A challenge to “Florida’s best newspaper”

A couple weeks ago, one of the Times’ columnists suggested that posters on social media should follow the Four Way Test of Rotary International. First let us review the Four Way Test developed by Herb Taylor, a Rotarian and the man who headed Club Aluminum cookware. The four tenants of the test are (1) Is it the truth? (2) Is it fair to all concerned? (3) Will it build goodwill and better friendships? (4) Is it beneficial to all concerned? While we agree that social posters would be well served to follow this creed, we would like to challenge “Florida’s best newspaper” to live up to that creed in just one edition.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. We’ve mentioned this before, the Times masthead for many years carried a quote from publisher Nelson Poynter, it read, ““The policy of our paper is simple – merely to tell the truth.” The quote was dropped several years ago.

2. Pinellas County GOP voters seem to have a fairly easy choice in the upcoming primary battle for property appraiser – a guy who has actually done this most of his life, Mike Twitty, or a career politician looking for a job, Jim Frishe.

3. Speaking of elections, our family received a well-designed post card this past week urging us to re-elect octogenarian Hillsborough County Clerk Pat Frank. The problem is our family has resided in Pinellas County for over fifty years. Glad we’re not paying for that campaign material.

4. 750,000 – that’s the number of people who attend events annually at Ruth Eckerd Hall making it the biggest drawing venue within the Clearwater city limits. Second and third are the Clearwater Marine Aquarium at 320,000 and Bright House Field at just over 300,000 - this from an interesting 2016 Community Profile published by the city.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater for a long time if you remember when WTAN Radio fired all their announcers and had Mayors and civic leaders spinning the hits for a day – April Fool’s Day, of course.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. As we suffer through the dog days of summer, a thought from the always enjoyable 5:05 Newsletter: Southern California is in the midst of a heat wave. The temperature hit 112 in Beverly Hills. That is dangerous. Many residents of Beverly Hills are made of materials that melt at temperatures like that.

7. Continuing our series of “instant success” on the record charts, here are five more artists whose first chart recording went to Number One – Petula Clark, The Eurythmics, KC and the Sunshine Band, Sheena Easton and the Buckinghams. The songs were Downtown, Sweet Dreams are Made of This, Get Down Tonight, Morning Train (Nine to Five) and Kind of a Drag. Of the five, Clark and KC would both hit the top spot again.

8. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of four old, cranky people) asks: “aren’t young people distracted enough without adding Pokémon Go?”

9. What’s up with major league pitchers (including the Rays’ Blake Snell) wearing single digit numbers? This isn’t Little League guys – pitchers wear two digit numbers and position players wear single digit numbers – unless you happen to play for the Yankees but that’s another story (all their single digit uniform numbers have been retired).

10. More on the Yankees: their original numbers designated where hitters hit in the line-up thus Ruth wore 3 and Gehrig 4 etc. The other retired single digit numbers of the Yanks – 1 – Billy Martin; 2 – Derek Jeter; 5 – DiMaggio; 6 – Torre; 7- Mantle; 8 – an oddity – both their HOF catchers Berra and Dickey wore that number and 9 – Roger Maris.

You want to believe this is the Cubs’ year but…

They have spent outrageous amounts of money; picked up a shutdown reliever at the trading deadline; and have a potential All-Star at every position but somehow, some way, the Cubs will find a way to extend their losing streak to 108 years. Here’s why: their pitching staff, particularly their starting rotation, is grossly over rated. Their manager, while seemingly everybody’s cult favorite, was badly out managed in his only World Series appearance – by Charlie Manuel, no less. That shutdown reliever has limited post season experience with five appearances and exactly zero saves – Mo Rivera he is not. Finally, the West Division leading San Francisco Giants tend to win the World Series in every even-numbered year in this decade.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – “REQUIRED READING” FOR THE 2016 POLITICAL SEASON