Push TECO To Be Greener After nearly three and a half hours of facts, figures, opinions and pleas, Tampa City Council members Charlie Miranda, Gwen Miller, Thomas Scott and Joseph Caetano voted against delaying approval of the 25-year franchise agreement with Tampa Electric Company. The delay would have given all of us time see and hear the changes sought by President-elect Barack Obama pertaining to energy generation and its effect on climate change as well as the effect the fiscal crises might have on jobs and other opportunities in the near future. The delay would have given concerned citizens and groups time to work with the city and TECO to solve the problems pointed out by the 40-plus people present and the hundreds who communicated with council members with letters and e-mails. ...more

December 6, 2008

The city needs volunteers to fill several vacancies on boards and commissions dealing with everything from nuisance properties to tax breaks for commercial developers. The Public Nuisance Abatement Board, a quasi-judicial body that deals with properties with a pattern of criminal activity, needs to fill one vacancy. ...more

December 5, 2008

The Tampa City Council made it official today: Sangria's Tapas Bar & Restaurant can join Starbucks as a commercial anchor along the Hillsborough Avenue gateway to historical Seminole Heights. With no discussion and by unanimous vote, the council gave final approval to rezoning the property and also OK'd closing part of Mohawk Avenue and an alleyway. ...more

December 4, 2008

A day before the Tampa City Council planned to vote on a 25-year franchise agreement with Tampa Electric, community leaders urged the council to postpone its vote. ...more

December 4, 2008

Today, Tampa City Council members will hold the final vote on the city's franchise agreement with Tampa Electric Co. In the last few months members have gone back and forth about approving it, with at least three hoping to use the negotiations to push the utility toward cleaner environmental policies. ...more

December 4, 2008

A group with ties to the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library Board plans to lobby against an effort to rename New Tampa Regional Library. ...more

December 4, 2008

A day before the Tampa City Council votes on a 25-year franchise agreement with Tampa Electric, community leaders urged the council to postpone its vote, saying the agreement should be changed to promote the use of renewable power. ...more

December 3, 2008

Legislation designed to crack down on rogue towing companies in the Tampa Bay area is working its way up to Tallahassee. ...more

December 3, 2008

A local bill designed to crack down on predatory towing companies is headed for Tallahassee. ...more

December 2, 2008

A proposed Sangria's Tapas Bar & Restaurant in Seminole Heights is a step away from final approval after the Architectural Review Commission gave its OK Monday night. The Tampa City Council, which gave initial rezoning approval for the restaurant site in November, will take its final vote Thursday. ...more

December 2, 2008