Florida's Culture Of Corruption: VISIT FLORIDA

When VISIT FLORIDA negotiated a contract with a Tallahassee producer, the tourism agency agreed to pay him to create a cable fishing show that would showcase the state's hundreds of miles of shorelines, lakes and rivers. Since the first deal was made in 2012, VISIT FLORIDA paid Pat Roberts $2.8 million in taxpayer money for the show and allowed him to keep all of the advertising and sponsorship revenue. here

Florida GOP Change Florida Forever To Florida Never

The budget that legislative leaders have approved calls for spending zero dollars on the Florida Forever program to buy up environmentally sensitive land. 

That's not what the voters had in mind when they approved Amendment 1 in 2014 by an overwhelming margin. here

Mamas Bail Out Homecoming Dinner & Celebration In St. Pete

5.11 - 5:30 PM

Chief's Creole Cafe

info

Guest Blogger James Lamont: Thoughts on the Cross-Bay Ferry, Tampa Bay Buses and the Movement of People

Internal Borders
Two days before our voyage, in an admirably fierce display of people's journalism, the Tampa Bay Times laid waste to bus networks in both Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties.  Caitlin Johnston and Eli Zhang detail their sad track records when it comes to investing in mass transit and in making any real efforts to improve it over the course of decades. more

Tampa Paparazzi

Graham

Florida GOP Ignores The Will Of The Voters

After months of testimony, bill drafting, amendments and insistence by lawmakers that they would honor "the will of the voters” who backed a constitutional amendment calling for a major expansion of access to medical marijuana, the Florida Legislature won't be passing any sort of legislation to implement that constitutional amendment. here

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“I’d say slim to none, and I just saw slim leave town.” Republican Bill Galvano

Florida GOP Bullshit 2017

1. A bill ratcheting up the drug war.

2. A half-billion cut to Medicaid, including a $157 million slash to South Florida hospitals.

3. A ridiculous bill allowing parents of children in public schools to object to the science taught in their kids' science books.

4. A bill to exempt 2.7 million criminal records from public view.

5. Making the Stand Your Ground law even stronger. 

6. A medical marijuana bill that banned all forms of marijuana ingestion and then was amended to still ban smokable pot.

7. Allowing citizens to take guns into airports.

8. A blatantly unconstitutional bill increasing the penalties for crimes committed by undocumented people.

9. Forcing local residents to pay for electricity companies' random fracking projects across the country.

10. A bill forcing Medicaid recipients to work for their health care.

11. A 20-week abortion ban.

12. Asking the federal government to abolish the U.S. Supreme Court and federal judicial system.

here

Documenting the Resistance in Tampa Bay! (Video)

Tampa Hoods

Brandon

Florida GOP Guts Prodigy Program By 80%

Prodigy has been funded consistently as a Juvenile Justice Prevention and Intervention program for almost 20 years and covers about 3500 youth every year in high risk zip codes in Pasco, Pinellas , Polk, Hillsborough 

and Manatee counties. 

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 The implications are very real. For example, in Hillsborough county, The Prodigy program at FICS Multicultural Family Center will have to close. We serve 400+ at-risk youth every year. That's 400 kids and their families without services as of July 1, 2017, here