The Way I See ItBy cj pollickDeveloper Steps Back And Reconsiders Purchase Options - Cedarwood Development, owner of the Marriott Hotel on Sand Key, is reconsidering the purchase option for the Shoppes of Sand Key from current owner Dick Bennett. However, and due to lack of current City of Clearwater zoning, the Marriott property on Sand Key zoning application will move forward with the Clearwater Community Development Board. Beachwalk Hardhat Meeting Slated - The Beachwalk Hardhat meeting for local Clearwater Beach businesses will be held Tuesday, January 22nd, at 11 a.m., at the Clearwater Beach Recreation Center. Largo Med's Parent Buying Sun Coast Hospital - Sun Coast Hospital has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while Largo Medical Center plans to purchase the financially strapped Sun Coast for About $20 million. Over 300 physicians practice at Sun Coast and according to Largo Medical most of Sun Coast's employees will be retained after the purchase. Rumors of a sale had been mentioned for over a month, but many local citizens are still are surprised. Sun Coast had grown and prospered over the years as a prominent osteopathic teaching hospital. It is reported that the recent sale will help assist continued growth of Sun Coast. Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Veteran Honored - According to the Florida Retail Federation, the 2007 police officer of the year is Sergeant Daniel J. Carron of the Sheriff's Office. Sgt. Caron helped to break two retail shop lifting rings last year. Sgt. Carron was honored at the recent Florida Retail Federation banquet in Daytona Beach. Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District Seeks Rate Increase - Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District (PSF&RD) recently asked the Board of County Commissioners to approve a request to include a referendum question on the election ballot to increase rates for the fire district (Belleair Shore, Belleair Beach, Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Oakhurst, Redington Shores, N. Redington Beach and Redington Beach). This referendum request is due to several past citizen rejections of a fire district rate increase; the last voter rejection in November reflected 6 out of 10 voters said no to rate increases. According to PSF&RD Chief Livernois, the fire district could face bankruptcy in the near future without new rate increases. Grudingly, the Pinellas County Commissioners consented to support adding another PSF&RD referendum on the March 11th election ballot. The fire district, however, must pay $14,000 in costs to be added on the March ballot. Indian Rocks Beach To Hold Election - Citizens of Indian Rocks Beach will vote for three city commissioners in the upcoming March election. The deadline for city candidate qualification is Friday, January 11th. City candidate applications and other candidate information are available at Indian Rocks Beach City Hall. Commissioner R.B. Johnson has stated he plans to run for the mayor's office. Mayor Bill Ockunzzi has not announced if he would seek re-election and City Commissioner Jose Coppen has stated he would not seek re-election in the March election. At this time Don House, Dan Torres and former city commissioner Joanne "Cookie" Kennedy have expressed interest in running for city commission offices. Regardless of who might become the "new" IRB city commission, there are several important city issues that need resolution. There is an outstanding lawsuit with the former city manager regarding expense reimbursements, there is an issue of finding a full-time city manager and there are city budget and expense issues to resolve. Sen. John Kerry Endorses Sen. Barack Obama - In a surprise move, Sen. John Kerry endorsed Democrat candidate Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton or former Sen. John Edwards. The endorsement came as a surprise since John Edwards was the previous running-mate of John Kerry when he ran for president and John Kerry was a friend of Bill Clinton. Many voters who respect Sen. John Kerry's political opinions believe Kerry's recent endorsement of Obama is important since Kerry knows both John Edwards and Hillary Clinton. Why did Kerry endorse Obama? He stands for change and Kerry doesn't believe either John Edwards or Hillary Clinton would support changes in Washington. Sen. Fred Thompson Confronts Gov. Mike Huckabee - Most Republicans believe former Sen. Fred Thompson is the most conservative of all GOP presidential candidates. For that reason it was an important debate moment when Thompson stated several reasons why Gov. Huckabee was not a conservative Republican. Thompson went as far as to say many of the things Gov. Huckabee stood for reminded him of Democrat candidate positions and not a Republican. Of couse, Huckabee denied Thompson's charges. Most conservative GOP candidates? It is not Sen. John McCain. McCain often voted against other Republicans in Washington and voted against Bush tax cuts. MCain also supported "amnesty" for illegal immigrants in America - a position not held by many Republicans. McCain did well in New Hampshire where Independents, Democrats and Republicans could vote in the primary for any candidate. However, in states like Michigan, where voters can only vote in their political party primary, McCain reflected little GOP support. Mitt Romney clearly won Michigan and is the new GOP frontrunner. Most Trusted News Service? - Fox News has replaced CNN as the most trusted" news source for Americans, according to a new nationwide poll. Most trusted news organization in declining order:
Further, there are significantly declining numbers of Americans who say they believe all or most of media news. Only 19.6 percent said they believe all or most news reports. This is down from 27.4 percent in 2003. The perception is also growing among Americans that the news media attempts to influence public opinion, according to 87.6 percent of people polled. By four-to-one margins, Americans surveyed see The New York Times and National Public Radio as mostly or somewhat liberal over conservative.
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