Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Ryan RayMarch 10, 2016

New data from Public Policy Polling released Thursday shows former Gov. Charlie Crist leading former Obama administration official Eric Lynn by 60 points in a Democratic primary race for the open 13th Congressional District seat in Pinellas County. Crist leads Lynn by a margin of 71 percent to 11 percent among likely Democratic voters polled on March 8-9, with 18 […]

Jim RosicaMarch 7, 2016

A bill intended to end a fight between the state and several counties over juvenile detention costs passed the Florida Senate on Monday. The measure (SB 1322), sponsored by state Sen. Jack Latvala, was approved on a 38-0 vote. It requires “non-fiscally constrained counties,” generally more affluent, urban areas, to pay a total of $42.5 million for all detention […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 18, 2016

An appellate court has said “pay up” to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) in a financial dispute with Pinellas County over the cost of “secure juvenile detention care.” The 1st District Court of Appeal, in an opinion released Thursday, ruled against the department in a case the judges noted was “one of many now pending before this […]

Matt FlorellFebruary 12, 2016

After a contentious Tuesday meeting, South Pasadena City Commissioners signaled the end of the last red-light-camera program in south Pinellas County. I am proud of my role in making that happen. About a week before voting 4 to 1 to end RLCs, the South Pasadena held a two-hour workshop, where city leaders hashed out many […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterFebruary 12, 2016

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium saw a boost in attendance in the years since the 2011 release of “Dolphin Tale.” That spike in attendance contributed to a $2 billion economic boost to Pinellas County, according to an economic impact study released this week. The study found that 44,440 jobs were supported by the aquarium over the […]

Jim RosicaDecember 22, 2015

New polling shows Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump sweeping primaries in Florida and early-vote state New Hampshire, and tying with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in South Carolina. The pollster, though, warns the “race is still young” and “there is still much room for movement for virtually all of the candidates.” More to the point, other focus-group surveys suggest Trump “may have hit […]

Jim RosicaDecember 4, 2015

In a dual appellate-court smackdown Friday, Pinellas and Broward counties lost separate appeals against the Department of Juvenile Justice related to the state collectively overbilling counties as much as $140 million for juvenile detention costs. In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal acknowledged that the money due to counties […]

Phil AmmannNovember 18, 2015

On Friday, State Sen. Jack Latvala will once again join the effort to provide local families free, fresh Florida produce to create healthy holiday meals. For the 13th year, the Clearwater Republican will host a series of holiday produce distributions throughout Northern Pinellas County. Joined this year by his son, state Rep. Chris Latvala, Latvala […]

Associated PressNovember 9, 2015

An analysis by The Tampa Bay Times showed that Tampa police wrote more tickets last year than sheriff’s offices in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties combined and more per capita than cops in Jacksonville, Miami, St. Petersburg and Orlando, the state’s four other largest cities. And no other law enforcement agency in the state arrests […]

Julie DelegalNovember 6, 2015

Some whites’ approach to the #BlackLivesMatter movement presumes a zero-sum game: If one group is “awarded” national attention on any issue, the reasoning goes, then other groups by contrast, necessarily must lose something. But #BlackLivesMatter doesn’t mean that only black lives matter. It means, rather, that we can no longer pretend that institutions in our […]

Tag: Pinellas County
Donald Trump. Image via AP.

New PPP poll: Charlie Crist leads Eric Lynn 71%-11% in CD-13 primary

Juvenile detention cost-sharing measure passes Senate

Pinellas County wins a round in money dispute with state

Matt Florell: My role in giving the red light to South Pasadena’s red-light-cameras

Clearwater Marine Aquarium pumps $2 billion into Pinellas economy, study finds

New polls show Donald Trump strong but “race still young”

Court won’t order DJJ to repay counties for juvenile detention overbilling

Jack Latvala to host 13th Holiday Food Giveaway with Farm Share this Friday

Report: Tampa Police write more tickets than other agencies

Julie Delegal: Being black matters, researcher says