Posted by Wayne Garcia on Aug. 21, 2009, at 5:00 am
For logistical purposes, CL has been consolidating its multiple blog platforms into one, and now it is The Political Whore’s turn to hang out the “We’re Moving” sign. It makes sense: we can’t use a common search engine among more than one blog right now. And we have to cross-post Green Community posts to both sites, to use just one example of content that fits into both blogs.
This will be the last post in this old blog site (Friday, August 21, 2009). Future PoHo posts will appear in our Daily Loaf blog, which also includes Green Community, arts, entertainment, sports, sex & love, film, TV and other pop culture posts.
You can read PoHo news pretty much the same way you read PoHo now, if you just want news & politics and not the rest of the Daily Loaf fare. Just change your bookmark from http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/politicalwhore/
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 9, 2009, at 9:25 am
Why do I do this to myself? I get a call from perfectly nice people at the Greater Pinellas Democratic Club asking me to speak at one of their meetings (tonight at 6:30, to be precise) and I agree and then I am asked what topic, and I choose to speak on “Fixing Tampa Bay Politics.”
I should have opted for “Getting the Palestinians and Jews Together for Middle East Peace” instead. Tampa Bay politics are hopelessly damaged, so where do I even start?
You’ll have to attend to hear. And no, one of my suggestions will NOT be a plea for kumbaya-like bipartisanship or the like.
The social hour starts at 6 pm (let’s hope for the Club’s sake and listeners’ sakes that they’ve stocked a lot of vodka for me) and the meeting lasts until about 8 pm. It is at Banquet Masters in Pinellas Park, 8100 Park Boulevard. For reservations, call 727-360-3971.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 21, 2009, at 6:00 am
Ed.’s note: Brian and Taylor were kind enough to have me sit in on their food and wine podcast last week. I have to remember to have them to talk politics on my HoCast. Cross-posted from the Daily Loaf:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 2, 2009, at 10:41 am
I never really talk about it much or pimp it to you, but indulge me for a sec: Our News & Politics section page is a great companion to this blog and has lots more headlines, video, Twitter feeds and podcasts than you will find here on any given day.
Here’s how it works:
NEWS HEADLINES: All the important news in Tampa Bay and Florida politics and public affairs that we don’t have time to expand upon with a separate story in PoHo ends up being aggregated into our News & Politics section, with links to the original articles. In other words, I find the news so you don’t have to. Just read the headline and blurb, or click on the link and read the whole thing. Plus, headlines from PoHo posts automatically feed into the News & Politics section, so if you miss checking on PoHo you won’t miss a blog post.
TWITTER FEED: If the word “Tampa” or the hashtag “#cltampa” is in a tweet, it will show up on our Twitter Feed panel. Sort of a cross between micronews and voyeurism.
PODCASTS: Our streaming podcast player for the Political Whore podcast is always on the News & Politics section front, so if you missed an episode and can’t find it in the blog archives you can get it easily.
USER COMMENTS: The most recent three comments on PoHo blog roll up here, no matter which post they were posted on.
CL TV: I scour the best political videos and news bites on YouTube and elsewhere and post them here, so that you can get lost in the joy of streaming video and screw off for another 2-3 hours at work. Wanna see Tom Tancredo call La Raza the Latino equivalent of the KKK? This is the place to do it.
CONTRIBUTORS: Click on each PoHo contributor’s picture to learn more about them and see their latest posts.
If you haven’t checked it out, give it a shot and let me know if you like, dislike or want me to add new features or types of news to it.
Posted by David Warner on May. 31, 2009, at 8:18 am
Because Creative LoafingPolitical Editor Wayne Garcia would be far too modest to tell you himself, I’m reporting that this here blog, “The Political Whore,” won first place in the category of Blog-Affiliated last night in the Sunshine State Awards, the Florida-wide prizes given out by the Society of Professional Journalists/ South Florida. New Times Broward Palm Beach’s “The Juice” and the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel’s “Broward Politics” came in second and third, respectively.
And Wayne wasn’t alone in bringing back first-place honors for the Loaf. Food Editor Brian Ries won the top spot in Food/Beverage Writing for “Anywhere But Here,” his story on the lack of healthy food options for Florida families on public assistance. The Miami Herald and MIAMI Modern Luxury took second and third places.
Brian also took a third place in Criticism for his review of MJ’s tapas menu when it was under the direction of Domenica Macchia. And CL’s theater critic, Mark E. Leib, took second place in the same category for his review of the innovative American Stage production of Hamlet. The Naples Daily News‘ Harriet Howard Heithaus took the first-place spot.
Finally, the entire staff of Creative Loafing won kudos for our website, cltampa.com, placing third in the News Web Site category. I like the judges’ citation: This is not your typical news site. cltampa.com represents a new way of presenting news and information to its reader/user. Through a simple design, Creative Loafing offers a wide collection of headlines from just as many distinct sources. (Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers and the Orlando Sentinel took first and second in this category, respectively.)
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 26, 2009, at 1:24 pm
Actually, that doesn’t sound like a bad name for a law firm, “Welcome to Niemann, Sullivan, Leto & Schweitzer, how may I direct your call?” But back to the job at hand: I have four new contributors to announce. I am excited about the knowledge and qualities they bring to PoHo, including some indepth writing on historic preservation (Leto) and the intersection of religion and public policy (Schweitzer).
Here are their bios, after the jump. I will have some more to announce by the end of this week:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Apr. 13, 2009, at 2:41 pm
It’s just like the old days for campaign consultant Peter Schorsch, a favorite whipping boy for some on the St. Petersburg Times‘ blogs. Before disappearing from the local scene for a few years after getting into legal troubles, Schorsch was very active in the blogosphere and a favorite target for critics, who he regularly engaged in comment wars on various blogs. Now Schorsch, who is helping manage St. Petersburg City Councilman Jamie Bennett’s camapign for mayor, writes on his own blog that he will no longer comment on or read the Times‘ Bay Buzz:
I am not giving up the BB because of what is written about me, although no one would be surprised by my decision if that was the reason. The libelous, offensive comments that are posted by anonymous writers are so hurtful that I would be lying if I said they did not effect me. There are also several pricks on there who do nothing but re-post my mugshot from when I am was in trouble. And there are the douchebags, like Jim Donnelon, on there who do nothing but tear everyone down. And that’s his and their right, but I would never sit next to them at a bar. I would never have them over to my house. They’re losers. They’re dorks. I would beat the shit out of them, in a heartbeat, if there were no repercussions. I don’t want to be associated with anonymous dorks.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Mar. 31, 2009, at 6:02 am
The HoCast this week is devoted to an interview with St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Bill Foster, and we talk about everything from the police department, the broken-window theory of crime, high-speed chases, budget cutting and, of course, that infamous “creationism” letter he sent last year to the Pinellas School Board.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Mar. 13, 2009, at 3:11 pm
Perfect for that long walk on the Bayshore or biking on the Pinellas Trail, it’s me and WMNF Evening News anchor Mitch Perry breaking down politics for you.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Mar. 10, 2009, at 7:00 am
WMNF Evening News anchor Mitch Perry and I taped the second PoHo podcast (or “HoCast”) on Monday, a freewheeling discussion of two bummer subjects (the stimulus and job losses) and one fun (IKEA and its scary hold on its fans).
Never underestimate the lengths to which an overworked, overstressed mother of twins will go to get out of the house.
Creative Loafing has a new website and I’m one of their contributing writers. They invited me to their launch party and I thought it’d be fun.
That’s what I get for thinking.
I put on my hot mama jeans, did my hair, and even applied some goddamn makeup. One of my favorite Republicans, Jim Johnson, said he’d meet me there so I stuck the boys with my mom for the evening and took off for South Tampa.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Feb. 25, 2009, at 7:42 am
In trying a new comment interface, one that has a tie-in to Facebook, something went awry in the machine and our comments aren’t posting the way you are used to seeing them. Some are not showing up at all. Please bear with my tech guys while they troubleshoot the problem and get us back on our commenting feet. Thanks.
UPDATE: We’ve gone back to our old comment box for now, and it should be working fine, so please let me know if it isn’t working for your by emailing me at wayne.garcia@creativeloafing.com.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jan. 13, 2009, at 1:30 pm
I will be sitting in with WMNF journalist Mitch Perry on 88.5 FM’s Radioactivity starting around 1:05 p.m. Wednesday to talk about the activity in the St. Petersburg mayor’s race that I’ve been writing about for the past week or so (here and here).
Join us. It’s a live call-in show, so you can add your question or thoughts as well. (You can listen online here.)
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Dec. 18, 2008, at 11:20 am
For those who, like me, feel the need to have your smartdevice or iPhone or whatever buzz incessantly with messages from friends and newsmakers/newsfollowers, make sure you add PoHo to those people you are following. And I’ll add you. Cuz I actually had two minutes of silence from my phone just now so obviously I still have capacity.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Dec. 8, 2008, at 7:40 am
Well, not moves, technically. But we’re going to stop cross-posting The Short List to PoHo blog and let it exist in its glory over at the Daily Loaf blog. Here’s a link today.
I will be starting a new news roundup and video gallery in this blog next week, but for the next five days, I am on hiatus. See you on Dec. 15.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Nov. 26, 2008, at 4:13 pm
Here’s my column from this week’s print edition of CL. Happy Thanksgiving to you all:
It’s time to give thanks.
Enough with the things we hate: the recession and mindless campaign commercials and cash-strapped schools and unceasing cries to blindly cut taxes and congressional sex scandals. (Actually, I’m very grateful for congressional sex scandals.)
As we prepare for the holiday season, I feel grateful.
I’m grateful to have a job in journalism in a year where hundreds of my friends, colleagues and former students across Florida have been laid off from their journalism positions.
I’m grateful to continue to have a platform to write about issues that matter, like our suburban sprawl and need for better transportation. A year ago, I wrote that we needed to “Fix it now,” citing 10 problems our community and state faces. We’re not much closer to solving them today.
I’m grateful for people like Mariella Smith, Kelly Cornelius, George Nieman, Dee Layne and countless other civic activists in Hillsborough County who stood up for protecting our wetlands and never let up on Republican blowhard politicians. I’m grateful for their moral courage, even as Hillsborough commissioners demeaned their own Moral Courage Award by naming it after a late partisan ideologue.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Oct. 30, 2008, at 7:18 am
I’m talking politics and the last week of the campaign this morning at 10 on Studio 10 on WTSP 10 Connects. (That’s a whole lotta 10’s.) Join me, Holley and Jerome from the comfort of your own living room or at work.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Oct. 27, 2008, at 9:25 am
Talking about the last week of the campaigns and what will happen in the election for president today on Fox 13’s Your Turn show with Kathy Fountain. Phone or e-mail your questions in, yourturn@wtvt.com or call 813-875-8255 or 800-826-4434 (according to the Fox website.)
