This week’s dining tip (see back story in Jan. 1 TBRR): how can just plain soup and salad be so good? Don’t know, but it’s probably the most popular offering at the Olive Garden chain – along with their really good breadsticks and a dependable Italian menu up and down.

Las Vegas aftermath

This won’t keep you long. We can pretty much sum up our feelings with this – the framers of the Constitution meant what they said about the right to bear arms and that should never change. What the framers of the Constitution did not say or mean was the average citizen having the right to own an arsenal. You can protect yourself, loved ones and property quite satisfactorily without weapons that spew hundreds of bullets a minute - the same for hunting. Our federal government must do the responsible thing and enact laws that restrict these weapons of mass destruction to the proper law enforcement and military authorities – and do it now!  

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Pardon about half of Tampa Bay for being skeptical with the finding of “accidental” in the fire at Robert E. Lee Elementary. With an intruder alarm going off at the same time as the fire?

2. Next month, Pinellas taxpayers will be asked to approve yet another decade (2020-2030) of an extra penny tax for infrastructure projects in the county. The tax has generally worked well over the years but looming out there somewhere is the possibility of a hike in the general state sales tax of six percent as budgets get tighter and tighter.

3. At the same time, Clearwater voters get a chance to finally take some positive steps toward having the bay front reach its potential without commercialization. Seems like a slam dunk.

4. A couple things we recall from public service: first, our job is to pick-up trash (public utilities), bounce basketballs (leisure and the arts) and catch bad guys (public safety). Also this – solid waste isn’t sexy. EXCEPT when there are remains from Irma laying everywhere, then solid waste becomes pretty sexy.

5. From TBRR, three years ago this week: By a 3-2 vote, with members George Cretekos and Bill Jonson dissenting, the Clearwater City Council opted for a $100,000 piece of “art” for the new firehouse that no one can see.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Takeaways from Buc’s Week 3A & 4A: granted, Nick Folk made the winning field goal with time expiring against the Giants, but then reverted to form against New England going 0 for 3 turning what could have been a signature victory into another “L”. Let the tryouts begin!

7. Rays owner Stuart Sternberg speaking in MLB Trade Rumors about the team’s low revenues cited less than expected attendance numbers from visits of clubs like the Bosox and Cubs. This is what happens when you jack up ticket prices to an unreasonable level when good draws come to town.

8. We know post season doesn’t count towards regular season awards, but if you watched game one of the American League division playoffs, there can be no doubt this is the year of José Altuve.

9. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember when car agencies downtown bore names like Crown, Kennedy-Strickland, Pruitt, Stone-Bolton and Thayer.

10. We’re sure at least a few of the items we “borrow” from the 5:05 Newsletter are true – maybe even this one: “Mexican cocaine kingpin Juan “El Chapo” Guzman’s defense lawyers are requesting to have El Chapo’s trial held in Los Angeles, where he can be tried by a jury of his customers”.

Fox News displays resiliency

Imagine you are the San Francisco 49ers of old and you lose Joe Montana and Jerry Rice in the same season. Bye bye title. This is what has happened in the past year at Fox News. The conservative cable channel loses superstars Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly – not to mention a rather solid Greta Van Susteren. Yet the network thrives. Sean Hannity moves to nine and crushes his competition. Tucker Carlson, who inherited O’Reilly’s eight o’clock slot, is down some from his predecessor’s gigantic numbers, but still leading the time period by a large margin. And in a master stroke, Fox has brought on Laura Ingraham to host their 10 p.m. hour beginning the end of the month. Ingraham’s take no prisoners approach should be the piece de resistance to three solid hours of cable – evenwithout Montana and Rice.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK: TOYS “R” US, FATS DOMINO & GOLDEN GATE