By Jim Bleyer The sudden departure of Tampa Bay Lightning’s General Manager Steve Yzerman only three weeks before the National Hockey League’s 2018-19 season was the subject of much speculation with no definitive answer. At the time, observers focused on possible Yzerman health problems or his wearying of …
By Jim Bleyer By getting swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning not only broke the hearts of local hockey fans but punctured a huge hole in owner Jeff Vinik’s wallet. If the Lightning, who tied a regular season National Hockey …
By Jim Bleyer The Tampa Bay Lightning four days ago were overwhelming favorites to win hockey’s cherished Stanley Cup. Not anymore. The eighth and last seed Columbus Blue Jackets blew the doors off the Lightning in the last five periods of hockey and lead 2-0 in the …
By Jim Davison, Contributor The term “bridge to nowhere” conjures up many different images from short-sighted government planning to outright corruption. The term spans the entire spectrum of negative perception about government performance. We all know that bridges are built to connect two areas divided by some type …
By Jim Bleyer The Tampa Bay Lightning can afford to be underachievers during the National Hockey League playoffs which begin tonight. That’s how powerful a lineup they have put on the ice during the 2018-19 season. The Bolts tied the NHL record with 62 regular-season victories. They racked …
By Jim Bleyer The Tampa Mayoral runoff Apr. 23 matching former police chief Jane Castor against billionaire David Straz will end with one sure loser: Tampa residents. Neither candidate excited the electorate with an anemic 20.55 percent primary turnout Mar. 5. Voters traditionally go to the polls in far fewer …
By Jim Bleyer American Jews are under siege by the New Left and the Democratic Party’s craven leadership. The Democrats could not bring themselves to condemn anti-Semitic remarks from an ignorant, petty, narrow-minded, rookie Congressperson. The bigot, Ilhan Omar, fortunately drew criticism within her district from Muslims …
By Sharon Calvert, from Eye on Tampa Bay All for Transportation (AFT), promoters of the Hillsborough County $16 billion transit tax, carpet bombed voters last year with glossy mailers claiming it had a transportation plan to cut traffic congestion over the 30-year life of the tax. The ballot …
By Jim Bleyer Organized “hate groups” are expanding in number and membership throughout the country with Florida one of the fastest growing states in this dubious regard. Some of the 75 groups operate statewide while others confine their activities locally. Hate groups cluster in Southeast Florida and the …
U By Jim Bleyer In a text to a Hillsborough County voter two weeks before the November transit tax referendum, Jeff Vinik pointman Tyler Hudson virtually admitted that the now exposed scam is fraudulent. Once more Hudson, in responding to Charlotte Greenbarg’s accusation that promoters of the Vinik Tax were …
By Jim Bleyer Only 1,203 miles separate Seneca Falls, NY from Tallahassee. Philosophically they have been light years apart —until now. The Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis could make history that would make the U. S. birthplace of the women’s rights movement proud. Thirty-seven states have ratified the …
By Jim Bleyer Former Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor, riding her name recognition and Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s potent political machine, steamrolled six opponents Tuesday in almost winning outright the prize of succeeding her term-limited mentor. Castor garnered 48 percent of the vote and will meet billionaire David Straz in …
By Jim Bleyer To paraphrase former President Gerald Ford: “My fellow Tampanians, our long municipal nightmare is over.” That is unless potential voters were comfortable with hypocrisy, empty promises, and losing political strategies that defy comprehension. The seven candidates embraced Mom, apple pie, and transit while introducing themselves to low-income …
By Jim Bleyer Severe but not fatal—that’s the prognosis for the professional and political future of Donald Trump acolyte and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz after he verbally attacked government witness Michael Cohen on Tuesday. That was one day before Cohen gave damning testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform …
I By Sharon Calvert, (excerpts from Eye on Tampa Bay) Six Hillsborough County commissioners are intentionally putting taxpayers at tremendous financial risk and signing away the rights of their own constituents and future commission boards. County Commission Chairman Les Miller, a supporter of the $16 billion All For Transportation (AFT) …
By Jim Bleyer The 2019 Tampa mayoral campaign hasn’t brought out the best and the brightest but it has cast a spotlight on the fractured culture and numerous special interest factions fighting for the heart, soul, and wallet of Florida’s third largest city. The seven-candidate lineup resembles a …
By Jim Bleyer The public has had enough. Mainstream media entities that purport to report unvarnished news must be held accountable for their transgressions—slanting coverage, contorting facts, omitting information. HAL 9000, the futuristic computer in the Space Odyssey series, would go haywire attempting to tally the mushrooming mountain …
By Jim Bleyer In a Tampa mayoral campaign noted for its bland, good ‘ol boy gentility, political neophyte Topher Morrison has injected vitality into the race—directly challenging opponents, attracting a cadré of dedicated workers, and most importantly, energizing a key electoral demographic. Young voters between 18 and 30, …
By Jim Bleyer Candidates for Tampa mayor have been so excruciatingly bland during the runup to the Mar. 5 primary that the campaign has been dubbed “The Big Yawn” by locals. Not to worry. The fervor expected to be epitomized by the seven mayoral hopefuls …
By Scott Myers, Contributor For the 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, there were just 13 pitchers who logged 200 innings or more – less than 1/2 a pitcher per team. Up until 1998, except for strike interrupted seasons, the average per team hung at two or higher. …
