Friday, May 18, 2012
City leaders unanimously approved creating a domestic partner registry that grants certain medical, education and visitation rights.
After a brief discussion, city leaders unanimously approved creating a domestic partner registry that grants certain medical, education and visitation rights for applicants. The City Council will vote once more on creating the registry at its June 7 meeting. It is similar to ones already passed in Tampa and Gulfport. After registering with the city, the partners would have a say in decisions regarding: health care facility visitation, health care decisions including those concerning physical and mental health, funeral and burial decisions, pre-need guardian designation, and participation in education. The ordinance requires the clerk to maintain an online searchable database of the registered partners. Applicants will have to pay $30 to…
The next Pinellas County Sheriff candidate debate, set for July 17, will feature all candidates who meet the June 8 qualifying deadline.
Organizers are searching for a venue large enough to hold around 500 people for an upcoming Pinellas County Sheriff's candidate forum. That's double the number of attendants at the first National Armed Services & Law Enforcement Memorial Museum-sponsored forum in April. The upcoming forum, scheduled for July 17, will feature all candidates meeting the June 8 qualifying deadline. The first NASLEMM-sponsored forum drew an audience that included ex-sheriff Jim Coats, who resigned from his seat in November to care for his ailing wife, and many city and county officials. The six approved candidates — Interim Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, Randy Heine, Tim Ingold, Greg Pound, former sheriff Everett Rice and Scott Swope — fielded questions on handling …
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Registered domestic partners will be granted certain medical, education and visitation rights under the ordinance being considered by city leaders.
More Americans are living together and they are not married. According to the most recent Census information, 5.9 percent of households said they lived this way. That is up from 5.2 percent in 2000. In Clearwater, those numbers are even higher. According to that same information, 7.5 percent of residents identify themselves as unmarried partner households, up from 6.2 percent in 2000. With empirical information like this, city leaders are looking to create a domestic partner registry that would allow these unmarried people certain rights pertaining to health care, education and visitation. “I think it’s the right thing for us to do,” Mayor George N. Cretekos said during discussion of creating the ordinance at a city work session meeting a …
Stephanie Miller confronted city officials through Facebook after being barred from entry into an event with a guide dog in training. After an apology, officials also decided to sponsor Coastie, Miller’s latest puppy in training.
Stephanie Miller came to the city’s Sea-Blues festival looking to enjoy some music. She was accompanied by Sunny, a puppy being groomed as a guide dog. Security at the event did not know that service animals in training also get the same rights as certified guide dogs. They told Miller she would not be allowed into the free concert at Coachman Park. Miller cited the state statute to no avail. She left without getting to enjoy the blues. “Being an educator myself, I look for every possible moment to help teach the public about anything,” she said. So what could have ended with the blues turned into a teachable moment, Miller left a comment about the incident on the City of Clearwater Facebook Page and made an offer to officials they could …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney focused on the economy during a campaign stop at the Lyceum. St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster endorsed the GOP candidate.
Mitt Romney, campaigning in St. Petersburg Wednesday, sharply criticized President Obama for doing "almost nothing" to help the U.S. economy. Romney attacked Obama’s record on job creation, the debt, health care and spending during a half-hour speech at the Mirror Lake Lyceum. Romney focused on what he says is the key issue of this election: the economy. Romney, the presumed GOP presidential candidate, also was in Florida to attend a private Tampa fundraiser that is charging supporters $2,500 to attend. Under cloudy skies, Romney addressed a crowd of supporters in St. Petersburg Wednesday morning: “I find it incomprehensible that a president can come into office and call his predecessor’s record irresponsible and unpatriotic and then do …
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…
Educators have proposed reducing the FCAT writing passing score to increase passing rates. A discussion is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Less than 30 percent of fourth graders in Florida passed the FCAT writing test this year, according to preliminary results released on Monday, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times today. That's a steep dip compared to last year when 81 percent scored a passing 4.0 or better. The plummeting scores have prompted extreme concern among educators and state officials. On Monday, Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson proposed reducing the FCAT writing passing score from 4.0 to 3.5. Under that standard, 48 percent of fourth-graders would have passed the test with a 3.5 or better, along with 52 percent of eighth-graders and 60 percent of 10th-graders, according to the Times story. Florida education officials held an emergency conference call Tuesday…
Monday, May 14, 2012
The retrofit kits installed on water fountains throughout the city are expected to increase the amount of water consumed and reduce plastic bottle waste.
Zach Taylor started working for the city as its wellness specialist through a grant program. One of the things he was tasked to find out was how to make Clearwater more physically fit. “In some of the research, retrofitting fountains with fillers is a starting trend in wellness,” Taylor said. So the idea was to make cold, drinkable water, easier to access. The solution, so far, has been found in a retrofit kit for the city’s drinking water fountains. “It’s cool-looking. It’s novel and innovative,” Taylor said. The apparatus fills the bottles twice as fast as traditional fountains. It also has a digital display showing an estimate of how many bottles of water were filled using the device. In the process, it also helps reduce plastic bottle …
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 …
Saturday, May 12, 2012
The city earned an “Outstanding Achievement in Innovation” award for substituting an organic industrial byproduct for a chemical to treat wastewater.
Rob Powers is the industrial pretreatment coordinator for the city’s public works department. Part of his job is to evaluate limits of the industrial byproducts in the wastewater stream. Too much of them can upset the biological plant process. One part of this is using carbon to remove nitrogen. Too much nitrogen can disrupt water environments. Powers recognized that an organic byproduct that coffee syrup manufacturer Monin was throwing away was similar to a chemical the city used to remove nitrogen levels when treating wastewater. “The idea to use an alternative chemical is not uncommon in our industry,” Powers said in a release. “What is new is that our new carbon source is a processing byproduct of one of our local industries and not …
Susan Osborne
10:26 am on Saturday, May 19, 2012
Great "tail"!! I love the way this story turned-out! Thank you Clearwater for doing-the-right-thing! I lived in your great area for over 25 yrs. and know Ms. Miller personally - there would be no finer person for training these dogs. Clearwater, Stephanie Miller, and now "Coastie" are truly TOP NOTCH! You 'all make me PROUD! more ›