Tampa Bay Rants and Raves is a weekly airing of national and local politics, sports, lifestyles and nostalgia items from a very politically incorrect viewpoint. As always, beware - some of what is printed here should not be taken literally.

Mayor Castor’s misstep 

Four former Tampa mayors say it would be unprecedented for a mayoral appointment to be shot down by the City Council. Unsurprisingly, all four surveyed are Democrats like Tampa’s sitting mayor who didn’t realize the consequences of her appointment of a former colleague with a less than spotless record. For some reason, former Republican Mayor (and Governor) Bob Martinez was not surveyed. Martinez is also Hispanic as is the highly qualified Interim Chief, Butch Delgado, who was passed over for the job by a mayor who doesn’t seem to be able to read the tea leaves. The most practical solution, given the considerable pushback from the community, would be for appointee Mary O’Connor to gracefully withdraw. Otherwise, Tampa will be a fractured city due to Mayor Castor’s misstep.

Great Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

SCOTUS News from the 5:05 Newsletter: President Joe Biden quietly withdrew Whoopi Goldberg's Supreme Court nomination after she downplayed the Holocaust.

Is Albert Whitted Airport the best use of St. Pete’s waterfront property? The last time the issue was brought to a vote, three quarters of the city’s voters said yes. Whether that still holds true is up for debate, but it’s a heck of a lot better use than a baseball stadium for so many reasons.

A gentleman wise in the ways of local government told us years ago that their function was to bounce basketballs (leisure and the arts) catch bad guys (public safety) and pick up trash – probably the most basic of the three. Right now, Polk County is doing a lousy job of picking up trash – a problem with many solutions all of which seem to be escaping the folks to our east.

He captained the Fort Harrison Hotel until it was purchased by the evil empire, and then spent three decades as General Manager of the stately Clearwater Beach Hotel. Wally Lee passed away last week at age 89.

THIS WEEK IN 1962: JOHN GLENN BECOMES THE FIRST AMERICAN TO ORBIT THE EARTH.

Lighter stuff:

The first week of Spring Training games has been canceled and folks who use the $10 an hour jobs during spring to supplement their income are out of luck as the players and owners decide whether a first year player should make $570,000 or $650,000 a year.

Las Vegas Raiders’ fans are calling the Rams win over the Bengals “karma,” after getting hosed by a call that the league admits cost the Raiders a playoff game against the Bengals.

Answer: Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin. Question who was the youngest NFL head coach to win a Super Bowl before Sean McVay?

Thought of the Week: You call it eating five boxes of Girl Scout cookies alone; I call it supporting young female entrepreneurs.

Related Factoid: In 2018 (the last season not affected by COVID), more people attended Spring Training games in Florida than either the Rays or Marlins regular season games.

Something we loved reading – the story of a high school football coach in Bethel Park, PA who canceled an off-season workout for his players in the gym because of a heavy snow storm. Their workout instead was to “Find an elderly or disabled neighbor and shovel their driveway. Don’t accept any money – that’s our Monday workout.” Over a hundred driveways were shoveled by 40 players - hats off to Coach Brian DeLallo and his team.

Five years Ago in TBR&R (Feb. 26, 2017) After over fifty years on the air, the University of South Florida sells off its TV station WUSF Channel 16. The station competed against and often duplicated the programming of PBS affiliate WEDU Channel 3 and was costing the university millions each year.

The “good old boys”

Clearwater’s municipal election is just a few weeks away (March 15) and, like many years in the past, we hear complaints about “good old boys” dominating city elections. The barbs this time are directed mainly towards incumbent commissioner David Allbritton. It’s as though the Clearwater native should have to apologize for growing up in the city he serves – for being active in his community all his life. Sure, he is well-connected, why wouldn’t he be with all he’s done in the city? But the overwhelming facts are Allbritton has shown strong leadership skills in his first term and he is, by far, the most qualified candidate to continue in that seat on the council – whether you choose to label him a “good old boy” or not.

NEXT UP: People; Oval office in ’24; Eight men up

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