For once, those promoting and opposing the so-called Sirata CUP (Conditional Use Permit) redevelopment project agreed on something. The law firm representing Columbia Sussex (the Sirata Resort) asked for a continuance of their CUP #23053.…
“We know Betty is here,” newly appointed and unelected St. Pete Beach City Commissioner Nick Filtz said during the discussion of whether to appoint someone to the vacant district 3 seat. His comment was made…
When an Oldsmar city council member resigned last month, that city’s charter provided clear rules on how to fill the vacancy. Oldsmar’s city attorney proceeded to write this 3-page memo explaining the city charter’s requirements…
The City of St. Pete Beach has been sued over how it has recently filled vacant commission seats. The facts of the situation show that many substantive issues have been created, perhaps even deliberately so…
The ridership has dropped 43% since fares were introduced on the Sunrunner on October 1st, this PSTA internal document created by its CEO Brad Miller shows. PSTA is the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority. The Sunrunner…
“See the words ‘out of town’,” Oldsmar Mayor Dan Saracki added when texting an image of a presentation slide to Oldsmar resident David McDonald in October 2022. Saracki was attending training mandated by Florida Statutes…
“No serious studies show that municipal spending on pro sport stadiums pays off,” Roger Blair told our sister publication DR in 2016. Blair was then, and remains today, the chair of the Department of Economics…
“The document is not a public record,” the Tampa Bay Times claimed in its article about the cash flow projections that a firm working for the Rays provided to the City of St. Pete in…
An investigation by Tampa Bay Guardian found that the Indian Shores Police Department (ISPD) as a matter of de facto town policy allows certain motor vehicles to park in the bike and pedestrian lanes on…
A bus driver driving a route for PSTA was allegedly assaulted yesterday on September 19th, 2023. The assault occurred some time before 9:00 A.M. and was apparently serious because the driver sought medical attention at…
On Tuesday September 12th at around 10:35 AM , PSTA CEO Brad Miller and PSTA Board Chair Gina Driscoll greeted a rider as she stepped off a westbound Sunrunner bus. The location was the stop…
A preliminary PSTA investigative report obtained by the Guardian states that the driver of a Sunrunner bus involved in an accident on May 3rd at 8:05 AM was speeding and not wearing his seat belt…
“I do have confidence in [HART CEO] Adelee Le Grand,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told WUSF on February 14 this year. “And I hope that this investigation shows that she didn’t have involvement in the…
A report written last September by David Rishel, a consultant to PSTA, lists a litany of problems associated with PSTA’s new software for its paratransit operation. A metric that the Guardian has developed indicates problems…
“Bonnie, do you find the GOIN’ proposal technically acceptable?” PSTA’s Director of Procurement Al Burns asked Bonnie Epstein, PSTA’s Director of Mobility Services. “I mean…” Epstein answered and paused. The issue at hand was PSTA’s…
“Well you won,” Oldsmar Mayor Dan Saracki wrote us in a text message. “I no longer can use the city seal for my community corner [mass emails] and I have been asked to stop. Our…
In mass emails to the public, Oldsmar Mayor Dan Saracki has twice claimed important sounding titles at PSTA that don’t exist. Saracki would not unequivocally answer whether his “Community Corner” mass email is a personal…
The City of St. Pete Beach is hiring! While that isn’t noteworthy in and of itself, what is noteworthy is the job description: “collect and help analyze transit usage data as a passenger on public…
