Falcon's Fury swoops onto Travel Channel

The Travel Channel's newest show, "Thrill Factor," takes on Falcon's Fury, Busch Gardens Tampa's newest thrill ride in an episode airing tonight at 8 p.m. and again at 8:30 p.m.

"Thrill Factor" hosts Tory Belleci and Kari Byron (of Mythbusters fame), take their scientific know-how on the road to explain how thrill rides work and the effect they have on our bodies when we ride them.

First up, they buckle in for the ride to the top of Busch Gardens Tampa's 335-foot-tall drop tower -- the tallest in North America -- and the subsequent face-down 60 mph plunge.

Along the way, they explain what makes the ride at the heart of the park's Pantopia (formerly Timbuktu) section tick: from the counterweights that raise the car to the electromagnets that slow its descent.

Maybe they'll convince me to screw up my courage and ride it.

Tampa Bay rises as a meeting locale

Tampa Bay is up four spots in the latest ranking of meeting destinations compiled by Cvent, a leading event-management company.

Cvent’s 2015 Top 50 U.S. Meetings Destinations places Tampa Bay at No. 26, above three of its national competitors -- Fort Lauderdale, Baltimore and Long Beach, Calif. Tampa Bay is one notch below Charlotte, N.C., another of its competitors nationally.

"This change shows the growing strength of our brand and of our reputation as a meeting destination," said Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, which markets Tampa and Hillsborough County as a destination for conventions as well as for business and vacation travel.

In recent years, Tampa Bay has hosted several major national and international events, including the 2009 Super Bowl, the 2012 Republican National Convention and the 2014 Indian International Film Academy awards program. In addition, Tampa Bay regularly hosts major military and social organizations, including the yearly Special Operations Force Industry Conference.

According to Cvent, the heart of the Tampa Bay region -- Hillsborough County -- has 18,900 rentable hotel rooms, just under the total for Charlotte. That total includes three hotels celebrating their 1-year anniversaries in 2015 -- the Aloft Tampa Downtown, Le Meridien Tampa and the Epicurean.

Tampa Bay could pull event with Charlotte in the next few years as hundreds of new hotel rooms -- including a proposed 400-room convention hotel in downtown -- come on line. Developers are already planning new hotels in Ybor City and near Tampa International Airport. Others could be on the horizon for the area near Busch Gardens Tampa and the Florida State Fairgrounds.

Deutschland uber Tampa Bay!

To celebrate the arrival of Germany's signature air carrier, Lufthansa, in Tampa Bay Sept. 25, Tampa International Airport plans to turn the main terminal into a little corner of Deutschland.

Starting Aug. 21, a German village square will fill the main terminal between Airsides E and F and become the backdrop for a month worth of music, food, wine-tasting and, naturlich, beer events. The airport will also display the works of Otto Neumann, a painter and printmaker in the airport's in-house art gallery.

“With this new service, Germany has become closer than ever before to the residents of Tampa Bay,” said Maria Cook, Tampa International’s Event Manager. “We want to expose the general public to German culture and traditions, and hopefully entice them to visit Germany.”

Lufthansa begins flying non-stop from its hub in Frankfurt, Germany, five days a week on Sept. 25. The flights -- loaded with both tourists bound for Tampa Bay attractions and wheeler-dealers working some the region's 60-plus German-connected businesses -- are expected to have a $97 million dollar annual economic impact on the region. Each Airbus A340-380 has nearly 300 seats to fill.

Lufthansa's Frankfurt hub puts the Tampa Bay region within one plane fight of potentially billions of new visitors from around the world, including China, India and elsewhere in Europe.

Lufthansa is the latest international airline to stake its claim at TIA. The airport currently receives flights either daily or several times a week from Air Canada, British Airways, COPA Airways and Edelweiss Air.

Thanks to all those international arrivals, the airport anticipates ending 2015 with a 70 percent bump in international passenger traffic compared to fiscal year 2010.

War Veterans Convention Gives Back To Tampa Kids

Hundreds of Tampa-area kids will have their day brightened thanks to a gift from the Jewish War Veterans National Convention, which was held at the Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore Hotel this week.

In addition to honoring the men and women who fought and served for the United States, nearly every day of the convention included a community outreach type of activity such as donating items to Shriners Hospital or granting a wish to a terminally ill patient at the VA Hospital.

On Thursday, the National Ladies Auxiliary Jewish War Veterans gave a gift of 1,600 teddy bears to the Tampa Police Department and Tampa Fire Rescue to pass out to local children.

“We hope this is really going to brighten the day of a child in a tough situation,” said Convention Chairwoman Rita Panitz.

Several members of the Tampa Fire Rescue crew from Engine Station 8 were on hand to receive a portion of the donation.

“We jumped at the chance,” said Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Jason Penny. “Any opportunity we have to work with people we serve is positive and we’re honored they’d think of Tampa Fire Rescue and our role as community servants”.

“A lot of young kids are in difficult situations and it helps bridge a gap”, said TPD Sgt. Ralph Fine. “This feels good and it really makes us feel better about what we do”.

The National Ladies Auxiliary Jewish War Veterans also donated pajamas and hosted a baby shower for women veterans.

John Doe developments: Walker was target in 2011, Appeal impending

Eagle Scout integrity: “Gov. Scott Walker was under criminal investigation in 2011 for misconduct in office — even as he insisted he wasn’t — over a proposed real estate deal when he was Milwaukee County executive, according to records filed Wednesday in federal court” Source: Despite denials, Scott Walker was target of probe in 2011 more »

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Proof: Scott Walker’s aide Archer lied. Maltreatment she claimed rec’d during #JohnDoe raid refuted by newly released recording

Recorded audio from the FBI-assisted raid of Cynthia Archer’s home has been released. “The audio of the raid is being released now in an attempt to rebut claims Archer makes in her suit. For instance, she said in her filing that officers stormed into her house “throwing the (search) warrant at her without giving her more »

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Milwaukee Bucks arena is product of bizarre and bipartisan bedfellows

It takes an incestuous bipartisan pile of snakes to foist this expense upon Wisconsin when only 9%* of the Wisconsin public wants to help fund it AND when the administration is slashing public education funding. Steve Horn and Michael Arria have a long and interesting piece out on Truthdig that exposes backroom bipartisanship and public more »

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