Ben Kirby - page 2

Next week, one of the recent exciting story lines for Florida Democrats (and, truth be told, national Democrats) will culminate when St. Petersburg voters go to the polls and choose their next mayor. If polling is to be believed, challenger Rick Kriseman holds an edge over incumbent Bill Foster. A Kriseman win would be, on the heels of the Amanda Murphy upset in Pasco County, another disappointment for Florida Republicans. We should not lose the signal importance of a Kriseman…

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Just this week, Bay News 9, the Times, and WUSF Public Media published the results of a poll showing strong support for expanding transportation options in the Tampa Bay area. Following that news, Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad said in remarks to the Tampa Bay Partnership yesterday that the state will commit to building a substructure to support light rail on the upgraded Howard Frankland Bridge. Prasad said the state will add the estimated $25 million light rail substructure to the…

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Alex Sink, the former Democratic nominee for governor of Florida, is running for Congress in the seat held for 43 years by the late Bill Young. She is the first big name to enter the race — what will be a special election scheduled by Governor Rick Scott — and she sets the stage for what promises to be a contentious fight on a number of fronts. With the entrance of the high-profile Sink, both Democrats and Republicans now face…

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Ask residents of the Tampa Bay area about transportation, and you’ll likely hear some similar themes. The traffic here is terrible!   When is light rail coming? When do we vote on the Greenlight Pinellas plan? You should forget what you know — or think you know — about transportation and the Tampa Bay region. The next big thing in this area could be Uber. Before we dive too deeply into what, exactly, Uber is, let’s remember that transportation solutions…

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I was talking to a person who regularly votes for Democrats the other day — someone who follows news and politics but isn’t involved in the day to day. My friend was distraught at the failed roll-out of the Obamacare website. This, the logic went, was going to cost Democrats in the 2014 election. It took some time, but I managed to calm my friend down. It is true: hard criticisms about the Obamacare website are probably warranted. It simply didn’t…

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A couple of days ago, Phil wrote about the big money in the St. Petersburg mayoral race. Relative to the history of mayoral races in St. Petersburg, the numbers are record-breaking: In the two-week period of Sept. 28-Oct. 11, Foster added $28,875 to his campaign. The incumbent — who is currently running about six points behind in the polls — now reports receipts of $237,116. Combined with Kriseman’s $263,443 in contributions, the money for the city’s top job stands at $500,559, all…

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This week, the countdown began. The countdown to what, exactly? So many things, really. This week was the emotional funeral for Congressman C.W. Bill Young. Leaders and dignitaries from across the nation descended to pay respects to the man who had served in Congress for more than 40 years. The sight of Marines carrying the coffin of the late Congressman epitomized American honor and respect. Too bad it was marred by politics. But given that Congressman Young spent his entire life…

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