Metro I-4 News

You are browsing the archives of 2008 August.

“The police surrounded the St. Paul house where they were meeting even though they had no warrant, told them that anyone who exited the house would be arrested, and then — even though they finally, after several hours, obtained a warrant only for the house next door — basically broke into the house, pointed weapons [...]

Ever wanted to sing with a classic rock band? Have a dream of getting-up in front of everyone in Orlando and show them how much talent you’ve got? Well, now would seem to be your chance. While driving yesterday I heard a radio spot for WMMO’s “National Anthem Contest,” where one lucky Central [...]

The Pinellas Public Library Cooperative serves Pinellas County residents in member cities and the unincorporated county. The Cooperative office provides coordination of activities and funding as well as marketing services for the following 15 member libraries.

Clearwater Public Library System
Dunedin Library
East Lake Community Library

Gulf Beaches Library
Gulfport Library
Largo Library

Oldsmar Library
Palm Harbor Library
Pinellas Park Library

Pinellas Talking Book Library
Safety [...]

I’ve been keeping a close watch on the path of Hurricane Gustav, and the preperations being made for the storm’s expected landfall sometime Monday.

Thanfully, my oldest sister does not live near the coast, but approximately 90 miles inland near Collins, Mississippi in rural Covington County. However, she lives in a double wide trailer which experienced some light damage during Katrina three years ago, so obviously I called her moments ago to insure that she and her husband were making plans.

At present, she doesn’t seem to be too concerned, but I reminded her that her area would be likely in the northeast quadarant, which is the worst area of a hurricane or tropical storm to be in. She did mention that they would be picking up limbs and other items that could blow about as well as bagging up some items to put away in a higher area. I strongly encouraged her that considering she light damage from Katrina, they should seriously consider staying somewhere else at least tonight. I hope she heeds the warning.

The outermost bands of Gustav are expected to affect us here in Polk County today, which shows just how large this system is. We’re seeing some thunderstorms from those bands on radar south of us in Highlands and DeSoto counties, which are moving northward and should cause us a few hours of rainy weather.

Please keep the folks along the Gulf Coast in your thoughts and prayers.

photo credit: Tom Hagerty

Instead of sitting around staring at the internet I think I’m going to go have some drinks, go see a movie, and go eat some grilled meats.
See you on Tuesday when we’ll be kicking off Eating Tampa’s 2008 Best of Tampa search.
Happy Labor Day!

A couple of days ago I posted here that we may be looking at Gustav as Katrina 2, three years to the week that the New Orleans area was devestated. And the way that this map shows Gustav’s path, that may just be the case.

As you can see, the hurricane is forecast to become a catagory 5 storm almost anytime. As of the most recent advisory at 5PM, it’s highest sustained winds were just below that level (150 MPH).

I’m particulary concerned since I was born and raised in the Pine Belt region of southern Mississippi, and still have friends and relatives that live there, although well inland. That said, they will definately feel the pain during the next few days.

For anyone who may be interested in keeping up with what’s happening in real time, here are a few links:

http://www.wwltv.com/local/ - WWL-TV 4, New Orleans’ CBS affiliate
http://www.wdsu.com/index.html - WDSU-TV 6, New Orleans’ NBC affiliate
http://www.abc26.com/pages/main - WGNO-TV 26, New Orleans’ ABC affiliate
http://www.fox8live.com/ - WVUE-TV 8, New Orleans’ FOX affiliate
http://www.wwl.com - WWL AM/FM - New Orleans’ news/talk radio station.
http://www.nola.com - New Orleans Times Picayune, daily newspaper
http://www.wlox.com/ - WLOX-TV 13, South Mississippi’s ABC affiliate from Biloxi/Gulfport
http://www.sunherald.com/ - Sun Herald, South Mississippi’s daily newspaper from Biloxi/Gulfport
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com - Hattiesburg American, Pine Belt region’s daily newspaper
http://www.mpbonline.org/radio/ - Public Radio in Mississippi, the Magnolia State’s eight station statewide radio network.

…you’re likely to end-up anywhere. I just saved this little guy from getting run over, in the Delaney Park neighborhood. I just hope he learns to stay out of the road. (Sorry the quality’s not better. I took these pictures with my phone.)

Did you catch Klynn’s post yesterday on the new Publix GreenWise Markets? I’m really excited about these healthy-conscious stores coming to the Central Florida area.
Speaking of healthy-conscious stores, have you visited the new Whole Foods Market store in Dr. Phillips? It’s located at:
8003 Turkey Lake Road Phillips Crossing
Orlando, Florida 32819

It’s a massive, sensational [...]

I’m a huge fan of OverheardinNewYork.com. It’s a fun, unique insight into the lives of New York City residents.
I’ve often thought of starting a similar site about Orlando (trust me, I’ve heard some doozies of coversations here) but then, why not just add it as a feature of “Pulse of Central Florida”? [...]

We received another question for Ask-a-Tampan:
Does anyone know where I can buy cuban sugar cookies (from a bakery on Armenia Ave or La Terisita etc) and have them shipped to me in Tucson AZ?
YUMMMmmmmm…  Cuban Sugar Cookies…   Torticas de Morón…
Of course, when you are looking for authentic Cuban bakeries, Tampa is the place to go.  [...]

I hope you’ve already read the Ledger article, Lakeland Keeps Lawyer to Fight CSX. If not, I’ll wait.

“The city will keep its $200-per-hour Tallahassee land-use lawyer as it attempts to halt or slow the permitting of a huge CSX freight train terminal in southern Winter Haven.” - Ledger

The lead gets to the spleen of the question, but misses the heart. $200-an-hour is a shock to those of buying off the clearance rack at Target, but we’re left without context.

Who is David A. Theriaque? Certainly a named partner at his firm, but he’s also written books on water resource planning, is an instructor for Planning and Zoning Commission seminars.

OK, on the face he seems cognizant of the subject matter. What about some other questions for the City Council?

• Is $200-an-hour a going price for such attorneys?

• How many hours he has billed?

• What about expenses? Are those covered in Theriaque’s contract?

• What is the projected cost of using Theriaque?

• Has the city given Theriaque a contract with an upper limit?

• What has been the amount paid to Theriaque to date?

• Has the work Theriaque performed been applicable only to the CSX Winter Haven project, or will it cover a fight to stop CSX from moving traffic through Lakeland if the Orlando commuter rail fails to materialize?

I’m sure you could think of more, but that’s a start. Lakeland’s Director of Communications is out at least until Wednesday. He should be able to answer some of those questions when he returns.

photo credit: Chuck Welch

The Lakeland Flying Tigers and the Lakeland SPCA joined together last night for Bark in the Park, a evening of baseball and fun for dogs and their owners. Half of advanced ticket sales generated by the SPCA went to the charity. In addition, pooch passes were $1 to benefit the Lakeland animal shelter.

photo credit: Tom Hagerty

Last weekend, all the network chatters were in Denver for the Democratic National Convention. This Sunday, the attention shifts to St. Paul, Minnesota for the Republican Convention. We know where the discussion will be centered, so here are the people who will appear to put the GOP spin on things:

ABC NEWS / This Week with George Stephanopoulos: U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R - SC) and John Kerry (D - MA), along with Cindy McCain.

BAY NEWS 9 / Political Connections: Bay News 9 does not provide advance notice of the guests or topics for Political Connections.

CBS NEWS / Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman (I - CT), former New York City Mayor and GOP presidential candidate Rudolph Guiliani, McCain advisor Carly Fiorina, and New York Times and Weekly Standard columnist David Brooks.

CABLE NEWS NETWORK / Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd (D - CT), House Minority Leader John Boehner (R - OH), Congressman Eric Cantor (R - VA), former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D - SD), Governors Charlie Crist (R - FL), Tim Pawlenty (R - MN), and Mark Sanford (R - SC), former actor and GOP presidential candidate Fred Dalton Thompson, and McCain advisor Nancy Pfotenhauer. Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator R. David Paulison will also appear on the weekend of Hurricane Katrina’s strike on the Gulf Coast three years ago (not to mention as Hurricanes Gustav and possibly Hanna approach).

FOX NEWS / Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace: Republican presidential nominee-apparant and U.S. Senator John McCain (R - AZ).

NBC NEWS / Meet the Press: McCain National Campaign Co-Chair Governor Tim Pawlenty (R - MN), NBC News correspondents David Gregory and Andrea Mitchell, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, and GOP strategist Mike Murphy.

SYNDICATED / The Chris Matthews Show: As of early Friday evening, the panelists and subjects for discussion had not been announced on the programme’s Web site. Please check back for updates.

WEDU-TV 3 / Florida This Week with Rob Lorei: WEDU does not provide advance notice of the panelists and topics to be presented.

WFTS-TV 28 / Flashpoint with Brendan McLaughlin: St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker will be Brendan’s guest.

A Publix spokeswoman confirms that Orlando will be home to two new GreenWise Markets. (Source: Orlando Business Journal)

If you’re a fan of Fresh Market or Whole Foods, you’ll LOVE GreenWise! After becoming a frequent shopper at the Palm Beach Gardens location, I was hooked.
Preliminary plans are to convert the Albertsons on Dr. Phillips Blvd. into [...]