Free Republic

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has a good idea with his budget proposal to create an “election crimes agency” that would “investigate election crimes and irregularities and make referrals for further legal action directly to a statewide prosecutor.” Florida should implement it, and other states should follow. In fact, state legislators should make sure that a statewide prosecutor’s office has jurisdiction to prosecute all such election cases, especially when local prosecutors fail to act. Ensuring the integrity of elections and protecting voters from fraud is simply too important to leave the investigation and prosecution of crimes that subvert elections to the...

What a bad year to be a Florida manatee. For the first time on record, more than 1,000 of the sea mammals have died in a calendar year — and it’s not even December yet. That could amount to 1 in every 7 of the state’s manatees gone in less than 11 months. Many of them starved, thanks to a die-off of seagrass, a problem worsened by human-made pollution. In the short run, Florida owes it to this iconic mammal to find ways to mitigate the damage. It’s also time to put the manatees back on the endangered species list,...

As Election Day nears, President Donald Trump and his supporters are urging greater scrutiny of Hunter Biden, the son of his opponent, Democratic nominee Joe Biden. They’re especially focusing on the younger Biden’s ties to China. “Joe Biden must immediately release all emails, meetings, phone calls, transcripts, and records related to his involvement in his family’s business dealings and influence peddling around the world—including in CHINA!” Trump tweeted on Oct. 14. His campaign also ran an ad that said, “The question is not why Hunter Biden used his name to get these gigs. It’s why Joe Biden let him do...

The Tampa Bay Times announced Monday it will no longer publish mug shot galleries of arrests made in the newspaper's circulation area, with the executive editor saying the photo collections "serve little journalistic purpose." "The galleries lack context and further negative stereotypes," said Tampa Bay Times Executive Editor Mark Katches. "We think the data is an important resource that our newsroom will continue to analyze and watch carefully, but the galleries alone serve little journalistic purpose." Katches said the paper, which is owned by the Poynter Institute, will still publish individual mug shots with stories when arrests have been made....

An unanswered question in the Florida gun debate: What to do with existing guns? That’s the scary ass headline hovering over a tampabaytimes.com article written in the aftermath of Florida’s new gun control legislation. The implication is clear: Dems don’t think it’s enough to ban “assault weapons” (which the new bill does not do). Something must be done to disarm MSR-armed civilians. No really . . . When the Senate debated SB 7026— the gun legislation that just landed on Gov. Rick Scott’s desk — Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando sponsored an amendments that would have banned the “sale or transfer”...

TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Times, Florida's largest newspaper, on Tuesday purchased the Tampa Tribune from Revolution Capital Group, saying it intends to create one financially secure, locally owned daily newspaper in the Tampa Bay region. "The continued competition between the newspapers was threatening to both," Tash said in a statement. "There are very few cities that are able to sustain more than one daily newspaper, and the Tampa Bay region is not among them." At a subsequent news conference, Tash noted that people today get their news from an almost infinite variety of sources. "There are many, many voices...

A more detestable regime than Saudi Arabia could not be found. Arguably the most repressive regime on earth. An absolute monarchy. A Wahhabist theocratic nightmare that arms ISIS. Only North Korea may be worse, and North Korea does not put women in burqas or have any areas where female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced. It is a close call. At least North Korea does not ban alcohol. Make no mistake about it: Shi'a Iran, as bad as it is, is nowhere near as oppressive as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). There are churches in Iran, albeit persecuted. There are...

The real news from the event was U.S. Rep. David Jolly crashing Crist's party to blast the man running to succeed Jolly in Congress. "I care too much about this district, the institution of Congress, and who represents us to lay down and let this huckster walk into office," Jolly said. "He's a fraud. ...He will tell you anything that you want to hear for the sake of trying to get your support." Jolly is stepping down from the seat and running for U.S. Senate -- and attacking Crist is pretty good politics in a competitive GOP Senate primary --...

Democratic congressman Alan Grayson reportedly unleashed a profanity-laced tirade against a reporter who questioned his offshore investments during a recent interview, angrily asking the journalist if he’s “some kind of s**tting robot” who goes around “s**tting on people.” The fiery moment reportedly came after Tampa Bay Times political editor Adam Smith inquired about some accounts in the Cayman Islands which he said Grayson “incorporated … so investors could avoid taxes”; the politician railed against this accusation.

As of Sunday, more than 122,000 votes had been cast in the special election for Congressional District 13 in Pinellas County. The Republican advantage in votes cast to date has grown to more 4,623 votes. Presumably, a lot of ballots come in today and tomorrow. We had been arguing that the Republican lead in mail-in votes cast was below where Republican nominee David Jolly needed it to be, but there's no question after the past five days he heads into election day with the momentum and with some wind at his back (Just as Obama had in 2012 when early...

The Tampa Bay Times newspaper will begin offering buyouts to current workers in advance of a round of layoffs, according to company memos posted online. This comes as the St. Petersburg-based newspaper faces increasing financial strain and works with business consultants to “improve the company’s financial results.” Employees will have between March 10 and 24 to consider the packages, which could include up to 13 weeks of severance, plus two extra weeks, according to a memo sent to employees by Human Resources Director Sebastian Dortch that was posted on the website of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, which owns...

The Tampa Bay Times organization faces financial strains. The company is shedding assets and looking to lease bureau buildings, and took out a $28 million short-term loan to pay down debt and fund operations. Times Holding Company Revenue: (in millions) 2009 $274 2010 $159 2011 $151 2012 $151 2013 Not disclosed Financial Moves: $28 million loan due in December 2016 Bureau building in Clearwater: Sold Employee Cafeteria: For Lease or Sale Bureau building in Port Richey: For Sale Bureau building in Brooksville: Half of space for lease 30,000 square feet in headquarters: For Lease The Tampa Bay Times bills itself...