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Manatee County, one of Florida’s more conservative counties (and the home county of @dcluley98!), has just extended a tax supporting their public schools. 69% were in favor.

If one of the red counties overwhelmingly believes in public education, it really makes you wonder why the DeVos family is so h*llbent on destroying it.

It also makes you wonder why, in a blue city like Orange, we keep providing them with sweetheart deals based upon taxpayer support? Something to think about…

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/469871-donut-manatee-county-voters-renew-school-tax-referendum/

From Florida Politics 
 

 

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Yet another plan to fix Penn Station (the best plan of all would have to been to leave the original, grand and historic station as is but far too many people are always pushing for what’s new even when it’s inferior) was announced by New York guv Kathy Hochul:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/03/nyregion/penn-station-nyc-hochul.html?referringSource=articleShare

From The New York Times 

It’s interesting yet sad to see that even in Manhattan this latest plan has been Orlando’d. We are not alone.
 

 

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One of the things that will be fixed/updated/renovated in CT thanks to Joe is the I-84/I-91 interchange in Hartford. It's said to be the worst bottleneck in New England. I've driven on this a few times and it definitely requires you to pay full attention to the road. The off-ramps turn so sharply. It's like a dozen Fairbanks curves all in a cluster. And it's very easy to miss exits. I can't imagine what it's like when there's snow on the road.

Screen Shot 2021-11-07 at 2.55.20 PM.png

Edited by orange87
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24 minutes ago, orange87 said:

One of the things that will be fixed/updated/renovated in CT thanks to Joe is the I-84/I-91 interchange in Hartford. It's said to be the worst bottleneck in New England. I've driven on this a few times and it definitely requires you to pay full attention to the road. The off-ramps turn so sharply. It's like a dozen Fairbanks curves all in a cluster. And it's very easy to miss exits. I can't imagine what it's like when there's snow on the road.

Screen Shot 2021-11-07 at 2.55.20 PM.png

Hartford’s Ridin’ With Biden!

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More goodies thanks to Joe!

State plans to expand Waterbury Metro-North branch

State of Connecticut officials plan to add a second track to the Waterbury branch of the Metro-North Railroad in the coming months, a build-out expected to increase the number of weekday trains on the line from 15 to 22.

Article: https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/state-plans-to-expand-waterbury-metro-north-branch

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30 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

The Tampa Museum of Art has announced an expansion — what’s better is that the architect is responsible for the transformation of the St Pete Pier:

https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2021/11/09/tampa-museum-of-arts-epic-expansion-68-million

You mean they didn’t call Baker Barrios?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well. The Cows are 2-10 in the American as its three most successful teams are about to leave but they’re now proposing a pro-level stadium costing $250-400 million (they insist on cup holders!)

Given that we regularly have more Knights show up at Ray Jay than they do when we’ve played over there, it seems a bit of a stretch, but they’re giving themselves five years to get the excuses ready. This time, it’ll be different, they insist. Let’s not hold our breaths…

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-sp-usf-on-campus-football-stadium-1208-20211207-s7mhrbolnvhdtdylycfjfbxvpq-story.html

From The Sentinel 
 

Edited by spenser1058
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14 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Talks grind on regarding the relocation of the Rays to Ybor City, this time including Tampa Mayor Jane Castor:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-sp-tampa-bay-rays-ybor-ballpark-1208-20211208-wem7cbwphngi7ipmxx4j4i4mnu-story.html

FromThe Sentinel 
 

There must be so much I don’t know about the relocation effort. Does St Pete want the team to relocate? Is the team asking for another stadium?

Ybor is already a bit of mess. I don’t think a sports team is going to give it a vision for revitalization. 

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12 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

There must be so much I don’t know about the relocation effort. Does St Pete want the team to relocate? Is the team asking for another stadium?

Ybor is already a bit of mess. I don’t think a sports team is going to give it a vision for revitalization. 

St. Pete just elected a new mayor so things are starting over there for the most part. The Trop never should have been the place for the franchise (it was conceived by the Grumpy Old Men under the city’s previous weak- mayor form of government and triumphed only because of a lawsuit against MLB). St. Pete, in all its success, is mostly weary of being treated like a red-headed stepchild by sports types when everyone else raves about the place.

Tampa believes anything of value belongs on their side of the bay; after all, they’re the “real” city. The goal has long been to go east; theoretically, that should attract fans from Orlando whereas the further west you go mostly what you attract on a 90-mile radius in that direction are fish in the Gulf.

The team’s owner is too concerned with money to be a sympathetic character (splitting half the season with Montreal - really?)

MLB knows baseball in Florida is a losing proposition (it’s been a dud in St. Pete and Miami with bottom of the sport attendance for both even with World Series teams). There’s no shame in that - college football is a complete meh in the northeast, after all, and no one thinks less of the region for it.

There are all sorts of internal politics I’m not up on which could fill a book and a lot of money to be made in Ybor by developers and property owners.

St. Pete has a contract until 2028 and, unless another stadium is proposed there, has no reason to play nice (the Trop is a white elephant that the city is already planning to demolish; yes, there are racial issues regarding where it was built, too).

Stay tuned - it’s one of the state’s better soap operas.

 

Edited by spenser1058
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4 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

I think that’s right - great point.

Here in DC, there is a fight about the future of the RFK stadium site (former home of the Redskins ala the Washington Football Team).

The District is pushing to take control of the land, which is marked Federal and controlled by the national park service. Potentially  the biggest infill development opportunity that remainsin DC.  Let’s hope the locals win the fight for their city!

Point being — most of DC doesn’t seem to mind that the team went elsewhere. But that land is a gold rush. 

 

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15 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

I heard recently from a local St Pete development guru that the Trop land is in high demand. 
If this is true, perhaps St Pete has a longer term vision for the neighborhood.

Very high demand. To have that much acreage coming available in a city that dynamic is AMAZING! 

16 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

There must be so much I don’t know about the relocation effort. Does St Pete want the team to relocate? Is the team asking for another stadium?

Ybor is already a bit of mess. I don’t think a sports team is going to give it a vision for revitalization. 

The K-Force site is adjacent to a large assemblage by a local investor, Daryl Shaw. He is master planning it with Kettler. In other words, this is a BFD. 

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