Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Kevin Dunbar, director of the city’s parks and recreation department, will meet with beach residents to talk about plans to bring a nearly $500,000 sandcastle playground to Pier 60 Park Tuesday.
Wendy Hutkin is baffled at how a plan for a nearly $500,000 playground could be built before residents could see and support it. The price tag for the playground is a concern, especially when that money could be used in myriad ways to expand access to facilities where hours were slashed because of budget cuts over the last half decade, said Hutkin, president of the Clearwater Beach Association, a neighborhood group. “Why could that money not go to the pool, library and recreation center?” she said. “We don’t need a playground next to a playground.” Beach residents would rather see that money spent to keep the library open longer than 20 hours a week or make the pool available year-round, Hutkin said. Residents get a chance to find out more…
Monday, May 6, 2013
A law that would have ended permanent alimony in Florida didn’t get Gov. Rick Scott’s stamp of approval. Do you think he was right to nix the legislation?
Divorced men and women across Florida got good news – or bad, depending on perspective – late last week when Gov. Rick Scott shot down a law that would have put an end to permanent alimony in Florida. Scott vetoed the measure with only four hours left on the clock for it to automatically go into law, according to Fox News. Citing concerns about the financial impacts the bill would have on Florida families and a dislike for the fact the measure had a clause that would make it retroactive, Scott told lawmakers he could not support passage. "The retroactive adjustment of alimony could result in unfair, unanticipated results,” Fox quoted Scott as saying. Had the law gone into effect it would have limited the amount of alimony a person could …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
City leaders approved plans to develop a new, $5.46 million library to be built near the Countryside Recreation Center Wednesday.
City leaders approved plans to develop a new, $5.46-million library near the Countryside Recreation Center Wednesday. The expected cost to build the 22,500-square-foot building on Sabal Springs Drive is less than renovating and expanding the existing Countryside Library on State Road 580. However, traffic is a concern. While the road would be capable of handling the increase, moving the library is expected to generate an additional 153 vehicle trips on Sabal Springs Drive during peak afternoon hours, according to a traffic study by DKS Associates. Still, some residents worried about that impact. “Please understand: the traffic is already too heavy and dangerous on Sabal Springs Drive. We need to improve/reduce traffic on that road right …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Clearwater city leaders will decide whether to build a new library near the Countryside Recreation Center or renovate and expand the existing facility at their meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, at City Hall.
To build or renovate? For the future of the Countryside Library, city leaders will make that decision Wednesday. The cost to renovate the library at its existing location exceeds that for building a new one near the Countryside Recreation Center. The expected cost of a new, 22,500-square-foot building is $5.46 million, according to Harvard Jolly, the architect. The cost for design and engineering is $550,000. The cost to expand the existing 16,000-square-foot building that was built in 1987 is $5.67 million. The building would also be expanded to a total of 22,825-square-feet. The design and engineering costs for the renovation option are $590,000. In either option, the costs do not include those associated with LEED certification. “If the…
Monday, April 29, 2013
One Florida County has given elementary school principals the green light to paddle misbehaving students. What do you think about this, Tampa Bay?
A trip to the principal’s office in Marion County elementary schools might mean more for misbehaving students than a call to parents and possible detention detail. Principals there have been given the green light to paddle unruly pupils. The county’s school board decided April 23 that it was high time this once banned practice was brought back into the educational system. Citing repeat disciplinary problems with students where nothing else worked to get kids on track, board member Carol Ely, a retired principal, put the idea on the table. While the measure passed, principals don’t have carte blanche to paddle kids. Principals must first obtain standing written permission from parents, and they must get verbal permission before each …
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The muck-filled Stevenson Creek is due for a dredging project, but it is mired in problems – again.
A 14-year-old plan to dredge and restore Stevenson Creek is mired in delays again. The Tampa Bay Times reports that the project's future now is uncertain. At issue is a plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore the Stevenson Creek Estuary in north Clearwater. U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young says he has secured funding for the project twice, but only 20 percent of the work has been done. The project is now broke and at a standstill. On Thursday, Young is scheduled to meet with Army Col. Alan Dodd, commander of the corps district that includes Tampa Bay. The meeting is in Washington, D.C. The meeting is in response to an angry letter from the Florida Congressman. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Young – frustrated by another round of …
The lawsuits were among 60 filed Friday in Louisiana as the third anniversary of the oil spill neared.
Clearwater and Dunedin have filed lawsuits in U.S. Distrcit Court, seeking millions in damages due to the Deepwater oil spill in 2010, according to the Tampa Bay Times Clearwater lists BP and its contractors – Halliburton and Transocean – as defendants. Both Clearwater and Dunedin are not claiming loss due to oil washing ashore but from economic hardship as tourists stayed away. In making its claim Clearwater, describes tourism as the "primary economic driver for the city," according to the Tampa Bay Times. Dunedin notes the outdoor recreation, including fishing and boating, that draw visitors to the city. The two north Pinellas cities' lawsuits are among 60 filed Friday, April 19, in Louisiana by the law firm Motley Rice, according to the…
Monday, April 22, 2013
The federal government says not in this case, but detractors are saying the FBI’s failure to Mirandize bombing suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19, poses a concern for individual rights. What’s your take, Tampa Bay?
The massive manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers is finished, but the story is far from over. With one suspect dead and the other in custody attentions now turn to gleaning intelligence that might prevent future attacks and making sure the victims and their families see justice delivered. It’s the quest to glean intelligence, however, that has some worrying about how effective a case against Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19, will be and if the individual rights of Americans are taking a hit as law enforcement carries out its duties by employing some unusual measures. When Tsarnaev was taken into custody on April 19, he was not read his Miranda rights. The federal government invoked the public safety exception, which gives it a right to interrogate …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
City leaders hope to install a mega-playground, as well as a U.S. military flag plaza, to help boost Clearwater Beach as a tourist destination.
Clearwater Beach has long been a playground for boaters and nightclubbers. Now it aims to become a playground for the youngest set of tourists: Kids. The city is moving to create the Florida playground of a child's dreams, complete with a mega-play structure that resembles a giant sandcastle. The pricetag is nearly a half-million dollars, and the location is at Pier 60 Park, the tourism epicenter of Clearwater Beach. City leaders see the new playground as a draw for tourists with young children. "This will be a signature playground that will welcome visitors to the most touristy part of our town," Clearwater spokeswoman Joelle Castelli told the Tampa Bay Times. In addition, the city plans to install a $100,000 flag plaza, which will …
Monday, April 15, 2013
As Tax Freedom Day 2013 nears, we’re wondering how you feel about your bottom line? Do you think the government takes too much of a cut?
As the sun sets on another tax season, Americans have reason to celebrate. Tax Freedom Day 2013 is almost here. That’s the day when the country collectively has earned enough cash to pay off its taxes – federal and state – for the current year, according to TaxFoundation.org. “Tax Freedom Day provides Americans with an easy way to gauge the overall tax take – a task that can otherwise be daunting due to the multiplicity of taxes at various levels of government and ‘hidden’ taxes and fees that are often buried in the cost of living,” the organization’s website states. This year Tax Freedom Day falls on April 18. From that point on, Americans stop working for the government and start working for themselves, according to the foundation. So …
Lucy Gonzalez
12:38 am on Sunday, May 19, 2013
Sorry Bryan :( more ›