A second chance for Hillsboroughâs youthful offenders, plus more good news from around the state
And a few things that didnât go so well this week.
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Hillsborough County expanded its civil citation program for juveniles, a move designed to keep more of them off the path toward incarceration. [ CARL JUSTE, MIAMI HERALD FILE PHOTO ]
This article represents the opinion of the Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board.
Published May 8
The highs and lows from Tampa Bay and beyond, including a bipartisan victory for juvenile offenders, a curious bill signing and some sound advice on raising taxes.
The right kind of justice reform. Good to see Hillsborough Countyâs bipartisan support for expanding its civil citations program for juveniles. Giving young first-time offenders a way to avoid an arrest â and all the life-changing implications that follow â is another step along the road to a more efficient and just system. Hillsborough is following the lead of othe
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Sunburn â The morning read of whatâs hot in Florida politics â 5.6.21
Let’s start the morning with some great news about two really good people:
Aly is a vice president of Accounts with On3PR, while
Omar is deputy chief of staff to Speaker
Chris Sprowls.
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@NickConfessore: The fact that this private corporate administrative decision is being covered as something akin to a Supreme Court ruling â rightly so, I think â is the best illustration I can imagine of the sheer power Facebook has achieved over the public square
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@BostonJoan: Imagine spending millions to offload blame only to have it returned like a bill lost in the mail, which is now overdue.
From Piney Point to Serena s Law, the story of Session was about the region.
Southwest Florida is home to a substantial portion of the GOP caucus in both chambers of the Legislature. So it makes sense that the region was a big winner emerging from the just-concluded Legislative Session.
But what does that get exactly? Plenty, based on budget wins.
The Heartland and wetland-rich region of Florida pulled in a large share of water quality spending, as well as support for various community needs in education and public safety. Lawmakers also stressed that some matters of policy passed this year that specifically serve Southwest Florida.
“House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, and Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, issued a formal joint proclamation to bring lawmakers back to Tallahassee during the week of May 17. The 30-year gambling ‘compact,’ announced April 23, includes allowing sports betting in the state.”
“St. Johns County commissioners unanimously adopted vacation rental regulations on Tuesday, the culmination of a contentious process that began a few years ago. Commissioner Henry Dean described the regulations as an attempt to balance the needs of vacation rental operators and the homeowners who are seeing more short-term rentals open in their neighborhoods.”
“Lake Okeechobee levels are higher than water managers would like with less than one month until the start of hurricane season. That could lead to larger water releases soon. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages lake levels and tries to keep the lake between 12.5 and 15.5 feet above sea level for flood protection and wat
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