Established in 2014 and published every Sunday, Tampa Bay Rants and Raves is a weekly airing of local and national news, politics, sports and historical notes from a politically incorrect viewpoint.

First thing on our mind:

For only the fifth time in 100 years, Christmas and the beginning of Hanukah fall on the same day.

Leading off: How ‘bout those Rays?

Both governing bodies involved in the new stadium for the Rays have stepped up and voted on indebtedness that will allow the project to move forward. But that doesn’t seem to be enough for the rather cavalier Rays. They keep wanting more and more concessions from local government as though the delays caused by two major hurricanes were the county’s fault. Maybe the Rays should look around to other areas of the country where referendums on new sports construction or expansion have gone down to defeat more often than not.

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

Related to our lead article, Commissioner Chris Latvala said the reason he changed his vote from nay to yea was MLB’s top dog Rob Manfred, saying he trusts Manfred more than Rays owner Stu Sternberg. That’s like saying you trust Putin more than Xi Jinping.

As we celebrate the 55^th anniversary of putting a man on the moon this year, it’s hard to realize their spacecraft had just a fraction of the technology present in today’s iPhones.

Of all of Joe Biden’s 1500 some pardons, the most egregious was his pardon of a Pennsylvania judge who, with a fellow judge, accepted over $3 million in bribes to sentence juvenile offenders to a disreputable for profit lockup.

With last week’s Georgia Court of Appeals decision, it looks like Fani Willis’ 15 minutes of fame is coming to a close.

The Biden Energy Department is making a $6 billion loan to EV startup Rivian. Like most EV manufacturers, Rivian has bled money since it opened its doors over a decade ago, losing $100,000 on each vehicle.

Related: Two of the largest offshore car manufacturers, Nissan and Honda are being linked to merger talks. That would be interesting. Together they sell about 7.5 million units a year – far short of Toyota’s 11.5 million.

We’re thinking some holdovers from the Harris campaign are running PR for Amazon’s striking drivers.

One more fruitcake item (see TBRR 12/8 & 15). We would be remiss without mentioning Claxton Fruitcake of Claxton, Ga. For years, they have thrived on club fund raising projects where people buy them from service clubs and then throw them out on the way home. Sorry, we’ve been too rough on fruitcakes this holiday season.

We do note, however, in our Focus Group question earlier this month (TBRR 12/1/24) about essential holiday foods and treats, not a mention of fruitcake.

So long to Big Lots and Party City. Both companies with stores in the bay area have announced plans to close.

Holiday note from the 5:05 Newsletter: Fresh off the case of George Bailey, Clarence the Angel visited California Governor Gavin Newsom to show him what California could be like if he had never been born. “I just picked him up and flew him over to Florida.”

Five years ago in TBRR: Time’s implausible choice for “person of the year” is 16-year-old Greta Thunberg an “environmental activist” who in her efforts leaves a carbon footprint equal to a large fleet of tractor trailers.

Sports, media and other notes:

By the way, if you’ve ever wondered what happened to the now 21-year-old Greta, she now still shows up at occasional climate rallies as well as her newest passion, pro-Palestinian rallies. Sounds like a lovely child.

Topping the charts this week in 1974 was Helen Reddy’s Angie Baby, followed by Elton John’s Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (which would climb to #1 the next week) and at #3 was You’re My First, My Last, My Everything by Barry White.

From our “things you might remember if you’re older than dirt” file – pretty much all of us had our “high tech” View Masters at one point in our lives.

You’ve lived in the bay area (or anywhere else) if you remember when there were six bowl games – Cotton, Gator, Orange, Rose, Sugar and Sun. This year there are 35, not counting all the playoff games.

The king of stolen bases, Rickey Henderson, passed away last week just shy of his 66th birthday. Rickey, who played for nine different teams, including the Oakland A’s three times, was born Christmas Day 1958.

One last thing: An enduring reply

“No, Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, 10 times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.” The concluding paragraph of the New York Sun’s Francis Church’s famous Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus letter of 1897.

Next week: Our annual year in review

122224/540

Sorry, time does not permit replies to comments.

Merry Christmas!