What's Up With the Library?

The Times had an article about the New Tampa Library.

"Backers of the New Tampa Regional Library received preliminary approval this week for a major expansion that might include a coffee shop and an after-school children's program.

The Hillsborough County Library Board, responsible for setting priorities in its budget, placed the plan among its top three unfunded projects."

This was a library at the bottom of the list.

"The new ranking is a "huge victory," said Said Iravani, who chairs the Committee for the Expansion of the New Tampa Regional Library. "It's like a miracle," Iravani said. "We were at the bottom of the list"
So where is the Seminole Heights Library? According to thid article:

"Currently at the top of the list is expansion of the Seminole Heights library, which, during peak hours, has people waiting outside its doors."

How did the New Tampa Library get moved up?

"In the past year, New Tampa residents have lobbied library leaders to pay attention to their needs. The New Tampa branch is the second busiest in the 25-library system."

So exactly where is the Seminole Heights expansion at?

Stanton Stupidly Sacked

So, someone gets great evaluations at work and then begins the process of sex change operation and he gets fired. Shame on the Largo City Council members for out and out discrimination against Steve Stanton.

This man did well in his job for a long time. Shame, shame,shame. I guess Largo City Council is saying women can't do the job as well as men.

This is why Hillsborough County - (actually Florida) needs anti-discrimination law for sexual orientation. Your performance should be the only thing that counts. Not who you kiss.

Seminole Heights Playgroups Grows Bigger

Recently the Seminole Heights Playgroups about doubled in size. One of the members ran into a group of other parents who were trying to start a playgroup, and once they heard of the Seminole Heights Playgroup, they joined forces.

Tommorrow they are having a Spring Picnic. Someone have offered their services as a babysitter. People are going to the local La Leche League meetings, going to the aquarium and other events. There is about 30 members.

It is a great resource for parents in Seminole Heights.

Randy Baron's Victory Party

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Come one come all To Randy Baron's Victory Party Tuesday nite at 8 - ??? at the Front Porch. Cash Bar and free pizza.

Everyone is welcome.

Have you voted yet? Only a few days left.

Because this is a boring minor election to many people (it's only the City of Tampa, not the Presidential race) a lot of people will not vote. However these are the people who have the first impact on your life. Crime, potholes, sewage, code enforcement etc, etc, etc are the issues the people in this City Council race will deal with. If you don't vote, you get what you did not vote for.

I have voted in every election I was eligible to vote in since I turned 18, even when I was overseas. The amazing thing is how easy it is to vote now. You can vote two weeks in advance at a variety of locations. When I voted for this election, I took off a few minute early from work and drove to the College Hill Library. It only took me 5 minutes to vote. 5 minutes. Simple and easy.

Compare this to elections in other countries, where you are not allowed to vote (because you are a woman) or you have to risk your life to vote because of armed gunmen, or where you have to wait for hours in long lines.

5 minutes. It takes longer to smoke a cigarette (or a joint).

Vote. It does a City good.

I often wonder, what it would be like if the Government kept track of those who voted and those who did not. What if you called to complain about a problem, the goverment person responded. "Sorry, Sir/Madam. You did not vote so we will not listen to your complaint".

My last Acid Trip was in Seminole Heights.

Comments Are fixed

For now anyways. Lets see what other problems blogger throws at us.

Moving Day

Today we moved out of Seminole Heights to Lutz. We now live off of Hanna and Sunset.

One thing I have realized is that living in a 1986 concrete block home is going to be a snap, because I have earned a Master's or PhD in Seminole Heights. I have learned so much both in activism and in working on a home. I have developed many new skills in our 7 years in here/there. I learned to love electrical work, after completely wiring Susan's studio and our new kitchen. So in the new house dealing with the face plates that have fallen off and the outlets that are loose will be a no brainer. Aside from new skills, I think the most important thing you learn is self confidence, the ability to tackle anything, especially since an old house always has surprises. Both in my time at the Hit Team and from watching and listening to neighbors just around, it is amazing what projects people tackle. I am amazed at what I tackled. Before I moved into Seminole Heights, I never would had thought I would remodel a kitchen.

I must note however, in earning my PhD, I hated the elective on drywall.

Rincon Catracho - update

My finacee' and I ate there last night. The food was as good as you'd expect and the one waitress they had did speak English, but that's about the end of what I can say good.

The parking lot was indeed full, as indicated before, yet there was only one other table inside that had people at it eating dinner. Oddly, even though the large restaurant was practically barren, the table we sat at was dirty -- having not been wiped off after the last diners.

They have a TV in there showing hispanic videos and old MTV clips. It was turned up so loud that we could not hear each other talk (although we were about a foot away from each other). We asked the waitress to turn it down for us, which she did.

They also had a few guys standing and sitting around, seemingly doing nothing in the place. Although that fact didn't bother us, the excessive noice and strangely loud speaking was a distraction from the nice, casual dining experience we were hoping for.

Depsite previous reports, there is no American food on the menu. As for the menu, it's mostly in Spanish and many listings don't have English translations. That made it very hard for me to order -- and my fiancee' just made special order.

Having only two tables with diners, I felt the food came out very slow. And when it did, I got my meal about 6-7 minutes before my finacee' got hers. It was a bit awkward to eat while my meal was still hot, while trying not to feel rude about it.

To their credit, it looks like they might be taking down those obstructing walls that separate the restaurant from the parking lot; but as for now, there was no lighting as you appoached the restaurant doors -- making the place seem scary and unsafe on the outside when it got dark.

They are also working on the landscaping, which I hope will at least give the place a aestetically pleasing appearance from the road.

All in all, when compared to the places on Armenia, this one is not 100% terrible. I don't know how they'll stay open though; but I've said that about better (local) places like it and they've stuck around for years..

One things for certain, with the opening of the Coppa Cafe and Rincon Catracho in Seminole Heights, there's no shortage of locations to get latin food up and down Armenia and Florida Avenues.

ONE WICKED TICKET!

My daughter, (poor college student) has ended up with a single ticket for WICKED this Saturday night performance 8:00 pm and would love to sell it....Cost $79......if interested, please respond to
SilversunD@aol.com asap!!
This is an awesome performance!!
Make an offer! Help her out,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,buy this ticket!!

Alessi's Block Re-Development - FOR SALE

I didn't see this posted previously, so please excuse me if this news is redundant. I just wanted to point out the the property that's been complained about in past postings -- owned by Alessi's and located on the east side of Nebraska Ave. between Louisiana Ave. and New Orleans Ave. -- is for sale for "block re-develiopment." It appears to include the front storage building, the shanty house behind it and the adjacent property to the south of it where unused Allessi lemonade stands are usually parked . That opens a huge chunk of land from just north of Osborne, south to New Orleans Ave. (with the exception of that drive-thru convenience store).

Just imagine all that could be done to improve that stretch of area.

Candles As Art?

Have Candles As Art been snuffed out? I drove by today and noticed all their signs are down.

Rabies Bait

Raccoons carry rabies. So the State of Florida and local counties have a program of flying over the County and dropping Oral Rabies Baits called RABORAL V-RG. You may have heard planes flying very low in the middle of the night. They were dropping these.

Here is what the bait looks like.

"WHAT IS IT?
RABORAL V-RG® is a recombinant vaccine that has been approved for the oral immunization of raccoons and coyotes against rabies. The recombinant vaccine is encased inside a plastic packet. The packets, also called sachets, are encased inside solid fishmeal baits or the sachets are simply covered in a fishmeal-based coating. These bait units, each containing a single dose of RABORAL V-RG, are distributed into wildlife habitat, where they are sought out and eaten by raccoons and coyotes.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
RABORAL V-RG® immunizes the raccoon or coyote as the sachet is consumed during the eating process. The vector-vaccine virus infects the oral tissues and produces an immune response against rabies. The vaccine is produced using a Vaccinia virus that has been attenuated and contains only a small portion of the genetic material of the rabies pathogen, not the complete rabies virus. Therefore, it is impossible for this recombinant vaccine to produce the disease it was designed to prevent. RABORAL V-RG® vaccine will not cause rabies. After eating the vaccine, it only takes 10-14 days for a raccoon or coyote to become protected against rabies.

HOW IS IT USED?
Each year in the United States approximately 12 million doses of RABORAL V-RG® are distributed into wildlife habitats. The vaccine is distributed by airplane, helicopter or by hand to reach the target species. The location and number of baits used depends on the goals of the rabies control efforts. Radio messages, TV announcements and posters are used in communities to alert citizens of upcoming baiting programs. Baits have a toll-free number printed on their surface. When that number is called, the call will be immediately routed to local rabies control program offices. "

What if I find a bait unit? If a bait is found in your yard, driveway, street or other area that is not suitable, you should contact your local public health officials at 1-877-RABORAL (1-877-722-6725). A person under 18 years of age or who is pregnant or immuno-suppressed should not touch the RABORAL V-RG® bait.

What if my dog or cat eats a bait unit? Since the bait units are manufactured to attract wild animals, they might also attract dogs and cats. The bait itself is made of fishmeal and other materials and does not contain vaccine, the vaccine is in the polymer sachet. Most domestic cats cannot penetrate the polymer bait, thus rarely eat the vaccine container. Remember you should never attempt to take a bait away from your pet, as you may be bitten. Should your pet eat the RABORAL V-RG® bait unit in its entirety, it has been demonstrated safe in more than 50 species of animals including dogs. Please note that if your pet has eaten a bait unit, this is not considered to be a vaccination. Please consult your veterinarian for your pet's vaccination needs.

A Mystery...Anyone know about this?

From an email....

This morning while walking Pebbles along River park, she was
excitedly picking up (and quickly eating) somethin). My daughter
said it was dog treats, and the first 3-4 times I ignored it, then we
started taking them away from her, and I have no idea what it is. It
appears to be very small (1 1/2" x 1/4") packets filled with bright
pink liquid. From the debris we could pull away from Pebbles, it
looks like 3 or 4 of these packets were folded in half and covered
with a wax box (about a 1/4 inch thick). Here is the weird part.
The wax was covered with a substance that I thought at first was
cardboard, and my daughter thought was dog treats. It is an organic
composite that smells like fish emulsion (ugh - but obviously the
reason Pebbles was so excited).

We found these along the sidewalk from Crest all the way to the south
end of the park, where Pebbles pulled me through the bush, towards
the houses that are on therfiver at the south end of the big walking
loop.

What are they? If they are poisonous (perhaps rat bait?) we are very
lucky that Pebbles is large, she so far seems to be fine.

If any one can help us solve this mystery, we would appreciate it.

Molly

American Bungalow is coming to Seminole Heights

American Bungalow is coming to Seminole Heights to photographs 8 bungalows. I believe they will be here at least on March 3. Thanks to Suzanne Prieur and Greg Barnhill for getting them here. Some good positive publicity for the neighborhood.

What other magazines can we get to come here?

You Tube

I like watching things on You Tube. There are some very interesting and clever videos out there, once you weed out the junk.

Some of my favorites are:

"White and Nerdy" video by Weird Al Yankovitch

Note: Picard is the best

The "Malaquena Salerosa" Kill Bill Fan Clip


and a live version of the song filmed at the premiere of Kill Bill 2 with Robert Rodriguez playing the guitar. See how long the mariachi holds the note.

I also like a couple series with a theological bent.

God Inc.


Mr. Deity



Another one I stumbled across was an eerie version of the The Cremation of Sam McGee

So what are your favorites?

Gwen Hides

After posting the article about Gwen Miller getting sign punked, I wondered where she lived. I typed her name in property appraiser site but could not find her home. Same for her husband. Using other round about resources, I was able to find her address. Then by pickign an address next to hers and then clicking manually walking I entered the address in the and it came up listed as confidential. No name was attached to thier Belmont Heights - High School subdivision home. This made me wonder as who is is lsisted as confidential.

Kevin White came up as confidential. I know where he lives as he is a neighbor of mine and so I did not have to do round about research. No surprise his home was listed as confidential he is a former cop amd most cops get listed as confidential.

However I was able to find Pam Iorio, Ronda Storms, Rose Ferlita, Linda Saul -Sena, John Dingfelder, Mark Sharpe, Frank Reddick, and Mary Alvarez. I think I found Brian Blair and Jim Norman but I needed to do a little more research to verify it was them that I found and not some other James Norman and Brian Blair.

Ronda Storms and Pam Iorio I could see using this feature since Ronda is controversial and Pam is the Mayor. But they don't.

So since most elected public officials don't hide their address and since she is not former law enforcement and since she has not done anything while in office, what is Gwen worried about?

Kelly Speaks

You have got to read Kelly Benjamin's comments about the City Council race. Thanks to Blurbex for pointing them out.

Here is a sample:

"In district 1 this much is certain: Gwen Miller is a completely worthless City Council member. If Obama is clean and articulate, Gwen's a disheveled mumbler. I was on the debate circuit with her in 2003 and had no idea what she was saying half the time. I don't think she did either. She just strings some positive-sounding words together in a loop and smiles and hopes people won't notice she has NO grasp on ANY issue. The Tampa Tribune was gentle when they wrote "She is vague on most questions and displays little passion or curiosity." The woman has no business in politics, nothing to contribute to government and should have probably stayed at home washing Les's socks. The late great Ali Akbar was right when he said "She's done nothing for District 5 and she's done nothing city-wide." Go Home Gwen. Or go back to being a teacher, maybe you were good at that, but as a public representative, you're freakin horrible."

Sew Much Comfort

My neighbor Cyd Death is a Marine Mom who is also involved in several troop support efforts. Operation Shoebox, Tampa Marine Moms and now Sew Much Comfort.

"Sew Much Comfort provides adaptive clothing free of charge to support the unique needs of our injured service members. We create and/or adapt clothing to meet the unique needs of the wounded service members. For many service members the only hospital clothing available is a hospital gown. These gowns are drafty, do not cover properly and are impractical for optimum recovery. By creating custom adaptive clothing, our hope is to make their recovery more comfortable both physically and emotionally."

They are looking for donations of clothing, money and seamtress/tailoring time.

Here is a Fox 13 news story video

Tampa contact:Cyd Deathe (813) 956 -1159 scld1960@yahoo.com

Rincon Catracho

Alan Snel (Bike Stories Blog) rode by the restaurant that is replacing Viva's and took some photos. He also referenced a St. Pete Times article about it.

"Ana and Carlos Vasquez will lease the 3,200-square-foot building, with an option to buy. Ana Vasquez said the restaurant will serve Spanish food, but will also include American items."

ACLU Prayer

I like poking around City Council transcripts. You never know what you find. Here is an example:

From the 1/25/07 meeting:

17:04:38 >> Good evening everyone.
17:04:39 It's my pleasure this evening to introduce Becky
17:04:42 Steele, the Executive Director of Florida's ACLU, and
17:04:46 she is going to grace us tonight with an invocation.
17:04:49 Let us all stand for that.
17:04:50 And then remain standing for the pledge of allegiance.
17:04:54 Thank you for joining us tonight.

17:04:57 >> Last year I gave the invocation, and we begin by
17:05:04 sitting in silence for maybe 10 or 15 minutes.
17:05:12 When I mentioned this last year, the chair looked at
17:05:15 me kindly but nervously as if to say, you're not
17:05:19 really going to do that to us, are you?

17:05:21 And then when the founders of our nation formed the
17:05:25 first Constitutional Congress, Benjamin Franklin
17:05:28 proposed that a clergy be inviolated to open each
17:05:31 session with a prayer, but our founders decided not to
17:05:33 do that.

17:05:34 And therefore by consent of a government without
17:05:41 invoking religion, the wisdom of that judgment the
17:05:46 sectarian violence of so many people around the world.
17:05:50 So in light of that I thought it wasn't appropriate
17:05:53 for me to impose my religious beliefs on this
17:05:55 governmental meeting.

17:05:56 Instead this evening, I invoke the spirit of justice
17:05:59 and liberty that is the ultimate foundation of our
17:06:01 Constitution.
17:06:02 I ask as we meet and deliberate that you consider the
17:06:06 equal rights of all of our citizens, even those who
17:06:08 appear different from the majority.

17:06:11 May you be led today to decide justly, to rule
17:06:16 correctly and fairly, to seek what is right in the
17:06:21 business that comes before you, as well as the matters
17:06:23 of utmost importance.
17:06:25 Ski this in the freedoms and Constitution of our
17:06:28 founding freedoms that you are sworn to protect,
17:06:30 freedoms that are thoughtful and used by every
17:06:33 generation including this one.
17:06:34 May you continue and lead in that work today and every
17:06:37 day.
17:06:38 Thank you.