You're not imagining the drag-racing

Pulled this out of something called the Tampa Racing Forum (of course) but it's worth a read if you or your kids are regulars on BBD. Please, please, what advice can we give offer poor Damian?

"well i finally got my 1st official ticket in the subie. heres the scenario: I was driving down bruce b downs with a friend i havnt seen since i graduated in 2004, he joined the military and we're hanging. he said get on it im like man bruce b downs sux with cops but whatever. God i wish i never downshifted. i got pulled going 87 in a 45. cop literally takes 40 mins to write me the ticket. he says i have to go to court within 30 days. he also said it wont cost anything and on the ticket it doesnt say i have to pay a ticket fee or anything so hopefully i dont have to pay an outrageous speeding bill. my friend said he knows a lawyer who i can pay $100.00 too and he'll take care of the ticket and i wont have to go to court but that sounds a lil shady to me. i just wanted to know what you guys think i should do. also if i do go to court, wtf do i tell the judge? the truth?

A question about cable

Bright House Networks uses two slogans frequently in their ads: 1. "No long term contract to sign," and 2. "No asterisks -- we're not fond of asterisks." Shouldn't a more truthful slogan be "No long term contract to sign  *unless you live in Live Oak Preserve" ? There, you must have a 10+ year contract.
John Carter, Live Oak Preserve

Sad-ellite radio

Is it just me, or is New Tampa one of the worst areas to get satellite radio reception. It's starting to tick me off!

I find particularly bothersome the stretch of Cross Creek from Bruce B. Downs to Morris Bridge. Sadly, that area marks the last 6 minutes of radio listening I will usually have for the day, so it's a precious, sad, melancholy time for me.

(Okay, fine, so I maybe I love my XM radio a little too much).

But when I make that turn on Cross Creek, I know the gig is up. And without fail, the rest of my ride becomes a mish-mash of silence, silence, some talking, silence, a joke cutoff by silence, more silence, then people laughing at the joke I just missed, then silence, then...well, you get the idea.

Forget about the time I tried to hook up a home unit -- spotty reception, and I'm being kind. And there are lots of other "dead" spots along BBD (heck, I dare you to even try staying on a cell phone call when driving past where the old Tampa Brickhouse used to be. I double dog dare you, in fact).

If it weren't for so many delicious ice cream joints out this way, and the good middle schools, and my family, and my nice house, and Starbucks, and being in between two Publixes, I think I might even consider moving.

-- JOHN C. COTEY
Times staff writer

A crime wave?

Were those home invasions a freak occurrence, or is there the beginning of a crime problem in New Tampa? Use the comment bar to tell us what you think.

Skate park still on track

A reader posted earlier asking if the Tampa Palms skate park was being held up because of environmental issues.

Reporter Bill Coats called Brad Suder of Tampa Parks and Recreation this afternoon and he assured us that the skate park is proceeding as planned and should be open by year's end. The project is planned entirely on land that's buildable, within all wetlands setbacks.

"There are no environmental impacts to what we're planning," Suder said.

Question from Live Oak Preserve

Living in Live Oak Preserve adjacent to the Parks and Recreation ballfields is like sitting outside Raymond James Stadium every night while a game is being played inside. Homes are flooded with so much light that one can sit either inside or out and comfortably read a book or write a letter. It was my understanding that the lights would be directional and that they would be extinguished after 9 p.m. However, this does not appear to be the case. I noted this weekend that no game or practice was in progress, but the lights remained on until 11 p.m. It seems homeowners in the near vicinity must now close their blinds or draw their curtains and cloister themselves from a scene that reminds one of the concluding episode from the movie, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind. "

Earl A. Myers, Jr., Live Oak Preserve