Tampa Is…?

More bars in more places?  Not in my neighborhood.

Condos on Tierra Verde?  No thank you.

Brian Blair:  My neighbors are extremists.

Rays looking for a new neighborhood?

That’s right, folks!  It finally happened.

Tampa has finally been named the flightcomparison.co.uk World Destination of the Week!  Here are some highlights of their review:

… more commercially oriented than other Florida destinations, but it has plenty to offer…

… grand museums and golden beaches, all flavoured with a distinct Mexi-Flori zest.

… minimal traffic and discounts aplenty if you visit during summer. However, summer is hurricane season and can get very humid.

Getting around town can be done mostly by public bus…

Fun-Lan Drive In… atmosphere is still as great as it was nearly sixty years ago.

Not sure about that “public bus” comment.

And I’ll leave it to you to figure out what “Mexi-Flori” is (google it!).

Do we really need a park that talks to the kids?

From the City of Tampa - New Kid-Designed Playground Opens at Al Lopez Park - November 10

Kids in the city’s After School Activity Program will cheer as they celebrate the opening of the new playground they helped design. Mayor Pam Iorio will attend the opening celebration at 3:30 p.m. Monday, November 10 at Al Lopez Park, located at 4810 N. Himes Avenue.

This community designed project includes an extensive “EVOS” Play Structure - a “gyroscopic” play system that engages children of all ages; an accessible Playshaper play structure for younger and/or limited ability children; two family friendly shade structures with picnic tables; challenging Mobius, Spacenet, and “Rock” climbing structures; and an element unique to Florida - Talking Tot Turf.

The Al Lopez Talking Tot Turf will be the first of its kind not only in the State of Florida, but in the Eastern United States. A Hopscotch and Piano Keyboard are embedded playground surface and when a child steps on these designs, it will seem as though sounds are being emitted from the area where the child is playing. The Piano Keyboard sounds will coincide with the keys on an actual keyboard. The hopscotch counts as the child plays.

The playground cost $325,800 and was funded through the Park Improvement fund and the Community Investment Tax.

Ok, this thing opened on Monday.  Let’s take some guesses as to when the “talking turf” will no longer be working properly.  I pick Monday, February 2, 2009, the day after that thing.

No one really knows how long chickens have been roaming Ybor City.  I’d guess they have been there since the late 1800s, but I know I have seen them strutting around Ybor for the last 25 years or so, which makes the “Chickens of Ybor City” an older franchise than many of the businesses currently found on 7th Avenue.

But now, someone wants to get rid of the chickens.  In fact, someone or something has killed at least one hen and her chicks.  So now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has shown up in Ybor to catch some of them chickens with a plan to move them to Pasco and Polk Counties, in the hopes that no more chickens get harmed (or so they say).

Tommy doesn’t want any part of that.  Tommy has lived in Ybor for over 20 years.  He helped found the Historic Ybor Neighborhood Association, and is one of the founders of Guavaween.  For the past ten years(well, most years), he also hosted the annual James E. Rooster Funeral Procession and Party.  And Tommy likes feeding the chickens.  Oh, and everyone calls him ‘Rooster Tommy.’

Lots of folks like the chickens.  Artists and tourists love to photograph the chickens of Ybor City.  When writing about the culture of Ybor, workers mention the chickens.  Hundreds have gathered at Tommy’s rooster funeral parties to celebrate the Chickens of Ybor City.  (Yes, Arroz con Pollo is on the menu.)

So, of course, now we have all the makings of a chicken protest party.  The party will be this Sunday, November 16 at around halftime of the Bucs game.  Or maybe just following the Bucs game.  At any rate, please make a note of it, because the Times article has the wrong day.  The chicken protest will be held on Sunday, November 16, exactly at 2:30, give or take 90 minutes either way.

Editor’s note:  Don’t sweat the time thing - time barely matters in Ybor City.  Otherwise we’d know when the damn chickens got there in the first place.  Also, if you have read this far, you may as well read the last bit.  Anyone got a better name for a “chicken protest party?”

Tommy’s helpful hints #472:

If you are going to have a birthday party at a local park, make sure none of your children pull the pin on any of the grenades you find.

“Better judgment prevailed, and I called 911,” [David] Sapp, 70, said.

Good move, Mr. Sapp.

Tampa police’s bomb team arrived and took the grenades to another site to be detonated.

I’m sure the birthday party was a blast anyway.

… like a ten year old turd.

Here it is, two days after election day, and we still don’t have a full count of votes in Hillsborough County.

• “Hillsborough County stood out for Election Day miscues.“
• “To have more than 80,000 votes uncounted by the end of Wednesday and pushed into Thursday is a total meltdown of the system and incompetency on a level that we’ve haven’t seen around these parts in a while, at least at the Supervisors of Elections offices.”
• “Buddy Johnson’s performance was so flawed and suspect the federal government should come in, recount the vote and perform a thorough investigation.”
• “Johnson’s management of this election was a debacle and his behavior bizarre.”

Freakin’ pathetic.

AND after both dailies and Weekly Planet endorsed Phyllis Busansky, Johnson continues to lead in the race for Hillsborough’s SOE.

• “You have to wonder if the 198,249 citizens who voted for Johnson to manage their most sacred right - the right to vote - might want a do-over after witnessing his office’s breakdown”
• “There are 203,845 Hillsborough residents (so far, at least) who voted to keep Johnson as the county’s supervisor of elections.”
• As of 8:00 Thursday morning, the total for Buddy is 207,327 (page 3).

As I mentioned before, I’m not sure voters know what the hell they are doing.  And that’s REALLY freakin’ pathetic.

Check here to see if they have more than 377 of 384 precincts reported.  Go to page three to see the race for SOE.

Update 12noon:  Tampabay.com’s BayBuzz blog is on site at the vote-countin’ offices, and keeping us up to date on progress in Hillsborough County:  Counting began again this morning, Buddy nowhere to be found, SOE legal team assures there has been no tampering, local Senators ask Guv for help.

In his speech last night, President elect Barack Obama referenced a voter in Atlanta:

“This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight’s about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta.  She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.”

Not only is she 106 years old, but it’s Ernest Hooper’s grandmother!

That’s all I’m saying.

Update Thursday morning:  More from Hoop.

Video:  Philly Phans Phlipped my car, please send money.

Written prior to the start of Game 5:  Beer plus local fans equal more disgrace

On [Saturday], we [Philadelphians] managed to take one of our best sports days ever and spray-paint it with obscenities.

The Flyers beat the Devils on Saturday for a home-and-home sweep of their rivals; No. 3 Penn State knocked off No. 9 Ohio State at Columbus; and the Phillies defeated the Rays in Game 3 of the World Series.

That was the good news, apparently too much good news for the charter members of the Pennsylvania chapter of IDIOTS (Insufferable Drunks Increasingly Overserved at The Stadium).

Here’s what else happened that day:

When a Flyers overtime goal was disallowed, a Wachovia Center genius heaved a stink bomb onto the ice. (Three quick questions: Who sells stink bombs? Who buys them? And who takes them to hockey games?)

In an apparently ongoing effort to change the school’s mascot to the Nitwit Lion, 4,000 people in State College celebrated Penn State’s win by rioting, tearing up street signs and light poles, damaging cars and throwing full beer cans at police.

After the resumed game 5 of the World Series was over at 9:58pm,

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

10:29 PM

Fan Watch: The city erupts

A crowd for people just took over a fire truck at Broad and Walnut. Thousands of people are massing here in Center City. Many are running down Broad Street. Meanwhile, thousands of fans are marching up Broad Street from the stadium area. Around the stadium, multiple small fires are being reported, with lots of bottle throwing and broken glass.

10:44 PM

Violence erupts outside the stadium

Fans outside Citizens Bank Park in Lot M at Pattison Avenue and Darien Street were breaking bottles on cars and attempting to light an SUV on fire 40 minutes after the final pitch in the Phillies first World Series win in 28 years. Police quickly arrived and started to disperse the crowd. The crowd started mixing it up with the police.  By then, the crowd had also completely overturned a green Ford Explorer.

11:06 PM

Fans attack Channel 3 News van

On the 1400 block of JFK Boulevard, out-of-control Phillies fans have overtaken a Channel 3 news van. They’re rocking it, trying to turn it over, according to police. The windows have been broken out of the van. There are also sporadic shots being fired throughout the city, and police are surging toward the areas of the largest crowds. Mayor Nutter, in TV interviews, urged fans to remain calm. “Enjoy it, savor it, but let’s all be respectful to eachother,” Mayor Nutter said.

Meanwhile, at Pattison Avenue and Darien Street outside Citizens Bank Park, a group of youths was fighting police. One of the youths had some blood streaming from his head.

(more…)