A weekly look at the Tampa Bay area and national politics from a conservative viewpoint – plus a helping of sports and lifestyle items. Warning: not everything printed here should be taken at face value!

Where have all the characters gone?

With the passing of Max Pierre, saxophonist extraordinaire, the bay area has lost yet another “character” – a term we use only in the most endearing way. You would find Max blowing the sax after every Rays’ home game as you headed for your car. Win or lose, Max put a little zip in your step with his music – offered up with the hope you’d drop a buck or two in the instrument case. Most did. A few years back, (TBRR 7/11/15) we noted the passing of another “character” - David Rulison aka “The Can Man” who gathered tons of cans off the fishing fleets over decades – another “character”. In that same piece we mentioned the “Skater Dude” who for many years entertained folks with his skating prowess at the foot of the Clearwater Causeway. We’ve not seen him for quite a while. We’re losing really interesting people like this and there don’t seem to be many replacements in this hurry up world of ours.

Great Tampa Bay, politics and other stuff

1. You may not know the name Debbie White, but she has been a tireless worker for the good of upper Pinellas County for decades. She very deservedly was named Ms. Clearwater by the Clearwater Chamber last week.

2. How many screw-ups does a governmental official get before they are cashiered? In Hernando County, the answer apparently is one as they dumped their county administrator. In certain city of Clearwater departments, the answer apparently is infinity.

3. Help us understand this. The IRS is shut down for a month and it will be 12-18 months for it to “recover”? Man, does this organization need to be imploded.

4. Ambulance chaser/pot entrepreneur John Morgan is beating the drums for another cause – the $15 an hour minimum wage which sounds grand until you first pay for a $15 Big Mac at McDonalds. Do you want the $10 fries with that?

5. You’ve lived in the bay area (or anywhere else) for a long time if you waited until after six to make a long distance call.

Sports, the media and other stuff:

6. June 21^st – the first day of summer. It’s also the over/under on the day Keith Olbermann will get his third pink slip from ESPN. The guy is a brilliant sportscaster, but cannot refrain from saying stupid stuff that gets him fired.

7. St. Pete is playing host to baseball’s arbitration hearings. First case saw the Nat’s Michael Taylor “losing” and getting $3.25 million after a season in which he hit .227. That number is approximately 25 times the highest salary another center fielder named Mays ever made in a year.

8. To many baseball fans, the more intriguing off-season speculation is not where Harper or Machado will end up but where J.T. Realmuto lands. As a good backstop with genuine offensive abilities, he may be more valuable than either of the two more publicized stars.

9. Next year Nike takes over as the uniform supplier for the big leagues. This is bad news for pro-life baseball fans who wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something with a swoosh on it as Nike is a major contributor to Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion causes.

10. Factoid: The worst fielding right fielder in the major leagues last year? It was Bryce Harper – bet that wasn’t part of agent Scott Boras’ presentation to clubs this winter.

A coda to our Mill Creek feature

Just a few weeks ago, we wrote of our much too infrequent visit to the Mill Creek Farm in Alachua where our adoptive retired Army horse Possum resides. No sooner had we penned that piece that Jack Hanna, the animal guru, did a show on the best rescue operations in the western hemisphere. Mill Creek was ranked number one. Better yet, it had Jack interviewing founder Mary Gregory and her late husband, Peter. It appeared on Channel 28 and will no doubt be on again in the future. Keep your eye out.

Next Up: Cashless Trop; Hillary and Little Alexandria; Pitchers and Catchers

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