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Mitch Perry Report for 9.9.15 — Another Democrat to enter Hillsborough County District 6 race?

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Rumor du jour is that there will be another candidate getting into the wide-open countywide Hillsborough County District 6 seat, but it’s not a Republican taking on Jim Norman. The rumor that percolated over the Labor Day weekend is that John Dicks, the 62-year-old former Plant City mayor and commissioner, is contemplating entering the Democratic primary, which already includes Thomas Scott, Brian Willis and Pat Kemp. Plant has been dormant in local politics since losing the Democratic primary race for…

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Mitch Perry Report for 9.8.15 — USF Athletics audibilizes on Ybor ban

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

The biggest news on Labor Day in Tampa was the report that, in the wake of the tragic stabbing death of former USF student and football player  Elkino Watson early Sunday morning outside an Ybor City nightclub, head coach Willie Taggart was banning his players from visiting the historic entertainment district. The biggest story this morning is how Taggart’s boss, Athletic Director Mark Harlan, has overruled him. In a statement, Harlan says that contrary to Taggart’s proclamation, USF players can party there or…

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USF football coach declares Tampa’s Ybor City off-limits

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University of South Florida football coach Willie Taggart has declared Tampa’s Ybor City neighborhood off-limits for his team after the fatal stabbing of a former player. Former USF defensive lineman Elkino Watson, 23, died Sunday. Police said the stabbing happened after a fight early Sunday near a Ybor City nightclub. On Monday’s American Athletic Conference teleconference, Taggert said his players will “have to find other places to go have fun” instead of going to the historic entertainment district. “We’ve done…

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Hillsborough lawsuit includes puking in a bar and “full nelson” choke holds

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

A night of clubbing in Ybor led to a woman puking in a bar, getting kicked out and tackled and now, a lawsuit. According to a lawsuit filed in Hillsborough County Court, a woman by the name of Melissa Walker is seeking damages from a 2011 incident at the Honey Pot club in Ybor City. She’s suing Honey Pot Owner Ernest Stuart Webb Jr. According to Walker’s lawsuit, she and three female friends were at the club late at night…

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Former Fox 13 personalities tout Eric Seidel’s candidacy for Hillsborough Clerk of the Courts

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

In terms of local elections, Clerk of the Circuit Court generally resides as among the least sexy in terms of garnering much interest from the news media and the public. But that’s not the case in Hillsborough County this year, where there’s already been an unusual amount of attention paid to next year’s election, ever since soon-to-be-termed-out-of-office Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner announced right before Easter that he would challenge Democratic incumbent Pat Frank in 2016. Beckner said he believed Frank…

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Hillsborough County PLG officials offer a wary perspective on proposed transit tax

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In the eight days since Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill and the members of the private transportation consulting group Parsons Brinckerhoff unveiled a proposed half-cent sales transportation tax that could be on the 2016 ballot, it has been met with decidedly mixed opinion. That’s because the measure as proposed would go largely toward road and bridge maintenance, new roads and intersection improvements. Just 36 percent is proposed for transit. Nowhere has that disappointment been more clearly articulated than Friday on the front page of the…

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Film tax incentive bill again dies on cutting-room floor in Tallahassee

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A sizable percentage of the 100,000 or so entertainment industry professionals in Florida feel let down this week. The Legislature once again refused to include money in the state’s $80 billion budget for tax incentives to lure Hollywood to film in the Sunshine State. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed,” said Gus Corbella, chairman of the Florida Film and Entertainment Advisory Council and the director of government law and policy for Greenberg Traurig. The regular legislative session…

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