As the nation mourns the death of a dozen people who were killed as their workday began at the Washington Navy Yard yesterday, the question again resumes: What can be done about such indiscriminate violence in this country? Whatever the answer, it never really seems sufficient.
We want to give our condolences to Tampa City Councilwoman Yolie Capin. Her husband Juan passed away yesterday after battling cancer over the past five weeks. We also give condolences to Juan and Yolie's daughter, Jessica Lynn.
Progressive groups continue to advocate for Florida's political leaders to expand the Medicaid rolls to help almost a million uninsured people gain access to health care. Yesterday, a new report said that Medicaid expansion would not only be the moral thing to do, but would also boost the economy, adding 65,000 jobs to the state.
Remember immigration reform? It's not dead. Not yet anyway. Yesterday, 19 university and college presidents in Florida sent off a letter to the state's Congressional delegation advocating that they back the Senate's bill on immigration reform.
And you might recall the sturm und drang that went on last year regarding the proposal that called for Hillsborough and Pinellas' transit agencies to merge, or at least agree to study that idea. The Hillsborough folks in particular had a real issue with it, but no matter: Sen. Jack Latvala got the Legislature to cough up $200,000 to give to the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) to once again study the merits of such a concept. Accounting firm KPMG won the bid to study the possible consolidation.
