Hillsborough County Independent Oversight Committee (IOC) staff have developed a media plan that includes “key messages” for committee members and staff to advance to the public. The media plan says that those key messages “shape what you want the public to think and do.” First reported on by TampaBayBeat.Info yesterday, the effort to use tax…
Sheriff Chad Chronister seeks out criminal pastor he arrested – lunch with no social distancing
Last Wednesday, Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister sought out and visited Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne for lunch at his house. Chronister’s initiative took place a month after he had Howard-Browne arrested for allegedly violating a county order during over a church service that practiced social distancing. Howard-Browne’s arrest on March 30th made national and international news. We…
Gualtieri’s coronavirus arrest of “jerk” biz owner results in no prosecution
“He wanted to become unreasonable, frankly, he was being a jerk about it, so he went to jail,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told (video) county commissioners in a meeting on Tuesday about Pinellas Park business owner Galen Wood. Gualtieri’s deputies had arrested Wood twelve days earlier for allegedly violating the governor’s “Safer At Home”…
County commish violates campaign finance law six times during pandemic, effort to self-promote?
A review of the mass e-mails sent out by the political campaign of Pinellas County commissioner Janet Long found that she committed six Florida campaign finance law violations during the county pandemic declared state of emergency. The violations consist of not including the “paid political advertisement” disclaimer required by law, to wit Florida Statute 106.143(1)(a)….
PSTA makes its buses free, but ridership still drops 43% in less than 3 weeks
On March 19th, PSTA decided to waive bus fares on its network due to the Wuhan virus pandemic. Despite its service now being 100% free, records show that PSTA’s ridership still dropped by 43.2% from the first week of March to the last week of March. Further declines are expected in April. A recent Tampa…
Kriseman donates zero to city’s own relief fund, Montanari donates $1,000
Twelve days in to St. Pete’s Fighting Chance Fund (FCF) program, Mayor Rick Kriseman had not made a donation to the fund. Kriseman called the fund recipients “the backbone of this city” when he announced the FCF program. District 3 City Council Member Ed Montanari donated $1,000, and District 4 City Council member Darden Rice…
Castor mixed city resources with her political campaign and political committee
In an e-mail Thursday morning announcing a City of Tampa pandemic relief program, Mayor Jane Castor wrote “We will get through this together. We are one city, one community, and One Tampa.” The city named its pandemic relief program “One Tampa” and is allegedly aimed at residents and businesses “most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.”…
CONFIRMED: airport violated own policy in hiring Cintron for $223,000
Tampa International Airport (TPA) violated its own hiring procedure in at least two ways when it hired former Bay News 9 news anchor Veronica Cintron for $223,000 per year. Cintron’s husband is Preston Rudie, founder and CEO of Catalyst Communications Group. The company says it has “strong relationships with officials at the local, state and…
Hillsborough County commission re-kills sales tax hike to fund transit
Hillsborough County Commissioner Mariella Smith wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. After the commission voted two weeks ago to not schedule a public hearing on a sales tax hike to fund transit, Smith wanted a second bite at the apple. For today’s commission meeting, Smith inserted this agenda item to rescind the previous decision. Smith’s…
TPA didn’t advertise $223,000 job, then hires local TV personality
It isn’t often that a position paying $223,000 per year opens up at the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA), a public agency using public funds. Yet the HCAA didn’t post that highly paid opening for the job as Vice President of Communications on Taleo, where it normally posts jobs. The HCAA, which operates Tampa Airport,…
“Out of an abundance of caution” – predictable Pinellas Politicrats
“Out of an abundance of caution” were the exact words used today in a Pinellas County Commission meeting, just as we had predicted on Friday. We called it! It was on Friday that the Tampa Bay Guardian broke the news of the mistake leading to the accidental end of the State of Local Emergency (SLE)…
Pinellas County schedules meeting after our article alleging unlawful action
After our article Friday evening showing that the declared State of Local Emergency (SLE) expired, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners has scheduled a meeting for Monday April 13th at noon to address the issue. Citizens can attend the virtual meeting via phone and may speak for up to 3 minutes each, offering their…
