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Let's honor the year's esteemed zaniness

So many deserving Tampa Bay area winners in 2007, so little space. On to the presentations!

By Robert Trigaux, Times Business Editor
Published December 16, 2007

Can you guess which one gets to keep a jersey? That'd be Oren Koules in the center.
	[Ken Helle | Times]

So many deserving Tampa Bay area winners in 2007, so little space. On to the presentations!

1 The Wacky Legislature Award to Florida legislators for a year full of ill-conceived measures from property tax reform and promised, not delivered property insurance fixes to the death - no, wait! - revival of personal injury protection, or PIP, auto insurance.

2 The How Will Tourists Ever Resist This Slogan? Award to Pinellas tourism director D.T. Minich for the county's snappy new marketing message: "Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater."

3 The They're Stuck Here So Sell 'Em Stuff Award to Tampa International Airport for plans to turn more of the airport into a shopping mall for the arrive-2-hours-early travelers.

4 The What's A Few Extra Billions? Award to Progress Energy for pitching a $3.5-billion price tag for a nuclear power plant in Levy County, then acknowledging the cost, chargeable in advance to customers, could go much higher.

5 The Reality TV Show Most Unlikely To Be Aired Award to jailed Orlando Ponzi schemer Lou Pearlman for Second Chance, his proposed show for reality TV losers hosted by celebs who've done jail time.

6 The Sprawl Is Just Too Good Award to the Tampa Bay Builders Association, whose survey says home buyers do not want high-density housing.

7 The We're No. 1 Award to Home Depot, whose decision to cut 750 call center jobs in Riverview became the largest Tampa Bay layoff of the year.

8 The Funny, It Doesn't Smell Like Citrus Award to Agri-Source Fuels for using a former OJ plant in Pasco County to make biofuel from chicken fat.

9 The It's Your Money But You Can't Have It Award to the State Board of Administration, whose money market fund for local Florida governments had to be frozen after the state fund manager chose some lousy investments tied to housing.

10 The What Phosphate And Agriculture Waste? Award to the Hillsborough County Commission for waffling over attempts to make the Alafia River achieve the state's highest water classification.

11 The Buy a Bank, Get a Toaster Award to Bradenton's Coast Bank, whose bungled mortgage lending forced regulators to sell it to an investor from St. Louis.

12 The Never Mess With a Guy Who Makes Gory Movies Award to Oren Koules, producer of the Saw horror movies, who cut his two original partners out of a deal to buy the Tampa Bay Lightning.

13 The Most Misnamed Survey Award to Leadership Florida's annual Sunshine State survey that found 43 percent of Floridians find their quality of life declining and 20 percent are thinking of leaving.

14 The You're Only Doing a Good Job So Here's a Pay Cut Award to Publix for its new pay plan that docks the compensation of even superior employees if their evaluation scores don't improve.

15 The Tough Grading Is Okay But This Is Ridiculous Award to home builder Toll Brothers, which couldn't just flunk the Tampa Bay housing market but rubbed it in with an "F minus minus."

Robert Trigaux can be reached at trigaux@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8405.

[Last modified December 14, 2007, 21:44:12]