The only thing better than if the courtroom in which the St. Petersburg Times is squaring off against the City of St. Petersburg today over the city’s ban on street-side solicitations collapses, would be if Media General joined the lawsuit and the courtroom collapses with their lawyers in it as well.
That is a possibility, albeit far-removed, now that Media General, the parent company of the Tampa Tribune, filed a motion in federal court Wednesday to support the Times Publishing Company’s attempt to halt enforcement of a ban on street solicitation in St. Petersburg.
Really, Media General? I mean, how many newspapers could the Tampa Tribune possible sell in St. Petersburg? Like a hundred? How down on your luck do you have to be if you’re a homeless person who gets stuck hawking the Tribune instead of the Times?
The problem for the Times with this lawsuit is not whether they will win or lose, but how many people they will piss off by fighting the solicitation ban. Just take a look at the letters-to-the-editor each day and you’ll be able to ascertain how supportive the public is of the ban.
Or bettery yet, take a look at 10 Connects’ Noah Pransky’s story about the mounting backlash the Times is facing over this lawsuit:
But 10 Connects uncovered a series of emails from angry residents to city leaders and newspaper managers, threatening a boycott of both subscriptions and advertising.
Interesting how the Times has not published article number one about such a backlash?
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I know this will be very difficult to believe, but can’t-get-out-town-fast-enough food critic Laura Reiley dished out two more two-and-a-half star reviews in today’s Weekender. Which is the same rating she gave to Leverock’s yesterday and pretty much the same rating she has given to every restaurant she has reviewed this year. In fact, on May 20, I wrote:
Surprise! Laura Reiley writes another review that ends with the restaurant being awarded…wait for it…two and a half stars, which is what Reiley awarded the restaurant she reviewed in Wednesday’s paper. And in last Thursday’s review. Hold on, there’s a two star review here, but don’t worry, the parade of two and a half stars review begins again here, here and here. Another two star review here is balanced out by a three star review here, averaging out to, you guessed it, two and a half stars. In fact, if you take the average of the stars awarded by Reiley this year, you’ll be shocked to learn that, her average review is…two and a half stars.
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I’m surprised it took the Times this long to pen an editorial urging the Governor to veto the despicalbe HB 1143.
The story that surprised no one is the article about Omali Yeshetalia’s sons being arrested for running a drug house. What the real story is behind this arrest we will probably never know. Perhaps the lil’ Yeshetalia’s forgot to pay off The Coalition. Ahh, I’m not going to say anything else, otherwise the next headline you’ll read is “Local blogger arrested.”
