Jim Norman has been one of the dominant names in Hillsborough County over the past two decades. But he'll now only be discussed in the past tense when it comes to electoral politics, like his former colleague Kevin White. Norman announced yesterday that he would not run for re-election to his state Senate seat after the GOP establishment deserted him and rallied around his new opponent, John Legg … Then again, there are loud murmurs that he'll end up in some cushy administrative position at USF….
The AFL-CIO announced yesterday their instituting a voter protection program in six states, naturally including Florida. At that same news conference, NAACP head Ben Jealous unloaded on what he thought of Governor Rick Scott and his attempt to purge the state's voting rolls of non-citizens.
The city of Tampa has already completed a program to eliminate some of what local businesses say are unnecessary regulations – now Hillsborough County has formed a committee to do the same, though some environmentalists remain skeptical.
And in Pinellas County, a decision on school uniforms has been delayed.
This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2012.