Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The Bush/Ros-Lehtinen Approach

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is focused on the wrong things. As usual. Now she wants to indict Fidel Castro. While there is no doubt that Castro has done a lot of horrible things over the years and should be brought to justice, but, really, is this the type of thing our representatives should be focused on?.......here
When Can We Indict Her And Bush?

Laura Dern as Katherine Harris

Supreme Court Justice Antonin "get over it" Scalia likely won't be watching it, but HBO will be re-living the election that launched a thousand legal briefs -- and tens of thousands of touch-screen voting machines -- when it airs the new film Recount beginning May 25th........here

Florida Democrats DNC Protest

Tampa Electric's Growth Falls Sharply

Weighed down by the sagging housing market, Tampa Electric expects its lowest customer growth in nearly a decade, company executives said Tuesday afternoon......here
This might explain the letter i received from TECO today letting me know that if i don't pay my bill in full each month before the due date it will be necessary to increase my security deposit.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Antiquated

Tampa, Florida

Millions Of State Dollars Earmarked For Tampa Bay

Despite deep cuts in spending, the state budget the Florida Legislature is expected to approve this week includes funding for some projects around the Tampa Bay area. A quick look at some of them.......here

Commissioner José ''Pepe'' Diaz

The Miami-Dade County Commission is seriously considering allowing skank developers to destroy more of the Everglades because, apparently, they can't see any reason not to........here

Monday, April 28, 2008

Slavery In Florida

here
"We used to own our slaves but now we just rent them,".........Edward R Murrow

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Picadillo
With Red Beans And Rice And Yuca
$5.95 At.......Rosa's Market 4209 W.Martin Luther King Blvd Tampa

Democrats Registering In Record Numbers

A New Sense Of Political Urgency

The line of newcomers that snaked across the checkered tile floor was emblematic of those that have formed across the country this year: black voters, young voters, lifelong Republicans switching parties -- all registering in record numbers, and all aligning as Democrats.........here

Pets On The Patio In Ybor City

Florida College Student Invents Reusable Alternative to Styrofoam

Proving that simple solutions are often better than complicated high-tech ones, Eckerd College student Audrey Copeland has invented an alternative to Styrofoam take-out containers that you don’t even have to wash yourself. The EcoClamshell......here

Florida’s First Earthship

I am a Florida Certified General Contractor who is building Florida’s first true Earthship. This home is to be completely off the grid using solar for power and capturing rainwater for all of the home’s water needs........here

Dean: Clinton Or Obama Must Drop Out In June

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Monday that either Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama must drop out of the Democratic presidential race after the June primaries in order to unify the party by the convention and win the election in November.........here

New Revenue In Sarasota

A new law, up for a final vote next month, would grant police in Sarasota the authority to impound vehicles found playing their stereos too loud and charge up to $650 in fines for repeat violators........here

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Eat Local

The Beautiful City Of Williston, Florida
Billy-Jack's Restaurant

Pinellas Hope

With $200,000 from private donors, Pinellas Hope will stay open through Sept. 30. Staff will be reduced to accommodate about 75 residents at a time instead of the 250 who have lived there in the past five months. Since Pinellas Hope opened in December, more than 450 homeless people have found temporary shelter in tents, a safe place to keep their belongings, hot showers and laundry services........here

What a Whopper

There is a human rights crisis in Florida's fields. Farm laborers are being paid poverty wages while working long hours without overtime pay. There is even physical abuse and wage fraud by crew leaders, supervisors, and growers.........here

The Bush-McCain Challenge In Tampa

Kennedy Boulevard and Pierce Street in downtown Tampa
601 EAST KENNEDY BLVD. 29 Apr, 8:00 AM......info

Sewage Outfalls to the Ocean — No More in Florida

Six wastewater treatment facilities (Publicly Owned Treatment Works) in South Florida have been discharging an average of about 360 million gallons per day of treated wastewater to the ocean for decades. The outfall pipes discharge from one to three miles offshore........here

Dean says unity's key to White House

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean says the key to Democrats winning the White House lies is unity - whichever candidate ends up winning the nomination........here

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Papo's Plato
Steak, Rice And Other Stuff
$5.95 At............El Taconazo (Taco Bus) 913 E. Hillsborough Ave Tampa, Florida

No Serious Problems In The State Of Florida

It's Nice To Know
There are no serious problems in the state of Florida. Evidently they have eliminated poverty, covered all their citizens with health insurance, created jobs for the unemployed, eliminated gas and food inflation, assured all workers a decent wage, made sure
All students will graduate high school and provided funding for everyone who wants to go to college........here

Joe Garcia "Manufactures Issues"

Fellowship, Florida

Welcome To Tampa, Expect Delays


Tobacco Cash Used For Social Services

About 40,000 of Florida's most seriously sick and poor people won't have their state-paid health coverage cut -- at least for now -- after state budget negotiators agreed Wednesday to siphon $300 million from a tobacco-settlement savings account..........here
The legacy of Chiles, a Democratic governor, has become the salvation for today's Republican-led Legislature.

Jay Wheeler: Alcohol And Cigarettes

A Florida school board member is drawing fire from some parents for saying they should spend money on school clothes for their children instead of buying alcohol and cigarettes.......here

HitchHiker's Guide to Tampa, Florida

here

Saturday, April 26, 2008

My Dinner with Joe Garcia

So Proud
Joe is the former Executive Director of the Cuban American National Foundation and is a well known figure in South Florida and a leader within Florida's Cubano community........here

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Jeb Is "Light Green" On The Environment

As governor, Bush, a Republican, was largely silent on global warming. His successor, Charlie Crist _ who is often mentioned as a possible GOP running mate for McCain _ has said Florida should become a leader in addressing climate change because its low elevation makes it vulnerable if ocean levels rise. Bush said those who advocate action to limit climate change are acting out of something like religious zeal..........here

Kevin Beckner Officially on the Ballot

Candidate Kevin Beckner garnered the 7,400 signatures need to get on the ballot. Beckner is running for district 6 of the Hillsborough County Commission. The Democrat will be facing off against Republican Brian Blair.......here

I’d Rip His Arm Off And Beat Him With The Wet End

Tomorrow, April 25, is the National Day of Silence, when students around the country will take a vow of silence to draw attention to anti-GLBT harassment, discrimination, and name-calling in our nation’s schools.......here

Kate Can Help You Sound Smart

Catherine Durkin Robinson puts words in people's mouths. For a price. The 38-year-old speechwriter charges 50 cents a word for toasts and wedding vows. Her rate for politicking Democrats is $1 a word. No such deal for the GOP. "Five dollars for Republicans,".........here........Via...tld

30 Seconds Is Impossible

Local Legends

Showtown USA
10902 US Hwy. 41 South, Gibsonton, Florida

Miami Caliente vs. The Tampa Bay Breeze

Lingerie Football League
I'm speechless!

Tampa's Busy Downtown


Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Tampa History On A Roll

here

Tampa Bay's Media Talk: Eric Deggans

Photography Legal In Manatee County, Florida

Even a “known drug dealer” is legally allowed to photograph undercover cops as they serve a search warrant, if he takes the photos from a public space, according to a Florida prosecutor.
The photographer was 20-year-old Randy Sievert of Bradenton, who was arrested in February after he stood on a public road and photographed Manatee County sheriff’s officials conducting a search warrant on a private home.........here

See 'Anna in the Tropics' For Free In Ybor

The Pulitzer Prize-winning play Anna in the Tropics, written by Nilo Cruz, and directed by Dr. Sybil Barnes-Johnson, is being performed this weekend and next by Hillsborough Community College's Ybor Campus Theater Department.........here

Local Legends

El Cap........ 3500 4th St. N. St. Petersburg, Florida
Great Burgers And Cold Beer

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Bacalao With Moro And Platanos
$5.95 At.......Rosa's Market 4209 W.Martin Luther King Blvd Tampa

Tampa Locavore

Pastor Hayes Wicker of Naples, Florida

This is a tremendous social crisis, greater even than the issue of slavery.
For those who don’t know, fundamentalist right-wingers in Florida are attempting to pass a constitutional amendment in Florida this year that would ban gay marriage in the Sunshine State. The same gay marriage that is already illegal under four separate parts of state law. What this nutjob is actually saying is that the fact that they haven’t yet enshrined hatred in the Florida Constitution.........here

Tampa Getting A New Neighbor

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that that President Bush will nominate Army Gen. David Petraeus as the new commander of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.......here

Our Darwinian Society

Today, the USA is a synonym for corruption, greed, homelessness, hopelessness, high crime and never-ending financial speculation. People are loosing their homes and are faced with ever increasing gasoline prices..........here

Vietnam Wall - Wickham Park, Melbourne Florida

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Half A Billion To Move 16 Blocks


MLK And Himes, Tampa

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Ropa Vieja With White Rice And Yuca
$5.95 At.........40th Street Restaurant, 3206 N 40th St Tampa

Florida Bans Truck Nutz

Seems that paragon of jurisprudence and rational thought, Florida, thinks that having a pair of these on the hitch of your truck is a bad idea. As a matter of fact, if you scoff at this law, and continue to display your Truck Nutz, the state now sees fit to ticket you for $60.........here

Barbershop Patrol Ybor City Cuts

Run Monkeys Run

"I guess these guys living in Puerto Rico learned how to swim."
A dozen monkeys that escaped from a wildlife preserve during the weekend have all the ingredients to start a successful colony in the wild, including mature males, reproducing females and a dominant troop leader. The people-shy patas monkeys have thousands of acres of sod and ranch land to roam in northern Polk County, even the sprawling 870 square miles of the Green Swamp........here

Diaz-Balart a One-Trick Pony

Libre Air

Rob Lorei's Interview With Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio

Pam Iorio was re-elected to her second term as Tampa mayor last year. Previously she served as Hillsborough supervisor of elections and was a Hillsborough County commissioner.
Iorio is a strong advocate of the environment, neighborhoods and mass transit. But her tenure has been marked by budget cuts, tension between her and the City Council and problems getting major projects such as the new art museum and the Riverwalk under way..........here

Monday, April 21, 2008

Meet The Diaz-Balarts: A Couple of Castro's 'Nephews'

In the past, Castro has liked to say to visiting U.S. congressmen,
"Give my best to my nephew, would you?
He's in Congress, you know." Now he has two "nephews" in Congress. Lincoln says, "Castro likes to toy with us in that way. It's totally cynical. It's just part of his game. His visitors say, 'You've got a nephew in Congress?!' They're so impressed.".......here
The United Fruit Company