Tampa Bay

Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 3, 2019

Screen-Shot-2019-01-03-at-2.22.09-PM.png

Former Hillsborough County Sheriff and retired state lawmaker Malcolm Beard died Wednesday. He was 99. The Sheriff’s office renamed its Operations Center after Beard in 2013. Beard joined the Tampa Police Department in the 1940s and was later elected constable for Hillsborough County in 1957. He served in that position until 1964 when he was […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 3, 2019

David Straz, the Tampa businessman and philanthropist running to succeed Bob Buckhorn as Tampa’s next Mayor, is standing behind Hillsborough County’s new transportation tax. But that’s a little different stance from when the initial petition came around. “I voted for the transit referendum, and if elected Mayor I will budget your money with honesty and […]

Joe HendersonJanuary 3, 2019

We are now officially on the clock for the 2019 Tampa Mayor election, where eight candidates have joined the fray to succeed Bob Buckhorn, who is leaving the job only because the law gives him no other option. Term limits can be so, um, limiting, you know? Anyway, the candidates have been running hither and […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 3, 2019

St. Pete City Council will consider changes to its sustainability and resiliency ordinance approved in 2017 that would broaden its application and take into account potential conflicts with projects receiving state or federal funding. Under the city’s current ordinance, new construction and substantial renovations to city property require third-party sustainability and resiliency verification through LEED […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 2, 2019

The first St. Petersburg City Council meeting of 2019 Thursday will include several updates to construction contracts for the new pier. City Council members will vote on a series of budget changes to accommodate continued construction activity and increases to initial cost projections. That includes $47,000 to the city’s contract with Florida Associated Space Design in […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 2, 2019

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman is meeting with Michael Bloomberg to make an announcement concerning his administration’s efforts to combat climate change. Kriseman is meeting with the former New York City Mayor for coffee Thursday morning and then the two will deliver a news conference at Albert Whitted Park at 10 a.m. The two will also meet […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 2, 2019

The case of a man suspected of burglary in Hillsborough County is the latest in a string of cell phone-related cases that could further define privacy rights in a digital world. Taphone Prince is refusing to give investigators the passcode to his Alcatel 7 cell phone even after a judge issued a warrant for its […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 28, 2018

The town of North Redington Beach is joining the list of Pinellas County municipalities that won’t be holding a 2019 local election. The town’s mayor and two town commissioners were re-elected without opposition. The town’s qualifying period for candidates closed earlier this month with no challengers filing to run against incumbents. That means Mayor Bill […]

Staff ReportsDecember 28, 2018

‘Stand your ground’ case in St. Pete A Jabil employee is using Florida’s “stand your ground” law to defend himself against charges of culpable negligence for allegedly inflicting personal injury on his wife, Jennifer Chandler, in June. Charges were filed July. In a filing this month, St. Pete resident Jay Edward Chandler claims he was […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 27, 2018

The city of Belleair Bluffs has canceled its March municipal elections. The city’s mayor and two of its city commissioners were re-elected without opposition. Chris Arbutine, Sr. has served as mayor of the coastal north Pinellas community since 2001. He was first elected as a city commissioner in 2000. Arbutine owns The Silver Queen and Belleair […]

Tampa Bay
Aerial photo courtesy Jesse Biter.

Former Hillsborough Sheriff and Florida lawmaker Malcolm Beard dead at 99

David Straz first quiet on transportation tax petition, now he vows to support it

Joe Henderson: Tampa mayoral election moves to center stage

With climate change in mind St. Pete plans update to sustainability policies

2019 brings latest St. Pete pier updates

Michael Bloomberg coming to St. Pete to talk climate change

Hillsborough robbery case raises cell phone privacy questions

North Redington Beach incumbents re-elected unopposed

Stand your ground, medical malpractice suits filed in Pinellas County

No need for Belleair Bluffs vote — three elected without opposition