The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 12

2 METRO THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2005 THE TAMPA TRIBUNE TBO.com REVIEW Kanye West As Effective Live As In The Studio performers, West writes and raps about a range of feelings. Sure, there are contradictions does "Sky High" celebrate drug-dealing or bemoan the fact that so many see it as the only way out of poverty? but real life is full of them, and West's insightful lyrics reflect that. Of course, all that thoughtfulness would be for naught were West not as talented a producer as he is. He draws from a range of sources for his tracks but coats them with an appealing pop-friendly sheen an'd grounds them in beats steady enough for the hip-hop heads. His spare stage set featured the musicians in screened boxes and made effective use of simple props, such as an empty hospital bed on "Roses" and a clothes rack on "Spaceship." American Idol winner Fantasia preceded West with a set featuring her hit "Free Yourself' and a lovely a cappella version of Aretha Franklin's "Daydreaming." Reporter Curtis Ross can be reached at (813)259-7568.

By CURTIS ROSS crosstampatrib.com TAMPA The harpist sat with her hands folded demurely in her lap as Kanye West performed his No. 1 hit, "Gold Digger," Wednesday night at the USF Sun Dome. Admittedly, the scene might have been even more incongruous had the harpist been performing a fiery solo during the number. But her presence, as well as that of an additional six-piece string section, underscored the fact that West is no by-the-numbers hip-hop artist. West is one of the only hip-hop performers actually, one of the few performers in any musical genre currendy enjoying big sales as well as crafting artistically satisfying, adventurous work.

Interestingly, the rather scant turnout of 3,573 was unrepresentative of West's popularity. He's graced the cover of Time, his second album, "Late Registration," reached No. 1, and "Gold Digger" is unavoidable on Top 40 and urban radio. West backed by a DJ, percussionist, keyboardist, two singers and rappers GLC and Consequence as 1 Tribune photo by JAY NOLAN Rapper Kanye West brings his well-crafted hip-hop to the USF Sun Dome on Wednesday night American Idol winner Fantasia opened the show. well as the strings gave a perfor- ical-but-hopeful "Sky High" to the mance that was seamless not only heartbreaking "Roses" to the nostal-musicaUy but emotionally as well.

gic "Drive Slow." Far from the one-West moved easily from the cyn- dimensional personas of so many ACROSS THE REGION Tribune photo by GREG FIGHT Maribel Perez, 10, left, and her sisters, twins Annette and Annabel and Linnett, moved to Manatee Village with their parents last month. Farmworker Complex Opens Its Doors MILITARY DISPAK SoCom, Marines Hammer Out Troop Plan The framework of a complicated and controversial plan to assign Marine Corps forces to U.S. Special Operations Command is all but complete, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday during remarks at Mac-Dill Air Force Base. "They have negotiated out everything except who pays," Rumsfeld said during a question and answer session with more than 300 military personnel stationed at the base. "Marines would be chopped to the special forces people or assignments and go through a training process that would enable them to be interoperable for sure but integrated on order," he said.

How much money is needed is unclear; Rumsfeld didn't mention an and SoCom did not provide a figure Wednesday. As critical as adequate funding is to make the plan work, perhaps the greatest challenge to the marriage is sweeping away remnants of the Marine Corps' long-standing desire to maintain operational control of its air, ground and sea forces. As many as 2,500 Marines would be available to SoCom, and these personnel presumably would be among the Corps' best. Maintain Corps' Core Former Marine Corps Maj. Gen.

William Whidow, who retired in 2002 and now works in the private sector, said it's important to bolster SoCom's counterterrorism ranks. But Whitlow, like many other Marines, worries the Corps' basic war-fighting capabilities will be damaged in the process. 1 "I think it's important that the Marine Corps contribute and participate, but not at the detriment to their core capabilities and their core strengths," he said Rumsfeld alluded to bureaucratic difficulties in crafting the arrangement as well as the finer points yet to be ironed out. "Forever it's taken," the 73-year-old secretary said half-jok-ingly. "I will be 85 before it's finished." Rumsfeld began pushing for the Marine Corps to be part of SoCom after the Sept.

11 attacks when special operations forces were put on the front lines in Afghanistan. The trend continued when the U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq. Special operators were ideally suited to fight al-Qaida and other terrorist networks that use unconventional methods to attack U.S. interests, Rumsfeld said. But SoCom's resources are not infinite.

As the stress of multiple deployments began to take its toll on Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs and Air Force combat controllers, Rumsfeld said he began looking for reinforcements. "I started asking questions and one of the arguments was the pool was small to draw the special forces from," Rumsfeld said. A Deeper Pool Part of the reason for the shallow pool is the Marines have never contributed forces to SoCom. When the command was established in 1986, the Marine Corps had no troops designated specifically as "special operations" and supplied no war-fighting personnel to SoCom. As initial steps, the Marines added more liaison officers at SoCom and expanded training initiatives with the command, according to SoCom officials.

A small Marine Corps detachment deployed with Navy SEALs to Iraq last year. The Marine Corps commandant, Gen. Michael Hagee, also established units to train foreign militaries, a task long handled by the Green Berets. The last and largest hurdle assigning Marines to SoCom is being cleared. But not quickly enough for Rumsfeld.

"I can assure it's not going as fast as I'd like it to go, because I am genetically impatient," he said. Send military news to Richard Lard-ner, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker Tampa FL 33606; e-mail rlardnertampatrib.com; or fax to (, (813)259-7676. i event, it went pretty well," he said. Festivalgoers enjoyed ethnic cuisine and soaked up Latin sounds from recording stars Marco Santi and Ray Perdomo, among others Gartland said organizers will assess the festival with an eye toward holding it again next year.

Michael Dunn PASCO Custom Chopper To Benefit. Red Apple School NEW PORT RICHEY Someone will win a $50,000 chopper on display at this weekend's inaugural Cotee River October Bike Fest downtown. But the real beneficiaries will be the mentally challenged students at Red Apple School. Selling 1,500 tickets for the drawing, at $50 apiece, would raise $25,000 for the school. The 2005 custom motorcycle, which sports a candy apple finish on gold, may be seen Saturday and Sunday at Red Apple's booth in Sims Park.

Red Apple is a nonprofit day training program serving adults from Pasco, Pinellas and Hernando counties. The school teaches daily activities such as counting money and social skills, with the goal of making students more independent and ready for employment, said Terry Ettel, Red Apple's behavioral services program coordinator. Ettel also is a drummer for Wiley Fox, a local country rock group. It is one of more than 20 bands or singers performing this weekend at the Sims Park Amphitheater. A motorcycle custom builders show, riding skills shows, poker runs and a Sunday morning service are other bike fest activities.

Steve Kornacki HERNANDO S.R. 50 Improvements Get High Priority From State BROOKSVILLE Widening State Road 50 between U.S. 19 and Mariner Boulevard is one of the state transportation department's most pressing road projects. Construction is expected to begin in 2009. Local transportation officials said they learned recendy that Florida's Department of Transportation ranked the six-laning of S.R.

50 third on its list of projects for this part of the state. The projects are funded with state gasoline tax revenue. That makes the $47.9 million project almost a certainty, said Dennis Dix, Hernando County's transportation coordinator, adding the job now must be approved by stae transportation officials in Tallahassee. S.R. 50 no longer complies with state traffic standards and is considered too congested.

The county has implemented rules making it more difficult to develop the east-west thoroughfare. Fred Hiers BAY AREA Meeting Set On Bay Area Hurricane Response Plans TAMPA U.S. Rep. Mike Bilirakis, R-Tarpon Springs, and other elected leaders will host a forum Friday to discuss the Tampa Bay area's emergency response plans in the wake of hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Gov.

Jeb Bush is scheduled to attend the meeting, which will include Florida Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate and Scott Morris, the state's top official for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Bilirakis and other political leaders hope the meeting will improve communication between all levels of government during a major disaster. The meeting will be from 9 a.m. to noon in the MofEtt Cancer Center's Vincent A. Stabile auditorium, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa.

Baird Helgeson HILLSBOROUGH Rodeo At Fairgrounds To Benefit Charities TAMPA A charity rodeo will start at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Charlie Lykes Arena of the Florida State Fairgrounds. Tickets cost $10 at the show or in advance at the sheriffs Crime Prevention Bureau, 2008 E. Eighth Ave. Proceeds will benefit several charities.

For information, call (813) 247-8115. Susan M. Green West Tampa, Drew Park Economic Efforts Get Leader TAMPA Mayor Pam Iorio on Wednesday announced that Teanette LaRussa Fenton will be in charge of economic and redevelopment plans for the areas of West Tampa and Drew Park. Fenton will work with residents to try to improve quality of life and to attract and retain businesses. West Tampa has started to get an economic buzz as investors seek affordable property north of Kennedy Boulevard.

An economic study has been completed for the area, and committees have been established to reach goals. For Drew Park, the city council approved a tax incentive last year, and an area study has begun. Fenton, the city's director of intergovernmental relations, has worked for the city for more than 10 years. Josi Patino Girona Annual YMCA Auction Benefits At-Risk Girls TAMPA The Downtown YMCA will hold its 10th annual Art Auction fundraiser Friday at the Hyatt Regency Tampa, 211 N. Tampa St.

The event features dinner and art donated by local artists, including RUSKIN Manatee Village, a new, $5.5 million, farmworker housing complex, is accepting applications to rent 190 apartments and dormitory-style units for families and men traveling without their wives and children. Among the first tenants are Ra-miro and Magali Perez and their five children. They moved into their apartment last month after having lived with Magali's parents, siblings and their children for 10 years. Ybor City's Ferdie Pacheco, also known as the "Fight Doctor." Almost 175 items will be auctioned. Proceeds benefit the Central City Family YMCA's Girls Rule" program, which is designed to improve the self-esteem of at-risk adolescent girls.

A preview and silent auction begin at 6 p.m., with dinner and a live auction beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are $75 and available by calling (813) 229-1305. Esther Hammer Taste Of Plant City To Feature Food, Fun PLANT CITY At this year's Taste of Plant City, the United Food Bank of Plant City will offer an evening of food, fun and live entertainment. The event will be from 6-11 p.m. Saturday at Plant City Stadium, 1810 E.

Park Road. Area restaurants will offer fare. Live music will be provided by J.T. Curtis and the Silver Eagle Band of Nashville. Tickets are $25 per person and can be obtained by calling the food bank at (813) 764-0625.

Parking will be free. Barbara Kent Port Tampa Residents Seek Historic Designation TAMPA To preserve the character of their neighborhood, several residents are lobbying the city to designate part of their Port Tampa street "This feels good. This is real nice," said Magali Perez. The apartment complex, built by Littie Manatee Housing a nonprofit group organized by Rural Neighborhoods Inc. of Homestead, was built with state and federal loans and grants.

Most rents at the village are subsidized. Tenants typically pay 30 percent of their income for rent. For information, call (813) 649-0313. i LizBleau as a historic district. Dan Stein, who owns a home on the 6800 block of Sparkman Street, approached Tampa's Historic Preservation Commission this year to start the preliminary paperwork.

Several Port Tampa homes are more than 100 years old, Stein said. Jill Buford, president of the Civic Association of Port Tampa, said she's among the homeowners who don't want a historic district. "I think they feel that once you start that ball rolling, it just keeps rolling and then you have somebody downtown telling you what to do with your property," she said. If the designation is approved, which could take more than a year, the city's Architectural Review Commission would regulate changes to the exterior of buildings in the historic district. Dulcinea Cuellar Tampa Bay SalsaFest Draws About 3,000 TAMPA An estimated 3,000 people enjoyed music and dancing over the weekend at the inaugural Tampa Bay SalsaFest.

Soggy conditions made it difficult to set up the event, held at Town Country Hospital, but things fell into place Friday afternoon, said Kevin Gartland, executive director of the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce, the festival's host. "Considering the rain and the heat and some of the technical things we ran into, all in all, for a first-year HOW TO CONTACT US Our address: Metro, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker Tampa FL 33606-2395 To send comments and ideas through e-mail: metrotampatrib.com Metro fax: (813) 259-7676 For information about The Tampa Tribune's news departments: (813) 259-7600 State National GovernmentPoliticsMilitary: Wendy Whitt, (813) 259-7976, wwhitttampatrib.com Local GovemmentGrowthEnvironment: Don Johnson, (813) 259-7607, kdjohnsontampatrib.com EducationAgingSocial Services: Heidi Hall, (813) 259-7154, hhalltampatrib.com PoliceCourts: Howard Altman, (813) 259-7629, haltmantampatrib.com Columnist: Steve Otto, (813) 259-7809, sottorditampatrib.com 7.