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.”

“Do what they did, you’ll get what they got.”

I am not sure that Tampa Bay needs to reinvent the wheel on its way to urban viability, but…

Many of the cities that have truly come back from the edge and become centers of creative post-industrial life are very different from the Tampa/St Pete metro area. They had cores that were restorable, high-density housing stocks, transit systems, and a tradition, no matter how disrupted, of urbanity, with traditional neighborhoods and spaces. With some notable exceptions, the TB area has little of this. Remaking but a part the Tampa Bay metropolitan area will be a real bootstrap job, even if we find models to emulate.

So it may be vital to find post-war sunbelt cities to learn from, if only to avoid their costly mistakes. Which auto-centric cities have done the best job of coming back from placelessness?

It is tempting to think that isolated pockets of artists, galleries, music venues scattered across the Tampa Bay area could go a long way toward making the metro area more livable; it might even be true. But I think, for several reasons, this approach is flawed:

• Lack of tourism support. Tourists prefer magnet areas.
• Lack of drawing power for diversity– do you want to be the only black guy, lesbian, or sculptor in your little art colony?
• Lack of political/economic/marketing clout. The only power in numbers.
• Lack of visibility. This has to do with spatial presence, sheer square footage.
• And anyway, has any revitalization yet emerged from a bunch of micro-centers without strong civic leadership?

Can the Tampa Bay area, the 19th largest metro area in the US, but with disproportionately fewer cultural resources than other areas, afford to spread its creative community so thinly? As transportation costs increase and time becomes more precious for many of us, is a commuting scene viable? (Not if you’re planning on having a few drinks, I hope).

With the principles of urbanism in mind–

1. Walkability
2. Connectivity
3. Mixed-Use & Diversity
4. Mixed Housing
5. Quality Architecture & Urban Design
6. Traditional Neighborhood Structure
7. Increased Density
8. Smart Transportation
9. Sustainability
10. Quality of Life

– what part of the Tampa Bay area is best suited for a big vibrant arts community?

Each year since 2003, the City of Tampa has chosen a photographer to chronicle the city for The Big Picture Photographer Laureate Program.

The purpose of the project was to commission an artist to photograph and respond to life in the City of Tampa. The Photographer Laureate Program is inspired by historic photographic projects including the Farm Workers Administration, the National Endowment for the Arts, and regional Photographic Archives. The program’s long-range vision is to build a public collection comprised of images that are representative of the life and times in Tampa, by regional, national and international photographers.

Over the course of the multi-year project, an artist will be commissioned to “add a volume” for one year. The volume must be built upon a theme/topic selected by the artist/photographer and approved by the committee. Over the course of time, the city hopes to accumulate and display a full and varied representation of the multiple and diverse perspectives of artists on Tampa.

The artist chosen for 2007 was Marion Belanger (www.marionbelanger.com) from Connecticut, and the Big Picture Photographer Laureate, Volume V is now finished, and Marion’s work is open to the public.

Check out Real Estate/Spaces in Transition on view at the American Institute of Architects Gallery in downtown Tampa at 200 N. Tampa Street, Suite 100.  Find it on the west side of Tampa St. just south of Jackson.

You may want to check out the online work of previous Tampa Photographer Laureates, including 2003 Photographer Laureate Beth Reynolds, 2004’s Suzanne Camp Crosby, pinhole photographer Rebecca Sexton Larson in 2005, and 2006’s Steven S. Gregory.

The 2008 photographer, Jeremy Chandler, is busy taking photos now.  Look for his exhibit in about a year.

Channelside Bay Plaza (formerly known as the “Shoppes at Channelside,” which was formerly known as “Channelside at Garrison Seaport”) is seven years old. The St. Pete Times says Channelside businesses are struggling, mainly because locals don’t frequent the place.

Nope - locals don’t go. But that is not the only thing - Channelside Bay Plaza has all sorts of problems.

First of all, Channelside businesses don’t really get along.

Remember, Hooters paid for a trolley to get downtown workers over to Channelside during weekday lunchtime. But after four years, and with trolley visitors spending money at several Channelside stores, none of the other businesses wanted to help with the cost, and so the trolley no longer runs.

Guy Revelle has an ownership stake in Stump’s, Howl at the Moon, Splitsville, and Tinatapas - four places that serve alcohol. When other drinking-only establishments attempted to open, Revelle, who never misses an opportunity to be quoted, whined about Channelside becoming a mini Ybor City.

Next on the list is Channelside’s terrible marketing. I only hear about Channelside around major events, and they seem to want to capture only downtown visitors (not locals). In fact, we don’t hear much of anything since Channelside marketing director Susan Martin over two years ago (found in a July 2006 tbt* column spelling out Channelside’s marketing problems).

But even worse than just limited advertising, are the individual businesses failure to provide any consistency. Unless there is something big going on nearby, many of the businesses don’t bother keeping their places open. Back to the Times article:

Business people walk over from their hotels only to find the complex half-closed.

“We get a lot of tourists who are in their hotels looking for something to do. They come down here during the day and say, ‘This is it?’” - Tinatapas bartender Jason Lewis

Area residents have all been there at least once. But not many are going back. Besides the fact that parking is expensive AND a pain in the ass, Channelside Bay Plaza is so visitor-oriented that it comes off as some lame-ass tourist trap:

“There’s nothing down there to draw you. It’s over-rated.” - Channel District resident Denise Becknell

“I really don’t go over there.” “It’s so young. It’s all clubs.” “I don’t think it’s high quality.” “It’s kind of cheesy.” - 36 year old Victory Lofts resdident Jill Lifsey

“It’s pretty plastic.” - Channel District dance studio owner Luisa Meshekoff

Yeah - Channelside residential buildings are full of empty space.  But if the shopping center wants to thrive, they are still going to need local support.  Tampa Bay residents need a good reason to go though the hassles of parking, and Channelside simply doesn’t offer much to fight that perception.

Let’s quit pretending. Tampa isn’t a city. St Petersburg isn’t a city. Clearwater and all the other municipalities in the Tampa bay region are not cities in the traditional sense. Lacking a coherent functioning core and distinct boundaries (other than saltwater), they are, or have become, no more than jurisdictional regions.

The small urban cores of the now arbitrary sections that make up our metro area were ripped out in the 60’s and 70’s,and the foresight and political will to restore whatever value they once had is not evident at this time. I once had the privilege to watch a city rise up from decay and sprawl and become a great creative and tech center. It wasn’t easy, and it took guts and visionary leadership and the united will of its citizens through neighborhood associations.

With lots of exceptions, people in the US live in a place because they like the place. People live in the Tampa Bay area because they like sunshine and warm temperatures, proximity to the Gulf. Low taxes. People choose exurban areas because they like racial and cultural homogeneity. Lawns. And shopping malls. Freeway closeness. And all the kinds of land use that are impossible without cheap oil.

This is not to say that exurbanites dislike art or innovation. They simply value it too little to pay for it, with dollars or with the psychic cost of urban life. (I would argue that the psychic cost of exurban isolation is higher, but I’ll do that another time). They aren’t offended by the squalor of a US 19 or [your favorite corridor of glaring hell here].

These preferences aren’t arguable. They are simply preferences. It may be useless for urbanists to attempt dialogue with those whose highest values are the lowest taxes. Cities with good transit, great art and technical and educational achievement, cities that attract and keep knowledge and cultural workers don’t come cheap. The leaders in tech innovation, art, and the urban amenities– and high-paying job growth– are not low-tax cities.

So what about those of us who stay behind in the diaspora? The cities that never were are not coming back. Should we just suck it up and establish a brave new exurban aesthetic? Or is it better to nurture little outposts of creative community dotting the metropolitan area, coming together occasionally for regional celebration? Can that essential creative critical mass be sparked without diversity and the constant inflow and outflow of new creative blood? Are online dialogues with the like-minded a satisfying substitute for coffee house and tavern exchanges?

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.”

Oh boy!

In another one of those kooky quirks of scheduling, Tampa played host to both the Women of Faith Infinite Grace conference and the 2008 FetishCon this past weekend. One event featured appearances by Eden Wells, Kumi Monster and RubberDoll, the other featured Patsy Clairmont, Sandi Patty and Marilyn Meberg. I’ll let you Google those names and figure out who was where, but the real delight is in knowing that these people and their fans were both occupying the same relatively small space at the same time.

Event organizers and venue bookers will both say that Tampa is a large enough city now that having multiple events that draw large and disparate crowds at the same time really shouldn’t be an issue. And they’re probably right. But…

Women Of Faith was held at the St. Pete Times Forum, which can hold up to 20,000 people and FetishCon, which draws over 2,000 people, was held at the Hyatt Regency about a half mile away. There are four, maybe five, hotels and about a dozen or so restaurants that you could reasonably classify as within walking distance of those two sites. Factor in just how dissimilar these two groups are and you have a recipe for awkward social interaction comedy gold, baby!

I’m just picturing two groups of people, clutching either bibles or leashes with people attached to them, waiting for the streetcar to Channelside or for a table at First Watch: “Umm…that’s okay, you go ahead. No, really. Please.”

Cross posted at Ridiculous trickle of consciousness

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.