So, I got this crazy gig with the Florida State Fair. In an attempt to get involved with social media, some folks at the fair thought it might be neat for a local blogger to come in and show everyone what goes on behind the scenes. But I get the impression that they think bloggers are [...]
President Barack Obama will be in Tampa in just a few hours to give the State of Florida $1.25 billion for high-speed rail. The effort is expected to create 23,000 jobs in Florida over four years, and will likely energize several local light rail efforts, including the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA). [...]
Quote of the Week: “It was like being married to a nymphomaniac,” Weaver said. “The first two weeks were great. Then all hell broke loose.” You’ll remember that Charlie Crist signed a bill to encourage all of us to get a bulldozer and start building stuff nearly anywhere in Florida. As you might imagine, developers such as Ron [...]
Governor Charlie Crist was talking tough, and not mincing words. “It’s every single Floridian taking on that personal responsibility to be prepared, to be ready for another hurricane season.” Crist was in front of all the cameras when he showed up at The Home Depot to give us a stern lecture on the first day of hurricane [...]
April 24 was “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.” At the Franklin Correctional Institution, Sgt. Walter Schmidt thought it would be a good idea to show the kids how handheld stun guns are used at the prison. After getting permission from the kids’ parents, Schmidt zapped the kids with 50,000 volts of electricity. The children, [...]
The Florida State Legislature is nearing a close for the 2009 regular session with issues such as construction-industry deregulation, gutting wetland protection, animal husbandry and new sales tax exemptions for luxury items such as boats and planes while the state budget only escapes a larger deficit and deeper cuts by way of the US economic [...]
Because of the stock market crash and losses in risky investments, Florida’s public employee pension fund is way too low. The state could take a chance that the stock market will rebound: Florida has not only taken a hit on stocks but also on risky real estate ventures, private equity deals and securities tied to the subprime [...]
Local NBC affiliate WFLA-TV used to broadcast NBC Weather Plus on an additional digital channel, 8.2. But last summer, NBC Universal purchased the Weather Channel, and with no need for NBC Weather Plus, even killing the website (which now forwards to the Weather Channel website). So now WFLA has decided to run old TV shows on [...]
Florida State Legislators (just like some Hillsborough County Commissioners) are working to “streamline” — i.e. deregulate — the development industry. State lawmakers want to make it cheaper & easier for developers to build more subdivisions and strip malls, apparently ignorant of the widely reported fact that Florida has 300,000 vacant homes for sale — a [...]
