Top Headlines – Page 2881 – SaintPetersBlog

The day ahead in Florida politics — Feb. 24

Published on February 24, 2015 in Statewide/Top Headlines by Peter Schorsch

The Florida Education Association will hold a news conference Tuesday morning. President Andy Ford and Vice President Joanne McCall will discuss how Florida uses standardized tests to measure student and school performance. The teachers union has been engaged in a losing battle with the Republican majority that has controlled the state Capitol since then-Gov. Jeb Bush announced plans in 1998 for a school-grading system. The release announcing the media availability with Ford and McCall referred to the state’s toxic testing system. The FEA has argued…

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Email insights: Hot diggity dog, Florida Sunshine Law manual now available digitally

Published on February 23, 2015 in Apolitical/Top Headlines by Janelle Irwin

So, this exists: “Wish you had the Government-in-the-Sunshine Manual with you at all times but hate the idea of lugging around that heavy book everywhere you go? Good news! The 2015 Government in the Sunshine Manual is now available through Amazon.com for the amazingly low price of just $9.99!” Well, holy crap. Now all of those people who had been lugging around the open-government bible can leave the muscle strain out and shift it to their smart phones and tablets.…

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So, if you want to join the conversation, these 13 banned words could be problematic in 2016

Published on January 1, 2015 in Apolitical/Top Headlines by Associated Press

So, a university has decided, without holding a presser, that about a dozen words and phrases are problematic and should be banned from everyday use — and there are no plans to walk it back even if the announcement breaks the Internet. Still, everyone can be a stakeholder and join the conversation. Northern Michigan’s Lake Superior State University on Thursday released its 41st annual List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness. The tongue-in-cheek…

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Taxing Thanksgiving: A Florida TaxWatch holiday report

Published on November 24, 2014 in Apolitical/Top Headlines by Phil Ammann

Of the many reasons Floridians can be grateful this Thanksgiving, here’s one: Florida is one of the states in the nation that doesn’t tax groceries. Florida residents will enjoy most of their Thanksgiving feast tax-exempt, with only a few exceptions. According to the government watchdogs at Florida TaxWatch, some of the items on dinner tables statewide may be subject to the state’s sales tax, which ranges from six to 7.5 percent. In Florida, foods prepared in-store are subject to sales…

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Historic Old Northeast neighborhood in St. Pete is the place to be this Halloween

Published on October 31, 2014 in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by Janelle Irwin

Calling all parents. Remember all those times your kids have run around the house like a chicken with its head cut off? Well, here’s some good news – now you can take them somewhere to chop off their actual heads … or pretend to anyway. While you’re at it, why not strap them into an electric chair too? All that and more is happening on one very festive block in Old Northeast. Every year residents on 17th Avenue NE between…

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Florida Education Association’s Joanne McCall is getting desperate

Published on October 3, 2014 in Statewide/Top Headlines by Peter Schorsch

A few months back, the Florida Education Association filed a lawsuit asking the courts to declare the tax credit scholarship program unconstitutional. The day it filed this latest attempt to force families back into district schools, Joanne McCall looked out her window in Tallahassee and saw nearly a hundred frightened, angry parents, teachers and students gathered to protest ending the scholarships on which they have come to depend. McCall heard their shouts and concerns, read their placards pleading with her to “Save Our…

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“4th Floor Files” talks to Fred Leonhardt about the last day of session, owning a restaurant, and ‘The Poseidon Adventure’

Published on October 11, 2013 in Statewide/Top Headlines by Peter Schorsch

Editor’s note: To help us remember just how special our friend Fred Leonhard was, we are re-posting his 4th Floor File Q&A from 2013. This installment of the “4th Floor Files” features GrayRobinson’s legendary Fred Leonhardt. Here’s the file on Fred. Significant other? Wife – Vicki, married 37 years Children? Yes. A daughter in the retail jewelry business with my wife (128 year-old family owned business) and a son in the real estate business in Florida. Neither of my children…

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