Showing posts with label Local Views. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Local Views. Show all posts

Monday, August 12, 2013

Local Views: The Florida Legislature

The Times continues to publish stories about our Florida Legislature that should make us stand up and take action. Legislators let Progress Energy (now Duke) collect billions of dollars for something that will never be built. These are the same people who scream about taxes. Is this not a tax on the poor to give money to the rich? Then there are the articles about the House speaker. It seems that Will Weatherford has done extremely well on his paltry state salary while denying any income from a myriad of shell companies that he seems to be involved with. Many of these involvements were not disclosed. What do the voters do? Like lemmings they just re-elect these people. It is time to say enough is enough, throw the bums out and start with a new slate of representatives who have morals and standards above reproach and are not "in bed" with big business.
Phil Altus, Tampa
Visit Mr. Weatherford's countdown clock at www.willweatherford.info

Monday, May 27, 2013

Local Views: Florida's Culture Of Corruption

Maybe you are one of those 1 million low-income Floridians who are uninsured and were just informed by the Florida Legislature that if you get sick in this state, buster, you're pretty much on your own. And that's why House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Simon Legree, stuck to his guns in rejecting $51 billion in federal Medicaid funding over the next 10 years, which would have covered those medical moochers. After all, there are more important things state government should be doing with taxpayer resources — like allowing utility companies to gouge customers for nuclear power plants that don't work and/or will never be built.
Daniel Ruth
Sweet deals are business as usual in Florida government
John Romano
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will never win any popularity contests, and here is another reason why. The state-run insurer's board narrowly decided Wednesday to give away $52 million to a new St. Petersburg insurer with no track record and questionable leadership. Gov. Rick Scott, who defends this corporate welfare, and Citizens board members keep finding more ways to hurt consumers.
A Times Editorial
Locals
Voters are watching: Lucy Fuchs, Brandon
Protect pensions from politicians: Susan Greenbaum, Temple Terrace
Disconnected thinking:Donald Ruths, Brooksville
In plain English, it's called bribery: Peter Newton, Clearwater

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Tampa Bay Homeless

Judy Prine of New Port Richey
Letter to the Tampa Bay Times
I am deeply saddened by Gov. Rick Scott's decision to veto $1.3 million in funding for a Metropolitan Ministries transitional housing facility. I believe the general public has an overall negative and tainted view regarding the homeless. Most of them are just looking for someone to talk to and for someone who would recognize that they are real people just like the rest of us, but who were unfortunate enough to have been dealt various life challenges.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Local Views - Kathleen Peters

Letters To The Tampa Bay Times
What is more interesting than the hypocrisy is how easily one representative wants to mislead the public on the Medicaid expansion's viability. Rep. Kathleen Peters at Tiger Bay on Tuesday said that she voted against the health care expansion because it was going to be run by the Florida Healthy Kids program, and she spoke to a pediatrician who said that they do not like the program and do not have the ability to take more of "those" patients. Peters is worried that doctors will be too busy and overly burdened in treating all of these sick kids. The health care expansion, under Sen. Joe Negron's plan, was to be run by Florida Healthy Kids, as well as other Florida agencies, but that does not mean that it covers only kids. Lets look at Peters' statement. Either she thinks that 1 million poor Florida children should not get health care because the one pediatrician she called doesn't want to treat them, or she grossly misunderstands the entire health care expansion and how it is meant to benefit a much broader swath of Floridians in a more cost-effective manner. In either case, her judgment is severely flawed.Josh Shulman, St. Pete
She spoke to one (1) doctor. I wonder what party he belongs to
More locals: Bonnie Sklaren, Gulfport, Robert White, Valrico

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Culture Of Corruption: Florida Republicans

$51 Billion Failure
State lawmakers refused to accept $51 billion in federal money to provide health care to 1 million uninsured Floridians, and that leaves a permanent stain on the 2013 Florida Legislature.
here
Other Highlights
DEATH PENALTY (FAILED): Repeals Florida's death penalty for capital cases. (HB 4005)
DEATH PENALTY (PASSED): Limits the legal arguments used by inmates sentenced to death and awaiting execution in an effort to accelerate the death penalty process. (HB 7083)
RED LIGHT CAMERAS (FAILED): Reduces fines and gives people more time to pay them. (SB 1342)
WETLANDS (PASSED): Modifies a series of wetlands-related rules and ratifies the governor and Cabinet's approval of 30-year leases of public lands in the Everglades to sugar companies. (HB 999)
SPRINGS (FAILED): Requires water management district to identify certain springs for protection.
CELLPHONE PRIVACY (FAILED): Requires police to obtain a search warrant before seizing a personal electronic device during an arrest. (SB 846/HB 797)
FRACKING (FAILED): Companies must disclose what chemicals they use when they explore for oil and gas using an extraction process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. (HB 743)
GUN CONTROL (FAILED): Mandates that only licensed dealers can sell guns at gun shows.
 DOCS VS. GLOCKS (FAILED): Repeals the 2011 "docs vs. glocks" law that banned doctors from asking patients about guns. (SB 314/HB 4017)
STAND YOUR GROUND (FAILED): Repeals controversial Stand Your Ground law, which provides immunity to people who use deadly force in self-defense. (SB 622/HB 4009)
STAND YOUR GROUND (FAILED): Limits Stand Your Ground law, clarifying that does not apply when innocent bystanders are hurt or killed. (SB 362/HB 123)
DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS (FAILED): Sets up a domestic registry; allows basic rights primarily related to health care, visitation and property for unmarried couples. (SB 196/HB 259)
SICK LEAVE (PASSED): Bans local governments from requiring employers to provide sick-leave benefits for their workers. Does not affect "living wage" ordinances. (SB 726/HB 655)
MEDICAL MARIJUANA (FAILED): Legalizes use of marijuana for medical reasons. (SB 1250/HB 1139)
IMMIGRANT TUITION (FAILED): Extends in-state tuition to the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants. (SB 180/HB 7051)
WELFARE BENEFITS (PASSED): Prevents people from using welfare benefits at certain "adult entertainment" establishments, casinos or in a liquor store. (SB 1048/HB 701) Gun stores ok.
more
John Romano's quick review of their 2013 performance.
here
Daniel Lemon, of Seminole said it best in his letter to The Times:
For results, eject party in power
This editorial asks, Why don't lawmakers care? That question is answered on the front page of Perspective. They care for the show and the dough. They do not care for the citizens and voters of Florida. It would be interesting to find out if the people mentioned in the editorial vote, and if so, for which party.The solution to the problems with state government is very simple. For several decades state government has been controlled by the Republican Party, and the quality of life for the average Floridian has deteriorated. We have historical experience to know the results of Republican control of state government. If we want change, we must vote to remove control from the Republicans. As long as our state government is bought and paid for by special interests, lobbyists and big business, then we will continue to ask pointless questions and receive illogical answers.
here

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Local Views: Joe McColloch

Attack on public education
The narrow failure of the "parent trigger" bill in the state Senate should put all concerned parents and taxpayers in Florida on notice that the Republican ideologues who dominate the Legislature will stop at nothing to dismantle our system of public education and hand it over to special interests, most of whom help to bankroll these same legislative lackeys as well as their GOP apparatus.
With virtually no public support whatsoever, the House GOP fell all over themselves to embrace this blatant theft of taxpayer-funded assets while employing shamelessly fraudulent means — including a joke of a petition containing a mere handful of signatures, many of which were apparently bogus — to make their case that there was any public support for this hijack of our public education system. Only the courage of a few Republicans in the Senate kept this idiotic and dishonest effort from happening.
The shameful legacy of Jeb Bush, with his grandiose schemes to privatize as many of our state governmental functions as possible — and education most particularly — continues to afflict Florida and its taxpayers, much to our collective detriment.
Tampa Bay Times Letters to the Editor: Joe McColloch, Tampa
Locals who voted yes. John Legg, R-Trinity; Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby; Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg;
Tom Lee, R-Brandon; Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Local Views: The Cuban Advantage

Let me get this straight. Marco Rubio, current darling of the Republican Party, is going to be an authority on immigration? Isn't it a little ironic? As a son of Cuban immigrants, Cubans only need get to our shores and are granted full "amnesty." No evidence of moral character (whatever that means); no English as first language.We should start by addressing this arcane and unfair favoritism.
Leslie Sisto, St. Petersburg

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Local Views: A vote for regression, intolerance

I recently moved to Hillsborough County and have spent the better part of the last year bragging to friends and family about how proud I am of my new home.That pride was shattered by the Hillsborough County Commission's rejection last week of a domestic partnership registry. I could not be more ashamed of this community. The four "no" votes were a step backwards — signaling regression, hate and intolerance. History will mark these commissioners' place alongside the bigots and extremists of other eras. The fight is far from over, and in the end we will win. Good and right always do. The four commissioners had their chance and failed. But now we know where they stand and we can move forward.
Kaitlyn Little, Tampa
_______________________
On the same day that the Hillsborough County Commission was meeting with the principals of the Tampa Bay Rays, a vote to allow county residents a domestic partnership registry was being defeated. The Rays should remind the commission that the Rays is an inclusive organization and that this vote is not in line with those values.Twenty years ago, the NFL informed Ye Mystic Krewe that the NFL would not tolerate having the Super Bowl associated with an organization that was not inclusive. So too should Major League Baseball and the Tampa Bay Rays remind the county that
 there are consequences to its acts as well.
Jeff Thofner, Tampa
more