Darryl Rouson says that he was legitimately undecided days before the Florida Senate would vote on whether to place a measure on the 2018 ballot to increase Florida’s homestead exemption.
Over the weekend, The Washington Post reported that major cities in the Tampa Bay area have barely begun to address sea-level rise and its effects on the region, Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Kemp alerted her colleagues Wednesday that it was the time to act in dealing with the situation. The Post cited an assessment that within the next 12 years, the value of state property under encroaching water in the Tampa Bay region could drop by $15 billion. By 2050, that number could reach $23…
Acknowledging that discussing the sewage system, the plight of the Tampa Bay Rays potential stadium relocation, and the escalating costs of a new Pier are important issues, members of the People’s Budget Review (PBR) advocacy group said Wednesday that with fewer resources coming from Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., the candidates running for St. Petersburg mayor and City Council need to focus on the bread and butter issues that directly affect people’s lives.
Had the vote to remove a controversial Confederate monument been delayed until Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist could participate, he would have opposed moving the statue. Commissioners voted 4-2 July 19 to move the monument to a cemetery in Brandon, four weeks after Crist had initially joined three other Republicans on the board to vote to keep the memorial in front of the Hillsborough County courthouse annex on Pierce Street. That vote generated an intense backlash, prompting Commissioner Les Miller…
Gov. Rick Scott has named Mike Griffin, a well-regarded local leader and current chair of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, to the Tampa Port Authority. While announcing Griffin’s appointment, Scott took a shot at the agency over reports of excessive spending.
For a few months now, St. Petersburg businessman Justin Bean has led the eight person field in fundraising in the District 6 City Council race, but a relatively lean recent fundraising report has Robert Blackmon and Gina Driscoll nipping at his heels. Bean raised a relative modest $685 for the period of July 8-21, which still allows him to continue to lead in fundraising with $21,418. However, Blackmon is just $77 shy of that figure after raising $3,177 in that…
One of the most controversial elements of the Florida Department of Transportation’s now aborted $6 billion Tampa Bay Express (TBX) project was that it would have put toll lanes on parts of I-275 between downtown Tampa and Pinellas County. TBX is now history, though elements of it remain alive. But FDOT officials insist they have an open mind about what they will do now that they have evolved the project into Tampa Bay Next, which is “looking at everything in…
