Janelle Irwin - page 200

Now that a fourth documented case of Ebola has been confirmed in the United States, Florida Governor Rick Scott is criticizing the federal government for not taking stern enough precautions to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. “The news of Dr. Spencer testing positive for Ebola after returning to the US last week from treating Ebola patients makes it clear that the CDC and federal government must do more to protect healthcare workers around the world and our citizens…

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What can only be described as an insane amount of money has been spent on television advertising for the two gubernatorial candidates. $71.6 million has been shelled out by outside groups and the Rick Scott and Charlie Crist campaigns for mostly nasty mudslinging. More than 85,000 TV ads have aired throughout the course of the 2014 election cycle either in support of Governor Rick Scott or in total condemnation of Charlie Crist. Meanwhile a little more than half that was…

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Sayonara pricey polls with your sometimes shady methodologies and often skewed “likely voters.” Say hello to the Facebook dashboard that tabulates page likes, comments and shares for gubernatorial and congressional candidates in all 50 states. And for those allergic to reading the fine print and otherwise put off by pesky data, there’s a color-coded interactive map in varying shades of red, blue and a purple hue to indicate which major political party in each district is picking up the most social…

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The Truth about Marijuana forum in Childs Park last night was a sprinkling of truth with a dash of propaganda. And one could look at it that way regardless of where they stand on the Amendment 2 medical marijuana issue. On one hand, two proponents for the legal use of marijuana as medicine fielded questions from a crowd of mostly Amendment 2 supporters. On the other, Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri took a lashing from the group, several questioning whether he…

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Pinellas County Commission candidate Ed Hooper continues to trounce his Democratic opponent in campaign fundraising. Though the flow of campaign cash has slowed in both campaigns, Hooper brought in nearly $1,000 more during the latest reporting period than Largo Mayor Pat Gerard. The latest numbers bring Hooper’s total fundraising to $228,961 while Gerard has raised just over $180,000. The difference in contributions between October 10 and 17 isn’t much – $4,025 verses $3,150 – but the spending power over the…

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The campaign for a transit referendum on the November 4 ballot is releasing a new TV ad tomorrow featuring former Pinellas County Commissioner Sallie Parks. The ad begins with Parks saying she’s tired of all the negative political ads and then shows her being joined by two children. One is her grandson and the other is Clearwater Chamber of Commerce president Bob Clifford’s granddaughter. “…but I never get tired of this,” she continues. “We need a plan for the future…

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With Halloween just around the corner, the internet has already been bombarded with images of jokesters in HAZMAT suits or painted to look sickly and hemorrhaging. The captions usually ask, “too soon?” This, of course, is referring to the deadly Ebola outbreak that is wiping out hordes of people in West Africa. There have been three confirmed cases of the deadly virus in the United States. Three. And they’re all in Texas. Texas. As in, not Florida. So, obviously this is…

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