Objections to dual enrollment plan make no sense

As mentioned previously in these environs, we seldom agree with anything columnist John Romano writes, because he seldom makes any sense. Take his latest diatribe against funding of dual enrollment for private school students. Romano objects to students from private schools getting a free ride in dual enrollment programs (as do public school kids) because the public schools foot the bill. And where does this money come from? Taxpayers – whom we often forget have kids in both public and private schools – the difference being the private school kids don’t require buses, texts, computers and other peripherals on the public dime – a monstrous savings to the public school system. Romano then raves on about the lack of oversight and standards at private schools. Hogwash – take a look at any standard of performance by private school kids versus public and draw your own conclusions. Talk about being off base!

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. More on education – agree or disagree with her, you have to admire Pinellas School Board member Linda Lerner’s tenacity. The veteran of six terms will call it quits at the end of this term.

2. Move over Sully, there’s someone with whom you need to share the spotlight. What a great job by Southwest Capt. Tammie Jo Shults and her crew of Flight 1380.

3. Pinellas County’s proposed approach to stopping young people from stealing cars is so much pie in the sky. A think tank believes putting victim and car thief together and singing Kumbaya along other methods previously proven ineffective will stop the epidemic. The solution is much more obvious – for the sheriff to do his job and the courts to hold offenders accountable and not turn them loose back on the street.

4. Every time you think Planned Parenthood can’t do anything more foolish, they do just that. We give you their tweet looking for Disney Princesses who have committed any number of unnatural acts.

5. From the equal opportunity offender the 5:05 Newsletter: Costco is selling a Doomsday food kit that can feed a typical family for a year. Walmart sells the same kit, but it only feeds a typical Walmart family for six days. Wow, that’s harsh.

Sports, media and other stuff

6. You know you’re getting old: last week in a AA game, Vlad Guerrero, Jr. took Jose Mesa, Jr. deep. They are the sons of a newly minted Hall of Famer and a steady reliever for the Phils and Indians. It seems like just yesterday.

7. The latest big box store that has observers worried is Bed, Bath and Beyond whose stock dropped to its lowest point in several years last week.

8. He was an irreverent judge on Night Court and Dave Barry’s alter ego on Dave’s World, but to us, his bit roles as grifter “Harry the Hat” on Cheers were classic. The incredibly talented Harry Anderson died last week at age 65.

9. Factoid: Cher, Petula Clark, Olivia Newton-John, Elvis and B.J Thomas – five terrific singers, all with at least one #1 song to their credit, but none of the five ever wrote any of the songs that they put on the charts at any position.

10. In our continuing 2018 feature of best players/pitchers for each team since 1950 (back story TBRR 3/25) – this week the Blue Jays. Best player is easy – Hall of Famer Robby Alomar. Pitcher – a little tougher, but we give the nod to the late Roy Halladay over another Blue Jay icon – Dave Stieb.

America’s matriarch

There was only one other woman in U.S. history like her – Abigail Adams – wife to a President, mother to another. Like Abigail Adams, Barbara Bush was very plain spoken and, like her predecessor, did not always agree with her husband on policy matters. She was a voice for change particularly in the areas of literacy and AIDS. She was, of course, also the mother of our state’s 43^rd governor and said famously during his failed presidential campaign, that perhaps the U.S. had enough of the Bush family. We did not always agree with her, particularly on right to life issues, but admired greatly her immense fortitude. America has suffered a great loss.

UP NEXT: USF Stadium, plastic straws, MLB at the 1/6 mark