the 941

One of great characters in South Park history… RIP Isaac Hayes, AKA Chef.

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Planned Parenthood Opening First Health Center in Manatee County

Barbara Zdravecky, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, will discuss how crucial it is to have Planned Parenthood health services available in Manatee County due to its astonishingly high rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

Out of 67 counties, Manatee has the 17th highest teen pregnancy rate in Florida. Nationally, Florida has the 6th highest teen pregnancy rate and the 2nd highest HIV/AIDS rate in the country.

The center is located at 1105 53rd Avenue East in Bradenton.

The ribbon cutting will follow a press conference that begins at 5:30 p.m. Other luminaries scheduled to attend include: Karin Grablin, Board Chair, Planned Parenthood, Senator Mike Bennett, County Commissioner Gwen Brown and Greg Porges, Esq., Campaign Steering Committee Member.

As the most trusted provider of reproductive health care in the country, Planned Parenthood knows best that women, men, and teens in Manatee County need access to quality and affordable health care.

“Like many communities across the country, Manatee County has a growing need for affordable health care and access to reproductive health care services,” said Zdravecky. “The Planned Parenthood Manatee health center will bring much-needed health care services to the members of the community, regardless of their income.”

Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida was founded in 1966 and provides vital sexual health services and comprehensive education to women, men and teens in the Sarasota, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Ft. Myers, Lakeland and Winter Haven areas. Services include birth control; cancer screening; pregnancy testing; options counseling; adoption referral; first trimester abortion; mid-life services; annual GYN exams including Pap smear; STD testing and treatment; HIV counseling and testing; vasectomy services; and colposcopy and cryotherapy surgical procedures.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., is the world’s oldest and largest reproductive health care and advocacy organization with 847 locations across the country. Its 99 affiliates serve nearly five million Americans annually.

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The Orange County Register, a newspaper in California, annouced it is outsourcing some of its copy-editing and design to workers in India. Management claims no jobs will be lost. Yet.
This blog, for now, will continue to be produced in Sarasota.

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Who’s the greatest torturer of them all? Oh yeah, we are.

• But let’s not forget, we only doing it wrong if the detainee dies.

• One general though, has had enough and is calling U.S. acts “war crimes.” It’s about time.

• But let’s also not forget that questioning the government is, according to President Bush the other day, slanderous.

• But hey, if you want to run a counterinsurgency, here’s a little about the U.S. government’s official manual on the subject. Here’s a summary of the top secret document. And you can download the entire thing here.

• And on the subject of jackbooted thugs, here’s how the government is helping out in the flood stricken areas ofthe Midwest.

• Could Barack Obama decide to forge a national unity ticket be chosing a Republican as a running mate?

• Fun with telemarketers.

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Mike Huckabee has been warning Republicans not to try to demonize Barack Obama, but somebody has not gotten the message:

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In a stunning admission, the IRS has backtracked and stated that the taxes owed by one of local U.S. Rep Vern Buchanan’s companies was actually just a clerical error and not due to non-payment. He still has to fix the paperwork and still may face fines and late fees, but he paid the taxes.

• In other tax news, a review of IRS files by ABC News/USA Today showed more than 7,000 filers earned more than $200,000 and paid no taxes.

• One more piece of tax-related news: The dog of late tax cheat and hotel queen Leona Helmsley recently lost $8,000,000 of the $10,000,000 of his inheiritance. A judge ruled the money should have gone to two disinheirited grandchildren and a non-profit foundation. The $2,000,000 should keep Trouble, a nine-year-old Maltese, in kibble for a while, considering his yearly expenses are only $190,000.

• And finally, should employers be required to provide paid sick days?

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 • Recent testing in California indicated that 1 in 3 votes tabulated from an electronic punch-card WAS WRONG. Yep, that’s how we’ll be voting this fall in Sarasota…

• You have to be just a titanic fuck-up to be sanctioned by the Bush Administration. I guess allowing nuclear weapons hardware to be shipped to Taiwan and allowing live nuclear weapons to be flown across the United States qualifies.

•  As the drums of war continue beat for an attack on Iran, several Senators have quietly been warning President Bush that an attack could be grounds for impeachment.

• Where have all the good bosses gone? Oh yeah, prison.

• 125 miles on $3? Meet the car that runs on compressed air.

• Yes, McCain’s speech was that bad.

• There are loads of redactions, but this report of the Senate Intelligence Committee is still worth reading as it includes several nuggets about pre-Iraq War intelligence.

• There’s still a war in Iraq? And it’s costing us $5,000 a second?  Why am I not seeing too much about it in the mainstream media?

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In yet another sideways nod at the county budget crisis, the Sarasota County Commissioners voted to deploy red-light cameras throughout the city, starting soon. This is despite the fact that the cameras’ use is of questionable Constitutional legality and despite the fact that no one will have any incentive to pay the tickets. Why? Until the cameras are approved by the state, the city can’t do much to scofflaws except revoke their library cards.

• On the good news front, the commissioners decided to drop the really poor idea of charging to park at area beaches.

• The battle for more fair and requitable property taxes continues, but still has a long way to go. Until municipalities are forced to tax a property based on its current use, rather than its “highest and best use” property owners are going to continue to be ripped off.

• The usual spring bump in housing sales failed to materialize this year.

• What’s one sector of the population that’s hurting the most during the current housing crisis? Military families.

• President Bush’s criminal policy of detaining children as enemy combatants. Yep. Kids. Some as young as 10 years old, have been prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

• Today in weird Florida news: Nude maid steals $40,000 in jewels from Tampa couple.

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Yep, it may not just be the average commuter’s nightmare and the average Saudi sheik’s wet dream.

Locally, former Governor Bob Graham and Democratic candidate for U.S. Representative Christine Jennings will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Friday morning (May 23) to talk about rising gas prices and the economy.

The event will take place at Main Street Automotive, 1858 Main St. The inclement weather location is 1549 Ringling Blvd, 6th Floor (RBC Bank Building).

Be there and be heard.

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Sarasota Police now have the authority to tow vehicles that are playing loud music. That’s right, not just issue aa ticket, but tow the vehicle, which of course, costs a bunch of money to get back. The standard threshold for making the impound is if the music can be heard from 25 feet away. I did a test in my driveway last night and I could hear NPR’s All Things Considered from 25 feet away while the windows were rolled up and the radio was playing at a normal volume.

Mind you, I have had cars roll by cranking enough bass to ripple the water in my swimming pool, but what is this new law really about? Are we really going to condone the government theft of people’s personal vehicles simply because the music is too loud?

We’ve decided to do a test. Various Creative Loafing staffers are going to drive around certain neighborhoods in the city and try to get their vehicle impounded. All will be playing loud music. Some will be playing Glen Campbell. Some will be playing Ice Cube. What’s to bet that Gentle on My Mind attracts less attention than When Will They Shoot? Stay tuned.

For now, here’s a little Glen and a little Cube. Crank ‘em both.

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