My May 12 Outtakes, “Fixing Elections,” focused on what I considered the changes to Florida’s Election laws–changes I believe had little to do with improving the process and were more about keeping…
What is best school district in Florida Panhandle?
Not Santa Rosa or Okaloosa….it’s Walton County. The State Board of Education approved the designation of 13 Florida school districts as 2011-12 Academically High Performing School Districts. These districts have met the…
Blogtake: Shoving problems downhill
The federal and state governments are cutting their spending. Hooray! ….while sort of. The needs and problems aren’t going away simply because the programs are being cut. They still exist and the…
Pictures of 2011 Mississippi River Flood
A friend sent me a link to this website, Lloyd’s Donaldson Point River Watch. It shows three pictures of the same house – 2007, 2008 and 2011. As of 10:30 a.m. today,…
Gov. Scott gives interview
Not to mainstream media–or even us–, but to the Florida Baptist Witness. Gov. Rick Scott gave Florida Baptist Witness a 20-minute interview on May 3. The governor told the Baptist newspaper that…
Buzz: Hubbs-Sea World touring city
Officials from Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute are in Pensacola today looking at possible locations for their new research center.
Scott launches publicity machine
Gov. Rick Scott will spend the next few weeks redefining the 2011 Legislative Session as success for his administration. His Facebook page–yes, Scott has a Facebook page–touts his statewide swing as his…
U.S. Foreign Aid Analysis (interactive)
Center for American Progress has an interactive map that explores where U.S. foreign aid dollars are spent and how these countries rank in terms of basic indicators such as political rights and…
Audits reveal mortgage companies may have committed fraud
Huffington Post reports a set of confidential federal audits conducted Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspector general accuse the nation’s five largest mortgage companies– Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo,…
Haliburton Engineer refuses to testify
Bloomberg is reporting that Jesse Gagliano, a technical adviser who was Halliburton’s cementing engineer on the Deepwater Horizon rig, evoked the Fifth Amendment when he was deposed last week by Transocean. Gagliano…
Escambia Co. governments lead state in BP claims paid
As of May 12, the local governments and agencies in Escambia County have been paid more in BP claims than any other county in Florida: Bay $Â Â Â Â Â 7,630,018.94 Brevard $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4,266.66…
BlogTake:Law enforcement should be notified of crime tips
The Escambia County Public School District is installing an anonymous tip line for students, parents and others to report online bullying, harassment and other school crimes. The current plan proposed by Superintendent…
What is DEP doing about climate change?
St. Pete Times reports that a gathering of 400 scientists in Copenhagen this month reached the conclusion that the arctic’s glaciers are melting faster than anyone expected due to man-made climate change….
Buzz: New Pensacola Bay Bridge
There will be a new Pensacola Bay Bridge. In the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a push for a second Pensacola Bay Bridge–one that would connect with Highway 98 somewhere east…
Rich don’t create jobs
Dave Johnson, Campaign for America’s Future, argues on the website Truthout that the rich don’t create jobs and that taxing the rich doesn’t kill jobs. His points: You employ the right number…
Bondi takes stand on mortgage issue
Orlando Sentinel reports the federal government has been pushing banks such as BOA and Wells Fargo to reduce the mortgage principal for qualified borrowers in danger of foreclosure. Florida Attorney General Pam…
Jeb Bush: Education pioneer?
The former Florida governor was recently awarded the Bradley Prize and $250,000: “The reforms that he put in place during his two terms as Florida governor in many ways lead the country…
Conflicting reports on Gulf fish
Mobile Press Register reports” Despite the reports of diseased fish that are circulating among some commercial anglers and within scientific circles, Alabama researchers fishing within 15 miles of Dauphin Island Thursday caught…
New Bullystopper Hot Line
This past week, Superintendent Malcolm Thomas made a presentation to the Escambia Co. School board on the new online system that the district will launch in August: It will allow anyone to…
Interesting note about IMF arrest
IMF chief and potential French presidential candidate Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested Saturday for allegedly sexually assaulting a maid at the hotel where he was staying. He was taken off the Air France…
