Firm Already Polling Special Election for State Senate
The Jacksonville Observer has recieved information from a reliable source that a polling firms is already testing possible names in a likely State Senate special election to fill Jim King’s seat. King recently passed away after a battle with cancer. Senator King’s memorial services are still a few days away, but it seems that politics [...]
Council Shoots Down Peyton’s Tax Hike Proposal
Round one of this year’s budget fight is over, and it’s not looking good for Mayor Peyton’s proposed property tax increase. Earlier tonight the Jacksonville City Council voted 10-9 against the Mayor’s proposal to increase the property tax rate millage rate from 8.48 to 9.5 mills. The votes to keep the millage rate the same [...]
Poll: The 2010 U.S. Senate Race
Floridians will head to the polls in just over one year to cast ballots that will select party nominees for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by the retiring Mel Martinez. The campaign is already in full swing and we want to know what you think. THE MAJOR CANDIDATES… Governor Charlie Crist (R) Former Speaker [...]
Vick Back, Strings Attached
Michael Vick is officially looking for work again. The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback was conditionally reinstated to the NFL on Monday, critical to restoring a career derailed by his role in dogfighting that resulted in him serving a 20-month sentence. Vick, 29, could be fully reinstated by the sixth week of the regular season, pending [...]
Social Games: The Industry’s New Wild West
It all began the moment I joined Facebook. I was bitten by a vampire. And a zombie. Then I was invited to play “Scrabble.” Now it’s all “Mafia Wars” and “Farm Town.” And it’s not just Facebook. Sites like MySpace and even Twitter are fueling a burgeoning game industry. Social gaming is taking advantage of [...]
Steroids Cloud Hall of Fame Prospects
Now that baseball’s Hall of Famers have welcomed the fresh arrivals – some new neighbors get a plate of brownies, others get their plaques in Cooperstown – we’d like to make a small request. Fellas, could we have a consensus on this steroid business? This plea for help comes from a poor slob who has [...]
Economy Low, But ‘Generosity High’
More Americans became engaged in their communities last year as the economy weakened, a federal agency reports today. “There’s a compassion boom going on,” says Robert Grimm of the Corporation for National & Community Service, which oversees AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and other service programs. “Instead of people worrying about their own problems,” he says, “they’re [...]
State Technology Chief Discusses Preparations for Flu Pandemic
The state’s technology point man is urging agencies to develop contingency plans in the event that a swine flu pandemic immobilizes a large portion of the state’s workforce. Florida has been hit particularly hard with the swine flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida has had 2,915 confirmed cases and 23 [...]
States Seeking More Sports Gambling
It’s a sign of a lagging economy: American pro and college sports teams seeking new revenue through increasingly bold marketing relationships with gambling interests. It’s why team logos have begun appearing on state lottery tickets and why some basketball games have been played at casino hotels. Now officials in Delaware and New Jersey, facing their [...]
‘Accelerated’ FDA Approval Still Too Slow
The Food and Drug Administration isn’t doing enough to help speed potentially lifesaving cancer drugs from the lab to patients, a new study says. Cancer therapies in the FDA’s “accelerated approval” program – created in 1992 to help patients with life-threatening diseases such as AIDS – get to market no more quickly than other drugs, [...]
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