Voter turnout in the Florida primary was dismal this year – less than 20 percent statewide - despite the efforts of dozens of campaigns and hundreds of volunteers to get people to the polls. Other states saw a similarly small turnout.
Yet nationwide, the introduction of more restrictive voter laws is on the rise. This year, 41 states introduced more than 180 bills to limit early voting, require specific ID at the...
It sounded like a good idea. In 1988, the authors of the Orange County Charter created a provision that gives voters a tool to petition for change.
Since that time, there have been several attempts, but no one met the requirements to put an issue on the ballot until this year.
That’s when a group of activists...
Voters will go to the polls today to decide who will serve them on county commissions, school boards and in courtrooms across Florida. They’ll also decide which state and federal primary candidates will advance to November’s general election.
Voter turnout is expected to be lousy. Of Florida’s 11.5 million registered voters, fewer than 20 percent are expected to cast ballots, if that.
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Every time professional athletes behave badly, the NCAA punishes a football program or a college player lands in jail, sports fans talk about how we no longer have sports heroes.
In the last month, Penn State was slapped with a $60-million fine for tolerating child abuse. A top draft pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars pleaded guilty to aggravated DUI after blowing triple the legal limit in his...
When Miami firefighters heard about an iguana stuck in the dashboard of a car over the weekend, they did what firefighters do. They rescued the four-foot reptile.
The lizard likely would have died a painful death if not for the 911 call from the man who discovered him shortly after leaving work. After its rescue, news reports said the lizard was released “where he belonged, in some nearby brush.”...
Deborah Decker fights in the trenches to save man’s best friend – specifically the working breed. She is partial to the big lovable dogs - German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans and Labrador Retrievers among them.
Through her K-9 Shelter & Sanctuary Corp. in St. Petersburg, she helps owners facing tough times keep their pets, knowing animals relinquished to the pound face near-certain death....
When I was a kid, we had to go deep into the woods to see wildlife. Now, it seems you can’t watch the nightly news without witnessing another wild animal encounter in the city.
Take the rash of sightings of Florida Black Bears. In the past few months, they’ve ambled down black tar streets in Miami, taken dips in backyard pools in Orlando and climbed trees in Tampa.
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It has been 40 years since Florida played host to your party’s convention. We are honored you have chosen Tampa for your August gathering. And we hope you’ll take time to experience our Latin Quarter, called Ybor City.
In the center of the historic district, you’ll find a bronze statue honoring the Northern Spaniards, Cubans, Sicilians, Germans and Romanian Jews who founded and helped build this...
If you don’t agree with President Obama’s views on same-sex marriage, at least consider the business case for supporting it.
In states that recognize or are considering recognizing same-sex marriage, the benefits are undeniable.
In Vermont, allowing same-sex couples to marry would generate $30.6...
Fifty years ago, Clarence Earl Gideon, a Panama City drifter, sat in his jail cell, took a pencil to paper and wrote a five-page petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.
He asked the justices to consider his complaint that a Bay County judge had violated his Sixth Amendment right to counsel in sentencing him to five years in prison for allegedly stealing change and beer from a local tavern. With no money for...
