3 Boys Farm Featured on WMNF

Litbrit's husband, Robert Tornello, was interviewed by WMNF. Tornello was interviewed for the Sustainable Living show. You can listen to audio of the interview here.

Florida Hometown Democracy Interview

Florida Hometown Democracy founder Leslie Blackner and campaign’s communications director Wayne Garcia talk to WMNF about Amendment 4. The amendment will allow Florida voters to vote on land use changes. Garcia explains, if approved, the amendment will allow voters to decide on major projects. Voters will not have to go to the ballot to decide if a traffic light or a bus stop. You can listen to the interview on WMNF. Click the audio link at the top of the page.

Creative Loafing Hires Mitch Perry

Creative Loafing has hired Mitch Perry, assistant news director, to replaced departed pllitical editor Wayne Garcia. Perry is an excellent hire for Creative Loafing.

"I've always wanted to do print -- it's kind of an exciting move for me," said Perry, who expects to write a weekly column, edit community bloggers who contribute to Creative Loafing's Web site, moderate podcasts and write larger feature stories. "I had a couple of sleepless nights after the decision -- I was ready for a change, but when the time came, it was tough to do -- but now I'm psyched."

Perry will quit WMNF to work full-time at Creative Loafing. Perry has written blog posts at CL. Perry help revitalize WMNF's news department. His organization skills are greatly needed as CL attempts to become an internet-based content provider. I am curious if Perry will take CL's political coverage into a more progressive direction. Creative Loafing's problem is Stephen Hammill, online producer, has told in-house bloggers that quantity (of traffic) is more important than quality. This has resulted in posts with nude celebrity photos and other cheesy content. Making CL into a softcore porn sex site is not the business model for a successful alt-weekly. People can get real porn on the internet. Creative Loafing needs to go back to the investigative journalism and sense of fun that was the John Sugg era.

I wish Perry luck at his new job.

Update: the Perry quote was reported by St. Petersburg Times media columnist Eric Deggans. The reporting on Creative Loafing web editor Stephen Hammill was done my me. Sources have told me Hammill has become obsessed with web traffic.

The Question That Should Be Asked

WMNF has a story and audio post of the Hillsborough County Circuit Court forum. I had one problem with the story.

After the moderated session, the audience asked questions. Dr. Bruce Miles, president of the Hillsborough County Black Democratic Caucus, questioned the candidates on the inordinately high rate of incarceration of African Americans.

There is no question that poor and uneducated people get a bad rap in the legal system. These people are less likely to properly defend their legal rights. Many people in the black community have been shafted by the legal system. America has a shameful history, in how she treated the African American community. I'm all for correcting that wrong. However, when I hear black leaders talk about the incarceration rate;

I wonder where are the African American civic leaders when black teens are selling drugs at 2:00 AM. What black community leaders fail to do is go into their communities and clean up the crack cocaine problem. Young black males will continue to get incarcerated as long as they sell and distribute crack. 15th Street in Suitcase City used to look like an episode of The Wire. Drug dealing went on constantly. Police have cracked down on in the area. But the problem will never be solved until African Americans stop the sale of crack in their neighborhoods.

The police and judical system will never be able to stop crack cocaine distribution. The government can't make parents keep their children from selling drugs. This was the point Barack Obama made in Beaumont, Texas.

"It's not good enough for you to say to your child, 'Do good in school.' And then your child comes home, you've got the TV set on, you've got the radio on, you don't check their homework, there's not a book in the house, you've got the video game playing."

The crowd cheered. Women started dancing at their seats, fists waving.

"So, turn off the TV set, put the video game away, buy a little desk," Obama continued. "Watch them do their homework. If they don't know how to do it, give them help. If you don't know how to do it, call the teacher. Make them go to bed at a reasonable time. Give them some breakfast."

I have seen bad parenting from people of all nationalities. That does not explain why so many young black people turn to selling crack. (I doubt anyone knows why.) The drug is the unspeakable truth about the black community. Black leaders will speak of worthy civil right causes, such as Jena, Louisiana. Obama discussed easing sentences on posession of crack cocaine. I can't find a quote from Obama about how crack cocaine is destroying African American communities. The subject is taboo amongst black leaders.

Dr. Bruce Miles question on sentencing is fair and important. I hope he knocking on doors and asking parents why their children are out in the streets at night.

Here are the judical candidates running in Hillsborough county.

Caroline Tesche - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 1
Jason D. Montes - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 1
Samantha Ward - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 2
Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 2 Miriam Velez
Kevin Carey - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 7
Catherine M. Catlin - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 7
Lisa Campbell - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 21
Linda Courtney Clark - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 21
Martha Cook - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 30
Constance Daniels - Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 30

Bob Hackworth on Bill Young's Housing Relief Nay Vote

District 10 congressional candidate Bob Hackworth voices his disapproval of Rep Bill C. W. Young's vote againt the housing relief bill.

(Dunedin, FL)—After threats of a veto to the nation’s most substantial housing bill in decades, President Bush signed the Foreclosure Prevention Act today. This bill provides relief to more than 400,000 homeowners in danger of foreclosure and helps reassure financial markets of the health of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae who control 42% of the nations mortgages. One provision of this Act calls for $300 billion in mortgage relief for troubled homeowners, this will allow these homeowners to transform their high-interest mortgages into government-backed, thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages. The Act also sets a cap of $625,000 on loans made by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which the FHA can insure and allow both institutions to buy back mortgages up to 15% above the median home price. Another provision of the bill gives $3.9 billon to help communities fix-up foreclosed properties.

“With 1.4 million foreclosures, and rising, nationally, and with one home out of 200 in Florida in foreclosure, it is outrageous that Rep Bill C. W. Young, would not support this bill. I find it deplorable that Rep. Young voted against this bill, especially with Florida having such a high mortgage default rate. As our Congressman, he should be trying to help, not hurt during this crisis,” said Mayor Hackworth.

WMNF interviews Hackworth about how he can beat Young. Hackworth tells Arielle Stevenson the election is about change. Hackworth cites his record as Mayor of Dunedin is an asset with voters.

Hackworth is against offshore drilling. He tells WMNF that there will be a negative impact on Florida's beaches. The candidate says he will support a Democratic administration's efforts to end the war in Iraq.

Tampa Job Market Sucks

The Tampa area lost 23,100 jobs from June 2007 to June 2008. Hillsborough County's employment rate was 5.7 percent for June 2008. That Pinellas County's June unemployment rate hit 5.5 percent in June. Pasco County skyrocketed to 6.8 percent.

WMNF interviewed job seekers at a recent Tampa job fair. Many people are not optimistic about their prospects. USF student Adam Elminshawy needs a job to get out of debt. "I need a job bad. The economy is screwed up. … This is ridiculous," Thomas Phillips. "I’m out here looking for a job and I’m just not finding a way. This is why the crime rate is so high in Tampa Bay."

The Tampa Bay Business Journal reports Tampa has lost more jobs than any other city since the beginning of 2008. The numbers come from the Agency for Workforce Innovation. The numbers are issued by the Florida government. The AWI adjusted numbers have state job growth in June of 2008 at -1.0 percent. The report says that Governor Charlie Crist and the Florida legislature will spend $10 billion on "projects that create jobs for Floridians." We'll see.

Darden Rice News

Pinellas County Commission candidate Darden Rice received an endorsement from Florida House Rep. Janet Long.

"Darden Rice is an energetic young leader who will set an entirely new standard on how we achieve good policies on thoughtful growth management and the environment," Long said in a statement. "She presents the right set of skills and the right attitude to work hard; I know she will make a difference in Pinellas County."

The Pinellas Stonewall Democrats recommend Rice to their membership. The endorsement isn't surprising Stonewall Democrats are a LGBT Democratic Praty group and Rice has been candid about her sexuality. It is impressive how quickly Rice has lined up so many endorsements. Her campaign is amazingly well-managed for a local race.

WMNF interviewed Rice and primary opponent Renee Flowers. Rice talked to Mitch Perry about the need for fresh leadership after the Jim Smith scandal rocked the commission. Rice also expressed her displeasure over the Toyland land deal.