Author: Serafin Gomez

Red Sox hit Batting Practice Before Game

FORT MYERS, Fla-  Batting practice. The Grapefruit League. A massive Red Sox hitter drills a hard line drive into right field, it skips off the perfectly-manicured grass like a stone off a pond, then smacks right into the glove of an awaiting outfielder.

Instead of throwing it back to his cut-off man in the infield, the right fielder glances over this left shoulder. Just a couple feet away, tourists in Dustin Pedroia jerseys,separated by a knee-high wall, wave at him frantically.

” Throw it to me !” A woman, covered from cap to sandals in red and blue, yells in a full-on New England accent. ” Please, we’re from Boston!’

She is not alone. Many of the 8,100 in the sell-out crowd  today share the same regional dialect, and rabid affinity for their power-house team that has won two World Series since 2004. Even though Tampa Bay is just up the coast, few Rays fans are here to watch the two teams play each other today. But most Floridians don’t mind; Red Sox fans visiting Florida means a much needed influx of money in the deflated local economy, which has been devastated by the real estate implosion.

“Spring training alone produces $750 million dollars of economic impact every Spring in Florida, ” Governor Charlie Crist (R-FL) told Fox in a sit down interview, pointing to the millions of fans that travel to the state each  Spring .” That’s actually over 9,000 jobs direct and indirect that come into the Sunshine State.”

However, in recent years many communities here have been fending off attempts by Arizona to attract MLB teams to their state and the Cactus League.With an eye on Arizona ,Florida lawmakers have made efforts to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on incentives, like new stadiums and tax breaks that will help  retain teams.

Critics say the state, which currently has a $3 billion budget deficit, shouldn’t use public money to bankroll big time sports franchises.

“I have to think that that our politicians aren’t listening to the academics, ” Dr. Philip Porters says. Porter an Economics professor at the University of South Florida does not believe that the teams show much of an long term economic impact for Florida.

” Either the numbers are very very small – or the positive impact of the numbers is offset by the negative impact of the taxes so that in the end when we look to see what happens in the community there is no change, ” Porter adds. ” $700 million dollars is quite a bit, if it happened we ought to be able to see it.”

For some Sox fans, a yearly trip to Spring training would not be the same, if not in the Sunshine state.

” We come down here every year, and buy tickets for two or three games, ” said Kim Horstman from Boothbay Harbor, Maine, who has been visiting Florida for years. ” It is great fun, and it is an easy park to get to.”

And ,hypothetically speaking, if their team  ever joined the Cactus League would they travel out West?

” No,” Horstman said, shaking her head. ” We don’t have a condo in Arizona.”

The new Red Sox Park in Fort Myers is scheduled to open in 2012.

Red Sox fans do not have to worry about that happening anytime soon. Elected officials in Lee County, Florida, where Fort Myers is located, agreed recently to pay for a multi-million ball park that will keep the team in town. The design includes it’s own “Green Monster”-type left field, like Fenway Park, the Sox’ home stadium  in Boston.

Fort Myers, Fla -Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio did not spend $134 on a “back wax” at a high-end barbershop in Miami, as alleged by his primary opponent Gov. Charlie Crist, Rubio’s campaign said early Wednesday.

“Marco paid $20 for a haircut with a razor on the neck, and he bought some items that went into a silent auction, including gift certificates,”Alex Burgos, a spokesman for Rubio said in a statement to Live Shots.” Charlie Crist’s obsession with making up things about other people’s grooming habits is bizarre for anyone, especially the sitting governor of Florida. It’s also a shame he cares more about what’s in Marco’s personal bills than what’s in the stimulus bill he supported.”

During an interview with FOX Monday, Crist blasted Rubio for the personal expenses the front-runner made on his Florida GOP credit card while Speaker of the state House,which included the visit to Churchill’s Barbershop.

“ He’s trying to pawn himself off as a fiscal conservative”, Crist told FNC anchor Greta Van Susteren.” And yet just in recent weeks, two weeks ago it has come out in news accounts he had a Republican Party of Florida credit card that he charged $130 haircut, or maybe it was a back wax — we are not sure what all he got at that place. “

Rubio, the front-runner in the acrimonious race, has said that he paid for the personal charges on the American Express card directly from his own accounts.

MIAMI-A new poll released tomorrow from Public Policy Polling will have far from good news for Florida GOP Senate candidate Gov.Charlie Crist, according to the organization’s director.

” We are going to have absolutely brutal numbers out on Charlie Crist tomorrow,” Tom Jensen, said in a blog post about the survey. Crist is in a battle of a primary race with former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, a contest that has received national media attention.

Jensen previewed part of the PPP poll: 19% of primary voters would like to see Crist as governor a year from now, 14% want him in the Senate, and 56% want him out of “any elected office”.

“If there is any path to his winning office in Florida again- and there may not be- it’s as something other than a Republican, ” Jensen concludes.

File Picture of Dawn Brancheau

MIAMI, Fla-SeaWorld has just released a statement from the family of Dawn Brancheau. Brancheau was the veteran orca trainer that was killed during a public performance, with “Tilikum”,one of the famed killer whales from the Shamu show at the popular theme park in Orlando,Fl.

“You have all heard what an amazing trainer Dawn Brancheau was and it is true – she was the best. It came naturally to her. Being a trainer was a life-long dream that she achieved. She loved her job, and she loved her animals,” The statement reads.

“For her husband, family and friends, Dawn was so much more. She was a compassionate and loving person who lived life to the fullest. She touched so many lives. Those who knew and loved her have suffered a tremendous loss, one so unexpected that it is extremely difficult to even process or comprehend at this time. Our family sincerely appreciates everyone’s prayers and compassionate thoughts for Dawn, her husband and family.”

While we understand that this tragic event is capturing headlines across the country, at this time, our family needs space and privacy to absorb our loss. We sincerely hope that the media will honor and respect this request.”

ORLANDO, Fla- The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has released the autopsy results of the veteran SeaWorld trainer who was killed by one of the famous killer whales, that is showcased as “Shamu”, at the world-famous theme park in Florida.

Forty-year-old Dawn Brancheau was pulled by her pony-tail and pulled into the tank where she died from”from multiple traumatic injuries and drowning after one of the park’s killer whales pulled her into a pool behind Shamu Stadium”, confirmed the autopsy results, released Thursday afternoon.

The report also describes the scene immediately after  Brancheau was pulled in the tank  by the orca. Apparently, rescuers were not able to jump into the water to “render assistance” to Brancheau due to the “aggressive nature” of the killer whale, given the name”Tilikum”,by her trainers.Ironically, the name is a Chinook  indigenous word that means “friend.” Tilikum, or  Tilly as he is also called, was involved in the death of another female trainer at a Canadian sea park in 1991, and implicated in yet another death at Orlando’s Shamu stadium in 1999, when a man snuck into his pool.

Brancheau’s body was finally”recovered from the whale by Sea World staff members after the animal was coaxed into a smaller pool and lifted out of the water by a large scale/platform that lay on the bottom of the smaller tank”, the report says.

HERE IS THE FULL  RELEASE OF THE AUTOPSY RESULTS:

Autopsy determines multiple traumatic injuries and drowing

to be the probable cause of death to Sea World trainer

Sheriff’s Homicide Investigators advise that the Orange County Medical Examiner has determined that 40 year old Dawn Brancheau most likely died from multiple traumatic injuries and drowning after one of the park’s killer whales pulled her into a pool behind Shamu Stadium.

The trainer, who had 16 years of experience working with Orcas, was apparently interacting with the attraction’s largest male whale in knee deep water when the animal grabbed her by the hair, said to be in a long pony tail, and pulled her underwater.  Rescuers were not able to immediately jump in and render assistance to the Brancheau due to the whale’s aggressive nature.  She was recovered from the whale by Sea World staff members after the animal was coaxed into a smaller pool and lifted out of the water by a large scale/platform that lay on the bottom of the smaller tank.

While this incident remains the subject of an ongoing death investigation there are no signs of foul play.  All evidence and witness statements indicate that the death was a tragic accident.

First responders to the accident scene at the stadium believed that the victim had somehow slipped or fell into the orca’s pool but, after witness statements were taken and reviewed by homicide investigators, it became apparent that the whale had, in fact, pulled Brancheau into the pool and was the cause of her fatal injuries.

Since the 9-1-1 recordings relating to this incident have not been reviewed by investigators they are not available for release.  We have no additional information to provide at this time however updates will be provided as new information becomes available.

– j30s –

MIAMI, Fla — Advertising guru, and CNBC contributor Donny Deutsch has issued an apology for his remarks about Florida Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio after two Latino organizations criticized the CNBC contributor for what one them called a “racial smear” against Florida Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio.

“In discussing Mr. Rubio, I used a word that was intended to describe his inexperience on the national stage. I now realize the word has connotations as an ethnic slur, and is therefore inappropriate.,” Deutsch said in a statement released this afternoon.” I apologize to Mr. Rubio and to anyone else I have offended.”

Earlier Wednesday, the conservative-leaning Hispanic Leadership Fund, a non-profit organization, called Donny Deutsch’s use of the term “coconut” to describe Rubio “disgusting racism” and had asked for an immediate apology from Deutsch.

“We call on every Hispanic organization in the country to forcibly denounce Donny Deutsch’s despicable racial smear. This kind of vile attack has no place in 21st century America. If Deutsch has any sense of decency he will apologize profusely to all American Hispanics,” Hispanic Leadership Fund President Mario H. Lopez said in a statement.

Deutsch entered into the controversy earlier this week when he described Rubio, a Cuban-American, as a “coconut,” a term that is considered a racially-derogatory term by some Latino activist groups.

The moniker implies that a Hispanic is a cultural sell-out.

“It means that a (Latino) is brown on the outside, and white on the outside”, Adriana Maestas said about the C-word. Maestas, a blogger, who writes about Latino politics and culture says that Deutsch had a “narrow-lense” for using that term.” It is a broad-brush to be called a ‘coconut’…it is inflammatory and racially-charged.”

Deutsch made the remarks during a TV segment on HLN’s Joy Behar Show in which he was discussing the Republican Party and the Tea Party movement.

After calling Rubio a “coconut,” Behar said she didn’t know who Rubio was. Deutsch replied: “Marco Rubio. He’s running against Charlie Crist, who I think has done a great job. And (Rubio) is the new great, you know, hope down there.”

Deutsch replied on his Twitter account Tuesday night that he was unaware it was a racially-insensitive term.

“I said ‘coconut’ meaning simple, goofy, bananas,” Deustch tweeted. “Wasn’t even aware it could be a racially charged word.”

The nation’s largest organization of elected Latino leaders also weighed in on Deutsch’s remarks.

“We should never resort to name calling. We can have genuine disagreements in an atmosphere of mutual respect without that kind of behavior,” said Arturo Vargas executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, a non-partisan group which represents more than 6,000 Latino elected officials.
“Name calling must never happen,” Vargas said.

Rubio spokesman Alex Burgos told Fox News that Rubio “is running a serious campaign about issues and ideas, not shameless attacks and name-calling.

We hope anyone involved in this race or following it with interest follows Marco’s example by engaging in a respectful, issues-based debate about Florida’s and our nation’s future,” Burgos said.

MIAMI, Fla-  Florida GOP senate candidate Marco Rubio will be traveling to South Carolina next month to take part in a joint fundraising swing of the Palmetto state with one of his political mentors, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Fox News Channel can confirm.First reported by CNN, the DeMint campaign will also create a website DeMintRubio.com next week that will highlight the tour.

DeMint was one of Rubio’s earliest supporters, who bucked the trend of some of his Republican colleagues, and the National Senatorial Republican Committee by endorsing Rubio’s  senate quest, which was deemed quixotic, at the time, by many GOP campaign analysts because of Crist’s large lead in early polls. Last week, DeMint also enthusiastically introduced Rubio at the Conservative Political Action Conference before his key note speech in D.C., that some conservatives are calling Rubio’s launch onto the national conservative scene.

Despite reports questioning Rubio’s arrival at an early primary state on the 2012  schedule, his campaign sought to emphatically downplay the visit.

“CNN totally overwrote this. Marco is going to travel with Demint to a bunch of small dollar events to raise money for the senate campaign,” a senior Rubio aide told Fox News producer Jake Gibson.

“It’s disappointing that Speaker Rubio’s new found fame would lead him to so quickly forget Floridians, “Amanda Henneberg, Crist  press secretary, said in an email .” Slowly but surely, we are seeing more of who the real Marco Rubio is – someone who routinely puts politics and political aspirations (and in this case South Carolina) above the people.”

DeMint’s spokesman scoffs at the Crist campaign’s assertion, saying Rubio and DeMint’s lap around South Carolina is to help Rubio raise campaign funds to combat Crist’s large war chest of roughly $ 7 .5 million cash on hand. At last count, Rubio had about $ 2 million.

“Rubio is surging in the polls but Gov. Crist still has a big fundraising advantage. Rubio wasn’t the choice of the Washington establishment so he must build grassroots support.”Wesley Denton, DeMint’s spokesman tells Fox.”Senator DeMint is committed to helping Marco raise the resources needed to get his message out, which is why the Senator sponsored an online money bomb for Rubio this month and is planning the events in South Carolina in March.” 
 

MIAMI, Fla- Florida GOP senatorial opponents Gov.Charlie Crist, and former state Speaker Marco Rubio, have agreed to participate in a debate on “Fox News Sunday” with anchor Chris Wallace, next month. The show will air live on March 28th, and is currently scheduled to take place in Washington D.C.

The Crist campaign also agreed yesterday to appear in a new debate on NBC’s Sunday show, “Meet the Press” with David Gregory on March 7th. The Rubio campaign said they would participate in NBC’s event but only after the Fox News debate, which was offered to the candidates weeks ago, according to insiders from both campaigns.

“FOX …has shown serious interest in this primary campaign since day one and was the first national news organization to extend an invitation for a debate. Marco Rubio gladly accepted immediately and will be happy to debate Charlie Crist on Meet the Press or anywhere else after he has kept his commitment to have the first debate on FOX,” Rubio spokesman, Alex Burgos said in a statement.” It’s unfortunate that Charlie Crist doesn’t understand this.”

“We’re ready to go March 28. I’m really looking forward to it,” Rubio said today to the Orlando Sentinel. “It will be the beginning of a high-minded public policy conversation about what the Republican Party should be about in U.S. Senate.

“We can do “Meet the Press” the next day if they wanted,” Rubio added.

“That’s fine. I don’t care, but I hope we can do “Meet the Press” too,” Crist said Saturday morning,when asked by  the St. Petersburg Time  about Rubio’s debate position.  “Why not do both?”

Either the Fox News or NBC forum would be the first debate for the primary opponents since the two Republicans launched their respective candidacies to represent Florida in the U.S. Senate. Democrat congressman Kendrick Meek will be the probable general election opponent for the eventual GOP senatorial nominee in November. The Republican primary will be held on August 24th.

***Update from Campaign flacks on Debate-Gate***

“After almost a year of ducking Marco Rubio’s debate challenge and less than 24 hours after insisting the first debate not be held on FOX Network, Charlie Crist has once again changed his mind by agreeing to debate first on FOX News Sunday on March 28.

“Marco Rubio looks forward to finally debating Charlie Crist on FOX News Sunday and hopes it will be the first of many high-minded debates about Florida’s and our nation’s future.  If there is interest by Meet the Press in doing a debate after FOX, we happily accept that invitation as well.

“Charlie Crist is a practiced and skilled debater, but Marco Rubio looks forward to focusing this race away from the process and politics and onto what really matters: the policies and ideas that will best steer this country back to the limited government ideals on which it was founded.”

and from Crist Press Secretary Amanda Henneberg :

MIAMI,Fl- A statement  has just been released on Tiger Woods’ website offering more details on what Woods will say at PGA Headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL on Friday. According to the statement Woods  will ” apologize for his behavior”, and says the Golf great realizes that while he believes the matter over his infidelity is ultimately between him and his wife,he acknowledges that he has “hurt” a lot of people, including his fans.

“While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between him and his wife, he also recognizes that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him He also let down his fans,” the statement reads.” He wants to begin the process of making amends, and that’s what he’s going to discuss.”.

Cape Canaveral, Fl- Endeavour Launch (Courtesy Phil Celli)

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL-  For almost a minute, the black sky over Kennedy Space Center turned from pre-dawn dark into a brilliant flash of white,and orange. Night, for an extended moment, turned into day, as the Space Shuttle Endeavour roared upwards, eventually becoming a small light, like a rising star, above the cheering crowd that had gathered for this historic mission, NASA’s last scheduled night launch for the venerable shuttle program.

A man cried softly while he filmed the orbiter lifting off, overcome with emotion by the awesome sight. His face exposed by the radiance coming from the powerful launch, as he held his camera towards the booming horizon.

24 hours earlier, it was a much different scene at Kennedy Space Center, as the initial launch time was scrubbed because of a troubling low-level cloud ceiling. At one point today, the problematic weather went “red” again, but soon the frustrating cloud problem cleared, and the NASA forecasters gave the go for launch.

The collective sentiment here then turned from worry to joy- almost giddiness- among the patient who gathered in the middle of the night to witness this significant moment in NASA’s long history.

There are only four Space Shuttle missions left. All of them day launches.

The Endeavour carries with its crew of six a new module, and cupola for the International Space Station. It is scheduled to dock at the ISS early tomorrow morning.

***UPDATE*** NASA has just announced that they are scrubbing this morning’s  launch because of “dynamic” weather. Try again in 24 hours.****

***UPDATE**** Officials at Kennedy Space Center now say the weather has improved for launch, and is now at ” Green”. The outlook is “slightly, cautiously optimistic” now that it was half an hour ago. However, forecaster are still watching that problematic “cloud”ceiling” that could still be an obstacle as we get closer to launch time.

Cape Canaveral, Fla- Officials at Kennedy Space Center say that there is a cloud ceiling that is proving problematic for this morning’s launch. Forecasters  are saying that launch weather is now red, or “no go.” Launch is scheduled for 4:39 AM. We will keep you updated.

MIAMI, Fla-According to a new Rasmussen telephone poll among likely Florida GOP primary voters, former state Speaker Marco Rubio now has a double-digit lead over Gov. Charlie Crist in the race to be the Republican nominee for the open Florida Senate seat. Rubio now leads 49% to Crist’s 37%, with 11 % undecided. Both have a double-digit lead over likely general election opponent, Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek.

It is an amazing swing from last Spring when Crist held nearly a thirty point lead over Rubio in the Sunshine state, and Rubio had even been encouraged by party members to drop out and run for a different office. In December, Rasmussen released a survey showing the two virtually tied, and last week Quinnipiac University had Rubio leading by a few points for the first time.

At a press conference today on how his adminstration has aided Haiti’s earthquake survivors, Crist responded to the new poll findings.

“You know there is a time to talk about politics and there is a time to talk about people,and what we’re doing today is talking about people, about their needs, their wants and desires and how government is supposed to provide for them,” Crist said in response to a reporter’s question. “I am not really concerned about the poll numbers, I am concerned about the people.”

Earlier in the day, Rubio announced that his campaign plans to mark the one year anniversary of Crist’s attendance at a pro-stimulus package rally with President Obama by attempting to raise $787, 000 in the next 10 days. The 2009 Ft. Myers event helped showcase a chink in Crist’s once-impentrable armor: his open acceptance of federal stimulus money in the era of Tea Party backlash. The move, considered a misstep of financial temerity by grass-root conservative activists, helped fuel Rubio’s rise on the right. Crist has argued it was a necessary step to buoy a sinking state economy.

During today’s call with conservative bloggers that occured before the poll’s release, Rubio said that because of parallels to his campaign and Scott Brown’s in Massachusetts, he expected the “mainstream media’” to go after his surging campaign in the aftermath of Brown’s surprising win last month .

“When we were just a blip on the screen, we were an interesting curiosity, but now that we’re in the lead, they’re going to be very aggressive,” Rubio said. “The mainstream media agrees with this administration and its view on the role of government, and they’re going to be very aggressive against anyone who challenges that. “

Rubio aide Todd Harris then took a direct jab at their opponent during the call, telling the conservatives, the mainstream media was “in love with Charlie Crist”.Harris,a veteran campaign operative, has been one of the chief  architects behind Rubio’s booming trajectory. A Florida columnist had pronounced Crist  “The Comeback Kid” on Sunday, prior to the poll’s results.

Crist supporters argue that there is still a political eternity between now and the August election day.

“This campaign will go through a lot of different stages,” Crist Communication Director, Andrea Saul,told Fox News Tampa .”We are at a stage now where it’s very important for voters to learn more about Speaker Rubio’s record. We are confident that at the end of the day, voters will choose Charlie Crist.”