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Today's hot topics: Panama City shooter, 15 years for driver in Summer Moll crash
Here's a look at today's 5 most discussed stories on tampabay.com. Hot topics included a Times editorial on Florida's leaders trying to block the new health care law, the Panama City shooter and sentencing of a DUI driver that killed a Tampa mom.
See the stories and the top-rated comments:
1. Times editorial: Florida's leaders disregard constituents
"We are paying for everyone's health care without a plan. At least there has been an attempt to help the 'paying' class. To sit back and not participate in developing a plan that takes care of everyone on a 'wellness' plan vs. the Emergency Room plan is short sighted but typical of our current legislators.
"No plan for health care, no plan for jobs, just rhetoric." ~ JumpingJohnny
2. Panama City shooter had Tampa ties
"If I had to bet on which one out of the whole room would try to stop him I would have lost money. I can't believe the little lady taking the minutes of the meeting tried to disarm that guy. That was incredible." ~ Soth ... Read more
Should Jim Morrison get a posthumous pardon?
Florida's Board of Clemency will consider a posthumous pardon Thursday of rock icon Jim Morrison of the Doors, who was convicted of exposing himself during a Miami concert in 1969.
After reviewing the case last month, outgoing Gov. Charlie Crist said he wasn't convinced Morrison actually did it, that he may have been the victim of a legal system and jury more interested in sending a message in the midst of a culture war than in the facts of the case.
Weigh in: Vote in our poll and share your comments: ... Read more
What are you thankful for?
One thing I love about Thanksgiving is that it's not about shopping, spending or fighting crowds. Yes, the next day is, but I try to stay away from Black Friday madness. Thanksgiving is all about family time and showing gratitude.
On Twitter and Facebook, many are showing their thanks via Epic Thanks, a website celebrating gratitude and soliciting donations for three changemakers: Mike Halley of Halley's K9s for Veterans in Tampa, Subhash Ghimire of Nepal and Mama Lucy in Tanzania. Visitors to Epic Thanks can make donations and/or post their messages of thanks.
In the spirit of Epic Thanks, I inivite you to share your messages of gratitude.
I'll start with a few of mine. I'm grateful for: ... Read more
Flying during Thanksgiving holiday? Tell us about it
Talk of humiliating body scans and invasive pat-downs is adding stress for holiday travelers nationwide, even discouraging some from flying.
"This makes you feel like a criminal," said Richard Figg, 78, who was being patted down Monday before leaving on a flight from Tampa to Austin, Texas.
Anyone who is unable, or refuses, to go through the scanning machines will go through a pat-down.
With Thanksgiving travel time about to get in full gear (major jams/headaches), we would love to hear about your experiences with TSA at the airport. We want to hear whether you protested a patdown, and if so, what happens. If you are forced to endure a patdown, tell us how it went. ... Read more
Will graphic cigarette warning labels help reduce smoking?
Corpses, cancer patients and diseased lungs: These are some of the images the federal government plans for larger, graphic warning labels that will take up half of each cigarette package.
The images are part of a new campaign announced by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services today to reduce tobacco use, which is responsible for about 443,000 deaths per year.
"It acts as a very public billboard because you all of the sudden are reading something about lung cancer from that pack behind the cash register, whereas before you were just reading 'Marlboro,' " said David Hammond, a health behavior researcher at the University of Waterloo in Canada, who is working with the firm designing the labels with for the FDA. ... Read more
Gov.-elect Rick Scott: Please get to work on...
Our most discussed story over the weekend examined Governor-elect Rick Scott's agenda of smaller, limited government. The story outlined four key promises Scott made during his campaign:
• On the economy, he pledges to create 700,000 jobs in addition to expected job growth in a state where more than 1 million people are unemployed.
• On education, he supports a re-do of a teacher tenure and merit-pay bill Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed in April, and he favors paying the best teachers more and expanding school choice.
• On the size of government, he wants to lay off 5 percent of state workers, require them to contribute to their pensions, and cut $1 billion from the prison budget.
• On abortion, he favors a law similar to Nebraska's, which prohibits abortions in most cases after the 20th week of pregnancy.
Tampabay.com readers debated Scott's history as CEO of the Columbia/HCA hospital chain (and whether he deserves to be in jail) and offered their take on which issues Scott should be addressing when he takes office (the 'Taj Mahal' courthouse, cigarette tax, etc.), among other topics.
We'd like to know which of Scott's promises you do support. If you don't like any of the choices in our poll, please share your suggestions below. ... Read more
Top 5 stories: Rubio, Scott win office; Pasco school bans boy's racy backpack
With Election Day behind us, here's a look at which tampabay.com stories were most discussed in the past week. Mostly politics stories, of course, but a couple other hot topics rose to the top, including the fatal DUI case involving a Tampa dentist and the debate over a boy's racy backpack in Pasco.
I've included some of the highest-rated comments from the stories. A special thanks to backpack mom and kermit, who described themselves as the parents of the boy whose backpack was banned. Readers had some harsh words for the parents, and I appreciate their willingness to join the discussion and defend their son.
1. Gov.-elect Rick Scott declares: 'Let's get to work'
"Welcome to Florida. Please check your brain at the door. We like people that are like us, ignorant." ~ Surrealist
2. Marco Rubio elected to U.S. Senate
"Okay, Marco. You're in. Now it's time for you to actually do something for Florida instead of just talk."~ Tannhauser
3. Riverview dentist charged in Harbour Island fatalities posts bail
"The deceased man and woman aren't free on bail, why should he be?" ~ empsnewclozh ... Read more
How is Election Day 2010 going for you?
We'd like to hear how all goes for you today at the polls. Please tell us about any problems here, on tampabay.com's Facebook page or Tweet us @tampabaycom.
If you snap pictures of Election Day scenes, candidates at their final rallies or your own campaign sign pics -- like the one on right by Charles McKenzie -- please share them with us. E-mail them to submit@tampabay.com, then view them in our Community Photo Gallery.
I'm sure you've had enough of polls and are ready for the 2010 midterm Elections to be over. But just for fun, here's one final poll: ... Read more
Are you a Bank of America customer having trouble paying your mortgage?
If so, we'd love to hear from you. Bank of America announced this morning that it would postpone all foreclosure actions across the country.
The move, along with another decision on foreclosures by PNC Financial Services Inc., adds to growing concerns that mortgage lenders have been evicting homeowners using flawed court papers, without verifying the information in them. The bank made its decision in reaction to mounting pressure from public officials inquiring about the accuracy of foreclosure documents. ... Read more
You can help us improve discussion on tampabay.com
Last week, St. Petersburg Times writer Andrew Meacham wrote a moving epilogue after ugly comments were posted on a story about hit-run victim Neil Alan Smith. Tampabay.com readers praised Meacham for writing about a man who had been a Crab Shack dishwasher for 10 years.
Prompting even more discussion from tampabay.com readers and from a number of bloggers was the topic of cruel comments posted anonymously.
"The fact of the matter is that people can't behave in a civil matter and resort to making horrendous comments they would never associate their name with," wrote StPetePilot in the story's comments.
Huffington Post blogger Jason Linkins linked to Meacham's piece, prompting nearly 400 comments.
"This is so depressing. What in the world is with some of these people who would be so cruel and hideous as to speak so ill of the dead?" wrote Donald on Linkins' blog post. "Is the cloak of anonimity inversely proportional to the level of their own bravery, that they can thereby be inspired to do the very things which would shame their own mothers and grandmothers without fear of embarassment?" ... Read more
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