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Joe Henderson - page 10

Joe Henderson has 239 articles published.

Joe Henderson has had a 45-year career in newspapers, including the last nearly 42 years at The Tampa Tribune. He covered a large variety of things, primarily in sports but also including hard news. The two intertwined in the decade-long search to bring Major League Baseball to the area. Henderson was also City Hall reporter for two years and covered all sides of the sales tax issue that ultimately led to the construction of Raymond James Stadium. He served as a full-time sports columnist for about 10 years before moving to the metro news columnist for the last 4 ½ years. Henderson has numerous local, state and national writing awards. He has been married to his wife, Elaine, for nearly 35 years and has two grown sons – Ben and Patrick.

Joe Henderson: Bottom line for USF — Close, but no pre-eminence status

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

Florida State Senate President Joe Negron continues to insist there was no dark conspiracy to deny pre-eminent status to the University of South Florida. He swears on a stack of legal briefs that state graduation guidelines weren’t changed at the last minute just to make sure USF wouldn’t qualify. As we now know, this is not a small thing. By failing to achieve the pre-eminent designation, USF missed out on millions of dollars — money the state’s flagship schools in…

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Joe Henderson: ‘Stop the Presses’ was fond farewell to a grand ol’ dame named Mama Trib

in Apolitical by

In a crowded grand movie theater in the middle of downtown Tampa on Wednesday night, the people who produced the Tampa Tribune finally got a proper send-off. It was one year to the day that the newspaper where I and hundreds more worked was bought and closed by our rival, the Tampa Bay Times. They said then it was a business decision; better for the market to have one healthy newspaper than two struggling ones. That one that had published…

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Joe Henderson: While Rick Scott goes on tour to plead his case, Richard Corcoran keeps piling up wins

in 2017 by

While it’s clear what Gov. Rick Scott hopes to accomplish with his barnstorming tour of the state over the next few days, it almost certainly won’t make any difference. He calls it the “Fighting For Florida’s Future” tour because he wants to fully fund Enterprise Florida so it can continue providing $85 million in taxpayer “incentives” for out-of-state businesses to bring jobs here. Businesses will come to Florida if they believe they can make money. They don’t need what House…

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Joe Henderson: Stock up on popcorn because the Governor’s race is getting real

in 2017 by

Set controls for the Wayback Machine to 2013, when the race (such as it was) to be Florida’s governor was taking shape. Incumbent Republican Rick Scott was still battling the perception that he was one of the least popular governors in the country. And Republican-turned-Independent-turned Democrat Charlie Crist was, to put it discreetly, an uninspiring choice to oppose him. Barely half of registered voters bothered to cast a ballot. Yes, that was an off-year election when turnout is always lower;…

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Joe Henderson: Homestead exemption increase would be great politics, lousy governing

in Statewide by

Increasing the state’s homestead exemption by $25,000, which is a priority for House Speaker Richard Corcoran and his merry band of tax-slayers, would no doubt be popular with voters. If the measure gets past the legislative hoops and on the 2018 ballot as a constitutional amendment, I imagine it would easily break the 60 percent threshold required for passage. Corcoran and like-minded Republicans would celebrate. Homeowners would have more cash. And local governments, where the real heavy-lifting is done to…

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Joe Henderson: Tearing down ‘booze wall’ is right choice for consumers

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

Assuming Gov. Rick Scott signs the bill repealing the state’s so-called “booze wall,” I suspect it won’t take long before we all wonder what the fuss was about. The euphemistic wall is one of those Prohibition-era creations that mandated hard liquor can’t be sold in regular grocery stores. That might have made sense 82 years ago when it was enacted, but in 2017 — when convenience and one-stop shopping drives the market — it no longer does. Repealing the law…

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Joe Henderson: Hillsborough public schools in “dire” financial shape while lawmakers keep up the pressure

in The Bay and the 'Burg by

Meanwhile, back on the home front … Hillsborough County has the 8th-largest public school district in America, serving about 207,000 students. In addition to being large, it also is diverse; an estimated 64 percent of students are considered minorities. Many of the district’s buildings are aging and badly in need of refurbishment. For instance, air conditioning breakdowns have been common in many schools. Transportation remains a hot-button issue as the school board struggles to upgrade the fleet of about 900…

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