Happy Friday! Let us pour a little liquor out for the weekdays that had to die to get us here...
The Hillsborough County Commission selected Janet Dougherty — the candidate for whom intense lobbying on the part of private corporate interests recently drew the public ire of commissioner Al Higginbotham — to be the next executive director of the county's Environmental Protection Commission. In a previous bid for a county commission seat, Dougherty raised a considerable amount of money via donations from real estate developers, a readily accessible fact that might lead political cynics (read: those who understand how politics works) to ask FUCKING SERIOUSLY?!
Tampa nonprofit Homeless Helping Homeless is suing the city over the constitutionality of its ordinances aimed at eliminating panhandling. The official crux of the complaint regards freedom of speech, but some are saying the real reason for the suit is that the charity gets a considerable percentage of its operating funds from "donations" to panhandlers. So people give money to the homeless, who give money to the charity, which spends money helping the homeless? Let's ... let's contemplate this a bit, and circle back around to it when we've ... contemplated it a bit, shall we? (My head hurts.)
The city of Tampa is considering substantially raising stormwater utility fees for residents in order to actually, finally fix some of the area's flooding problems. Quadrupling the fees would raise them to just under $7 a month, and help reduce street flooding. So, like, the price of a fast-food meal if you upgrade to the medium size. Solid, affordable, doable idea, or BIG GOVERNMENT SOCIALISM? You be the judge.
And finally, four Florida beaches — at Bonita Springs, St. George Island, Key Biscayne and Naples — made Dr. Beach's annual list of the country's ten best. It should be noted, however, that as far as doctors go, Beach falls just below Feelgood, and just above Pepper...
Image of Cape Florida State Park by Paolo Bernabei via Wikimedia Commons.
