(1) I'm in North Carolina. (2) Thanks for the stadium comments. (3) Gratuitious puppy photograph.
Happy Monday. Once again, I've been called to N.C. for a family matter and am probably missing both Tuesday's print column and the weekly live chat. I'll try to keep tabs from the hospital and stick in a comment and an update here and there.
Believe me, it's not 'cause I'm duckin' the outcry from Sunday's column, in which I said I would support the baseball stadium IF the financial claims about the plan could be guaranteed -- in other words, if the redevelopment of Tropicana Field was guaranteed, by contract, to generate enough money in property taxes to finance the stadium without taxpayer dollars.
Since the Rays and the developer are unlikely ever to agree to such an ironclad promise, I figure that I am perfectly safe. I stand by my closing sentence: "Otherwise, no sale." It is a good thing I am thick-skinned, else I would be upset at the various comments calling me a "whore" and such for saying I would ever consider saying yes to the stadium at all. Louie, on the other hand, is Not Amused, as his photograph attests.
ANNOUNCEMENT: WEEKLY LIVE CHAT: Join Howard from noon to 1 p.m. each Tuesday here on TroxBlog for a live online chat about current events in Florida and the Tampa Bay area.
Good luck with your family illness...Louie loves you, your HIS Dad, of courser he's mad. Hope all stays peaceful, at least.
Lorraine
Posted by: | May 19, 2008 at 08:27 AM
Let's all offer a prayer for Howard and his family, or at least send some good intentions his way. We all need to remember that he's one of the people with a bigger voice who always tries to do the right thing. Thanks are in order, sir.
Posted by: Jon McPhee | May 19, 2008 at 08:31 AM
Be Careful up there in NC, Howard it is Clinton country.
Posted by: guy | May 19, 2008 at 09:28 AM
All or best wishes go to you and yours. You are in our prayers.
Did you notice the Rays used the $70 Million payment from the developers to pay off the Trop debt AND also counted it toward the $450 Million new stadium cost?
Sounds like something I would do in my checkbook - write a huge check and put the amount in as a deposit!
Posted by: JudyToo | May 19, 2008 at 10:05 AM
Howard, did someone really call you that? We all wish you the best, Howard.
Posted by: Larry | May 19, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Wah, wah, you make a living calling others names Howard, so stop your whining.
Posted by: | May 19, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Louie - don't taze me, man!
Posted by: | May 19, 2008 at 11:20 AM
Howard, the point being made is, be true to this community, make up your mind and quit waffling to sell papers and attract folks to your blog. It is pretty simple issue actually to make a decision on. All of your bloggers friends have made up their minds. Only you sit the fence. Either this new stadium is good or bad for St. Pete. So quit trying to play both sides against the middle.
Posted by: A real city supporter | May 19, 2008 at 11:29 AM
A real city supporter,
Get back to your cubicle before I call Stu! If you boys want it so bad, then write the damn check yourselves.
Posted by: Over-taxed as it is! | May 19, 2008 at 11:54 AM
You gotta figure that when the RAYS reveal the clause that obligates all Pinellas residents to bend over and grab their ankles, Howard and SPT will be talking up what a boon it is for a healthier lifestyle. The editorial board will want 30 minutes of it every day in all the schools.
Posted by: Jim Johnson | May 19, 2008 at 12:52 PM
Hope everything goes well Howard.
Posted by: Don Mott | May 19, 2008 at 12:56 PM
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your fam, Trox... hope all is well.
Posted by: | May 19, 2008 at 04:24 PM
Howard,
Take all the time you need for the truly important things in life... family.
This tempest will be here when you return.
Posted by: Sokol | May 19, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Dear Over-taxed as it is:
I am sorry I was not clearer in my post. I was trying to be fair about the point of Howard making up his mind and getting off of the fence.
I do not want the proposed stadium. Never have and never will.
Save our downtown PUBLIC WATERFRONT!
Posted by: A real city supporter | May 20, 2008 at 09:19 PM
A real city supporter,
Fair enough, I stand corrected. My apologies to you.
Posted by: Dear Over-taxed as it is | May 21, 2008 at 08:49 AM
No surprise you'd eventually get on board the stadium bandwagon. I'm sure you've gotten a bit of a nudge from the publisher. But let me say once again:
Ain't gonna be no waterfront stadium.
Never was.
It's all a ruse to get everyone on board tearing down the old stadium and moving to Toytown - where it should have been in the first place.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave...
Posted by: There, I said it. Again. | May 21, 2008 at 01:57 PM
Holy crap some of you guys are so paranoid. It's unreal.
Posted by: Chuck | May 21, 2008 at 02:25 PM
http://www.itsyourtimes.com/?q=node/3144
Posted by: There, I said it. Again. | May 21, 2008 at 02:55 PM