Tuesday, May 15, 2012
GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney will be in St. Petersburg for an event at the Mirror Lake Lyceum at 8 a.m.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is scheduled to make a campaign stop in St. Petersburg on Wednesday at the Mirror Lake Lyceum, 737 3rd Ave. N., according to his campaign website. Doors open at 8 a.m., and the program begins at 8:45 a.m. To attend the event, RSVP to TeamFl@MittRomney.com. You can also submit your email online at Romney's campaign website to RSVP. The presumed GOP presidential nominee will also be in Tampa on Wednesday for a private fundraiser at the Avila Golf and Country Club. Supporters who want to attend that event must pay $2,500 per person. In January, Romney swung through North Pinellas the day before the Florida GOP primaries. His appearance in downtown Dunedin drew hundreds of supporters, and he went…
Monday, May 14, 2012
Four of the six candidates for Pinellas County Sheriff participated in a forum at the Palm Harbor Library Wednesday.
A crowd of more than 100 citizens learned what Pinellas County Sheriff's candidates think about issues impacting our area during a candidate forum held at the Palm Harbor Library Wednesday. Four of the six candidates; Bob Gualtieri, Greg Pound, Everett Rice and Scott Swope participated in the forum, which consisted of pre-selected questions followed by questions submitted by the audience. Topics ranged from high speed vehicle pursuits, to human trafficking, budgets, non-violent drug offenders, synthetic drugs, pensions and men soliciting prostitutes. While Clearwater Police enforce the majority of the city, there are unincorporated areas under the sheriff's scope. One question revealed issues that candidates feel are important when it …
Monday, April 30, 2012
Thirteen official delegations will stay in Clearwater and Clearwater Beach during the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa.
- BUSINESS
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Monday, April 30
Clearwater will host 13 of the 56 delegations that will travel to the Tampa Bay area this summer for the 2012 Republican National Convention. The following Clearwater and Clearwater Beach hotels will welcome delegations during the convention, the RNC Committee on Arrangements said in a news release: Organizers reserved 16,000 rooms at about 100 hotels in the Tampa Bay area, according to the release. Official delegations from the 50 states, District of Columbia and five U.S. territories will stay at 36 hotels. The remaining hotels will be used to house media, Republican Party officials and other convention visitors. The 2012 Republican National Convention will be held Aug. 27-30 in downtown Tampa. Here's the full list of where the 56 …
Thursday, April 19, 2012
One candidate for Pinellas County sheriff stepped down after a forum in Dunedin on Wednesday night. Budget cuts and issues of integrity were the biggest concerns of the voters and candidates.
What is the most serious problem facing the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office? Interim Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told about 200 voters at a candidate forum in Dunedin late Wednesday that budget cuts continue to be the biggest challenge facing county law enforcement. But the other five candidates put Gualtieri on the defense early, using their two-minute answer period to tell voters that integrity is the most serious matter in the race after recent media reports of a “scandal” in the narcotics division. With former Sheriff Jim Coats watching from the audience, Everett Rice, Scott Swope and Tim Ingold called Gualtieri’s leadership into question in light of recent Tampa Bay Times stories revealing questionable investigation techniques used by …
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
All six candidates running for Pinellas County Sheriff will be at a forum at the Dunedin-Palm Harbor VFW Post 2550 April 18. Interested voters who cannot attend may e-mail questions in advance for the candidates.
DUNEDIN -- Incumbent Pinellas County sheriff will face off against a former one, along with four other challengers for the position, at a forum April 18 at the Dunedin-Palm Harbor VFW Post 2550, 360 Douglas Ave. In the race for Pinellas County sheriff, incumbent Bob Gualtieri (R), recently appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to replace retiring sheriff Jim Coats, is being challenged by his main competitor, former sheriff Everett Rice (R). Other candidates include Tim Ingold (R), Scott Swope (D), Randy Heine (D) and Greg Pound (I). While Clearwater Police enforce the majority of the city, there are unincorporated areas under the sheriff's scope. The forum allows voters to get to meet the candidates and ask pressing questions about local law …
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The presumptive GOP nominee hit four issues particularly hard in Pinellas County in January.
- ELECTIONS
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Tuesday, April 10
Mitt Romney is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee after Rick Santorum bowed out of the race Tuesday afternoon, according to a report in The Huffington Post. For Pinellas County, that could mean a renewed focus on the following four issues: Romney focused on those four issues in a Pinellas campaign stop before the Florida primary in January. (See Romney's 12-minute speech at the Dunedin rally in the video above.) Romney went on to win the state primary, with 49 percent of the vote in Pinellas County. That was more than double his nearest rival at the time, Newt Gingrich, who got 24 percent of the vote. Santorum came in third in Pinellas County, with 14.85 percent.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Owners of the Camelot Resort on Clearwater Beach are hoping to cash in on Occupy protesters coming in for the Republican National Convention.
Occupy protesters looking for some sand and sun after picketing the Republican National Convention in Tampa can find respite at Clearwater Beach. Special “Occupy Camelot” room rates are being offered to protesters at the Camelot Resort on north Clearwater Beach during the convention in August. “It varies on how long they want to stay,” said Steven Rodriguez, who is in charge of marketing at the art deco style resort. “The longer they want to stay, the bigger the discount.” Rodriguez, a registered Democrat, is looking forward to the protesters, many of whom camped for days if not months in parks around the country in an effort to raise awareness about social and economic inequities. The condominium resort has many owners described as …
27.98538
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Camelot Beach Resort
603 Mandalay Ave, Clearwater Beach, FL
/articles/occupy-camelot-promotion-welcomes-protesters
936647
/locations/6526601
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
A campaign sign for Mayor George Cretekos was in the median near the Greenbriar subdivision for weeks after the election. It was removed by Wednesday morning.
On the campaign trail, Mayor George Cretekos and his wife Carolyn walked neighborhoods, knocking on doors and talking with potential voters. Many asked for political yard signs, Cretekos said. In other cases, he asked to put up signs. Cretekos would explain the rules for displaying the signs, which include removing them seven days after an election and not putting them in the right-of-way. And after winning in a landslide election, Cretekos said that he and his wife went scouring the city for the signs. But weeks after the city election, a single blue sign still waved at cars in support of his campaign. The sign, in the median of Greenbriar Boulevard, was brought to Cretekos’ attention Tuesday. “My intent was to get them all out. I’ve been…
28.00455
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Greenbriar Blvd & Virginia Ave, Clearwater, FL
/articles/yard-sign-there-one-day-and-another-then-gone
/locations/6433863
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Republicans from across Pinellas County weigh in on the challenges facing the party in the November general election.
On Tuesday, voters in Florida chose Mitt Romney as the man they want to face President Barack Obama in November. Romney received 46 percent of the vote compared with Newt Gingrich's 31 percent. Former Sen. Rick Santorum earned 13 percent of the vote, and Rep. Ron Paul earned 7 percent, according to state election returns. Though the primary in Florida is finished, some party members say a Republican president is anything but guaranteed. Pinellas Republicans expressed their doubts and concerns with the party, as well as ways they believe it can triumph. Watch our video to hear what they said.
In 2008, 119,000 registered Republicans voted in Pinellas County. In 2012, slightly more than 103,000 registered Republicans voted in the GOP presidential primary.
After Tuesday's votes were counted, 103,866 ballots were cast in Pinellas County for the GOP presidential primary. Of those votes, more than 48 percent went to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Shortly after the polls closed in the panhandle, all news outlets quickly called the election for Romney. Overall turnout, however, was down from the 2008 Florida GOP presidential primary in Pinellas County. According to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Office, 119,200 registered Republican voters cast ballots in 2008. That means GOP voter turnout fell by more than 15,000 votes from 2008 to 2012. In Pinellas County, nine of the 713 precincts favored former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Six precincts went to Texas …
Goin' Commando
10:13 pm on Sunday, May 20, 2012
I'm afraid I can't share your optimism that Romney may pleasantly surprise us with his moderate side; but I hope that I'm wrong, as it would be nice to have a good choice in this election. Obama has been a little disappointing, but the Republican Party's horror show of the past several months makes me wonder how the party of Eisenhower and Reagan has stumbled so badly into looney land. Unless … more ›