After our article Friday evening showing that the declared State of Local Emergency (SLE) expired, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners has scheduled a meeting for Monday April 13th at noon to address the…
Pinellas County’s Thursday press release stated that “Commission Chair Pat Gerard extended Pinellas County’s state of local emergency [SLE] another 7 days.” Chair Gerard cited as authority for her action county commission resolution 20-22. That…
“You had me at hello,” said no sane person ever to a telemarketer. Yet “telemarketing” is one of the types of businesses that Pinellas County government designated as an “essential service” on April 7th. However,…
On April 3rd, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman announced the creation of the city’s “Fightning Chance Fund” (FCF) pursuant to the mayor’s emergency authority under section 2-426(i) of the City Code. The city says that…
OPINION The coronavirus outbreak has caused police agencies across the nation to rethink how they enforce laws. Thousands of officers from New York to Los Angeles are contracting the disease, many are dying, and every…
Irony meters all over Pinellas County are melting down, China Syndrome-style. The reason? After the politicians on the county commission voted on Wednesday to close down all “non-essential” businesses, the county website still says “NOW…
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday evening issued executive order 20-92 in order to prevent local government agencies from issuing orders contradicting his executive order EO 20-91 on “Essential Services and Activities” during the pandemic.…
This past Monday, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister did not adhere to the same social distancing guidelines that the county is ordering its citizens to obey. The incident is newsworthy because it occurred at a…
When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued his executive order EO 20-91 today, he specified that “essential services means and encompasses the list detailed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in its Guidance on the…
“We are in uncertain times,” Hillborough County Commission chairman Les Miller, Jr said in justifying his motion to delay any consideration of a transit sales tax hike until next year. “We don’t know what our…
EDITOR’S NOTE: this was a April Fool’s prank. It’s a short read and may make you laugh! Early this morning, through his executive order 2020-0401, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis created the Florida Defense Forces (FDF).…
On January 12th this year, Hillsborough County sheriff Chad Chronister was featured prominently at a “Law Enforcement Appreciation Day” held at the River at Tampa Bay Church. This megachurch in Hillsborough County is led by…
Eric Sutton, the head of the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), has decided that “behavior that may result in mass gatherings or congregations of people susceptible to the spread of” the coronavirus to be a…
In its public communications, Pinellas County is misrepresenting its own “Safer at Home” order as it pertains to non-essential businesses. The county claimed in this press release that “non-essential businesses must close storefront operations and…
It was a photo opportunity that no self-respecting law enforcement K-9 publicity hound could pass up. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, surrounded by local media, showing leadership and strength by posting this notice at a hair salon…
After our highly visited “covidiot touchfest” article yesterday on Pinellas County’s top officials not following the rules they seek to impose on others, we really wanted to write an article providing more clarity today. However,…
The Pinellas County commission today adopted this resolution which orders a wide range of measures and restrictions on people and businesses in Pinellas County. The order will put many people in Pinellas County out of…
When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was a member of Congress, he told the Palm Coast Observer in 2012 that he supports “government that is constitutionally limited to its enumerated functions.” His recent executive order shows…
