By Gene Webb, reposted from Bay Post Internet If you have been watching the news of the school shooting in Parkland and have been captivated by the event and the reactions around the state and the country, you may have missed a not so subtle twist. If you go …
By Jim Bleyer Two Tampa legislators and Gov. Rick Scott, all with undistinguished records of public service, this week gave voters more reasons to support their opponents in 2018. State Reps. Jackie Toledo and Shawn Harrison along with the governor cratered to …
By Scott Myers, Contributor The current teacher pay issue in Hillsborough County is just an ugly symptom of how screwed up the county’s and the state of Florida’s priorities are. What is crystal clear is that public education is not very important as far as the powers-to-be are …
By Jim Bleyer Community leaders in 218 American cities woke up Friday wondering why the top executives at internet retailing giant Amazon failed to recognize their hometown’s unparalleled assets and bounty of virtues. Despite the announced winnowing of the field to 20 cities, the competition has always been about …
By Jim Bleyer Florida Democrats, not Republicans, will be the ones tested in 2018. When it comes to lessons learned, the GOP is the quicker study. The Democrats are strong in urban pockets and U.S. Senator Bill Nelson has been their only …
By Jim Bleyer Events in Alabama and Tampa during the past week should give hope to Florida Democrats who have been more adept at infighting and incompetence than winning elections over the past decade. Despite holding …
By Jim Bleyer Alex Harris always was moved to create. As a kid with seven siblings in rural Georgia, he parlayed buckets, pie pans, and pine tree branches into his first drum kit. Now he wants to inspire others. He’s succeeding. His Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT) in St. …
By Jim Bleyer “I have much respect for your father. But your father, his thinking is old-fashioned.“ That’s how Virgil Sollozzo described Vito Corleone to his son Michael in The Godfather. Sollozzo could just as well have been talking about David Straz as much as the iconic film’s …
By Jim Bleyer When the University of South Florida announced in May that management of its Sun Dome arena would be overseen by a Jeff Vinik enterprise, no details of the deal were reported in the local media. As Tampa Bay Beat discovered, USF President Judy Genshaft and Athletic Director …
By Jim Bleyer Improved mass transit is the top priority of the 238 businesses that comprise Innovation Place, the economic district anchored by the University of South Florida, the organization’s Executive Director Mark Sharpe said Friday. Speaking at Cafe con Tampa’s weekly community forum, Sharpe conceded that Hillsborough County …
