Monday's wash puts it out there

Column

Here are some mentionables from last week. My old boss Frank Klein, who once was sports editor of the afternoon Tampa Times, used to call his column "The Monday Wash and other Mentionables," although this one has few sports notes and no mention of Tim Tebow.

State Sen. Jim Norman, the former Hillsborough County commissioner who left under a cloud of ethics questions, is off to become a powerhouse in the Legislature. He was named the West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association's legislator of the year.

The group's 36,000-plus members honored Norman, who faces a probable cause hearing Feb. 3 before the Florida State Commission on Ethics about his relationship with a political contributor when he was a commissioner.

You don't know whether to laugh, cry or shake your head.

As expected, the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority voted to give Tampa International Airport CEO Joe Lopano a $50,000-a-year raise, bringing his overall compensation package to $355,000.

Also as expected, the vote was 3-2, with the three gubernatorial appointees voting for the raise and, with voters watching, the elected members, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist, casting the nay votes.

Not too many jobs out there that you can work for the public for a year and pick up a $50,000 raise, but then it's only your money.

Tampa lost one of its best last week with the passing of Deanne Roberts, who died after a long battle with cancer. She was a Tampa native who stayed and dedicated her life to making this a better town, especially for women.

After graduating from the University of South Florida, she went on to start a public relations firm, Roberts Communications. Tampa was her love, and she worked for accountability and transparency in local government as well as many other causes.

She was never afraid to speak out, which isn't something you might expect from someone in public relations. She was special.

I don't know if the Legislature, which is in session in Tallahassee, noticed a survey out last week, Quality Counts, by Education Week Magazine. It's one of the few surveys that has placed Florida in a good light as far as education in recent years.

For the four years, the state has place fifth overall, and Florida leaders have used the number to tout our progress.

This year we dropped to 11th in the survey, largely because the state earned an "F" in school spending. Just something for our leaders to remember this session when they are deciding whether to slash school budgets even more.

Finally, I know I said there would be few sports notes in this column, but the name that's missing this week is that of the new Bucs coach.

Why isn't this a job that has the big names lining up? Is it something we said?