Daily Loaf

By George Niemann
PoHo contributor
Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners:
It appears likely that you are going to ask us to approve a 1% sales tax increase in November of 2010 to fund a long range multi-modal transportation package which is highlighting the introduction of light rail to the Tampa Bay region.

At Wednesday’s Regular BOCC meeting it was revealed that, although the referendum’s top billing will be “light rail”, only 37% of the proposed tax will end up going toward an inter-city light rail system. The balance will go toward other forms of transportation, as well as road improvements that are long overdue.

The big question is this – are you going to give voters all of the hard facts surrounding this proposed referendum? And will you incorporate this into your referendum campaign? I know that it will be tempting to take the soundbite approach without providing detail because, as you know, the devil is in the details. Considering that a good portion of this tax would be used to fix infrastructure problems that were created by approving sprawl, how do we know that you’ve learned your lesson? Or that you won’t come back to us 10 years from now and say we need an additional 1% on top of the first 1% because we couldn’t help ourselves from approving more sprawl without getting the money for the infrastructure?

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It wasn’t easy for me to resist the temptation to gush happily in print over our President’s visit to DeSoto county last week; but what struck me as I watched the event on TV were the paradoxical images –

Consider this: a utility company executive delivers accolades to the President for his leadership on sustainable energy production. Is this an anomaly? Maybe, but FPL Group’s CEO Lewis Hay, belongs to an exclusive club. Its members are forward thinking business executives readying their companies for a new green economy.

Granted, Mr. Hay’s exuberance may be due to the $200 million of stimulus funding FP & L is about to receive. But you have to admit, it does take chutzpah for him and his activist executive buddies to visit Washington in support of climate change legislation. They gathered as the Waxman/Markey bill was coming up for a key house vote back in June, even taking out a full page ad in DC newspapers. Acknowledging the paradigm shift to sustainable, clean power production so many others deny, they see the legislation as good for business. Whoa, did you hear that, Chamber of Commerce? Jokingly, Obama noted that people get nervous about change, relating Hay’s comment “especially utility executives” to which the crowd, largely made up of utility contractors and employees, laughed heartily.

Or this image: Juxtaposed against gleaming hi-tech solar panels, straw cowboy hats perched atop the heads of men in the first row bobbed up and down nodding in agreement with the President’s words. Thirty years ago this would be a scene in a sci-fi flick, and for some in the Deep South it would have been a horror flick. An African American President telling a rural Florida farming community: Boys, we’re gonna be installin’ some special equipment out here in these pastures, we’re gonna start harvesting sun rays. Yeah, sure ya are, and I just got done putting a trailer hitch on my spaceship to Mars. Oh by golly, farming sure has changed. No horses corralling cattle; no tractors in the fields, no worry of drought damaged crops.
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Steve Kornell with Democratic Committeewoman Linda Lucas at Shackleton's.

It was a mixed bag for gay voters last night. The vote to preserve marriage equality came up short in Maine, but great strides were made in local elections — including St. Petersburg’s City Council race.

Steve Kornell, one of the most impressive candidates in any local race this season, won his St. Pete council seat by a surprisingly large margin — 59.46% to 40.54% — over his opponent, Angela Rouson. He is the first openly gay person in the history of the city to be elected to public office. Like Kevin Beckner, the first openly gay Hillsborough County Commissioner, Kornell brought qualities to his candidacy that transcended issues of sexual orientation: strong community involvement, great campaign preparation, specific ideas and a sharp mind. His election, like Beckner’s, is a heartening sign of progress — even though St. Pete voters elected a new mayor who, like Rick Baker, refuses to march in gay pride parades. (Bill Foster was making sympathetic noises about domestic partnership benefits toward the end of his campaign, though, so there may be some hope there.)

Kornell was not the only LGBT candidate making history last night. Read the rest of this entry »

For real-time results in the vote on gay marriage in Maine, head to ProtectMaineEquality.org. If voters reject the amendment to repeal the state’s marriage equality law, it will mark the first time that the right to gay marriage is established by voters, not their elected representatives.

But the race is very close, as you’ll see from the website. A short while ago, with 22% of precincts reporting, the Bangor Daily News had the vote at 51% against the repeal to 49% in favor.

UPDATE 10:38PM

Portland numbers announced: A huge NO vote.

Commenters on site are thinking this will win it for No on 1, but most reports are showing the overall state tally at 50-50, and there are lots of votes still to be counted.

UPDATE Midnight

The tables have turned. MSNBC reports that with 69% of the votes counted, the tally has shifted to 52% Yes and 48% No.

To recap, a Yes vote is a vote to repeal marriage equality in Maine. There’s talk of a recount.

UPDATE: The morning after

It was a close battle, but Maine voters voted YES to reject the legalization of gay marriage.

Election Night, 7:45 p.m.: With almost all precincts reporting, Bill Foster is maintaining a 6 percent lead over Kathleen Ford in the race to succeed Rick Baker as mayor of St. Petersburg. In the race for City Council, Steve Kornell, Leslie Curran, Jeff Danner and Karl Nurse look like sure winners; Jim Kennedy’s race with Steve Corsetti is a little bit closer but Kennedy’s chances look good.

Updates to come.

It’s 8:04, and the race for mayor is already over. Kathleen Ford is giving her concession speech. “We are going to continue to keep an eye on our government to make sure it’s open, accessible… and affordable,” she promised. Later, according to Bay News 9, she said her biggest problem was “the media.”

“Read into that what you will,” said anchor Al Ruechel.

CL’s Mitch Perry spoke briefly with Ford at around 8:30; she appeared to be working hard to maintain a cheerful countenance. When asked her thoughts, she said, “I’m really pleased with myself. I’m excited. We made a difference in this race.”  Asked if she thought the St. Pete Times editorial page had been too harsh on her, and  whether she cared about that, she answered, “Not much.” As to whether the newspaper’s treatment had any impact on the election, she answered,  “Who knows?”

At Ferg’s on Central Avenue, Bill Foster was magnanimous in victory. Asked his thoughts on his opponent, he told Perry, “I’m crazy about her. She’s a friend. She ran a great race. She’s got some great ideas — great passion. I need her.”

Foster said he was excited, but also seemed exhausted. “This process beats you to death,” he said. “But when you survive it you know you’ve earned it.” He also acknowledged the 47 percent of the public who did not vote for him. He said, “It’s time to gain their trust. And I’ll earn it. We’ll come together.”

He won plaudits tonight not only for his victory but for his slimmer appearance. CL overheard him telling a supporter that he had lost 25 pounds during the campaign.

You probably already know that growth does not pay for itself and taxpayers are left holding the bill for things like roads, fire safety and parks despite what politicians would like you to believe. Impact fees should be funding these things, yet they don’t even come close. In fact, according to a recent audit done by the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office, they don’t even fund the program it takes to monitor them!

An audit to be presented to the Hillsborough County Commission on Wednesday had some disturbing findings including: (my thoughts are in red)

Observation 1: The BOCC has not been assured that the impact fees were spent as directed by ordinance 96-29. (WTF?)

Observation 2: The current impact fee assessment for transportation, right of way, parks, and fire networks may not be covering a reasonable percentage of the cost of growth within the County. (Ya think?)

Observation 3: The County’s Real Estate Dept does not charge a fee for their land appraisals. (Yet county staff suggests we should get an appraisal on Cone Ranch costing a fortune!)

Photo credit: .res @Flickr.com

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Dede Scozzafava officially suspended her campaign

Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava has officially dropped out of the race for New York’s 23rd Congressional district. Earlier this week, I reported that Conservative Party challenger Doug Hoffman was becoming increasingly popular due to his strong conservative values, especially against Scozzafava, whose record in the New York Assembly has been consistantly liberal.

Now, it appears as though the pressure put on by GOP figures such as Jim DeMint, Fred Thompson, and Sarah Palin, as well as media power plays like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, has forced her out of the race. This clears the way for Hoffman, who already was polling with nearly half of the district’s Republican support.

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According to this article, many residents were surprised at the furlough days implemented because of the recent budget cuts down at the county. Hey, they have to pay for Commissioner White’s $500,000 sex trial and Pat Bean’s let’s give ourselves a raise award somehow, right? The additional upcoming furlough days are Jan 15th, April 2nd, June 18th and Sept 9th. (Sadly, none of those appear to be BOCC meeting days.)

Taking a handful of furlough days due to budget cuts doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it might be hard for commissioners to explain in light of the costs associated with Kevin White’s sex trial and County Administrator raises-for-my-friends attempt and one for herself too!

More disturbing to me was learning via the Planning Commission’s website ( in my opinion, the only objective planning agency in town) that they are now closed every Friday due to the absolute slashing that the BOCC did to their already lean budget.  So while the BOCC is supposedly getting behind this rail referendum, that one would think should include land use planning, our Planning Commission is crippled, having to close its doors to the public one day a week. Way to go, Hillsborough. Don’t worry, I am sure the Sports Authority is doing just fine with this year’s budget.

Commissioners should be ashamed at this development and citizens should be outraged at the way they spent tax dollars this year. And the County wants us to approve taxing ourselves for rail? Better start cleaning up their own back yard, because I think there might be some government trust associated with approving new taxes and let’s face it, that is not this county’s strong point.

Complemented by a hearty round of applause, “Welcome Draper to the University of South Florida” were among the first words USF’s President Judy Genshaft spoke in warmly receiving Draper Laboratories as new residents on the Tampa campus. With some of Hillsborough County’s elite in attendance, including Mayor Pam Iorio, a red ribbon ceremony was held this past Monday afternoon.
At its new location, Draper will be conducting bio-medical research. According to the National Science Foundation, USF is the fastest growing research university in America. Genshaft said the marriage of the research facility and research university is a perfect fit and reassured Draper that they had come “…to a place where research and innovations are highly, highly, highly valued.”

Among the Hillsborough dignitaries in attendance was County Commissioner Ken Hagan. He also gave Draper a warm welcome to the Tampa Bay region, but for reasons different than Genshaft.

Hagan believes that Draper will create “Jobs, jobs and more jobs,” and encouraged the crowd to celebrate  because the economy was finally “going to start getting better,” thanks to Draper. More than 100 jobs have been created so far, and Hagan said he expects more than 100 more high- paying, high-quality jobs will be created once the facility  is completed.
The new Draper Lab facility is projected to be 20,000 sq ft and cost 20 million. So far, only $3 million of the budget has been spent on completing 10,000 sq ft . Genshaft said the money for the endeavor comes from Draper Military Systems sources that are all in support of Draper Laboratory. This includes $6 million from Hillsborough County’s Economic Development Department, $4 million from the USF Research Foundation and $10 million from the state of Florida Innovation Incentive Fund.

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. is an independent, not-for-profit research and development organization. It develops advanced space and energy technology as well military tactical systems, special operations and manufactures wartime weapons. According to their website, more than 90 percent of their work is government-funded from military branches such as the US Navy, Air Force, and NASA, to name a few.

Draper spokesman Len Polizzotto said that each of Draper’s six locations typically specializes in one field. At USF, it will be bio-engineering. An important research area at Draper is the design, prototyping and testing of MEMs or microelectromechanical systems. These tiny systems are also used by Draper to further enhance its bio-research. Draper is looking to partner with USF medical school and Moffitt Cancer to expand its studies in the future.

Earlier on Monday, Draper also opened a second location in St.Petersburg on 16th Street North. The St. Pete lab, Polizzotto said, will be a MEM’s manufacturing facility.

The main Draper facility is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Draper Laboratories got its start at the Instrumentation Laboratory of MIT in the late 1960s. In 1973, however, Draper was forced out of MIT. Polizzotto said Draper’s weaponry manufacturing stirred protests from faculty, students and demonstrators against the Vietnam War. Polizzotto said even though Draper still make weapons today, he guarantees USF will not be put in a similar situation as MIT because it will not be manufacturing weapons at USF. Draper will only “be dealing with health care.”

USF’s President Judy Genshaft disagrees. She said the university is open to working with Draper in their different fields of research and development beyond health care.

“Whether it be in the water area, energy area or medical area, all the work that you do we want to be part of the innovation that can make a difference for us not only in the state of Florida, but globally as well.”

In light of the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Genshaft said she did not foresee controversy similar to that of MIT occurring at USF because “(Draper) doesn’t make weapons. What they do in terms of the military is that the military has such heavy packs that they downsize the amount through their chips and so the soldier doesn’t have to carry as heavy gear as they otherwise would.”

Draper’s website states that their tactical systems “focuses Draper’s capabilities in autonomy, accuracy, and awareness in the domains of soldier systems, munitions GN&C, missile defense GN&C, and undersea systems. Providing solutions in this space meets the urgent needs of national security in supporting stability and counterinsurgency operations and responds to the increased proliferation of ballistic missiles.”

County Commissioner Hagan said if Draper started making weapons, “ It would have to be looked into.”

Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate for NY's 23rd Congressional District

As President Obama’s approval rating continues to slip, it is clear that he will face a much tougher race for re-election in 2012 than he ran last year. It’s like an overdue pregnancy; it’s been nine months, but he has yet to deliver. The markets are still fragile, and the dollar is going down while unemployment numbers are going up. Toss in our sky-rocketing debt and indecisive action in Afghanistan, and it starts to look like Obama isn’t the savior he was made out to be.

One can criticize the policies of Bush, but at least The Decider actually made decisions. Recent polls from a number of sources all show one undeniable trend  — the American people do not think we’re headed in the right direction.

Such a difficult time for Obama, and one might be under the impression that support for Republicans is on the rise. This isn’t exactly the case; CNN reported that approval for the GOP has hit 36%, down nearly 5% from the last poll taken in the summer, and almost at the same point it was in the last few months of Bush’s time in office.

Discontent with the major parties seems to be a growing phenomenon. Millions have attended “tea parties” all over the country, and the philosophy and wisdom of the Founding Fathers is a recurring theme in today’s political arena. Ordinary people are demanding that something be done; they demand accountability, fiscal responsibility and the protection of our most basic freedoms. Partisan bickering and the corruption that plagues Washington has made the American people feel alienated.

As a result, there has been a re-emergence of third candidates. Not long shots like Ralph Nader or Pat Buchanan, whose presidential runs seem futile, but viable and credible candidates with a fair share of support.

The press has taken notice. Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman is running for New York’s 23rd Congressional District, a seat up for grabs since Rep. John McHugh was appointed Secretary of the Army. Hoffman, a notable New York accountant, has shown favorable numbers in the polls at around 23%. This number is expected to grow as Hoffman continues to receive nationwide attention, thanks to interviews with Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin.

His conservative principles have earned the endorsement of powerful Republican figures, including Fred Thompson and Sarah Palin, even against the GOP’s own candidate. Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava, a Republican with an endorsement from ACORN, has a liberal voting record and a platform that isn’t a far cry from the Democratic contender’s.

Hoffman isn’t the only third-party candidate to raise eyebrows; in Florida’s 2nd Congressional District, Modern Whig Party candidate Paul C. McKain has entered the arena in a bid for the seat occupied by Democrat Allen Boyd. McKain, a former firefighter and businessman, has gained a great deal of support among the Republican base as well as the conservative wing of the Democratic Party.

McKain promises to restore true citizen participation in government, pledging to act as a representative of the people, as intended by the Constitution, not as a mouthpiece for special interest groups. In a district where Democrats are a powerful majority, McKain fights an uphill battle, but it’s a battle that he believes he can win.

And with the growing discontent among American voters, it’s possible that he will.

Tom Bortnyk is a columnist for the political blog Informed Dissent.

You would think that when an elected body is proposing the idea to citizens to approve taxing themselves for something they might never even use that they would want to put their best foot forward. We are in Hillsborough though so keep your expectations low. Very low.

The upcoming ballot referendum question is very important to those true rail supporters in the county and how it is worded along with what other goodies are sprinkled on it to entice voters to approve it is very important its passage. I suffered through enough TBARTA meetings while fighting the bypass/beltway/green swath of death (or as TBARTA named it a “freight rail corridor”) to have learned while listening to many presentations on rail referendums that they almost never pass the first time they are on the ballot. Don’t worry, Hillsborough is out to make sure we are no exception.

Photo credit: jeffmcneill @Flickr.com

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This past Saturday marked the International Day of Climate Action, a global call for an active, scientifically-minded approach to climate change. With 4,000 simultaneous demonstrations taking place in over 180 countries, it was the most widespread day of environmental action in history.

Activists hope an opportunity for improvement is on the horizon. In early December, President Obama and other foreign leaders will decide on a new climate treaty at the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Copenhagen. One of the primary topics of discussion: carbon emissions. The concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere recently topped 390 parts per million (ppm), but most scientists believe that safe levels should not exceed 350 ppm. If levels are maintained or continue to rise, climate change will become a more severe problem. 89 countries have already proclaimed their support for the 350 target.

350.org, an international climate campaign, would like to see global carbon emissions reduced 80% by 2050. This target would allow atmospheric carbon levels to fall below 350 ppm once again. The organization was founded by U.S. author Bill McKibben, who published one of the first books on global warming for the general public. 350.org coordinated the International Day of Climate Action in order to send a cohesive message to world leaders about the need to reduce carbon emissions and stop global temperature increases.

On Saturday morning, a group of about 40 people gathered along Bayshore Boulevard to add their voices to the call for climate action. The event, dubbed the “Tampa Bay 350 Action Rally,” was sponsored by Repower America, Faiths United for Sustainable Energy (FUSE), and Greenpeace. With the Big Bend Power Station as a backdrop, the rally featured speeches by various environmental activists as well as a brief demonstration.

Kate Melges, Greenpeace Lead Activist for the Bay area, organized the event and believes that politics threaten to undermine viable solutions to the climate crisis. She said we need a clean energy policy backed by science, not oil companies and lobbyists. Melges also thinks that it’s important for President Obama to take a leading role at the UN Climate Change Conference in December: “It is time for him to be a leader and stand up to the challenge of climate change.”

Sommer Geck, a Greenpeace Campus Coordinator at the University of South Florida, said that the current moment is a peak time for political action regarding climate change. She pointed out a disparity between public and scientific perspectives on global warming: “Less than 1% of scientists believe that global warming isn’t caused by humans. Yet nearly 60% of the population thinks that.” Geck also warned, “You can’t be neutral on a moving train… If you’re not working against climate change, you’re helping it.”

Adrian Brunori, a representative for Repower America, pointed out that climate change affects certain parts of the planet differently, saying, “The 350 target caps global temperature rise at 3 degrees. The Earth distributes that unevenly. At the equator, the temperature will rise by ½ a degree whereas the poles will see a 12 degree increase.”

Several attendees at the Tampa Bay 350 Action Rally took a faith-based approach to climate change. Reverend Warren Clark of Faiths United for Sustainable Energy (FUSE) believes that environmental stewardship is a moral responsibility which will impact the well-being of future generations. Clark gave a short demonstration about sea-level rise as it relates to global warming. He explained the rationale behind the rally’s location: “We chose this place because, whenever there is a storm in Tampa, this is where Bayshore floods.”

The Tampa Bay 350 Action Rally concluded with photographs and a march down Bayshore. Many attendees carried signs with slogans such as “Make Our Energy Clean” and “Power Past Coal.”

Images and information concerning the International Day of Climate Action are available at www.350.org.

By George Niemann
PoHo contributor and R-LAND and UCAN activist
The views expressed are my own, and not necessarily those of the organizations that I belong to

You may have read the report in Saturday’s Tampa Tribune about the Ethics Commission moving forward with a full investigation of County Administrator Pat Bean and County Attorney Renee Lee. As the one who filed these complaints, I can provide more details as to how it originally became a news story and why it’s so hard to go after officials that might be ethically challenged.

My complaint charges Bean and Lee with using the power of their positions in Hillsborough County government to corruptly gain a benefit for themselves that was inconsistent with the proper performance of their respective duties. In effect, they circumvented the approval process to give themselves a salary increase in 2007. They violated what the statute calls a misuse of public trust. But saying that a complaint has been filed is meaningless until the Ethics Commission determines that it is “legally sufficient” to proceed forward. Once legal sufficiency is satisfied and the commission feels that there is enough evidence to indicate a possible violation of statute, it then proceeds to a full investigation. And once it gets that far, it must go through the entire vetting process, including a probable cause hearing. So even though the Bean/Lee case has been in the news in the last couple weeks, the fact that the Ethics Commission has now agreed to investigate it is an important new milestone in this saga.

Ever wonder why you don’t often hear of ethics investigations? You’d think there would be a whole slew of them, considering how many state, county and local government workers and elected officials we have in Florida, right? The reason you don’t see the volume that you’d expect is that the complaint process is complicated and lengthy, as well as, very tricky for the filer. Many people give up on the process when they find out how tough it is to actually get a case investigated. In addition, the cases are confidential and the press is not given access to any information until the whole process has been completed. Typically, if a citizen tells the press that they filed ethics charges against an official, the press will not report it because they have no way of corroborating the facts.

The Bean and Lee cases, however, got into the news even before it was known whether or not the Ethics Commission would investigate the alleged charges.

Here’s what happened. Mike Deeson, the 10 Connects reporter, somehow obtained a copy of my complaint against Lee. With that in hand, 10 Connects TV decided to report on it. Deeson had called me to tell me it was going to be on the 6 o’clock news. I was dumbfounded as to how he could have gotten his hands on my complaint. The Ethics Commission keeps the matter confidential but does send copies to the defendants, which in this case would have gone to the County Center. My guess is that he must have a “mole” in the County Attorney’s office…a county employee that hates the County Attorney enough to leak the evidence and get the story out there. I tried to tell Deeson that it was too early to do a report on it because there was no way of telling if the case would go anywhere. He acknowledged that it might be premature to report on it but the decision had already been made, and it was going to appear on the evening news.

According to Deeson, Lee was absolutely livid when she discovered that someone, possibly a person that reported to her, secretly provided him with a copy of the complaint. As soon as Lee got the call from Deeson on October 9th, telling her the story was going to be on 10 Connects TV news and that the document was going to be posted on their website, she sent a terse, accusatory email (below) to the county commission staff. Basically the note warned everyone that whoever leaked the story to Deeson was going to be caught and punished. I think it’s safe to say that the mole who leaked this story should not expect to receive any (secret award) raise money at the end of the year.
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Will you stand? Comment what you’re standing for here locally in Tampa bay.

Parag Khanna’s maps of the South Central Asia around the 12 minute mark in the video below is a great way of understanding our role in Afghanistan. With this map you can assume that we are not leaving Afghanistan for a long time. We need it to be safe to deliver oil from the South Central Asian countries that most Americans don’t even know about. These small countries have great wealth waiting to be shipped overseas for Chinese and American demand. During the fall of Soviet Russia Oil and natural gas was found in the Central Asian countries of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
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There’s another local story today about former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco flirting with another run to lead the city.  My take.

Florida Senator George LeMieux’s past associations are creative waves, especially when it comes to the politics of offshore drilling.

And Fox News’ Karl Rove says that Barack Obama won’t announce he’s raising troop levels in Afghanistan until after next month’s gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia.

Download the report here.

Times columnist Daniel Ruth weighs in with another winning piece this morning on a subject that Tampa political reporters and others who simply love following politics somehow can’t resist: former Mayor Dick Greco, and will he or won’t he run for Mayor in 2011?

It’s the 2nd piece on the former Mayor in the paper in the past week, and neither the column or the article really give any compelling reasons why he should be the Mayor again – it’s more along the lines of, “Well, Dick Greco isn’t dismissing the rumor, so he might do it.  Ain’t that grand!”

I know I run the risk of personalizing this because I am not a Tampa native.  I don’t know if carpetbagger or interloper is the term some life long Tampanians might want to call me for daring to write this, but: what’s the clamoring all about?

I admit that I have participated in the too early but what the hell theorizing about possible candidates (it’s a small part of the story in last week’s CL about Hillsborough County Commissioner Rose Ferlita).  And as we get closer to 2010 speculation about who will succeed Pam Iorio will only grow greater, because, well, she has to leave office in March of 2011.

I guess my biggest issue is that there’s something about Mr. Greco I’ve never really got.  That is, his alleged ‘charisma’ factor.  I would argue that Charlie Crist has charisma.  Marco Rubio has more charisma.  Barack Obama has probably the most charisma I’ve ever witnessed in a politician.

I’m not getting that from Greco, nor have I ever.  But in Tampa, his personality has always been considered one of his best attributes.

I came to Tampa in 2000, long enough to be around for most of Greco’s last term in office.  A few things stand out for me about that tenure.  His somewhat bold trip to Cuba in 2002 (which might have been even bolder if he hadn’t left town in the middle of the night without telling anybody), which was definitely a big deal in Tampa 7 years ago in a way it is not now.

I remember him endorsing George W. Bush in 2000, which at the time I thought was interesting for a  Democrat.  It became less interesting when this Democrat supported Bush in 2004, and John McCain in 2008.

And I remember the Steve LaBrake scandal.  LaBrake was Greco’s Housing aide who ended up going to jail after being convicted of more than 25 counts of accepting bribes and gratuities in a housing scandal that damaged the city for years.

Greco had nothing to do with that. But he didn’t really seem to know what was going on.

To quote from Mary Jo Malone’s column on this story in the Times in 2001:

The way Greco knows them, a public official can have a messy private life, and it’s his business — even if it poses a huge conflict with public business.

Greco will be 68 on Sept. 14. He complained after last week’s news conference that he was feeling old, but nobody should think this means he is slowing down. It means that he doesn’t understand just how much the rules have changed since he was mayor the last time, 30 years ago.

We don’t wink and look away the way we used to.

Folks, that was written more than 8 years ago!  The recent article has a lot about how being Mayor was the high point of Greco’s life.  And that’s great.  And a lot of people have extremely fond memories of Greco’s time in office, going back to the his first term in the 1960’s up until  his last time in office in 2003.

But is it what the people of Tampa want in 2011?  Maybe they do.  And then Greco should run, since apparently 30 people a day are badgering him to do so.

Locally, the hottest election going is the St. Petersburg Mayor’s race between Bill Foster and Kathleen Ford.

Nationally there are two elections that political observers are (probably) over analyzing right  now- the two off-year gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia. Originally, the GOP candidates looked pretty solid, setting off stories of them being possible referendums on Barack Obama’s first year in office (the same things were written before September 11th, 2001 about our then new President).  In New Jersey, recent polls suggest that Democrat Jon Corzine might squeeze though, thanks to a 3rd party candidate squeezing votes from Republican Chris Christie.

In any event, last night Fox News analyst and former Bush senior political strategist Karl Rove said on The O’Reilly Factor that he believes that the reason that President Obama and his team are taking their time on making a decision about troop levels in Afghanistan (or “dithering” in the words of Dick Cheney) is because the news that he will increase troops there  will upset liberals/Democrats, and the White House does not want to do that before those elections, fearing a depressed electorate.

I hadn’t heard that theory before, and am not sure what to think about it.  The White House doesn’t appreciate Cheney’s comments of course.  They say they are taking their deliberate time to make the right moves, unlike the previous administration.

Media speculation from our leading Washington bloviators has been that Obama will definitely increase troops from the current 68,000  level, but that it won’t be the 40,000 (or more) that General Stanley McChrystal says he wants.

Say what you will about Rove (and there is plenty to say).  He’s been famously off the mark on some of his predictions (who could forget his argument with NPR’s Robert Siegel heading into the 2006 Congressional elections when he argued with the public news reporter about the math going into that election, with Rove declaring, “I’m looking at the math”- no you weren’t, Karl), but these elections are only 11 days away.  Obama is going to make his announcement soon – maybe it won’t be until after November 3rd.

Meanwhile, the NY Times has another story on the White House Fox News feud. New details include a report that political advisor David Axerod met recently with Fox’s Roger Ailes about the rising tensions between the administration and the conservative cable news network.

The key parts of the story come at the conclusion:

Fox News Channel certainly seems to be enjoying a row it considers ratings candy, having devoted hours of news coverage and commentary to the fight.

But White House officials said they were happy to have at least started a public debate about Fox.

“This is a discussion that probably had to be had about their approach to things,” Mr. Axelrod said. “Our concern is other media not follow their lead.”

Let’s face it – the media (and not just Fox) love talking about this story.  But it is golden for the Murdoch led network.  The only show I ever watch on the network is O’Reilly.  Until recently, he’s distinguished himself for not descending into the rabid animosity towards Obama as has Hannity and Beck.  But this past week his show seems to be following in their footsteps.

The St. Petersburg Times reviews a subject that was originally brought forward when Charlie Crist named his close aide George LeMieux to succeed Mel Martinez as U.S. Senator.

That is, some of LeMieux’s work with the law firm of  Gunster Yoakley & Stewart.  Reporter Alex Leary writes that a financial disclosure form showed that Florida Energy Associates, the group trying to cram offshore drilling down the throats of the Florida Legislature this year, paid the new Senator at least $5,000.

For what, apparently nobody knows.

LeMieux ain’t talking, citing “attorney-client privileges”.  And one of the few human beings that we know is involved with the secretive group, Florida Energy Associates’ Doug Daniels, says he can’t ‘recall’ what LeMieux did.

All of this is relevant because offshore drilling is also something that LeMieux may have to vote on in pending federal legislation.  For the record, LeMieux says he supports drilling “if done safely.”

Meanwhile, LeMieux voted against a  Defense Appropriations bill yesterday that included language that would add federal penalties for attacks on gays and lesbians.

He was one of only 29 Senators to do so.  Democrat Bill Nelson voted in support of it.  The House already passed the bill and it now will go to President Obama for his consideration.

Although I doubt LeMieux’s vote will receive any criticism from the political right in Florida politics, I can’t help but feel that the Governor’s selection of the man the Wall Street Journal described as “mini-me” isn’t going to be an overall negative for Crist, in both the Primary race for Senate, and if he wins that, the general election next fall.

At a workshop at the Tampa City Council this morning, officials announced new measures to try to curb the excesses that occur annually at the Gasparilla Parade – excesses generally attributed to people getting inebriated throughout the course of that Saturday in February.

Assistant Chief of Police Marc Hamlin came before the Council to address what the TPD plans to do address the problems that have been a part of the bacchanal.  That includes increasing the number of officers in the South Tampa/Hyde Park neighborhood that day, and enforcing a zero-tolerance policy towards underage drinking and public urination.

Hamlin said that usually 1400 officers work on Gasparilla day, but the TPD will coordinate with the State Attorney’s office to get additional support from other law enforcement agencies.

And Hamlin said succinctly of some of the embarrassing behavior that’s happened at what some consider an annual drunk-fest:  “These things won’t be tolerated anymore.”

Some attribute the speed to which these changes were made due to videos that went up on YouTube in the immediate hours and days after this past year’s event.

Event officials say they’re going to double the number of portable toilets, from 800 to 1,600.

And they’re going to change the route of the parade, so that it ends in front of Curtis Hixon Park downtown.

The moves come after members of the Bayshore/Hyde Park community got organized and held meetings with City and Gasparilla officials.

The City Council today approved drafting a letter to local stores in the area to voluntarily “curb” sales of alcohol during the event, from 10A.M. to 4P.M.  However, without Council Chair Thomas Scott present, they opted to wait to send the letter until he returns next week.

In an interview after the workshop, Council member John Dingfelder said he will talk directly to the major grocers in the neighborhood (Publix and Sweetbay) and “see if they want to be good corporate citizens.”

When asked if he thinks the power of videotape depicting public urination activities (or worse) was the catalyst in officials finally making serious changes, he said he thought it was more of a cyclical event.

“I think it has gotten worse over the past couple of years,” he said.

Dingfelder also says he appreciates the fact that Tampa Police, as well as the portable toilets, will be present further up into the neighborhood and not just along the parade route.

But he emphasizes, “I love Gasparilla.  It’s a wonderful thing, but we just have to clamp down a little bit.”

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It happens every two years, but rumors again are circulating that Bill Young won’t run for re-election in 2010. His spokesman strongly denies that rumor.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner isn’t playing around on the whole Pat Bean giving herself a raise controversy.  He said yesterday that  he’s called the FDLE to check it out.

And Orlando Democrat Alan Grayson isn’t moderating his mantra that the GOP’s intransigence on health care is literally killing people.

Download the report here.

How to solve the homeless crisis, the energy crisis and the banking crisis in Florida and around the world!

In St. Petersburg the taxpayers are being asked to take $450,000,000.00 (that’s about half a billion dollars!) of their tax money to build a new baseball stadium. In neighboring Hillsborough County, they are looking for a shelter to allow homeless people a place to sleep at night. Do you see a problem here?

Somehow the taxpayers are supposed to believe that bailing out millionaire baseball executives is going to be a better way to spend their hard earned money, than solving the issues of homelessness and a high crime rate. Meanwhile the monopoly electricity producers (TECO, PE, FP&L) are being allowed to gouge homeowners more on their electric bills (Largely due to fewer homeowners paying bills). And let us not forget, the banks are raising their fees and offering us less credit.

Recently a candidate for St. Petersburg City Council has suggested a “Half Billion Dollar Challenge” to the residents of his City. I believe we can solve all of the problems that I’ve listed, in St. Pete for less than that amount. And the rest of the State can easily follow the example, which can then be imitated around the Country and the World.

We begin by using the money to start up new businesses, instead of just building a shelter that continuously costs money and produces nothing. The business will be a day labor pool. Many homeless that I have met use Able Body Labor as their main source of income. We will be starting a competitor for this company that is run by and for the homeless. The business will be run out of a warehouse and will double as a homeless shelter, so those who can’t work will have a place to stay and those whole can work will run the various parts of the business such as the office, phones, accounting and the actual labor. The business; lets call it Home Labor Force, will be run like a co-operative. That means any profits will go back into the business, instead of being funneled up to a CEO who lives in another State. Another branch of this business will be exclusively used for producing solar energy products, lets call it Home Solar (Get it? They are no longer home-less). The factory will be another place that the homeless can use to sleep, as well as work to make money, get back on their feet and eventually buy a house. (Don’t let your local Rep tell you this can’t be done. They can create zoning for this. Zoning is what they do.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Well, that bureaucrat watch is still on for embattled County Administrator Pat Bean but she is managing to stay afloat despite some very questionable activities. Since my last update on this even more issues have come to light: 1. She has a driver in spite of taking a car allowance  2. There seems to be no documentation of how her self given raise came to be (how convenient) and 3. Her former top aide, Wally Hill, has thrown her under the bus and said she gave herself the raise (recall she said she didn’t know who submitted her name for the raise award.) Uh-huh.

The Trib editorial board has called for an investigation and the Times has been calling for her head all along. Only Commissioners can clean this mess up (since Bean is not elected she is hired by the County Commission.) She is rapidly becoming the poster child for an elected County Mayor though. I was undecided on this issue or as Wayne Garcia once posed the question Seven knuckleheads or one? But at this point I am now in favor of an elected county Mayor or elected County Administrator whatever you want to call it. Read the rest of this entry »

Orlando area Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson will not be deterred.

The freshman Representative has turned on Democrats throughout Florida and the country with his no holds barred attacks on Congressional Republican in the health care debate.

Yesterday on the House floor, Grayson announced a new Web site – called namesofthedead.com -  that intends to honor Americans who have died because they lacked health insurance.

Here’s the Congressman on the  floor yesterday:

But Republicans immediately pounced, saying the Congressman violated House ethics rules because his Web site also links to his campaign Web site, where visitors can volunteer or donate money.

But Grayson responded, according to the Orlando Sentinel,  saying the GOP accusations of ethics violations amounted to “contentious disrespect for the dead.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner said yesterday he has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to review the 1 percent pay raises that County Administrator Pat Bean and County Attorney Renee Lee approved for themselves in 2007.

The Commissioner dropped that bomb during the discussion about what to do about the pay raises, which has already led to an ethics complaint (filed by CL contributor George Niemann).

Beckner failed to get his fellow Board members to look into a comprehensive review of who else in County Government received raises under an incentive program.

Commissioner Mark Sharpe had previously announced that he was hoping that perhaps the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office could investigate.  But at yesterday’s meeting it was declared that Pat Frank’s office conducts audits, not full on investigations of the type that Sharpe was asking for.   Nor did he get support for an outside attorney to look at whether Bean’s raise violated her contract.

The Board ultimately decided to look at its management compensation policies, with Commissioners Rose Ferlita and Jim Norman leading the way in saying it was simply time to move on from the ongoing controversy.

Speaking of controversy, there could be some developing in the case of a new sexual harassment policy that the Board has needed to approve for their aides after being chastised in Federal Court (in the Kevin White case) for not having an adequate policy.

For the 2nd straight BOCC meeting, Commissioner Beckner said it was time to include sexual orientation in their policies.  But again, Commissioner Jim Norman dissented.  Two weeks ago, Norman accused Beckner of trying a “back door way” of trying to change the policy without going through public hearings.

As the Tampa Tribune reports this morning, the Hillsborough BOCC voted to eliminate gay rights protections from their human rights ordinance in 1995, which was a big deal at the time.

Yesterday the board voted to have the County Attorney review their employment policies and come back before them in December.

Also at the County Commission meeting yesterday, as we reported the Commissioners voted unanimously to investigate the possibility of creating a homeless shelter in a former strip mall in Tampa, but the thrust of the debate sounded like they were just going through the motions.

That’s because after Commissioner White brought up the proposal, which he and Al Higgenbotham announced separately they wanted to bring before the Board (Those two were part of 4 Commissioners who rejected a proposal last week by Catholic Charities to build a ‘tent city’ like structure off of East Hillsborough Avenue).

But Commissioner Norman jolted White by saying that without going before the local community,  he was going about the issue the wrong way.

Oh, and add the fact that a representative for the owners of the property aren’t too keen on the idea, and one could get the sense that the whole discussion was more for show.

The St. Pete Times slams the idea in today’s paper, calling it half-baked.  I have to admit that I thought I heard echoes of former President George H.W. Bush, when he famously said “Message: I care”, when Commissioner Higgenbotham declared, “If nothing else, this shows that we care about the homeless.”

Stung by criticism over the past week after rejecting a proposed tent city homeless shelter, the Hillsborough County Commissioners voted unanimously today to looked at  the ‘viability’ of a shelter at a former mall located on Florida Avenue and Busch Boulevard in Tampa.

But it was hardly a ringing endorsement of the proposal brought forth by Commissioner Kevin White, who had been a steadfast critic of the tent city project proposed by Catholic Charities – and White admitted he has no idea if the property owner would support such a concept.

Commissioner White said the property resides in the mall as a branch of the Department of Children and Families, as well as other state agencies, making it an ideal “one stop shopping”area for the homeless.

But Commissioner Jim Norman immediately objected, saying that White had failed to inform any members of the local community about the proposal, saying, “what you are doing is wrong, wrong, wrong.”

Commissioner Mark Sharpe said the idea should be worked out with the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County.  But he still seems shocked by the vehemence of the opposition to the homeless shelter off of East Hillsborough Avenue, saying “Nobody wants an encampment where they live.”

Commissioner Rose Ferlita said in recent days she had been discussing with the County’s Real Estate Director, Mike Kelly, about any other potential land that the County owns that might be used as a shelter for the homeless.  He said there was one site off of Falkenberg Road near the County’s jail complex, but that the County has already discussed using that for other purposes.

He also said he did have a short conversation with the mall’s owner yesterday about the proposal floated in a news release by Commissioner White and then reported on in the local media.  Kelly said the initial reaction from the owner was not positive about approving a shelter in an office park.

Commissioner Ferlita then came back and said that with the proposed facility residing in Tampa, discussions would have to ensue with city officials there as well.

After discussing the issue for close to an hour, Commissioners then voted 7-0 to move forward.

However, an interesting comment was made by Commissioner Al Higgenbotham at one point during the discussion. Perhaps reflecting on the intense criticism laid out at him and the other Board members who rejected the Catholic Charities proposal last week, he said, “If nothing else, this shows that we care about the homeless.”

This reporter was at the latest Bill Foster/Kathleen Ford debate last night in St. Petersburg.  Not a whole lot of news being made, with the exception that Foster now says he supports domestic partnership benefits.

Very interesting new poll numbers are out in Florida’s Senate and Gubernatorial races this morning.  The big news here is that even though Marco Rubio is still down by double digits to Charlie Crist in their race for U.S. Senate, Rubio has made up 14% from a similar poll conducted two months ago.

Download the Report here.

Perhaps feeling massive guilt, Commisioners Kevin White and Al Higgenbotham plan to unveil a new plan on finding housing for the homeless at today’s Hillsborough County Commission Board Meeting.

Interestingly enough, Commissioner White, who has been under fire after he was found guilty of sexually harassing his aide back in August, has had a number of supporters come out for him at this morning’s meeting.

This morning in downtown Tampa, Hillsborough County Commissioners will discuss a proposal brought forth by Commissioners Kevin White and Al Higgenbotham that the County seriously look at using the space in the former Floriland Mall at Florida Avenue and Busch Boulevard to be used as space for the homeless.

Both Commissioners were part of the Gang of 4 (along with Ken Hagen and Mark Sharpe) who last week voted down the proposal by Catholic Charities to build a “Tent City” like structure for the homeless, stunning many in the community, and leading to calls that they should at least have other ideas to deal with the problem.

We’ll see how the debate plays out today.  But on the surface, this seems like a stretch.  I wasn’t stunned to read the St. Pete Times quoting a member of the real estate company that owns the land:

We don’t think that would be appropriate at all,” said George Heaton, manager of Centermall. “This is an office center. We’ve leased to other tenants based on it being an office center. That wouldn’t be fair to our other tenants.”

The Board had surprised some observers regarding the tent city proposal by initially showing support on a 5-2 vote.  Later the  Zoning Hearing Master, who initially did not support the proposal, changed his mind as well, augering well for the possibility of the homeless shelter that would temporarily house 250 people would be built.

But neighborhood opposition was powerful, and the majority of the Board wilted under that pressure last week.

Also today, Commissioner Jim Norman is scheduled to propose consolidating the water systems of Tampa, Plant City, Temple Terrace, and the County.  Norman says he wants to do it to save money and improve efficiencies.

Heavens knows that more consolidation between Tampa and Hillsborough should occur, to save money.  But Tampa officials have always seem rather protective of their water – or don’t you recall John Dingfelder’s discussion last year to cut off the County from the city’s water supply in the future? ( I can’t find a link, but trust me, he’s discussed it).

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A new Quinnipiac poll just released shows Marco Rubio (finally) making inroads against Charlie Crist in the battle for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2010.

The Governor still has a double digit lead (50% to 35%) over the former House Speaker, but  it’s dramatically different from a Quinnipiac Poll published two months ago, that had Crist up by 29%.  It’s further empirical evidence that Rubio is not just gaining plaudits from national pundits far away from the sunshine state, but actually gaining with GOP voters.

From the press release accompanying the new numbers:

“Among Republicans, 44 percent view Rubio favorably, 3 percent unfavorably, up from 24 – 6 percent August 19. But fully half don’t know enough about him to have an opinion. Filling in that blank slate for that half of GOP voters – positively by Rubio and negatively by Crist – will decide the nomination.

This news follows Rubio announcing last week that he had raised nearly a million dollars in the previous 3 months – still behind the prodigious numbers that Crist has, but above expectations amongst political observers in Florida.

The survey asked Floridians what they thought of Crist naming his close ally George LeMieux to replace Mel Martinez in the U.S. Senate.  The news isn’t great for Charlie: 34% were pleased, 32% were not, and 34% had no opinion.

Based on the poll, state Democrats have to be doing everything in their power to see Rubio beat Crist.  The Poll shows the Governor blowing away the probable Democratic Party nominee, Kendrick Meek, 51% to 31%.

However, a one on one match up between Rubio and Meek shows the Miami area Congressman leading Rubio, 36%  to 33%.

Lakeland Senator Paula Dockery, who has said she will announce whether she will oppose Bill McCollum for the GOP nomination for Governor, gathers only 7% support against the AG in a mock match up.  Obviously, her name recognition statewide is virtually non-existent at this time, but it’s a cold reality that she will have a formidable challenge in opposing the man who GOP state chair Jim Greer cleared the decks for earlier this year.

Overall, Charlie Crist’s approval ratings are at 59%, a number that pollster Peter Brown says” governors of many other states would sell their first born – or at least their running mate – for numbers like that,”.  He added, “But because only Republicans can vote in the GOP primary, Rubio’s strong favorable/unfavorable ratio among Republicans is something that should worry the Governor.”

Bill Foster and Kathleen Ford held yet another debate last night.  The event at the Pinellas Community Church in South St. Pete was a little different than some of their most recent encounters;  Like John McCain and Barack Obama’s affair with the Reverend Rick Warren at his Saddleback Church in August of 2008, the candidates spent approximately 40 minutes alone on stage with Lead Pastor Mark Canfield, with the other candidate presumably sealed off in a sound proof room.

Fitted with Madonna/Janet Jackson style headsets, the candidates sat one on one with Canfield in a convivial way, in which the Pastor asked the exact same questions to Ford and Foster.

If you’ve attended or observed any of the recent debates, I can report that very little said was anything original.  The most interesting question Canfield asked of the candidates was about the St Pete Pride Festival held every June in St. Petersburg.  Ford has attended those celebrations of the gay community, Foster has not.

When asked what she would say to those with more ‘traditional values’ who may object to the event, Ford responded that “love is a family value,” and that “no one should be discriminated against.”

Foster responded by saying he wants to be ‘everybody’s mayor’, and emphasized that he does not believe in discrimination against anyone.

Saying that people have tried to put words in his mouth on the matter,  Foster said he would ‘not object to domestic partnership benefits’ for same sex couples.  He repeated his objections to the Pride Festival, saying that it’s “tailored to a very mature audience,” but he reiterated his recognition of the tremendous contributions of the LGBT community”.

I have no idea if Foster has recalibrated his thoughts on the issue, but the St. Petersburg Times reported last month that at a forum hosted by State Representative Rick Kriseman:

Earlier, Kriseman pressed Foster to pledge to support domestic partner benefits for all city employees. Foster would not take the pledge, saying that in lean budget years the city should be looking to cut, not expand, programs. Ford said she supports adding domestic partner benefits for city employees.

News Channel 8 was at the event, and in their report they referred again to Kathleen Ford’s “HNIC” comment from last week.  Ford apparently is hunkering down, however, and again refused to talk about it with reporter Samara Sodos.

There weren’t really any other highlights that I can think of.  Both candidates had been told NOT to speak about their opponents, but about what their plans were in office.

One interesting comment by Foster, pushing a populist all inclusive message, was that he said he didn’t have a vision for St. Petersburg, but instead wanted to spread “your vision.”  But who decides on what the community’s united vision is?  Could there be just one?

Equality Florida, the state’s leading LGBT political group, is endorsing Dan Gelber in his race against Dave Aronberg for the Democratic nomination for Attorney General.

The two candidates, who engaged in a relatively high mind debate 9 days ago at the Democratic Party’s state conference in Lake Buena Vista, are campaigning hard for endorsements and financial support 10 months out before next year’s primary.

In a press release, Stratton Pollitzer, Equality Florida’s Action PAC Chair says:

Our community has two friends in the Democratic Primary race for Attorney General, however Dan Gelber stands apart as someone who has used his political capital to truly lead on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.

The group lauds his record of co-sponsoring legislation to make it illegal to fire employees or deny someone housing solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as his ” outspoken opponent of Florida’s shameful ban on gay and lesbian adoption.”

Gelber  said“I am proud to receive the endorsement of Equality Florida. Standing up for civil rights and for human rights is the foundation of our country and our democracy. I have worked with Equality Florida and all the human rights organizations throughout Florida, and as Attorney General I will continue to advance the cause of civil rights in our state.”

Hillsborough County community activist Marcella O’Steen and her husband have some thoughts on County Administrator Pat Bean and County Attorney Renee Lee’s 1% percent raises they were able to provide for themselves in 2007.

Commissioner Mark Sharp has said he will make a motion for an outside probe  at tomorrow’s County Commission meeting. Sharpe has suggested that the Hillsborough County Clerk of Circuit Court’s office could investigate, but will defer to the wishes of his colleagues at tomorrow’s meeting.

Support for a government run public health care option is rising in the U.S.  As activists prepare to protest in front of Senator Bill Nelson’s office today, perhaps the new numbers will inspire him and others to get more behind the idea?

One prominent Florida Democrat has no opinion about a public option,

and,  with just two weeks to go before election day in St. Petersburg, former police chief Goliath Davis weighs in on the recent controversial comments on race made by mayoral candidate Kathleen Ford.

Also in national news, the Obama Administration announced yesterday what they said they were going to do when they came into office – that is, stop prosecuting sanctioned marijuana suppliers or the patients who purchase medicinal pot.

Download the report

Attorney General Eric Holder had said his Justice Department would no longer go after those dispensaries when he took office, but his office did actually continue to do so for awhile.

And in the story I quote from, there’s this little caveat:

And while the policy memo describes a change in priorities away from prosecuting medical marijuana cases, it does not rule out the possibility that the federal government could still prosecute someone whose activities are allowed under state law.

Also, President Obama may be in Tampa next Tuesday.  We’ll report once we have the details.

And, swine flu shots will begin being administered in Hillsborough County schools today.  The School Board issue a press release this morning with results from a survey of parents on whether they will have their kid get inoculated.

The results? 55% said yes, 24% said no, and 21 percent were undecided.  Over 25,000 people responded.

Murray has health insurance though her job now, but she said she can easily recall a time when she did not.

“It was awful.”

She gave birth to her first child and was stuck with a hospital bill for more than $1000. It was money she did not have. The hospital visit put her into debt and she spent years paying it off.

Murray said her story is all too familiar in her community. Most of the families are uninsured, many do not qualify for Medicaid and others are unaware of the healthcare that is available to them. And for those who are aware of the different healthcare options, they do not further seek them out “because they’ve been turned away in the past.”

High Point resident, Kaisha Alimar, volunteers at the YMCA there. She said she sees on a daily basis how improper healthcare seems to be a problem, particularly for the Latinos in her community who, “ are hesitant to search for healthcare because of language barriers or not being citizens.”

The Fall Health Awareness Festival, Alimar said, hoped to change some of that. It was held last Saturday, at the High Point YMCA. It offered free health screenings, including HIV tests, glucose monitors and blood pressure tests.

Josh Armstrong, from the Pinellas County Health Department, conducted some of the tests. He said “ the paperwork can be confusing and intimidating at times,“ and he was there to close the gap between minorities and healthcare.

At the health fair, Armstrong said he experienced the struggle  that language barriers create. He gave a blood sugar test to a Latino woman. He said he had to have “ a translator… and be extra sensitive to make sure he understood her healthcare situation.”

The YMCA’s George Garcia said the first time event was thrown to not only connect low income families to healthcare, but to honor National Latino Aids Awareness Day that was on October 15.

The Latino Commission on Aids (LCOA) reports that while Latinos make up only 13 percent of the population nationally, they make up 18 percent of new aids cases each years. And it is worse for Latino men than women who create the majority of the cases at 76 percent. Latino women, however, are still at a disadvantage. They are four times more likely than white women to contract the disease.

Pinellas County Health Department’s Lynn Swain was at the event encouraging HIV testing and handing out condoms, information packets, and warm words of encouragement. She said she wants to make Latinos “aware of the high risks they face.”

The best thing Latinos and all minorities can do, Swain said, is get tested for HIV. Most don’t and Swain said the reason for this is “fear of knowing.”

Yet, Swain said she wants Latinos to know there is hope. Lots of hope. “Ten years ago when awareness was being raised among the black community, people did not want to get tested because they did not want to know. The perception was ’If I have it, I’m gonna die,’ but over the last 15 years a lot has changed in treatment. Now a person can live a long time if they do certain things…up to 40 or 50 years longer.”

Dante Ross is also from the Pinellas County Health Department. He was there to not only warn Hispanics about HIV, but Hepatitis.

Hepatitis, Ross said, is another disease that affects not only Latinos, but a lot of minorities. It can be contracted through contact with infected person’s blood or body fluid.

There are not many symptoms for Hepatitis A, B or C, which Ross said creates a problem. Most minorities won’t get tested or seek medical help “ unless they have to.”

The best way to prevent Hepatitis A or B is to get a vaccination, Ross said. There is no vaccination for HCV, but there is treatment for the different types of Hepatitis.

After the hundreds of people moved through the YMCA, visiting the different information tables, by the end of that day, Ross said he calls the event, “ a success.” He was able to “target the population” he wanted and get healthcare knowledge to those who have been disconnected for so long.

Ebony Murray agrees. Yet, she said that beyond the help that was given to families on Saturday, it is important “for low income people to get out to similar events that are held through out the year at the YMCA.”