I'm not what you would call an optimist. But I just moved to Tampa, Florida, and I'm feeling, for me, fairly upbeat. Two factors are putting me on the sunny side of the state. First, let's be honest, when you're at or near the bottom, there's not much to do but improve. Lately all the news seems bad. Consider this.......here
Just stopped by the Pinellas Supervisor of Elections office to check on the voter registration status of Charlie Crist. As of this morning, he’s still a registered Republican, despite public statements to the contrary.......here
Hillsborough Commissioners Okay Rail Tax Referendum After a generation of political debate, Hillsborough County voters will finally get a chance to decide on commuter rail.......here
The oil slick has yet to reach the Florida coast, but Governor Charlie Crist says the state is still being hurt by the spill. He says businesses, especially those linked to tourism, are taking a hit. "I can tell you that from being in the Panhandle this weekend," said Crist at a news conference in St. Petersburg.......here
Last weekend, I had enough coffee to get out of bed early and head over to the historic Ybor section of Tampa to check out the farmers’ market. In between the vegetable stands and handmade crafts, I hit gold, the stand for Ybor City Gold. I wanted to try all of their coffees, but I limited myself to just their Ybor Blend to start......here
The Wimauma Sprawl Project, Part 1 Was approved by the county commission today in a 5-2 vote. Al Higginbotham, Jim Norman, & Ken Hagan were joined by Kevin Beckner and Rose Ferlita, who were led down the garden path by our county planners at the Planning Commission......here Thank you commissioners Mark Sharpe & Kevin White for voting against this horrible sprawl. Whats up Mr. Beckner?
Has signed a bill targeting a school district's ethnic studies program, hours after a report by United Nations human rights experts condemned the measure. State schools chief Tom Horne, who has pushed the bill for years, said he believes the Tucson school district's Mexican-American studies program teaches Latino students that they are oppressed by white people.......here
According to a report from El Nuevo Herald on Tuesday, the state of Florida reimbursed charter travel companies that fly to Cuba $364,000 in legal expenses . This means that we the taxpayers lost $364,000 because of the ignorance and demagoguery of state Rep. David Rivera.......here
Victor Prout and Nolan Browne Monitor video screens showing segments of roads in the bay area in the Florida Department of Transportation Traffic Management Center. The center watches 140 miles of Tampa Bay area roads via 130 cameras.........here
I've been sick to my stomach over this for weeks now. What on earth have we done to ourselves? It's the economic recession all over again, except with oil instead of money as the object of greed, while wildlife, natural habitat, and indeed ultimately the economic livelihood of those who make their living either in the Gulf waters or on it's beaches will suffer mightily......The Spencerian
The man who caught the shark seen in the back of a pickup truck this weekend has come forward. He's Josh Lipert of St. Petersburg, and he caught the shark off the St. Pete Pier around 2 o'clock Saturday morning........here
Tampa Theater's Sunset Cinema Showed Back to the Future in Sulfur Springs. Christopher Lloyd happened to be in town and came after the film to do a Q&A.
Mark Carlos McGinty The Cigar Maker is the story of a Cuban rebel who battles labor strife and vigilante violence in the Cigar Capital of the World, Tampa's Ybor City in the early 1900s. Based on true events and his family's history, McGinty's second novel celebrates family and culture in a city made famous by hand-rolled cigars and their connection to organized crime, violence and racism.
Were new when he started freshman year at Land O'Lakes High School. He's now a senior, and he's worn those same now-tattered sneakers for the past four years as part of a bet......here