I'm back, finally

Hello. It's the afternoon of Monday, April 14 and I'm finally back at work. The reason I disappeared for more than a week should be all too familiar to folks in my general age group -- my father had a serious problem involving two visits to the hospital. The reason I put it that way is that a lot of folks I know close to my age have had to go through this experience at one time or another, with all the accompanying issues. Ironically, when he finally ended up in critical condition in intensive care, I knew I could come back to Florida -- he's getting attention and exactly what he needs to get better. Some general observations about hospital life will be the subject of my Tuesday column, a copy of which I'll post here as well.

I do not see that anything major and irrevocable happened while I was gone. The hot-button issue in the Legislature was the guns at the workplace bill. Looks like the gun-rights folks are winning the day over the private property-rights argument of the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups. Me, I think an employer or business ought to be able to have a no-guns-on-campus policy, but looks like I am on the losing end. Before I was called away I wanted to write more about the extensive energy bill moving through this session of the Legislature. If anybody knows of other issues that aren't getting much attention, let me know.

Have they built that baseball stadium yet? I see they had another public hearing at City Hall, with lots of speakers on both sides. I'm still waiting to see the terms of the business deal, both for redeveloping Tropicana Field and for building the new stadium at Al Lang Field, and whether there is any open-ended risk to taxpayers -- the Tropicana project has to pay for the new stadium, and the city can't be accepting any uncapped liability for the enviro stuff.

What else has caught your eye? Man, I am glad to be back. No live chat this Tuesday, while I get caught back up, but maybe next week...

Comments

[guy]

Howard, I was that father, no fun for the kids.
I hope my Email cheered you up a little. Life is a b##t6.

[20/20]

Howard,

I understand. I go through quite a bit of it with my mother (my father passed years ago).

Glad to hear things are better.

Welcome home.

[get-smart]

Welcome back Howard. I hope your father pulls through his illness OK.

In case you missed the entertainment (the council hearings) here is what I came out of it with:

My vote for "The Best Of" the Rays' shills goes to a union pipe fitter from New York who claims to be a 4th generation Floridan. He wants the new stadium built so he doesn't have to travel 6 hours a day to and from the job site to do his plumbing job. If he chooses to drive instead of staying overnight at a motel on his union per diem, that's his business. In his mind, I guess it's OK to spend a billion dollars on a project so he can kick around here in St Pete for a few months. My second place shill goes to the big weepy guy and my honorable mention goes to the union boss who calls illegal alien workers,"foreign nationals."

Welcome back Howard. My best wishes to your Father and your family.

In case you missed the entertainment (the council hearings) here is what I came out of it with:

The anti-stadium elites continue to present supposition and their personal views, as facts. They press on in their failure to comprehend the fundamentals of the opportunity the Rays present, and instead focus their attention on the delivery of erroneous soundbites. As per usual, rather then discuss the matter like grownups they prefer to take personal shots at others who have the audacity to hold an opinion different than theirs.

While the majority spoke in favor of the stadium, the fiction spewed by the downtown condo dwelling NIMBYs was more entertaining.

[Don Mott]

Howard, it's good to have you back. I hope everything works out for the best. I am 53 years old and have had these experiences. They are not fun but sometimes they bring families closer together. I hope everything works out well for you. Since you asked, and I know I have mentioned this to you before but could you look into the CSX/commuter rail deal? This thing is steamrolling through the legislative committees. Maybe I am paranoid and see conspiracies all around me, but this thing looks and smells real bad. I honestly believe there is a lot more involved than what we are being told. Especially since I sent an e-mail to Governor Crist regarding my opposition and an FDOT mouthpiece replied instead of a Crist staff member. I think the new stadium is dead in its tracks. Too many obstacles to overcome, and what has the attendance been? It won't make it through a November referendum if it gets that far.

[Jonny Anonny]

Good to have you back, Howard. Best wishes for you and your father.

Check out The Buzz and you'll see that TABOR has been sidelined. Depending on your viewpoint, I guess, that's either good news or bad news. Also, I think Mr. Rouson's position is sort of up in the air, so that's kind of fun to follow.

[Larry]

Yes, Howard, it is something we all have to face, sooner or later. It will be my children's turn in a few years. Our prayers are with you and your family and hope that all turns out well.

[TH]

Hi Howard - welcome back to warm(?) Florida!

I've got one for you to consider and it bugs me to no end. Every time there is an emergency where an ambulance responds to the scene in St. Petersburg, there are two of them! How is it that in today's economy with budget cuts and the price of gas that this takes place? Its nuts that you have two ambulances "speeding" through the streets to get to the same emergency. I think that this is a huge waste of $ for the community and it also reflects on our insurance premiums.

[Howard Troxler]

Thanks for the kind words from everybody.

Re: baseball public hearing: I believe my much-maligned colleague Aaron Sharockman on yesterday published the hard numbers on how many opponents were from Bayfront Towers -- and how many supporters were from out of town.

Re: CSX deal: Yes, you are exactly right that it is a worthy topic. I don't pretend to understand it yet but have it on the list.

Re: two ambulances: I didn't realize they sent two for every single call... when I think of it, or I run into the right guy, I'll ask.

The first responder in St. Petersburg is usually a SP paramedic in a SPFD rescue vehicle. These trained paramedics arrive at the scene to stabilize victims to allow the second to transport them to the ER. I recall that the rationale for this was to have the most qualified emts stabilizing the patients and freeing up their time to respond to next call for service. Pinellas county contracted ambulances then transport the victims to the hospital. The goal of this system is to have an efficient delivery of emergency services and transport services.

Hi Howard - I searched for Aaron's article, read all on the site and in the archive for the last week or so and didn't find the numbers you mentioned. I found the PAC stuff - but that didn't seem like what you're referring to. Love to see that information if you could post it.

Thanks!

[TB]

To the person who responded about the EMS question - why wouldn't you have qualified paramedics on the ambulances and reduce the number of emergency vehicles on the road? They both seem to get there at the same time - maybe the county doesn't need to be running their units in the city. Kinda like you don't need the sheriff's group in here when the city has the police department.

[TH]

To the person who responded about the EMS question - why wouldn't you have qualified paramedics on the ambulances and reduce the number of emergency vehicles on the road? They both seem to get there at the same time - maybe the county doesn't need to be running their units in the city. Kinda like you don't need the sheriff's group in here when the city has the police department.

[Howard Troxler]

Sorry, here's the link to that info from Aaron S. -- it was on the breaking news blog, and is in this morning's paper (at least, it was in my Neighborhood Times edition):

http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2008/04/more-fallout-fr.html

And here's the gist of it:

* Of the 97-or-so people who said they opposed the waterfront stadium proposal last Thursday, 14 lived in the condominium adjacent to the proposed ballpark, Bayfront Tower. Another four who spoke against the proposal listed condominium addresses on Beach Drive.

* Of 120-or-so people who said they were in favor of the stadium proposal, at least 24 listed addresses that were not in St. Petersburg. Many were associated with carpeneter unions. At least two people listed addresses in Jacksonville.