By Jim Bleyer Tampa mayoral candidate David Straz has embroiled himself in another hot issue, this one of interest on both sides of the bay. In response to a question from Tampa Bay Beat, Straz denied he is a member …
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 The sweet smell of money is an aphrodesiac to political operatives whose main focus is to sell hope to a hopeless candidate, not trying to elect the poor schmuck. Countless examples abound in Florida of self-touting political insiders with woeful campaign resumés …
By Sharon Calvert (Reprinted with permission from Eye on Tampa Bay) We posted here that it appears there’s deception and some incompetence regarding Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan’s retribution motion to pursue those who filed ethics complaints against him. Hagan irresponsibly threw his controversial retribution item on the …
By Jim Bleyer Accused by several women of sexual harassment and under pressure to resign, State Sen. Jack Latvala’s abusive behavior has been occurring for at least forty years. Latvala hit on subordinates and coworkers while working for the Republican Party of Florida in the mid to late seventies, …
Part 2 of 2 By Jim Bleyer Tampa mayoral candidate David Straz is surely one of the much publicized, insatiable “one percent” that seemingly owns every material trinket available to them. Actually that insults Straz, a billionaire who made his fortune buying and selling banks. He finds himself more …
Part 1 of 2 By Jim Bleyer Besides its quiet charm, the verdant Caribbean isle of Nevis is best known for being the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton and a haven for tax cheats and money launderers. David Straz, Tampa’s billionaire mayoral hopeful, is intentionally or not, boosting Nevis’ …
By Jim Bleyer Beware of candidates for public office that launch a well-publicized “listening tour.” It signifies that they haven’t been paying attention to voters and are not likely to suddenly change and become interested in Joe and Jill Lunchpail’s concerns. You can bet that 100 percent of the …
By Jim Bleyer Political hopeful David Straz, who was awarded an ambassadorship but has never held elective office, will unleash a torrent of cash in an effort to become the next mayor of Tampa, according to longtime political insiders in this town. The whisper number is $2 million, a …
By Jim Bleyer Hillsborough County taxpayers, take a look around. If you can’t find the sucker, it’s you. Anyone favoring a new taxpayer-funded stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays is either in the cabal of grifters that will share in the $600M+ windfall or baseball aficianados that have …
By Jim Bleyer “Tallahassee short nights.” That’s the sobriquet that lobbyists, state workers, lawmakers, and their staffers attached to legislative sessions back in the 1970s, known as the “Golden Era” of Florida government. Gov. Reubin Askew served two terms and Bob Graham launched his gubernatorial career in that shining …
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 The biased coverage of the St. Petersburg mayor’s race by the Tampa Bay Times continues days after Rick Kriseman won re-election over Rick Baker. The Times, who went all-in for Baker on its …
By Jim Bleyer Two highly-regarded city councilwomen from opposite sides of Tampa Bay articulately discussed intra-city collaboration on transit, the arts, the environment, international trade, and law enforcement at the weekly Cafe con Tampa gabfest Friday. But …
By Jim Bleyer Overcoming moneyed right-wing interests, a local newspaper that was paid by a spate of new investors to advance the cause of Trump acolytes, and dirty campaign tactics, incumbent St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman was re-elected for a second four-year term Tuesday. Kriseman’s 3.1 percentage point …
By Jim Bleyer Poynter Foundation board member and political operative Barry Edwards was charged with extortion and accused of predatory actions with a 19-year-old intern while he was at Florida State University. Edwards, who headed the political science intern program, was fired as a result although the student …
A Firing Offense by Any Ethical Media Enterprise By Jim Bleyer The Tampa Bay Times/Poynter Institute planned its endorsement of Rick Baker and smear campaign against incumbent Rick Kriseman well before official qualifying for the St. Petersburg mayor’s race had even begun. Tim Nickens, Editor of Editorials, wrote a glowing …
By Jim Bleyer Aside from not being in the hunt for Amazon HQ2, what do Las Vegas and Tampa Bay share in common? Both have daily newspapers that were bailed out by conservative billionaires. Once categorized as “mainstream media,” the papers have rapidly transformed themselves into fake news …
By Jim Bleyer A land deal that would cost Hillsborough County taxpayers an estimated $600 million to enrich corporate interests, at least one public official, and Tampa Bay Times investors was suddenly unveiled yesterday to an unsuspecting public. It’s an unraveling plot that is worthy of the duplicity, …
By Jim Bleyer Darryl Shaw, who has built a multi-million dollar real estate empire in Ybor City, may be one of the Republican “investors” who helped bail the Tampa Bay Times out of its economic morass earlier this year, sources have told Tampa Bay Beat In a call to …
