Florida Senate Busy With Same-Sex Classes

A state senator is proposing to make same-sex classrooms common practice in Florida schools, but not everyone thinks the idea is a good idea. "The kids perform better, act better and they don't have the pressure of their hormones getting out of whack," said Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville.......here

7,000 Inbreds In Panama City, Florida

"I cannot believe that I've been in jail and this was illegal," he said. "[Panama City] is a corrupt town, run by corrupt officials. This is just a whole crock...a sham with trumped-up charges. "I am in a town of about 7,000 inbreds who are totally corrupt.".......here

Democracy Inaction In Tamarac, Florida

Authorities in Tamarac, Florida held a referendum to annex an unincorporated community in Broward County. Notices were sent to the 68 registered voters in the Prospect Bend neighborhood, but none showed up to cast a ballot.........here

Hillsborough County Schools Sex Scandals

The arrest Thursday of a middle school teacher accused of having sex with a teenage student has thrust a Florida school district made famous by Debra Lafave into an uncomfortable yet familiar position.......here

First Black Woman As Florida Chief Justice

At a heady time when an African American and a woman are serious contenders for the White House, Florida marked its own milestone Friday. The state Supreme Court is about to get its first African-American woman chief justice.......more

Florida Red & Blue Introduces SayNo2 Campaign

Florida Red & Blue, the statewide organization that the Human Rights Campaign has partnered with to fight an anti-gay marriage amendment, has launched the Say No 2 campaign, urging voters to Vote No on Amendment 2, which will be on the November ballot........here

Debbie Wasserman Schultz , They're Bush Republicans

The big deal people have with this is not only that Rep. Wasserman Schultz is doing nothing, that's only part of the problem. The bigger problem is that she is praising the Republican when we have a Democratic challenger........here

Annette Taddeo

Jim Hightower In Tampa

WMNF Presents an Evening with Jim Hightower

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Billy Crystal Batting At The NY Yankees Game In Tampa

Senators Seek More Pay For Florida Pickers

Two Democratic senators threatened on Thursday to introduce legislation and scrutinize companies with government contracts to pressure Florida tomato growers to boost the wages of farm workers who work the state's tomato crop.........here

Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Florida's Weeki Wachee Becomes State Park

Florida is throwing a life preserver to the mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs. The mermaids can continue fluttering their tails in choreographed underwater shows at the park, as they have for 60 years.........more

Florida Celebrates Oceans Day

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection today joined public and private partners to celebrate Florida Oceans Day at the Capitol. The annual event recognizes people and organizations who work to make the state's oceans and coasts cleaner, healthier and more productive.........more

Florida's Democratic Party Worst In The Country

When you compare the number of Democrats in the state with the number of elections the party won, it really was no contest. The party has struggled to regain its footing since the exits of Lawton Chiles and Bob Graham who dominated the Democratic scene for three decades.........here

Florida Senate Busy With Droopy Pants

The Florida Senate wants public school students to pull up their pants. Lawmakers passed a bill on Thursday that could mean suspensions for students with droopy britches. It won't become law unless the House of Representatives passes a companion measure.........here

Kentucky Wants to Make Anonymous Internet Posting Illegal

Kentucky Representative Tim Couch filed a bill this week to make anonymous posting online illegal. If the bill becomes law, the website operator would have to pay if someone was allowed to post anonymously on their site. The fine would be five-hundred dollars for a first offense and one-thousand dollars for each offense after that.........here

South Florida Marks 5th Anniversary of War on Iraq

“Five Years is Five Too Many,” is the message that South Floridians will take to the streets next week to mark the 5th anniversary of the Bush administration’s War on Iraq, and to demand an end to the carnage. Numerous rallies, vigils, and exhibits throughout the U.S. will highlight the tragic cost of this war – in lives, tax dollars, and world opinion..........here

The Bush Secret Police aka (Firefighters)

Hemingway's Cats

When Hemingway settled in Key West, Florida around 1931, he was gifted a six-toed cat by a ship's captain. Today there are around 60 descendants of that cat roaming freely........here

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South Florida: Don't Move Here

Bottom line: living here ain't what it used to be. But people gotta live. Some of us have our whole families down here, all our friends, our whole histories are tied up with this place. We're trying to make it down here, but the pressure's on. The benefits are evaporating and it's getting harder and harder just to live from day to day........here

Florida Senator Victor Crist Busy With Toilet Paper

A proposed law currently making its way through the Florida legislature might help you with what can be an embarrassing problem. Here’s the bottom line, the bill would be a mandate that all eating establishment must have enough toilet paper when you go into the restroom.......more

The Cheating Heart of Tampa

The methodology is a little suspect, but the results do suggest that married men in Tampa are more anxious to step out on their wives than their counterparts across the country. The Science of Cheating Blog posted phony personal ads on Craig's List soliciting extramarital affairs. Tampa men were positively Spitzeresque in their responses.........here

Tampa Televangelists Draw Senate Scrutiny

Two U.S. Senators sent out a new round of letters today to some of the nation’s most high-profile televangelists, urging them to turn over key financial records. One of the letters was mailed today to televangelists Randy and Paula White, who founded the Without Walls International Church in Tampa 16 years ago, calling it "the perfect church for people who are not."..........here

Five Cuban Soccer Players Missing In Tampa

Five members of the Cuban Under-23 national soccer team left their hotel Tuesday night and are unaccounted for, raising the possibility they may be trying to defect. The players were discovered to have left the team hotel hours after earning a 1-1 draw with the United States in the Pre-Olympic tournament.......here

Pam Iorio Touts Drop In Crime

She highlighted two neighborhoods – East Tampa and Ybor City – as examples of the crime reduction, saying these areas recorded crime drops of 15.6 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively. "Ybor City is safer than ever. It is blossoming. It is flourishing. It is a place to go out to dinner and have a great time," Iorio said.......here

Salvia Selling Like Crazy In Ybor City

It’s being called the new LSD. Fast-acting, cheap and very intense. Some people report feeling a sense of time-travel and an out-of-body experience. Kicks on 7th in Ybor City can’t seem to keep it in stock. It’s the biggest seller there........more

Elected Officials Trashed Florida

Sadly, the fourth largest state in this nation is no longer “user friendly.” Florida was known as the promised land, but the boom times are over. Last year, more people left than came in........here

Florida losing Spring Training teams to Arizona

Georgia Governor Is "Really Thirsty"

"Hey, we used to own half the damn country. Look at that map." "I'll bet you with the right priced judge we could annex Alabama, bamboozle Florida and Hell, nobody wants Tennessee.".........more

University of Florida Expert On Fifth Anniversary Of Iraq War

As the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq approaches, anti-war groups are turning to tactics designed to provoke authorities to make arrests as a substitute for the kind of mass rallies they organized in the past, says a University of Florida researcher.......here

Florida Medical Records Sold at Utah Thrift Shop

Dozens of Florida hospital patients are outraged because their private medical records wound up for sale at a thrift shop in Utah. Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford shipped the patients' records by UPS in December.......more

Anti-Gay Hatred Rampant In Florida High School

This one is a little weird, but not unexpected, but you might want to brace yourself anyhow. The Ponce de Leon High School in the Florida panhandle has decided that it would be a really cool idea to ban symbols and speech which might prove supportive of GLBT rights........here

Red-Light Cameras Increase Crashes And Costs, USF Report Finds

Rather than improving motorist safety, red-light cameras significantly increase crashes and are a ticket to higher auto insurance premiums, researchers at the University of South Florida College of Public Health conclude.......here

Florida Legislators Busy With Sally-D

On Web sites touting the mind-blowing powers of Salvia divinorum, come-ons to buy the hallucinogenic herb are accompanied by warnings: "Time is running out!" and "stock up while you still can." Eight states have already placed restrictions on salvia, and 16 others, including Florida, are considering a ban or have previously........here

My Hero Rachel Maddow

The Rachel Maddow Show

Everglades Restoration Continues Despite Water Scarcity

South Florida experienced a severe water shortage during Water Year 2007, more than a foot below historic averages for the region. From May 1, 2006 to April 31, 2007, low rainfall reduced flows across the entire region, according the annual report released Tuesday by Florida state agencies......more

Florida Monkeys With Education

With all of the important problems facing Florida and its economy what are we debating? Why evolution of course. Today, people are losing their homes in Florida due to high taxes and out of control insurance companies. And while “No Show, Empty Chair” Charlie is out campaigning for John McCain, our legislature has dug up John Scopes and put it all on trial again........here

Howard Dean Talks Florida/Michigan Re-Vote

Two Florida Mothers Are United By Slain Black Gay Sons

The Williams and Broadus cases remain unsolved and police do not believe this is the work of the same killer, "although there were similarities. Both victims identified themselves as gay and sometimes dressed as women, and they were both shot by killers who may have made anti-gay slurs."......here

Florida Democrats Are Going To Be Annoyed

Al Sharpton’s threatening the Democratic National Committee with a lawsuit. If Hillary Clinton doesn’t win the nomination in a manner Sharpton approves, he told Bill O’Reilly on Fox News he may even leave the Democratic Party......here

Florida Legislature Getting Expelled

Word about Rep. Hays’ movie invite to his fellow Florida legislators is filtering out to the media. Newspaper blogs are talking up a storm on the event........more

Florida Trail Goodness!

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Beaches, Boardwalks, Bistros In Laid-Back Sunshine State City

If you’re over Miami’s fast pace and Orlando is just too Mouse, Tampa may be the place to drop anchor in the Sunshine State. It’s got the beaches and the roller coasters but evades the frenzy that marks Florida’s more prominent destinations........more

We Deserve A Great Leader

I saw Senator Obama when he was here last year. I’m a pretty cynical person when it comes to politics, mostly because of my poly sci degree. But Barack Obama was different. Because when he talked, I actually cared. He wasn’t promising me 4 years of rainbows and sunshine. Hell, he wasn’t even selling himself. His message was that I could make a difference. That, as a group, we still had the power to change the world. But it would take work. Each and every one of us.......here

Intolerance on the streets of Ybor City

Water Quality Restores Seagrasses In Tampa Bay

A recent study released by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program found only three isolated areas where water quality targets were not being met. The rest of the bay is now rated to have good water quality, even Hillsborough Bay, which for years was little more than a cesspool for the city of Tampa.......here

Finding Florida's Panthers

Florida panthers are an endangered species, and Big Cypress researchers monitor 11 radio-collared cats in the preserve south of Interstate 75. The panther work, which includes aerial surveys three times a week, costs $300,000 a year, most of which comes from the preserve's budget with help from the National Park Service's Southeast Regional Office in Atlanta.......here

The Coattails of Barack Obama

While the media spins Hillary's attempt to make herself look Presidential through her allusion (or illusion) that the Big Girl would consider Barack Obama as a VP running mate...(although her recent Super Tuesday II delegate win was just slapped down by Don't Think So Wyoming)......here

Rare Primate Born At Central Florida Zoo

Younger than a month old, Makena is already taking baby steps. The rare primate's birth is big news in the world of captive breeding. There are fewer than 25 lesser spot-nosed guenons on exhibit in American Zoo and Aquarium Association institutions throughout the country, and the Sanford park is one of only a few reproducing them........here

Ft. Myers Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Two-thousand somber souls gathered at the foot of the Midpoint Memorial Bridge in Fort Myers on Sunday for the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial of Southwest Florida........more

Improper Lane Change In Tavares, Florida

An 80-year-old woman went down swinging when a police officer tried to arrest her. Authorities said Thalia Logas refused to sign a ticket and punched the officer in the stomach and chest several times when he tried to place her under arrest........here

Florida Fair Elections Founder Susan Pynchon Honored

When Susan Pynchon founded Florida Fair Elections Coalition in 2004, her chief concern was whether everyone's votes were being accurately counted. Four years later, Pynchon has been named a 2008 recipient of the Nelson Poynter Civil Liberties Award........here

Florida May Get Its First Gay Legislator

Broward voters could send the Florida's first openly gay legislator to Tallahassee in this year's elections. Mark LaFontaine is one of four candidates who have declared their intentions to run in District 92, which takes in Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Lazy Lake, Oakland Park, Pompano Beach and Wilton Manors.........here

Dunedin, Florida: 6 Storks On The Roof

Dunedin Daily Photo

Golfer Whacks Hawk At Florida Golf Course

Golf courses are interesting examples of peculiar human habitats that are as likely to attract wildlife as they are to kill it. The wide open green spaces, abundant greenery and water, and scattered trees must make it seem like attractive habitat to many a species, and it is not uncommon to find many birds.......here