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Football is favored 'F' at USF

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By STEVE OTTO

sotto@tampatrib.com

Published: July 6, 2009

Maybe there's no connection, but a story by Trib education reporter Adam Emerson on the University of South Florida's Patel Charter School left me wondering.

Last year, after receiving an F on the state's report card, the university gave up on the charter school, turning it over to the Hillsborough County School District. USF claimed budget cuts had forced it to abandon ship.

This year, with largely the same students and the same teachers, the school received an A grade. On the reading portion of the FCAT, 90 percent of fourth graders passed, compared with 45 percent last year.

Meanwhile, we had another story two weeks ago. This one was about the USF football program, reporting that the team's offensive coordinator was getting a $50,000 raise, jacking his salary up to a cool $200,000. Five other coaches pulled in increases, including the defensive coordinator, who now makes $190,000, and a running-backs coach who will get $170,000. Too bad they don't play football in elementary school.

Your Ottographs

A diverse mailbag last week, including a stack of mail on Cuban sandwiches and the best around. My favorite letter came from Debbie Moore:

•"I'm not surprised that Steve Otto says Brocato's has a delicious Cuban sandwich, but it also has a delicious vegetarian sandwich. I love Brocato's yellow rice. It's almost as good as my mama's. ... But Steve shouldn't eat Cubans from Brocato's or any place else. It's not healthy to eat pigs. And furthermore pigs are good "people."... A pig's body is much like a human body. That's why doctors are able to use pig-parts in human beings. So when a person eats a pig they are very close to being a cannibal. Researchers claim a pig has the I.Q. of a 3-year-old child."

•Howard Bergen writes about the city's marina: "First impressions are extremely important. Then why is the beginning of the Bayshore Linear Park neglected by the city of Tampa? ... The marina along Bayshore Boulevard has been in decline in recent years. There are 40 boat slips that are 95 percent empty year around. The rusty chain-link fences are falling down. Marine amenities such as water and electricity are not functional. Most weekend nights the marina serves as a place for the homeless to congregate.

"If the city of Tampa continues to boast that the world longest continuous sidewalk exists along Bayshore Boulevard, then why can't we clean up the marina and create some utility for the residents and visitors?"

•Finally, on TBO, "Teeg" commented on a column about teens helping people in need: "Thank you for pointing out the good in our children. I think it's a very sad commentary on our TBO community that I am the first to comment on this article. If it had truly been about a group of thugs ravaging the county, this would have had eight pages of comments by now."

Teeg is probably right. If I could have worked Michael Jackson, a giant snake and Bubba the Love Sponge into the story, it would have fared better.

Keyword: Otto Graphs, for more of Steve Otto's musings.

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