Nothing brings Republicans and Democrats together like a game of dodgeball.

The local Young Republicans and Young Democrats are holding a match Thursday at AirHeads Trampoline Arena.

Scheduled to attend: Republican Hillsborough County commissioner Mark Sharpe and Democratic Hillsborough commissioner Kevin Beckner.

“In today’s political environment, it is often difficult for Republicans and Democrats to work together, solve problems and ultimately benefit the citizens they represent,” said Thomas King of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans. “As Young Republicans and Young Democrats, we want to be the generation that works together to solves problems while sticking to our principles and most importantly treating each other with respect.

Their tagline: “Don’t dodge bipartisanship, come play dodgeball and learn to work together .”

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. at AirHeads, 5072 W Linebaugh Ave. There is a $15 charge to play, which also includes pizza and refreshments.

via Republicans, Democrats to square off in dodgeball match | Tampa Bay politics blog: Bay Buzz | Tampa Bay Times.

The 2012 Tampa Bay Host Committee is holding an educational forum to inform local Tampa Bay small business owners and program participants on the guidelines and registration process of the Host Committee’s Small Business Network.

Forum I will take place on January 19, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at Safety Harbor Resort and Spa, Safety Harbor, FL.

The emphasis of the Small Business Network is to use the platform of the Republican National Convention to drive interest to and promote Tampa Bay small business.  “We want to promote our Tampa Bay small business community and maximize their opportunities for exposure to the many corporations and convention attendees who will be coming to the Tampa Bay area this coming August,” said Host Committee President and CEO Ken Jones.

via Welcome to Tampa Bay: Home of the 2012 Republican National Convention » Blog Archive » 2012 Tampa Bay Host Committee Supports Tampa Bay’s Small Business Community.

As with most government initiatives, they start out with good intentions, but will eventually implode in the face of taxpayers at their expense. In Florida, because we are blessed with pretty outstanding weather throughout most of the year, we also are the Spring Training home to some of baseball’s most storied teams. The Yankees, Braves, Phillies and more call Florida their home away from home. Unfortunately that love of baseball doesn’t seem to carry over to Florida’s two MLB teams, the newly-renamed Miami Marlins and the recently renamed Tampa Bay Rays. I love baseball. I do. I was actually at the draft day ceremony at Joe Robbie Stadium when the expansion draft took place for the MLB’s newest teams, the Florida Marlins and the Colorado Rockies in 1993. I’ll even attend a few Tampa Bay Rays games every season.

You might think that with both Florida teams having numerous appearances in the post-season and the Marlins even having two World Series titles under their belt that they could develop and maintain a strong fan base. Nope. Our two beloved Florida teams consistently rank among the worst in MLB attendance. The funny thing is, last I checked, baseball teams were a business. Although for some reason, their management act more like government officials. Something not working? Throw more money at the problem to fix it. In comes the “new stadium” philosophy. I can hear the meetings now: “Well, if we had a new stadium THEN people would come to the games.” When these words of brilliance are uttered, amazingly the teams start to look into everyone else’s pockets but their own.

As a matter of fact, our Marlins and Rays even stooped so low as to cry poverty to make a case for a taxpayer funded stadium! Unfortunately for the residents of Miami, their city commissioners had already given the new Marlins stadium the green light without voter approval because not long after, someone leaked the financial records of those very baseball teams (MLB Confidential: The Financial Documents Baseball Doesn’t Want You To See, Part 1). Those poor baseball teams, making millions in revenue despite their low attendance figures in stadiums they did not control. How awful. Although this revealed the Marlins as having lied to their fans and community, it almost helped the case to build a new stadium for the Rays who are seemingly by some accounts on MLB welfare. Almost. (See: Leaked financial documents may aid Tampa Bay Rays’ cause in stadium debate) This leak allowed Tampa Bay government officials to take a step back and reconsider any proposals for a new stadium which even today is a very quiet and sore topic.

So where do things stand today? As if by magic, talk of a new stadium for the Rays has just about disappeared. Further South, things couldn’t be going worse for the Miami Marlins and city commissioners.

Last week’s foul surprise came when Miami-Dade officials informed the city of Miami that the four parking garages being constructed for the stadium might not be exempt from county property taxes, as the city had assumed.

Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado says residents could be on the hook for another $1.5 million to $2 million annually. It may not sound like much, given the breathtaking totality of the Marlins boondoggle, but the city can’t afford it.

The city is nearly broke, as always, and doesn’t have an extra $2 million lying around. The anticipated lease income from the parking spaces is already earmarked to help pay the bond debt, which will eventually accumulate to $223 million.

Just to keep up with the bond payments on the new garages, Miami needs to bring in about $7 million annually through 2026 and fluctuating amounts for 10 years after that.

About $3 million of that $7 million would come from county tourist taxes. The additional $4 million-plus is supposed to be covered by income from the $10-a-space lease agreement with the Marlins.

In other words, each of the 5,700 parking spots needs to generate at least $702 annually for the city. On the bright side, Miami did manage to get the Marlins to agree to cough up the $10 whether or not the parking space has an actual car in it.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/26/2520223/taxpayers-harpooned-on-stadium.html#ixzz1f1xUJqsS

How generous of them. As the title goes, the residents of Tampa Bay owe a big debt of gratitude to the Miami Marlins and their boondoggle, and I hope that once talks of a new stadium for the Rays resurfaces (because it will) that they might learn from this experience.

UPDATE:

The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into the public financing deal behind the Miami Marlins’ new ballpark.

SEC officials delivered letters to the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County Thursday, requesting financial records, meeting minutes and communications with the team and officials from Major League Baseball, according to a person familiar with the matter. Miami and county officials have until Jan. 6 to deliver the documents.

The federal regulators will examine nearly $500 million in bonds sold to fund the ballpark and the financial deal struck for stadium parking garages, according to the county and to a statement from the team.

A person involved with the ballpark’s financing said the investigation may revolve around the Marlins’ claims that the team needed public help because it could not afford to pay for a new ballpark.

Read the entire story: SEC Examines Marlins Stadium Deal http://on.wsj.com/vPYCvl via @WSJ

In the midst of one of this city’s and nation’s most fiscally challenging times, there seem to be some in our community who are living in an alternate universe. Less than 3 months after the Tampa Port Authority “pulls $150,000 annual funding for downtown Tampa trolley”, Port Director Richard Wainio seems to think that those dollars would best be served in his pocket. Wainio who currently makes just over $250,000 a year has been negotiating for a 7% raise and an additional $49,000 in benefits, almost half of the funding requested for the operation of Tampa’s downtown trolley.

The 10 News investigators have found out that while it’s somewhat under the radar, Wainio is negotiating for a seven percent raise. That would bump him up to $268,500. Add another $49,000 in benefits and he up to $317,500. He’s also in line for huge bonuses.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a fan of the trolley other than the fact that they’re nice to look at. I’ve never used it, and don’t think the community has made much use of it and doesn’t even adequately serve the downtown area as well as it might have been intended. That’s why I was initially in favor of the funding cuts of the trolley and am even more in favor of making sure that Mr. Wainio is content with his current salary.

I applaud the efforts of WTSP Channel 10 and Commissioner Sandy Murman for speaking out on the issue. I invite you to check out the video and story below.

He makes more than a quarter of a million and wants taxpayers to give him a big raise – WTSP

Not having a vote in the election for Tampa’s Mayor, I didn’t invest too much time into getting to know the candidates. I can say that I wasn’t overly impressed with any of them based on what I already knew of them or was hearing from those who had a vested interest. That being said, by all accounts, Mayor Buckhorn had the strongest vision for Tampa’s future and seems to be doing a pretty good job as we approach one of the biggest events to ever come to Tampa, the Republican National Convention.

Ali Glisson, a Tampa native, seems to be a young up-and-coming politico having some pretty strong credentials on her resume. Mayor Buckhorn has recently been reaching out to promote, attract, and find ways to keep young professionals in Tampa and this is a clear example of that. Let’s just hope that Ms. Glisson follow Mayor Buckhorn’s lead as what has been perceived to be more of a centrist agenda than that of her former boss, Mrs. Hilary Clinton.

Glisson, 25, started Monday at a salary of $78,000 a year. Most recently she worked for Gov. Chet Culver of Iowa, where she was communications director for Culver’s re-election campaign. Before that, she worked for the Iowa Democratic Party as communications director and for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, where she focused on new media.

via Bob Buckhorn hires public affairs director | Tampa Bay politics blog: Bay Buzz | tampabay.com & St. Petersburg Times.