As many of you know, the PBS Newshour is in Tampa all week, hosting local forums and broadcasting stories on government and the economy that affect the sunshine state, and more specifically, the Tampa Bay area.
Last night correspondent Judy Woodruff hosted a package on government spending in Tampa( "Tracking Tax Dollar Spending in Tampa"-video below), and featured a wide array of guests in the story, such as Tea Party official Tim Curtis (interviewed as the University of Tampa stood out in the background) , Congresswoman Kathy Castor (with the beautiful view from Ballast Point in the background), Mayor Pam Iorio, St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster, and others.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman, who's been the loudest critic of the proposed light rail sales tax referendum that will go before the voters in November, showed up to give his spiel, saying
It — it could not be a worse time for a 1 penny sales tax. Government people that even anticipate wanting to put this penny on, they don't get it. They are out of touch. They do not understand the hardships our community is facing right now. They're trying to survive. They're trying to actually work two and three jobs. To ask them to pay more on anything is the wrong thing to do.
When the topic of the 11 minute story hit on high-speed-rail, St. Pete's Bill Foster made a brief appearance (wearing a Tampa Bay Rays baseball jersey). But we're a bit perplexed by his sound bite. The Mayor said that he's only in support of the high-speed rail project if it has a St. Petersburg component.
Now, does that mean he wants to have light rail go from the proposed high-speed rail location in Tampa to St. Pete? Because there will not be a specific high-speed rail stop built in St. Pete anytime soon, we're pretty sure. Here's his exact quote:
BILL FOSTER ,R, mayor of Saint Petersburg, Fla.: I will say, if it stops in Tampa, then it's a terrible waste of money, and I will fight like the dickens to make sure it never happens. But if it includes the Saint Pete component, the ability to move people at high speeds efficiently, I think, is important for our — for our region.
Mayor Foster, it will stop in Tampa. That's why houses in Ybor City may soon have to go because of eminent domain, as the High Speed Rail Enterprise goes about looking at parcels of land to acquire for the tracks, that will be built along Interstate 4.
This article appears in Apr 14-20, 2010.