Rest In Peace
September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Who Let The Dogs Loose?
Florida HB 999 and SB 1684
On Thursday morning, April 25, the Florida House of Representatives passed by a 92-20 vote HB 999, the most anti-environmental bill of the 2013 Legislative Session. The fight to stop this bill now moves to the Senate and SB 1684. For a contact list for all Senators and more info
click here
Please call your Senator immediately and urge them to VOTE NO on HB 999 and SB 1684!
click here
Please call your Senator immediately and urge them to VOTE NO on HB 999 and SB 1684!
Shameless Parent Revolution
For weeks, it seemed, few parents in Florida supported the so-called parent trigger bill. And then, a video began circulating in the Capitol. The video, featuring South Florida moms praising the legislation, was attributed to a mysterious grass roots group known as the Sunshine Parents. But it was actually produced by Parent Revolution, the California-based advocacy group that has been using its considerable resources and political heft to promote the legislation nationwide. Parent trigger (SB 862) hits the Senate floor Monday. The House version (HB 867) has already passed.
more
Opponents say it would give for-profit education companies the opportunity to take over vulnerable schools. They point to California, where efforts to pull the trigger have played out amid allegations of parent coercion and petitions with fraudulent signatures. In addition to Florida PTA, parent groups lined up against the bill include Fund Education Now, 50th No More and Parents Across America. The NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens oppose the legislation, too.
Are you on the list?more
Opponents say it would give for-profit education companies the opportunity to take over vulnerable schools. They point to California, where efforts to pull the trigger have played out amid allegations of parent coercion and petitions with fraudulent signatures. In addition to Florida PTA, parent groups lined up against the bill include Fund Education Now, 50th No More and Parents Across America. The NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens oppose the legislation, too.
Maria and Dan O'Hollearn, of Coral Gables, both said they didn't sign the petition, despite their names and addresses appearing on the petition. Carlos Herrera, a Florida International University student, said he, too, was surprised his name was on the list of supporters.
Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, who has referenced the petition during debates, said she had no reason to doubt their legitimacy.
"We don't need groups from other states coming into Florida and causing trouble," said Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, a staunch opponent of the bill. "This is proof."
Stop Parent Trigger Legislation
Sign the petition
Friday, April 26, 2013
Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants, owner of the Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains along with Disney is working to make it impossible for local cities and counties to pass earned sick time laws.In fact, as reported in the Orlando Sentinel, Disney helped write the bill! “Walt Disney World and Darden Restaurants, owner of the Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains, helped draft the legislation. These corporations aren't looking out for the families that visit or work at their theme park or eat and work in their restaurants - they are protecting their own massive profits.
Remember restaurant workers only make $2.13 per hour (tipped workers) and we can thank Herman Cain, his work as the CEO of Godfather's Pizza and later as president of the National Restaurant Association, Cain worked diligently in Washington and in the media to see that low-wage restaurant workers could legally be paid as little as possible, as In These Times has noted. In fact, Cain's time in the restaurant business was marked by a long and largely successful battle against minimum-wage increases, and even today, some 15 years later, many of the nation's waiters and waitresses have Cain and the restaurant lobby to thank for a federal minimum wage of $2.13 for tipped workers. By 1995, when Cain was at the helm of Godfather's, the federal minimum wage had already lost much of its purchasing power since the 1960s and 70s, and it hadn't seen a bump in five years. When then-President Bill Clinton and Labor Secretary Robert Reich proposed raising it from $4.25 to $5.15, Cain emerged as one of the leading opponents of the pay boost. In his testimony to a joint economic committee in Washington, Cain, like many of his Republican colleagues today, claimed that the modest raise would destroy thousands of jobs and eliminate entry-level positions that serve as the first rung on a ladder toward prosperity.
Do you really want someone who is sick cooking or serving your food? There are things you can do,
Sign petition and stop eating at their restaurants. Eat local, spend your money locally and help the local small businessperson. You want seafood? Try some of Stogie's favorites The Crab Shack or Skipper's Smokehouse or Mid Peninsula Seafood unlike Red Lobster you actually walk out full without spending a bundle. Want Italian? Try Primi Ristorante in St Pete or Rick's Italian Cafe on Davis Islands. For a complete list of locals visit Tampa Locavore.
Trinity Café Has A New Home In Ybor City
Trinity Café is ready to open its new home in a renovated building at 2801 N. Nebraska Avenue in Ybor City. Café staff members plan to begin serving meals to homeless and working poor people on Tuesday, April 30. A “building dedication and tour” is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on May 14.
Meet Chef Tony Macaroni!
i've had the pleasure of eating Chef Tony's cooking both at his home and at
Primi Ristorante Italiano in downtown St. Pete.
Hialeah, City of Progress
The Hialeah Police Department has gone on a camera-grabbing, rights-squashing, charge-trumping rampage against citizens in recent weeks without any apparent fear of repercussions, proving to be one of the most power-abusing police departments in Miami-Dade County.
And that’s saying a lot considering the rampant police corruption down here.
The incidents began last month when a group of college students organized a “Harlem Shake” video, which is a recent fad where young people gather in public to perform a comical dance in costumes for the benefit of Youtube.
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