The goal, he said, is to have two to 20 students per bus stop. Some elementary students will have to walk up to a mile and middle and high school students up to 1.5 miles.

Obviously, many of the bus routes have changed from years’ past.  But the School District of Hillsborough County had some trouble getting letters to the mailbox, and parents and students are not certain exactly how the kids are going to get to school, and where to catch the bus.

The Transportation Department is blaming lightning.  Wow - who could see that coming?

The Calusa Indian word “Tampa” means “sticks of fire,” a reference to lightning.  The local Arena League team is called the “Storm,” while the NHL team is called the “Lightning.”  Every day, all summer long, our meteorologists give us a look at the red splotches of thunderstorm activity, interspersed with flashing white flashes that indicate lightning.  You might recall that all of this leads to the Tampa Bay area being called the lightning capital of the United States.

All right, so lightning struck School Bus Central in Thonotosassa, delaying letters to bus riders and their parents.  They set up a hot line so you can find out the details of your kids’ trip to school.  To find out where and when your children catch the bus, call 813.982.5500.  But you may have to try that number more than once.  District officials say the line is often busy because of the lightning strike.

Oh, and for those of you who now have to walk to school or walk further to catch the bus, you may want to keep an eye out for any lightning strikes.

For four years the Tribune and the Times have been bashing county commissioner Brian Blair, and when we finally get a chance to vote him out of office they turn around and endorse the Bozo?!?

The Tribune’s endorsement column begins with a few understatements:

[Blair] often appears less thoughtful, less farsighted and more strident than his colleagues.

and,

He joined the majority in an unwarranted assault on wetlands protections

“Joined the majority?” As chair of the EPC, he led the assault, largely as a favor to his developer buddy Stephen Dibbs. He has relentlessly continued to attack our wetland protections ever since. Just last month he tried again to get the rules weakened. As I reported here, he didn’t seem to understand the issues and lamely resorted to reading a developer’s letter aloud. Yet the Tribune says he doesn’t do this anymore:

When he first joined the board, Blair seemed uncomfortable, often reading from a prepared statement that seemed to have been prepared by someone else. But as he learned the issues, Blair found his voice.

Pay attention, Tribune editors! Blair is still (constantly!) reading from the developers’ scripts.

The Times endorsement starts out less flattering,

Since winning election in 2004, Brian Blair has championed silly issues, peddled paranoia and marched to the command of the building industry.

They agree with Don Kruse, Blair’s Republican challenger in the primary, that his “mistakes” include:

Blair’s effort to roll back protection of environmental lands, his focus on roads at the expense of mass transit, and his ties to development and other special interests.

According to the papers, Blair is bad on the environment, but good on reining in spending. Guess they forgot that when the environmental issue was the lake in his own backyard, he blew a million dollars of our tax money on his own personal pork project.

The Tribune also endorsed another incumbent, a member of the anti-wetlands “Gang of Four” equally deep in the developers pockets, Ken Hagan. Sticks readers may recall that both Blair & Hagan kicked off their campaigns with big fundraising parties hosted by the kingpins of the local development lobby, including Hung Mai, whom they had just appointed to the Planning Commission in a disgusting display of cronyism. Both incumbents are hip deep in the good-old-boy network that has over-developed our county for the sake of their own careers with no regard for the citizens they are supposed to serve.

Looking at the two Republican primary races, those voters have a very qualified candidate running against Hagan: Tom Aderhold. Blair’s opposition, Don Kruse, is less experienced in community issues than Aderhold, but that is no excuse to put your seal of approval on Blair.

People are hungry for change and our newspapers are peddling the same old Shinola. And they wonder why their readership is plummeting. If you want to give them a clue about what their readers expect from them, write the editors of the Tribune and/or Times.

Hagan’s District 2 race will be settled in the primary. The winner of Blair’s primary will face the winner of the Democratic primary among Denise Layne, Kevin Beckner and Joe Redner. Blair’s district 6 is county-wide.

I am deeply disappointed that our local papers don’t get this: If the citizens of this county re-elect these incumbents it will send a powerful message to all our politicians that no matter how many citizens send angry e-mail, picket the Governor, create anti-Blair blogs and anti-incumbent videos, and fill county center calling for their heads — they don’t need to listen to us at all because it will all blow over in time for the elections.

Hillsborough County employs about 10,000 people, but, blaming budget cuts, county commissioners are poised to lay off the ONE guy responsible for protecting our wildlife from the bulldozers. If they adopt the budget with this proposed cutback, they will gut our upland habitat protection program, just like they tried to gut our wetland protection program last summer.

We have only one wildlife biologist who manages and enforces our Upland Habitat Ordinance. The Environmental Scientist II position reviews development proposals to ensure that areas designated as “Significant Wildlife Habitat” are protected. He decides whether a site qualifies as “Significant” or “Essential” habitat. And if you want to report someone who is bulldozing gopher tortoise habitat or cutting down Scrub Jay nests, he’s the guy you call.

Without this single wildlife biologist in the Planning & Growth Management (PGM) department, we would have no one qualified to handle your habitat protection program. PGM director Peter Aluotto says one of his staff’s urban foresters could try to take on these responsibilities, but foresters are not qualified for this job, and he knows it. Urban foresters are tree specialists, qualified for overseeing our tree ordinances, and deciding whether a tree can legally be cut down. The work requires a biologist, trained to evaluate habitat for various animal & plant species, assess damage to a whole ecological system and prescribe mitigation.

When a developer’s attorneys and their hired biologists testify at a zoning hearing about what type of ecosystem is on their site, and whether their project will impact this animal or that, they will claim our forester lacks the credentials to dispute their biologists — and they will be right. They will sue the county if our forester dares to restrict their development without adequate expert review — and they will win. Meanwhile, environmental groups could also sue the county for abandoning its responsibility to uphold our laws protecting our natural resources.

At the July 29 budget workshop, Commissioner Rose Ferlita responded to Aluotto’s idea of using a forester to do a biologist’s job:

“Well, pretty soon — and I’m being funny — we can have — because he may be not busy that afternoon — we can have an electrical inspector looking at it and see if maybe he thinks that we’re taking care of gopher turtles. I mean, then it becomes just a train wreck.”

Aluotto admitted his foresters are “not specifically trained” for this, offering,

“in those cases where they couldn’t — if they couldn’t get that job done, we would defer to state and federal agencies like Fish & Wildlife and DEP and those folks.”

Please. State agencies can not enforce Hillsborough County’s environmental standards. (Even if they could, they don’t have extra staff to lend us to do our work!) Aluotto’s suggestion that we “defer to state and federal agencies” is simply suggesting that we abandon our local rules protecting our wildlife habitat.

So why are we even thinking of eliminating our one and only wildlife biologist?

Good question - I’m glad you asked.

Some county commissioners have found the tanking housing market to be a good excuse to financially hamstring the agencies that regulate their developer buddies. Commissioner Jim Norman falsely claimed building had dropped 80% – 90%, arguing that we should cut these agencies by a similar percentage. After he was slammed by the Times’ Truth-O-Meter, Norman backed down from the 80% “off with their heads” stand, but still led the board to direct the Environmental Protection Commission (EPC), and the Planning Commission to cut their budgets off at the knees — and PGM too, although they don’t want PGM cutting too many from their permitting staff, as that would inconvenience developers. (Heaven forbid we should slow down the process by which subdivisions and condos get built, because we don’t have nearly enough of that stuff laying around vacant driving down our home values.)

And so we find PGM’s Peter Aluotto offering to eliminate those positions that service small homeowners who want to add a room to the home they can’t sell in this market, and doing away with the one position that developers would most like to see eliminated: the one biologist qualified to handle wildlife habitat reviews.

Finally, at the July 31 workshop, the administration decided they need to meet with their “customers” to see how they want this handled. And by “customers” they do not mean us taxpaying residents of the county, they are talking about developers. That’s right, they want the regulated community to help decide which regulators they should fire.

But since it’s our money paying everyone’s salary, shouldn’t we tell them who to hire and fire?

If, somewhere between the subdivisions and strip plazas, you’d like to see some natural spaces left green and alive with the wild magic of bobcats, foxes & otters — places where the woodpecker hammers out a staccato beat, and the Chuck-will’s-widow still sings, backed by a symphony of frogs — write your commissioners and tell them to keep the Environmental Scientist II in PGM’s budget. Here’s my letter. You can also speak to them at the public budget hearings, September 9 & 18, 6:00 p.m. at county center.

On Friday, circuit judge James Arnoldon took the county mayor referendum off of November’s ballot:

The referendum calls for creating the position and electing the county mayor all at the same time.

Mary Ann Stiles has been the most ardent supporter of a county mayor, and was instrumental in bringing the ELECTED COUNTY MAYOR POLITICAL COMMITTEE, INC. (formerly known as Taking Back Hillsborough County or something) to life. She says they will appeal.