Daily Loaf

As the battle for health care reform continues, discussions on where we are with the legislation after Saturday night’s vote to continue debate in the Senate was fodder on all of the talk shows yesterday.  On ABC, South Florida Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz got into a dispute with Tennessee’s Marsha Blackwell on the politics of breast cancer;

With Florida and over two dozen other states reporting on Friday that unemployment continues to rise, the emphasis on the economy will only continue to increase.  Also, despite criticism about the stimulus package, independent economists say it’s saving the country;.

And if you didn’t hear, Glenn Beck was in Tampa on Saturday.  More on his visit at Borders here

Download the report here.

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As we reported over the weekend, conservative media maven Glenn Beck came to Tampa  on Saturday, the 2nd of 3 stops across the Sunshine State on behalf of his promoting his new tome, Arguing With Idiots.  It was in the Villages that he made his much hyped announcement – that he would, in his own way, do a Barack Obama and become a community organizer by promoting voter registration drives and sponsor a series of seven conventions across the country featuring “libertarian speakers.”

According to a story in Sunday’s NY Times, Beck said, “You’re going to learn about finance.  You’re going to learn about community organizing.  You’re going to learn everything we need to know if you want to be a politician.”

Judging by many of the comments CL heard from some of the thousand plus Beck enthusiasts waiting in line at Borders on Dale Mabry in Tampa,  his followers will eagerly await his instructions on making a difference.

As a man who slightly resembled former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell named Paul from Sarasota said of Beck, “”He’s a very for real person and the closest thing to politics for me.I’ve never been involved much in the past, but his TV program has been very helpful.  It’s good knowing what’s going on, I guess I just didn’t follow the news.”

Phyllis Tropea from Palm Harbor said,  “He’s wonderful. He scares me, but he’s wonderful.”   What scares  you, I inquired?   “Well, if you hear what he says and you listen to him you understand the trouble America is in, economically, every which way.  We need a different president to fix these problems.”

Upon entering Borders, Beck stood on top of a chair with a megaphone, where he declared, “This is where it all began.” (Beck was on 970 WFLA from 2002 to 2002, where he was then picked up nationally.  In 2003, he then moved the show to Philadelphia).

He then teased the crowd about his upcoming declaration at the Villages, and that his 9.12 project was created to “let you know you weren’t alone, that there were like minded people around the country, and it’s taken off with the tea parties, it’s really quite amazing what’s been happening.  We’re going to the next level…”

Beck’s 9.12 project is a reference not only to the day after the terrorist attacks, but also to a mission statement composed of nine principles and 12 values.

Beck is emphasizing that he will not endorse political candidates.  That could be part because both the Fox News Channel and his production company could contend with campaign finance laws if they are too engaged in overtly political activities.

We intend to publish more about the Glenn Beck phenomenon in next’s week Creative Loafing.

(Photo courtesy of Max Steele).

A plethora of Congressmen and women bombarded the television airwaves on Sunday to dissect the $848 billion health care reform legislation that (barely) passed the Senate Saturday night.

The challenges facing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are formidable.  They were leading up to this past weekend’s vote, which was simply to allow debate to continue on the legislation.    Most egregious was Reid inserting a Medicaid spending provision in Louisiana to buy, er , win over Senator Mary Landrieu’s support.

On ABC’s “This Week”, Nebraska’s Ben Nelson said if the vote Saturday was on the real deal, he would have voted no. “I would have voted not to end debate. I would have voted no on a cloture vote to end debate.  I would not let it get off the floor.”

Count Nelson as among those from both parties who says the bill doesn’t do enough to control health insurance costs.

Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn said on “This Week”  that the bill “treats the symptoms, not the disease.  This is malpractice,” he said, “We’re not addressing the costs.”

Coburn, an MD himself, asked, “Why do we have an imbalance of primary care physicians?  Because we pay them 300% lower than specialists.  One in fifty doctors decide to go into primary care…that’s a disaster.”

Speaking up for the bill was South Florida Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who in her relatively short time in Congress (she’s serving her 3rd term) has become the most called upon Florida legislator on the national talk show circuit, because she’s extremely effective in getting her (and the party’s) message across.

Wasserman Schultz got into a verbal back and forth with her GOP colleague, Tennessee’s Marsha Blackburn on “This Week”, accusing her and the GOP of politicizing breast cancer.

Blackburn had said that the controversial breast cancer screening guidelines announced last week were an example of how the Democrats would ration health care, and quoted a specific section of the House bill (”Go to page 1296, in Title III, on Preventive Wellness service….”)

Wasserman Schultz came right back, saying, ” “The task force language in that bill actually makes sure that prevention services like mammograms and colonoscopies would be free.”

See the exchange:

Wasserman Schultz is a breast cancer survivor, and  last week she was as critical as anyone in Congress on the recommendations that women in their 40s don’t need routine mammograms, calling them “disturbing” and “ludicrous.”  The result she said, would be that “more women in that age range will die.”

Read the rest of this entry »

There was more negative news on the job front on Friday:  It was announced that Florida’s unemployment rate was at 11.2% in October, the highest level in 34 years.   According to the Labor Department, 29 states recorded unemployment rising last month, with Michigan over 15%, and California at 12.5%.

Despite all the conversation about health care, it’s painfully obvious that the economic mess needs to be attended to in a more direct way than what the Obama administration has been able to do since passing the $787 billion stimulus plan back in February.

On Capitol Hill last week, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, probably the least favorite Cabinet member amongst progressives, got heat from the left and the right.  Two Texas  Republicans, Kevin Brady and Michael Burgess called on Geithner to resign, while Oregon Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio said the same thing to MSNBC’s Ed Schultz last week.

On NBC’s Meet The Press yesterday, host David Gregory tried to play a favorite Washington game of asking 3 members of the U.S. Senate  if indeed, they believed Geithner ought to go.

Texas Republican Kay Bailey Hutchinson (trailing to the more conservative Rick Perry in the race for the GOP nomination for Governor in Texas) initially praised Brady for calling Geithner out, but then said “we shouldn’t keep our jobs either” if people were to  look towards who to blame for the economic crises.  I wonder if Governor Perry might save that piece of video in his campaign against the Senator.

California’s Diane Feinstein and Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman said no, with Lieberman calling the economy “horrible”, but said that the $700 billion bailout and the stimulus plan were bring the economy back.  He also suggested that there were a few things that Congress and the President could do to stimulate the economy further without spending too much money.

Feinstein spoke excitedly about the prospect of high-speed rail being given more funding by the government(which Florida’s leaders are eagerly hoping for).    And she said she’d like an infrastructure bank to be created from some of the funds from the TARP program to make those plans “work quicker.”  And the California Democrat said it was time to concentrate on having U.S. citizens “buy American products.”

At the same time, MTP host Gregory unveiled a graphic that was published in Saturday’s New York Times that reported on three mainstream financial forecasting groups showing how the economy has been saved by the stimulus plan.

Those three are IHS Global Insight, Macroeconomic Advisers, and Moody’s Economy.com

As reporters Jackie Calmes and Michael Cooper report:

In interviews, a broad range of economists said the White House and Congress were right to structure the package as a mix of tax cuts and spending, rather than just tax cuts as Republicans prefer or just spending as many Democrats do. And it is fortuitous, many say, that the money gets doled out over two years — longer for major construction — considering the probable length of the “jobless recovery” under way as wary employers hold off on new hiring.

I’ve written a lot about the stimulus this year, because it’s only the biggest spending bill in American history.  And it’s been criticized a lot, and sometimes, as in the embarrassing revelations that surfaced last week about factually incorrect information, been blasted as a complete boondoggle.

ABC News was able to locate several examples on the government’s web site outlining hundreds of millions of dollars spent and jobs created in Congressional districts that have been misidentified.

A crowd estimated to be at least a thousand  strong came out to Borders bookstore on South Dale Mabry in Tampa this morning to meet and greet (quickly) conservative icon Glenn Beck.

The radio and cable television personality sandwiched Tampa in between two other Florida stops on Saturday.   He began the day in Lee County, came (late) to Tampa, arriving at about 12:15 p.m., and then went to the Villages, where he made his much hyped announcement that he had been teasing his listeners and viewers about in recent days.

According to Orlando television station WOFL:

He also said he plans to start a country wide tour, dividing the nation into seven parts and conducting educational conventions. Beck says he will teach ethics, history, finance, community organizing and everything American’s need to know about how the government works.

At Tampa’s event, where the first person in line arrived at 6 a.m. for the 12 noon scheduled book signing, the crowd inside Borders erupted when he entered through the front door, accompanied by no less than half a dozen roadies wearing Arguing With Idiots Bookstore 2009 Tour jackets  who cleared the entryway at the back of the store and set up his own podium, carried in by a dolly.

Virtually everyone in line had a copy of Arguing With Idiots, his latest NY Times best-seller.

Many in the crowd echoed the statements of a man who only wanted to be identified as Gary from Clearwater.  He told CL that Beck’s outlook means, “he says things that are other people are afraid to say.”  Gary said he liked Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, but “Beck goes a little farther, says a little more than even those guys ..they’re more traditional Republican conservative and he’s a little, well, he’s not like that.”

Gary continued, ” I think he opens people’s eyes to things, gives people the ability to go do some investigation their own and learn some things that maybe they weren’t even aware of……I think he’s helping people to go do some education on their own..”

CL will have much more on Beck’s appearance on this blog on Monday.

(Photos courtesy of Max Steele).

Florida Family Association Executive Director David Caton

Yesterday’s 5-1 vote by the Tampa City Council to add transgender people to its human rights ordinance included plenty of drama – mostly in the form of the public comments made by those in support and against the resolution.

But that was nothing compared to what was going on behind closed doors, apparently.

David Caton, executive director of the Florida Family Association, writes on his web site that he met during the meeting with Commission Chairman Thomas Scott and the City Attorney (Chip Fletcher?) to know “what wording changes needed to be made to correct the situation.”

Caton writes that the wording by definition included transvestites and said they’d be permitted to use women’s restrooms.

He then writes:

Pastor Scott told me that he could not support language that protected transvestites.  He thought it protected only those seeking sex change operations even though he had already heard two transvestites testify that morning that most transgenders do not have the money to have an operation therefore they are transvestites.

I informed him that transvestites make up the largest percentage of the transgender movement which is a major part of the homosexual agenda.

He said he could not support that.

I left the side room believing that Pastor and Council Chair Tom Scott would vote against the ordinance.

Tom Scott followed me out the door of the side room where he caught the eyes of Joseph Caetano.  Joseph Caetano says Tom Scott’s smile and short words lead him to believe that somehow I agree to a change in wording of the ordinance.

If you were at the meeting or watching from home, you may have noticed that City Attorney Fletcher came before the Council before their final vote to discuss how the resolution was focusing on gender identity.  He cited a phrase that the city of Gainsville had included in their legislation that he called helpful.  That being “the inner sense of being a specific gender.”

Caton writes incredulously:

What could Pastor and Council Chair Tom Scott believe that adding the words “the inner sense of being a specific gender” to the existing definition would eliminate transvestites from the ordinance?  Adding this language actually increased the protection for transvestites because it made it ever clearer that a “physical” sex change was unnecessary to prove the ordinance applied to transvestites.

In Scott’s closing remarks, which drew praise from various media organizations (including this one) he did say “this ordinance does not address transvestites. “

I bring this up because Caton obviously felt otherwise, and is aggrieved that what he thought was agreed upon behind closed doors was not what actually happened.

Caton also describes his conversation before the meeting with Councilman Joseph Caetano, who has been known to frequently vote in accordance with what Charlie Miranda does.

With Councilman Miranda making it clear that he was going to vote against the ordinance, Caton says he sidled up to Caetano before the vote and informed him of that.  He also writes this :

Councilmember Joseph Caetano, the only Republican on the Tampa City Council, voted for it.  Caetano blamed it on believing that Tom Scott cut a deal with me.  By the way I do NOT cut political deals on moral issues.  Additionally, Caetano told me that he did not want to be the only no vote so he voted yes.

According to Caton, Caetano didn’t know that Miranda would be voting no, thus would not be the lone no vote.  But he’s also saying that because Scott and Caton had come out of the room seeming to agree, it was okay for him to vote FOR the measure.

Either way, the New Tampa representative doesn’t come out of Caton’s account looking too good. Of course, this is just David Caton’s take.   CL has attempted to speak with Caetano, Caton, and City Attorney Chip Fletcher for comment.  If and when we hear from them, we will certainly update this post.

Tomorrow night at 8 p.m. comes round two in the great Saturday night votes on health care reform.  Unlike Nancy Pelosi’s effort, even if Harry Reid wins tomorrow, it still ain’t over.

Florida’s Department of Community Affairs Secretary is sounding mighty upset about the controversial growth management bill S.B. 360 that passed the legislature and was signed by Governor Crist earlier this year.

And the Tampa City Council comes up big in voting solidly to give protections to transgender individuals in their human rights ordinance yesterday.  And we have an update on this story here.

Download the report here.

Reports surfaced yesterday that Florida’s trust fund for unemployment benefits is depleted, and employers will have to now pay much higher taxes to refill it.

As the Times reports:

The minimum annual rate — charged to an employer with a solid history of retaining employees — will jump almost twelvefold, from $8.40 per employee to $100.30, revenue officials said Wednesday. The maximum rate, currently $378 per employee, would rise to $459.

A serious situation no doubt, and it’s allowing state Democrats to chide state Republicans “I told you so.”

Told them what?

You’ll remember when the stimulus bill passed in February?  Several GOP Governors (many coincidentally considered to harbor possible Presidential ambitions, such as South Carolina’s Rick Sanford, Alaska’s Sarah Palin and Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal ) publicly discussed rejecting some of those funds, because of various reasons (such as Republicans simply didn’t like the bill). Read the rest of this entry »

During this year’s legislative session there were many concerns expressed before and after the passage of Senate Bill 360, the growth management bill sponsored in the state senate by Bradenton’s Mike Bennett.

The bill exempts many areas from a requirement that says builders must pay for road improvements if traffic generated by their projects exceeds the local capacity, other wise known as transportation concurrency.

Florida DCA Secretary Thomas Pelham

Several municipalities around the state opposed it, as did Hillsborough County, who through Commissioner Mark Sharpe sent a letter to Governor Charlie Crist after the session to please veto it.

Supporters like Senator Bennett said it would streamline the permitting process in Florida – which even some environmentalists like Denise Layne agreed needed some tweaking – and that it would aid development and construction jobs, which the state hasn’t had a lot of due to recession the past couple of years.

But Layne and others said at the end was that the legislation went far awry from what was needed to address current growth management problems.

Layne said what the Legislature and governor have done is thrown away a flawed system, and put very little in its place.

Florida’s Department of Community Affairs Secretary Thomas Pelham had various things to say about the bill when it was being debated, but he’s extremely critical of it now, based on his comments at the University of Florida last night.

The Gainsville Sun reports Pelham as saying, “I don’t think it speaks very well of us that we can’t deal with issues of this magnitude in a more rational manner than we have been doing.”

The paper also reports that DCA must submit a plan by next month to legislators for a new mobility fee to replace concurrency requirements, but:

He expressed skepticism that the fee would be embraced in the next legislative session, which comes during an election year, and suggested such a plan should have been crafted before scrapping the concurrency requirement.

“It was ‘let’s throw the baby out first and come up with a replacement later,’ ” he said.

If you’ll recall, Governor Crist was heavily pressured to veto the bill.  And because of his (at the time) rather strong environmental credentials, it was thought that he might do so.  But this was also the period in which the guv began backing away from that green reputation, as he realized it wasn’t playing well with the base as a man named Marco Rubio began snipping at him.

After days of indecision, Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln ended the drama Saturday afternoon on whether or not she would vote to allow a debate to continue in the Senate on a health care reform bill when she announced that she would join her Senate Democratic colleagues in overcoming a Republican filibuster.

But both she and Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu had harsh comments about ultimately voting for any final public health care reform legislation that contained a public option.

Landrieu said, “My vote should in no way be construed by the supporters of this current framework as an indication of how I might vote on the final bill.”

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that business groups, some of whom were “encouraged” by the bill that the Senate Finance Committee (Remember the Baucus bill and the near daily speculation about what would Olympia Snowe do?)  passed in October and hoped that it would form the basis of the final legislation.  But apparently they’re now bent out of shape because Reid has included a public option in the bill that was completed this week.

We’ve already heard from Joe Lieberman and the Republicans about how horrific a public option would be.  But it makes one wonder if they’ve read the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the Senate bill, which says that because they believe at least one third of the states (and there is a proposed constitutional amendment to include Florida in this) would ‘opt out’ of a public option, that it would only cover 3 to 4 million people.  From the CBO:

“CBO’s analysis took into account the probability that some states would opt not to allow the public plan to be offered to their residents. Rather than trying to judge which states might opt out, CBO applied a probability recognizing that public opinion is divided regarding the desirability of a public plan and that some states might have difficulty enacting legislation to opt out. Overall, CBO’s assessment was that about two-thirds of the population would be expected to have a public plan available in their state.”

Makes you wonder what all the fuss was about, doesn’t it?

Read the rest of this entry »

On Thursday the Tampa City Council voted to expand anti-discrimination laws to include transgender individuals.  The 5-1 vote came after two hours and more than 60 speakers spoke expressed their thoughts and feelings on the issue in what at times seemed to be a festival of hate and ignorance.

Before the meeting, the only drama in the room was who if any Council members would reverse their vote from two weeks prior, when they had voted unanimously to include gender identity and expression in the city’s human rights law, which would effectively prohibit workplace discrimination against people who change genders.

Councilman Charlie Miranda was the lone member who switched his vote and voted no.  (Councilmember Linda Saul-Sena was absent).   He seemed unsatisfied by the answers given by City Attorney Chip Fletcher about how the new law could avoid potential disruptions in the workplace before casting his dissenting vote.

But in perhaps his finest hour on the Council, Chairman Thomas Scott delivered a stirring speech before announcing that he would vote in support of the ordinance.

Read the rest of this entry »

Some Florida Democrats are blasting state Republicans over their failure to pass legislation this year that would given the state $444 million in stimulus funds for unemployment insurance.  The issue’s relevant again after the tax that businesses will pay for the trust fund is sky-rocketing;

We have a health care bill in the Senate! It’s over 2,000 pages, and will cost only(!) $848 billion.  Best of luck to  you  Harry Reid in shepherding that through;

And the Tampa Bay area has a new online magazine . Learn more here.

Late last night the Congressional Budget Office released their scorecard on the Senate health care bill.  As the NY Times reports:

The official cost analysis released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office shortly after 11 p.m. showed that Mr. Reid’s bill came in under the $900 billion goal suggested by Mr. Obama. But 24 million people would still be uninsured in 2019, the budget office said. About one-third of them would be illegal immigrants.

The Congressional Budget Office has said the House bill would reduce deficits by $109 billion over 10 years and cover 36 million people, but still leave 18 million uninsured in 2019.

Republicans and some independent budget analysts said, however, that the savings might not be fully achieved because they were based on unrealistic assumptions about a sustained increase in the productivity of health care providers and much slower growth in Medicare spending.

The Senate bill would include a public insurance plan – states could opt out of the plan by passing legislation (which Republicans in the Florida state legislature are already intending to do, via a Constitutional Amendment passed by the voters).

The bill does not go as far as the House did in limiting access to abortion.  As far as mandates, the Times reports that the bill would require most Americans to obtain health insurance, but would impose less onerous financial penalties on those who go without.

Major parts of the bill would not kick in until 2014, a year later than the House’s plan.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid now has a task equally if not more challenging than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: collect 60 votes in the 100 member chamber any way he can.

It doesn’t help when people like Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman are popping off about doing what ever’s necessary to reject it.

Incidentally, if you’re getting annoyed with the independent Senator from Connecticut, you must read Jonathan Alter’s column in the current Newsweek.  Two priceless paragraphs on the man Alter calls “a putz”:

The latest trouble started after Lieberman said on Fox that “as a matter of conscience,” he would filibuster any health-care bill with a public option. Flashback: when he ran for reelection in 2006, Lieberman bragged about his MediChoice plan. It would “allow anybody in our country to buy into a national health-insurance pool like the federal-insurance pool we federal employees and members of Congress have.” That sounds suspiciously like—ahem—the public option. What’s changed?

Lieberman says it’s the deficit. He now opposes any kind of public option because of cost. But the Congressional Budget Office reports the opposite—that a government-run option would save money by providing competition. Maybe the CBO is wrong. Maybe it won’t save money. Who knows? So let’s stipulate that we have no clue about how much any of this will cost, long term.

That sounds familiar. In Afghanistan we have no idea how much a “government takeover” will cost. Does that keep Lieberman from being gung-ho about escalation? No. Like other neocons, he thinks the deeper principle at stake trumps short-term cost calculations that are probably wrong anyway. But when it comes to health care, restraining hypothetical spending is suddenly a matter of conscience. Spare me. For Lieberman the only principle at stake is his stake in looking principled.

Read the rest of this entry »

On Tuesday, a new Tampa Bay online magazine was unveiled on the Internet: 83 Degrees.  The paper is being published by the Detroit based Issue Media and is being locally published and edited by Diane Egner, formerly with WUSF 89.7 and the Tampa Tribune.

Among the paid staff include former Trib reporter and editor Dave Szymanski and WMNF 88.5 FM reporter/anchor (and my former colleague) Kate Bradshaw.

In a phone conversation, Egner told CL that her publication will be writing about “the new economy, innovations, investments, the environment,” and other events that make a difference in the local economy.

What’s somewhat unique and curious is who’s funding the site: Many local governments, universities and corporations.  Among those that are helping fund the site include the University of Tampa, the Pinellas County Economic Development organization, the city of Tampa’s Economic Development organization, and the cities of Largo and Clearwater.

When asked if readers should be wary of direct government funding of a media site, Egner said no, and compared the funding structure to that of public broadcasting.  “If you’re watching PBS, you know there are certain underwriters for certain programs.  Each of our partners is underwriting specific issues that we cover.”

Could it be construed as propaganda?  “No, I don’t think so,” she said, saying no more than if readers of CL should be concerned about ads in our publication.  “Editorial content is controlled by me and my freelance team.  We’re not doing PR work, they’re not paying us for stories, they’re underwriting us.”

Egner says 83 Degrees will publish a new online edition of their publication every Tuesday, 48 weeks a year.

The publication is already creating a buzz in some quarters.  In fact, a parody website has gone up this week,  83 Degrees Tampa Bay. It’s created by Tampa networking dude Eric Sturm.

Yesterday Governor Charlie Crist called for a special session to be held soon – with action to be conducted to impress upon Washington about the state’s sincerity in wanting high-speed rail.  One problem:  Lakeland State Senator Paula Dockery.  She’s been a force for two years now in holding up a plan for rail in Central Florida because of liability concerns with CSX – and she’s still not satisfied;

The editor of a New Jersey Jewish newspaper spoke last night at an event sponsored by the Tampa Jewish Federation.  The topic: The Jewish columnists with the New York Times, and how they shape Jewish public opinion.

And the founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, will announce later this week a new wiki for the homeless in Hillsborough County.  Read more here.

We will hopefully have the podcast up soon for your listening enjoyment.

The Lakeland Ledger reports this morning that Lakeland GOP State Senator (and now gubernatorial candidate) Paula Dockery  is not backing down at all after Governor Charlie Crist and Senate President Jeff Atwater said they want  a special session to reconsider the SunRail commuter train deal with CSX.

As Dockery told CL two weeks ago, she has yet to see any new information that would allow her to drop her opposition with CSX, which for 2 years has said that it needs to be held harmless for any accidents in exchange for selling the rail lines for the commuter system.

As the Miami Herald reports, senate leaders are considering allowing local government to impose a new $2 rental car surcharge, which in South Florida, would help pay for their rail system, Tri-Rail.  In Central Florida, it would help pay for SunRail.   But the impetus of course is having the Legislaturer prove to the feds that Florida is serious about providing state funds so that federal funds would come from Washington for high-speed rail.  From the Herald:

Crist, Senate President Jeff Atwater and others say that such a tax could offer proof to the federal government that Florida is serious about transit, which might help the state qualify for up to $2.5 billion for a high-speed rail line. The line could ultimately connect SunRail, Tri-Rail and even a new transit line along the Florida East Coast rail corridor in the heart of South Florida’s urban areas.

A big local proponent of high-speed rail is the Tampa Bay Partnership, who also argue that there should be a special session soon.  Yesterday CL obtained an e-mail written by Sarah Hardy, a Legislative aide to Senator Dockery to Stuart Rogel with the Tampa Bay Partnership.  Hardy was writing in response to Rogel’s claim that the $2.5 billion in federal funding for high-speed rail was in jeopardy if there were NOT to be a special session.

Read the rest of this entry »

New Jersey Jewish News Editor Andrew Silow-Carroll

Despite claims by critics on the right and the left to the contrary , the New York Times  continues to remain one of the most (if not the most) powerful media organizations in the U.S.  And their op-ed columnists continue to have a major influence on political opinion and on our culture.

According to Andrew Silow-Carroll, the editor in chief of New Jersey Jewish News, several of the paper’s Jewish columnists also are representative of the different Jewish perspectives on political discourse regarding U.S. and Israel policies in 2009.

In a speech presented by the Tampa Jewish Federation last night and delivered at Congregation Kol Ami in Carrollwood , Silow-Carroll spoke for a half hour on the topic, “A Nation of Pundits: How the Media Shapes Jewish Opinion.”

Silow-Carroll uses 4 Times Jewish columnists as the anchor for his remarks – the late William Safire, Thomas Friedman, Frank Rich, and Roger Cohen.

Although Safire retired from writing his column in 2005 and passed away in September, Silow-Carroll says that his conservative perspective at “the right-wing pro-Israel desk” at the Times  was for decades the voice of for a certain segment of Jewish leadership, and certainly of Jewish Republicans in the U.S.

And Silow-Carroll says he sees the spirit of Safire’s conservative voice as very much a part of the Orthodox community today.

He took a considerable portion of his speech to speak about the man considered Safire’s conservative replacement on the op-ed pages, David Brooks, who he considers to be a more independent voice.   He said that Brooks has  “a little Evangelical envy- what he envies is their fervor.”

Brooks independence of course, is not welcome in some circles of the GOP.  His comment on Sunday’s This Week program on ABC that Sarah Palin “was a joke,” lit up the conservative blogosphere, but it was nothing new for Brooks, who a year ago  said she “represented a fatal cancer to the Republican Party.”

No doubt as regular Times’ readers know, if the Republican Party does have a civil war on its hands, Brooks is definitely not in the Limbaugh/Beck/Hannity camp.  Silow-Carroll said Brooks’ stances are what he sees with young Jewish Republicans, “definitely conservative, but not comfortable with social conservatives.”

Silow-Carroll, who is the former managing editor of the Jewish weekly The Forward, also spent considerable time discussing Thomas Friedman, the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize winning Foreign Affairs Columnist for the Times.  He called Friedman a tough minded critic of Israel, and said his columns were a reflection of the debate within Israel itself on its direction.  As Friedman’s regular readers know, he has been tough on Israel for their position on not stopping settlements in the West Bank, an issue that is back in the news again today.

Silow-Carroll did not have that much to say of any insight about culture critic Frank Rich, who occupies prime time real estate on the Sunday editorial pages.  But he had plenty to say about one of the paper’s less well known writers, Roger Cohen.

Cohen is a long time foreign affairs correspondent and former editor at the International Herald-Tribune. His columns have began appearing in the paper (and more online) in 2006, and Silow-Carroll said of him, “If you want to find a Jewish voice designed to annoy American Jews”, Cohen is their man.

Cohen’s depiction of Jews living in Iran earlier this year (before the disputed election and repression took place) has been the source of fierce criticism from columnists and other activists.  Cohen was specifically called out by the American Jewish Committee for his takes.

Silow-Carroll said many Cohen columns begin like Thomas Friedman pieces, but then they generally veer into criticizing Israel, while always leaving the Palestinians off the hook, which he called “condescending.”

Silow-Carroll then pivoted by saying that Cohen  was a voice of the Jewish Left now being represented by J-Street, the progressive advocacy group that has been depicted as being an answer to the more conservative voice of AIPAC in Washington D.C.

One Jewish columnist that Silow-Carroll declined to talk about was Paul Krugman, who he said “doesn’t engage on Jewish issues.”

For regular NY Times readers, it was an engaging and provocative discussion.  Of course, perhaps no Times columnist inspires as much fervor as its Irish-Catholic scribe, Maureen Dowd, who today weirdly I would argue tries to bond with Sarah Palin as a ‘regular American’ after reading her new book, Going Rogue.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales

According to the Hillsborough County Homeless Coalition, as there are over 9,000 homeless people in the County

Attempts by the Board of County Commissioners to address the problem foundered earlier this fall, after they rejected a proposed tent-city plan that would have housed up to 250 people on East Hillsborough Avenue.  A subsequent attempt to use space at strip mall off of Florida Avenue later went by the wayside as well.

Now the Coalition for the Homeless intend to band with Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia fame to create a Tampa Bay Homeless Resource wiki (http:tampabayhomeless.wikia.com).

The launch of the website will take place this Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. at Teatro on Seventh in Ybor City.  Organizers are asking for “social media enthusiasts, homeless advocates & anyone who wants to volunteer” to appear at the event, though it will cost you $25 to register.

In a press release,  Wales says he came up with the idea after local digital strategist Julia Gorzka reached out to him because she knew he lived in the Tampa Bay area.  “When she had the idea to put together a homeless resource wiki for Tampa Bay, I got very excited because I knew we could draw on the examples of successful projects in San Francisco and Los Angeles……People have a vague idea they want to help, don’t know where to start.  They feel they need permission.  But the wiki spirit is you just dig in and start doing stuff.”

Rayme Nuckles, the CEO of the Homeless Coalition says “We are thrilled to be able to offer this new resource to the community, specifically for our homeless neighbors and those working to improve the quality of their lives.”

We all know how bad the American economy continues to be.  Now new statistics from the Agriculture Department confirm that hunger is at a 14 year high;

Three Hillsborough County based state legislators spoke to the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee last night.  Find out what they had to say;

And Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck will be in Tampa in January.

Also, CL News contributor Kelly Cornelius gives her take on what went down yesterday as a Hillsborough County task force recommended the preservation of Cone Ranch, a hot topic for months in the County.

Download the report here.

Yesterday we put up a post informing you, the discriminating CL reader, that if you’ve got a couple of hours to spare this Saturday, you can check out talk show host/author/ Glenn Beck at Borders on South Dale Mabry near I-275 from 12 noon to 2 p.m.

However, you’re reading it here first: The self proclaimed “rodeo clown” will be back in his former stomping grounds early next year, and will be appearing with none other than Bill O’Reilly.

The Fox twins will be at the Sun Dome on the USF Tampa campus on Friday, January 29th.  It’s part of their Bold and Fresh 2010 Tour

As a regular viewer of at least the first portion of The Factor over the years,  CL has observed a noticeable calm in the demeanor of cable news’s current king (ratings wise I’m talking about).  O’Reilly admitted as much last night.

In discussing media sensation Sarah Palin and her new book with media critic Bernard Goldberg, Bill-O admitted that he no longer gets that enraged about critics taking him apart.  He said it’s something that he’s learned to control.  I think there’s something to that.  O’Reilly has always carried a tremendous chip on his shoulder, but he’s incredibly successful, and frankly, with Glenn Beck now  airing before him on Fox, and Sean Hannity following him, he’s become, well, a more moderate voice – maybe because it was simply too embarrassing  seeing him in action in filmmaker Robert Greenwald film “Outfoxed” (which memorably showed one sequence where Bill-O is yelling at guests to just “Shut up!”)

Or how could we forget O’Reilly getting into it on one his bugaboo’s:  Illegal immigration.

Here’s the Fox News host with correspondent Geraldo Rivera:

Glenn Beck is blowing up in 2009.  The former talk show host on Tampa Clear Channel station 970 WFLA was growing in popularity in recent years, but his television persona has blossomed after joining Fox News.  Get your tickets now!

Last night, three of Hillsborough County’s representatives in Tallahassee addressed the County’s Democratic Executive Committee, about their legislative goals for the 2010 session.

However, what was painfully obvious is that those legislators – State Senator Charlie Justice, and State Representatives Betty Reed and Mike Scionti, are handicapped, particularly in the House, by being the minority party.

Senator Justice took to the stage first inside Fletcher Lounge on the University of Tampa campus, where he discussed a possible special session next month, and some of the bills he has filed for 2010.  Among the bills include several that attempt to address campaign finance irregularities, such as trying to cap contributions made by third party “527″ type groups, which the Hillsborough/Pinellas legislator decried as “groups making a mockery of campaign finance caps”.  Another bill would ban corporations from giving more than $500 to a candidate, the same limit that individuals currently have imposed on them in Florida.

And with news of another lawsuit being filed in St. Petersburg regarding a toxic plume that originated some 17 years ago, Justice says he will introduce legislation that would simply inform residents that such a problem exists.

Before his address, Justice spoke with CL about the possible upcoming special session that has been rumored will take place next month.  One of the potential issues on the agenda would be to approve the controversial SunRail proposal.

With Florida eagerly hoping to be approved nearly $2.6 billion in stimulus money to build a high-speed train between Tampa and Orlando, many state and federal legislators have said that it’s important for state lawmakers to demonstrate their sincerity in wanting the project by approving SunRail.

A key hold up has been liability for CSX trains – one reason why Lakeland State Senator Paula Dockery has held the deal up the past two years.  But Justice said yesterday that “lawyers are telling me” that the liability issue may be fading.  What’s certain, Justice says, is that “we have to show some mechanism, show something to the feds,” that the state has funding available for their share of money up front for high speed rail.

Justice might be referring to this development, reported last month in the Orlando Sentinel:

CSX has indicated it might be willing to compromise on liability by mirroring a deal it recently reached in Massachusetts, which purchased tracks from the company for a commuter train.

CSX agreed to help defray the cost of the liability insurance that the state’s transit authority has to carry.

And, if an accident occurs between a commuter train and freight train and CSX is clearly at fault because of willful misconduct, the railroad will be responsible to pay the deductible on that policy, up to a maximum of $7.5 million per incident.

Read the rest of this entry »

This Thursday in downtown Tampa, America’s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay is staging its 15th annual Empty Bowls Thanksgiving Luncheon in Lykes Gaslight Square.  Last year’s event raised more than $50,000 for the organization’s food bank and Kids Cafe Programs.

It’s always around the holidays when the issue of the less fortunate get more play in the media, but so should statistics unveiled yesterday by the Department of Agriculture, who announced  that the number of Americans who lived in households that lacked consistent access to adequate food soared last year, to 49 million.  That’s the highest since the government began tracking what it calls “food insecurity” 14 years ago.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack attributed the rise to the unemployment rate in the U.S., at its highest levels since the early 1980’s.

The Wall Street Journal does report one caveat that might make the news less depressing:

But the way USDA economists measure food worries in the U.S. is far more liberal than their gauge for other nations, where people are labeled food insecure only if they consume fewer than 2,100 calories a day. Few of the U.S. households labeled as food insecure by the USDA have it that tough.

Instead, the USDA’s domestic survey tries to quantify the number of households that have difficulty providing enough food at some time during the year. Many of these families are able to avoid hunger by participating in such federal nutrition programs as food stamps, or by having their children participate in a free school-lunch program.

With the economy continuing to founder (Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday that “Some important headwinds-in particular constrained bank lending and a weak job market-likely will prevent the expansion from being as robust as we would hope”) some of President Obama’s allies intend to call him out today on the weak job market.

The NY Times reports that the NAACP and the National Council of La Raza will be amongst some of the groups calling on the President to do more to create jobs.

They will call for increased spending for schools and roads, billions of dollars in fiscal relief to state and local governments to forestall more layoffs and a direct government jobs program, “especially in distressed communities facing severe unemployment.”

This is just more incentive for the President to hope that the Senate can get their act together and try to begin debating a health care bill soon – Obama’s poll numbers remain solid ( a new ABC News/Washington Post poll released today shows him with a 56% approval rating), but he has got to start focusing in “like a laser beam” as the saying goes, or else those poll numbers will go south in a hurry.

Conservative radio and television talk show Glenn Beck is coming to Tampa this weekend.

According to the web site of Tampa 9-12 The former 970 WFLA talk show host, whose career has blown up in ‘09, will be appearing in Tampa this Saturday at Borders on South Dale Mabry Highway. Beck will be signing copies of his NY Times best-seller Arguing with Idiots.

Yesterday Beck’s  latest book, The Christmas Sweater: A Picture Book, debuted at #1 on the Times children’s picture book bestseller list, prompting his publisher last week to declare that that gave Beck 5 consecutive #1 NYT bestsellers.

I’m not sure if that’s correct or not, but the man is selling loads of  books, and getting ratings on the radio, and on his Fox News show.

Beck has taken pride this in publicizing and mobilizing opposition to Van Jones, President Obama’s original green jobs czar who ended up resigning in early September after taking a pounding by the talk show host for his ‘radical’ past.

Today the Huffington Post is reporting that on Beck’s guest list of late have been “white supremacists and other extremists.”

Beck’s comment earlier that President Obama was racist led to over 30 advertisers leaving his Fox News program.  However, Fox didn’t lose any revenue as most of those companies ended up advertising on other Fox programs.

Big news in CL’s world.  Former St. Pete Times Publisher Marty Petty has been hired as the CEO of Creative Loafing.

Florida CFO and Democratic candidate for Governor Alex Sink has been criticized by some analysts for being too cautious.   So last night she made news by announcing she’s against Florida’s ban on gay adoptions.
President Obama’s decision to prosecute alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed brought out Rudy Guiliani and other Republicans yesterday on some of the Sunday morning  talk shows yesterday.

And just for fun, we look back yesterday at the day of televised pro football action, including the instant classic in Indianapolis between the Colts and the New England Patriots.

Download the report here.

Creative Loafing, Inc. announced today that Marty Petty, the former publisher of the St. Petersburg Times and Hartford Courant, has been named chief executive officer for the alternative newspaper weekly chain.

The announcement was made this morning by interim CEO Richard Gilbert at the Tampa paper’s headquarters in Ybor City.   In a press release, Gilbert called Petty’s experience “an unique mix seldom found in one publishing executive.  She has solid journalistic values honed from her early career in the newsroom and her long-standing commitment to hard-hitting journalism.  All three of her last papers earned Pulitzer Prizes during her leadership.   As publisher of two of the nation’s most highly respected newspapers, she has also earned a reputation as a skilled and creative marketing and sales executive who knows how to build strategic alliances to ensure success.”

Petty will be working on a part-time basis until January as she gets up to speed on what is happening with the six-paper chain.  Speaking to the staff this morning, she said, “I love this business.  It’s about great stories — and making the money to pay for them.”

When asked what she thinks of the quality of Creative Loafing’s papers, which include the Washington City Paper and Chicago Reader as well as the CL papers in Tampa, Atlanta, Charlotte and Sarasota, she said she could not give a full evaluation until she is looking at them on a regular basis.  “I have not gone deep yet,” she said to the assembled staff. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week the St. Petersburg Times’ Michael Kruse and Eric Deggans wrote about how in this era of lower ratings for television programs due to  splintered audiences, the  National Football League’s ratings have ascended in recent years.

Days like yesterday demonstrate why pro football has such a grip on the mass public’s attention.

In a triple header for viewers in the Tampa Bay area, the hometown Buccaneers, who have struggled mightily all season long and seen home attendance plummet in recent weeks, suffered a heartbreaking last second loss to the Miami Dolphins yesterday, 25-23.

The loss occurred despite field goal kicker Conner Barth’s record tying three field goals of 50 yards or longer, as well as a spirited effort by number one draft choice, quarterback Josh Freeman, who was lauded today by Times columnist Gary  Sheldon as giving Buc fans now “a reason to believe” (also depressing some who are hoping the team continues to falter to be in position to have the number one draft choice in 2010).

But speaking as a fan of two teams who in recent years spent boatloads of money on the number one selection in the draft, it sometimes ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Because of TV and NFL scheduling, viewers in the Tampa market were treated to a game between two of the worst teams in the league, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders, at 4:05 p.m. on the local CBS affiliate, WTSP.  (Channel 10 had only one game to show yesterday, and wisely programmed that at 4 p.m., so as not to run head to head against Tampa/Miami).

Being a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and a passionate fan of both the 49ers and Oakland Raiders, I was happy not to have to go to a local tavern to watch the game.  But I suppose in retrospect that the only benefit of watching from home  was that at least I could hear the  home town boos.

The Oakland Raiders committed over $25 million in guaranteed money a couple of years ago to JaMarcus Russell, their number one quarterback selection from LSU.  The problem is: he’s terrible, and doesn’t appear to be working very hard at geting better.

A good friend of mine has season tickets to the Raiders, but informed me that not only would be not be attending yesterday’s game, but also made sure not to give them away to friends.  He wanted to make a statement by having tv cameras glide over his empty seats.

While those 2 games featured some lackluster play, they still had some drama, particularly in Miami.

But the big event of the day (and of the season) took place in Indianapolis, where the New England Patriots/Indianapolis Colts have developed the fiercest rivalry in all of sports, and as great as the Dallas/SF rivalry of the 90’s (and yes, go ahead and invoke Al-Frazier for the ultimate rivalry).

The Colts won in stunning, dramatic, last second fashion last night, 35-34, but the big news today is the radical move by Pats head coach Bill Belichick not to eschew a punt and go for a first down on his own 28 yard line with just over two minutes to go.

The Pats failed to get the first, and Peyton Manning soon had the Colts in the end zone.

The call will be debated for time immemorial, but one thing is for certain: Outside of New England and other spots on the globe were Patriot Nation dominates, fans across the country are reveling in Belichick’s faulty move this morning.

Although Belichick’s decision will be debated until the next time the clubs meet, Peyton Manning’s brilliance in the 4th quarter demonstrates why he may soon win an unprecedented 4th MVP later this year.

Florida is the only state in the country with a blanket ban on gay adoptions.

Throughout the years there has been attempts through the courts and in the legislature to change that.

Yesterday in Fort Lauderdale,  Chief Financial Officer and Democratic candidate for Governor Alex Sink said that has to change.

Speaking at a fundraiser hosted by Equality Florida, Sink told the crowd that it should be up to a Judge to decide on whether it would be in a child’s best interest to be adopted, saying:

“We need a system in which all of our children are assured that they live in a healthy, loving home — a home that’s determined not by any law.” According to the Miami Herald, she added,  “The decision has to be made by the judge, in consultation with the experts, to determine what is the best for that individual child.”

Although hardly a radical call (again, Florida stands by itself on its policy regarding gays and adoptions), it’s something that has hardly been a staple of previous Democrats in Florida running for high office.  And it didn’t go for what gay rights groups have been calling for : an outright repeal of the state law.

South Florida Democratic Senator Nan Rich proposed a bill in last year’s legislative session that would overturn the state’s 1977 ban on gay adoption – it went nowhere.  But with Sink’s support…..well, it’s still a dominant Republican legislature in Tallahassee.

Last month, San Francisco Bay Area  Congressman Pete Stark  introduced the  Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would deny funding to states that ban gay, lesbian, transgender and unmarried people from adoption or foster programs.

While no state is as strict or repressive as Florida when it comes to not allowing gays and lesbians to adopt, other states forbid unmarried couples from adoption in states that outlaw gay marriage.

For the reticent Sink, getting the LGBT crowd to enthusiastically support her candidacy can only be a boost;  As the Herald reports, top GOP opponent Bill McCollum’s Attorney General’s office is defending the state’s ban on gay adoption in a current court case that many analysts expect to see the Florida Supreme Court weigh in on.

McCollum does support the inclusion of gays and lesbians in federal hate crime legislation.  That support led supporters of former Florida U.S. Senator Mel Martinez to label McCollum “the new darling of the extreme homosexuals”, a despicable act that saw the St. Pete Times withdraw their support for Martinez in that August of 2004 GOP Primary (won by Martinez, incidentally).

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Although he hasn’t held elective office in over 8 years and has had multiple setbacks professionally since then (none worse than his embarrassing performance in running for President two years ago), former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani will always have the goodwill amongst New Yorkers and Americans for his performance as Mayor in the days and weeks after the 9/11 attacks.

Couple that with his former time as a Federal Prosecutor, and it was no shock that three Sunday morning public affairs programs featured him to comment on Attorney General’s Eric Holder announcement last Friday that that alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed would be tried alongside four accused Sept. 11 co-conspirators in a Manhattan federal court “just blocks away” from ground zero.

“Why? We generally don’t bring people back to the scene of the crime for justice,” Giuliani argued. “What the Obama administration is telling us loud and clear is that…the war on terror is over.”

Giuliani countered that the man known as KSM should have a trial by military tribunal, a stricter process than civilian court that has tried a series of other foreign terrorists.

But the hosts of all three programs he was on all queried Guiliani for seeming to now have a different perspective than in the 1990’s, when he applauded the fact that the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center was handled in federal court in New York.

“I’ve already said in retrospect, as many have, that that was a mistake,” the former mayor responded. “Basically the Obama administration is repeating the mistake of history…It’s part of Barack Obama deciding that we’re not at war with terrorism any more….The terrorists haven’t stopped goaing to war with us.”

On ABC, Guiliani said Friday’s decision by Holder is “part of a whole package of the way the President looks at the war on terror….the delay in Afghanistan is a political strategy, on (Major Nidal Malik)Hasan, he doesn’t get it. ..”

Being equally critical on CBS’ Face The Nation was Michigan Republican Congressman Peter Hoekstra, who dubbed the Holder plan to try KSM in NYC “ideology run wild.”

But Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy from Vermont followed up the Representative on Face, and said that Holder is right.  Leahy added that the trial(s) will show the  “rest of the world that the U.S. acts out of strength, not out of fear,” and compared KSM to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

But host Bob Schieffer replied that McVeigh was not classified as  an enemy combatant – but Leahy interjected,”If someone murders Americans in America, they should be convicted in America.”

And back on Fox, Rhode Island Democratic Senator Jack Reed tried to bring some sanity to the debate, saying that the Obama Administration is simply following upon the same logic that the Bush Administration employed in prosecuting Zacharias Mousawi in civilian court. “What was a statesmans-like decision on the part of the Bush administration can’t be a political decision from the Obama administration, ” the Senator said.

The consensus: There isn’t any, other than this:  Whatever critics want to call Obama (and they’ve called him pretty much everything under the sun in less than a year ), this move was not done for political expediency.  Nor would sending any prisoners from Gitmo into a facility in the U.S., which his administration is considering doing in Illinois.

Back to Guiliani-Time; He said earlier this year that he was thinking of running for Governor of New York, which NY GOPers desperately want him to do.  But some analysts have suggested Guiliani made those hints when he saw incumbent David Patterson’s poll number falter.  But now that there is serious belief that NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo may get in the race (with considerably higher poll numbers than the  beleagured Patterson), the former mayor continues to equivocate.  He had said he would make up his mind after the elections held two weeks ago.  Now he simply says he’s still considering a run.

For your Friday the 13th editions, two people prominently mentioned as possible 2012 GOP Presidential candidates will be visiting Florida in the next few weeks. Minnesota’s Tim Pawlenty tonight, and Sarah Palin later this month.

Some say Charlie Crist could be considered Presidential material (now that he’s married).  But will he even make it to the Senate?  The Tampa Tribune says the Governor is coming off looking weak recently.

And Harry Reid is contemplating taxing wealthy seniors on Medicare to help pay for more low-and-middle income people on the health care issue- but Tampa area Congresswoman Kathy Castor and the AARP says the just passed bill in the House will be extremely beneficial for Florida seniors.

Download
the report here.

The mainstream media is about to have a collective orgasm as Sarah Palin hits the circuit with the publication of her book Going Rogue.

The book will be published on Tuesday, and the former Alaska governor’s literary itinerary  conspicuously eschews many major American (i.e. Democratic-oriented) cities, with neither L.A., San Francisco, Philadelphia nor Seattle making the cut (neither does the Tampa Bay region).

However, Palin fans should hop in the car, ’cause the  former VP nominee will be making three stops in Florida, including Orlando on November 24th.

Of course, for many observers, Palin’s disastrous interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric was the beginning of the end of the instant love affair, in the immediate wake of the sensational reaction she received when she was named VP, and of course, her speech at the Republican National Convention.

Previously, Palin has blamed Couric for her own egregious problems in the interview.  No excerpts are available yet on what will undoubtedly be another blast at Couric, but the Drudge Report today does contain a passage that is supposed to make one of her media handlers, Nicolle Wallace (who previously worked at CBS News as a commentator) look bad. Read the rest of this entry »

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is considering a proposal to raise Medicare payroll taxes on couples who make more than $250,000 a year.

The Nevada Democrat needs to find a way to find more money to pay for health care reform in the Senate bill, and he reportedley would rather do that than put a 40% tax on high-value insurance plans, which organized labor strongly opposes.

Reid also wants to find money to provide more extensive subsidies to help low- and moderate-income people.

Yesterday, Tampa area Congresswoman Kathy Castor and Florida AARP head Lori Parham spoke on a conference call about what the recently passed health care reform bill in the House will do for seniors.

The advocacy group for seniors has endorsed the House bill, though their support has cost them tens of thousands of members in 2009.

Castor said the new legislation would lower drug costs for seniors on Medicare by immediately getting rid of the so-called “donut hole.”

She also said that the legislation would bolster oversight when it comes to the ‘”egregious selling of Medicare Advantage Plans.” She said the bill would take on “unscrupulous” insurance salesmen who go into senior centers to sign up seniors for more expensive Medicare Advantage plans, and stressed that that aspect of the legislation would take effect immediately if it’s included in the final bill that’s signed by the president.

Lori Parham with AARP Florida said that there has been a lot of misinformation spread about what will happen to Medicare under Obamacare.  She said that there are more than 600,000 uninsured people in Florida between the ages of 50 and 64 who are “counting the days until Medicare kicks in.”

Both Parham and Castor reacted edgily to news that a conservative seniors group called The 60 Plus Association has announced that they intend to spend $1.5 million targeting 15 House Democrats who voted for health care reform, including Castor’s colleague, Ron Klein from South Florida.

Read the rest of this entry »

No, this is not the latest email salvo from the Marco Rubio camp (though if you’re on the list, you might think so).

Today the Tampa Tribune blasts our governor in their lead editorial, titled “Crist has lost his invincible touch.”

The op-ed chronicles his recent comedy of errors, in which the man famously known for never letting them see him sweat (because he always has a fan blowing on his face in public appearances) has acted completely unnerved in recent weeks, even though he still holds a solid 15-point lead over his GOP Senate challenger in the most recent Quinnipiac Poll.

As the Trib writes, a lot of Crist’s problems come from his inability to man up on supporting Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan, which has been derided not just in conservative circles, but more and more in some parts of the mainstream press as ill-advised.

Crist seems to have grown weary of trying to defend his indefensible statement on CNN a week ago that he did not endorse the stimulus, telling the Palm Beach Post yesterday that:

“I support it. I think it was important to take it. All of my fellow governors did so….

“We would have had to let go 20,000 school teachers if we didn’t have that. My belief always has been that Florida deserves her fair share. And it’s helping our economy. Without those additional funds we would have a much more difficult time maintaining not only our economy but job growth and job retention.”

Asked if he would have voted for the stimulus bill if he were a senator, Crist replied: “I would have voted for a different form. But I think it’s pretty clear I supported the concept.”

Obviously in a fight with the conservative wing of the Florida GOP, which despises the fact that Crist appeared with Obama in Fort Myers in February, Crist has been playing politics of the worst kind: the kind that shows that you’re acting political.  The stimulus has best worked in this withering economy as a social safety net for a host of services, and that certainly includes education.  Obviously the support of the stimulus will not be as huge a factor if Crist can survive his primary and face (probably) Kendrick Meek next November.    It’s obvious that he’s not confident he can do that, thus the pandering on the issue.

Meanwhile, political reporters from across the state today are reporting  on Crist’s good buddy, GOP State Chair Jim Greer, and the conference call he held yesterday to try to stem off calls for his head. The story in the St. Pete Times/Miami Herald includes this money quote on why issues with Greer matter:

“I think it’s already having an impact on Bill McCollum and the governor’s race, because it’s becoming impossible to raise money with all these things hanging over your head,” National Committeewoman Sharon Day said of the assorted controversies under Greer’s leadership. “He’s traveling to every fundraiser with the governor and traveling all over the country. … He should be here at the helm of the party getting our candidates elected.”

In our current story on Paula Dockery , the Lakeland State Senator told CL that part of her impetus in running was essentially as a retort to Greer, who tried to clear the field in the primaries for both Crist and Attorney General Bill McCollum, to an extremely negative reaction by the GOP base.

The St. Petersburg Times reported on their web site this afternoon that Florida Conservation & Environment Group, or FC&EG, have written to the Hillsborough County Commission that they want to delay the negotiations between them and the County because of Commissioner Jim Norman’s recent call to look at consolidating the water departments of the County with the three municipalities inside the County: Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City.

Last week the BOCC voted to authorize County Attorney Pat Bean to dig up $400,000 for a study.

Of course, there was one little problem with that:  Mayor Pam Iorio of Tampa hadn’t been consulted about it.

A group of activists have been concerned allowing FC&EG to broker to sell Cone Ranch for the last year since the idea was first discussed . They’re simple in their demands:  They want the County’s Environmental Lands Acquisition and Preservation Program to purchase the property.

CL spoke this afternoon with one of the leading activists on wanting to save Cone Ranch, Kent Bailey. He said ” these guys haven’t gone away (referring to FC&EG).  They’ve just slipped over to one side.  Until we get Cone Ranch over to ELAPP, we’re still going to have to fight the battle.”

Bailey didn’t want to comment directly on Commissioner Norman’s request to study consolidating the water departments of the three cities with the County, other than to suggest that “the timing is very interesting.”

In the letter written to the County’s Edith Stewart,  Ken Jones with FC&EG writes:

As you know, FCEG began its discussions with the county regarding Cone Ranch in mid-2008 and
we continue to believe strongly in the possibilities of public/private partnerships and in the
preservation of environmentally sensitive land.  However, and disappointingly, FCEG is notifying
you and the Panel that while it will continue monitoring matters related to the preservation of Cone
Ranch (and remains highly interested and available to participate in its preservation and
restoration) it will be difficult to properly engage in any course of action until Hillsborough
County has completed its evaluation of the potential water system consolidation.

Once every three months, the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce hosts a luncheon with members of the Hillsborough County Commission and the Tampa City Council.

CL attended the most recent gathering, in which the discussion of where the Chamber was philosophically in relations to the light rail proposal in Hillsborough was debated.

Now Tampa City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena wants to have another local body represented: The Hillsborough County School District.

In a letter sent to Chamber Chairman Henry Gonzalez, Saul-Sena writes that

Since we all recognize the central role of education in Hillsborough County I think that the Chamber should consider including the School Board members and the Superintendent in these quarterly meetings.

We all understand that with the limited resources and signficant challenges facing us that increasing opportunities for collaboration benefits our entire community.

CL spoke with an official with the Chamber who could not provide an official response, but said that it would probably be looked on favorably, as the meetings are intended to foster dialogue between government agencies and the busines community.

• A coalition of progressive groups will hold a news conference in support of Tampa Congresswoman Kathy Castor, as the Democrat continues to say she won’t support a final health care reform bill if restrictions on abortion rights are in it.

•  A new report on the economic conditions of the various states of the union lists the Sunshine State as having a bleak future.

• And in the wake of the Tampa City Council’s unanimous vote last week to add gender identity and protections to its human rights ordinance,  the local religious right is none too pleased.

Download the report here.

Last week, the Tampa City Council voted to include gender identity and expression in the city’s human rights law, which would effectively prohibit workplace discrimination against people who change genders.

The discussion was relatively non-controversial, with some humorous quips made during the debate by Council members Mary Mulhern and Charlie Miranda, who said at one point, “Is it today that I’m sitting next to Albert and tomorrow I’m sitting next to Alice?”

But even though Tampa is a relative beacon for gay rights in comparison to Hillsborough County, there are some in the community who aren’t happy about the Council’s move. Read the rest of this entry »

A report issued yesterday by the Pew Center on the States finds Florida to be among the worst states in the nation in terms of its economy.

The report, called “Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril,” notes that what many of us have been recognizing day by day, month by month — Florida is not the state it was just a few years ago.

Among the lowlights:

- In 2006 the state’s job market was one  of the strongest — now it’s the 8th worst.

-  Population.  For the first part of this decade, we all heard the statistics (wasn’t it, “There’s a thousand new people a day  moving to Florida”?).  Now deal with these stats:  From April of ‘08 to April of ‘09, the state’s population dropped by 58,00o.

- And in ‘05 Florida ranked 2nd in economic growth. In ‘08?  48th.

And though a lot of folks (particularly Republicans) love to bash California and its fiscal problems, Moody’s Economy.com says that Florida’s housing market is in worse shape than the Golden State’s.

I would link to the report (pewcenterforthestates.org), but unfortunately the site isn’t coming up at all this morning, for whatever reason.  You can find a solid report on it in today’s Tampa Tribune.

A variety of progressive activist groups, such as MoveOn, OFA, the SEIU and the Florida Health Care For America Now Coalition plan to present Tampa Congresswoman Kathy Castor with a pair of boxing gloves today at a news conference, urging her to keep fighting for health care reform legislation.

The event takes place just days after Castor joined up with 40 other House Democrats in sending a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, vowing to strip a controversial amendment included in the health care bill passed last week that  bars federal funding from subsidizing abortions.

CL reported exclusively on Wednesday that Representative Castor was one of the signatories to the letter.  That’s significant in that there have been reports in the past couple of days of some Democrats not wanting that list of signatories to be released.

Representative Castor also told CL yesterday that a second letter had been drafted to President Obama asking for a meeting to figure out how abortion funding can be restored.

Republicans are loving how the the issue is blowing up the Democratic Party. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this week a group of House Democrats who supported the health care reform bill over the weekend contacted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that they will not vote for a final bill that contains language restricting a woman’s right to choose further than current law.  CL has been informed that among the signatories was Tampa’s Kathy Castor;

Today is Veterans Day, and as activities take place across the country and the Bay area, questions persist about who knew what and when about alleged Fort Hood killer Major Nidal Malik Hasan;

And Pinellas County School Board member Nina Hayden is running for the state senate in a district that encompasses both Hillsborough and Pinellas.  She made just her second campaign appearance on the Hillsborough side last night.

Download the report here.

As has been widely reported, the health care legislation that barely squeaked through the House by a 5 vote margin last Saturday night happened only after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allowed for an amendment that would sharply curtail the availability of abortions in health care coverage.

That amendment, introduced by Michigan Representative Bart Stupak, has proven to be extremely controversial, and on Monday, 41 House Democrats – including Tampa area Representative Kathy Castor -  wrote a letter Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledging to vote against the bill in its final form if it contains that anti-abortion rights amendment.

As published on the blog the Plumline earlier this week, the letter says:

As Members of Congress we believe that women should have access to a full range of reproductive health care. Health care reform must not be misused as an opportunity to restrict women’s access to reproductive health services.

The Stupak-Pitts amendment to H.R. 3962, The Affordable Healthcare for America Act, represents an unprecedented and unacceptable restriction on women’s ability to access the full range of reproductive health services to which they are lawfully entitled. We will not vote for a conference report that contains language that restricts women’s right to choose any further than current law.

CL spoke with Congresswoman Castor late Wednesday afternoon, where she confirmed that she had signed the letter to Speaker Pelosi.  She said she was very upset about how the Stupak Amendment was added to the bill on Friday, just a day before the House voted on it.

In the Senate, there is considerable work being done right now to try to have a ‘compromise’ on the Stupak Amendment.

According to the New York Times

On Tuesday, several women in the Senate, including Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland and Dianne Feinstein of California, both Democrats, met to come up with a strategy for resisting major new restrictions on abortion.

In a statement, Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, expressed opposition to restrictions like those adopted by the House. Ms. McCaskill said Congress should not “change current law, which is no public money for abortions.” And she said the House bill “goes too far limiting private funds, too.”

Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California said she believed that a compromise could be reached but that the restrictions included in the House bill were unacceptable.

“This amendment is unfair and discriminatory toward women,” Ms. Boxer said. “It singles them out as a group and would deny women access to a legal medical procedure by dictating what a woman can do with her own private funds. We’ve had a compromise in place for decades that has been fair. Anything that disrupts that compromise is a huge step back for women.”

Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa and chairman of the health committee, also said the House had gone too far. “I fear that the House-passed language,” Mr. Harkin said, “will effectively prevent women from receiving abortion coverage under the new health exchanges, even if they are using their own money to buy insurance.”

Last night at Streetcar Charlie’s in Ybor City, the Young Democrats of Hillsborough County held an event that featured former Congressman Jim Davis and State Senate candidate Nina Hayden.

Hayden, elected last year to the Pinellas County School District, is a young woman in a hurry (she’s 35).  She’s now running for the State Senate seat currently held by Charlie Justice, who is leaving the seat to run for Congress next year.

She also continues to work in the Pinellas County Public Defenders Office.

Speaking to CL last night, we asked her about the thoughts of some political analysts that she’s aiming her sights for Tallahassee perhaps a bit too soon?

“A lot of people have said that,” she said last night when asked about her ambitions.

Hayden is currently unopposed in the Democratic race for the Senate seat in District 16.  On the GOP side,  Jack Latvala has announced his candidacy.  Latvala previously served in the Senate from 1994 to 2002, and would become the first Floridian to return back to the Senate after previously having been term limited out.

In her feisty speech to the Young Democrats, Hayden said, “There was a lot of talk about who was going to step up to the plate (after Justice said he was running for Congress).  No one was willing to step up…because they’re scared to death because of the Republican opponent…I’ve heard  ‘there’s no way you’re going to beat him’ …I’m going to get into the fight…even though I may be the new kid on the block, but I’m doing this because I’m passionate about our kids, about education, ” she said to applause.

The Senate seat encompasses both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.  Hayden said it was only her 2nd campaign appearance on the east side of the Howard Franklin.

Also at last night’s event was former Tampa Congressman Jim Davis, who two months ago told CL that he wasn’t rejecting the idea of running for Mayor of Tampa in 2011.  We didn’t speak to him about that, but instead enjoyed the former Democratic gubernatorial candidate appear as relaxed as we’ve ever seen him in a public setting, as he addressed the youth group (the Hillsborough Young Dems says they represent folks under 40).

In his speech, Davis several times referred to politics as a ‘crazy’ business.  He gave anecdotes to illustrate that sometimes in politics you must talk about what the voters want to talk about, not what the candidate does.

He also said politics was about respect, and respecting Republicans.  He spoke in strong support of health care reform legislation now to be debated in the Senate, and stressed how critical it was not to get cynical about the political process.

Nina  Hayden in her speech –

tThis is my 2^nd event in Hillsborough….I came down here about 10 years ago to go to law school at Stetson university….went to work at public defenders office immediately afterwars…she represents juveniles charged as adults…Really enjoy the fight for the underdog.  We came from a family that raised us to be involved in the community.  We volunteered at the Mitch Synder shelters.  We spent Thanskgiving and Christmas. We learned the value of giving to the community.  I wanted to get involved, fight for the underdog.

There are various events commemorating Veterans Day today, with one of the biggest surely to be at Bay Pines Medical Center in St. Petersburg at 10 a.m.  House Representative Bill Heller will be the keynote speaker.  In Tampa, thee was a parade that was to conclude with ceremonies at James A. Haley  VA Medical Center, also at 10 a.m.  And there will also be an event in Largo’s Central Park tonight at 7 p.m.

The federal holiday takes place less than a week after Major Nidal Malik Hasan went on his mad killing spree, where 13 people were shot dead at Fort Hood in Texas.  And there are more media reports that indicate that officials had some inkling that things were not all right with the Major, and yet little was done about that.

From today’s Washington Post:

Hasan, a psychiatrist who had worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, came to the attention of two Joint Terrorism Task Forces in December, as he corresponded by e-mail as many as 20 times with radical imam Anwar al-Aulaqi, who has exhorted followers in the United States, Britain and elsewhere to pursue violent jihad, or holy war. The task of vetting Hasan fell to a Defense Department analyst on the D.C.-area task force, who searched the doctor’s background, employment records and other paperwork. The analyst concluded that the chatter was innocent, in keeping with Hasan’s research interests, and that he did not have links to terrorism, two government officials said Tuesday.

Authorities closed the matter this spring, opting against a full-blown investigation.

And then there is this from the Wall Street Journal:

In this case, the Pentagon worker, an employee from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, helped make the assessment that Maj. Hasan wasn’t a threat, and the FBI’s “procedures for sharing the information were never used,” said the person familiar with the matter.

A person familiar with the matter said a Pentagon worker on a terrorism task force overseen by the Federal Bureau of Investigation was told about the intercepted emails several months ago. But members of terror task forces aren’t allowed to share such information with their agencies, unless they get permission from the FBI, which leads the task forces.

These events are eerily reminiscent of what happened after the 9/11 attacks, which led to the creation of the Homeland Security Department (to better coordinate between intelligence agencies) and a full blown investigation.

On Capitol Hill, there are Congressional committees ready to jump in as well , with some Committee leaders a little less gung ho than others.

Bud Chiles is about a third of the way done in his “One Million Steps For Florida’s Kids” state wide walking campaign.

The campaign is to build grassroots demand for more state spending on programs for children, and he’s attempting to get a million people to sign on to his web site to make that happen.

Speaking to CL on the telephone (where he had originally hoped to be in Ybor City today), Chiles says the 1-4 corridor portion of his walk is soon to commence.

“This is about a million steps to engage a million Floridians on how we prioritize family values, education, and health care in this state.  We’ve gone bad to horrible,” Chiles said.  He defined his journey as a way to build awareness and encourage people to get involved in their community.

Any resemblance between Chiles walk today and his late father Lawton’s journey  in 1970 (where he walked over 1,000 miles to introduce himself to Florida voters in his successful bid to become a U.S. Senator) is absolutely intentional.

Perpetually described as a political hopeful, specifically for Governor (which his father became in 1990 until his death in 1998), Chiles did not back away when asked if he has political aspirations.

“I’m willing to do whatever I can,” he says.  “I could be a candidate.  People in Florida are so desperate to believe in something…they’ve seen so much lying and rhetoric.  We’ve gotta legislature that responds to money.  They’re focused on casino gambling, offshore drilling.”

When asked if he’s been impressed by the candidacies of Alex Sink for Governor and Kendrick Meek for U.S. Senate, Chiles said he really wasn’t, saying specifically he hadn’t heard them talk about reforming the job market or about reforming health care (Meek has been a strong supporter of health care reform, while Sink has taken a wait and see attitude about the public option).

Chiles began his journey on September 1st, and says people are excited about it.  “When you walk 600 miles (his goal), people are inspired by it.  They know that you’re motives are right and that we want to make a difference.”

In today’s report:

• There has been much written about Florida’s legislative leaders in 2010 (Dean Cannon and Mike Haridopolus) being advocates of offshore drilling, and how a repeal of the 1990 ban in Florida is only a matter of time.

Perhaps, but those officials aren’t completely in control right now.  Jeff Atwater is in control of the Florida Senate, and he is in no rush to bring up the issue anytime soon.

• Although Paula Dockery filed paperwork last week declaring her candidacy for governor, the Lakeland Republican makes it official in Lakeland this afternoon.

• And health care. Yes, the House passed a bill over the weekend, but there are a number of critics who favor reform who say the bill does virtually nothing to contain costs.

Download the report here.

Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater announced yesterday that he wants to see reports from a number of different organizations before having serious discussions about offshore drilling.

It is not the first time that Atwater, running for the GOP nomination for CEO, has made less than enthusiastic remarks about offshore drilling, which certainly puts him in a different camp than the man set to replace him as Senate leader, Mike Haridopolous.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat:

Atwater killed the proposal this spring when (House Speaker-designate Dean) Cannon pushed it in the waning days of the legislative session. He went a step further on Monday, saying that he was in no hurry to bring the issue up in the next legislative session that begins in March.

Naturally, drilling opponents were thrilled to hear the news.  Audubon of Florida’s Eric Draper told the Democrat:

“Finally, we’ve got a grown up in the process who is saying that this is a major proposed change in state policy and that we should take our time and maybe not do it at all.”

Senator Bill Nelson, who described himself yesterday as “on a one man crusade on offshore drilling” discussed both the federal and state initiatives to try to bring offshore drilling to Florida’s shores – in the case of the state proposal, as close as 3 miles.

However, props to the Tampa Tribune’s William March, who called out Nelson in his article today for using incorrect figures when discussing potential negative effects on tourism that could be created due to an oil spill.

In his address yesterday, Nelson said that an oil tanker spill in 1992 off of Pinellas County resulted in 2 years of 45 percent declines in tourism revenue.

But as March reports:

In fact, no such declines occurred. The figures, from a Sierra Club report in August, are hypothetical figures on the possible effects of a severe spill. The Sierra Club incorrectly cited the figures as actual but then acknowledged the error.

Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said Nelson “had not been made aware of the Sierra Club’s clarification, but it doesn’t change the point of fact he was making: Oil drilling off the coast of Florida will damage the state’s economy and environment.”

Despite the hyperbole, Nelson is the best friend that environmentalists and others who hope on a federal level that offshore drilling won’t be happening anytime soon in the Sunshine State.  He also dismissed claims by the industry that drilling techniques are much more sophisticated now, saying such ’sophisticated’ techniques were used by those operating the deep water rig that has led to an environmental catastrophe in Australia right now.

A new Gallup poll released today shows the American public basically divided in half on whether or not the health care reforms are what this country needs.  41% support changes to the system, while 40% believe that reforms will make things worse.

The problem for President Obama and Congressional Democrats all year long in their fight to reform health care has been that for those who do have health insurance, a great deal of those people like what they have and are fearful that changes will make things worse for them.

In politics, legislators like to campaign on things they can do for people.  In the case of health care reform, it’s been about changing the system, making it more cost effective (’bending the curve’ as they say), as well as on a more altruistic level, insuring as many of the 47 million or so people in this country without insurance.

The House bill roughly will cover 36 million more people, which is a major achievement.  Whether it actually brings down total costs is something that, unfortunately, may not be the case.

The NY Times reports today that there are serious concerns that the legislation doesn’t do nearly enough to do that:

some experts would like to see such changes adopted more quickly, and senators of both parties say they will press for more aggressive cost-cutting measures when the bill comes up for debate. But drastic changes in the health care reimbursement system could cost the White House the support of doctors and hospital groups, who have signed onto the legislation and are lobbying hard to keep the current fee-for-service system from being phased out too quickly.

Yesterday Florida U.S. Senate Democrat Bill Nelson was in Ybor City, where he shared some of his thoughts on what will now happen in the Senate.

He said what is pretty much considered conventional wisdom in the days after Saturday night’s dramatic cliff hanger of a vote – that the  Senate bill will be different.  Specifically, more centrist, as referred to the House bill as “tilted a bit to the left.”

The House and Senate bills are different in several ways.

1) Senate needs to figure out if there will be a public option of some sort

2) House bill strictly limits coverage of abortion

3) mandating employers to provide coverage to employees

4) Whether to tax high income people or those with high cost insurance plans (”Cadillac Plans”)

The Senate’s out this week for Veterans Day (In the rest of the world of course, most people get a day off for a Holiday, though most don’t get Veterans Day off.  In Congress, it’s always at least a week).  But when they return, the negotiations will get hot and heavy.

This afternoon in Lakeland, State Senator Paula Dockery “officially” announces her candidacy for the Republican nomination for Governor.  (We put officially in quotation marks since she filed the paperwork to run a week ago).

The event begins at 5:30 p.m.at Munn park.

On Sunday, Dockery’s hometown newspaper, The Lakeland Ledger, hailed her entrance into the race with an editorial titled, “Dockery a Convincing Leader”.

The editorial hailed what she has become perhaps best known for in the past couple of years, her battle with CSX rail:

During the past two sessions, Dockery has shown just how effective she can be. She led the effort to defeat a move to provide the CSX railroad with millions of dollars in state money, in exchange for use of 61 miles of rail lines in Orange County for a commuter-rail system. The deal-breaker Dockery found was this: The taxpayers would assume full liability for all accidents on the rail line, even if CSX equipment or employees were negligent.

Yesterday Florida U.S. Senator Bill Nelson was in Tampa, where he urged lawmakers to get a deal finished up  with SunRail and CSX in a special session next month, saying it will pave the way to make it easier for the federal government to award monies to Florida for a Tampa to Orlando high speed rail line.

But Dockery says there’s no need for that special session, telling the Ledger last week that “There has been no change in the very bad terms that the Florida Department of Transportation and CSX agreed upon many years ago in a back-room deal.”

Her steadfast position has been consistent, and is one of the reasons she has garnered enough grass roots support to think she has a fighter’s chance in her uphill battle against Bill McCollum.  However, it will be interesting to see how that plays out in the coming weeks, with so much of the political establishment desperately hoping for the light rail proposal to come to fruition, and thinking that the only way that might happen is if the state is able to make a deal the SunRail proposal back on track.

CL interviewed Dockery briefly last week for our upcoming story on her getting into the race for Governor.  In that interview, she stressed that she is a passionate supporter of all forms of rail (light, commuter, high speed) but that she believes the CSX deal is a loser for the taxpayers in the state.

Florida U.S. Senator Bill Nelson said today that the Tampa Bay area has taken a big leap in attempting to get high-speed rail to the region, and he placed great hopes on the Florida Legislature conducting a special session on rail issues  next month to show Washington that it means business about a a $2.5 billion federal stimulus request for high speed rail.

Speaking at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City, at an event hastily put together by the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Florida’s senior Senator said that the state’s chances of acquiring the funding “improve enormously”  if it can successfully deal with the issues with SunRail and TriRail, which the legislature has contended with for the past couple of years, but has never reached a deal.

Nelson gave a shout-out to former Hillsborough County Commissioner Ed Turanchik and his ConnectUs organization that has been formed to try to bring a Tampa-to-Orlando high speed rail line to Florida (though he did mispronounce Turanchik’s name).

Read the rest of this entry »

Although the U.S. Military is cautioning about making judgments about Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the American-born Muslim suspected of killing 13 and wounding 29 others at Ford Hood last week, Joe Lieberman calls the shooting a ‘terrorist act.“

Two Florida Democrats were among the 39 who voted against the health care bill in the House Saturday night.  So was Ohio’s Dennis Kucinich.

And on Bay News 9 yesterday, Governor Charlie Crist tried to walk back his denial of supporting the stimulus bill by talking about why he supported it.  Really.

Download the report here.

For Sunday morning political news junkies, there are a myriad of national programs to view before getting to local programming — that being Political Connections, a Bay News 9/St. Petersburg Times joint effort.

Yesterday’s appearance by Governor Charlie Crist, now more under fire than at any other time in his tenure , was one of the more interesting shows in a long time.

Crist has been blasted significantly in the past week for his baffling comment to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer   last week about the federal stimulus bill, saying, “I didn’t endorse it — you know, I didn’t even have a vote on the darned thing. But I understood that it was going to pass and I wanted to be able to utilize it for the benefit of my fellow Floridians.”

That comment has been ranked as a flat-out fib  by organizations such as PolitiFact.

Yesterday on Political Connections, co-host Adam Smith asked the governor what he was thinking when he made his remark to Wolf Blitzer last week?.

He didn’t answer the question directly, but instead pivoted to his response on why he thought backing the stimulus and accepting the federal funds “was the right thing to do.  I had a duty as the CEO of the state to do whatever’s possiible to try to help the economy.”

In his zeal to step away literally from the president, Crist told reporters two weeks ago that he had no idea that Obama was in Florida, leading to more ridicule.

Although much has been written and reported on the rise of Marco Rubio in his race against Crist in the GOP Senate Primary taking place late next summer, the fact of the matter is that Crist still leads Rubio by 15%, according to a recent poll taken by Quinnipiac University.

Seemingly as equally problematic with conservatives for Crist was his (literal) embrace of President Obama back in February in Lee County, a problem that Crist admitted to yesterday, but when asked if he regretted it, said no.

“No, I don’t(regret it).  I was raised to be decent, kind and civil.”

The Guv said he thought it was unusual and unwarranted to become such a punching bag for conservatives,  and blamed the faltering economy for some of the animus, saying, “I have a theory ….these are the most challenging econommic times that we’ve faced the great depression….sometimes there’s a desire to blame someone.”

Meanwhile, the Hillsborough County Democratic Black Caucus held an event on Friday night in Tampa, where Kendrick Meek was featured as the guest speaker.  But the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate had to stay in D.C. for the historic vote in the House on health care on Saturday.

Meek is featured today in Politico in an article titled, “Kendrick Meek is moving to the center.”

However, Meek denies the thesis of the piece, though it’s apparent and necessary for the Congressman to pivot on some issues as he tries to make himself a viable statewide choice in the Senate next year.

I interviewed Meek live on WMNF radio two weeks ago, asking him about his withdrawal of support for a single-payer health care bill.  He admitted he didn’t think it had any chance of going anywhere.  He was right about that.  But he’s been a passionate enthusiast for the health care bill overall, which will certainly be an issue if he’s the nominee facing either Crist or Rubio next year.

Blue Dog North Florida Representative Allen Boyd and Orlando area Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas were the two Democrats who joined all of the Republicans in the Florida Congressional Caucus in voting against the $1.1 trillion health care reform bill.  The bill barely squeaked by in the House Saturday night on a 220-215 vote.

In a lengthy press release his office distributed before his vote, Boyd, who represents the Panhandle area, concluded:

“My vote against H.R. 3962, the House’s first attempt at a healthcare bill, is not a vote against responsible reform.  Rather, it is a signal that our work in Congress is not yet complete.  Reducing the cost of healthcare services must be the focus of any reform package, and I will continue working, as I’ve always done, to fix what’s wrong with our healthcare system, to continue what’s right, and to ensure Americans have access to affordable, quality coverage they need.”

On Fox News Sunday yesterday, Connecticut Independent Senator Joe Lieberman boldly  suggested that Major Nidal Malik Hasan  could have been an Islamic extremist, and that his violent attack at Fort Hood in which he is accused of killing 13 people and wounding another 29 was a terrorist attack.

Lieberman, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, cautioned that it was too early to reach conclusions, but said that what was known was that Hasan was under personal stress “and if the reports we are receiving are accurate,” that he had turned to Islamic extremism.  If true, Lieberman told Fox News’ Chris Wallace, “the murder of these 13 people was a terrorist act, and the most destructive terrorist act on U.S. soil since 9/11,” but he added at the end of that statement, “we don’t know enough to say.”

And Lieberman said yesterday that he is prepared to conduct an investigation into any signals the Army might have missed in knowing more about Hasan.

We don’t know enough to say now, but there are very, very strong warning signs here.  The U.S. Army, the Department of Defense has a real obligation to convene an independent investigation to go back and look at whether warning signs were missed, both the stress he was under, but also the statements he was making that have led people to believe he was an Islamist extremist.”

Meanwhile, ABC News is reporting that the U.S. intelligence agencies were aware that Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with Al-Qaeda.

Investigators want to know if Hasan maintained contact with a radical mosque leader from Virginia, Anwar al Awlaki, who now lives in Yemen and runs a web site that promotes jihad around the world against the U.S.

In a blog posting early Monday titled “Nidal Hassan Did the Right Thing,” Awlaki calls Hassan a “hero” and a “man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people.”

Representing the military on three different talk shows yesterday was the U.S. Army’s Chief of Staff, General George Casey Jr., who admitted he was concerned about the possibility of Muslim troopers experiencing a backlash of Hasan’s violent act.  And Casey said, “It would be a shame — as great a tragedy as this was — it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well.”

And yesterday on CBS’ Face The Nation, Rhode Island Democratic Senator Jack Reed said that in the wake of the Fort Hood tragedy, Congress needs to take a closer look at what the Army has been doing in terms of adequate care for U.S. soldiers.

South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham said it was “easy to second guess” at this juncture, but that he wouldn’t do so. He said to wait for the evidence to unfold and not overreact. He said, “You can be in the military and disagree with policy (which Hasan reportedly did). It’ s not about his religion, it’s not about Islam, it’s about him.”

In trying to reinforce Graham’s point, host Bob Schieffer added that “Christians have had their full helping of nuts” as well.  Schieffer also asked what the Fox News analysts suggested yesterday: That the military had been afraid to investigate Hasan because of fears they’d be accused of discrimination.

Graham said, “His action’s don’t reflect the Muslim faith.  …let’s not take this to another level.  Let’s not suggest that we gave him a pass because he’s a Muslim.”

Nidal Malik Hasan remains in critical condition, but was removed from his ventilator on Saturday.

Shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday night, the House of Representatives approved their $1.1 trillion plan to bring comprehensive and affordable health care coverage to an estimated 36 million people who currently do not have it.

The final vote was 220-215, with 1  Republican, New Orleans area Representative . Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana the only member of the House GOP to support the plan; 39 Democrats opposed it.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly was able to cobble the 218 votes she needed by allowing that a controversial amendment sponsored by Michigan Representative Bart Stupak that would put tight restrictions barring any insurance plan that is purchased with government subsidies from covering abortions.

Many pro-choice Democrats hope that amendment can be altered after the Senate votes on their bill.

Tampa area Democrat Kathy Castor hailed the vote.  In a press release issued out immediately after the vote, she said:

“Floridians win. In the Tampa Bay area alone, nearly 2.3 million residents with health insurance will see improved employer-based health coverage. More than 100,000 area small businesses could qualify for tax credits to provide health insurance to their employees. And approximately 631,000 uninsured individuals will finally gain access to health insurance.

“The Affordable Health Care for America Act we passed today offers stability, security and vital consumer protections that will take effect immediately. You won’t have to pay co-pays or deductibles for preventive care and you won’t be denied coverage if you have a pre-existing condition. You do not have to worry about insurance companies canceling your coverage if you are diagnosed with cancer or another ailment. You do not have to worry about health insurance companies barring you from coverage because you had cancer that is in remission or have recovered from heart disease. You will not go bankrupt when serious illness strikes. You will have meaningful, affordable, stable and dependable health insurance coverage.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he hopes to have the Senate vote on their version of the bill by Thanksgiving, but speculation has it that it may not happen that soon.

Tonight on the USF Tampa campus, a group of students intend to put a focus on the homeless situation by simulating a homeless camp on the campus grounds for one night.

Christy Burke is assistant director of the USF Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement.  She says tonight’s event is part of  National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week , for which universities across the country are holding similar  ‘Campus Sleepout’ events.  But she says that the environment being created on the campus is nothing like how most homeless contend with the elements.

Food and water will be available for the students participating in the project, which begins at 6 p.m. tonight.

Robin Mansour is in her second year of studies in Biomedical Sciences, and the student coordinator for the event.  She says in light of the recent (non)actions by the Hillsborough County Commission regarding the homeless,  students tonight  will meet in small groups to discuss legislation and other recent news about the homeless.

Mansour says, “Homelessness is becoming such an issue with the economy,  and a lot of the stereotypes are starting to disappear.  We desperately need to shelter these these people, most of them who aren’t dangerous, and aren’t predominantly drug and alcohol abusers.”

On the day Hillsborough Commissioners rejected the proposed tent city style of housing for the homeless last month, one resident in East Lake , Linda Hinson, was quoted in the New York Times as saying “I don’t have to go out and get a gun.”

That comment stunned Robin Mansour.  “It’s a little shocking,” she said, adding, “There’s a lot of fear and stigma of the homeless out there.”

As speculation continues on what led to Thursday’s crazed shooting spree by Nidal Hassan at Fort Hood yesterday, the Secretary of Veteran Affairs, General Eric Shinseki, is scheduled to speak today on the USF Tampa campus.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her underlings will be working furiously today to try to gather the 218 votes she needs to pass a health care reform bill that includes a public option tomorrow.

And the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce intends to honor Mayor Rick Baker tomorrow for all of the successes  that the Chamber believes have occurred under the Baker administration.  But there are activists who say the whole story needs to be told, and they plan on protesting the event tomorrow night.

We may not have an audio podcast up today.  But we’ll be back for certain on Monday a.m.

In two months, the Rick Baker era ends. St. Petersburg’s mayor moves on, possibly toward the only job he’s said he really wants: replacing Carl Kuttler as the head of St. Petersburg College.

But before he goes, his critics want to let him know how they really feel about him.

Yesterday a coalition of activist groups, including St. Pete For Peace, announced that they would protest Saturday night’s St. Pete Chamber of Commerce “Bon Voyage Shindig,” now scheduled to take place at Demens Landing.

In the words of the Reverend Bruce Wright, “If you’re going to honor him for his accomplishments, let’s tell the truth about his failures.”

When asked today by CL what he considers to be Baker’s shortcomings, the homeless activist rattles off a litany of issues. “The elimination of public housing. Tent slashing by his police department.  Black youth being shot by his police department. The harassment of youth in general. Destroying civil liberties by vacating the sidewalk at BayWalk. His lack of movement on the environment, which is why we still don’t have curbside recycling.”

But Wright says for all of Baker’s failures, he’s concerned about what might come next in a Bill Foster administration. “It’s frightening,” he says. “I think our city is going to go in an even worse position.”

Demens Landing is located at Bayshore Drive and 1st Avenue SE in St. Petersburg.  Activists want people to show up there at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Later today, President Obama is expected to visit the House to rally support for the biggest issue of his young presidency domestically, health care reform.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has told the members of the House to come to the Capitol at 9 a.m. Saturday to vote on the 10-year, $1.05 trillion health care legislation.

What a 24 hours it should be for Madame Speaker.

Pelosi needs 218 votes, which means doing whatever she can (legally) to convince the disparate members of her caucus to support the bill.  If the bill goes down to defeat, you will never hear the end of it from Republicans and the Washington press corps.

The president and House Speaker scored a couple of major endorsements yesterday when both the American Medical Association and the AARP came out in support of the bill.

The AARP has received scathing criticism from some conservatives throughout the year for speaking positively about health care reform.

Count Brooksville Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite among those critics.  After the AARP’s endorsement yesterday, she sent out a press release blasting the group by writing:

“There was a time when AARP represented the interests of retired people — this endorsement proves that those days are long gone.  The Democrats’ health care bill cuts $400 billion from Medicare — the very program that AARP’s members paid for and rely on.

“AARP is running a great risk by endorsing a bill that does not clearly determine which health plans will be allowed under this legislation.  This bill leaves it up to Washington bureaucrats to make that determination once the bill is passed and signed into law.

“AARP members deserve to know the true reasons behind their endorsement of this bill.  If they are not standing up to the interests of seniors, then whose interests are they standing up for?”

As I reported on yesterday, despite the mocking of Speaker Pelosi for saying of Tuesday night’s election results that it had actually been a good night for Democrats, it was a good night for her in her quest to get 218 votes by Saturday.

California’s John Garamendi, elected Tuesday in a district east of San Francisco, and Bill Owens, who won the much hyped New York District 23 race over independent conservative Doug Hoffman, both have said they support the health care bill that they’ll vote on tomorrow.

That’s not to say that there aren’t Democrats, particularly those from Republican-leaning districts in the South, who will oppose the legislation.  There are still negotiations going on today on delicate issues like abortion provisions and care for legal and illegal immigrants.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki  is scheduled to give the keynote address today at 12:30 p.m. during a daylong student veterans’ conference on the USF-Tampa campus.

No doubt he will reference the tragedy yesterday at Fort Hood, where, as of this morning, an Army psychiatrist (right) is suspected of killing 13 people and wounding 30 others in a shooting rampage. The suspect remains hospitalized and on a ventilator.

As of this morning, nobody quite knows for sure what set off Major Nidal Malik Hasan, other than reports that he absolutely did not want to go to Iraq, where he was scheduled to be deployed  later this month.

Former Army General Shinseki’s appearance comes just a few days after he announced a plan to end homelessness among veterans in the next five years, which includes pledging $3.2 billion over the next year to address the problem.

His plan includes preventive measures, including support services for incarcerated veterans who are re-entering society; a national referral center that can link veterans to programs in their areas; and expansions in education, job training, health care and housing.

“In the past, VA focused largely on getting homeless veterans off the streets,” Shinseki said. “Our five-year plan aims  day after also at preventing them from ever ending up homeless.”

With more time to digest the results of Tuesday’s elections nationally, the question remains: what does it all mean?

The Tampa City Council today will vote on adding gender identity to their human rights ordinance, and in Hillsborough County, the campaign for a one-cent sales tax referendum slowly begins.

Download the report here.

With time hopefully comes perspective, so we will again revisit what nationally some political analysts are deciphering from Tuesday’s elections across the nation.

One of the more interesting takes I read this morning comes from Daniel Henninger in the Wall Street Journal, in a column titled “The Permanent Tea Party.”

Henninger writes about how the GOP is “spinning” the results in Virginia and New Jersey (where Republicans were victorious in gubernatorial elections) as “proof” that voters are fed up with liberal ideologues in the White House and Congress, but adds, “it’s deeper than that.”

He goes on to conclude:

So the Republicans “won” Tuesday. Now what?

Just as the Democrats in 2008 ran mainly against “Bush,” the Republican political model seems to be to let Democratic failure dump states like New Jersey and Virginia into their control. But I think most voters, no matter their party registration, know that in the past 12 months the stakes for them have suddenly become larger than political “control.”

Unless leadership emerges equal to the new world voters see they have fallen into, volatility in America’s election returns is going to be the norm for a long time.

The more immediate question is how it affects the Democratic-led Congress, and the fight to get a health care reform bill passed.

Read the rest of this entry »

5-2.

That was the vote yesterday by Hillsborough County Commissioners to have the county attorney prepare a resolution indicating that the commissioners intend to look at a 1 cent sales tax referendum on the ballot a year from now.

Commissioners Jim Norman and Al Higginbotham voted no, and based on their rhetoric yesterday, show no signs of supporting the proposal when it comes back before them in the next few months.

But as long as no other commissioners defect, the path to getting the measure on the ballot will happen. (For such a referendum, the Hillsborough Charter states that there must be a super majority, or 5 votes, to do so.)

Commissioner Norman has been nothing if not consistent in his criticism of the proposal, though his reasons are multiple.

He said yesterday he would support such a plan, but not a ‘fragmented one.’

But Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, who had a front row seat during the deliberations at the County Center yesterday, completely disagreed, telling WMNF radio that the plan has been prepared by the seven-county agency that is TBARTA, and is quite cohesive.

Norman also balked at the fact that there was no feasibility report attached to the proposal yesterday.

Lucia Garsys, speaking for the Hillsborough County Transportation Task Force that presented the plan, said that Mike Merrill and Eric Johnson with the County’s Budget Department were currently working with officials with HART on that, and would present it to the board by the time they next voted on the measure in December.

Coming up with a different reason why he wasn’t buying into the plan was Commissioner Higginbotham.   He said that the resolution of intent allows financial supporters (or opponents) a “cloak of secrecy” because they could contribute financially to the proposal without reporting it.

County Attorney Renee Lee said that was the case and would be until the next vote the board had on the matter in December.  Higginbotham said that Tuesday’s elections across the country indicated that “voters said yesterday that they find this type of business as usual” unacceptable.

Higginbotham said he worried about getting an earful from his grandkids in two or three decades, asking “Where’s the money?”

Commissioner Mark Sharpe, the leading cheerleader on the board to bring light rail to Tampa and the region, acknowledged that it’s always tough to ask the voters to increase their taxes, especially in the current economic environment.  But as he has said in the past, he believed the County had no alternative but to go forward, and promoted the plan (as did others) as an economic engine that will ultimately bring more jobs to Tampa Bay.

Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair, a candidate for State House in District 47 next year, has come up with his own idea to help the homeless, after  watching his former colleagues on the Board of County Commissioners fail to come up with their own plan.

Blair says he wants to renovate at least one vacant hotel to house those without housing.

From his press release:

“It makes sense, across the board. Hotels are already equipped for sheltering people. And it would, at the same time, help the homeless and create jobs,” he added. Blair says the plan would entail selecting a vacant hotel and targeting it for renovation. Then, county homeless people would be moved in-after background checks-with attention paid to grouping them by gender and/or families. Blair said, though, that people wouldn’t be able to stay there indefinitely, in order to ensure that vacancies would be created for others.

Last month the Commission rejected a long discussed proposal by Catholic Charities to build a tent-city like structure off of East Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa.  After receiving stinging criticism from the editorial boards of both local dailies and from many citizens, Commissioners Kevin White and Al Higginbotham then simultaneously thought of the Floriland mall in Tampa as a possible site for the homeless.

But that idea went nowhere after the landlord of the property said he had no intention of using the land for such a purpose.  Also, local residents weren’t happy about the idea, and even less so that they weren’t consulted before White & Higginbotham made their proposal.

During that discussion, Commissioner Higginbotham stressed that it was important to show the community that “they cared,” though absolutely no vetting had been done to actually ensure that the homeless had a legitimate place to stay.

The Commission’s rejection of the Catholic Charities proposal made national news, as the New York Times reported on the fine compassionate citizens of Hillsborough such as Linda Hinson of East Lake, who said of the defeat of the camp plan that “I don’t have to go out and get a gun.” She declared that there were already enough shelters.

After spending a record $225,000, Bill Foster has captured the Mayoral race in St. Petersburg.

Nationally, Democrats and Republicans are spinning furiously about what if anything yesterday’s elections in New York, New Jersey and Virginia mean on a national basis.

And Hillsborough County Commissioners sit down to finally get serious about a possible referendum on transportation that could go before the voters in a year.

Download the report here

There were three main races that the nation’s political pundit class were focusing on yesterday as possible referendums on the state of the Obama Administration and the state of the nation.

So, with Republicans winning governors’ races in New Jersey and Virginia, but losing a highly focused Congressional race in upstate New York, what’s it all mean the day after? Read the rest of this entry »

Bill Foster awakens this morning to his lifelong dream: He is now the mayor of St. Petersburg.

A somewhat exhausted Foster shook hands and hugged supporters on Central Avenue for hours after Kathleen Ford called to concede the election right around 8 p.m. last evening.

Foster won with nearly 53% of the vote, to Ford’s 47%.

I did not make a prediction prior to last night, but I did believe that the election would not be over by 8 p.m.  That was a stunner to me.  In the last poll taken several weeks ago, Ford had a somewhat precarious 5% lead. Ford did much better in the early voting than among those who came out to the polls yesterday, leading support to those who might believe that her H.N.I.C. comment damaged her, particularly among black voters.

At 7:50 p.m., Bay News 9 showed Foster up by 6%.  It was at that time that Ford realized the jig was up, and shortly afterward made her concession speech and called Foster to congratulate him.

I unfortunately missed the speech.  A) Because I was just leaving Ferg’s, but B) because Ford’s campaign event was as far west of downtown as you could get without being on Treasure Island Beach!  I arrived at the Sunshine Center around 8:30 p.m., and by then the place was a virtual mausoleum.  Some supporters were in near tears, but others appeared to be moving on quickly, satiating their hurt by consuming some of the generous supply of food prepared earlier in the evening.

I only had a few moments with Kathleen Ford to talk about the results.  Frankly, it was difficult.  So many months of hard work and dedication, all over in less than an hour.  Although she apparently made other remarks to members of the press regarding her media coverage, she wouldn’t go there with me, simply responding that she didn’t think the St. Pete Times’ harsh coverage of her on their editorial page made any difference, and refused to speculate how significant their endorsement of Bill Foster might have been.

Foster was extremely humble in victory, praising Ford for running a strong campaign against him, and calling her a friend, saying, “I’m still crazy about her.  And I need her.” Read the rest of this entry »

Today Hillsborough County Commissioners are  scheduled to formally begin discussions on ballot language for a 1 cent sales tax referendum for light rail, increased bus service and improved roads.

But Commissioner Mark Sharpe now says that today the Board will simply hear from the County’s Transportation Task Force, and the discussion on the language for the measure won’t come until next month.

The discussion  comes two days after an estimated 300 people flocked to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Brandon for a transportation forum featuring Pat McCrory, the longtime mayor of Charlotte, NC.

McCrory, a Republican who lost in his bid to be governor of North Carolina last fall, is the longest-serving mayor in Charlotte history. He made  his presentation, “Mayberry & Metropolis: The Best of Both Worlds,”  to a group that appeared to be pretty much in support of light rail.  And it was a good show, because McCrory is an energetic and enthusiastic communicator. Read the rest of this entry »

Stacy Frank, an attorney and small business owner who has been involved in a public controversy this year over her company’s involvement in developing cell towers in some Hillsborough County public schools, today announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for District 57 in the Florida House of Representatives.  The seat is open due to the exile of Fay Culp, who is term-limited from office.

In a press release issued this afternoon, Frank,who is the daughter of  Hillsborough Clerk of the Circuit Court Pat Frank said:

“I am running for the Florida Legislature because Tallahassee needs leadership that will make better choices.  Florida is at a crossroads – unemployment is at 11% and our state’s population is declining. Our legislature needs to act responsibly, with an emphasis on lightening the taxpayer’s burden while preserving essential services. We can make fiscally responsible decisions that do not mortgage Florida’s future while preserving what we love about our state.”

Included in her press release is a veritable who’s who of Tampa Democrats endorsing Frank, including Congresswoman Kathy Castor and four members of the Tampa City Council (Linda Saul-Sena, Charlie Miranda, Thomas Scott and Gwen Miller).

The District encompasses Westchase, Town N Country, and South Tampa.  GOP candidates who have already declared their candidacy for the seat include A.J. Matthews, Todd Marks, Dan Molloy and Dana Young.

The only other declared Democrat in the race is Clifford Somers.

It’s been awhile since a Hillsborough County Democrat took a seat that has been in Republican hands in the legislature, but Frank is well known and could be a contender.  Two years ago, Fay Culp beat first time Democratic challenge Yolie Capin.

But Frank could face organized opposition from some South Tampa parents who targeted her personally when her company, Collier Enterprises II, worked on getting cell phone towers erected on the campuses of some Hillsborough County schools.

Well, it’s election day in St. Petersburg.  Foster or Ford?  Danner or Schmiege? Kornell or Rouson? We’ll mercifully know by tonight who’ll be governing St. Pete post Rick Baker.

There are state and local elections throughout the country, some said to have national implications.  I know Rush Limbaugh said  the other day that Barack Obama has a massive ego, but that still doesn’t mean that these races are necessarily about the President.

And the most interesting story of the day is that Lakeland State Senator Paula Dockery will be entering the race for the GOP nomination for Governor.

Download the report here

In addition to tonight’s election for mayor and City Council in St. Pete, there are governors’ races in  New Jersey and Virginia this off-year election, which political analysts invariably call a referendum in part on the leadership in Washington.

I never heard that said as often before this decade, but I’m willing to go for that ride.

In 2001, a year after George W. Bush (barely) took over the White House, voters in Virginia and NJ voted for Democrats for governor, Mark Warner and James McGreevey respectively.  What did that portend for the Congressional elections in 2002?  Absolutely nothing, as it turned out, as the Republicans took more seats in the Congress.

Now it’s true in 2005 that the Dems took both of those states again in governor’s races (Tim Kaine and Jon Corzine, respectively), and then the Dems stunningly took back the House and Senate in 2006.  But I think most of you would agree that there were a few things out there, like the increasingly unpopular Iraq war, excessive government spending on the behalf of Republicans both in Congress and the White House, and what was known as the “culture of corruption” (Jack Abramoff and Mark Foley, come on down!) that played a far greater role in the Democrats’ success.

Read the rest of this entry »

St. Petersburg registered voters have until 7 p.m. tonight to cast their ballot for mayor and five City Council races.

There will be no prediction in this space on who will be the victor tonight.  All indications going into today are that it will be a close race, though we can say with certainty that as of this writing, over 22,000 registered voters have sent in their ballots by mail, nearly 38 percent of those who requested those ballots before today’s election.

Though newspaper endorsements have lost their influence over the years, there is still the belief that the St. Pete Times editorial page carries a punch when it comes to their choices.

Today’s editorial, entitled “Vote for steady progress,” is again a variation on the theme that the page has carried since the general election in early September — that a vote for Kathleen Ford would be a disaster for the city.

In the editorial, the Times writes almost mournfully about the “over-reliance” on voting by mail (which is probably accurate) by Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark.  But the Times chides Clark in reference to Ford’s now weeks-old gaffe uttered on Bubba the Love Sponge’s show:

More than 20,000 St. Petersburg voters already have cast ballots, meaning as much as half the vote could be in before the polls open today. Thousands of those ballots were cast before mayoral candidate Kathleen Ford used a derogatory racial term in reference to Deputy Mayor Goliath Davis III on a radio show, then dodged reporters for days before illogically claiming she was set up. How many of those voters would like their ballots back?

The editorial concludes by looking at past history as a (hopeful) indication of tonight’s results:

St. Petersburg voters usually favor steady progress over abrupt changes in direction. For that tradition to continue, voters who have been largely silent in this campaign season have to go to the polls today and be counted.

The contempt for Ford and her supporters has been pretty consistent on that page.  If Ms. Ford is victorious tonight, a sure loser other than her opponent will be that editorial page.

The Associated Press is reporting that Lakeland State Senator Paula Dockery will file the paperwork to declare herself a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor in 2010.

Dockery said weeks ago that she would announce in November, and had been hinting for months before that that she was seriously contemplating a run.

This is good news for the state GOP, and potentially bad news for Alex Sink and Florida Democrats. Read the rest of this entry »

There will be no runoff election in Afghanistan this weekend (I know, we were all looking forward to the revote between Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah).  Karzai’s in, but what, if anything, will this mean for the U.S. interests?  Reportedly President Obama will meet at least two more times with his advisers on the strategy going forward.

As those discussions continue, the  young State Department official whose resignation was made public is getting  lots of face time.  Matthew Hoh appeared this morning on The Today Show, and yesterday on CNN

St. Pete Times/Miami Herald/Bay News 9 released a series of polls over the weekend, and it’s policy more than policy-makers that is most provocative in those results.

And on Sunday talk, Fox News gave Rush Limbaugh a platform for the first half of their one-hour program yesterday.  Too bad nothing interesting came out of it, other than the odious comment that President Obama’s appearance at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware last week was nothing more than a publicity stunt, according to Rush.

Most interesting was Joe Lieberman on CBS, saying he’d rather have nothing happen with health care reform than to allow for a government-run public option.

Download the report here.

In Afghanistan this morning, officials have canceled the run-off election scheduled for this Saturday, declaring Hamid Karzai the winner after his opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, said he would not participate in the re-vote.

What does this mean in terms of the calculation that President Obama is working with in deciding troop levels in that country?

Well, apparently not much.  Yesterday on CBS’s Face the Nation, White House strategist David Axelrod said “Every poll that had been taken there suggested that he was likely to be defeated anyway, so we are going to deal with the government that is there.”   True.  But members of the administration (always anonymous) have also been badmouthing Karzai in published reports about Afghanistan for awhile now.

Meanwhile, foreign service officer Matthew Hoh, who resigned in protest over U.S. policy in Afghanistan, spoke this morning’s on NBC’s Today Show.

He also spoke for a longer duration on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” yesterday.

Hoh has said (among other things ) that the Afghan people view U.S. troops as occupiers and that it makes no sense to carry on.

A year before Floridians go to the polls to vote for a new governor and U.S. Senator,  the St. Pete Times/Miami Herald released a series of polls this weekend that could have serious implications on how state policy evolves over the next year.

Among the most revealing: By a 47 to 40% margin, Floridians are against a government-run public health care insurance option.  But that sentiment is completely divided along party lines, perhaps evidence why Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink is so anguished over expressing her opinion on the manner.

According to the poll:

Democratic voters were overwhelmingly in favor of the public option, 62-24 percent. But Republicans opposed it by an even bigger spread, 74-16 percent. Independent voters, who ultimately decide elections in Florida, tended to side with Republicans in opposing the public option, 46-38 percent.

CFO Sink has been ridiculed by Attorney General and potential GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum for not coming out with a position on the much-discussed public option, going so far as to ask House Speaker Nancy Pelosi  to ascertain Sink’s position last week when the San Francisco Democrat was in Florida.

Another major result in the survey that also splits along party lines but has heavy Republican support is on offshore drilling.

The poll shows 54% of voters supporting drilling off Florida’s coast, and 40 percent opposing it.  The story accompanying the poll results reported “Republicans overwhelmingly supported drilling, independents backed it by a double-digit margin while Democrats were opposed. “

You can bet the farm that these numbers will be repeated ad nauseam in the coming months by offshore drilling proponents leading up to the legislature convening next March, in which a vote on repealing the 1990 law banning drilling off the coast will come up for a vote.

The Times/Herald/Bay News 9 poll released on Sunday highlighted the fact that, not surprisingly considering the avalanche of negative publicity regarding Governor Crist (much of it self-inflicted), now “just” 42% consider Crist to be doing an excellent job. However, only 16% consider him to be doing a poor job.

The poll also shows Crist with a substantial lead over his challenger for the GOP nomination for Senate next year, 50 to 28%.  That’s a damn good lead, considering all the good publicity Rubio has been generating in recent months.

The poll shows Alex Sink essentially tied with Bill McCollum in a mock matchup which has a full year to develop if it actually occurs.  “If” is issued here based on the possibility that Lakeland GOP Senator Paula Dockery can somehow knock off the much better-financed and -known McCollum, if, as rumored, she announces her candidacy for the GOP nomination this coming week.

Regardless, on these two major public policy issues, public sentiment in Florida has swung to the GOP side of things.

The Times gets a third front page story out of their poll in Monday’s editions, which indicates that if state Republicans asked in this survey could vote tomorrow between Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist for Governor, the former two-term governor celebrity would squash the current incumbent, 71 to 22%.

Why does this matter? The theory goes that if Jeb decides to endorse Crist’s GOP Senate opponent, Marco Rubio, it would be game over for Charlie in his Senate race.  Would Bush do that, though, since that could theoretically tear apart the party?  He might.  But endorsements only go so far.  The Times/Herald/Bay News 9 poll conducted over the weekend indicates that despite all of his momentum, Rubio could benefit from some major development, considering that he’s still down by 22% points.

Connecticut Independent Senator Joe Lieberman proudly displayed his free agent status on Sunday when he declared on CBS’ Face The Nation program Sunday that he feels so strongly against “another government entitlement” that he will use his power as a single member of that august body to vote against any health care bill that includes a government-run public option.

When asked by host Bob Schieffer why, given all the issues with health care in the U.S., he’d prefer nothing to having the public option, the former Democratic Party nominee for vice president gave more ammunition to the liberals who loathe him by answering, “Nothing is better than that. “  Lieberman then invoked the Hippocratic oath in justifying his threat to filibuster, saying the government should “do no harm” on something like health care.

Lieberman then referenced the fact that the Congressional Budget Office last week reported that the public plan (which the CBO says might only actually insure 6 million people, which, if accurate, means we’ve all been spending too much time on this one aspect of health care reform)  would charge higher premiums than the average premiums being offered by insurance companies.  Lieberman asked in his distinctive nasal tones, “Why would we want to do that?”

When asked if his intransigence had anything to do with the fact that he represents the insurance capital of the U.S., Connecticut, in the Senate, Lieberman said absolutely not.

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader John Boehner said over the weekend that the Republicans will soon unveil their own health care legislation this week, that would propose new limits on medical malpractice lawsuits and make it easier for individuals and small businesses to pool resources to purchase insurance.

Late this afternoon, just hours before controversial reggae singer Buju Banton’s concert at the Cuban Club in Ybor City was to take place, an emergency meeting was held inside radio station WMNF.

Banton’s song “Boom Bye Bye” advocates gay-bashing and murder, and has led  to a letter-writing campaign by the LGBT group  Equality Florida to protest Banton’s shows in Jacksonville, Miami and in Ybor City.

WMNF has had a relationship with the Cuban Club for years, using the facility for their popular Heatwave concerts.  But after one board member reportedly questioned whether that relationship should continue because of the controversy over Banton, Station Manager Jim Bennett called a meeting at 4p.m. on Friday.

Representing the Cuban Club was La Gaceta editor and publisher Patrick Manteiga, who sits on the Executive Committee of the Foundation Board of the Cuban Club.

The Cuban Club booked the show earlier this week after the show was canceled at the Ritz Theatre and Jannus Landing.  During a discussion with Bennett, Equality Florida’s Brian Winfield and several staff and board members of WMNF, Manteiga said the promoter had come to the Cuban Club because the Ritz had not sold many tickets for the event.

But others say that the Ritz wanted nothing to do with the show.

Manteiga said in the last 24 hours, Cuban Club board members had received some hate e-mail for booking the show.  He said that no one with the Club had any clue about the controversy surrounding Banton.

“What we’ve done is ask this artist not to perform this song, we’ve increased the deposit, and if he performs this song, we’ll keep the deposit,” Manteiga said.  He also said that the promoter agreed to pay for three additional police officers to staff the event.

Brian Winfield of Equality Florida told CL that his group was not satisfied with the Cuban Club agreeing to let the show go on, saying they were literally giving him a platform to deliver his hateful message toward gays and lesbians.

Winfield said he was not there to dictate to WMNF what their policy should be toward Banton (WMNF Program Director Randy Wynne said the station has only played “Boom Bye Bye” one time, and has a policy of not airing it.  But he says that they do play other songs from his repertoire.  During the meeting, he said “the bulk of his material does not reflect his message.”)

“We’re asking  community members and leaders like WMNF to stand up and clearly stand against the murderous message that Buju Banton represents and incites violence against gay people,” Winfield said.

He said that his group had no intention of protesting in front of the Cuban Club for Friday night’s performance.

(Full disclosure.  This reporter was a staff member of WMNF for over 9 years, and still does volunteer work with the station).

Former St. Pete mayoral candidate Scott Wagman insists his $250 contribution to Bill Foster’s campaign isn’t an full fledged endorsement, but does say that he thinks Foster is the right choice in next Tuesday’s election.

When asked by CL why he opted to contribute to Foster’s campaign, Wagman said he feels that if elected, Foster would be willing to listen to him on certain issues, and said his financial support shows his depth of sincerity in wanting to work with Foster.

Of Kathleen Ford, Wagman said he’s known her personally and professionally and says he thinks she’s a terrific wife and mother.  However he says she didn’t shoot straight with him before this year’s campaign, saying  “three times she told me she wasn’t running for Mayor.  The proper thing she should have said was she was considering it. ” And he doesn’t think she’ll work well with others, saying, “she just doesn’t take advise or listen to other views.”

Wagman was critical of both Foster and Ford for appearing on Bubba The Love Sponge’s radio program earlier this month, saying  it showed bad judgement on both candidates part, but especially Ford, who said earlier this week that she was set up by the shock jock when she quoted Princeton professor Cornel West on the HNIC (Head Negro in Charge)
theory when speaking about former Police Chief Goliath Davis.

Meanwhile, the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections office reports that officially over a third of all registered voters in St. Petersburg have already voted before Tuesday’s election.  19,440 registered voters have sent in their ballots.  That’s  33.5% of the electorate.

As far as any future run for office, the business executive said that he doesn’t see that happening, though he said he’s been “recruited” by Democratic party officials to run for state senate or Congress.  “I’ve not earned that time or service” he said to run over other candidate.

He also said that there are certain things a politician must do to earn the trust of the populace, and “I’m not willing to put in the work to earn that broad based trust.”

The House Democrats dropped a bomb on D.C. yesterday – 1900 pages of health reform legislation that Republicans hate and even some progressive Democrats aren’t pleased with.  Meanwhile, activists will target local politicos Gus Bilirakis and Bill Nelson today.

Sports talk show host Dan Sileo has been sidelined by his Clear Channel bosses for his comments on the Bucs losing hundreds of millions of dollars because they got ripped off by Bernie Madoff.  But what about the ‘responsible’ news organizations that breathlessly reported his comments?

Former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth is helping out Florida Power & Light’s ‘damaged’ reputation because of their request for a 30% rate hike increase.  Say what?

Also, Pinellas County Congressman Bill Young is in the news today – and not in a good way.  You can read the story, but we’ll refrain from adding anything else just yet.  We’ve put in a call to the Congressman’s D.C. office for comment that he’s being investigated by the House Ethics Committee.

Podcast to follow.

On the “Sideline” section of your St. Petersburg Times sports section this morning you will find a piece on Tampa sports radio station WDAE-AM 620 suspending morning show host Dan Sileo. His Clear Channel bosses did so  after his on-air comments yesterday about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers being in financial trouble because of massive financial losses incurred due to investing with fraudster Bernie Madoff, which the Bucs vehemently denied.

If you click on “The Animal’s” web site this morning you’ll see the station issuing a retraction for Sileo’s remarks.

Sileo said members of the Glazer family (the Buc owners) had lost well over $400 million due to Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

I wrote about this non-story yesterday afternoon, after the St. Pete Times proudly was pumping this report at the top of their web page.

WTSP- Channel 10 also deserves criticism, as I wrote yesterday.  The CBS affiliate led off their noon newscast breathlessly reporting the story, that as of now, seems to have come out of Sileo’s imagination.

On the Times web page, they originally updated their story with a denial from their spokesman, followed by team co-chairman Joel Glazer blasting the report as completely baseless.

I see the Times’ Eric Deggans this morning is also weighing in on the shoddy reporting.  Eric mentions the sports blog Deadpin and WFLA 970as having also participated in the free for all.

I’m not sure if Dan Sileo’s career here as broadcaster in Florida is  in jeopardy at all.  He’s hardly the first sports show host to float some absurd rumor – but apparently, enough folks in the more established media took it for gospel, without checking any other sources, to report it.  This does happen in sports journalism all the time, particularly when it comes to potential trades, for example.

When it comes to politics, I think most media organizations take time to check things out.  For example, two weeks ago, respected former USF St. Pete Political Science Professor Daryl Paulson said on a local television show that Congressman Bill Young would not be running for office in 2010.  Paulson actually named who would run as a Republican in his stead.

The Times ran an article (never alluding to Paulson)about rumors (which are omnipresent when it comes to Young and retirement) that included a denial from Young’s office.

This reporter ran a blog post that did include Paulson’s allegation, but featured a denial by Young’s office, as well as a comment by the man that he claimed would run in his stead if Young retired.  (That man, David Jolly, did confirm to CL he would run if the longtime Congressman stepped down).

At the turn of this century (almost a decade ago), Attorney Generals from around the country were using the bully pulpit of their offices to make some major changes and reforms throughout the states.

I’m talking about Eliot Spitzer in New York, Michael Moore in Mississippi, Bill Lockyer in California, and our own Bob Butterworth in the Sunshine State.  Of course, Butterworth had been at it a bit longer than most of those gents, having first been elected in 1986, and serving the state until 2002.

He’s always maintained his reputation as a crusader fighting for the rights of Floridians.

Which is why it’s a bit of a head scratcher to learn that Butterworth has been hired by Florida Power & Light for his “advise and consent” on the company’s bid for a $1.3 billion rate increase.

The former longtime Attorney General told the Miami Herald:

“My whole role is to advise Florida Power & Light as to how they messed up the communications on this issue,” Butterworth said. He added that his job does not involve helping the company win approval for higher rates, a decision the PSC has delayed until January when the two new commissioners take office.

New Port Richey state Senator  Mike Fasano, told the Herald it looked like FPL is trying to buy off the negative implications of their request for a 30% rate hike.

“You can’t buy your way out of how people perceive you,” Fasano said. “If Florida Power & Light wants to change the way people perceive them, they should stop asking for outrageous price increases their customers cannot afford.”

I’ve reached out this morning to the Florida Consumer Action Network’s head, Bill Newton, to get his response to Butterworth’s new financial arrangement with the power utility.

One last thing on the role of the AG’s office.  Charlie Crist took over for Butterworth in 2002, and surprised a lot of folks by being a consumer advocate very much in the manner of Butterworth.  But some say that’s no longer the case with the current AG, Bill McCollum, who has focused relentlessly on online sex crimes.

House Democrats unveiled their 1,990 page health care reform bill in Washington yesterday, and the entire House may vote on it within the next 1o days.

The Dems are already playing some fiscal tricks in stating its costs,  saying it will cost “only” $894 billion.  That does not include  provisions to increase Medicare payments to doctors. Those provisions, which would cost more than $200 billion over 10 years, were put into a separate bill, were introduced separately yesterday.

There were grumblings from some members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, who are unhappy that though there is a public option in the bill, it is not a ‘robust’ one.

The Chair of the Caucus, Arizona’s Raul Grijialva, said this yesterday:

“I am not rolling over. I will insist on a Medicare-plus-five amendment on the Floor so that the full Caucus can vote on it. We are hopeful that the Rules Committee will allow this amendment, which has tremendous public support, to be voted on for the record.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Joel Glazer, the co-chairman of the Tampa Bay Bucaneers, has released a statement blasting WDAE radio host Dan Sileo today for his wild speculation that  “massive losses” due to investments with disgraced fraudster Bernie Madoff are forcing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to run their team on a lean budget.

Glazer called the report, “s baseless, irresponsible and slanderous. This type of behavior by Mr. Sileo and his company Clear Channel  will be dealt with in the appropriate manner.”

Maybe Glazer could include the St. Petersburg Times and Channel 10 as well?

A short while ago, CL contacted WDAE’s Program Director Mike Killabrew to try to reach Sileo.  Killabrew replied that he has told Sileo “not to comment further on the matter.”

Normally a random comment by a talk show with little substantiation could be written off as interesting gossip.

Too bad some parts of the Tampa mainstream media didn’t follow that logic.

According to WTSP Channel 10’s website from around noon today:

Sileo says it’s largely a result of the family’s $450 million indirect loss to Madoff schemes, a claim he backs with information from Wall Street insiders.

Not only did Channel 10 lead with this story on their noon newscast today, but the St. Pete Times was giving the story prominent coverage on their home page of their web site as well.

Later the Times adjusted their story from an earlier posting, leading with a spokesman denying the allegation.  Now they are leading with Glazer’s comments.

Some of the comments from readers on the Times blog before Glazer’s statement were withering, denouncing the paper for running with a story with little  credibility so prominently on their site, and it did make me almost question if the Times knew something that was not being reported in the post.  Because to run with a comment made by a sports talk show host according to “Wall Street insiders” seemed far too unsubstantiated for Paul Tash’s crew.   I guess not.

As to what Channel 10 was doing leading off their newscast with this story, it would be good to get an answer as well.

The race for the Republican nomination for Attorney General just got potentially more interesting today with the announcement that Holly Benson, until recently the Secretary of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, announced her candidacy today.  She now joins Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottcamp in that race.

Kottcamp took the high road today, issuing a press release today where he said:

Political competition is the foundation of a successful and vibrant democracy. I salute Ms.
Benson’s desire to serve and welcome her to this year long political marathon.

Benson, who represented Pensacola in the Legislature, said today that as attorney general, she wants to work to make sure state regulations don’t restrict business growth. She also said her role at AHCA would make her well-suited to fight Medicaid fraud.

Benson’s entry juices up the GOP race for AG.  Previously, all of the media attention has focused on the Democratic battle between South Florida state Senators Dave Aronberg and Dan Gelber

There have been rumors that Hillsborough County Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi might also enter the race.

CL readers may remember that Benson made it into our Best of the Bay issue last month, under the ignominious title of “Best display of ignorance by a public official”, for her comment on how the unemployed can stay in better shape than the working class because “you have a lot more time to go running.”

There was a civilized, at times dare we say entertaining debate last night in Tallahassee on the proposal to repeal Florida’s ban on offshore drilling.

Tampa officials are studying the possibility of bringing red light cameras to certain intersections in the city.  Hillsborough County officials already agreed on doing so, with the first cameras going up tomorrow.  A state law mandating cameras could take precedence over both jurisdictions, but lawsuits will surely follow suit.

And the possibility of Hillsborough County using an old strip mall to house the homeless ain’t going to happen.

Audio podcast to follow this afternoon – we promise.

Both local dailies report today that city of Tampa officials are studying the effectiveness of using red light cameras at certain intersections.

Hillsborough County Commissioners approved the concept a year and a half ago, and according to the Tampa Tribune, the first ones are set to be turned on this Friday at the corner of Dale Mabry Highway and Waters Avenue.

Ultimately, there will be 10 such camera installations throughout the County.

Proponents argue that only are such cameras beneficial to public safety, but they also bring in cash in a recessionary time.  Although proponents generally argue they’re not doing it for the money, one has to appreciate the candor of Tampa City Council Chairman Thomas Scott, who told the Trib, “We’re in a tight budget crunch.  I’d be interested in hearing the proposal.”

The Florida Legislature came close to approving a state law mandating such cameras, but it failed in the closing days of this year’s session.  However, there are all indications that it will brought back in 2010.

During the Democratic Attorney General debate earlier this month, State Senator Dave Aronberg criticized the proposal that was floated this year in the legislature, calling it ” motivated by profit.”  He also said that he had ’serious’ civil-liberty concerns about the idea.

Previously, the ACLU has gone to court arguing that same thing, and won in the Minnesota Supreme Court.

And several states have laws that ban them outright.

Well, it was a good idea.

Or maybe not.

Yesterday a spokesman for the owners of the Floriland Mall in Tampa, which last week Hillsborough County Commissioners voted to investigate the possibility of using as a homeless shelter, struck the idea down cold.

As reported in today’s St. Petersburg Times, George Heaton, the manager of the office park’s owner, Centermall LLC, told Commissioners they need not go any further in contemplating using the strip mall to house some of the thousands of homeless who currently are surviving in the County.

Last Tuesday, a day before the BOCC was to convene, Commissioner Kevin White announced in a press release that he would propose using the facility, since the clerk of the circuit court has already departed from the premises, and the County was on the hook for over half a million dollars to break that lease.

The Board was excoriated in newspaper editorials, and fellow citizens earlier this month after they rejected a proposal by Catholic Charities to create a tent city for the homeless off of East Hillsborough Avenue.

Some speculate that the criticism hit hard for some of those Commissioners, but that’s also led to cynicism about their sincerity.

As Commissioner Al Higgenbotham said at last week’s BOCC meeting, “This will show that we care.”

White and Higgenbotham’s entreaty did not exactly get a welcoming hand from their colleagues last week.  Commissioner Jim Norman, who did support the Catholic Charities proposal, seemed to stun White when he asked him if he had done any outreach to the local neighborhood near the Floriland Mall.

He hadn’t.

Neighbors were getting organized, prepared to re-enact the NIMBY like attitude put on by East Lake residents which led the Commission to ultimately vote against that Catholic Charities tent city proposal.

So now what?  County staff has said previously there aren’t a whole lot of possibilities with the land they currently own.  For their own credibility, however, the Board may need to start looking harder.

Last night in Tallahassee, proponents and opponents of offshore drilling debated for two hours in a debate sponsored by Florida State University and Gannett Florida, the owner of the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper, and broadcast over the internet from the Florida State University web site (which is how I viewed it).

Speaking against the proposal was Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch, Eric Draper from  Audubon of Florida and David McLain, from Apalachicola Bay and Riverkeeper.

Drilling proponents on the panel were economist Hank Fishkind, powerful lobbyist David Rancourt of the Southern Strategy Group and Terry Cunningham of the Florida Grassroots Energy Forum.

One of the first questions asked to Rancourt was  – who is actually in Florida Energy Associates, the mysterious group that is pushing for the legislature to pass laws allowing for offshore drilling(And has hired at least 30 lobbyists to move the measure forward)?

Rancourt named the two officials already outed, as it were: GOP activist Lance Phillips, and Daytona Beach attorney Doug Daniels.  The others, Rancourt said, “choose to be anonymous.”  He said not everybody in the (oil and natural gas) industry wants to be named, calling it a competitive thing.  But he wanted to emphasize in case anyone was worried: They are all Americans.

Ken Welch came back and said he wanted to know if they were Floridians(to no response).

Rancourt then tried to put the onus on the opponents, saying he had no idea who was funding them, but he knew that if the proposal goes down, people like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the folks at OPEC would be the beneficiaries.

Read the rest of this entry »

Florida Chief Financial Officer and leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor, Alex Sink, has been very reluctant to comment on a government run health care option.  Not any longer.

Meanwhile, two members of the Florida Congressional delegation are making news - including GOP Brooksville’s Ginny Brown-Waite calling on President Obama to ask for permission to accept his Nobel Peace Prize.

And new national polls asking Americans their thoughts on President Obama and Congress reveal some interesting results.

Download the report here.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has enjoyed Alex Sink’s reluctance so far to comment much (if at all) on a proposed government run health care public option being debate daily in Congress and nightly on cable news.

For instance, check out this ad that the AG has put up on his potential Democratic rival for Governor next year

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is reporting that Sink says she wants to see more of the fine details on the legislation before saying too much

“It would be irresponsible to have an opinion without knowing what the details are,” said Sink, considered a leading Democratic candidate for governor next year. “I think we’ll have to wait and see what the proposal actually is before Floridians make a decision about whether to opt in or opt out.”

Sink said she wants to compare what advantages or disadvantages Florida would have based on opting in or out of the government health care plan. “There has to be a thorough analysis,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Governor who wants to become your U.S. Senator, Charlie Crist, doesn’t need any more information as he continues to run away from his former reputation as a GOP moderate.  He tells the paper,”

“My view of it is that the public option I think may be sort of a Trojan horse to a government takeover of health care,” Crist said. “And I think our administration has demonstrated that’s not what we favor, nor do I think that’s what Floridians really want.”

The Governor made news yesterday when he said he had no idea that Barack Obama was in town on Monday, speaking in Jacksonville.

The Miami NBC News affiliate called Crist “clueless” on its web site for his inattention, or whatever it was.

Meanwhile, Crist is showing some grit today after he was challenged by a St. Pete Times/ Miami Herald report over the weekend that he’s been dogging it as Governor.

In response, Crist wrote today in the Times:

The schedule of a governor should not — and cannot — be reduced to a spreadsheet. To do so is ridiculous and does not reflect the endless hours spent briefing with agency leaders and staff, reading policy briefings and the day’s news, meeting and talking on the phone with constituents, advisers and legislators, and responding to the types of things that just simply cannot be scheduled. To look at a governor’s published daily schedule, which is provided as a simple snapshot of public events and planned meetings, disregards the spontaneity required to lead our state.

The paper also wrote similar articles about the work schedules of McCollum and Alex Sink as well.  These days it seems like everybody is bashing the Governor, but it does seem that his answer in his piece (called “Working every day for Florida” ) does seem pretty sincere and real

Two new major polls were released last night asking Americans their views on a number of issues, such as their feelings about the government, the economy and health care.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey has a whole bunch of numbers in it.  Of those that stand out as most provocative is on health care.

42% say it’s a bad idea to reform health care the way they understand is, vs. 38% who support a change.  However, a government run public option is now up, 48% to 42%.  A month ago, it was 46% in support, and 48% opposed.  For whatever reason, the public is now turning towards supporting a public option, even if this poll indicates overall they’re not satisfied with what they’ve seen coming out of the various committees in Congress.

The other interesting stat in the WSJ/NBC News survey is that asked which political party should control Congress next year during the midterm elections, Democrats hold a clear advantage, 46% to 38%.  A month ago the Dems led only 43 to 40%.

Meanwhile, Gallup/USA Today reports in their new survey that confidence in President Obama’s ability to deliver on his campaign promises has collapsed.  The biggest drop is in those who believe he could have changed the ugly atmosphere in the nation’s capital.  54% a year ago said he would be able to “heal political divisions.”  Only 28% say so now.

Interestingly enough, the one question asked where expectations have dropped the least is keeping the country safe from terrorism (despite Dick Cheney’s complaints).  A year ago 62% said he would do so.  57% say so now.

Photo by Kylie Balogh/Flickr

Orlando area Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson apologized yesterday for calling an adviser to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke a “K Street whore” while being interviewed by Alex Jones.

In a statement late yesterday, Grayson sent out what he said was a sincere apology to Linda Robertson, a former lobbyist for Enron, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

“I did not intend to use a term that is often, and correctly, seen as disrespectful of women,” Grayson said in his statement. “This characterization of Ms. Robertson … was inappropriate, and I apologize.”

Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly led off his program last night focused on Grayson.  To his delight, he was able to bring on two House Democrats, New York’s Anthony Weiner (who over the past couple of months has at times appeared to be almost a regular sidekick of Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow on MSNBC for his advocacy of a single payer health care system) and Pennsylvania’s Joe Sestak.

Bill-O used the opportunity to blast President Obama for calling Grayson one of “3 outstanding members of Congress” while in Florida on Monday night.

In just a short time, Grayson has fired up the base of the Democratic Party with some of his audacious statements , and was treated like a rock star at the party’s  state annual convention in Lake Buena Vista earlier this month.

But there are some in the party who fear his wild comments might be going too far.

The Sentinel quotes Democratic strategist Darren Vierday, who worked on the congressman’s 2008 campaign, as saying
“I can tell you, I don’t think it plays very well at all…Moderates will look at it and probably be turned off by it.”

Grayson is not playing it safe in a Congressional district that, unlike about 90% of the districts in this country, is not considered completely ’safe’ for him going into 2010.

And speaking of Florida Congressional Representatives who may go a little too far, Brooksville GOP Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite weighed in with a pretty out-of-the-mainstream press release yesterday.

As the president was in Central Florida speaking about the energy grid, Brown-Waite released a statement congratulating him for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.  But a sentence later, she writes:

“With every great honor, however, comes great responsibility, not the least of which is the President’s constitutional responsibility to receive the consent of Congress before formally accepting this award.

Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution clearly states: “no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.”

When asked by the St. Pete Times where she got the idea,  Brown-Waite said an aide read ’something on a blog right after the announcement.”

Well, there you have it.  On WMNF radio yesterday, I caught Miami area Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek somewhat unawares when I asked for his comment.  A bit stunned, he refrained from doing so.

Not so Meek and Brown-Waite’s colleague Debbie Wasserman Schultz who said, “They’ve obviously lost control of their faculties.”

The NY Times is reporting this afternoon that Gay Culverhouse, the daughter of former Tampa Bay Buccaneer owner Hugh Culverhouse, will testify before the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow to talk about the prevalence of head injuries in the National Football League.

A recent analysis suggested that NFL retirees between the ages of 60 to 89 are experiencing moderate to severe dementia at several times the national rate.  But top officials with the NFL have been obstinate in refusing to embrace such reports.

Days before the Super Bowl in Tampa last January, medical researchers said that former Buc Tom McHale’s death last year at the age of 45 may be connected to concussions received during his playing days – which would make him the 6th deceased former NFL player 50 years of age or younger to have such brain damage.

As I reported on from that news conference, doctors at Boston University’s School of Medicine found a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in McHale’s brain.  Doctors had ruled his death an accidental overdose.

Apparently Ms. Culverhouse has been in close contact with many former Buccaneer players, and learning that many of them are having cognitive difficulties.  She tells the Times:

“Telling the players that football has nothing to do with it is literally adding insult to injury,” Culverhouse said. “It’s a joke. It’s unconscionable.”

President Obama continues his stay in the sunshine state this morning, with a major speech on modernizing our electricity power grid at 12:25 this afternoon in Arcadia.

Kathleen Ford was asked yesterday to comment on her “HNIC” remark at Gibbs High School in St. Pete yesterday.

And Marco Rubio blasts Charlie Crist again, this time on MSNBC, a day after a Forbes columnist calls Crist the worst Governor in the country.

Download the report here.

President Obama continues his two-day stay in Florida this morning by touching down at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport before traveling to Arcadia, where he will make a major announcement regarding billions of dollars in federal funding aimed at modernizing the power grid.

Obama will visit and speak at Florida Power & Light’s DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, the largest photovoltaic  electricity facility in the country.

The president will dole out the money — but for Floridians, it might all be a tease.  That’s because the legislature again failed this year to approve an RPS, or Renewable Portfolio Standard — that would provide clean energy quotas for power companies like FP&L and TECO , and establish a formula to pass the cost on to ratepayers.

But without such a bill in place, those power companies have little incentive to push for solar projects.

This comes against the backdrop of renewed discussions in Tallahassee for offshore drilling, including outright support for such a plan by the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association, as we reported on earlier this month.

One would think that members of our legislature might be inspired and persuaded by the president to go further in trying to bring more renewable energy to the state.  Don’t hold your breath.

And as has been widely reported, unlike POTUS’ last visit to the Sunshine State, our sunny optimistic governor, Charlie Crist, will not be seen anywhere near Arcadia today.

You can obviously attribute that to Team Rubio, who yesterday sent out an email message to its followers with video embedded of the president and Crist embracing in Fort Myers back in February, when they were both committed to getting the stimulus plan passed.

Rubio was on MSNBC’s Morning Joe program this morning, where he claimed the governor abandoned conservatives after taking office.

In addition to the stimulus support, Rubio blasted the Guv on cap-and-trade, the partial restoration of civil rights for ex-felons, and his gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe.  He also said this:

“I think it’s part of a bigger change that’s happened in the Republican Party in some circles, and that is this belief that somehow we need to become more like the Democrats in order to win elections,” Rubio said. “In my view, there is already a Democratic Party. Americans who want more government involved in the economy, they already have an option on Election Day.”

Host Joe Scarborough asked Rubio if he had talked much with former Governor Jeb Bush about the campaign.  Rubio said no, but Scarborough, who fancies himself an expert on Florida GOP politics (he grew up and represented Pensacola in Congress for six years), appeared skeptical.

Kathleen Ford’s racially charged comments that referenced the phrase “HNIC” (”Head Negro in Charge”) on a radio program two weeks ago has become an issue in the St. Pete mayoral campaign, which officially ends a week from tonight when registered voters who haven’t already voted will go to the polls.

How big an issue is impossible to say, but to say it’s been a distraction for Ford in the closing days of the campaign would be an understatement.

The Tampa Tribune reports today that Ford responded to the growing controversy at a question-and-answer session with students at Gibbs High School on Monday.  How so?  She said she was set up by host Bubba the Love Sponge:

“Most folks know it was just a political setup because you compare the questions asked of my opponent and those asked of me, and they were pretty different,” she said

The Tribune writes that Ford blamed the incident on Bill Foster.  Whether it’s Foster or the talk show host, she doesn’t appear to be owning up to the fact that the comments have created a sensation, and her reaction has been to duck the issue, at least until yesterday.

As CL will report in our article on the St. Pete Mayor’s race that hits newsstands tomorrow, in recent weeks Bill Foster has been reluctant to speak to certain media outlets in the last weeks of the campaign (like this one).  One calculation for his caution has to have been not wanting to make a gaffe that could possibly hurt him.  It may have been prescient, considering what’s happened to his opponent.

Most lawmakers and close political observers have told CL they expect the election to be extremely close next Tuesday.  As of last night, 16,194 people had already voted by mail, which is nearly 30% of the electorate (29.2% to be official).

Charlie Crist has a number of critics inside the Sunshine State, and a growing number outside as well.

Fodder for those critics was shelved out on Monday when Forbes columnist Reihan Salam penned a column called “America’s Worst Governor?”

Salam is the co-author (along with NY Times columnist Ross Douthat) of Grand New Party, an acclaimed look at the problems within the current Republican Party.

In his Forbes piece, Salam attacks Crist for being guilty of “free-lunchism”:

One can argue about the virtues of federal borrowing to stimulate the economy. Because state governments are obligated to balance their budgets, there is a solid case for having Washington offer a temporary countercyclical boost to cash-strapped states. But the notion that the federal stimulus plan gives state governments carte blanche to permanently ratchet up their spending levels while cutting taxes defies logic. Florida’s Constitution requires that the state government can’t use one-time funds, like windfall from privatization or federal stimulus dollars, to pay for more than 3% of recurring expenses.

Incredibly, Crist demanded that Florida use one-time funds to pay for 12% of the state budget.

Salam credits two embattled Democratic governors in the northeast (New York’s David Patterson and New Jersey’s Jon Corzine) for cutting more social programs than Crist has done in his tenure as governor.

Salam also chides some of the journalism about Crist’s race against Marco Rubio, using this week’s Joe Klein column as example A of an analyst superficially looking at the race:  that is, as a battle between the moderate Crist and the more ideologically conservative Rubio.

Klein writes that Crist’s future depends in part on the economy improving.  I’m not sure if I get that.  And I certainly don’t get this comment from Crist’s ally, state Party Chair Jim Greer, sounding like a paragon of rationality:

“Lord, save me from the purists,” says Jim Greer, the state’s Republican Party chairman and a Crist supporter. “If the party keeps going in this direction, all we’ll have left will be three people sitting around a table. They’ll be absolutely pure, but none of them will be holding office.”

That’s sort of humorous, as Greer and Crist appeal to the Washington-based Klein that they are the adults in the GOP big tent that’s been dominated by the Joe Wilsons and Marco Rubios.  Except who was it who accused Barack Obama of trying to indoctrinate socialism into children last month?  Oh, yeah, Jim Greer.

Meanwhile, Politifact weighs in on the governor’s recent claims in a new radio ad that proclaim he has cut government spending by 10% since he took office.  The fact-finding group lists the claim as “barely true,” writing that with revenues down and the requirement that he turn in a balanced budget, it was either cut spending or raise taxes.

Over the weekend you may have read about Hillsborough County activist George Niemann’s ethics complaint against County Administrator Pat Bean’s self imposed pay raise now being investigated by the State Ethics Commission.

But I bet most people don’t know how the process works.  CL Contributor Niemann explains it all to you.  And it’s not pretty.

Polk County Congressman Adam Putnam is running for state wide office next year.  In case you forgot, he’s getting himself in the news today with his op-ed against excessive federal spending.  We haven’t heard that from Republican much lately, have we?

14 Americans were killed in Afghanistan today.  That makes Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold’s comments that he thinks the U.S. should pull out of Afghanistan all the more relevant.

And some Senate Democrats envision a public option in the health care bill being negotiated in Congress.

Download the report here.

Polk County Congressman Adam Putnam is hosting a town hall meeting tonight in Bartow.

He’s also written an op-ed in the Tampa Tribune, where he’s decrying the excessive federal spending in Washington. Here’s an excerpt:

The bottom line is that as President Obama’s policy agenda moves forward, it is going to need hundreds of thousands of additional federal employees to staff the growth in the bureaucracy. This pace of growth in the federal government has not been seen since the Lyndon Johnson administration in the 1960s.

All this federal growth is coming with a steep price tag that will add weight onto the shoulders of every American taxpayer who is already struggling under the yoke of this weak economy. Unfortunately, this is a burden we may never be free of.

The GOP Representative’s anguish at excessive federal spending is hardly an original criticism of President Obama by Republicans this year.  So why are we hearing from Putnam about it in an op-ed?

Well, among other things, he’s in a contested Primary race with State Senator Cary Baker of Eustis for the Republican nomination for Agriculture Commissioner.

Earlier this month Putnam announced that he had raised over $229,000 for the 3rd quarter, and close to a million dollars overall in his race.    If Putnam gets passed Baker, he’ll be facing a formidable opponent in former Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox.

In the GOP AG Commissioner race, mark Putnam down as the, well conservative, but perhaps not as conservative a choice than Senator Baker.

Among other things that Baker has done this year include filing a proposed State Constitutional Amendment that would prevent Floridians w Floridians from being affected by any Federal Health Care Legislation.

Today it was announced that that 14 Americans died in Afghanistan in two separate incidents involving helicopters.

For weeks, cable news and talk radio have gone back and forth about how quickly President Obama should move on General Stanley McChrystal’s request for at least 40,000 more troops in the region.  The discussions have generally been with Democratic supporters of Barack Obama arguing that unlike the previous administration, this president is being thoughtful and deliberative in making such an important move.

His opponents call it dithering.

But might there be another voice out there in Congress represented on Sunday talk? A representative of the part of the country  that doesn’t want any escalation of troops?  We saw that yesterday on CBS’ Face The Nation in the person of Wisconsin Democratic Senator Russ Feingold, who said he’s preparing an effort (along with other members of the House)  to try to block any increase in troops for Afghanistan.

“I’m working with people to prepare for that possibility,” Feingold said. “There will be resistance to this if necessary… We will do what we can to prevent this mistake.”

Feingold said he didn’t think that the Taliban in Afghanistan would allow the Al Qaeda back into the country, saying, “The idea that the Taliban is going to see it as in their interest to have the world headquarters of Al Qaeda back in Afghanistan, I think is dubious,” Feingold said. “The number one issue is going after Al Qaeda, not going after the Taliban.”

Although not mentioned by name by Feingold, Ohio Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich was sounding equally anti-war-like on C-SPAN about an hour before Feingold’s comments.

The congressman said, “The sooner we get out of there, the better.”  He also said the U.S. should be finding ways to rebuild that country (it’s called nation-building, and that’s what seemingly everyone who wants to get more involved militarily in Afghanistan seems to ultimately be suggesting).  On the idea that the U.S. needs more troops in the region to win the conflict, Kucinich said simply, “It’s not going to work.”

Back on Face, perennial Sunday morning favorite John McCain preceded his Senate ally on campaign finance reform.  McCain wouldn’t take host Bob Schieffer’s bait on what he thought of Dick Cheney’s comments earlier this week that Obama was ‘dithering’ in his deliberations regarding Afghanistan.

The 2008 GOP standard-bearer said he wouldn’t have used “that language,” but otherwise refused to answer the question if Cheney’s comments were helpful or hurtful to the GOP.  “Let’s support our president,” McCain said, trying to give cover for Obama to make the large troop increases, saying that it was inevitable that the president would get his from the political left, and therefore needed the Republican Party to be supportive (and not sniping, from the likes of Cheney, John Boehner and basically the rest of the GOP).

On CNN, Utah’s Orrin Hatch echoed the remarks made by Karl Rove last week — saying that “some” are saying that Obama is waiting until after the gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia next week to make his announcement on Afghanistan, with the theory being that announcing a surfeit of troops will depress turnout of Democrats in those two elections.   Ohio’s Sherrod Brown immediately jumped on Hatch for making that remark.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s announcement last week that he might just be a vote or two Senate votes shy of having a filibuster-proof majority in favor of a public option for health insurance coverage with a provision allowing states to opt-out was a source of discussion on the Sunday. talk show circuit.

New York Democrat Charles Schumer on NBC’s Meet The Press was in a particularly giddy mood, no doubt bolstered by that ABC News/Washington Post poll released last week that showed the American public, by a pretty decisive 57-40%  margin, are in support of a government public health care option.

Schumer said that liberals in the body want the proposal to be stronger, others aren’t sure if they like it but said they likely would not hold it up to a filibuster.

But perhaps the most conservative Senate Democrat, Nebraska’s Ben Nelson said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he hasn’t promised Reid and Schumer anything.

Nelson said, ” I can’t decide about the procedural vote until I see the underlying bill. It would be, I think, reckless to say I’ll support the procedure without knowing what the underlying bill consists of. And it’s not put together yet. It’s a draft — it will be a draft bill some time next week, submitted the Congressional Budget Office for the review of the cost.”

Nelson said he was not enthused about a public option where states would opt out, saying he’d ”look at the one where states could opt in if they make the decision themselves.”

On the nature of the health care debate, Senator McCain said on Face The Nation on CBS he was ‘offended’ at Obama for acting in contradiction with his promises on the campaign trail that he’d conduct his discussions on health care in the sunshine and televise them on C-SPAN.

The President has been hammered on libs and conservatives for having closed door meetings with health care executives this year.