Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Tampa Tribune on the market?

Posted by Mitch Perry on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 5:11 PM

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After corporate owner Media General fired 165 Tampa Tribune staffers in December, rumors grew louder about the fragility of the Trib's future prospects.

Rumors will continue to circulate with Media General's press release today, which confirmed that the company "is exploring the potential sale of newspaper operations." The statement said the company has received inquiries from "several third parties" regarding purchase of some of its papers. Media General owns 23 papers across the Southeast.

"We just felt as a company that it was time to issue a press release," Ray Kozakewicz, a spokesman for Media General, told CL this afternoon. "There's no pending transaction." He would not specify which properties the "third parties" were asking about.

He added that the information was released to let investors and employees know the latest about what was happening with the company. "It's come up several times on our conference calls, investor calls," he said.

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Marco Rubio attempts to humanize Republican stance on immigration

Posted by Mitch Perry on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 3:39 PM

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Jeb Bush has been consistent over the past few years in wishing that members of his party could be just a little more sensitive in discussing Mexicans and illegal immigration.

Although Marco Rubio hasn't himself employed the kind of vitriolic language Bush criticizes, he also hasn't been very sympathetic to comprehensive immigration reform. He has criticized the DREAM Act, which puts him in the minority of the overwhelming amount of Hispanics who do (91 percent, according to the Pew Hispanic Center).

But because Rubio's a Cuban American whose brand continues to grow nationally, the mainstream media likes to check in with him on occasion to talk about "Hispanic issues," a discussion which always reverts to illegal immigration. The freshman Florida U.S. Senator talks with Time magazine reporter Michael Scherer in an interview now accessible online.

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Mitt Romney has spent $41.9 million less of his own money in this campaign

Posted by Mitch Perry on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 2:09 PM

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Although John McCain beat Mitt Romney soundly to win the Republican nomination for president four years ago, Romney did have some success, winning nine states in primaries and caucuses (Mike Huckabee took 8 states). Republicans say that Romney was considered the alternative to McCain, which earned him a lot of votes. Now that he's the mainstream moderate, well, you've seen what's happened this go around.

Whether or not he makes it to Tampa as the nominee, he still remains the best positioned candidate based on his fundraising and campaign infrastructure.

One noticeable difference between this time around and four years ago is how much money Romney is spending out of his own pocket this time around. The difference is pretty radical.

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Hillsbough Commisioners reject effort to add extra single-member district

Posted by Mitch Perry on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 12:06 PM

Les Miller
  • Les Miller
A plan proposed by Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller that would potentially increase the chances of getting Latino representation on the board died on a 5-2 vote Wednesday morning.

Miller's plan was to have the BOCC allow citizens to vote on changing the current structure of the commission — four single-member seats and three at-large seats — to one in which there would be five single-member seats and just two-county wide. Arguing that Hillsborough is the largest county in the state with the fewest district seats, Miller said times had changed from when the charter was last revised in 1983.

But only the other Democrat on the board, Kevin Beckner, supported his proposal. All five Republicans voted it down.

Commissioner Mark Sharpe said he didn't like the idea of gerrymandering districts, though Miller denied that's what he was proposing. He added that Sharpe should ask colleagues Sandy Murman and Victor Crist about gerrymandering (they both formerly worked along with Miller in the state legislature). The proposed maps showing a new fifth single member district in fact were compact, hardly what congressional and legislative lines look like right now in Florida.

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The Raw Story: Don't "What" an Undertaker Promo

Posted by Daniel Feingold on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 11:25 AM

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I welcome you to this week's The Raw Story. As usual, I wrote a whole lot about Raw , but I did promise to give my thoughts on Sunday's Elimination Chamber as well. Let me just use these handy bullet points to summarize my thoughts:

• Both Elimination Chamber matches were as entertaining as you'd expect from six guys locked inside an amped-up steel cage. Bryan and Punk retaining were the correct choices, though Jericho being knocked out cold from basically nothing happening to him is a poor way to have him lose while protecting his credibility.
• Funny that a PPV called Elimination Chamber would end in an ambulance match where no titles are on the line. The Cena/Kane match was pretty solid, nonetheless. Cena winning is the right call. It just would've been great to not end the show with him standing triumphant without any signs of feeling beaten down after partaking in what's supposed to be a grueling match.
• Tamina Snuka and Beth Phoenix made good with the few minutes they got a chance to work. This isn't saying a whole lot, but that was the best Diva's match in months.
• Natalya farted backstage again. The more than usual sounds effects had me laughing, but really, is this still happening?
• The crowd was awfully weak most of the night, aside from the deafening chants for Santino (which he deserved) and the usual "Let's go Cena, Cena Sucks" chants.

Some more of my feedback on the PPV will be mentioned throughout the column. So let's get Raw...

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Florida Legislature poised to kill texting-while-driving bill again?

Posted by Mitch Perry on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 9:18 AM

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In Tallahassee, the Senate Budget Committee has approved a texting-while-driving bill (SB 416) that would classify the offense as a secondary violation — meaning that a driver would have to be pulled over for some other action initially. But for those of you who think this means Florida might join the other 35 states who have enacted some sort of law on cell phones in cars, consider that this is the third straight year that such a bill has passed through this committee, only to die in the House of Representatives.

And apparently there's no indication it will be any different this year.

House Speaker Dean Cannon does not support the legislation, saying that he has personal liberty qualms about "any bill that regulates individual behavior," though critics note that he lacks such concerns when it comes to requiring women to undergo ultrasounds before having abortions.

A companion bill in the House sponsored by Sarasota Republican Ray Pilon has gone nowhere. It has yet to get a hearing by the House Transportation and Highway Safety Subcommittee, chaired by Brad Drake, who also opposes the measure.

Senate sponsor Nancy Detert from Sarasota tells the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that she hopes at least that the House can hear about the bill. "It's strictly texting. I’m not trying to take the cell phone out of your cold dead hand. I’m just saying stop weaving into my lane.”

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The Gaily News: Indiana Rep. Bob Morris vs. the Girl Scouts

Posted by Tiffany Razzano on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 9:17 AM

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Be careful the next time you order a box of Thin Mints — you might be tricked into supporting the gay agenda.

At least that's what an Indiana lawmaker would like you to believe. Republican Indiana State Rep. Bob Morris sent a letter to the state's Republican Caucus opposing the celebration of the Girl Scouts of America centennial anniversary. His issues with the group? It promotes homosexuality, sexualizes young girls, and is aligned with Planned Parenthood. Morris, who pulled his own daughters out of their Girl Scout troop as a result, came to this conclusion after a "small amount" of Internet research.

As a response to Morris' ridiculous letter, the state's House Speaker, a democrat, handed out Girl Scout cookies on the floor of the General Assembly.

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Mitch Perry Report 2.22.12 -lobbying for peace in Washington

Posted by Mitch Perry on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 8:06 AM

As the four GOP presidential candidates gather in Mesa, Arizona tonight to engage in their first debate since last month in Jacksonville, no doubt Rick Santorum will be on the firing line for several of his controversial comments on social issues, both in this current campaign, and previously in his political career.

Conservative news aggregator Matt Drudge joined what Sarah Palin would call the "lamestream media" yesterday when he posted on his website a story about Santorum saying that Satan was "attacking the great institutions of America," in a 2008 speech in Florida. The prominence of the report confirmed that Drudge is in the pocket for Mitt Romney, and is using his powerful website to help the Massachusetts Governor get the GOP nomination.

The Tampa Tribune's William March has had two consecutive above the fold stories regarding GOP Senate candidate Connie Mack and his questionable financial reporting. Mack continues to dominate in the polls, but a series of negative stories might start eroding his formidable lead.

And Diane Randall, the Executive Secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, came by CL's offices yesterday to inform us about her organization and their fight to see major defense cuts occur, as well as persuade Washington lawmakers to give peace a chance, and not war in Iran.

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Mr. Skin's 13th Anatomy Awards (NSFW)

Posted by Sex and Love editor on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 8:00 AM

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Millions of women watch the Academy Awards to imagine themselves dressed as the actresses waltzing down the red carpet. Just as many men watch to imagine these stars dressed in nothing at all.

While the Oscars honors unessential elements of filmmaking, like acting and cinematography, Mr. Skin celebrates what brings many men to the theaters: naked women. So, while women may fill their Netflix cues with this year's Oscar winners, men can add films and television shows that took home Anatomy Awards. Below are all of Mr. Skin's 2012 winners, with a few sneak peeks at the acclaimed scenes.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The lobbyist for peace comes to Tampa

Posted by Mitch Perry on Tue, Feb 21, 2012 at 5:39 PM

FCNLs Diane Randall
  • FCNL's Diane Randall
Whether it actually comes to fruition or not, right now the Department of Defense is looking at having its budget cut in ways that only the most passionate peaceniks could have hoped for.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently outlined a $525 billion budget for next year that would be the first step in a deficit-cutting plan that calls for a reduction in projected defense spending of $487 billion over 10 years.

And there are potentially even deeper cuts coming. The deficit-cutting super committee's failure last fall to come up with at least $1.2 trillion in savings means automatic, across-the-board cuts for defense and domestic programs beginning next January, which would mean an additional $492 billion reduction over a decade.

Many D.C. observers say they doubt such cuts will occur, but if Diane Randall has anything to say about it, they will.

Randall is executive secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, which she calls "a Quaker lobby in the public interest." Her group is lobbying hard to see those defense cuts come through as currently laid out.

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