Tampa Bay

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 5, 2018

Hillsborough County is moving forward with plans to appoint four members to the transportation sales tax oversight committee despite a lawsuit questioning the validity of the new charter amendment voters approved in November. The commission voted Wednesday to begin exploring options for appointees including advertising the positions broadly online and in the media and allowing […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 5, 2018

Trustees at the University of South Florida approved the search requirements Tuesday for a new system president to replace Judy Genshaft who is retiring July 1. The board approved qualifications to seek a new university leader with a robust academic background, a feature requested from students and faculty since Genshaft announced her retirement earlier this […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 5, 2018

Hillsborough County is moving forward with plans to bring electric scooters to the county. Hillsborough County Commissioners voted to have county attorneys work with staff from the electric scooter company Bird on how and where to implement service. Electric scooters are an emerging micro-mobility transit solution aimed at providing first mile/last mile solutions to transit […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 4, 2018

Florida Polytechnic University is trying to tackle drowsy and distracted driving in its latest research, the school announced Tuesday. New research seeks to detect and prevent the two road dangers, which represent one of the main causes of traffic fatalities. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Kanwal Gagneja is heading the effort. She and her team […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 4, 2018

Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White has filed a lawsuit against Hillsborough County, all three cities within the county, the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority and several county constitutional offices – all of which will receive a portion of the revenue created by the new one percent transportation and transit sales surtax taking effect next month. […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 4, 2018

During its final meeting of 2018 Tuesday, the University of South Florida Board of Trustees outlined progress on and future steps for consolidating its three campuses — St. Petersburg, Sarasota/Manatee and Tampa — into one single accreditation. The three campuses currently work under separate accreditation, but the state passed a plan to integrate them earlier […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 4, 2018

The All For Transportation campaign is standing by its referendum charter language that voters approved last month raising sales tax 1 percent to fund transit and transportation improvements after news of a potential lawsuit emerged this week. Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White told WTSP News Channel 10 he was planning to file a suit blocking […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 3, 2018

Tampa mayoral candidate Mike Suarez wants to use revenue generated from the 1 percent sales tax increase voters approved last month to fund transportation and transit improvements to draw down federal funding and finance future projects. The All For Transportation sales surtax will generate about $280 million a year in Hillsborough County with about $34 […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 3, 2018

Tampa mayoral candidate Ed Turanchik wasn’t a fan of the All For Transportation referendum voters approved to fund transportation and transit improvements in Hillsborough County, but he thinks he’s the best candidate to facilitate new revenue spending. In an interview with Florida Politics, Turanchik rejected more conventional transit plans in favor of a local-first strategy […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 3, 2018

Ray Blacklidge appears to have already started campaigning for House District 69 despite losing his first bid less than one month ago. Blacklidge lost to Democrat Jennifer Webb, who now represents the West St. Petersburg and mid-Pinellas County district, but his campaign Facebook page now reflects a 2020 logo. Blacklidge did not respond to a request […]

Tampa Bay

Hillsborough County moves forward with transportation tax implementation despite lawsuit

Judy Genshaft’s successor at USF to be an academic

Hillsborough County eyes electric scooters

Florida Polytechnic University researchers are using tech to reduce distracted driving

Stacy White lawsuit calls All For Transportation unlawful, asks for it to be scrapped

Kate Tiedemann College of Business likely protected in USF consolidation

All For Transportation volunteers not deterred by lawsuit threat

Mike Suarez’s Tampa: More streetcars, better sidewalks and tiny apartments

Smart transit and education top Tampa mayoral candidate Ed Turanchik’s campaign

Defeated in November, Ray Blacklidge eyes 2020 rematch vs. Jennifer Webb

Florida politics had 11 questions before federal qualifying week. Here are the answers.