Florida Politics
Monday, October 22, 2012
Gloria Steinem rallies crowd of more than 400 against Amendment 6
The feminist icon headlined Saturday's I Am Choice rally in St. Petersburg.
Posted by Arielle Stevenson on Mon, Oct 22, 2012 at 9:09 AM
- R. MonaLeza
- Gloria Steinem speaking at the I Am Choice rally in St. Petersburg.
"There was no abortion, nothing, we didn't have any rights," Leza said Saturday in front of Jannus Live in St. Petersburg. "That woman was Gloria Steinem."
On Saturday, feminist, journalist and writer Gloria Steinem spoke against Amendment 6 — read more about the amendment here — at the I Am Choice rally at Jannus Live. More than 15 people spoke at the rally, which was attended by 400 plus people. The crowd was primarily composed of young women, with older women and men of all ages also in attendance.
"We certainly think women's issues are family issues because women primarily run their households," said Barbara Zdravecky, president of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Do we need a crystal ball to run Hillsborough County?
Posted by George Niemann on Wed, Oct 3, 2012 at 4:38 PM
Apparently one of the candidates running for Hillsborough County Commission thinks so.
Margaret Iuculano is running against incumbent Kevin Beckner for the Countywide Commission/District 6 seat. She is selling herself as a successful business person with the skills and business acumen necessary to manage the county’s multi-billion dollar budget.
Recent articles have shed a sobering light on her proficiency as a business manager. She’s had commercial property foreclosures, tax warrants for unpaid taxes, as well as, bankruptcies.
But new information that’s come to light may end up showing that she’s not the one that made all those bad business decisions. It was her crystal ball that screwed up.
A brief study of Margaret reveals that she consults with a “corporate psychic” when she makes those tough business decisions.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Convention hosting may be an economic windfall, but Hillsborough locals end up paying an unfair price
Posted by George Niemann on Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 1:41 PM
The politicians sold the convention to us saying it would provide an economic boost. It was historic and an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. All along they told us that county residents would not suffer during the convention, especially outside of downtown Tampa and certainly not in more distant parts of Hillsborough County. As long as we didn’t venture into downtown, life would go on as normal.
As we approach the start of this yet-to-be-determined economic windfall, officials have now changed their tune. We’re being told that some services will be suspended until after the convention. Sheriff David Gee told WFLA TV Channel 8 on yesterday’s 6 o’clock news that, “We’re stretched. There’s no doubt, we’re stretched”. That’s a far cry from what officials were saying less than a month ago.
Leading up to this convention, officials felt the need to promote the idea that there would be little impact outside of the convention area. They spent a lot of time prior to this week conducting a public relations blitz.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Pussy Riot found guilty
Russian punk rockers Pussy Riot face two years of jailtime for hooliganism.
Posted by Arielle Stevenson on Fri, Aug 17, 2012 at 11:05 AM
- ASSOCIATED PRESS
Radical Canadian femme rocker Peaches wrote Free Pussy Riot, in solidarity with the band. The Knife, Lykke Li, Miike Snow and others joined Peaches in the video.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Dang, someone came close to actually using the Regent in Brandon
Posted by George Niemann on Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 2:40 PM
Finally, someone almost got a chance to use the “Taj Mahal” Regent in Brandon. That someone happens to be a five foot alligator. He was luckier than most Hillsborough citizens. He almost got inside the Regent. Unfortunately for him he was discovered before he made it through the doorway and was captured and taken away. If he was looking to rent the ballroom for a gator event he should have known, looking inside is by appointment only, and it’s frightfully expensive.
He may have gotten tired of waiting, like the rest of us, to enjoy the Regent as a community center. His gator relatives over in Carrollwood probably bragged about their community center, the Carrollwood Cultural Center, which offers concerts, theatre shows, children’s programs, art shows and a whole host of community activities at little or no cost to residents.
When you compare what local residents got for the $7M spent to build the Regent vs. what the Carrollwood Community Center offers, it makes you want to snap at Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham, who was instrumental in obtaining much of the county funding while he sat on both boards (the Board of County Commissioners and the Regent’s board), but has since done nothing to change it from a private catering palace to a real community center.
Here's a comparison of scheduled events at the Regent vs. the Carrollwood Center for the month of June 2012:
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Former County Attorney Renee Lee tries to quash ethics violations in court
Posted by George Niemann on Thu, May 10, 2012 at 12:34 PM
Former County Attorney Renee Lee appeared before an Administrative Law Judge on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 in an attempt to quash the fact that the Florida Ethics Commission found that she violated state ethics law when she participated in giving herself a salary increase without the knowledge and/or approval of the Hillsborough County Commission.
Friday, February 24, 2012
State Senator Norman finally admits to guilt on state ethics charges
Posted by George Niemann on Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 1:05 AM
Following an official finding of Probable Cause by the Florida Ethics Commission on February 3. 2012, Senator Jim Norman has formally signed off on an admission of guilt.
The charges stemmed from a 2006 gift of $500,000 given by businessman and political powerbroker Ralph Hughes to Norman’s wife, Mearline. The Ethics Commission had charged him with receiving a gift and not reporting it, as required by law.
Once a Probable Cause finding is reached by the commission, the defendant must either admit guilt by signing a Consent Order, or agree to a full blown trial before an administrative law judge.
In spite of the claims made by Norman’s attorney, Mark Levine, to fight the commission finding even if it meant undergoing a full blown trial, he admitted his guilt in a signed statement on February 9, 2012.
The Ethics Commission must approve his signed admission of guilt. A meeting has been scheduled for March 30, 2012 to bring the case to closure.
George Niemann is a Daily Loaf contributor, R-LAND, UCAN and FSP activist.
The views expressed are my own and not necessarily the same as the organizations to which I belong.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Refusing to admit guilt, Bean and Lee opt for ethics trial in Tampa
Posted by George Niemann on Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 12:04 PM
George Niemann is a Daily Loaf contributor and a UCAN, RLAND, FSP activist. The views expressed are his own and not necessarily the same as the organizations to which he belongs.
Former Hillsborough County Administrator Pat Bean and former County Attorney Renee Lee have refused to agree to the findings of probable cause by the Florida’s Ethics Commission on September 9, 2011. As a result, a trial date has been set here in Tampa.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Irony of ironies — Law enforcement gives suspected ethics violator Jim Norman an award
Posted by George Niemann on Mon, Jan 16, 2012 at 10:46 AM
George Niemann is a Daily Loaf contributor and a UCAN, RLAND, FSP activist. The views expressed are his own and not necessarily the same as the organizations to which he belongs.
This could turn out to be the ultimate political paradox of 2012. On Thursday, January 12, 2012, the West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association (PBA) bestowed their Legislator of the Year Award on state Senator Jim Norman. If they bothered to check his rap sheet they would have seen that Norman must face ethics charges on February 3, 2012 in Tallahassee for accepting $500,000 from a Tampa businessman and mysteriously forgetting to report it, as required by law.
The decision to give him this award boggles the mind, considering the charges he’s facing. Maybe this law enforcement group has a beat on a street in Superman’s Bizarro World.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Sen Jim Norman faces ethics charges at a scheduled hearing on Feb 3, 2012
Posted by George Niemann on Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 8:15 PM
The views expressed are my own and not necessarily the same as the organizations to which I belong.
State Senator Jim Norman will have to face the Ethics Commission at a Probable Cause Hearing in Tallahassee on February 3, 2012. Numerous ethics complaints were filed by citizens following the discovery that Norman’s wife purchased a vacation home in Arkansas using money given to her by the late Ralph Hughes, a politically connected business owner tied to land development in Hillsborough County.
Previously the Feds looked carefully at the details of the $500,000 that changed hands in 2006 for possible criminal violations. In November of 2011, the feds decided not to indict Norman. As is often the case, prosecutors factor in their chances of winning a conviction when making a decision to charge criminally. Hughes’ son claimed that the money his father gave Norman’s wife, Mearline, was a loan. Hmmmm…a loan made six years ago with no arrangements for paying it back??? Oops, I think I just saw a pig fly by!!! The fact that there were no friendly witnesses probably factored heavily into US Attorney O’Neill’s decision not to indict.
