Mike Deeson: If I were king — I would end The Pier project immediately

Although there has been some kind of Pier project in downtown St. Pete since the late 1800s, the city has changed, and the Pier is not needed. When I first moved to Tampa Bay 35 years ago, downtown was anything but vibrant. The Vinoy, now a crown jewel, was closed, full of broken windows and in search of a developer. Young people didn’t seek downtown as a destination. The only things the drew people was Spring Training and the inverted…