Government & Politics

Local government meetings, elections, policy and civic updates

Tampa Council Votes Today on $93M Flood Fix for South Tampa — City Says There's No Backup Plan

Council members decide Thursday whether to approve a stormwater project routed through South Howard Avenue to end chronic flooding in Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines, where officials say two to three feet of water regularly fills the streets.

Sep 174 min read

Government & Politics

Tampa Planning Board Backs Homebuilding Near Showmen's Rest Cemetery, City Council Has Final Say Sept. 24

A radar study commissioned with USF found no likely graves on the North Boulevard parcel, but preservation advocates say the disputed land was long claimed as part of a historic burial ground.

Sep 153 min read

Government & Politics

Tampa Council Adds $150K to HART Route 1, Pushing Funding to $1.5 Million

Council members unanimously approved the boost to protect bus frequency between USF and downtown, but Council Chair Alan Clendenin says the city can't keep patching transit funding year after year.

Sep 134 min read

Government & Politics

Tampa Bay Times Finds Hillsborough Foster Agency Moved Hundreds of Kids Through an Off-the-Books System

A newspaper investigation found Children's Network of Hillsborough used informal "temporary custody transfers" to separate more than 370 children from their parents since 2022, largely outside court oversight and without tracking how the cases turned out.

Sep 24 min read

Government & Politics

Hillsborough Commission Casts Final 5-2 Vote to Approve $2.3 Billion Rays Stadium

County commissioners locked in the last approval needed for a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark on Hillsborough Community College's Dale Mabry campus, clearing the way for construction to start next month toward a 2029 opening.

Aug 284 min read

Government & Politics

Historic Board Presses Live Nation on Its 4,300-Seat Ybor Venue as Petition Tops 13,000

Tampa's Barrio Latino Commission took public comment Tuesday on the concert hall proposed for the Gasworx district, and the project still does not have the historic-district approval it needs. A protected grand oak and a shrinking independent music scene are both in the way.

Aug 264 min read

Government & Politics

Council Clears Nearly 3 Million Square Feet in East Ybor for a New Tampa General Hospital Campus

Tampa City Council approved rezoning for 24 acres of industrial land between North 26th Street and the Selmon Connector, opening the way for a hospital, 522 apartments, a 200-room hotel and 2.5 acres of parks. Because the site sits in evacuation zone A, storm resilience dominated the hearing.

Aug 244 min read

Government & Politics

Rays Refile Land-Use Plan for 121-Acre Hillsborough College Site After Council's Historic 4-3 Block

The team submitted a new application Friday for the Dale Mabry campus site, weeks after Tampa City Council refused to send the first version to Tallahassee. At stake: what can legally be built on 121 acres of public land in Drew Park, and who pays for the infrastructure around it.

Aug 154 min read

Government & Politics

Tampa's $100 Million South Howard Flood Plan Goes on Display Tuesday, Days Before a Council Vote

The city's design-build team will be at Bayshore Baptist Church from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday with renderings at the 60% design mark. A SoHo business group is suing over withheld records, and council's vote on the construction contract is expected this summer.

Aug 104 min read

Government & Politics

A $200 Fee and a 24-Hour Phone Number: Hillsborough's First Vacation Rental Rules Face a Sept. 2 Vote

County commissioners advanced a draft ordinance that would make owners of the 3,000-plus short-term rentals in unincorporated Hillsborough register, pay $200 and name a local contact who answers complaints around the clock. The public hearing and final vote are set for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Aug 93 min read

Government & Politics

Temple Terrace Weighs 10% Water and Sewer Hike as PFAS Fix Climbs Toward $72 Million

The City Council takes up a proposed 10% water and sewer rate increase for FY2027 at a 9 a.m. workshop Tuesday, with a plant overhaul topping $72 million and PFAS treatment not finished until 2029.

Aug 84 min read

Government & Politics

Hillsborough Commissioners Vote 7-0 Twice to Aim a Moratorium at AI Data Centers, and to Keep Them Off County Drinking Water

The board told the County Attorney's Office to draft a data center moratorium ordinance, but a state law blocks it from taking effect until Oct. 1, 2027. A second unanimous vote starts work on rules that could bar cooling with county drinking water.

Aug 54 min read