As in many other Florida cities, Tampa City Council meetings begin with a recital of the Pledge of Allegiance and a short prayer, known officially as the invocation. ...more

December 31, 2009

Last week's column, in which I described in vivid detail the theft of one our newspaper racks, my comically heroic efforts to recover it from behind a grocery store and the debilitating back injury I suffered while loading its remains onto a truck, drew much sympathy from readers. ...more

October 28, 2009

Keep the change The federal deficit has quadrupled and the unemployment rate has doubled. Yep, that's change you can believe in (and cry and scream over, too)! ...more

October 23, 2009

Sometimes when reading the newspaper one comes across comments so outrageous and off the mark that a retort is necessary. On July 13 a writer stated in a Letter to the Editor that "the NRA is a lobbying organization dedicated to putting more guns in the hands of criminals." The writer then rambles on about the NRA advancing its "radical program" and having "access to our libraries." ...more

July 17, 2009

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a high school football coach who wants to bow his head and kneel during prayers led by his players despite a school district policy prohibiting it. ...more

March 2, 2009

The American Civil Liberties Union has taken up the cause of Herb Quintero, the tackle shop owner who was fined by Clearwater after he had a mural of gamefish painted on his shop. ...more

February 25, 2009

The American Civil Liberties Union has taken up the cause of Herb Quintero, the tackle shop owner who was fined by the city of Clearwater after he had a mural of game fish painted on his shop. uintero said he was threatened with additional fines after he covered the mural with a banner-size copy of the First Amendment. The ACLU filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Tampa this morning, claiming the mural is a work of art and exempt from city codes dictating commercial sign requirements. The $690 Quintero has paid in court costs and fines stem from the city's position that the mural is not art but rather a sign related to his business. ...more

February 24, 2009

I read with interest the letter titled simply "Conservatives" printed on Jan. 20 in Highlands Today. Frankly, Roger, reading your letter was a bit confusing. I could not determine whether you intended to drop a bomb on all conservatives, or whether you were mainly critical of such people as George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, etc. ...more

January 23, 2009

A neo-Nazi group has joined the state's Adopt-A-Highway volunteer litter pickup program, taking advantage of a free speech court fight won four years ago by the Ku Klux Klan. ...more

January 22, 2009

Herb Quintero, who has long thought the fish mural painted on the side of his tackle shop was a work of art, had until Monday to cover it up. ...more

January 13, 2009