Monday, March 6, 2017

Ybor Paparazzi

Kate M Connolly
At Bernini 

TECO Line In Tampa

Transit Now Tampa Bay Meetup

3.12 - 6:30PM
CoWork Ybor

Tampa Cuban Cigar Makers

New College presents Tampa-area historian Maura Barrios, as she shares the origin and history of Cuban cigar makers who settled in Ybor City and surrounding areas in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Ybor Paparazzi

Lamarl
Server at Bernini

Sunday, March 5, 2017

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Carne Asada
With Rice, Platanos and Salad
At Avila’s Tipico Honduras Restaurante
Visit them on Facebook
Eat Local!

Letters From GOP Hillsborough County Commissioners

Letter I sent our county commissioners 
on the issue of transit.

"I have been a HART rider for over 10 years. More roads does not help me at all. STOP spending our money on roads. We want more buses and rail. We have one of the worst transit systems in the country. With the exception of Ms. Kemp are you all in developers pockets?"
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Thank you for contacting the office of Commissioner Crist about funding for public transit.  I will be sure to share your thoughts and concerns on the issue with the Commissioner. 
Sincerely,
Chris Heintz
Legislative Aide
Commissioner Crist, District 2
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Thank you so much for contacting our office regarding Transit. Your input regarding this issue is important  to the Commissioner. We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and opinions with us. Have a great day and please don’t hesitate to call our office if we can be of further assistance.  
Sincerely,
Ms. Eli Rodriguez
Aide to County Commissioner Al Higginbotham
Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners
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Thank you for your email. Commissioner Hagan is just as frustrated as you are about the need for funding adequate transit in Tampa/Hillsborough county. That is why he was the only Republican on the Board to support placing the sales tax referendum on the ballot last year. Unfortunately, a majority of board members opposed that plan.

The hard truth is that we have billions of dollars in unmet infrastructure needs in Hillsborough county and the only way to begin to address that is to have a dedicated funding source of tax dollars—this has been very hard to come by. But Commissioner Hagan is committed to continue fighting to address our transportation needs in a meaningful and rational way. In the meantime, the Board will soon finalize a transportation plan that will dedicate $700 million over 10 years to improve existing roads and provide congestion relief where possible in Hillsborough county. Feel free to share with us any questions you may have concerning this plan. And please let us know if we can ever be of service to you. Have a great day.
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Cordially,
Eric Denney
Legislative Aide to
Commissioner Ken Hagan – District 5
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Sandy Murman did not write me back.

Bob Buckhorn's Police Force











Photo credits: Dan Holoman - Julio Rodriguez

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Shrimp and Lobster Sauce
At New China in Temple Terrace

Hillsborough County Medical Marijuana Zoning Ordinance

3.7 - 6pm
County Center - Downtown Tampa
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The Hillsborough County Commission will hear public comment and take a vote on their proposed medical marijuana zoning ordinance.
Commissioners are rushing to approve zoning rules and restrictions on medical marijuana businesses before Tallahassee has acted to implement the constitution. We need to tell the Hillsborough County Commission to slow down and do what's best for patient access.
Click here

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Ybor Paparazzi

Kate Connolly

Florida GOP Refusing To Face Their Constituents

Florida GOP members of Congress, including Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Carlos Curbelo and Mario Diaz-Balart, along with Senator Marco Rubio, are refusing to face their constituents. here

Florida GOP Power Grab

On Monday, March 6, the Senate Committee for Community Affairs meets to consider three bills that will hurt communities across the state. We urge you to contact members of the committee (direct contact info below) and urge them to vote NO on the following bills: 
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SB 534: This bill restricts local counties and cities from enacting and enforcing many local ordinances. If passed, this means that those working on local infrastructure projects in our communities can be denied a living and prevailing wage, hurting workers and local economic development in the process. Filed by Sen. Keith Perry (R-Gainesville).
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SB 80: This bill will make it harder for people to access public records and effectively undermine open government in the Sunshine State. What's more, it will erode the state constitution, which guarantees Floridians the right to access public records. Filed by Sen. Greg Steube (R-Sarasota).
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SB 428: This bill is the Legislature's annual attack on the Florida Retirement System and would limit new participants from the pension fund, putting the retirement security of nearly a million workers and retirees at risk. Filed by Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg).

Hang Out With Nina Turner In St. Pete

3.7 - 6:30
Allendale United Methodist Church

Florida GOP Dana Young Seeing The Green From Marijuana

71 percent of Floridians in November approved making medical marijuana legal and accessible across the state. But the complex details on how to get that done is now being hashed out in Tallahassee and as we uncovered, some key lawmakers in Florida's weed wars are already seeing the green from it. Take Florida GOP Senator Dana Young of Tampa, chair of the health policy committee in charge of writing the rules on how cannabis will be regulated. more

Friday, March 3, 2017

Hasta La Vista Marco Rubio: Booted From Tampa Office

Vocal crowds of demonstrators making weekly visits to the Tampa office of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio have gotten the Miami Republican booted from the building. here
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The owner of Bridgeport Center, a gleaming, nine-story office center at 5201 Kennedy Blvd., notified Rubio's office on Feb. 1 that it will not renew its lease.

Andrew Gillum For Florida Governor

Florida Right Wing Power Grab

GOP-backed bills in the Legislature seek to prevent local governments from regulating businesses and allow lawmakers to overrule judicial decisions. Other measures would make it harder for voters to amend the state Constitution and for average citizens and watchdog groups to challenge development. here
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Republican lawmakers seeking to wrest power from Washington seem to have no problem concentrating it in Tallahassee rather than on the local level. 
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They apparently only want local control when the locals are in complete ideological agreement with their far-right positions.

Awake the State Tampa

3.7 - 2pm
Gaslight Park - Downtown Tampa

Join us in Tampa as we Awake The State on the first day of Florida's legislative session! Gov. Scott and his allies are irresponsibly squandering our tax dollars. Their giant corporate tax giveaways costing our state billions are unjust and uncalled for while critical needs in education, health care, the environment, and infrastructure remain urgent. It’s time to Awake The State and fight for a just budget that works for every Floridian.

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Hillsborough County GOP Loves Developers

Despite calls from residents
to implore commissioners to put more money into the county’s bus system and to find other ways to move people without building more roads. here

Florida GOP 
Sandy Murman
Victor Crist
Al Higginbotham
Stacy White
----------
and Ken Hagan
approved a road-centric $812 million, 
10-year transportation plan.
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They could care less about what you want. Next time they are up for reelection
we hope you remember this.
Also remember this guy

Les Miller
He is a Dem and he also voted for this.

Thank you Pat Kemp
“We cannot build our way out of congestion. It’s time we make some wise investments." 
Pat Kemp

Check Out Rick Scott Committing Political Suicide





Scott is very proud!
Check out the best buds on Scott's 
Twitter page.

Tampa Bay Homeless

Homeless Living in Tampa

Florida GOP Block Trump's Tax Returns From Being Released

Carlos Curbelo

Mario Diaz-Balart

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

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Opposed the bill to “request the tax return information of Donald J. Trump. here

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Mariella Smith: Letter To Marco Rubio

Senator Marco Rubio sent me a galling fundraising letter. Now. He was just elected in November to a six-year term and he's already asking for money for his next election! Here's my response:

Dear Senator Rubio,
Your next election is 6 years away. Stop campaigning & fundraising and start doing your actual job: meet with your constituents and listen to us — all of us — left & right. It is seriously off-putting that you would be asking us all for money while you refuse to listen to us all. You refuse to hold town hall meetings because you can’t bear to hear some people who might disagree with you, yet you ask us all to support you financially. And please stop sounding like such a scaredy cat about the "barrage of attacks from Democrats.” You are supposed to work for ALL your constituents, from all parties. YOU are supposed to lead us together, toward healing our divides — not rile us up into fearing one another so you can profit off this fear-mongering.
You are our Senator. Start acting like a statesman, instead of a politician.
Sincerely,

What Stogie Had For Lunch

All you eat Chinese $6.95
At Tampa Buffet - Britton Plaza
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How nuch was your last value meal?
EAT LOCAL!

Political Suicide: Trump's Pal Rick Scott

They had lunch. They had dinner. They even took in the hit film "La La Land" together. here and here

“For a guy who grew up in public housing to be able to have lunch at the White House, watch a movie and go to dinner with the president at his hotel is pretty amazing,” Rick Scott

Dems Did Not Deserve Keith Ellison

"The Democratic Party did not deserve Congressman Keith Ellison as their chair. It's time for the left to start building outside of the party. Ciao Democrats, enjoy your Wall Street lunches." 

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Ybor Paparazzi

Dave Cutler
At The Bunker

Tampa Bay Homeless

Homeless living in Tampa

Florida's Culture Of Corruption: Rick Scott

Top 10 Donors to Rick Scott’s Let’s Get to Work Committee
$790,052 
Florida Chamber of Commerce
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$335,000
Associated Industries of Florida PAC
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$325,000
 U.S. Sugar Corporation, based in Clewiston
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$310,000
The Geo Group Inc
private prison operator based in Boca Raton
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$277,503
Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts
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$250,000
Skye Lane Properties, a real estate management company in Clearwater and a subsidiary of Heritage Insurance Holdings.
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$250,000
Floridians for a Stronger Democracy. 
 A PAC with ties to Associated
Industries of Florida
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$250,000
 Voice of Florida Business - a PAC with ties to Associated Industries of Florida.
-----
$200,000
Jeffrey Vinik, owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning
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$200,000
Daniel Doyle Jr. & DEX Imaging - Doyle is CEO of the document imaging equipment company Tampa based

SOURCE: Florida Division of Elections

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Bloody Mary
At The Hub

Marco Rubio Afraid Of Liberals

Marco Rubio won’t participate in town hall meetings because he says political activists will crash them to create a media spectacle of people who “heckle and scream at me in front of cameras.” here
-----------------
“They are not town halls anymore. What these groups really want is for me to schedule a public forum, they then organize three, four, five, six hundred liberal activists in the two counties or wherever I am in the state. Activists are instructed to go to town halls early and “take up all the front seats. They spread themselves out. They ask questions. They all cheer when the questions are asked. They are instructed to boo no matter what answer I give. They are instructed to interrupt me if I go too long and start chanting things. Then, at the end, they are also told not to give up their microphone when they ask questions. It’s all in writing in this Indivisible document.” Marco Rubio

Monday, February 27, 2017

A Critical Day For Hillsborough County

This Wednesday morning, March 1st is a critical day for Hillsborough County. If you cannot be there, PLEASE EMAIL your County Commissioners all at once ASAP with the link below to demand the County Commission FUND TRANSIT NOW!
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Email is the BEST way for written record of all comments but if possible please call, too!
Sandra L. Murman 813-272-5470 
Victor D. Crist 813-272-5452 
Lesley "Les" Miller Jr. 813-272-5720 
Stacy White 813-272-5740 
Ken Hagan 813-272-5725 
Pat Kemp 813-272-5730 
Al Higginbotham 813-272-5735