Thursday, April 18, 2013
Hillsborough County is looking into local regulations that would put a lock on smiths that have less-than-reputable practices.
Hillsborough Commission Chairman Ken Hagan says it’s time for the county to clamp down on locksmiths that use deceptive practices and conduct bait-and-switch price quoting to bilk customers out of money. Hagan’s fellow board members agreed unanimously with his request for the county to begin looking into local legislation that would require licensing for locksmiths that operate in Hillsborough and also criminal background checks for employees. Hagan’s quest to have the county consider such local legislation began when a piece of mail arrived at his home, he told commissioners during the board’s April 17 meeting. The mail was addressed to “Clark Locksmith.” What Hagan thought was the mistaken arrival of a single piece of mail turned out to …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Hillsborough County is looking into passing a local law that would regulate these establishments to discourage them from being used as fronts for prostitution and human trafficking. Do you think it’s necessary, Westchase?
Recent allegations of human trafficking at a South Tampa massage parlor have Hillsborough County Commissioners taking notice. During its April 17 meeting, the board discussed creating local legislation that would limit the hours massage parlors can operate in the county. The law would also forbid parlors from letting employees live on site. Commissioner Sandra Murman brought up the proposal, she said, to give law enforcement another tool in its arsenal to crack down on trafficking and prostitution both. She wants the county to consider an ordinance that’s similar to what the City of Tampa has already put on its books. Florida alone is home to thousands of human trafficking victims, perhaps as many as 40,000, Murman said. Many of these …
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
A plan proposed by Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller would change the way Westchase area voters select local representation.
It’s time to bring county government closer to the people. That’s the message Hillsborough Commissioner Les Miller says is behind his proposal to create a referendum that would enable voters to decide if they want smaller single-member districts represented on the county board. The Hillsborough County Commission has seven districts. Four of those districts are represented by commissioners who are selected by residents within specific parts of the county. Three board seats are elected at-large, by all voters within the county. While that plan worked when it was drawn up in the 1980s when Hillsborough County only had about 600,000 residents, it’s not effective any longer, Miller said. The county now has more than 1.2 million residents and …
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham told the Tampa Bay Times his recent fundraiser at a gun shop and firing range wasn’t a statement about firearms, rather one in support of local business. What do you think, Westchase?
Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham faces some stiff competition in the 2014 race for an at-large seat on the board. Right now the Republican, who currently represents eastern Hillsborough, is being challenged by School Board chairwoman April Griffin and Tampa City Councilwoman Mary Mulhern, both Democrats, according to the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office. And, that’s with the race still more than a year away. Higginbotham is working to get a jump on the competition, according to an article in the Tampa Bay Times. He was the beneficiary of a recent fundraiser staged at Shooters World, a new gun shop and firing range that opened up in northern Hillsborough at 116 E. Fletcher Ave. When questioned by the Times …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Instead of a registry, the commission is considering making legal documents affording some rights more readily available to residents.
Westchase residents living together in committed relationships without the bonds of marriage tying them together won’t be able to join a registry that affords them some rights to make decisions for each other. The Hillsborough County Commission, instead, has decided to make it easier for same-sex and other unwed couples to file the legal papers needed to afford them some decision-making rights. The idea to create a packet of legal documents that reflect laws already on the books in regard to medical surrogacy and other major life decisions was brought up by Commissioner Al Higginbotham during the commission’s March 20 meeting. Higginbotham wants the county to create a packet of documents for residents to easily access online and at …
Hillsborough Commissioners and the mayors of the county’s three cities have agreed to come together to hammer out solutions for the area’s transportation woes. Mass transit may or may not be part of the solution.
Does rush hour traffic along Linebaugh Avenue, Sheldon Road or Race Track Road have you down? Hillsborough County is ready to seek out solutions to fix the area’s transportation problems. The announcement that a policy-making group would soon form to explore transportation problems, potential solutions and possible funding sources came during the County Commission’s March 20 meeting. That group would include all seven of Hillsborough’s commissioners, a representative from the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit authority and the mayors of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City. Rather than start off meetings looking at potential solutions like light rail, which has been done in the past, this particular group of county movers and shakers will…
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The County Commissioner from East Hillsborough is running for a countywide seat in 2014, but some are saying his stand on two recent controversial issues will hurt him in the long run. We’d like to get your thoughts!
Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham is in for a fight in 2014 – one that some say he’s going to have an increasingly difficult time winning. The District 4 commissioner from East Hillsborough County is running for a countywide seat on the board. While his strong support base of Eastern Hillsborough Republicans has carried him through in the past, skeptics say Higginbotham is going to have a hard time overcoming his own voting record when residents countywide turn out to the polls in 2014. 2 Possible Sticking Points The Tampa Tribune calls into question Higginbotham’s ability to overcome two recent decisions it says have cast the commissioner in a less-than-positive light with those who don’t share his conservative views. They …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The Hillsborough County Commission has agreed to set aside $6.25 million to repay developers for road construction projects that will ultimately serve customers of Bass Pro’s new location. We’d like to get your thoughts on the issue.
Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan says the math is simple. The county pays out up to $6.5 million to help a developer build roads that will benefit not only Bass Pro Shops, but also a number of other businesses. In return, it will get nearly $3 million in combined property and sales taxes collected on the Brandon area parcel each year. The land only generates about $800 a year in property tax revenues now. Based on those figures, the taxpayers will get their money back in only a few years while continuing to see a large increase in property and sales taxes thanks to the development. Commissioner Kevin Beckner opposed using county dollars to help pay for the road project. He said he fears the county is turning into a “…
Monday, February 11, 2013
The Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance cites lower unemployment figures as a positive sign the economy is turning around. Do you agree that economic conditions are improving?
Hillsborough County’s unemployment rate is on the decline and officials from the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance point to that as a positive sign the area’s economy is making a comeback. “The economy is definitely turning around here,” said Ed Peachey, the alliance’s president and chief executive officer, during the Feb. 6 Hillsborough County Commission meeting. Peachy and his staff were at the meeting to present a quarterly report to commissioners on the status of Hillsborough’s employment scene. According to Peachy, the Tampa Bay area recently ranked second in the nation among the 49th largest metro areas in regard to drops in unemployment rates. The figures released show nearly a 2 percentage point drop in Tampa Bay's unemployment rate …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Backers of a plan to allow same-sex couples to enjoy more of the freedoms afforded to married couples aren’t taking no for an answer. Do you agree with them?
Less than two weeks after Hillsborough County Commissioners voted against creating a domestic partnership registry, proponents of the measure are holding their ground. The proposed registry, similar to what has already passed in Pinellas County, would have given same-sex partners more freedom to make financial and medical decisions for their significant others. In late January, the Hillsborough Commission voted 4-3 against creating a registry. Supporters of the registry met Tuesday, Feb. 5 to discuss what they are calling a “temporary” setback, according to The Tampa Tribune. Attendees at the event, which was sponsored by Equality Florida, say they will continue to push for the county to enact a registry. "Hillsborough County is so out of …
George
3:55 pm on Thursday, April 4, 2013
Just for the record (in answer to George Newman's comment), I don't have it in for Commissioner Higginbotham. However, I found him to be less than truthful on a whole host of issues which I cited examples of in an earlier comment. The items I cited are a matter of record. I realize that Higginbotham supporters may not want to acknowledge these inadequacies and may want to turn a blind eye to them… more ›