Weather Channel: Tampa most overdue hurricane city

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Tropical Storm Debby flooded Bayshore Boulevard in South Tampa and caused widespread damage in June 2012. JASON BEHNKEN/STAFF

 

Nearly a year ago, Bayshore Boulevard in South Tampa was completely under water and the Tampa Bay area experienced widespread damage from a tropical system that did not even reach hurricane status here.

Tropical Storm Debby dumped up to 20 inches of rain on the region in late June 2012, flooded Pasco County streets for weeks, and left the region thankful but wondering what would have happened if she had developed into a full-blown hurricane.

While we may have experienced a sense of relief but also complacency as we wonder if our luck will ever run out, a team of meteorologists at The Weather Channel and weather.com put out a serious warning for the Tampa Bay area.

A survey of meteorologists has determined that Tampa is the “most vulnerable and overdue” city for a direct hurricane hit.

The meteorologists examined statistics from major coastal cities, and used 2012 criteria such as storm surge, evacuation time, population and the number of years since each city was hit hard by a hurricane.

The experts included St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Clearwater in the area, and cites that combined population of about 4 million, evacuation time of 68 hours if hit by a Category 5 hurricane, and per-capita storm-surge loss of $17,813.

They also said the area is 91 years overdue, with the last direct hit having come in 1921.

The National Hurricane Center calls for 13 to 20 named Atlantic storms, 7 to 11 that strengthen into hurricanes and 3 to 6 that become major hurricanes.

The other cities to make the Top 10:
Naples
Jacksonville
Honolulu
Houston
Savannah, Ga

Mobile, Ala.

Charleston, S.C.
Key West
Providence, R.I.

Rays outlast rain delays, Indians for victory

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Evan Longoria (left) and Luke Scott greet James Loney after his home run in the third inning against Cleveland.

 

CLEVELAND - Friday became Saturday. May became June. Rainy skies gave way to clear skies. And finally, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Indians finished a baseball game that started late and ended way late.

The Rays won, 9-2, to extend their winning streak to six games, matching their longest of the season.
 
“I’m proud of the guys,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “That’s about as cool of a win as I’ve experienced in pro baseball.”

And, the teams meet again this afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m., which is a little more than 10 hours after Friday’s game ended.

The Rays also closed to within two games of the first-place Boston Red Sox in the American League East, the closest the Rays have been to the division lead since they were two games back on April 8.
 
“It was an awkward way to do this,” Maddon said of a game that ended just before 3 a.m. EDT. “But if you’re going to stick around this long you might as well win it.”

Matt Joyce and James Loney both hit two-run homers in the Rays’ five-run third inning and Jamey Wright pitched three-plus innings in relief for the victory.
 
“They were ready to play ball at midnight,” Maddon cracked.

Matt Moore, looking to become the major league’s first nine-game winner, had his start mostly washed out by the rain. He did pitch one inning, retiring all three batters he faced before the last of three delays.

It was after midnight by the time the Rays defense returned to the field, and when it did, Wright was on the mound.

It was not a great night to test the Rays bullpen since manager Joe Maddon said before the game that Fernando Rodney, Joel Peralta and Jake McGee were unavailable. He needed some long outings from his relievers, and he got that from Wright (three innings), Josh Lueke (two) and Cesar Ramos (three).

The three relievers combined with Moore for a one-hitter.
 
“Any time a starter goes one inning for one reason or another, somebody’s got to suck up those innings,” Wright said. “I got quick outs early and getting five runs the next inning was huge.”

Jeff Beliveau, recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Durham to add a fresh arm to a tired bullpen, had a tough travel day due to the weather. He didn’t arrive until almost 10:30 p.m.

Lucky for him he didn’t miss much in the meantime. The night’s three rain delays totaled 4 hours, 49 minutes. The actual game time was 2:59.

The first was the 1:57 delay that pushed back the start of the game from 7:05 p.m. to 9:02 p.m. The teams played 16 minutes in which time eight batters came to the plate – five for the Rays, three for the Indians. All eight were retired.

That’s when the second rain delay occurred. It was relatively short – 13 minutes.

But when play resumed, it lasted all of three minutes, or just long enough for Luke Scott to draw a walk and Desmond Jennings to line out to second base.

The tarp was rolled back over the infield after Jennings was retired and everyone in the stadium hunkered down for what would be a 2 hour, 39 minute delay.

Indians fans watched the Tigers-Orioles and Reds-Pirates games on the video board in left field and feasted on dollar hotdogs that were reduced to 50 cents.

The postgame fireworks became a casualty of the late night.

Finally, at 12:13 a.m. the game resumed and Wright pitched a perfect bottom of the second.
 
“If you’re going to wait around until midnight you want to go out there and beat up on them,” Wright said. “I’m glad it worked out. We’re dead. A quick turnaround, we’ll find some energy for (today) and hopefully win the series (today).”
 
“Jamey Wright was the hero of the night,” Maddon said. “He allowed us to get on top. He set it all up and allowed us to parcel out the innings (among Lueke and Ramos).”

Lefty Scott Barnes replaced Indians starter Corey Kluber and began the third inning by retiring Jose Lobaton on a grounder. He got Yunel Escobar to hit a slow roller up the third-base line, but Indians third baseman Mark Reynolds hit Escobar with the throw and the Rays shortstop was credited with the first hit of the game.

Barnes struck out Ben Zobrist, but Joyce then gave the Rays a 2-0 lead with a homer to right field, just the seventh of his career off a left-hander. It was also just Zobrist’s third hit this season off a left-hander.

Kelly Johnson drew a walk, then Evan Longoria scored him with a double off the top of the wall in left-center field.

Loney followed, making it 5-0 with his seventh homer of the season. It was the first time since Aug. 12, 2011 that a pair of left-handed hitting Rays homered off a lefty in the same inning. Casey Kotchman and Johnny Damon did the trick that day against CC Sabathia at Yankee Stadium.

Wright, meanwhile, retired the first nine batters he faced before walking Nick Swisher to start the fifth inning – his fourth inning of work. Reynolds followed with a one-hop smash to third that Longoria got his glove on but couldn’t grab. The ball caromed to Escobar, who had plenty of time to get Swisher at second, but he held on to the ball.

Lueke replaced Wright and after getting two fly balls – the second a sacrifice fly to center to make it a 5-1 game – allowed the Indians their first hit of the night, a double off the top of the right field wall by Ryan Raburn that Joyce couldn’t catch. Reynolds scored to make it a 5-2 game.

But the Rays’ bat weren’t finished. Loney homered again in the eighth inning to extend the lead to 6-2, and the Rays added three more runs in the ninth on RBI singles by Escobar, Zobrist and Sam Fuld, who entered the game the inning before as a defensive replacement for Johnson in left field.

Ramos pitched the final three innings to earn the save.

rmooney@tampatrib.com

(813) 259-7227

Twitter: @RMooneyTBO.

ST. PETERSBURG TRIBUNE

St. Pete’s iconic Pier closes today after four decades

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ANDY JONES/STAFF

The iconic pier officially closes today. It will reopen in two weeks for fishing and pedestrian traffic.

 

A landmark that helped define St. Petersburg’s downtown waterfront for more than 40 years officially closes today.

The iconic Pier has drawn millions of visitors since its opening Jan. 20, 1973. But the aging five-story glass and steel structure, recognized for its unique inverted pyramid look, will be torn down, making way for a yet-to-be-determined design that has become a lightning rod for supporters of the current structure.

The structure will be closed to the public for about two weeks while business owners move out. The approach will then reopen for pedestrian traffic and fishing.

The approach will close again prior to demolition, scheduled for August, provided the city obtains the permits it needs. Demolition will include the building and approach.

Most businesses are relocating, city officials said. The Pier Aquarium is moving to Madeira Beach. The Dolphin Queen will continue to operate boat tours from the city’s marina. The Columbia has agreed a tentative deal with the city to lease land at the entrance to the approach for a new $3 million restaurant.

City officials have said it would have cost $80 million to save the Pier after engineers found pilings underneath the structure needed to be replaced.

A new structure will go in the Pier’s place, but what it will look like remains up in the air.

City council voted to initiate plans to build a $50 million futuristic design known as the Lens. Opponents who favor the pyramid structure have petitioned to have the project placed on a referendum, which will likely go on the Aug. 27 citywide election.

If approved, officials estimate the new design could open by summer 2015.

Reporter Christopher O’Donnell contributed to this report.

FILE, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lil Wayne is coming to the Amphitheatre in Tampa on July 13.

TAMPA – Rapper Lil Wayne is set to headline a group of current hip-hop heavyweights at the Amphitheatre on July 13.

Tickets for the America’s Most Wanted Music Festival, which also features rappers Tyga, T.I. and Future, go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. through livenation.com, or by calling 1-877-598-8698, the venue announced Tuesday.

Reserved seats will cost $29.75, $49.75, $69.75 or $89.75. General admission lawn tickets will cost $15 through April 28, before going up to $25.

Lil Wayne dominated music headlines in March when he was hospitalized following a series of seizures, but the rapper popped up at the Skatepark of Tampa just a few days later to check out the Tampa Pro tournament.

Wayne’s latest album, “I Am Not a Human Being II,” was released on March 26.

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Article and Images courtsey of TBO.com

The Florida Senate today unanimously passed a bill that rolls back automobile fees, saving an individual driver $12 a year.
 
The Senate passed the bill (SB 1832) on a 39-0 vote.
 
The state will make up the lost money — between $220 million and $230 million — by eliminating a decades-old tax break to insurance companies. Those companies pay a state tax on insurance premiums but also get a rebate worth 15 percent of the salary paid to their workers.
 
“The tax credit has helped produce jobs over the years,” said Sam Miller, executive director of the Florida Insurance Council, the state’s largest insurance trade association. “It is not clear that repeal of the credit won’t endanger job creation. The state should move cautiously and be sure.”
 
Indeed, a united front of business and insurance lobbyists had opposed the measure, many of them suggesting that getting rid of a tax break to pay for the rollback could cost the state thousands of insurance-sector jobs.
 
Sen. Jeremy Ring, a Margate Democrat, who described lobbyists’ rhetoric as “there’d be Armageddon if this passed,” said “it’s nice to finally call a bluff.”
 
State lawmakers increased auto fees in 2009 to help close a multibillion-dollar budget gap, part of a $2.2 billion package of tax and fee increases.
 
It included a 35 percent increase in annual tag fees, which went up $5 to $11.40, depending on a car’s weight. The initial vehicle registration fee went from $100 to $225. And the cost of an initial driver’s license increased from $27 to $48 and a renewal got boosted from $20 to $48.
 
Earlier this year, Senate President Don Gaetz had asked his committee chairs to review the state’s many tax incentives.
 
Sen. Audrey Gibson, a Jacksonville Democrat, voted “yes” after failing to stop the bill with an amendment requiring a study of the tax rollback.
 
Sen. Thad Altman, a Viera Republican, said the increase had never been discussed in committee and came up only late in the 2009 legislative session in budget conference.
 
“This is giving back to the people of Florida their hard-earned dollars,” he said.
 
Sen. Nancy Detert, a Venice Republican, called it “a Robin Hood bill,” and Jeff Clemens, a Lake Worth Democrat, said the measure was “a direct break for working people.”
 
But Miller said the incentive that’s paying for the tax break has been in place for more than 25 years, and was reaffirmed and expanded in 2003.
 
“We have seen companies that have been able to expand or maintain jobs, resulting in the industry employing more than 180,000 Floridians in just the last four years,” he said. The tax credit “is part of the broader consideration that companies take into account when deciding to place or maintain jobs in our state, and we think it is working.”
 
There is no companion bill in the House, meaning that chamber will have to consider the Senate version for it to become law. A spokeswoman for House Speaker Will Weatherford could not be immediately reached.

Article courtsey of TBO.com

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DENNIS MILLER

Dennis Miller will perform in Lakeland and St. Petersburg.
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MORE INFORMATION

IF YOU GO
When: 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Lakeland Center, Youkey Theatre, 701 W. Lime St., Lakeland

Tickets: $45 and $55 (863) 834-8111 and www.thelakelandcenter.com

AND

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: Mahaffey Theatre, 400 First St. S., St. Petersburg

Tickets: $68.60 and $47.85; (727) 892-5767 and www.themahaffey.com
By BY ED CONDRAN |
Published: March 27, 2013
- Prior to performing at the Borgata in Atlantic City last year, Dennis Miller joked backstage about having played every venue.

“I’m like that Johnny Cash song, “I’ve been everywhere, man,” Miller cracked.

Miller has been everywhere and it feels like he’s been everything. The cerebral humorist, who will perform Saturday at the Mahaffey, is the conservative stand-up comic. If you need a one-liner from the right wing, Miller is more than willing to toss a verbal hand grenade at liberals.

But wasn’t the Miller from the ’90s, who hosted an acclaimed HBO show, “Dennis Miller Live,” a lefty, who hit the GOP with esoteric salvos? “No,” Miller said. “I made jokes at Bill Clinton’s expense but if you recall I ripped everyone a new one. But as you get older, you grow more conservative. And things changed for me after 9/11.”

Miller, 59, enjoys waxing about President Obama. He isn’t pleased overall with Obama but he admits that he is pleasantly surprised by how tough the Commander-in-Chief has been in the Middle East.

Lid about to open on Tampa’s Container Store

 

JAY CONNER/STAFF

The Container Store, which has its grand opening on Saturday, is located near Spruce Street and Westshore Boulevard.

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  The Container Store, which has its grand opening on Saturday, is located near Spruce Street and Westshore Boulevard. JAY CONNER/STAFF

 Conttainer Store opening soon