The term “offshore drilling” was the ticket to free admission into the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Saturday evening. The tiny aquarium, known for its sizeable rehabilitative work with marine animals, invited visitors to attend a discussion about the upcoming vote in Congress on Sept. 12 that will determine whether drilling will be allowed within 50 miles of the Florida coastline.......here
Things happen when, after so many years of a family holding political power, all of a sudden, there is fatigue of the repeated speeches, the passing of days, generational shifts or the moment of political realignment in the country sounds several alarms that warn that the trendy word, change, is not only coming to the White House, but to the Congress as well........here
Our 8th annual Stride for Strays walkathon is coming up on October 11! Walk your tail off for homeless pets and enjoy food, fun, prizes, activities, demonstrations and a fun day in the park with your dog.........here October 11, 2008 - 9 am - 1 pm at Lowry Park in Tampa
McCain's anti-choice, anti-science, anti-environment, anti-gay right wing extremist pick for vice president -- particularly important in view of Sen. McCain's advanced years and failing health -- reveals the depth of his cynicism and condescension towards American voters, women in particular.........here
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Florida State Parks are celebrating the second annual Literacy Month this September at each of the state's 161 state parks. In conjunction with International Literacy Day on September 8 and National Library Card Signup Month, entrance to all of Florida 's state parks will be free the week of September 7-13 for visitors who bring a library card, library book, or who donate a new or gently used family book......here
When my friend Jane saw what Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the DCCC's Red to Blue program, which is charged with defeating Republicans and replacing them with Democrats, saw how shabbily Wasserman Schultz had treated progressive Navy veteran Doug Tudor, her astonishment was palpable. "Wow," she wrote, "We really are the New Republicans!".........here
Take a look at Blair's His Contributors tab. As of June 30th, he had 650 contributors, 413 of which are "developer-related" individuals. Why should such a small number of people, 413, run Hillsborough County? That's 1 of THEM for every 2,803 of US.1,157,738 people live here......here
Given a brief chance to introduce herself to Florida Democrats at a breakfast here Wednesday -- a day after fellow candidates Joe Garcia and Raul Martinez appeared before the entire convention -- Taddeo seized the moment, taking to the stage in the delegate hotel to outline her candidacy against Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.........here
Johnny Depp played at a charity benefit concert in Pompano Beach, Fla., Friday night. The charity that benefitted from Depp's largesse was the Dan Marino Foundation. The former Miami Dolphin football player's charity funds programs for children with special needs including the Marino Autism Research Institute......here
Three men arrested over threats to kill Gordon Brown have been charged with terrorism offences, threat posted on website hosted in Tampa Florida.........here
One of three Cuban-American Republican incumbents who Democrats are targeting in South Florida this year, is in the fight of his political life, according to a new poll conducted exclusively for Roll Call. In a head-to-head matchup with Raul Martinez (D), the colorful and controversial former mayor of Hialeah, Diaz-Balart received 46 percent while the Democrat garnered 48 percent.......here
If the Obama camp engages in some smart, targeted politicking. It’s the Sarah Palin pick, and it might be the thing that pushes Florida into the Obama camp. Why? Follow my logic here, and you’ll see how simple it is.........here
Man, Debbie Wasserman Schultz never seems to miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. A busy bee at Monday morning's breakfast for the Florida delegation to the Democratic National Convention, she nonetheless made a glaring omission.......here
The Justice for Javon Dawson Campaign continues to grow as State Attorney, Bernie McCabe and St. Pete police continue to be exposed for their cover up of Javon's murder! On August 21st, two St. Pete police officers were suspended for attempting to cover up their actions in destroying a Javon Dawson memorial and stealing the truck the memorial was posted on!........here
I have lived in Tampa nearly five years and it's embarrassing how little the Tampa city government has done to improve bicyling on the streets of Tampa......here
Freed from tacking to the center for his national ambitions — or smarting from being rejected for being insufficiently red-meat conservative perhaps — Gov. Crist has pulled a Jeb Bush........here
Barack Obama's audience for his acceptance speech likely topped 40 million people, and the Democratic gathering that nominated him was a more popular television event than any other political convention in history........here
The man stood outside his RV, yelling and shooting a gun into the air. When Pasco sheriff's deputies confronted him, he ran inside and wouldn't come out.......here
Charleston-based street evangelist Brandt Russo was in jail Wednesday after trying to hold services at a church in Lakeland, Fla. Russo was arrested Tuesday at Lakeland's Ignited Church and charged with trespassing after he tried to hold communion services on church property. Russo decided to go to Lakeland after learning of the plight of about 40 homeless men who are trying to live in a swamp about 100 yards from the Ignited Church.......here
Cash Or Charge? That seems to be the question on the minds of more and more nonprofit hospitals, who are asking even insured patients to pay up front for their share of nonemergency treatment—anything from an elective cosmetic procedure to a scheduled cardiac catheterization test......here
According to an article in this week's Tampa Tribune, Hillsborough County Animal Services euthanized almost 2000 animals in April of this year. More cats than dogs are brought into the shelter and more dogs are adopted, so cats are the majority of the animals being euthanized..........here
2008 is not a good year to be a Republican running for office. Even the Republican leadership is saying that if the "Republican brand were dogfood, it would be taken off the shelf."........here
Barack Obama is keeping Howard Dean as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said Obama appreciates Dean’s hard work to grow the party..........here
In response to McCain's visit, the Florida Democratic Party today unveiled www.HurricaneMcCain.com, an online portal dedicated to exposing the danger McCain poses to Florida, and a new ad that the Party plans to air on television soon.......here
It's a warm, sun-drenched weekday morning outside D.W. Webb Middle School, in the Town 'n' Country neighborhood of Tampa. Under a cloudless sky, Joe Molloy, a boulder of a man, bespectacled and clad in a gray Webb Middle School T-shirt, khaki shorts and black New Balance sneakers, is preparing for his first phys ed class of the day........here
Next year, a giant Confederate flag may tower above the tree line near the junction of Interstate 75 and Interstate 4.......here It will be lit at night.
Earlier this month, a group of about 30 people gathered at the downtown Miami law firm of delancyhill. Most attendees were not seasoned political operatives, but many are well known within South Florida’s diverse black community, drawn from the worlds of marketing, business and law........here
If you’ve ever heard the saying – “the best defense is a good offense” – then you know exactly what I’m thinking when I say we should boycott Georgia Peaches...........here
French explorer and adventurer Xavier Rosset is about to embark on a 300 day trip to live alone on a remote tropical island in the South Pacific. His adventures will be filmed and used for a 52 minute documentary..........here
The time has come to lift the 2004 travel and remittance restrictions. I hereby call on Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen –who was so instrumental in the Bush Administration’s decision to impose the ban – to abandon her previous position and to support Cuban and Cuban-American families. I call on President George Bush, and commit to press the next President of the United States and the Congress, to remove the 2004 travel and remittance restrictions and to return these regulations to their pre-2004 levels..........here
Perhaps nothing has been as disappointing over the past 7 and one half years than the inability of Congress to get its act together and take action against Bush and company.........here
I don’t know how anyone votes when you actually have good choices for once. There is actually going to be a real debate with McCain and Obama, one that was missing in 2004 when the two choices were bad and worse............here
Just four years ago, Florida was ravaged with four major hurricanes in the span of 10 weeks. Then, in 2005, two more major hurricanes hit Florida, making it one of the worst consecutive hurricane seasons in U.S. history..........here
This TreeHugger doesn't usually cover the celebrity beat and I would rather chew on ground glass than listen to her, but Canada's gift to the world, Celine Dion and her husband René Angélil, drink up 18,000 gallons of water per day in their modest 9,800 square foot Jupiter Island pile.......here