The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 29

"0)n nfranim own THE TAMPA TRIBUNE Wednesday, November 11, 1992 1 1 IT Loss of baseball means Bay area loses a key economic stimulus ''A Z-'' I I Ik II- It should be evident to everyone that baseball has a very strange process of determining its fate. I don't think many people would read it as anything wrong with Tampa Jerry Mallot Committee of 100 executive director The bottom Line Mickie Valente 17 'v By DOUG REARDON Tribune Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG Mark Ferguson had hopes that the Tampa Bay Giants would turn his business into a gold mine. Instead, all he has is a sports bar in the shadow of an empty dome. Ferg's Sports Bar and Grille, at 1320 Central like many businesses, was counting on the Giants to stimulate languishing commerce downtown.

But baseball owners nixed that notion on Tuesday when they voted to keep the baseball team in San Francisco. Ferguson believed a baseball team at the dome would have tripled the business he anticipates doing at the bar. Regardless of baseball, Ferguson said he will open his new bar this week. "We're going to make a go of it even without baseball," he said. But the owners' refusal to allow the relocation of the Giants has Ferguson seeing red and wanting to retaliate.

"We were screwed. I'll file a lawsuit, probably with about 100 other businessmen," he said. The once bright prospects have dimmed for many small businesses hoping for a boost from games at the Florida Sun-coast Dome. Larger enterprises In the Tampa Bay area also are somberly assessing what might have been. It could even have a marginal effect on relocations, as major league base- Make note: Dec.

26 is Boxing Day Gs It ball would have been a key recruiting tool. "It would have been a great enhancement, but we are starting out with an outstanding quality of life without it," said Jerry Mallot, executive director of the Tampa Committee of 100. Mallot says the public rejection by baseball would not deter other corporate relocations. "It should be evident to everyone that baseball has a very strange process of determining its fate. I don't think many people would read it as anything wrong with Tampa Bay, but that there's something wrong with See LOSS, Page 8 Tribune photograph by BRUCE HOSKINQ Mark Ferguson has lower expectations for his bar now that the Giants aren't coming.

Utility to prune 200 jobs I By FRANK RUIZ Tribune Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG The state's second-largest electric utility, St Petersburg-based Florida Power plans to cut 200 jobs, or 3.5 percent of its staff, as part of a realignment to reduce costs, officials confirmed Tuesday. try Fla. Power Close Chg. 31 Va -e "We want to reach the goal by the end of 1993," said spokesman Will Rodgers.

The realignment, viewed as So, today is Veterans Day. That, of course, means that you won't be getting any checks cashed or government paperwork processed because bankers and government folks are taking the holiday off. No problem, you've planned ahead. if you planned to use the down time here to hook up with your distributor in Poland, nix the idea. Today is Polish Independence Day.

For that matter, today is also Armistice Day in Monaco and France. And all you globe-trotting dealmakers out there may want to jot down a few other worldly holiday reminders in your calendars. For instance, Dec. 26 is Boxing Day in 50 countries; Sept. 22 is Blessed Rain Day in Bhutan; Jan.

15 is Adults Day in Japan; and the one no one can forget, National Picnic Day, is April 2 in Iran. Information in hand The fun part is that one doesn't have to travel the world with calendar in hand to discover these sometimes obscure, often entertaining, holiday listings. J.P. Morgan Co. has been taking note of them for 75 years.

Morgan's World Holiday and Time Guide book is designed as a guide for its Clients who frequently travel and correspond with others in foreign lands. As a celebration of its 75th printing, Morgan has decided to offer the guidebook to anyone Who wants one for a $5 fee. The book lists not only international holidays, but cross-references each country's banking hours and time zones and gives the opening and closing times for weekdays, Sabbaths and state and unofficial holidays for individual countries as well as each of the 50 U.S. states. The 1993 edition, which will be available Nov.

20, features more than 200 countries and includes for the first time the newly independent Balkan States and the republics of the former Soviet Union. Needless to say, some of these countries are so hew, the only holidays they have to list are their independence days. Interestingly, Bosnia and Herzegovina is one exception to that rule. Under Bosnia one will find that May 1 is International Labor Day, July 4 is Fighters Day and July 27 is Peoples Uprising Day. Tops for banking Bosnia also has the curious distinction of operating the world's longest banking hours.

Bank tellers there are incredibly accessible, working 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Friday and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. Of course, there's a note of caution on this Morgan listing.

The items don't include amendments due to conflicts such as the guerrilla combat that has tormented the former Yugoslavian republic. And Morgan is sticking with English; the company figures its clients are multilingual. And, as is the tendency of many American companies, Morgan assumes that one of those languages is bound to be Photograph provided by Busch Gardens over 3,978 feet of its turquoise steel track, theme park officials said. Traveling at speeds in excess of 60 mph, Kumba will sometimes hit forces 3.75 times that of gravity Busch Gardens plans to build Southeast's biggest roller coaster The multimillion-dollar expansion of the 300-acre park is the largest to date. IXhGai a competitive action by analysts, will cut across the board and include hourly, salaried and some managerial jobs.

Details of Florida Power's plan are sketchy at the moment and no public announcement has been made. The company has not projected the expected savings the action would yield. However, rumors of layoffs have been circulating among employees within the company's 32-county territory. Florida Power employs 5,718 people. The company's president, Allen J.

Keesler Issued an internal statement Monday to the staff briefly outlining the company's plan. "It's a fact of life that ultimately someone might have to be displaced but our goal Is to reshape the company without layoffs," Keesler wrote. He added that if voluntary reductions through attrition and early retirements don't work, layoffs will, be considered. The planned reduction falls in line with what some other large utilities across the nation are doing to improve earnings in a mature industry with limited growth prospects. "I think it's just an overall attempt to make sure the organization remains competitive," said Leonard Hyman of Merrill Lynch Global Securities Inc.

in New York. Some large utilities such as Florida Power have been examining methods to keep commercial rates down in light of growing competition from independent and municipal power companies and pressure from government regulators. "It's not unthinkable that in the near future a large customer might buy its electricity elsewhere or even generate it itself," Hyman said. Nathan Partain, a Duff Phelps analyst, agrees that utilities are and should be cutting costs as one measure to keep rates down. "Everybody is having to pull up their belts," Par-tain said, With more than 1.3 million customers, Florida Power ranks second only to Miami-based Florida Power Light Co.

in size. i The company provides electric service in areas ranging from Pinellas to Orange counties and in parts of Polk, Pasco, Manatee, Citrus, Hernando, Marion and other counties. The job-cutting is likely to be received with some surprise locally, said Gary Hovis of Argus Research In New York. "This Is a drastic move in an Industry where job security Is expected," he said. "I've never seen anything like this," said Ueberroth, who has experienced 319 roller coasters over 50 years.

Ueberroth, whose group represents more than 4,600 thrill-seekers worldwide, hopes the innovative ideas and designs incorporated into the ride will rejuvenate people's interest in coasters. After Kumba riders recover from the initial 135-foot drop, they'll climb back up only to be dropped into a 108-foot loop that Fincher said is the world's largest. What follows is a diving loop engineered from stunt plane maneuvers, and a 360-degree spiraling camelback. "You will be weightless for three seconds as you go through this camel-back," Fincher said. More spirals, a cobra roll and a double corkscrew-shaped twist will further excite before the train, carrying eight cars, speeds to a finish inside a dark underground tunnel.

Mark Rose, project coordinator for Busch Entertainment said construction on the ride's foundations has been going on for about a month. When completed, workers will landscape the terrain of the ride's location, Just east of the Congo River Rapids, to conform to the shape of the coaster. By DIRK LAMMERS Tribune Staff Writer TAMPA Busch Gardens officials announced plans Tuesday to build "Kumba," which they boast will be the largest and fastest steel roller coaster in the Southeast The ride, which is scheduled to open in the spring, will thrill riders for nearly three minutes: lofting them 143 feet Into the air, plummeting them down 135 feet and spinning them upside-down seven times. Park officials said "Kumba" is an African word for "roar." "It will be our signature ride," said Joe Flncher, Busch Gardens' executive vice president and general manager. Busch Gardens officials wouldn't reveal Kumba's cost but said the multimillion-dollar expansion of the 300-acre family park is the largest to date.

The Afrlcan-themed park at 3000 E. Busch Blvd. was built in 1959. Traveling at speeds in excess of 60 mph, Kumba will sometimes hit forces 3.75 times that of gravity over 3,978 Tribune photo by TODD CHAPPEL "It will be our signature ride," says Joe Fincher, Busch Gardens' executive vice president feet of its turquoise steel track, theme park officials said. Ray Ueberroth, president of American Coaster Enthusiasts, predicted the ride will be "outstanding." Free Enterpriser Free enterprise Is the underpinning of the American economy, and Florida Progress Chairman Jack B.

Crltchfield has certainly been symbolic of the system in the Tampa Bay area. That's why Crltchfield was recently named the 1992 Florida Free Enterpriser of the Year by the Florida-Council on Economic Education. Crltchfield, who Is also the chief executive officer of Florida Progress, helped struc- Ik. 1-11 Chillura lobbying for port authority board seat ing possibility, one the lay community doesn't appreciate," he said. He also pressed Interest in the economic and maritime issues at the port Other county commissioners have been reluctant to discuss the has Indicated a desire to replace outgoing commissioner Jim Selvey on the board of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority.

"They will port appointment before the Nov. 17 meeting. Chillura, however, bristled at the possibility of any competition for the port slot he covets. a If Aware of those concerns, the Florida Legislature mandated that a county commissioner and the mayor of Tampa be appointed to the five-member board. The county commission appointment will replace Ron Moore, an appointee of former Gov.

Bob Martinez, whose four-year term ended Tuesday. The mayor comes on the authority board next year. Chillura has spent months studying port operations and talking with authority administrators. Recently the port provided him a helicopter tour of the area. The commissioner said he wants to play a role In the economic development of the Tampa Bay area.

Development starts at the port, he said. "I look at the port as an excit of people" are encouraging her to push for the appointment, and she Is considering It. "Probably one of the things I'm good at is getting in the middle of something that may have problems and bringing fresh light to It," she said. County commissioners will meet Nov. 17 to select their appointments to the various boards and committees that require county representation.

For the first time, one of those appointments will be to the port authority board. The governor has long been responsible for choosing port board members, leaving the authority open to charges of political patronage. County residents also have objected to the lack of an elected member on the board because the board has the authority to tax. By KEVIN SHINKLE Tribune Staff Writer TAMPA While the appointment of a county commissioner to the Tampa Port Authority board will provide taxpayers with long-sought representation, It also has magnified the political nature of the board. "Yes, I'm campaigning for It," said Hillsborough County Commissioner Joe Chillura, the only commissioner to seek the post on the port board.

"I'm going to campaign for this as hard as I did when I ran for public office." By law he cannot talk to other commissioners about the appointment before a public vote, but he has made his Interest clear through public statements. But another county commissioner, Phyllis Busansky, said "lots vedU; ment Council as a major force In expanding the economic development of Pinellas County. Spreading his Influence statewide, Crltchfield Is serving as the vice chairman of the Florida Council of 100 and Is a member of Gov. Lawton Chiles' Commission for Government by the People. He Is also director of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Is a member of the State of Florida Economic Development Advisory Council.

The first Free Enterpriser award was bestowed by the council In 1982 to recognize a Floridlan who "exemplified the free enterprise spirit" In their business and civic activities. Any Florida resident Is eligible for nomination and the winner Is selected by a committee of various council board members and business leaders throughout the stall. Busansky Chillura be two major, major players In the 90s," Chillura said. Busansky, meanwhile, has yet to decide whether to pursue the spot on the port board, although she has told supporters she could be interested In It. She, too, ex- made It abun- dantly clear from day one that I had an Interest In the port, and that's the bottom line," he said.

"Serving on the authority should not be political.".