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!

here

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

Naples Botanical Garden seeks your help

Imagine, in late 2010, everyone in our community will be able to immerse themselves in gardens from around the globe, wind their way through seven different pristine native habitats of Southwest Florida and delight in watching children explore treehouses, waterfalls and a secret garden.....here

Florida 10,000 BC

Before everything we know, prehistoric people hunted mammoths, built large pyramid mounds along our coast, and lived in fear of the saber cat, lion, and bear. On March 8th and 9th, 2008 the Florida State Fairgrounds Special Events Center will go back in time to a different land, when the Tampa Bay Fossil Club presents, Florida, 10,000 B.C.!........here

Flight To Growth On Florida Coast

Florida's Forgotten Coast, which stretches about 100 miles along the Gulf of Mexico from Mexico Beach east to St. Marks. Mom-and-pop motels, bait shops and undeveloped beaches dot the coast south of the Apalachicola National Forest. Big changes may be in store for this often overlooked area: A new $330 million international airport, pushed by the St. Joe Co. and political leaders over the objection of environmentalists, is scheduled to open in early 2010 on a 4,000-acre site north of Panama City.......here

Florida Golf Development, Eagles Coexist

Bobby Ginn gave up the nicest lots in his luxury golf course community to a couple that just flew in and made themselves at home. Three years later, Ginn is happy with the deal. So, apparently, are the bald eagles nesting with a multimillion-dollar view: They recently had babies.........here

Help Honor Rep. Robert Wexler with Backbone Award

Please go and show your support. The meeting will be held at Le Club at Century Village in Deerfield Beach. Exit I-95 at Hillsborough West. March 10th, at 7 p.m.......more

Clinton Cribs from the Bush Florida Stolen Election

If you wanted to compare the playbook of the Clinton campaign since New Hampshire, you'd find the right precedent in the Bush v. Gore race, only Clinton would be channeling Bush, not Gore........here

Florida Farmworkers Tell Burger King: Yes, You Will

This week, the group launched a national campaign to get Burger King to boost wages and use their economic clout to ensure better treatment of farmworkers: They've been asking for years but haven't gotten what they want. So the Coalition of Immokalee Workers is bringing out its big guns: a high-profile, multi-faceted national campaign and the threat of a boycott designed to persuade Burger King to pay a penny more a pound for tomatoes and "eliminate slavery and human rights abuses from Florida's fields.".......more

Florida: 2007's Top 10 Biting Breeds

To reinforce the current debate regarding a Florida state proposed law to ban dangerous breeds, two counties have released dog bite data. What is important to remember when looking at dog bite statistics is to understand, What constitutes a bite?..........here

The Car Culture In Tampa

The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority is hosting the first round of public workshops for a master plan to improve mobility within its seven counties: Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota. The authority has two years to approve a plan. The first workshop is Monday in Temple Terrace.......here

Republican Ronda Storms

Sen. Ronda Storms has introduced legislation that city officials say would severely hamper their efforts State to revitalize neighborhoods like East Tampa and Tampa Heights. Storms, a Republican from Brandon, has proposed limiting to 15 years the life of special taxing districts intended to boost economic development in blighted areas.......more

Mr. Snel Goes to Washington

This week, Snel was one of 500 bicycle activists attending the 2008 National Bike Summit in Washington D.C. to lobby Congress for pro-bicycle legislation. 500 bicycle lobbyists?.......here

McCain/Clinton 2008

The idea of a third party alternative has long been a dream of progressives in America. It has also too often been a fantasy and a distracting albatross. Particularly since the Bill Clinton era of centrist sell-out - but really going back to the Reagan period of Democratic cowardice, the McGovern campaign of entrenched Party power acting shamelessly toward their nominee, and certainly the Johnson debacle in Vietnam - progressives have been looking to ditch the shell of the former New Deal now doing business as the corroded (and corrosive) Democratic Party........more
Four More Years

Tampa Bay Historical Markers

The Birth of Ybor City
In Oct. 1885, John T. Lesley sold to V. Martinez Ybor & Co. the first tract of land on which was built the original Ybor City. Purchased for $9,000 cash, Tampa citizens underwrote $4,000 of this amount to the new owners in pledged land and notes.....here

Florida's New "I Believe" License Plates

Ronda Storms bill (SB 2010) to create an "I Believe" license plate, which would feature a crucifix and send proceeds to Faith in Teaching, a group "dedicated to funding education in Florida's faith based community."..........here

New Conservation Initiative Launched for Florida's Wild Dolphins

The journalism class of Plantation High School is joining the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), as well as state, federal and international partners, in a campaign to raise awareness among youth of threats to dolphins, manatees and the marine environment throughout the State......here

Hypocrite of the Week: Florida Governor Charlie Crist

As far as Republican governors go, Charlie Crist appears to be a pretty good guy. He comes across as fair, smart, even-handed and independent in his thinking, and he has even broken ranks with conservatives from time to time to do what he perceives to be the right thing.......more

Hillary And Florida Senator Bill Nelson In The Backroom

Howard Dean told Florida Senator Bill Nelson in a private conversation today that he wouldn't agree to funding a revote in the state, despite the Senator' demand today that the DNC fund a rerun of the Florida contest. Nelson, a major Hillary supporter, said today that a revote might be the only way to get Florida's voters heard, a declaration that was taken by Dem party insiders as a sign that the Hillary camp is moving towards calling for a revote and is floating that message through him......here

No Florida "Re-Vote"

Many people agree and have written about it in blogs and columns online. But the feeling isn't unanimous. An electronic grassroots effort to oppose the move to count Florida is growing. A chain email says Barack Obama could be 'bamboozled out of the presidency' if the Florida primary votes count. It urges sympathetic voters to write to the DNC and request that they stick to their original plan of not seating Florida delegates at the convention.......more

Victor Dimaio, of Tampa, announced Thursday he may file a legal injunction that would prevent Florida from holding a re-vote. Just last year, Dimaio sued to have Florida's delegates seated at the convention.

The New York Times Selling The Florida Panhandle

But this, too, is Florida — and no, not the Everglades. It’s the truly Southern, less developed, oft-overlooked Panhandle. And its treasures, though quiet, are bountiful. The Florida Panhandle comprises about 12,000 square miles of diverse settings, from densely wooded state parks and oyster-rich river basins to small towns as neat as stage sets and dazzling Gulf Coast beaches with sand dunes as white as sculptured marble........more