With alternately tearful goodbyes and barely contained impatience, more than 100 South Floridians surrendered their exotic animals Saturday at a zoo event designed to give owners an alternative to simply turning them loose........here
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Florida Zoo Takes in Expunged Exotics
With alternately tearful goodbyes and barely contained impatience, more than 100 South Floridians surrendered their exotic animals Saturday at a zoo event designed to give owners an alternative to simply turning them loose........here
Pot Plant Operations In Southwest Florida
With a canal running by one side of his house, a large plot of brush and foliage on the other, and a front yard as big as a tree-filled football field, Joe Cook’s Golden Gate Estates home on 22nd Street Northeast offers a quiet respite from the hustle and bustle of modern life......here
FLORIDA KEYS’ SEVEN MILE BRIDGE RUN
The 27th annual run across the scenic Seven Mile Bridge in Marathon is set for Saturday, April 19, 2008, but interested runners need to act now to secure their participation.......here
Gay Teen Killed In Fort Lauderdale
The shooting death of a gay teenage boy who was dressed in women's clothing is being investigated as a possible hate crime, while detectives try to determine whether he was targeted because of his sexual orientation........here
Marine Major Brian Dennis And Nubs
This image provided by Marine Major Brian Dennis, of St. Pete Beach, Fl., shows Dennis holding his adopted dog, Nubs, near the Iraq-Jordan border Monday, Feb. 4, 2008. It began with a simple act of kindness to save an abused and injured dog from becoming one more victim in the war in Iraq. But what followed for Marine Maj. Brian Dennis and the mutt was a tale of friendship and loyalty that spanned miles, borders, and overcame long odds — a tale that takes a turn Friday Feb. 22, 2008 with the anticipated arrival here of the Marine's best friend........here
Friday, February 22, 2008
The Florida Cracker Trail
About 10 years ago, on assignment for a country music magazine, I accompanied the Bellamy Brothers on a bumpy stretch of the Florida Cracker Trail Ride, a 120-mile, cross-state horseback trip.......here
Central Florida Spring Could Be Sold To Water-Bottling Company
It's a rare natural treasure, but a Central Florida spring could be sold for millions to a water bottling company if no one intervenes. Paradise Springs is fed by two aquifers and if a bottling company has its way, it's going to pump millions of gallons of Central Florida water from the same aquifers that supply local residents........here
Historic South Florida Beach Reopens
Virginia Key Beach Park celebrated the grand opening of its historic beach and park after nine years of being closed. In 1945 Virginia Key Beach was known as Dade County's only black beach under the separate but equal laws of the first half of the twentieth century......here
Tampa Bay Teens Take Part In Famine To Help Homeless
Teens from the Bay Area will join hundreds of thousands of others nationwide to fight world hunger by taking part in a 30 hour famine starting today at noon. During the the 2008 World Vision Famine, the teens will serve and prepare food for the homeless and collect can goods. The teens will consume liquids only as they fast.......here
The Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway
The Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway received its official state Scenic Byway designation on February 20, 2008 by the Florida Scenic Highways Program’s Scenic Highways Advisory Committee. Connecting Silver Springs with the city of Ormond Beach, the Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway (SR 40) traverses some of Florida's most pristine ecosystems, centered on the Big Scrub, the world’s largest scrub forest. Providing access to a wide array of public lands......here
Student Shoots AP Florida Photo Of The Year
The Associated Press named photojournalism student Andrew Stanfill’s “Don’t Tase Me, Bro!” Florida Photo of the Year. It ran in The Independent Florida Alligator and in newspapers around the world after being transmitted by the AP........here
Nancy Pelosi In Ft. Lauderdale This Sunday
Pelosi is an embarrassment to the Democratic Party. She is deaf, dumb and blind. She obviously never read the Constitution, doesn't understand her oath of office, and certainly knows nothing of the Geneva Convention or International Laws of Humanity.....here
Iraqi 'Air Force' Plane Lands In Florida
No one knew what to make of it when a small propeller airplane stenciled with the words "Iraqi Air Force" made an emergency landing on a country road near the rural Florida community of Sebring.......here
Howard Dean On John McCain
I have no idea whether the affair story is true or not, and I don't care. What I do care about is John McCain -- and this has been well documented -- is talking all the time about being a reformer and a maverick, and in fact, he has taken thousands of dollars from corporations, ridden on their corporate jets, and then turned around and tried to do favors for them and get projects approved........here
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Tampa Pirate Taking a New Direction
We have to stand up and start speaking in a unified voice against the oppression of our government. What was supposed to be a government by and for the people is now a government made by the rich for the rich. If I have to take a bullet in the head by the federal government for trying to help my daughter grow up in a real America I will. I will keep standing up and no longer allow myself to be pushed down and censored by the feds......here
The Poorest Zip Code In Hillsborough County
The poorest zip code in Hillsborough County was 33605 and most of the Tampa foreclosure homes were recorded in Ybor City. It was definitely not a rosy picture and this created a negative polarity in Tampa. Tampa saw a fall in the number of investors and homebuyers in Hillsborough and especially the 33605 neighborhood........here
Ybor City March
Paul Camp and Andrew Huse, USF Librarians, share a 1938 film featuring the Ybor City cigar-making community.
Everglades Earth First! Shuts Down Florida Power Plant Construction
Early Monday morning dozens of concerned community members from Palm Beach County and all over the nation put their bodies on the line to halt construction of FPL’s West County Energy Center (WCEC), demanding energy efficiency, truly clean, renewable energy and a moratorium on development in south Florida.......here
Spike Lee At USF
March 4, 2008 - 7 pmSun Dome
Tickets: Free for USF Students with valid USF ID
$3- USF Faculty, Staff, and Alumni with valid USF ID
$8- Public
Florida Gov. Crist: Health Insurance For All
Insurance with "robust" benefits would be available for as little as $150 a month. Young adults could stay on their parents' health insurance until age 30. Every Florida child would be eligible for KidCare health coverage regardless of family income. Gov. Charlie Crist went to bat Tuesday for Florida's estimated 4 million residents without health-care coverage, and he was clearly aiming for a home run......here
2010: Jim Davis vs. Mel Martinez
Other names of possible Democratic candidates for Martinez's include Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, state House Minority Leader Dan Gelber, and Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio........here
Kathy Castor Endorses Obama
Barack Obama has just received the endorsement of freshman U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa, who also is a superdelegate to the Democratic convention.....here“It is time for our party to coalesce around Barack Obama’s nomination for President. I ran for Congress in 2006 to fight for a new direction for our country. Senator Obama offers the most determined and coherent plan for a new direction and change and I am proud to endorse him for President of the United States.”
Rightwing Previews Its Anti-Obama Attacks
It is a fundamental rule of politics: If you don’t define yourself, you will be defined by your opponent. Barack Obama’s charisma and inspirational message may have his supporters fainting in the aisles but his bio and voting records are a blank slate for Republicans to fill........here
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
"Spreading Democracy" on This Day of Fidel Castro's Retirement
And who, while decrying the dictatorial splinter in the collective cornea of yet another palm-tree-lined nation doing us no harm, all the while ignoring the beam lodged in their own myopic eye; and who, to this day, and despite mounting evidence to the contrary, tell the citizenry that promoting freedom is what they've been doing all this time.......here
Time to Retire America's Failed Cuba Policy
This is the event that fifty years of U.S. policy was designed to stopFidel Castro has announced his retirement. He will be replaced in a peaceful succession, without the violent upheaval that U.S. policy makers have been predicting since the 1960s.
Now that Fidel Castro has announced his retirement, it's time to retire our Cold War era Cuba policy..........It failed........here
Freedom In Cuba?
Representatives of the students of the University of Ciencias Informa'ticas (UCI) interrogated the president of the Cuban parliament, Ricardo Alarcón, on the policies of the government.In Spanish
The United States Embargo On The Cuban People
The United States embargo against Cuba is an economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed on Cuba on February 7, 1962. The embargo was enacted after Cuba expropriated the properties of United States citizens and corporations (notably those that belonged to the United Fruit Company and the ITT)........WikipediaThe only candidate I see who is even close to ending the embargo is Barack Obama. He has stated that he favors a loosening of the travel ban so that Cuban Americans can visit family; he also wants fewer restrictions on remittances. Further, he is the only candidate who believes we should be in dialogue with governments that have been determined enemies.......here
Mario Diaz-Balart - Ileana Ros-Lehtinen - Lincoln Diaz-Balart - Mel Martinez
46 YEARS - END THE GODDAMN EMBARGO
Creationism in Florida
The southern racists refused to allow desegregation, despite the fact that they were (a) wrong and (b) breaking the law of the land. Having failed, their children and grandchildren are fighting to impose another evil on children - not racism, but ignorance. Like creationism, racism was once a fashionable pseudoscience. It’s still there, it has just gone out of fashion. The sooner people discard both lies, the better........here
No Sympathy For Florida and Michigan
It isn’t up to Howard Dean. As Chair of the DNC, he has to follow the rules, and the rules for the primary elections were adopted way back in August of 2006. State Parties violated the rules, knowing in advance exactly what they were doing and what the consequences would be. Just because a great injustice has happened in Florida and Michigan, it doesn’t mean we should abandon the process and the rules – that would be a greater injustice........here
Monday, February 18, 2008
The Foreclosure Express Driving Into Florida
The bus tours that have motored across foreclosure-littered neighborhoods of California, Nevada and other slumping states are pulling into the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County. Two local real estate firms in Port St. Lucie and Tequesta are planning their first tours of bank-owned properties Saturday........hereTampa Bay Online Engages In Censorship
Tampa Bay Online, which is somehow partnered or owned by The Tampa Tribune and WFLA News Channel 8 has decided to remove reader comments en masse. On February 10, the website posted a story about a group of people protesting Scientologists. A day or 2 later there were over 100 comments, most not favorable to Scientology but none that used profanity or otherwise violated the website's Terms Of Service........here
Who Signed The GOP Anti Gay Petition?
The names of thousands of Floridians are turning up online, for signing a petition supporting a gay marriage ban in the state. Those who posted the names call it a public service; but we found many others who call it an invasion of privacy........hereEarth First Conference In West Palm Beach
Alaina is an activist from the native St'at'imc people of British Columbia, fighting to keep her ancestors' land from being lost to ski resorts and the 2010 Winter Olympics. Ron Huber is trying to protect the livelihood of Maine's lobstermen from the invasion of "resort wannabes," 23 years after he squatted in treetops to stop loggers in Oregon. Both were in the wilds of northwest Palm Beach County on Friday, part of an international gathering of Earth First! activists who came to trade tales, talk tactics and express solidarity with their imprisoned allies........here
The Godfather Backs McCain
John McCain picked up former President George H.W. Bush's support on Monday, a critical blessing by a pillar of the Republican establishment......hereFour More Years!
Howard Dean On Counting Florida's Votes
DNC Chairman Howard Dean responded to NAACP head Julian Bond's call to seat the FL and MI delegations by, well, saying pretty much nothing. Looks like the DNC and FDP strategy/plan is to cross their fingers that a nominee emerges soon......here
Tampa Pirate Rebel Radio
Click here to listen to our new station. Right now there is more music than commentary, over the next couple days that will change some.
"Justice Without Borders" At Cafe Bohemia
Amnesty International, in conjunction with St. Pete for Peace, presents "Justice Without Borders", a documentary film that explores the global movement seeking justice and accountability for the most grave human rights abuses.Wednesday, Feb. 20. 8:00pm - Cafe Bohemia, 937 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Evolutionary Awareness in Florida Seems to be Abysmal
Once again, Floridians disappoint. A poll conducted by St. Petersburg Times indicates that an alarming 51% of people in Florida think that creationism/intelligent design should be the only thing taught in the classroom. Another 18% think that both creationism and evolution should be taught in class. Only 22% of people in Florida think that Evolution only should be taught in science classes.........here
DNC Not Backing Down On FL And MI Delegates
Clinton's operatives want DNC chairman Howard Dean to come up with a resolution, but Dean is staying out of the fight for now........here"It‘s time for us to shut up and listen to the voters, and that‘s what I‘m going to do".......Howard Dean
McCain's advice Miami-bred
Close aides to McCain caution that it's too early to talk about who will be their campaign's Latin American affairs advisors and that an official team has yet to be put together. But when pressed for names of who have been briefing him recently, they mention Florida's Cuban-American Sen. Mel Martinez and Cuban-American congress members Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros Lehtinen......hereUPHILL BATTLE
Because of his steadfast support for the Iraq War and his foreign policy views molded during the Cold War, McCain would face an uphill battle to convince the world that he represents change and would bring a breath of fresh air to Washington.
That is likely to be McCain's biggest problem, abroad and at home.
Because of his steadfast support for the Iraq War and his foreign policy views molded during the Cold War, McCain would face an uphill battle to convince the world that he represents change and would bring a breath of fresh air to Washington.
That is likely to be McCain's biggest problem, abroad and at home.
Barring a terrorist scare that would put his national security credentials at center stage,
it's hard to see how he could overcome it.
Orlando, Florida Postcard Art
Pictured here are images of celery fields, a fountain in Lake Ivanhoe, the 1892 Orange County courthouse, downtown Orlando, a wig wam village, and a Brahma bull. This is located in a park in downtown Orlando called Heritage Square, beside the History Center........here
The Fairy Godmothers Of Fort Myers, Florida
This program is Only for girls with financial hardships. It is designed to help girls who, without our help, will not be able to attend their Junior or Senior Proms........here
Charlie Crist Veep-O-Meter
With all the chatter nationally about Gov. Charlie Crist maybe getting tapped as John McCain's running mate, how could we resist? This week the Buzz debuts our exclusive Charlie Crist Veep-O-Meter, which tracks his vice presidential prospects.It's way too early in the process for St. Petersburg's first governor to start measuring drapes at Dick Cheney's place, but our Veep-O-Meter starts out bullish since Mike Huckabee no longer serves as an amiable McCain ally against Mitt Romney but more like a pesky pain in McCain's petard.......here
Tampa's Trolley Runs On Shaky Finances
Five years after it started rumbling down the tracks, Tampa's streetcar is running out of time.The next few months will be crucial in deciding whether it moves forward -- or takes a big step backward........here
Tempering Florida's Summers Of Protests
On the evening of June 19, 1964, at the height of the civil rights protest in St. Augustine, J. B. Stoner, an ardent racist and Ku Klux Klan leader, stood on the stage of a park gazebo in the heart of old St. Augustine -- where slaves were once formally sold -- speaking to hundreds of hate-filled Klansmen. "The way to white supremacy," he said, "is to rid Congress of those who voted for the civil rights bill and get that ni---r-loving Lyndon Johnson out of Washington."......here I think the enduring story of the Civil Rights Movement is the uncommon courage of the demonstrators.
For Florida Lawmakers, No More Free Jeb Bush Burgers
A block from the white domes of Florida's state Capitol, suits and ringing cell phones dominated the brick patio of Andrew's Capital Grill & Bar, where patrons can order a "Jeb Bush" burger in the shade of broad umbrellas emblazoned with premium beer logos. But not all is well at the famous haven for Sunshine State lobbyists and lawmakers........here
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Carpenters Fans Try To Save Former Home
Owners of The Carpenters' former home aren't feeling on top of the world about the legions of fans who keep stopping by to pay tribute. The five-bedroom tract house, where siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter lived and penned some of their greatest hits, was featured on the cover of their 1973 hit album "Now & Then." It was also where an anorexic Karen Carpenter collapsed in 1983 before dying......hereOwners Manuel and Blanca Melendez Parra have apparently grown weary of the parade of fans paying homage.
The Relevant Church in Ybor City
A pastor has a new challenge for his parishioners. It involves sex - a subject that may be taboo in many congregations. The Relevant Church in Ybor City has issued a 30-day sex challenge.
Friend Says Tampa Cops Set Up Jessica Sierra
In a taped interview, a reported longtime friend of "American Idol" contestant Jessica Sierra claims that Sierra's arrest last December was a set up by Tampa police........here
Charlette Marshall-Jones
A Hillsborough County detention deputy who dumped a quadriplegic man from his wheelchair was arrested this morning on a charge of abuse of a disabled person. Charlette Marshall-Jones, 44, turned herself in to authorities and was booked into the Orient Road Jail at 5:19 a.m. before being released about an hour later on $3,500 bail, records show. A warrant for her arrest was announced last night by Sheriff David Gee.......hereState Opens Civil Rights Investigation
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