Hillsborough County commissioners today will discuss dropping conservative activist Ralph Hughes' name from the county's Moral Courage Award. . ...more

July 15, 2009

The presentation of Hillsborough County's Ralph Hughes Moral Courage Award today will be free of controversy if the latest recipient has anything to say about the matter. ...more

October 15, 2008

The presentation of Hillsborough County's Ralph Hughes Moral Courage Award on Wednesday will be free of controversy if the latest recipient has anything to say about the matter. Dave Brown, who will receive the award at the county commission meeting, said he will not mention the board's recent decision to rename the honor for Hughes, a conservative political activist and campaign contributor. ...more

October 14, 2008

Members of the Hillsborough County Commission appear to be, for the most part, well-intended individuals. But when a majority believes that making political donations constitutes moral courage or that smart growth comes from letting developers have their way, it's clear the commission needs some fresh perspective. ...more

October 12, 2008

Snide, Catty And Uncalled For Regarding "Award Returned Over New Name" (Metro, Oct. 2): ...more

October 4, 2008

Eileen Hart, who made headlines a decade ago for calling out the overpumping of groundwater, displayed moral courage again this week by returning the Moral Courage Award she won 12 years ago from the Hillsborough County Commission. ...more

October 4, 2008

If this quintet of clueless bobblehead dolls had their way, the Nobel Peace Prize would be named after Pol Pot, the Pulitzers after Clifford Irving, the MacArthur genius grants after Archie Bunker. ...more

October 4, 2008

Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman's proposal to rename the Moral Courage Award after the late Ralph Hughes is now reality. Norman's had, as we know, worse ideas, but this one is bad. Unless political agenda is somehow synonymous with moral courage. ...more

September 24, 2008

Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman's proposal to rename the Moral Courage Award after the late Ralph Hughes is now reality. Norman's had, as we know, worse ideas, but this one is bad. Unless political agenda is somehow synonymous with moral courage. If there had to be any kind of name change, then it would have been more appropriate to have called it the Gadfly Award, which often applies, or maybe the Self-Interest Award, which also has applied in the past. Or simply an Attaboy Award for those who merely do their job, but do it well enough. ...more

September 22, 2008

In the parallel universe that this column sometimes finds itself aimlessly wandering through, there are moments when your humble scribbler is taken to task by some of you beloved readers for stuff I never wrote. ...more

September 21, 2008