Friday, May 17, 2013
The council will be presented with a resolution that would formalize its longtime practice of starting meetings with an invocation.
Does prayer belong at government meetings? The Bradenton City Council thinks so. City attorney Bill Lisch has been asked to present council members next week with a resolution that seeks to formalize the council's longtime practice of starting its meetings with an invocation by a local clergy member. The resolution states the council wishes to "maintain such tradition of solemnizing its proceedings by allowing for an open invocation before each meeting." It points to several Supreme Court decisions, as well as a recent ruling in Lakeland that upheld the constitutionality of prayer before meetings. In the Lakeland case, Atheists of Florida Inc. filed a 2010 lawsuit "contending, among other things, that praying during the meetings breaks …
As news about possible abuses of power on the federal level continues to break, we’d like to get your take about what’s been going on Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay residents who keep up with the headlines coming out of Washington, D.C., have likely found themselves scratching their heads more than a few times this past week. Allegations of wrongdoing seem to be coming at the speed of light as the Obama Administration fends off bad press about inappropriate targeting of Tea Party organizations by the Internal Revenue Service and possible wrongdoing in the handling of a national security leak. The IRS’ targeting of Tea Party groups centers around hassles these groups report experiencing while trying to apply for tax-exempt status prior to the 2012 election. The controversy even hit home as Bay area groups are now reporting that they were targeted, according to The Tampa Tribune. The kerfuffle…
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Developers have chosen a site and cleared an early hurdle in developing Bradenton's first Wawa gas station and convenience store. Would you shop there?
Bradenton is poised to get its first Wawa gas station and convenience store. The popular Midwest chain is on an aggressive Florida expansion, with Bradenton one of the next in line for development. (See Wawa Exploring Possibility For Bradenton Store.) The city's planning commission has agreed to grant Wawa developers a special use permit for a site at 4455 State Road 64 East, according to Bradenton.com. Plans for the Wawa development are expected to be heard on June 12 at 8:30 a.m., when the planning commission's recommendations for the store are presented to the City Council at its regular meeting, according to Bradenton.com. The developers have not announced a date yet on when they expect Wawa to open. The chain is popular for its fresh…
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4455 E State Road 64, Bradenton, FL
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The city of Sarasota just enacted a law aimed at getting motorists to turn down the volume. Now, other local governments are following suit. Should they?
Most of us have been in the car when a great tune comes on the radio. The urge to turn up that volume just a little bit is often too strong to resist. But, how loud is too loud? When is cranking it up going too far? When should authorities be able to step in and say enough is enough? Those are questions some local governments in the Tampa Bay area are now wrestling with. Since the Florida Legislature shot down a measure that would have regulated just how loud car stereos can be, some local authorities have decided to take matters into their own hands. The City of Sarasota just put its new ordinance into effect that makes it against the law for car stereos and portable electronic devices to emit sounds at a level that are considered “…
Friday, May 10, 2013
The interactive U.S. voting map shows who the Florida voters were in the 2012 presidential election. You may be surprised by the results.
There was a slightly greater percerntage of eligible Hispanic voters – 62.2 percent – who cast ballots in the 2012 presidential election in Florida than white, non-Hispanic voters. And more eligible female voters went to the polls than men. The results are among several demographic mesaurements released by the U.S. Census showing the make-up of voters in Florida and across the United States. Just click on Florida on the map above to see the results. Darker green states had a higher percentage of turnout. If you click on an individual state, you will see percentages of eligible U.S. citizens who voted in that state broken down by gender, race and ethnic group. This information was released from from the US Census Bureau on Wednesday, May 8…
The Florida House and Senate recently approved a measure that would make driving slow in the fast lane punishable by a fine. Do you think this is a good idea?
Can’t handle traveling at the Interstate’s 70 mph pace or a local four-lane road’s legal top speed? You might want to get in the practice of moving over. The Florida House and Senate recently approved a measure that makes it illegal to drive more than 10 mph under the speed limit if your vehicle is riding in the fast lane. The proposal will become the law of the land in Florida if Gov. Rick Scott signs on the dotted line. Dubbed the “road rage” bill, according to ABC News, the measure would give law enforcement the right to fine drivers $60 for moving at a snail’s pace in the far left lane of any road that has two or more lanes. That means slow drivers who refuse to move over – often causing other motorists to lose their cool – would be …
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Drivers who want to appeal a ticket might have to pay up to $250 in additional fees if Gov. Rick Scott signs a new bill into law. Do you think that’s right?
Hate red light cameras? If so, you might hate them even more if Gov. Rick Scott signs a bill recently passed by the Florida Legislature into law. The bill sets a new process for appeals that enables local government bodies – cities and counties – to tack on an additional $250 in court fees for those who try to appeal tickets generated by red light cameras and fail. It also puts the new appeals process into the hands of those very same local governments that would benefit from the additional fees. That means motorists who appeal and lose will no longer be subject to just a $158 penalty – they might have to fork over $408. The new law, according to The Tampa Tribune, was designed to streamline the appeals process and put more control in the …
Monday, May 6, 2013
A proposed ordinance coming before the Bradenton City Council this week would impose a $500 penalty to have the impounded vehicles returned to their owners.
The city of Bradenton is considering an ordinance that would allow police to impound vehicles used to commit prostitution or drug crimes. The city actually has such an ordinance, No. 2583, on the books, but hasn't utilized it in the past five years because of various court rulings. Now a similar new ordinance is slated to come before the city council for readoption. Ordinance No. 2949 would allow Bradenton Police to tow any vehicle used to facilitate crimes such as prostitution or found to be containing a controlled substance, according to city documents. Car owners would have to pay a $500 penalty, plus towing and storage costs, to have their vehicles returned. The ordinance is scheduled to come before the city council for a first reading…
A law that would have ended permanent alimony in Florida didn’t get Gov. Rick Scott’s stamp of approval. Do you think he was right to nix the legislation?
Divorced men and women across Florida got good news – or bad, depending on perspective – late last week when Gov. Rick Scott shot down a law that would have put an end to permanent alimony in Florida. Scott vetoed the measure with only four hours left on the clock for it to automatically go into law, according to Fox News. Citing concerns about the financial impacts the bill would have on Florida families and a dislike for the fact the measure had a clause that would make it retroactive, Scott told lawmakers he could not support passage. "The retroactive adjustment of alimony could result in unfair, unanticipated results,” Fox quoted Scott as saying. Had the law gone into effect it would have limited the amount of alimony a person could …
Sunday, May 5, 2013
The Florida Senate recently approved a measure that would make it against the law to text while driving. Do you think it will improve the safety of local roads?
They say the third time’s the charm, but for Florida’s texting ban five seems to be the magic number. A bill that makes it illegal to text while driving finally made it through the Senate and into Gov. Rick Scott’s hands earlier this week. Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, has tried for five legislative sessions to get the measure approved, according to TBO.com. If Scott signs the bill, it will become illegal to text behind the wheel. The bill, however, doesn’t apply to texting while stopped at red lights or for those who are parked on roadsides. The fine for texting behind the wheel will be considered a secondary one and only carries a price tag $30, according to TBO. So, what do you think, Bradenton? Do you like the new law? Does it go far …
C.Deschu
12:12 pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
There is very good reason that our country was founded on separation of church and state. Why is this being ignored? You don't need a public hearing to get God's attention. Pray silently, modestly. Pray at home, in church, in religious based organizations, while you are driving or gardening or bowling - God will listen. Leave prayer out of government - it seems profane to me. Pray before the … more ›