Sunday June 30, 2013

Foster's 828

Here is an e-mail from Anna Koivu. (Posted with permission) I received in response to my Post 828 Should Probably Wait:

Doc, you're right again: "828" should wait. Having a pier or plans for one is not an emergency. Nobody will die if St. Petersburg remains pierless.

Question: Mayor Foster says that there "must" be a pier. Why??? Just because St. Petersburg had a pier for a long time does not mean that it MUST have a pier now or anytime soon or ever, for that matter. When the universe was created, St. Petersburg wasn't "born" with a pier. Besides, St. Petersburg did have a pier until Memorial Day. So Mayor Foster shot himself in the foot by closing it down, and with it, one of the last remaining natural treasures in St. Petersburg: the Dolphin Cruise with its delightful Captain. That attraction was like something out of Old Florida, reminiscent of Sunken Gardens, which is one of the very last bastions in the city that even hints at the beauty that has been stamped out by gigantic condo towers and other types of overdevelopment.

 Yet all people could talk about in regard to the closing of the pier was the Colombia Restaurant (overly expensive and highly overrated, I think) and its supposed reincarnation as an "anchor" destination upon the completion of the "Lens." (In regard to the "Lens," by the way, the aphorism "Build It and They Will Come" does not apply.) 

Now Mayor Foster is afraid that he can't be reelected. Boo-hoo. Maybe he should have thought about that possibility while he was ramming the "Lens" down the throats of the citizens. So suddenly he wants to scrap the "Lens." Can he get any more obvious or any more pathetic about his real intention, which is merely to keep his job? And if there is a commission formed for considering the POSSIBILITY of having a pier once again in St. Petersburg, it should be FILLED with grocery clerks, truck drivers, secretaries, plumbers, teachers, postal carriers, grass cutters, mechanics, fruit pickers, window washers, and other people who are the salt of the earth. THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE HAS BEEN IGNORED TOO LONG.

 Moreover, all of the arguing in St. Petersburg is driving people away. Who wants to live in a community where people can't get along with one another? Not me. I know that I'm glad that I decided to move away when I did about two years ago. The constant bickering over something as insignificant as a pier (and in the big scheme of things, a pier is absolutely insignificant) is not at all good for St. Petersburg, which is NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE, despite what the Mayor and City Council seem to believe--and its citizens, too.

Hey, folks--get out of town for a while and go someplace where nobody gives two cents about the pier, and that's 99% of the country and 99.99% of the rest of the world. Nobody outside of St. Petersburg is waiting with bated breath for what will become of the "Lens" or any other possible new design for the waterfront. Moreover, St. Petersburg throws all of its money in one place--at the tourists who visit downtown--rather than at its own people and their problems.

Consider the crime rate in St. Petersburg, for example, particularly downtown. It is absolutely shameful. It's ironic: If the tourists knew the reality of the crime rate downtown, they would never visit. Now I live in a city that offers everything that St. Petersburg offers and more (minus the high crime rate--we don't have to live in gated communities to be safe here--not to mention that I no longer have to deal with the stifling heat and humidity nine months out of the year) and without all of the constant bickering that accompanies day-to-day life in St. Petersburg. I know because I lived there for eight long years until I decided that enough was enough.

Pinellas County School Board

The Pinellas Education Foundation this week had some budget suggestions for the School Board: fresher cafeteria food, fewer  portable classrooms, limiting payouts for sick leave, cutting 5 percent of district staffers and compressing the teacher pay scale. Reducing administrative overhead has long been a serious need; let’s hope the School Board listens.

Bill Foster on the Pier

The Mayor appeared to once again flip/flop on the Pier Wednesday when he said his new 828 Committee could recommend reopening the inverted pyramid. Makes you wonder why he was so dead set to close it in the first place.

Karl Nurse on Why I am Running for Re-election

"Four years ago, you rewarded me with a full term on the St. Petersburg City Council. Your strong support is why we’ve made real progress in our community, despite economic headwinds and other challenges. It’s why we’ve been able to pass measures to prevent crime, create a foreclosure registry, and rehabilitate homes throughout Midtown. I’m pleased that we’re making progress, but I’m not satisfied. That’s why I’m running for re-election.

St. Pete Pride

Eric Skains, executive director of St Pete Pride, in a news release. “Without all the decades of shaming and discrimination directed towards the LGBT community, there never would have been a need for a day to stand up and be seen. And now, a day that began out of that defiance is a celebration of the milestone towards true equality.”

"I dub it as Tampa Bay's pride, not just St. Petersburg Pride," said Eric Skains, executive director of St. Pete Pride.

"I'm calling Bob Buckhorn the Tampa Bay mayor," Carrie West said.

Equality of Florida announced its support for Rick Kriseman "As a legislator and as a St Petersburg City Council member, Rick Kriseman has been a champion for equality,” said Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith. “I am proud to have the support of the LGBT community,” said Kriseman. “As mayor, I will ensure that St. Petersburg remains a city that values and celebrates diversity.”

It was a great but damp Pride Festival, See my see my St. Pete Pride 2013 for a photo gallery of the event.

e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend request.