Tampa’s Super Bowl XLIII will draw a domestic television viewership of nearly 150 million. Worldwide, it’s about a billion.
            All eyes, including those of 4,000 media, will focus on the glitz, the glamour and the gladiators of America’s secular holiday. And yet, so much of the success of any Super Bowl — and its [...]

He couldn’t just go quietly.
No, Buddy Johnson, the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections who had become synonymous with incompetence, had to thumb his nose on the way out. And by doing so, he added to a legacy that already included leading the state in most (November election) voter complaints and topping all supervisors-of-elections in [...]

A couple of final comments on the sorry situation that became the Lex Salisbury saga: the man who put the Lowry Park Zoo on the map and himself in an ethically compromised position.
Salisbury had to go and he went. Now the board, which is staying, has to finally step up.
            Second, now that a [...]

Obviously things did not go well last Friday for Ahmed Mohamed, the former USF student who pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists. In effect, he could never overcome that YouTube video he made that showed how to target “infidels” via a remote-controlled toy car.
All he could do at his sentencing was throw himself [...]

When Charlie Crist was married recently, he and his bride, Carole Rome, had to navigate that gauntlet of protestors. Several causes were represented, notably Impact Florida’s protesting of the Florida Marriage Amendment and the Uhuru Movement’s protesting of the death of Javon Dawson. He’s the teen who was killed by a St. Petersburg police officer [...]

So the upshot of the auto bailout is that two of the Big Three automakers, General Motors and Chrysler, will get fed loans — with strings — worth $17.4 billion. Ford, which has more cash on hand than the others and a hefty line of credit with banks that it presciently negotiated in 2006, is [...]

Arguably our most blatantly overused and misused word is “hero.”  Time was when it connoted feats of courage in the context of a noble, selfless purpose or an intrepid, even death-defying, end. These days – even in the throes of two wars – it’s more typically used to characterize athletes and their exploits in the [...]

Is Mark Sanford now the designated GOP maverick?
The conservative South Carolina governor, 48, whose name surfaced before Sarah Palin won the Republican veepstakes, is now the head of the Republican Governors Association. It’s a forum that has him prominently positioning himself as the antibailout governor who’s almost libertarian in his limited-government philosophy.
At a time [...]

It was no surprise to read the data that confirmed that the go-go growth years of Florida have halted. Relocation patterns have been skewed as the housing crisis keeps more people at home. The South and the West – the traditional destinations of those migrating to warmer areas – have been notably impacted.
So, it’s no [...]

Here’s an argument that has much credibility in Democratic circles and was recently given voice by David M. Shribman, the respected columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He was writing on the 10th anniversary of the Clinton impeachment.
His take:
First, the Clinton Administration could have accomplished much more had it not had to circle the wagons [...]

Finally, it’s official.
There will, indeed, be a special legislative session next month. Even Gov. Charlie Crist, not a proponent previously, is now on board. That (2008-09) $2.3 billion state budget hole – that could deepen to $3.8 billion or more in 2009-10 – plus possible harm to Florida’s credit rating and Medicaid scenarios from [...]

Perhaps you’ve seen that billboard in East Hillsborough (near the McIntosh Road-I-4 intersection) that asks: “Purpose of Life?” and answers with “877-WHY-ISLAM.” The message is that of a New York-based Muslim advocacy group, Islamic Circle of North America. The sponsors include members of the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area.
Good idea.
The more vehicles and [...]

Often the United States finds itself in positions opposed by muslim countries. Let us not recount the ways. So, it seemed encouraging to learn that the U.S. and muslim nations – plus most Asian and African countries – were on the same side when it came to signing a recent (nonbinding) United Nations declaration. They [...]

It was not a good week for the Hillsborough County School District.
It began with the embattled principal of Alafia Elementary, Ellyn Smith, stepping down. She had her detractors and defenders, but ultimately the divisiveness at Alafia became a morale-sapping distraction impossible to overcome. That sorry soap opera is now over.
While that controversy has been quelled, [...]

Who would have guessed? The Bucs’ season is imploding as their defense collapses. A legacy now includes an asterisk. The Monte Kiffin Era* actually ended before Kiffin left.