Mitch Perry
According to a story by Waveney Ann Moore in Wednesday’s Tampa Bay Times, it’s looking good for advocates of Pier Park to be the chosen design to finally replace the aging iconic inverted Pier in downtown St. Petersburg.
“I’ve had more calls in support of Pier Park than anything,” City Councilman Darden Rice says. “It was overwhelmingly Pier supporters,” Councilman Charlie Gerdes says.
“I think it’s time to build the pier and I think Pier Park is the one,” Steve Kornell agrees .
So Thursday’s vote should be a no-drama affair in the Council?
Come on, man. This is The Pier we’re talking about.
A St. Pete Polls survey released Tuesday night shows that the public wants to have its say in the matter, elected representatives be damned. Sixty-three percent of those St. Pete residents say they want a referendum on the subject, 32 percent don’t. Wengay Newton is once again leading this charge, as he did in 2011-2013. He won last time, remember, on getting that vote?
And then there’s this from Bud Risser, a leading critic of 2013’s Lens design. He complains in a letter to the Times that the volunteer selection committee were being “quietly led by City Hall,” and lists a host of “significant issues that must be vetted before proceeding” when it comes to Pier Park.
Best of luck to all those involved in covering this story Thursday. Hey, at least it starts early enough to still get some things done before the end of the evening.
In other news …
There’s been a lot of excitement in Tampa about President Obama‘s moves to engage with Cuba, but nothing will change that significantly until the economic embargo ends. A new group called Emerge Cuba is hiring lobbyists to to persuade Congress to make that change. We spoke with one of their founders Tuesday.
• • •
Marco Rubio is extremely critical of the president on Cuba, as he is on a number of other foreign policy initiatives. But is he always correct in his criticisms? As he gains in the polls, the Florida Senator’s foreign policy is getting closer scrutiny.
• • •
On Cinco de Mayo, Jeb Bush showed off his Spanish language skills in a video to the Hispanic community.
• • •
And the Florida Democratic Party is featuring two national figures to speak at its big fundraising dinner next month in South Florida: Virginia Sen. Mark Warner and Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard will give keynote addresses.
