Copyright 1999 The Tribune Co. Publishes The Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune
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June 5, 1999, Saturday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NATION/WORLD, Pg. 12
LENGTH: 1466 words
HEADLINE:
Move cautiously;
BODY:
Do we need the
USS Forrestal as a tourist attraction? I served in the U.S. Navy during the
Vietnam War. I have tremendous respect and a warm feeling for the power
and might that the USS Forrestal represents, but we must be realistic.
The only U.S. warship tourist attraction that is profitable without
subsidy is the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, Texas. It has the
advantage of no rent and few competing attractions and is located in a
tourist destination and Navy town. It also has strong support from the business
community.
The USS Forrestal is much larger and offers more
opportunity for events to attract visitors but will have to compete for
tourists throughout Central Florida. It will be sharing tourist dollars
with Disney and the other attractions in Orlando, the Florida Aquarium,
Busch Gardens, Lowry Park Zoo, baseball, football, hockey and the beaches
locally. The expense of time, manpower and money in preparing the USS Forrestal
for visitors will be daunting. Asbestos removal, stripping lead paint with
special tools so no lead-based paint chips become airborne or are dropped
in the bay, addition of safety features and accessibility issues will all
add considerably to the cost. There is the problem of buying out a leased space
at the port and dredging the channel and berth. We also will need the ship
towed to Tampa. Preparing the dock area should be the least expensive
task.
For the USS Forrestal to be a successful attraction, it will
require a strong marketing plan and compelling exhibits. It will need a
large volunteer staff to man the ship, and it will require an expensive,
full-time maintenance staff.
In projecting revenues and use, have we
learned from our mistakes at the Florida Aquarium, Tampa Convention
Center, Harbour Island People Mover and Raymond James Stadium? Have we learned
to be conservative and realistic enough to be financially responsible in
trying to bring another tourist attraction to the Tampa Bay area? Do we
have the support of the business community, so that the citizens will not
inherit another load of debt service? We are currently "impacted" and taxed
beyond our means.
Enthusiasm for the USS Forrestal is great, but
fiscal responsibility is more important for our community. We cannot fund
a "feel good" project that will tax the citizens further. If we are going
to do this, let's do this right. - ROBERT WEISMAN Tampa Print
whole story
I read two wonderful articles about Kosovo in The New York
Times, which I printed to show my family. One of those articles was
reprinted in The Tampa Tribune (front page, May 25).
However, the
Tribune edited the article, probably due to space limitations, and left out the
most important point. Your edited version makes it appear that Jadranka
Djordjevic only considers herself a victim when, in fact, she has definite
feelings regarding this war. The following was omitted from your article:
"Ms. Djordjevic, who worked at the embassy for much of her career, is
extremely bitter about the war. "I worked for 30 years to elevate
relations between our two countries and they were destroyed in two days of
bombing,' she said. Will the new difficulties affect the way Serbs think about
Kosovo? "... you don't think politics. You just get angry at people
who want to make you live like cavemen.' Ms. Djordjevic also had some
choice words for President Clinton and his wife Hillary, who said the
plight of Kosovo refugees reminded her of Holocaust scenes in the Steven
Spielberg film "Schindler's List': She said, "People who learn history
from Spielberg movies should not tell us how to live our lives.' "
I thought the last quote should not have been left out. And it makes me
wonder what the United States is doing over there. The other New York
Times article pertained to the history of the conflict and, after reading
it, most people would wonder why we got involved in a centuries-old
conflict.
Please get the record straight about Djordjevic's
comments. - ANN ANDERSON URBANSKI Tampa Thanks for article
What a delight it was to read "My 2 moms" in The Tampa Tribune Family
Life section (Baylife, May 29)! To see such a positive article in what I
consider to be a conservative newspaper was a pleasant surprise.
Not all families fit the "Ozzie and Harriet" stereotype, and I am glad
the Tribune is acknowledging the diversities of families. I appreciate the
Tribune educating people on this topic and look forward to reading similar
articles. - JAMES M. RONEY Tampa Why not issue warning?
Recently I was visiting Treasure Island with a couple of friends,
enjoying the beautiful weather and the wonderful beach. While I was there,
two police officers approached me. They noticed I had two Snapple iced tea
bottles on my blanket. They informed me that glass was not allowed on the
beach. I thanked them for letting me know about the ordinance and told
them that I would not let it happen again.
I proceeded to dispose
of the containers in the trash. At that point, they decided to give me a
ticket for $ 55 for breaking the city ordinance. They asked me questions
such as "In what state were you born? What is your Social Security number?
Do you have any tattoos or scars? What is your weight and height? What is
your eye color?"
You would have thought that I had robbed a bank. I was
amazed. I thought they would give me a verbal warning, but the officer
insisted on writing the ticket. It seems the Treasure Island police have
nothing better to do than harass visitors who are trying to get a little rest
and relaxation after a long, tough week at work.
The following
Monday I called Treasure Island Chief of Police Joe Pelkington and told him of
my dissatisfaction with the ticket. He said writing a ticket was up to the
discretion of the officer.
With the amount of money we pay in taxes, I
would think the Treasure Island police could make better use of their time
than prosecuting an individual with two Snapple iced tea bottles! -
RICHARD T. KIEVIT Tampa This too shall pass
Regarding W.G.
Hoskins' letter "Y2K poses probable domino-like failures" (May 30): The fact of
the matter is that the majority of us are not in denial regarding the
seriousness of the Y2K dilemma, but we are not going to work ourselves up
into a "panic-stricken frenzy" about something that we have no control
over.
Most of us middle-class folks live paycheck to paycheck and
certainly do not have the luxury of stockpiling cash reserves.
Furthermore, all we can do is get some extra bottled water, canned goods
and prescription medications and hope for the best.
We may
encounter some minor inconveniences, but we need to go with the flow. These
letters are the type of thing that will make people panic, which will
worsen the situation. My advice is to take whatever precautions you can
and hope that your Jan. 15, 2000, paycheck is direct-deposited on time.
- LINDA PLUSCAUSKI Clearwater Give us more choices
Recently
SBC Communications, the nation's second-largest "Baby Bell," announced that it
intends to offer local telephone service in Florida by mid-2000,
contingent upon FCC approval of a proposed merger with Ameritech, the
nation's fourth-largest "Baby Bell." This move follows yet another
blockbuster deal between AT&T and the cable giant Media One, whereby
AT&T plans to offer local residential and business phone service via
high-speed cable.
These acquisitions, among others, once again raise the
question of why we still have no real competition in local phone markets
anywhere in Florida. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was
supposed to open the floodgates for new entrants into local phone service,
but today we still see more than 98 percent of Florida customers still
being serviced by their local phone monopoly - GTE, Sprint or BellSouth.
Furthermore, every year we see these same monopolies, after continually
posting record profits, constantly lobbying the Legislature for more and
more rate increases.
As the owner of a small business affected by these
changes, I suggest that we need to urge Congress and the Legislature to
continually look for ways to spur competition in the local phone industry
that will benefit the average consumer and small businesses. Both are currently
held hostage to constant rate increases, universal service fees and shoddy
customer service. If proposals such as the AT&T/Media One merger allow
the average consumer a viable alternative to the monopoly, then let us
move ahead. It is far past time for the customer to enjoy the choice in local
phone service that competition should provide. - THOMAS HUGGINS III
Tampa
NOTES: LETTERS
LOAD-DATE: June 7, 1999 
