No one ever lost an election or a vote in the Legislature overestimating Mike Fasano's charm. Whatever other skills the veteran lawmaker and current state senator brings to a political showdown, he packs them in a velvet glove. ...more

November 25, 2009

Before the 2008 election, almost nobody outside Alaska and Arkansas had heard of Sarah Palin or Mike Huckabee. But in a long and crowded campaign season, they were the only Republican politicians who inspired any genuine enthusiasm. ...more

November 24, 2009

Some stories seemingly never end. Over at the supervisor of elections office, they still are digging around, trying to figure out just what happened during the Buddy years. ...more

March 8, 2009

It cannot be described with certainty how Pat Mulieri took the news that she had drawn a serious, well-schooled and demonstrably successful challenger for her presumed bid to return to the county commission in 2010. But the betting here is that it involved brown paper bags. ...more

February 8, 2009

As America prepared for a new president to take office, Carrollwood Day School took a day last week to look back on a historical campaign. ...more

January 21, 2009

As America prepared for a new president to take office, Carrollwood Day School took a day last week to look back on a historical campaign. ...more

January 21, 2009

As America prepared for a new president to take office, Carrollwood Day School looked back on a historical campaign on Monday. The private school hosted its first political forum, the brainchild of high school humanities teacher Kenneth Grodd. He assembled a nine-member panel with seven teachers and two students who spoke about election issues before a middle and high school audience. They dissected why Barack Obama won and mistakes John McCain made during the campaign. They talked about how the environment, the economy and the Middle East affected voters' choices, and what was ahead for Republicans and Democrats in the future. "This is part of that rigorous education that we owe you," high school humanities teacher Kelly Benedetti told students at the assembly. Teachers want to go beyond a traditional high school curriculum and force them "into the world that awaits you," she said. Carrollwood Day School offers an International Baccalaureate program for all of its students, from preschool through high school. International Baccalaureate follows a global curriculum and emphasizes community service, culminating in an intensive diploma program in high school. Stephen Orbison, who coordinates the school's diploma program, moderated the political forum and said it was a great way to recap a campaign season that was "electrifying, exhilarating and polarizing." "One cannot deny the 2008 campaign has rejuvenated interest in American politics," Orbison said. ...more

January 14, 2009

St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church will have a breakfast with Santa from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at the church, 9724 Cross Creek Blvd. ...more

December 3, 2008

One senses that your coverage of campaign 2008 was strategically designed to educate not sway the public. And you carried out that strategy wonderfully. ...more

November 6, 2008

For some county residents who have cast their voters, it's all over, and they will be glad to see the campaign season coming to a close. ...more

November 4, 2008