Another week of lots of news, and that means lots of subjects to discuss on the Sunday morning chatfests. Let’s find out who will be talking about what… ABC NEWS / This Week with George Stephanopoulos: Appearing the latest security challenges facing America, including what to do with the Guantanamo detainees, the president’s decision to reinstate [...]
It was announced early Tuesday afternoon that three Hillsborough County schools that had been closed this week due to the “probablity” of a case of the so-called H1N1 or “swine flu” virus having affected one or more students in their attendance areas would reopen Thursday. Five “probable” cases have been reported in Hillsborough County, with one across the [...]
There are a variety of subjects the guests and panelists will likely touch upon: President Obama’s battle with some within his own party to approve his budget with as few differences as possible, Wall Street’s bullish moves this week, and the commander-in-chief’s announcement of a new strategy in Afghanistan above the fold. It’s time to check [...]
This morning The Ledger, a Polk County daily, wrote an editorial that should be read by every taxpayer in Orange County. In every editorial the Sentinel has pushed hard to give CSX $795 million dollars. At least the Ledger editorial board realizes this isn't a plan to build a commuter railroad, it's a plan to railroad the commuters.
A couple of news items that are near and dear to Lakelanders. (And a bonus headline.) [ONE QUESTION WASTED] Townsend interviewed in Ledger's "Five Questions" Last night the Ledger posted an article where Lakeland's paper of record asked the Downtown Lakeland Partnership's Julie Townsend* five questions about her organization's continuing fight against Florida wasting taxpayer dollars to give CSX corporate welfare. Yes, the project that used to be called Central Florida Commuter Rail. The project that used to be responsible for forcing CSX to build a new ILC in Winter Haven and running many more longer trains through downtown Lakeland. You remember that don't you? But I guess the Ledger believes we have always been at war with Oceana. Back to the Townsend questions. I finished the article and wondered why 20% of the questions ere wasted on: CSX officials have said that if the purchase of the 61 miles of track goes through, there will be money available to help to install quiet zones along the rail corridor indowntown Lakeland, but if the deal falls through, the quiet zones are probably off the table. Which is a bigger issue for the DLP: quiet zones or the increased number of trains the Orlando deal will bring? Townsend gave a courteous answer "To my knowledge, CSX has never offered to pay for quiet zones...." I wish she had said, "Stop misleading with talk about quiet zones. It's the wasted tax money and traffic stupid. It always has been" (To paraphrase a Bush.) • File Storms Under Aquatic Birds (genus Gavia) Part of our reading area has a state Senator, Rhona Storms. She was in the news recently: The economy is a shambles. State revenue is in a free-fall. House leaders in both parties stand accused of misusing their political powers. This week, state Sen. Ronda Storms identified another menace: The Dewey Decimal System -- Libraries Offer Plenty For Storms To Stew Over Some might give Storms credit. The Dewey Decimal system is a proprietary product of OCLC. Libraries use the company to catalog books and must pay a small price per item placed in their catalog. (Assuming they want to use OCLC's common cataloging info. They could save the money and not join with OCLC, but it would cost them more to do all their own original cataloging. Trust me on this one. I spent seven years dealing with OCLC and catalogers on a daily basis. There is a system that is owned by the American people: the Library of Congress system, but cataloging under that system also has costs. Storms proposes libraries use the BAM method. You know where bookstores place items under big signs in some odd sort of order. You know how easy it is to find the book you need at Borders or Books-a-Million? (I'll wait for my sarcasm challenged daughter to catch that last sentence.) OK, it is simply silly that Storms believes only "little old librarians" will be upset to lose proper shelving of books. So will every single library patron. It's not a miracle that you can look up a book and go to a shelf and find it properly placed. It is the result of a lot of hard work and a precise system of cataloging. It may save a few dollars to not use Dewey, but I promise that when your child needs that book on loons the night before the paper is due...you will be glad you don't instead find a biography on Rhonda Storms. • And as a bonus, this headline from today's Ledger: Woman Accused of Biting Hubby's Thingy Seriously? "Thingy"?! It's a penis people. The Orlando Sentinel, where the Ledger got the story, wasn't much better: Angry wife jailed after biting husband's you-know-what Note that the Sentinel's URL does reference "penis." • * - Townsend is the wife of Lakeland Local writer Billy Townsend, but that makes no difference to me. photo 1 credit: Cat Carter for ylakeland photo 2 credit: becflies2001 (Cross-posted at LakelandLocal.com)
"Hillsborough residents with homes built before June 18, 1980, can get reduced flood insurance rates if they hurry." -- FEMA Updates Flood Maps "Teachers in Central Florida public schools are headed back to the classroom this year without a pay raise." -- Teachers 'not going to get a penny' in raises "Gov. Charlie Crist told state agency heads Thursday that he wants construction projects sped up so more money can be pumped into the sluggish state economy." -- 'Accelerate Florida' With Construction, Crist Says Bonus: Now the true costs start... "The construction of two new roads that could help relieve traffic problems that the planned CSX rail freight terminal will make worse should be top priorities for seeking state road funds, the Polk Transportation Planning Organization agreed Thursday." -- CSX Project Pushes 2 Roads Higher on Construction Request "On Aug. 29, Garcia and thousands of other Spanish-speaking Hispanics in Central Florida will read El Nuevo Dia for the last time." -- Spanish daily El Nuevo Dia Orlando about to fold One of the sillier editorials you'll read. Don't miss the reader comments. "District 19 deserves better than Mr. Siplin. But a weak opponent compels us to endorse Gary Siplin in the Aug. 26 Democratic primary." -- A weak primary opponent compels us to endorse the senator Note: MI4's Don't Miss column will be missing in action this weekend. See you Monday.
"Florida voters can cast early ballots for the Aug. 26 Republican and Democratic primaries starting Monday. Many will be greeted by changes since 2006. Statewide, 15 counties -- including Lake in Central Florida -- are switching from touch-screen technology to paper, optical-scan ballots." -- Expect some changes at Florida polls when casting early votes So many reasons why you should oppose Amendment 5 and Homebuyers, Beware: Tax Aid Is Loan "Nagging complaints about some generic drugs are casting doubt on one of medicine's most widely held assumptions: that generics are just as good as brand-name versions, only cheaper." -- Rx for trouble? Generics don't always work as well as brand names, critics say. The FDA disagrees. We take a look. "In 2015, just a few years from now, Florida will be in deep trouble. Who wants the dubious notoriety of "last in the nation?"" -- Florida's Coming Medical Disaster Bonus: The Sentinel is still mad at Paula Dockery
(Note: Yesterday's Don't Miss column was missing. We apologize for the mix up.) "If you get blood at Lakeland Regional Medical Center after 7 a.m. Monday, it won't be coming from BloodNet USA. LRMC's blood and blood products, like platelets or plasma, will come instead from Florida Blood Services, which officially starts providing LRMC's blood supplies that day. The two signed a contract three months ago and have spent the time since then finalizing arrangements." -- LRMC Taps Into New Supply of Blood "Publix Super Markets has long stressed its customer service and cleanliness, but with rising food and gas costs it's now courting a lower-priced image. The Lakeland-based grocery chain has started a program of deep discounts on certain staple items, starting with milk and soon expanding to other products, company spokeswoman Shannon Patten said." -- Publix Grocery Bill May Be Less "Orlando officials say they have little choice but to raise property taxes because city government is run as efficiently as possible. But records show that the Orlando Police Department -- with a $111 million budget that amounts to nearly a third of the city's general spending -- has seen its overtime pay nearly triple in the past four years as the city deals with a wave of violent crime." -- Overtime could tax Orlando Police budget to tune of $4 million Bonus: "With John McCain likely only days from announcing his running mate, the chances of his choosing Florida Gov. Charlie Crist took three hits this week: a poll, a controversy over campaign contributions and an important newspaper non-endorsement. Recent speculation about Crist has put him in the lower tier of potential running mates and focused more on former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty." -- Governor May Have Faded As VP Choice
"Thus, he shared this bit of bad news. "As crude-oil prices go down, we may not see gasoline prices go down as much, because they didn't go up as much."" -- Oil is getting cheaper - then why is gas still so expensive? "Orange County commissioners enlisted as allies Tuesday, approving a resolution that backs up Lake's opposition to a permit for Niagara Bottling to withdraw 177 million gallons of water a year." -- Orange County, Groveland join Lake County's fight against water-bottling plant "But in the past nine months, carriers, software developers and cell phone makers have embraced a new attitude of openness toward consumers." -- Wireless Providers Grudgingly Accept Open Networks Bonus: PCC Considers Three Sites For New Campus Sentinel help team: How to avoid foreclosure Pop & Circumstance: Moviegoing Gets More Costly "About 150,000 people nationwide have been affected by the theft of laptops with personal information about current and former employees of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc." -- Busch Tracking Laptop Thefts
""I have XM radio, a roomy CRV, and I promise not to talk unless you want to have a conversation," read a recent Orlando plea on Craigslist.com. "Please help! The cost of gas is killing me!"" -- Save gas: How to find a carpool buddy "The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit board agreed Monday to raise fares across the board and gave tentative backing to a property tax increase to pay for more buses and a long-range transit study. The tax increase must survive two public hearings and be passed by a super-majority of the board before becoming reality." -- Bus Fares Going Up, Maybe Tax Too "Florida's sagging economy will push state government back into the red this month and force Gov. Charlie Crist to either further cut spending or tap deeper into the state's reserves." -- 'Big' budget deficit ahead for Florida Bonus: "The federal government on Monday barred a registered-traveler service launched three years ago at Orlando International Airport from enrolling new members after an unencrypted company laptop containing personal information for about 33,000 prospective customers was stolen from a locked office." -- 'Clear' registration halted after laptop theft I have to ask, What kind of loon puts that kind of data on a laptop?? "Restaurant industry experts say they don't expect a wave of shutdowns of other national chain restaurants, noting that Bennigan's and Steak & Ale had been struggling for years. But Florida is in the midst of a shakeout among small chains and independent restaurants, and that could lead to more job losses, experts warn." -- Restaurant Industry In Midst Of Shakeout
"Hundreds of houses in Greater Orlando are bought each week for just $100 apiece -- even in upscale subdivisions such as Baldwin Park. But don't run to the ATM just yet. There's a catch." -- Houses sold for just $100! But banks' deals short taxes "About 300,000 students in Florida attend private schools in kindergarten through 12th grade, according to the state Education Department. If all became eligible for tuition reimbursement -- or vouchers -- districts could lose as much as $2.3 billion in state and local revenue, said Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association." -- Proposal ties school vouchers to more popular issue "She is one of 70 volunteers with Hillsborough County's Citizen Patrol Program and one of 18 who take to Bloomingdale streets to help the sheriff's office keep the neighborhood safe. Volunteers also patrol in Apollo Beach, Westchase and Town 'N Country." -- Citizen Patrols
"Heart of Florida United Way is radically changing the way it does business: going after "root causes" of hunger, homelessness, crime and family violence instead of "putting a Band-Aid" on the problems, leaders say." -- No more 'Band-Aid' approaches, Heart of Florida United Way vows "Home builders demanded answers Saturday to questions about a proposed constitutional tax amendment that voters will decide on the Nov. 4 ballot. While state leaders who favored the tax-swapping Amendment 5 promised builders their tax bills would drop, opponents assured an audience of about 100 that their taxes would increase." -- Rival claims of tax-swap backers and foes baffle Florida home builders group Editorials: "Someone in state government needs to step up and address the standoff over the proposed commuter-rail project in Orlando." -- DOT Should Review Other Options To Build Commuter Rail In Orlando "The old maxim that Central Florida officials couldn't care less about conserving resources no longer holds water -- especially when you consider how so many of them literally are now working to change the landscape." -- Smarter landscaping could help relieve water crisis Bonus: "He was a playboy bachelor, the first Republican governor of Florida since Reconstruction and a promising candidate for the vice presidency. His name was Claude Kirk Jr." -- 'Claudius Maximus' Blazed Trail Followed By Crist
Check out the headline and sub-head for this article. Growing Deltona bills $83M to owners then Growing Deltona may bill Owners $83 Million. Well, the truth is the city hasn't finalized the vote. Careful at the beach again this summer. Fish Kill Zone Widens; Algal Bloom Suspected What have your neighbors done for you lately? For millionaire, $100k small price to pay for less-cluttered neighborhood Bonus: Economists have realized Florida is in a recession. "Analysts predict that the state will lose momentum through 2008, then bottom out late this year or in early 2009." There's not much else to the story here.
Polk Indigent Care Plan Faces Deep Cuts and The Sentinel thinks: Providing basic services is essential as the needy population rises in Central Florida Because having your gun with you at all times is so important, we have two articles today: U.S. Judge Upholds Guns-at-Work Law and Take guns to work - but don't stop on way? This isn't for the reason you think... State shuts down FPL's renewable energy program Bonus: School boards in Central Florida move toward taking meetings online
If this bleeding doesn't stop your local newspaper will be a weekly. And that might be a bad idea. Sentinel eliminates 52 newsroom jobs Meanwhile, the Ledger is going hourly. Ledger News Now An author the Sentinel fails to name believes a Shorter workweek can pay huge dividends. (By the way, his name is Timothy Ferriss.) Bonus: The Sentinel: We think: State Farm's rate hike request for homeowners seems unreasonable. You think? 47%. Who wouldn't think? Tribune: Gas Prices Drive Demand For Downtown Dwellings
Bio: Robert is a former radio personality, which ended with five years at Winter Haven station WHNR where he eventually rose to become Assistant Operations Manager. For the past decade he has continued to make a living running his mouth, working in the call center industry. Currently he is working as a Customer Services Professional at a local facility representing one of North America's major heating & air conditioning sales and repair companies.