Monday, August 24, 2015
Quinnipiac poll of FL,OH,PA: fortunes of Walker and Clinton sink as Biden’s rise
Notice that in the crucial state of Ohio, Scott Walker is only at 2%. This is all come to a poll looking for these days: Walker’s failure. But other people are paying attention to the bigger picture, of course. Rubio is the only Republican polling ahead of Clinton in Ohio. Quinnipiac Poll: @MarcoRubio is the more »
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Scott Walker flip flops on birthright citizenship. Blames tiredness.
"Scott Walker said he accidentally took a position on [citizenship] because he was 'tired'"
https://t.co/BBMDYMZQJo pic.twitter.com/vqBv0rSU8b — Billmon (@billmon1) August 21, 2015 At the Iowa state fair, Walker was for elimination of birthright citizenship. By Friday he had “no position” on it. “I’m not taking a position one way or the other,” Walker said in an more »
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Scott Walker flip flops on birthright citizenship. Blames tiredness.
"Scott Walker said he accidentally took a position on [citizenship] because he was 'tired'"
https://t.co/BBMDYMZQJo pic.twitter.com/vqBv0rSU8b — Billmon (@billmon1) August 21, 2015 At the Iowa state fair, Walker was for elimination of birthright citizenship. By Friday he had “no position” on it. “I’m not taking a position one way or the other,” Walker said in an more »
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
'A place whose time as arrived'
Tampa Bay is building fans left and right these days. The newest: Time and Money magazines.
This week, Money (owned by Time) ranked Tampa Bay the top city in the Southeast to live in -- one of five cities profiled nationwide.
Our company on the list included Pittsburgh (Northeast), Denver (West), Omaha (Midwest) and Mesa, Ariz. (Southwest).
What makes us so special? (Really, do you need to ask?)
There's a bunch of stuff about the real estate market and housing prices. And that's important. But we're more interested in this part:
Earlier this year, the Tampa Bay Lightning nearly beat Chicago for the Stanley Cup – yes, that’s ice hockey. In 2014, the city hosted the 15th International Indian Film Academy Awards – the Bollywood Oscars – thanks in part of its 15,000-strong Indian community. The Tampa Museum of Art brought its acclaimed contemporary collection to a stunning new building in 2010. And up for 2017: college football’s national championship. Says Neal Anderson, a small-business owner who moved from Chicago in March: “It really feels like a city whose time has arrived.”
We agree wholeheartedly with our new best friend Neal Anderson. Tampa Bay really does feel like it's time has come.
We have more than $3 billion in new development on the horizon, which should tell you something, including an expanded airport ($1 billion), a redeveloped port and new cruise ship terminal ($1.7 billion), and the dramatic reinvention of Channelside Bay Plaza and neighboring land across from Amalie Arena ($1 billion) (Part of that project is picture above.) None of those escaped Money's notice.
We're adding hotels and restaurants lickety split. Our craft beer scene has brought us international fame.
We're welcoming more international visitors every year, mostly from England, Germany and Latin America -- a situation that will only increase once Lufthansa begins flying in from Frankfurt five days a week.
The Buddhists say you can't step into the same river twice. We say you never visit the same Tampa Bay twice.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Tampa Riverwalk: a waterfront gem
Larry Elliston and our friends at VISIT FLORIDA give downtown's Tampa Riverwalk the star treatment.
Have you spent time on the Riverwalk? What are you waiting for? Rent a bike from Coast Bike Share or bring your own, or pedal your way up the Hillsborough River on a Tampa Bay Water Bike. It's a great place for a morning jog, a post-lunch walk or a sunset stroll.
Take a break at the Sail Pavilion, where you can pump up your tires, have a quick snack or just watch the people go by.
The Riverwalk links many of downtown's most popular attractions with hotels, parks and awesome restaurants. Keep your eye open for The Plank, the Riverwalk's pop-up bar that appears whenever it feels like it.
The Riverwalk is zone for alcohol consumption, which means you can buy a special cup at one of the restaurants along the way and stroll with one of our great craft beers in your hand.
The Riverwalk is the focus of our newest yearly festival: River Fest at the end of in late April/early May. It's also a great place to catch the annual Tampa Bay Dragon Boat Races each spring and to spent intermission during a show at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
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.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
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.
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