A new Howard Frankland Bridge opens soon. People once protested the original span.
The Courtney Campbell Causeway, originally called the Ben T. Davis Causeway, already linked Tampa and Clearwater. The Gandy crossed from Tampa to St. Petersburg. The toll operators that dominated both existing bridges didn't like the idea of a third thoroughfare pulling away competition.
Locals in the late 1930s also lamented the cost, saying another way across the water would be a waste of taxpayer money. Some called it 'a blow to private investment' and 'a hindrance to navigation.'
Others, according to Times archives, even worried about 'a tidal obstruction that could convert large areas into mud flats.' By 1939, the idea was dead.
Then a tire salesman named W. Howard Frankland came around and changed some minds. The bridge that bears his name finally opened on Jan. 15, 1960.
While we wait for the newest span of the bridge Tampa Bay knows so well, here's a look back at the history.
Frankland was born in Tennessee as the son of a horse buggy salesman. He moved to Tampa in 1925, where he founded Pioneer Tire and Rubber Products Inc. He spent some time as a banker and also was named Gasparilla king in 1950.
Frankland was a member of the State Road Board when he proposed a new bridge to cross Tampa Bay in 1953, reviving the idea that had failed more than a decade before.
The bridge would be a path for beachgoers to reach the white sands of Pinellas County, and then carry families back over to shop in Tampa.
When the Howard Frankland Bridge finally opened in 1960, locals hoped it would fix a problem the area is dealing with currently: a 'population explosion.'
'Our growth has been breathtaking,' wrote a then-St. Petersburg Times columnist in January 1960. 'New housing has gone up at a rate even the most optimistic persons would've regarded as fantastic 10 years ago; this has been accompanied by extensive commercial development — palmetto scrub fields have been turned into shopping centers, multi-million dollar manufacturing plants have been erected, hotels and motels have been constructed and improved."
Even though the Gandy Bridge had already gotten a second span at that point, raising the number of lanes to four, it wasn't enough to carry all of the people that flowed back and forth between Hillsborough and Pinellas. As people stewed in traffic on the Gandy, one St. Petersburg Times columnist wrote in 1960 that the sight of another bridge being constructed across the water 'offered promise of true relief.'
Frankland's name was bestowed upon the structure as a thank you for his advocacy. The opening day celebrations weren't as flashy as those for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1954, which included a nationwide naming contest and 'bridge beauty' models to represent various nearby counties. But there was still fanfare.
Then-Governor LeRoy Collins delivered an address before leading a line of more than 1,000 motorists over the bridge from Tampa to St. Petersburg and back. Frankland's wife delivered a dedication to the structure and his young grandchildren cut the ribbon. Frankland's four brothers traveled from across the country for a special family reunion.
Newspaper columns following the event mostly praised the bridge, which not only provided a new way to get around but would also link Tampa to the national interstate system.
But one headline in the Tampa Tribune provided foreshadowing that won't surprise any locals reading this today:
'Traffic jams new bridge.'
Information from the Tampa Bay Times archive was used in this story.
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A shipbuilding behemoth is rising in China. By scale, nothing else comes close.
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Business Insider
10 hours ago
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A shipbuilding behemoth is rising in China. By scale, nothing else comes close.
A Chinese state-owned shipbuilding group was already the world's biggest. Now it's finishing up a merger with its main domestic rival, resulting in an absolute juggernaut of an industry force. China has been quantitatively dominating the global shipbuilding game, leaving the US and its allies playing catch-up. The merger only tightens Beijing's grip on the industry, handing China a critical advantage in generating commercial and naval power. Last week, trading in the shares of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) was suspended as CSSC moves to absorb CSIC, which is ultimately being delisted. CSSC previously received approval from the Shanghai Stock Exchange to absorb its competitor in a substantial share-swap deal. It marked the latest step in a merger that's been in the works since 2019, a move that will create a new streamlined shipbuilding behemoth. 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The reunion between the two is expected to result in a bigger, more powerful CSSC. It signals China's push for a more consolidated approach to its commercial and military shipbuilding. "When it's all said and done, CSSC will be the largest listed shipbuilding company in the world by a considerable margin, in terms of both assets and revenue," Matthew Funaiole, a CSIS senior fellow with the China Power Project, told Business Insider. "And maybe more importantly, it will have the full backing of the Chinese state and its industrial policy might." That kind of state backing means global rivals face not just a company, but an arm of Beijing's industrial strategy. A massive shipbuilding empire CSSC alone is a commercial shipbuilding giant, boasting expansive shipyards, factories, and research institutes controlled by political and military leaders in Beijing. 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New York Post
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Shari Redstone hoped Trump's '60 Minutes' suit would root out anti-Israel bias at CBS News
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Two months later, CBS executives reprimanded morning anchor Tony Dokoupil for pressing author Ta-Nehisi Coates about anti-Israel criticisms in his book. Dokoupil had asked whether Coates' writing belonged 'in the backpack of an extremist' — questions some CBS brass deemed too aggressive. Redstone defended Dokoupil in the wake of his rebuke. 'I think Tony handled that interview exceptionally well,' Redstone said at the time. 'I was genuinely proud of his efforts. Although it was difficult for me to oppose the company, I believe they erred in this instance… I have a voice in our platform, as does everyone.' 6 Trump alleged '60 Minutes' deceptively edited Kamala Harris's comments on Israel, sparking the lawsuit Redstone pushed Paramount to settle. 60 Minutes / CBS Redstone, who was widely criticized for backing a settlement rather than fighting in court, told the Times she was in favor of reaching a deal with Trump because the lawsuit was filed in Texas, where a more conservative judge would have been more hostile to CBS's position. She told the paper that 'this case was never as black-and-white as people assumed' — despite legal experts who said they were confident CBS News would prevail in court. 'I believe it was always in Paramount's best interest to settle,' Redstone told the Gray Lady in an interview published on Tuesday. 'We may not like the world we live in, but a board has to do what's in the best interest of shareholders.' While the criticism reached a fever pitch, Redstone's frustration boiled over as she battled cancer while trying to close the Paramount sale. Diagnosed with thyroid cancer that had spread to her vocal cords, she underwent surgery and radiation as critics including Matt Drudge of 'The Drudge Report' website branded her the 'Woman Who Destroyed CBS News.' Redstone was also hurt by criticism from Lesley Stahl, the longtime '60 Minutes' correspondent, according to the Times. In June, Stahl said she was 'angry' with Redstone over her handling of the Trump lawsuit. Stahl's comments were published at the same time that Redstone was undergoing treatments for cancer. 6 Redstone told the Times that criticism from CBS figures like Lesley Stahl was especially hurtful as she battled thyroid cancer during the merger fight. FilmMagic 'To have a news organization come under corporate pressure—to have a news organization told by a corporation, 'do this, do that with your story, change this, change that, don't run that piece.' I mean, it steps on the First Amendment, it steps on the freedom of the press,' Stahl said at the time. 'It steps on what we stand for. It makes me question whether any corporation should own a news operation. It is very disconcerting.' Trump's $20 billion lawsuit over CBS's editing of a Kamala Harris interview offered unexpected leverage. Though Redstone found most of Trump's claims 'hyperbolic,' she saw an opportunity. The network had edited Harris's answer about Israel between two broadcasts, sparking Trump's fury. CBS News executives refused to release the unedited footage, setting up a legal battle that threatened to derail the Skydance merger. Redstone pushed hard for settlement, arguing it was in shareholders' best interest. The board eventually agreed to pay $16 million toward Trump's presidential library — far less than Redstone expected. 'I was blown away,' she said of the settlement terms. 6 Redstone publicly backed 'CBS Mornings' co-host Tony Dokoupil (right) after he engaged in a tense interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates over Israel last year. CBS Mornings But her reputation took another hit when The Post reported a mysterious 'side deal' worth $20 million in free advertising for Trump. Redstone knew nothing about it and was upset. 'I hope it isn't true,' she told the Times. Adding insult to injury, CBS didn't even consult Redstone before canceling Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' — she learned about it minutes before Colbert announced it on air, according to the Times. The Skydance deal valued Paramount at just $8 billion — a third of its worth when Redstone took control in 2019. Netflix now spends $15.3 billion annually on content versus Paramount's $4.4 billion. 'I just wanted to be free,' Redstone told the Times, ending four decades of her family's controversial reign over one of America's most influential news organizations. The Post has sought comment from Redstone and CBS News.
