Many stations here in the Tampa Bay area did so earlier today.  As of 8:00 PM, only two stations — independent WMOR-TV 32 and Spanish language Univision affiliate WFTT-TV 50 still had their analog signals on, but by the end of tonight those will be gone as well. 

It is surprising — even after more than a year of preparing viewers for the switch — just how many people have waited until the last minute to purchase the sets or converter boxes necessary to pick up the digital signals.  Even if people can’t afford the expensive digital sets, converter boxes to make the signals receivable to your traditional analog set aren’t THAT expensive…and the government gives you a $40 coupon toward the purchase of one!

For some of us not forking over the monthly cost for cable, it doesn’t help completely.  CBS affiliate WTSP-TV 10 is still not visible from my second floor apartment near I-4 in north Lakeland, and NBC station WFLA-TV 8 can be iffy.  Well, you get what you pay for…

Daytona Beach News-Journal:  Dealing in Secrecy – The newspaper notes that the legislative session recently ended was not good for champions of open government and open records.  The politicos in Tallahassee passed eight of between 50 and 60 proposals for exemptions to the public records law, twice as many as last year.

Orlando Sentinel:  Florida Legislature’s Leaders and Letdowns for 2009 -  Today, the focus is on the area’s State Senators.  The Sentinel points out three senators it calls leaders, all Republicans:  Lee Constantine, Thad Altman, and Andy Gardiner.  On the other end, the CSX/SunRail deal was a big part of it’s decision to brand their letdown senators:  Democrat Gary Siplin and Republicans Evelyn Lynn, Paula Dockery, Carey Baker, and Mike Haridopolos.

Ms. Dockery came in for special mention due to her leadership against SunRail/CSX:

Ms. Dockery’s district includes Osceola. She couldn’t have cared less about it, however. She led the charge to kill SunRail, ostensibly to spare her city of Lakeland in Polk County some freight trains that consequently would have been rerouted there.

Lo and behold, CSX is routing some trains there anyway — and without the sound and track improvements Lakeland would have gotten had SunRail passed. Way to go, Ms. Dockery.

Lakeland Ledger:  Governor Crist’s Senate Campaign: Running While Governing – The editorial points out that Crist is experienced at holding office and campaigning statewide at the same time – this will be his third time – but never with the stakes so high in our state.  So the question it asks is wheather “Crist can be a candidate for Senate, and both a positive voice and a tireless advocate for the state, as governor, during the next two difficult years”.

Tampa Tribune:  Property Tax Tweaks Won’t Bring Equality – The paper’s position is that the Legislature refused to repair major flaws as to how property is taxes in Florida, choosing to offer a constitutional amendment on next year’s ballot which would give a tax incentive to people who have not owned a home in eight years…which it says does nothing to improve the tax structure.

St. Petersburg Times:  Enough Of This – The paper calls on Governor Charlie Crist to stand up to pressures from the business and development community and veto Senate Bill 360, which it says would create more traffic jams and urban sprawl.  It notes that “In Pinellas, Hillsborough and a half-dozen other large counties, developers no longer would have to pay for road improvements to accommodate the traffic many of their projects generate. In the Tampa Bay area alone, that would mean the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for road projects. State and local governments already are delaying road projects because of a shortage of public money, so don’t expect taxpayers to pick up the costs that should be paid by developers.”

At last evening’s Polk County Democratic Executive Committee meeting in Bartow, Navy veteran Doug Tudor of Riverview announced that he filed the necessary paperwork on Friday to become a candidate for the 12th District Congressional seat being vacated by Republican incumbant and Agriculture & Consumer Services Commissioner wannabe Adam Putnam.  Tudor ran for the seat two years ago and made a surprisingly strong showing against (at the time) the third highest ranking Republican in the House of Representatives.

Tudor’s announcement was a foregone conclusion, as he has been making appearances in front of a number of groups throughout the district, which covers the vast majority of Polk County as well as a portion of Hillsborough County.  He will likely face Polk County Supervisor of Elections and former state legislator Lori Edwards in a Democratic primary race.

Of course, the big news — also considered by many to be a foregone conclusion — is that Governor Charlie Crist will likely officially announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat which will be vacated by fellow Republican Mel Martinez.  This primary match against former House Speaker Marco Rubio will be touted as a brawl for the heart and soul of the state Republican Party, with Rubio representing the strongly conservative base and Crist being the more moderate face of the GOP.

The Rubio camp has already taken their first shots, according to this excerpt from the Lakeland Ledger‘s Joe Follick:

“Given the huge problems facing Florida right now, I am surprised Gov. Crist is already thinking about hitting the campaign trail and heading to Washington,” said [Rubio campaign Manager Brian] Seitchik.

“Between an unsigned budget, dire budget projections and cuts, mountains of pending legislation, the unsolved insurance crisis, the ongoing mortgage and housing disaster, historically high unemployment, struggling schools and a 2009 hurricane season just weeks away, this is hardly the time for the governor to cast his eyes toward greener pastures.”

The statement from Rubio’s campaign was similar to that of the Florida Democratic Party, which has been joined by national Democratic groups in ratcheting up the attacks on Crist.

“At a time when Florida needs real leadership, unfortunately Charlie Crist is running from the mess he created, which is why Floridians are going to send Crist into retirement come Election Day,” said spokesman Eric Jotkoff.

And Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio dashed the hopes of many Democrats Monday by stating that she would finish her term which ends in March, 2011.  One of the most recognizable Dems on the state scene, a number of supporters were hoping that she would run for the U.S. Senate or State Chief Financial Officer should Democratic incumbant Alex Sink decides to run for governor.

Remember, there’s still nearly 18 more months to go…that means lots more political news to go.

This morning’s editorial in the St. Petersburg Times says that Tampa Bay leaders and the state should work to revive Metro Orlando’s idea of the SunRail proposed commuter rail system.  But while Central Florida — as well as Tampa Bay — should have commuter rail,  it will require reworking financing and liability to more fairly spread the risks and that the costs need to make sense and the model needs to work for other communities.

Meanwhile, the Orlando Sentinel opinion page says it is simply crazy not to try and revive the SunRail idea, saying that “the consequences of letting go of SunRail are colossally bad for the region and the state. (It’s not just about us, senators.).”  As for the liability issue that was the main reason it was defeated in the State Senate, the newspaper notes that “Amtrak, which has liability agreements in place for the commuter trains it operates in California, Virginia, Connecticut and Maryland, potentially could apply them to SunRail — and operate the train…It’s also possible that a transportation authority or commission representing the Central Florida system might assume the liability.”

This morning’s Tampa Tribune calls for Governor Charlie Crist (R) to veto the growth bill approved by the Legislature as it could bring a sudden stop to a number of road projects which developers have already agreed to fund in Hillsborough County.  The newspaper’s opinion is that “Under the change, it appears that developers could pass the buck for most if not all transportation and school improvements.”

And the Daytona Beach News-Journal has some ideas as to how the Legislature could have done better in their attempt to improving a state budget that this year noone was happy with.  For instance:   “Senators wanted to join an interstate compact to collect sales tax on Internet sales — which could funnel $2 billion or more into state coffers while giving a fair shake to bricks-and-mortar merchants who own stores in Florida. Several lawmakers also advocated closing dozens of sales-tax exemptions, including fishing-boat charters, skybox tickets and movie-studio equipment rental, and reforming the state’s corporate income tax to capture profits currently channeled out of state.”

The DBN-J reminds lawmakers that they should focus on Florida’s biggest needs:  Education. Health care. Environmental protection. Public safety. Fiscal prudence. “Clinging to a no-new-taxes mantra, while letting those priorities suffer, will have long-term impacts on the state’s fiscal soundness — and make future painful budget-cutting sessions more likely.”

The Tampa Tribune calls the regional transportation plan which was unveiled Friday “an exciting departure from the piecemeal approach that has long frustrated commuters and hurt commerce…The seven-county map shows preferred routes for light rail, express buses and managed highway lanes. Together the projects are a realistic assessment of what could be done over the next 25 years to tie the region together and help it achieve its economic potential.” 

Across the Bay, the St. Petersburg Times calls the plan for light rail “the right path”, and notes that the plan released Friday is “a major step toward building a 21st century transportation system”.  However, it also mentions that in the current recession, area leaders will have to sell the idea to voters in plain, pratical terms.

Looking at the eastern side of the I-4 corridor, the opinion page of today’s Daytona Beach News Journal says that both Governor Charlie Crist’s projected pact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and an idea in the Legislature to expand gambling options at parimutual locations across Florida, including 24 hour operation, “stink”.  It notes that “Expanded wagering is a bad bet for Florida” and mentions studies that link both increased domestic violence and suicides as well as increased demand for social services related to problem gambling.  The editorial calls on legislators to quit “dodging their duty to deal realistically with the state’s troubled budget”.

And the Orlando Sentinel reminds us of several instances of pit bull attacks over the past several years in calling on the Legislature to repeal the law passed in 1990 which restricts local governments from regulating imposing rules for specific breeds of animals.  The Sentinel editorial board even notes that “We, too, were once opposed to breed-specific regulations. But times change, and we’re seeing too many people are getting hurt, or killed”.

Make it a great Sunday.  And I close with some words written by Moody Blues lead singer Justin Hayward back in 1987:

“The words that I remember from my childhood still are true, That there’s none so blind as though who will not see; And to those who lack the courage and say it’s dangerous to try, Well they just don’t know that love eternal will not be denied.”

That won’t happen, at least for now.  But for the first time in more than a month, the forecast gives us a better than minimal chance of showers or thunderstorms Saturday night through Sunday afternoon.  What we expect to receive will be the remnamt of a large system that over the past days has spawned tornados and severe weather through much of the Mid-South, including a tornado that destroyed or damaged a number of homes in the small Central Mississippi town of Magee and surrounding area.  Thankfully, it’s energy should have weakened significantly before then, and we should only get the southernmost edge of it’s effect.

The National Weather Service is forecasting in Lakeland a quarter and a half inch of rain possible for Saturday night and Sunday each, but conditions will continue to be quite windy, with gusts as high as 31 MPH at times Saturday.

So if you have to head out this weekend, just be sure you keep your umbrella handy and, if you’re driving, be especially careful as once the rain first begins it will loosen the oil that has accumulated on the street and would cause a lot of slippin’ and slidin’.  Be safe.

I followed Paige on her journey of how she made her own strawberry shortcake… Enjoy (I hope this makes you hungry.)

(Reading this on your iphone? Direct link to YouTube Video.)

Florida State Fair – Feb. 5-16

Florida Strawberry Festival – Feb. 26-March 8

Greek Festival of Polk County – Feb. 13,14,15 (I have gone to this event for the past 13 years if not longer. Great food and time. Looking to try something new? This is your event!)

Ribs on the Ridge – Feb. 21, Haines City. (Missed The Lakeland Pig Fest? Try Ribs on the Ridge.)

Wild Game and Steak Dinner by Lakeland South Rotary – Feb. 20

Pancake Festival – Feb., 14, 7:00am-7:00pm

Know of other events, festivals or food events coming up in the Orlando, Tampa or Winter Haven area? Leave a comment so we all can know and go!

I don’t envy walking in the cold.

You can see and hear more of Frank Gruber at Somewhatfrank and @somewhatfrank.

Update: More Frank in DC

Streamed video and a Flickr set of photos.

Brian Moore is from Spring Hill, and is the Socialist Party USA candidate for the White House. Before coming to the Sunshine State, Mr. Moore ran twice as an independent candidate for Mayor of Washington, DC. Since coming here, he has run twice for Congress from the Fifth District in 2002 and 2004, as well as for the U.S. Senate two years ago. He holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Arizona State University, and runs his own executive recruitment firm specializing in health related fields.

To date, Moore and vice presidential running mate Stewart Alexander of Los Angeles have only been qualified to be on the ballot in two battleground state — Florida and Ohio — and their Website notes that they hope to achieve a place on the ballot in as many as a dozen state. Their campaign has filed federal lawsuits seeking ballot status in Louisiana and Mississippi

Moore was in town this evening as part of the weekly community forum series presented by Lakeland’s Uniterian Universialist Congregation, and was scheduled to speak in the topic �How America Can Change from Capitalism to Socialism.�

So much for that…

One other item of interest: GOP Vice Presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin had planned to hold an outdoor rally at The Villages retirement community on Sunday, but that event has now been scrapped. Tampa Tribune political reporter William Marsh mentioned on his blog Marsh On Politics that the rally was taken off the schedule — this time because of a 30 percent chance of rain forecast for the area. Marsh also noted that this is the second time that a planned visit to Central Florida by John McCain’s running mate has fallen through.

It’s the second week of the college rankings for Florida, which means we can expect to see a good deal of shift at the top of the rankings from last week. An important note on my rankings, they are based largely on the schedule already played and not on a more subjective analysis of how good I think the team is. For those familiar with Dr. Saturday (formerly SMQB) I am following a similar objective analysis of teams schedules.

1. South Florida (3-0)
As the only Florida team to beat a ranked team (Kansas) the Bulls earn the top spot for this week. Of concern for the Bulls, as a defensive team they are likely to continue playing in close games. The law of averages says eventually that will backfire on the Bulls.

2. Florida (2-0)
A bye week for Florida before they play Tennessee this week. And yes, the Gators are the more talented team than USF but have not yet proven that.

3. Miami (1-1)
Miami remains high in the rankings after an impressive game last week against the Gators. They are roughly interchangeable with UCF, as both lost close games to superior teams.

4. Central Florida (2-1)
With a win against lowly South Carolina State the Golden Knights do not move in the rankings.

5. Florida State (2-0)
I give more stock to teams that played tight against superior teams (i.e. Miami and UCF) than teams which have so far beaten up on cream puffs. FSU may be much improved from last season but we won’t have an accurate gauge of the Noles until they play Wake this weekend.

6. Florida Atlantic (1-2)
Someone in the Big Ten must have sent out a memo on the Owls because after playing Michigan State last weekend, FIU plays Minnesota this week.

7. Florida International (0-2)
Are the Golden Panthers the worst team in Division 1-A? They’re close. Sports Illustrated has them ranked as the second worst team.

Thing One: Getting in on the ground floor of any movement or trend is an appealing thought. Your chance to make big profits, be a big shot, re-invent yourself. But the reality of ground-flooring an urbanist movement on the new city frontiers is that of guts, risk, and hard, gritty work.

It seems to me that if your vision of a revitalized city neighborhood seems eminently do-able and just around the corner, it is far too late for ground-flooring. When the local zoning, law enforcement and neighborhood schools and shopping districts are on the way up, so are the property values and speculators.

Historically, who have been the first in?

• Artists of all kinds seeking work and performance space
• Small business people seeking non-retail square footage
• DINK couples (Double Income, No Kids), including and especially gay people
• Students and young people

Which places in the Tampa Bay area appeal to this demographic?

My suspicion is that if it is going to happen on a macro scale, urban pioneering is already happening in subtler, hidden but substantial ways. Without any media coverage. In neighborhoods that are a little, or a lot, scary. Places you don’t visit or have forgotten about. Places that are unpleasant to look at.

Thing Two: Sprawls like the Tampa Bay area have been described as �soulless�, but to the degree than any place has a soul, certainly the Tampa Bay area must have one. Perhaps it is a diffuse essence which is, like everything else in the Sunbelt, spread too thin to be distinctly visible.� What is the Tampa-ness of Tampa Bay? What is the special thing that makes it not, say, suburban New Jersey? Or Jacksonville?

Here are some things that do not give regional definition to the Tampa Bay area:

• Architecture
• Transportation
• Industry (other than tourism)
• Entertainment
• Artistic/Musical/Literary Tradition
• Cuisine

So what is the Tampa Bay brand?

The forums will take place in the County Commission chamber at the Neil Combee County Administration Building, 330 West Church Street in Bartow.

The first event, to be held on October 7, will focus on the constitutional and charter amendments which will appear on the ballot. The following week will feature candidates for the Polk County Commission, with the October 21 forum concentrating on candidates for the United States Congress and Florida Senate.

These will be great events to meet and hear the various candidates for office, and an informed electorate helps all of us.

Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox won this afternoon against Toronto 4-3, taking the four game series three games to one and bringing them into one game of the Rays in the race for the American League title.

The next three nights could determine that championship, as the Rays and BoSox face off starting Monday at Tropicana Field. Ace pitcher Scott Kazmir (11 – 6)will take the mound for the home team, facing off against Daisuke Matsuzaka (16 – 2).

If there is a series where the local baseball fans’ support is needed, this is it. Let’s hope the Rays’ fans pack the Trop for all three games!

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers came away with a 24 – 9 home NFL win against Atlanta this afternoon.

And congratulations to the South Florida Bulls, who in a nationally televised Friday night matchup of Top-25 teams defeated (some would actually say UPSET) the Kansas Jayhawks at Raymond James Stadium 37 – 34…thanks to a last second field goal by Lake Wales true freshman Maikon Bonani. This weekend will be one of those games where a team just coming off a huge win could be embarrassed easily, as the Bulls help Florida International University open it’s new stadium in Miami.

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention that my beloved Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles now own a record of 2 – 1 with victories against Louisiana – Lafayette and Arkansas State sandwiched between a loss at Auburn. This weekend will open a three game homestand and the start of the Golden Eagles’ Conference USA schedule against Marshall. GO EAGLES!!!