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.

Our roads the latest victim of Bidenflation

Last week, our lead article dealt with the squeeze local lawmakers are faced with economically. Getting more specific, road project bids across the nation are coming in at an average of 33% above budget – some as high as 80 percent over projections. This is causing many bids to be rejected or moved to another fiscal year. It’s a Hobson’s choice for lawmakers – either raise gas taxes which typically fund road projects or shelve all but urgently needed contracts. The core problems are the price of fuel, materials plus labor shortages, all of which is going to lead to fewer orange cones here and elsewhere in the near future.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

TV viewers suffered a great loss with the cancellation by TBS of Samantha Bee’s show Full Frontal. Please see our disclaimer at the top. TBS cited the pursuit of a "new programming strategy." We presume that new strategy would be decency.

Economic news: Walmart shares are plunging after the nation’s biggest retailer lowered its profit forecast and said “surging inflation on basics like food that is making shoppers cut back.” It has nothing to do with lousy service, junky stores and dishonest employees.

Starbucks is having its own set of problems with no sale and shoplifting visitors whom they empowered. They are closing many stores in blue state cities like LA, DC, Portland and Seattle.

Our friend TL wonders why every liberal in Washington from the White House on down is bragging about the suddenly lower gas prices when they are still nearly double the price when Biden took office ($2.14).

Judicial news from the 5:05 Newsletter: Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer officially retired last month and was replaced by Ketanji Brown. Justice Brown said she is looking forward to serving on the Court and has already begun crafting dissenting opinions. 

This week in 1923 (August 3) Calvin Coolidge is sworn in as President after the death of Warren G. Harding.

Sports, media and other stuff:

Sports oddity: Juan Soto and Ronald Acuna, Jr., arguably the two best young outfielders in baseball, are, at this writing, hitting .243 and .259 respectively.

We’ll do an after the trade deadline recap next week, but one of the feel good stories in baseball is the vast improvement of the Baltimore Orioles, at this writing just three games out of a wild card spot. They may not make the playoffs, but will have a say in who does.

Thinking back a couple years to when then President Donald Trump contracted the Covid virus; the media coverage was a bit different than when our current chief executive fell victim to it last week.

The venerable Varsity Restaurant in Atlanta is weighing a location change as its site near Georgia Tech becomes more and more valuable. But for now at the landmark that dates back to 1928, it will still be “What’ll ya have?”

Speaking of eats, 55 years ago this month the McDonald’s Big Mac debuted in Baltimore at the princely sum of 45 cents.

We wish a happy 79^th birthday to USF alum Kent LaVoie. Recording under the name Lobo, he was an international hit maker with Top 10 songs like You and Me and a Dog Named Boo, I’d Love You to Want Me and Don’t Expect Me to be Your Friend. 

In the same breath, we mourn the passing of Tony Dow, a staple on early 60s TV as brother Wally on Leave It to Beaver. Tony was 77.

Five Years Ago in TBR&R (July 30, 2017) TIA’s renovation includes new trams to get folks around – built in Japan. Less than 90 miles away is one of the world’s busiest and most efficient tram systems (Disney World) all built in North America.

All the expertise money can buy

There was an interesting article in the Athletic (for the uninitiated, it’s an online publication for sports geeks). The article dealt with the opinion of sports economist Andrew Zimbalist that the Battery complex that surrounds the Atlanta Brave’s Truist Park is a boon to the economy of Cobb County which is home to the Braves. For what it’s worth, another economist from nearby Kennesaw State University strongly disagrees. We remember Mr. Zimbalist quite well. He huffed and puffed two decades ago that a new baseball stadium in Clearwater was a waste of taxpayer money. The economic results after 18 years of use have proven him quite wrong. The difference in Atlanta is the Braves are paying him a handsome sum (exact amount not revealed) for a favorable report. He had little credibility here two decades ago and the trust factor in suburban Atlanta isn’t exactly pegging the meter.

NEXT UP: MLB after the deadline; No buzz Diet Coke; 2024 Update

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