Ever since I acquired the rights to the perfect domain for my efforts — FloridaPolitics.com — I knew that one day, this website would have to be put out to pasture.
Well, after more than 51,000 posts, this is the final one.
Going forward, I am devoting my full energies to the Florida Politics brand, whether it be the website, email programs like “Sunburn” and “Last Call,” or our gorgeous, award-winning INFLUENCE Magazine. Keep Reading
Two days after the St. Petersburg City Council passed an ordinance limiting campaign contributions, which is expected to be legally challenged, Council Chair Darden Rice was still exulting. A former president of the League of Women Voters in St. Pete, Rice was an early champion of the just passed measure that … Keep Reading
Four of the top five teams in the country kicked off their games at noon Eastern on Saturday, which suggests that all were expected to roll. No. 2 Clemson, No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Georgia all did just that. Then there was No. 3 Oklahoma. The Sooners and Iowa … Keep Reading
After hours of debate, the St. Petersburg City Council approved a campaign-finance reform measure Thursday, which could have national implications. The final vote was 6-2, with Council members Ed Montanari and Jim Kennedy dissenting. Once the final vote became clear, the crowd in city chambers erupted with cheers. … Keep Reading
If there was any doubt about the interest level in the ‘battle of the two Ricks,’ check the latest campaign finance reports for Rick Kriseman and Rick Baker, both of whom raised substantial money during the last two weeks of September. … Keep Reading
Florida has received less than half of the special traps it has ordered to help detect the Zika virus in mosquitoes, and nationwide the only U.S. distributor of the traps has a backlog of almost 1,950 orders from governments and private businesses, officials said Thursday. State workers in Florida had ordered more than 300 of the traps but so far have gotten only about 120 traps. The remaining 190 traps are on back order, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said…
After an investigation spanning nearly two years, a South Florida man has been arrested in the killing of a well-known Florida State University professor. But the arrest of 34-year-old Sigfredo Garcia hasn’t answered a long line of questions about why Daniel Markel was gunned down in the garage of his Tallahassee home in July 2014. Garcia, charged with cocaine possession and murder, appeared briefly in a Broward County court on Thursday where a judge ordered that he remain in jail.…
This time, the Tampa Bay Rays were the bug. The Miami Marlins were the windshield. The Rays were clobbered by the Marlins Sunday after, losing 9-1 in their most lopsided defeat of the year. It was Tampa Bay’s fifth loss in six games, a stretch I which they’ve beeen outscored 37-22. The Rays were 20-19 at one point, but they have fallen to 21-24. “We just got outplayed today,” said manager Kevin Cash. “We got outpitched. We got outhit. They…
We’ve all been there. You need the bathroom, but it’s occupied; you just go into the other one, even if it’s designated a male or female. You know it’s a single use, so what’s the harm? You’ll be the only one in there. No harm, no foul. Besides, you need to pee. This appears to be what happened to Mikhail Ostryakov, 26, a resident of The Element Apartments on Franklin Street in Tampa. On March 26, 2016, Ostrayakov was using…
Mark Bushee is in the oil spill claims business. Since 2010, the 50-year-old from Clearwater Beach has served as operations manager of Stout Law Firm. Which partners with Winward Group LLC of St. Petersburg. Together, they process oil spill claims on behalf of British Petroleum. Winward Group and its St. Petersburg-based attorney, C. Byron Stout, 48, are alleging Bushee embezzled more than $100,000. If that wasn’t enough, the group also claims the soon-to-be-former employee also stole a host of Stout…
The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the state can impose a sales tax on a web-based florist for flowers sold to out-of-state customers and delivered outside of Florida. The Court on Thursday overturned an appeals court decision that said the Department of Revenue couldn’t collect taxes from American Business USA Corp.’s out-of-state sales. The Supreme Court said the Palm Beach County-based business has a physical presence in the state and does business within Florida and that’s enough of a tie…
A former aide to state Rep. Jimmie Smith is joining Adams St. Advocates. Rebecca E. Roman will be the lobbying firm’s newest associate. She’ll focus on health care, technology and environmental issues, the firm said in a press release. Roman grew up in Clearwater, where she worked in her father’s law office from the age of 14. She also managed a Starbucks before graduating from college. She attended Florida State University, where she got degrees in philosophy and in political science. Roman…
