Ed Hooper, in his bid to return to Tallahassee, picked up a major endorsement Wednesday from Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano. Fasano, a former Republican state lawmaker, has been a longtime political force in West Pasco County. Hooper, who served in the House from 2006 to 2014, is running in Senate District 16, covering parts of Pinellas and Pasco counties.
(Updated) More than 395,000 Duke Energy customers in Pinellas County are without electricity following Hurricane Irma’s entry Sunday night and Monday morning. That’s 70 percent of Duke’s service area in Pinellas County. (On Tuesday afternoon, Duke officials said that of their 1.2 million customers throughout Florida, 375,000 have had their power restored. They did not say how many of those customers were in Pinellas. Duke Energy provides power to 35 different counties in Florida). Approximately 120 pump stations are also…
With mandatory evacuation orders for more than 260,000 Pinellas County residents, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Saturday morning that while it’s a crime not to evacuate, people won’t be arrested if they don’t leave their homes. “If you want to make a bad decision – what I think is a stupid decision – then you get to do that,” he said. That mandatory evacuation order includes all residents living in mobile home parks, beach communities and other low-lying areas. Speaking at…
Former House Speaker Will Weatherford is backing Ed Hooper for the state senate seat being vacated by Clearwater Republican Jack Latvala, who terms out in 2018.
Bob Gualtieri is growing frustrated with the federal government’s slow progress on illegal immigration. After the Pinellas County Sheriff spent months working with members of the Trump administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security on a plan that would allow sheriff departments to detain undocumented immigrants legally for deportation, Gualtieri says no program has yet been implemented.
Jesse Nevel and Akile Cainion, the Uhuru-backed candidates running for St. Petersburg mayor and City Council, are blasting the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, blaming them for the deaths of the three black teens who died after stealing a sport utility vehicle and speeding away from deputies.
South Pasadena Republican Rep. Kathleen Peters will hold a fundraiser Aug. 7 for her Pinellas County Commission campaign, and the host committee includes some of the top names in Bay area politics.
