News & Public Affairs

Columnist: Bush mostly to blame for deficit listen

06/10/09 Mitch E. Perry
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The Congressional Budget Office forecasts that in the coming years, the federal government will be running the biggest deficits since the years just after World War II.

Republicans blame President Obama’s budget for this – but according to New York Times Business Columnist David Leonhardt, Obama’s ambitious agenda is responsible for only a small part of the deficits. However, Leonardt writes that the president does not have a realistic plan for eliminating it.

Leonhardt looked at the...

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Report: Florida's "Green Economy" grew nearly 8% over past decade listen

06/10/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Economy, green jobs, environment

According to a new study, Florida’s clean energy economy grew nearly 8 percent between 1998 and 2007. The study by the Pew Charitable Trusts released today found that Florida was among the top 10 states in America’s clean energy, or Green Job economy.

Lori Grange is the interim deputy director with the Pew Center on the States.

To see the report, which lists a hard count of jobs created in the green economy over the past decade, visit PewTrusts.org.

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Obama administration says stimulus to kick in now listen

06/08/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Economy, Stimulus Package, Barack Obama

While 67 percent of Americans view President Barack Obama favorably, a new Gallup poll shows only 45 percent of Americans approve of Obama's handling of federal spending, and 46 percent agree with his handling of the federal budget deficit.

The poll also says that even though a majority support on handling the economy, Obama's disapproval rating has risen by 12 points since March.

Perhaps cognizant of that, President Obama announced today that his administration will be increasing sti...

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State university tuition increase going to Governor Crist's desk listen

04/29/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Education, economy, Legislature

A bill designed to eventually raise tuition at Florida's public universities to the national average is going to Gov. Charlie Crist. Crist supports the legislation that received final passage today in the House.

Democrat Marty Kiar was one of the relatively few in either state body against the bill.

Florida's tuition now ranks at or near the bottom nationally. It’s numbers like that prompted St. Petersburg Democrat Bill Heller to support the bill.

The bill would give each of th...

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Tom James provides economic recovery outlook listen

04/28/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Tiger Bay, economy

Who is to blame for the current global recession? CEO and chair of Raymond James Financial Tom James spread the responsibility around this afternoon at the Feather Sound Country Club in a meeting of the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club.

James laid responsibility for the recession on banks that issued sub-prime loans, individuals who took the loans, and former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan among others.

In October, the federal gove...

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Alex Sink attorneys and lenders work to reduce foreclosures listen

04/20/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Economy, mortgage crisis, foreclosure

This morning, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink met in Tampa with mortgage lenders, nonprofits and lawyers to come up with a plan to help people in Florida who are facing foreclosure.

“Our goal here is the same. It’s to keep more Florida homeowner in their homes.”

The attorneys are part of the Florida Attorneys Saving Homes program. Sink called it “a ve...

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Florida's unemployment rate ties record high listen

04/17/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Economy, economic stimulus package, unemployment

More Floridians are losing their jobs, according to data released today. Rebecca Rust, the chief economist with the Agency for Workforce Innovation, says that seasonally adjusted March 2009 labor statistics for the state of Florida are even worse than the previous month.

“The unemployment rate for Florida is now 9.7 for March. … This represents 893,000 jobless Floridians.”

Rust says Florida’s unemployment rate is still higher than the country as a whole.

The last time Florida’s unemp...

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Foreclosure Assistance Workshop set for Saturday listen

04/14/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Economy, foreclosure

There are currently 3,960 foreclosures for sale in Hillsborough County, according to the website foreclosure warehouse.com. That’s more than in Lee County, where President Obama visited in early February, as it was labeled one of the worst hit areas in the country.

On Saturday morning, Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor, who represents Hillsborough County as well as parts of Pinellas and Manatee, will hold her fourth foreclosure prevention workshop at Middleton High School on 22nd Aven...

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Hillsborough to vote on furloughs for county workers listen

04/08/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Economy, Florida budget, Hillsborough County

With the Hillsborough government facing a deficit of more than $100 million, County Commissioners today agreed to lead by example by voting to furlough themselves several days sometime later this year.

The idea of the Commissioners taking a hit themselves originated last week from Commissioner Kevin Beckner.

Last month, County Administrator Pat Bean stunned some commissioners when she said that the county could be looking at a thousand jobs being cut because of the worsening economy. ...

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Castor hails stimulus funding for Tampa health clinic listen

03/30/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Health, politics, economic stimulus, economy

Congresswoman Kathy Castor spoke in front of a community health clinic in North Tampa today, where she announced that new federal stimulus money will allow the center and its Hillsborough affiliates to hire 9 new employees, including two family practice doctors.

Two billion in grants from the stimulus bill was set aside for community health centers nationally. Approximately three-quarters of that is for construction, renovation and equipment, with the other $500 million to go directly to c...

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