Bradenton Times News Articles

Out of sight - out of mind. A few of weeks ago in Tampa, a ban on panhandling went into effect. The City is not alone, Dallas, Boston and Vancouver among others have also adopted similar ordinances. If you are asking for a handout, you're called a bum, tramp or a slacker. Never mind why or who, or for what reason; many think these undesirables are nearing epidemic proportion and that something needs to be done about it. 

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In California, there are over 10 million of them, in South Florida, millions more. They have started popping up all over the country and in some areas people are unaware that they are there. In many cases, they are right outside your door and sometimes within feet of where you sleep. They are called SmartMeters, put there by the power company without your permission, emitting Radio-Frequency Radiation (RFR). This Non-thermal Microwave Radiation is switched on 24/7 and thousands of residents have reported getting sick, with headaches being the most frequent complaint. What to do?

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A young woman who joins the military in the United States of America instantly doubles her chances of being sexually assaulted. She has a greater chance of being raped by a fellow soldier than of being killed in combat. Imagine that – if your daughter were to enlist in the service today, the greatest fear you should reasonably have is not that she will be deployed to a combat zone, but that one of the men serving with her will forever scar her with the emotional and physical trauma of sexual assault. This is a reprehensible reality that can no longer be ignored.
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Last Father's Day, I wrote a column about my Dad and the lessons he's taught me over the years. This is the eighth Father's Day I've celebrated since being blessed with my son Sullivan, who was born to two very happy Irish families on St. Patrick's Day 2004. Today, I'd like to share some things that he's taught me.
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Commissioner Willie Shaw’s plea regarding the violent crimes in Sarasota drives home complex concerns. Manatee County is also suffering from an epidemic of violent gang related crime. The first potential solution is that Manatee and Sarasota Counties need to acknowledge that the violent crime in the areas is related to one and another because citizen relationships extend beyond the county lines. more»

I was stunned and disappointed to hear that Judge Scott Brownell was planning to end Citizens’ Review when he takes over the juvenile bench in January. Citizens’ Review is a community asset and volunteer group that helps protect abused children who have been taken out of their homes by the state. Ending the program will eliminate an important layer of protection for abused kids in Manatee County, and it will leave our judges with less information as they make decisions about the abused kids and their families.

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Dateline London: Over 1,200 arrested; 16,000 police, and the violence just moves to other towns. Children as young as 9 years old are being arrested by police. Prime Minister David Cameron says, "If you're old enough to throw a rock through a window, your old enough to go to jail." Are the London riots a harbinger of things to come? more»

My son learned about the water cycle in school this year. He now understands what every human being over the age of five should – how the second most vital resource in terms of human survival stays in reliable supply. I hate to sound alarmist, but we are facing epidemic problems in the very near future owed to our hopelessly inept management of our water resources. The bottled water industry is the best example of why we may be too dumb to get ourselves out of this one. 
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As you may be aware, the community is facing an uphill battle in the fight to save the Citizens Review Program, a program that helps protect children and preserve families in Manatee County. However, despite the difficulty of the battle, I have faith. I have faith that the program helps families far beyond the already positive statistical measures shown on paper. I have faith that unlike a typical courtroom setting Citizens Review brings a human- aspect to a rigid legal system where matters of the law and the heart cannot be mutually exclusive. more»

Investigators in the Sarasota County Sheriff's Department recently denied a public information request for the video of the shooting of a SCAT bus driver who was killed during a robbery last month, while off duty. It is the first invocation of a new law that is designed to protect the privacy of aggrieved families, but it also raises questions as to the broad potential of its application.

 

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