Closing Time

I get tired of things closing.

Two months ago, my favorite Thai food joint.   Last month, the little Italian bakery in the area where I worked.

Then, just heard one of the truly elegant venues for live music in St. Pete, the venerable "Dave's Aqua Lounge"... a dive bar of the highest standing.   Sigh.  Breathed its last. 

Not a lot of unique places I love to haunt in the Bay Area any more.  Not recession proof.   Plenty of chain resturants, naturally.  Still, I can get tickets to the Bucs games (because no one else wants to see them) and tickets to the USF Bulls games (because no one else wants to see them; bad football juju in the TB area).

But, I can go to 3-4 days of the Clearwater Jazz Festival this weekend.   And see Tower of Power.   And Amos Lee.   And Brandi Carlisle.  That'll do. 

quid

$115 Million and Counting

We have no reason to complain about the weather here in Florida, given the storms up the east coast, the cold, the snow, the airport delays.

But we have had an unusual December (global warming?), much colder than any I've experienced here. Usually we have a week or two in January where we flirt with temps below 40 degrees. This week, it has been in the teens (19 degrees to be exact) overnight, after two prior weeks of bone chilling nights for those of us who spend most of the winter in Bermudas (shorts, that is). Tonight will be better, and it promises to warm up over the New Year Weekend. But the average HIGH temperature in Tampa so far this month, is 53.

Around the bay area is a large farming belt. Strawberries, citrus, winter vegetables .... and tropical fish farms.

Journey is still out on the effect on strawberries and citrus...they are being closely monitored. But through December 20th, the loss on vegetable and fish crops?

$115 MILLION !!! The state believes the cold snap is on its way to a $273 million loss in December. Ugh. This after a 30% crop loss from our freeze LAST January. More economic woe, and you may feel the impact on your peppers and green bean consumption over the next two months.