In Valentine’s Day-themed e-mails to the public and in local newspaper columns, Pinellas sheriff Bob Gualtieri’s provided a definition of “domestic violence” which conflicts with the definition in Florida law. Questions to the sheriff and his…
The mood was somber at the Finance Committee meeting at PSTA headquarters on January 18th. As the Guardian previously reported, ridership in the just completed fiscal year is down 15% in two years. The plunge continues…
Today, the Florida Commission on Ethics (FCE) granted a 30-day extension to Hillsborough county commissioner Ken Hagan to amend a petition he filed for recovering attorneys fees and cost. The matter concerned an ethics complaint…
Barry S. Edwards is a member of the Poynter Foundation board of directors and (according to their bio of him) also a “frequent guest on several of the local Tampa Bay market political shows.” However,…
PSTA’s 2017 fiscal year (FY17) ended with a whimper on September 30th. In one year, ridership declined 7%, passenger revenue declined 10%, and the number of so-called “Transportation Disadvantaged” (TD) riders rose 26%. To call TD…
Florida state house representative Kathleen Peters (R – Treasure Island) described herself in a November 6th Facebook post as “a woman who has been assaulted/groped in Tallahassee [the state capital].” When asked by The Guardian who…
The 2nd District Court of Appeals (DCA) for Florida today denied the City of Treasure Island’s appeal in the so-called “beach lawsuit” brought by three beach-front hoteliers. The City had been allowing parking on beach…
At today’s PSTA board meeting, board member and Pinellas County commissioner Janet Long said she was “stunned” to hear that the average cost per rider on bus route 444 is $53.85. Long asked why PSTA…
Lauralee Westine is a Pinellas-Pasco circuit judge and also the wife of Pinellas sheriff Bob Gualtieri. On her Facebook page, Westine liked the campaign Facebook page of St. Pete mayor Rick Kriseman. However, Westine did…
In June, Tampa Bay Times CEO Paul Tash announced that a newly formed company called FBN Partners had provided his newspaper with a $12 million loan. FBN in turn had reportedly obtained the fund from eight…
In June of 2015, the national Sierra Club agreed with the Florida Elections Commission that one of its local clubs had violated Florida law in 2014. Specifically, the Suncoast Sierra Club had violated Florida Statutes 106.071(2),…
The 4th annual “Tampa Bay Interfaith Week” began yesterday, October 1st. St. Pete mayor Rick Kriseman spoke at the opening ceremony, which took place at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter in downtown St. Pete. Despite mayor…
After voting to levy a 0.5 mill tax last night, the Pinellas Suncoast Fire Distict (PSFRD) board today gave notice that they will reverse themselves tomorrow. No millage rate tax will be levied after all, only…
St. Pete deputy mayor Kanika Tomalin alleged last weekend on Facebook that she was “blatantly racially profiled” in Misred, a downtown St. Pete store located in the 600 block of Central Avenue. The store is…
Ed Hoofnagle is an Indian Rocks Beach city commissioner. Politicians in Pinellas County normally “go along to get along”, so suing another government agency to stop a tax hike would be down right impolite. Suing…
In 2007, the City of Clearwater leased out land to the Sandpearl luxury resort so that it could build a marina for its well-heeled guests. However, the city doesn’t own the submerged land it leased…
Our investigation found that all 25 municipalities in Pinellas county fail to comply with a state law requiring them to notify the property appraiser’s office of real estate they own. The offending government agencies include…
Barclay Harless, a banker employed by Bank of the Ozarks, wants a seat on the St. Pete City Council. But has the now 32-year old Harless learned from the mistakes that the 22-year old Harless…
