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Mitch Perry Report for 6.23.15 — Will Rick Scott veto IMG Academy funding?

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Rick Scott has a week to sign the just passed $78.7 billion Florida budget, and he’s promising taxpayers that “I’m going to watch your money” as he reviews projects with his veto pen. The Legislature’s last-minute addition of $300 million in pet local projects (including for a USF medical facility moving to downtown Tampa) has caused outrage in some circles as an example of government not operating under the Sunshine, and no particular project has raised more ire than the $2 million allocated for…

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Mitch Perry Report for 6.12.15 — On this LGBT issue, Florida and Rick Scott resist social conservative pressures

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Thirty-eights years after Anita Bryant, Florida no longer officially bans gays from adopting children. Though it’s been legal for such couples to adopt since 2010, Governor Scott signed a bill into law last night that now makes that official.  As you’ll recall, this issue roiled social conservatives in and outside of the Legislature this spring. The inclusion of the amendment by Miami Beach Democrat David Richardson to repeal the state statute on gay adoption (which was ruled unconstitutional by a court in…

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56 bills waiting for Rick Scott to sign, veto or become law without signature

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

Gov. Rick Scott has a Wednesday deadline to either act on nearly 60 bills or allow them to become law without his signature. The 56 bills awaiting Scott’s signature or veto include a contentious measure that requires a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions and a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to try experimental treatments. Scott must also act on a series of reforms for the Florida Public Service Commission that arose out of frustrations with Duke Energy…

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Eric Ward confirmed by Tampa City Council as new police chief

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Although he’s effectively been on the job for nearly two weeks, Eric Ward did not officially become the current police chief in Tampa until Thursday morning, when the City Council unanimously confirmed his appointment. It came while dozens of his fellow TPD officers crammed into the Council’s intimate chambers to be part of the occasion. The 48-year-old Ward grew up in East Tampa and has served in virtually every position in the department over the past 26 years. He served as…

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Court: warrantless cellphone tracking not illegal search

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Investigators do not need a search warrant to obtain cellphone tower location records in criminal prosecutions, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in a closely-watched case involving the rules for changing technology. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, overturning a three-judge panel of the same court, concluded that authorities properly got 67 days’ worth of records from MetroPCS for Miami robbery suspect Quartavious Davis using a court order with a lower burden of proof. In its 9-2 decision,…

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Les Miller: TPD bike policy should be suspended, but still confirm new Chief

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Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller thinks the Tampa Police Department’s policies on bicycle infractions, which disproportionately singled out blacks in the city, is wrong and should be discontinued until the Justice Department concludes its review of the policy. But he doesn’t think it should hold up the confirmation of newly appointed Police Chief Eric Ward. “I do understand what some of the argument is — that a lot of these gangs are riding these bicycles, and that they (the police) are stopping…

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Two Tampa City Council members say they’ll weigh bike citation policy in approving Eric Ward as new chief

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

A half-hour after Eric Ward was named the new police chief for the city of Tampa, two City Council members joined a coalition of activist groups who again called on the Tampa Police Department to temporarily stop their current bike citation policy —  at least until after the U.S. Justice Department finishes its review of the agency’s practices. Council Chairman Frank Reddick and District 7 Council member Lisa Montelione joined members of the ACLU, CAIR, the NAACP and a host of other…

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