Florida’s largest newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times, has a fundraising campaign this week in which it asks for donations to “fund local news.” However, donations do not go to the Times. Also, they may not…
What is to be done with the over $500 million that Hillsborough County unlawfully collected to fund transit? In two separate lawsuits, the county is making contradictory and mutually exclusive arguments. In the lawsuit brought…
What is a county’s responsibility when a citizen initiative puts a tax increase on the ballot? Hillsborough County may be in the process of finding out the answer to that question. Last week saw a…
In a 4-1 decision, the Florida Supreme Court today threw out the Hillsborough sales tax hike for transit approved by voters in 2018 . The 1% sales tax was projected to bring in $16 billion…
Today’s Aviation Authority meeting agenda didn’t list an action item for a contract renewal for Tampa International Airport’s CEO Joe Lopano. In fact, it didn’t list an action item at all, only routine items for…
On his website therickwilson.com, self-described GOP strategist Rick Wilson writes about appearing on CNN and MSNBC. He mentions being published in various national publications and his own “sharp-edged and witty political insight.” He ends by…
Hillsborough County Commission Chairwoman Patricia Kemp (D) today voted for two new local laws that place additional COVID restrictions on local businesses. People in Hillsborough County may no longer stand at bars to eat and…
Julie Marcus is the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections (SOE). In an effort to educate voters about what the job of an SOE entails and election integrity in general, we asked Marcus for a long-form…
After the election, the Pinellas County Commission will be voting on whether to pay $1 million to the NFL for a “Super Bowl marketing deal.” Given the divisive organization the NFL has become, we asked…
Two weeks ago, Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long’s re-election campaign sent out mailers to voters without the “paid political advertisement” notice required by Florida’s campaign financing law. In other words, the campaign broke the law.…
Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Kemp, who is on the ballot, is facing almost certain disciplinary action from the Florida Bar. This after a bar complaint was filed against her last month. The issue at hand…
Voters received a mailer from Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long yesterday. It was a typical mailer, but one thing stuck out like a sore thumb to one of our readers because of the absence of…
Netflix’ release of the controversial French movie “Cuties” has sparked accusation that the movie promotes or tolerates pedophilia. The furor is mainly on the political right, but opinions do not break entirely along ideological lines. For…
President Donald Trump today announced on Twitter funding for PSTA’s controversial Central Avenue BRT project (CABRT). The project is opposed by two of the three cities it runs through. There was no news release immediately…
Formal project assessments made by the FTA (Federal Transit Administration) and obtained by the Guardian appear to show why PSTA’s Central Avenue BRT (CABRT) project is still isn’t eligible to be funded by the FTA.…
PSTA staff have provided its board with inflated year to date bus ridership data two months in a row. Seven months in to its current fiscal year, PSTA’s official report for April shows a 52%…
Last month, we reported on this mass e-mail from Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. It was dated April 16th and gave every indication that it was sent by the city: it used a city return e-mail…
Public records request by The Guardian revealed that zero (0) employment applications were received by Tampa International Airport for an unadvertised $223,000 per year position as Vice President of Marketing. Former TV anchor Veronica Cintron…
