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
Weighed down by the sagging housing market, Tampa Electric expects its lowest customer growth in nearly a decade, company executives said Tuesday afternoon......here
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
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
Picadillo 
A New Sense Of Political Urgency 
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
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
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
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
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
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
Kennedy Boulevard and Pierce Street in downtown Tampa
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
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
Papo's Plato
It's Nice To Know 
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
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
So Proud 
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
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
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
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 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
Bacalao With Moro And Platanos
This is a tremendous social crisis, greater even than the issue of slavery.
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
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
Ropa Vieja With White Rice And Yuca
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
"I guess these guys living in Puerto Rico learned how to swim."
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.
In the past, Castro has liked to say to visiting U.S. congressmen,
