So Many Amendments…Do We Really Know How To Vote On Them?

Even though Florida has a hotly contested race for both Governor and the U.S. Senate coming up in the General Election tomorrow, I honestly can’t imagine that too many of us are actually looking forward to casting ballots this time around.

Why?

Well, mid-term elections are always a hit-and-miss proposition, but for the residents of New Tampa — who will pick three new Hillsborough County commissioners and a new School Board member — I have to think that, like me, some of you are so confused by all of the constitutional amendments on the ballot that you may choose to stay home instead of trying to really figure out how you should vote on some, if not most, of them.

Even though I have a four-year college degree from the University of Florida and I’ve been a professional writer and editor for more than 35 years, it seems to me that the wording of all proposed amendments to our state constitution are designed to confuse us, which makes filling in those “No” spaces hard to resist.

So, here’s a look at just a few of the 12 amendments on the ballot — because I personally may not get very far before I just start voting no on all of them. I mean, should it really take me a half hour or more, not including waiting on line time, just to vote?

Let’s start with Amendment 1 — Increased Homestead Property Tax Assessment, which grants an additional $25,000 homestead exemption for homes valued over $125,000. Owners of homes worth more than $100,000 would also receive an increase in their exemption.

If that’s the case, why don’t they just say it’s an additional exemption for homes worth more than $100,000?

On the surface, this seems like a no-brainer. After all, who wouldn’t want an additional homestead exemption?

On the other hand, groups like Florida Tax Watch, the League of Women Voters (LOWV) and others oppose it because it would take about $700 million a year out of the pockets of Florida’s cities, counties and other taxing authorities (although it wouldn’t affect school districts), starting in 2019, according to the Florida Association of Counties.

The LOWV says the likely result will be cuts in services or higher local tax rates to make up for the revenue losses, or possibly both.

OK, so how about Amendment 2 — Limitations on Property Tax Assessments?

In 2008, Florida voters amended the state Constitution to provide a 10-percent cap on annual property value increases for non-homestead property. This includes vacation homes, apartment buildings, vacant land, shopping centers and office buildings. The amendment excluded limits on assessments for school taxes.

However, the 2008 amendment on non-homestead property value limits is scheduled to automatically repeal on Jan. 1, 2019. Amendment 2, placed on the ballot by the Florida Legislature, would make the 10-percent limit on property value permanent (a legislative analysis of the proposal is here).

Like the 2008 amendment, Amendment 2 would exclude local school district taxes from the property value limits. The limits also do not apply if the property changes hands or if it undergoes substantial improvements. In other words, if a store is built on a piece of vacant land, the property value increase would not be protected by the 10-percent limit.

Florida Tax Watch supports this amendment but the LOWV is opposed to it.

Amendment 3 — Voter Control of Gambling In Florida — is an interesting one created by a citizen initiative, that would require approval of any new casino gambling through a citizen-initiative constitutional amendment, effectively barring the Legislature (as well as the Constitutional Review Commission, or CRC) from making those gambling decisions by passing laws. The interesting thing is that the new law would not affect the state’s ability to negotiate with Native American-owned casinos (like the Seminole Hard Rock here in Tampa) or dog- or horse-racing or the state lottery.

Because it puts the decision-making power for new casinos into the hands of Florida’s residents, both Tax Watch and the LOWV support Amendment 3, although a spate of recent TV ads would tell you that it wouldn’t actually help the average Florida resident much, if at all.

Another one that has gotten a lot of attention is Amendment 4 — Voting Restoration. This amendment would restore the voting rights of convicted felons (excluding those convicted of murder and felony sex crimes) who have served their time and paid their restitution without the current 5-7-year waiting period.

Again, this seems like a fair law, especially in light of statistics quoted by the LOWV (which helped write the amendment) that the recidivism rate for those who have had their voting rights restored goes down by 30 percent.

It seems to me that those who have served time for felonies may have more important things on their plate — like finding a job, getting back to normalcy with their families, etc. — than whether or not they should vote, but this one at least seems to make sense.

I also think that constitutional amendments are important enough that legislators shouldn’t be able to tack unrelated issues onto them. For example, is Amendment 6 about the rights of crime victims or the retirement age of judges? And how are those two things related?

Yeesh.

Seven Things To Know Before Voting Today

The Washington Post recently published a story about a study that concluded that 25 percent of college students may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of the 2016 election.

After checking to make sure it wasn’t actually a story from “The Onion,” only one conclusion can possibly be drawn from the study: You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Take a look around, people. These are crazy times. Bipartisanship and civility have been washed away by a flood of hate and conspiracies spewed on Twitter and Facebook, and depending upon your point of view — which is likely partisan and unbending — you’d probably say the same political bile also shows up on cable stations like FOX and CNN as well.

It’s ugly out there. Ugly, and sad.

Even so, here’s the seven things you need to know for Nov. 6:

1. National politics is a war zone these days — the 2020 election is going to be off the chain bonkers and drive us all insane, promise! — but don’t let it get you down. Remember, local politics, while not nearly as sexy, thrilling and cable-TV worthy, is where you can see real differences made in your community.

Guess what? Neither Mariella Smith nor Victor Crist are going to ever vote on President Donald Trump’s wall. Ken Hagan won’t get to help pick the next Supreme Court justice. Fentrice Driskell isn’t going to fix immigration, and Angela Birdsong, as far as we know, isn’t going to fix the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

What the local candidates who end up winning in the General Election on Tuesday, November 6, can do, however, is help fix our roads and solve our traffic issues, make our schools better and safer, keep our police and firefighters paid and help spur improvements in our local neighborhoods.

Do you think Trump or any senator has ever heard of Bruce B. Downs?

Don’t B. Silly. (sorry)

Focus and do your part to put the right people who you think can help your community the most into office on Tuesday.

2. Maybe if there was more polling on local races, there would be more interest, but know this — the most interesting race in our area is likely to be Driskell, potentially a rising star in the Democratic Party, vs. Republican incumbent Shawn Harrison, for the State House District 63 seat.

The seat, in a word, could be “flip-a-licious.”

Harrison won the District comfortably in 2010, lost it to Democrat Mark Danish in 2012 by 728 votes, reclaimed it from Danish in 2014 by 2,381 votes, and in 2016 held off Democratic challenger and fellow former Tampa City Council member Lisa Montelione by 1,363 votes.
In a district with more registered Democrats than Republicans, and potentially a prevailing wind at the backs of Democrats, the candidates are likely to be separated by a small margin of votes.

An SEA Polling & Strategic Design survey commissioned by Florida Democrats in September gave Harrison a 45-39 advantage, but voters with the highest level of interest tabbed Driskell by a 58-41 advantage.

If the blue wave is a real thing — and national polling suggests it might be — Driskell has a chance to flip the seat again.

3. Longtime Tampa Palms resident and Republican Victor Crist, who is term-limited out of his current District 2 seat, which covers New Tampa, on the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, is running for the District 5 county-wide seat. He also could be in trouble.

Democrat Mariella Smith, a local businessman woman and activist, has been able to keep fundraising pace with Crist, and is viewed as a serious threat to the continuation of his political career.

“It’s close. It’s really, really close,” Crist said this week when asked how the campaign was going.

4. Even though it’s a non-presidential year, the 2018 ballot is fire when it comes to statewide races.

It is topped by a number of key hotly-contested races that have transcended being merely statewide races — outgoing Republican Governor Rick Scott is trying to send longtime Democratic senator Bill Nelson into retirement, and if you haven’t found the Ron DeSantis-Andrew Gillum race for Governor entertaining, then you are just not paying attention. Which you should be.

Who do you want in control when the next hurricane or other natural disaster slams into Florida?

5. Your ballot this year has 12 amendments on it.

Twelve!

There’s not enough room to break them all down, but here’s a pro-tip: take a little time to dig them up on the web and read up on each before you show up to vote.

Some of the more discussed amendments, which require 60 percent of the vote to pass, are:

Amendment 1 — You can vote yes for an additional $25,000 homestead exemption for homes valued over $125,000, but that’s going to cut into your city and county money pot and could lead to cuts in services or even higher local tax rates.

Amendment 4 — Vote yes to grant felons — but not those convicted of murder or felony sex crimes — the right to vote after they have served their time. Vote no to make them keep waiting a minimum of five years before they can even apply to appeal those voting rights.

Amendment 13 — A vote yes would ban all dog racing in Florida by Dec. 31, 2020 (although the dog tracks would be allowed to continue to operate card rooms and slot machines). Vote no to let the dog racing continue.

(Note: Amendment 8 was stricken from the ballot by the Florida Supreme Court)

6. There are two referendums on the ballot in New Tampa, one for transportation and another for education.

The transportation referendum would increase Hillsborough’s sale tax by a penny for 30 years, generating $300 million a year. The money has been earmarked for road improvements and public transportation enhancements, and will be carefully managed by an oversight committee. Say what you will about the increase, but a solid, carefully thought out plan is certainly deserving of the voters’ consideration.

The same goes for the education referendum, which would impose a half-cent sales tax increase, but an aggressive marketing plan presented at a series of town halls, as well as a list of improvements the money will be spent on, appears well-reasoned.

Both referendums will be enticing to voters frustrated by Tampa Bay’s woeful transportation issues and schools that seem to be falling apart.

However, while organizers of both groups insist they aren’t hurting the other, voting for what is effectively two tax increases might be a tough pill for many locals to swallow.

7. Blue wave, red wave, no wave, grab your surfboard and get out there on Tuesday and vote.

 

Penguin Project Offers Special Opportunity For Aspiring Special Needs Performers

One of the goals of the New Tampa Players (NTP) performance troupe has always been to introduce people to the theatre, and make it accessible for everyone.

The Penguin Project will help NTP meet its vision.

The project, a national effort to involve special needs actors in stage productions, is coming to Tampa, as NTP will adopt the Penguin Project for a production of a “Junior” version of “Aladdin” which is scheduled to run April 4-6, 2019.

Informational meetings about the production will be held on Monday, November 5, 7 p.m., and on Sunday, November 11, 5:30 p.m., at Family of Christ Lutheran Church on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Tampa Palms.

As a parent of special needs children, NTP president Nora Paine says she can’t wait to get started, adding that the response already has been greater than she expected, with interest from Bradenton to Brandon to Town N Country.

“We are well on our way,” says Paine.

The Penguin Project was founded by Dr. Andrew Morgan in Peoria, IL, in 2004. Dr. Morgan not only had a passion for helping disabled children, which he did as a pediatrician, but also for local community theatre. He saw no reason why he couldn’t combine the two, starting the Penguin Project, which pairs disabled children and adults ages 8-21 with mentors who aren’t disabled.

Dr. Morgan has described the experience of Penguin Project productions as life-changing for the special needs actors who take part.

Paine had been brainstorming ways to incorporate special needs actors into productions, but it was at a theater management conference in Venice, FL, earlier this summer that convinced her to reach out to Dr. Morgan.

“There were several theaters all around the country there (at the conference) talking about it,” Paine says. “After I heard everyone talk about it, I thought it would be a perfect fit for the New Tampa Players. There’s nothing like this in New Tampa.”

In Penguin Project productions, actors are paired with a same-age peer mentor, who will help the special needs participant learn his or her role.

The mentor, who also has to learn all of the lines and choreography, will perform on the stage with their special needs counterpart, usually in the background of a scene, offering encouragement and whispering lines that may be forgotten. The mentors also help with stage footwork.

“But, the special needs kids still get to be the stars of the show,” Paine says, “and they get to have that great theatre experience.”

The special needs of Penguin Project participants range from Down syndrome and cerebral palsy to learning and intellectual disabilities and other neurological disorders.

“I know there are organizations devoted to specific disabilities that do great things,” Paine says. “(With the) Penguin Project, however, it doesn’t matter what the disability is. They take the child where they are and supply the support that they need.”

The NTP troupe has already done productions with children involved that have some learning disabilities, but Paine thinks expanding that effort will be a good thing for the entire Tampa Bay area.

“I know the need for something like this is great,” she says.

During the four months of preparation for “Aladdin,” Paine says Dr. Morgan and his team will visit Tampa six times — including at the informational meetings at Family of Christ — to provide assistance with the production.

Already, Paine says she has more than 30 interested performers and production workers, and almost as many peer volunteers.

It will be a rewarding experience for both, she says. “It’s a two-way street,” Paine says. “Mentors are going to get a lot out of it. They can teach a lot of skills to the kids with special needs, and also get the reward of being able to help a child.”

For more information about the New Tampa Players and the troupe’s upcoming productions, visit NewTampaPlayers.org.

Wiregrass Ranch LB Dylan Ridolph Racks Up Sacks

Wiregrass Ranch linebacker Dylan Ridolph tracks down Wesley Chapel’s Jelani Vassell during the Bulls’ 43-14 victory back on Aug. 28. Ridolph had four sacks in the game. (Photo: Andy Warrener)

Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) junior linebacker Dylan Ridolph is a physical force, a hard-hitting 6-foot, 200-pound missile in the center of the Bulls’ defense.

However, it is Ridolph’s mental approach that makes him one of the Tampa Bay area’s top linebackers.

A self-professed bookwork and history buff who is flirting with a 4.0 grade-point average, Ridolph often spends his free time watching history videos on YouTube, because, “it’s fun to see how in history, things connect. One event has a ripple effect that causes something else.”

In football, sometimes those events, like a missed block or blown assignment, have a ripple effect like, well, in Ridolph’s case, a sack.

Through six games, Ridolph is second in Florida’s Class 7A with 17 sacks, according to MaxPreps.

That’s just two behind the Class 7A leader, Winter Garden Foundation Academy’s Warren Sapp — yes, the son of the other Warren Sapp, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Pro Football Hall of Famer.

What jumps out even more than the number of sacks Ridolph has is the impact they have had on WRH’s opponents. His 17 sacks have resulted in 159 yards of lost yardage, more than nine yards per sack. By comparison, Sapp averages 6.5 yards lost per sack.

Pair Ridolph’s 17 sacks with his 26 tackles for loss, and you have a drive-killing specialist.

“Tackles for loss and sacks are great but they depend on the yardage lost — is it a one-yard or a nine-yard loss?,” says WRH head coach Mark Kantor. “There’s a big difference between 3rd-and-3 and 3rd-and-12. It’s also frustrating (for an offense) when you get a negative play on 1st-and-10. It puts you behind the sticks.”

Ridolph, who had 15 sacks last season and has received college letters from Harvard, Yale and the University of Cincinnati, credits much of his success to his pre-game habits. He says that as much as he loves studying history, he loves breaking down game film.

“I’ll call out where the play is going and who I would be going against on that play and I might watch that same play over and over again to see where the tackle is going, see how the blocker will set himself,”

Ridolph says. “It gives me an easier time to predict them and make my read (in the game) from there.”

Ridolph puts his homework to the test in games, and his analysis continues in live game action.

“In the beginning, I won’t give them a full-force rush, I’ll wait for them to make their move on me,” Ridolph said. “Before long, I’ll know what they are going to do before they get to me.”

Ridolph says he gauges if the offensive tackle he’s going against is a passive or an active blocker. It dictates which type of rush he’ll put on them. He’ll watch their stance. Do they lean a certain way? Are they in a balanced position?

Ridolph will even look at the way their feet are pointed as an indication of how the tackle will try to block him or tip off which way the play is going.

“By the lineman’s first two steps, I usually know where the play is going to go,” Ridolph says.

This acumen for the game and attention to detail also makes it difficult for the Bulls’ offense to run plays against Ridolph in practice. The fact that Ridolph knows no other speed but full-throttle makes it even more difficult.

“Dylan goes 100 miles per hour, no matter what the situation,” Kantor says. “There are times in practice when we’re trying to get a look on offense, that we have to ask him to turn it down.”

It’s a good problem to have.

“If I had 39 guys that go like that every day, we’d be a pretty darn good football team, even better than we are now,” Kantor said. “He makes the other guys a lot better.”

Ridolph’s highlight reel shows a linebacker intent on getting to the ball carrier. He lines up in a three-point stance and gets around the right tackle for one sack. He lines up on the other side and bowls over the left tackle for another. Ridolph stands poised on either edge and is on the quarterback before he can even set his feet in the pocket, and when he does escape, Ridolph has the speed to catch him from behind.

And, his ability to fend off blockers to be a force along the line of scrimmage and stymie the opposing running game is another attribute that likely makes offensive coordinators go batty.

“I don’t just go upfield on every play, I try to do what’s best for the team and not just myself,” Ridolph said. “Getting sacks is great but I’ll take a win over sacks.”

WRH is 6-3 this season (and 4-2 in Class 7A, District 8) heading into this Friday’s regular season finale at home against Auburndale. The Bulls are in the hunt for a third-straight playoff appearance but will need a strong finish.

 

Ridolph hopes the Bulls can keep moving forward, and plans on his doing his part by knocking the competition backwards.

Cypress Creek Taking Shape

Now that the “Restaurant Row” on the north side of S.R. 56 has been completed, developers have moved into the retail phase in Cypress Creek.

When Dilip Kanji, the president of Impact Development and developer of the new Hyatt Place Hotel on S.R. 56, told a crowd of local business leaders back in February about a dozen or more retail and restaurant offerings coming to the area known as Cypress Creek Town Center North, there were audible gasps.

Nowadays, those gasps have been replaced by leering eyes, as those stores and eateries begin going vertical.

Located across S.R. 56 from the Tampa Premium Outlets and to the west of the north side of 56’s “Restaurant Row,” trendy eateries like the Walk-On’s Bar & Bistreaux and Blaze Pizza, hip green grocers like EarthFare and mega-stores like Burlington and Home Goods are now taking shape.

“What is going there” is now being replaced by “What is that building going to be.”

More than a decade ago, this advanced transformation of the State Rd. 56 corridor hardly seemed possible, as Sierra Properties’ development of the Cypress Creek Town Center Development of Regional Impact was mired in delays, most caused by environmental concerns, that caused some of the plans — including, at one time, a 1.4-million-sq.-ft. regional mall and movie theater — to be scrapped and modified. When that happened, the Shops at Wiregrass was almost immediately developed a few miles to the east on S.R. 56.

But once the hurdles were cleared, the transformation of S.R. 56 west of I-75 began, with the Tampa Premium Outlets and restaurants like Ford’s Garage and Chuy’s lining the road that has become the what some might call the main artery running through Wesley Chapel, which definitely has a strong pulse.