Cell phone call logs show that Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) Deputy Superintendent Chris Farkas was also present in Augusta, Georgia and nearby Macon cell tower areas at the time of the Masters Golf Tournament.…
“I did wanna, um, you know, address some comments that were made today, addressing some misinformation that I talked to each of you about individually,” Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) Superintendent Van Ayres told the…
Multiple sources have confirmed off the record that Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) Superintendent Van Ayres has admitted that he in fact did accept transportation on a private jet provided by a vendor to HCPS.…
Florida Statute 119.0701 governing public agency contracts requires that all contracts for services entered into with contractors to the agency contain a clause governing public records and public records requests. That law has been in…
“Will you categorically deny that you and/or Mr. Farkas accepted free transportation on a private jet provided by a vendor to your agency?” This is the question we posed via email on August 9th to…
“If it is true the city didn’t push for an inflation adjustment, then that’s poor policymaking and I’d be upset with lawmakers as a resident.” That’s what Geoffrey Propheter, Professor at the School of Public…
“The long and short of it is that the only thing we cannot do is spend DOT funds on producing wraps,” asserted a PSTA marketing staffer in the PSTA Legislative Committee meeting on May 8th.…
After repeatedly claiming that “promises” were made decades ago to “the black community, and businesses displaced” by the then redevelopment of the Gas Plan District, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch now claims he needs three…
“The way you know that Welch has the votes is because all the agreement documents have now been made public,” a former high level elected official told the Guardian on condition of anonymity. “That’s how…
The Art Deco style “Beach Theatre” at 315 Corey Avenue in St. Pete Beach has been an icon in the city ever since it opened in 1940. However, the Beach Theatre has been closed for…
In its request for proposal (RFP) for the redevelopment of the 86-acre Tropicana Field property, the City of St. Petersburg required that a city-produced proposal form be filled out, signed and submitted with any proposal.…
“The City Commission failed to afford procedural due process, departed from the essential requirements of law, and failed to support its decision with competent substantial evidence,” an important legal filing in one of many lawsuits…
Four unelected St. Pete Beach city commissioners took to the dais just as the city was deciding on whether to grant conditional use permits (CUPs) for three huge redevelopment projects, each around $500 million in…
Through a public records request, the Guardian today obtained the final draft version of the proposed “Team Non-Relocation Agreement” between the Rays on the one hand, and the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County…
This 20-year cash flow analysis of a losing bidder for the site development of the proposed new Rays stadium, obtained exclusively by the Tampa Bay Guardian through a public records lawsuit, is illuminating. It shows…
Today’s PSTA (Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority) board meeting was a resplendent exercise in flattery, hypocrisy, corruption, blood and gore (meeting video). Yes, all five. The first task that the PSTA board took on, within the…
In a decision that surprised virtually no one, the 80% unelected St. Pete Beach city commission last night approved an almost 70% increase in the number of hotel rooms at the site of the Sirata…
“Are you familiar with Sunbiz.org?” St. Pete Beach Mayor asked Attorney George Vinci, Jr. at the Sirata Conditional Use Permit (CUP) hearing (video of the exchange) last Wednesday evening. Vinci represents the company that owns…
