There are dark clouds on the horizon of the battleground state of Florida. New laws and tales of voter suppression efforts already have many voters nervous and confused. Florida, which was recently named 
I got the OK from the higher-ups here to give Moral Courage Awards annually, starting this December, for people in Tampa Bay who demonstrate, in the words of the county’s award, “exceptional ethical behavior and the moral courage to challenge the actions of government.”........here
Proposed bans on same-sex marriage are on the ballot in Florida and two other important states this fall, rousing passions on both sides, yet neither John McCain nor Barack Obama seems eager to push the issue high on their campaign agendas..........here
With 120 acres to explore, the Florida Botanical Gardens provides a day full of adventure. Meander down paths and walkways to beautiful courtyards, sculptured and succulent gardens, seasonal displays, tropical, native and palm gardens............here
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa 
The McCain-Palin campaign is making a lot of noise about the large crowd that came to cheer Sarah Palin at her appearance in Lady Lake, Florida, last week. Local fire officials estimated the crowd at 25,000 to 30,000, while the McCain-Palin campaign claims an audience twice that size...........here 
This Wednesday, September 24th, please join Barack Obama in Dunedin, where he will talk about his vision for creating the kind of change we need.......here
Sorry, little mistake in the headline. Replace the word foul with fowl, for chicken. That should be the modifier for Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who's not up to the challenge of meeting his challenger in the debate arena..........here
That title got your attention, didn’t it? Good. Before we get to the potential voter suppression going on in Florida, however, a bit of stage-setting is in order. Context is everything, after all.........here
Saving Tampa , a romantic suspense is about an FBI Agent and a psychic forced to work together to prevent a terrorist attack on Tampa Bay.......here
Based on the decision by the Board of County Commissioners to rename the Moral Courage award, to the Ralph Hughes award, it is time to unveil the new Hillsborough County logo.........here
The Tampa Bay Rays clinched their first playoff berth in franchise history. Several Christian groups are attributing the team's success to the fact that this year they changed their name from "Devil Rays" to simply "Rays."...........here
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, you don’t often get lions called Cameron. Savage as Cameron is capable of being, he’s never seen nature red in tooth and claw. He was liberated from a roadside zoo and lives now at Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit sanctuary for exotic cats that have been abused or abandoned. It’s not a zoo. Visitors are offered two or three 90-minute guided tours a day and that’s it. Big Cat Rescue depends on the $25 admission fee to help meet its $1 million animal budget.......here
Howard Dean was the headliner at a voter registration rally hosted by College Democrats at Temple University. A crowd of a couple hundred heard the former Vermont governor and former presidential candidate call for young people to lead the way in taking the White House from the G.O.P.......here
Dear Republicans: This election all Republicans who love America must vote for Obama. A vote for business-as-usual and a continuation of the Neoconservative/Religious Right/ party of corporate American alienation is a vote against America. As a former Republican activist, I appeal to your patriotism and honor..........here
Locals and Limey's Pub; A St. Petersburg Tradition
Zackery Hicks, 42, needed a place to live after serving 14 years in prison on a robbery conviction. As a registered sex offender, however, Hicks wasn't allowed to live within 1,000 feet of a school, daycare center, public park, playground or bus stop........here
Officials within Obama's campaign confirmed the democratic presidential nominee will be in town to prepare for next Friday's presidential debate with republican candidate John McCain.........here
I’m sure you’ve already heard that your Hillsborough County BOCC voted 5-2 to rename the county’s Moral Courage Award after long-time local activist and money man Ralph Hughes........here 
In the early days of August, a suspected drug-running boat zoomed through the Straits of Florida, trying to outrun her American pursuers. The drug boat zigged and zagged near reefs and sandbars at 42 knots, and skimmed over water as little as five feet deep. Ordinarily, that would have been enough shake off any Coast Guard cutter or Navy frigate chasing her -- those vessels can't be in such shallow water. But this pursuer kept coming, and coming...........here
Not all black people are voting for Obama. A group of protesters calling themselves "Blacks Against Obama" interrupted Senator Obama's speech at a rally in Coral Gables, Florida today........here
Florida's SayNo2 Campaign against the dangerous and deceptive Amendment 2 has just announced a contest to create your own commercial against Amendment 2! They will be picking the top user-generated commercials to blast out on all of their social networking sites..........here
Of the 11 undecided voters participating in the free-wheeling discussion one recent evening at the Times — four Republicans, five Democrats, and two registered to no party — only two Republican men applauded the selection of Palin.............here
City taxpayers in Homestead footed the bill for nearly $500 worth of posters touting federal projects Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart has championed, city officials acknowledge.Though the poster boards didn't bear Diaz-Balart's name, they were displayed at a fundraiser for the congressman whose district includes Homestead -- and were ordered up by the city mayor.........here
WMNF is a non-commercial, community radio station operating in the city of Tampa in the U.S. state of Florida that broadcasts at the FM frequency of 88.5 MHz and streaming live. The radio station is listener sponsored, relying on some 11,200 (as of June 2007) supporters for a majority of required funding which is raised in two or three semiannual pledge drives........here
Top Florida investigators found that state regulators failed to alert police agencies to crooked mortgage brokerages, ignored citizen complaints and allowed hundreds of people with criminal histories to peddle loans........here
The Father Of The Nude Lap Dance
Mario Diaz-Balart and I were supposed to have a debate on Univision this week about the issues affecting our community. He said he couldn't make it because he would be in Washington, but an online invitation shows him as the headliner for an event in Miami.........here
This Saturday, please join the Florida Campaign for Change in St. Petersburg for a women's economic security event with Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona.......here
Charles Hobbs is a Democrat who votes in nearly every election. Hobbs is one of many local Democrats who have received mailers from the Republican Party in recent weeks questioning their voting status and hitting them up for cash. Staff at the Hillsborough County Democratic Party offices in Tampa have been getting barraged with phone calls from party members who have received what they say are deceptive mailers........here
Ralph Nader is back. The perennial presidential candidate will be on the Florida ballot in November. Nader's name is anathema to many Democrats in Florida becuase they blame him for President Bush's 2000 election........here
Florida House Bill 137 Becomes Law
Often worries about her family's ability to pay the bills. A mother of three and stepmother to one, Megan and her new husband first ran into trouble with the failing housing market. Though her husband still works as a nurse, Megan lost her job working as a property manager, and she has realized she can no longer afford health insurance........here
Today the Florida Democratic Party officially launched http://McCainvsFlorida.com, a website to highlight all the ways that John McCain is out of touch with Florida. This launch comes one day after the site was unveiled to grassroots activists across Florida, leading to more than 30,000 people visiting to learn more about why John McCain is wrong for the Sunshine State.......here
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
Coskata, a startup working on next-generation cellulosic ethanol, is talking with Florida sugar producer U.S. Sugar Corp about building a plant that produces biofuels from sugar cane on its land. While U.S. Sugar is in the process of selling its land in the Everglades to the state of Florida for $1.75 billion to be restored, Florida Governor Charlie Crist has endorsed building ethanol on the land as a way to keep jobs in the area.......here
Offers a wide variety of new and used building materials, appliances, cabinets, furniture and much more at discount prices. All proceeds from our store go directly to fund the mission of Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County. We are located at 3738 East Hillsborough Avenue.........here
Christine was born in Ohio but moved to Sarasota, Florida in 1984. Since then, she has been actively working with local families and neighbors to help them achieve their needs and their dreams. Dedicated to community building and service........here
That seems to be the prevailing opinion of the young apartment dwellers I talked to while visiting Eden, the newly renamed and much-buzzed-about condominium complex near Westchase. Formerly the Arbors at Branch Creek, the complex is morphing from family-oriented apartment units into a "South Beach-style" condominium with a nude pool.......here 
Michael Phillips, an amazing 27-year-old with a muscle disease that has eliminated his ability to move his limbs. Breathing through a respirator and outfitted with a computer that can turn text into spoken words............here
"Plan for Change" is a two-minute advertisement in which Senator Obama will speak directly to the nation on his view of the state of the economy and what he would do to fix it if he is elected president.
She’s progressive. She’s a hottie. And she is a major Frank Zappa fan, posting little-known clips of the late composer-rocker on her blog each Friday. So what’s not to like about Litbrit, aka Deborah Newell Tornello. The 47-year-old Gator grad started her blogging career as a commenter/contributor to Shakespeare’s Sister, the nationally known progressive outlet......here
For 22 years, the International Whaling Commission has banned commercial whaling. But now a group meeting behind closed doors in St. Pete Beach is talking about what it would take to end that moratorium..........here
Gulf Stream Plastics (GSP), a Florida-based company, is serving as a dropoff site for political signs through Thanksgiving. Thus far, an estimated 800 pounds of political signs have been collected and shredded.........here
The political pressure to grant Bosch a pardon was begun during the congressional campaign run by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, herself a Cuban American, and overseen by her campaign manager Jeb Bush. The resultant pardon reputedly saw huge celebrations in Miami, in what was then called 'Free Orlando Day"
Looks like yet another group that has been a stalwart for the GOP has come to its senses, in the wake of the Worst President Ever. Hispanic voters in Florida now are mostly Democrats...........here
