Seven candidates qualified to run for New Port Richey City Council in February this year, and so far here at NewsPortRichey I’ve given you a synopsis of their biographical information and their basic platform statements. In that article, we also linked to candidate contact information if you would like to contact them directly for more […]
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New Port Richey’s municipal spring election for Mayor has been heating up since it got underway in February. Most elections in town pass with little notice, and some don’t happen at all, as evidenced by 2015’s municipal election in which two incumbents ran unopposed for seats on City Council. Next year also has promise as […]
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NewsPortRichey.org urges all of our readers to vote in each and every election, and aims to help our readers make an informed choice in the easiest way possible. That said, today I’d like to simply outline who is running in which elections in Pasco County, and make our suggestions about who you might want to […]
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By Dell deChant The City Council of New Port Richey is considering an improvement to the city’s urban agriculture polices, taking the form of two new ordinances that allow for gardens on residential properties, and in most zoning districts in the city. There is considerable interest and support for these ordinances, which come to the […]
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by John Bechtel As a theatre-goer for many years, beginning with adolescence in Brooklyn, New York when I used to sneak over to Manhattan to buy one of the cheap seats at mid-week matinees, shortly after my wife and I moved to the New Port Richey area last summer we started looking for local, live-theatre venues. […]
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Six names will be on the ballot in New Port Richey’s City Council election scheduled for April 12th. Two council seats will be decided, and the two candidates earning the most votes will be elected. Voters may also select two candidates on their ballot, though as a former candidate myself, I might tell you that […]
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By Mark Wickham, President and CEO of Youth & Family Alternatives, Inc. Homelessness in Florida is a chronic problem and the face of homelessness may not be who you think. To understand more, consider these stunning recent statistics: One in six Floridians live in poverty and one in four children live in poverty. The number […]
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by Dell deChant Tampa recorded a record-high temperature for Christmas Day this year — 86 degrees, a little “Christmas Heat.” The old record was 83, reached in 1984, 1942 and 1911. Tampa’s high was also the highest ever recorded for any day in December in this part of Florida. Here at our little organic farm […]
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Council members voted 4-1 Tuesday night to approve an ordinance that would restrict public “feedings,” specifically of homeless people, to twice a year by any individual or organization. Those two feedings allowed each year would also require a permit that costs $50 for city residents and $75 for non-city residents. Violators can face a fine of […]
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Mosquito Fogging Fallout II June 25, 2015, 10:00 PM Report This is a follow up and companion report to a previous article published in NewsPortRichey in early June. The article offered a critical assessment of the impact of the use of poisonous fog to control mosquitoes in the East Madison Neighborhood of New Port Richey […]
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New Port Richey’s City Council members heard a proposal from Public Works Director Robert Rivera on Tuesday night to increase the speed limit from 25 MPH to 30 MPH on Main Street between Congress St and Rowan Road. Mr. Rivera called the measure a “matter of housekeeping.” He said that a seven day traffic study […]
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As an old movie buff, I seek out good science fiction. There are a number of movies that capture the current angry American sentiment. Quickly coming to mind are “Roller Ball,” “Escape from New York,” “V for Vendetta,” and the very recent series, “The Hunger Games.” There are other very good movies that speak to […]
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Pedestrians and bar patrons could soon be allowed to wander downtown with a mojito in hand if the ordinance that was presented to New Port Richey Council members passes in two weeks. The new ordinance was prepared at the direction of council members who had asked that the City’s alcohol ordinance be revised to allow for greater […]
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Anywhere I go, quite literally, I’m asked what I do. “Oh, you’re a teacher? What do you teach? Oh, technology education. My phone seems to die awfully quickly, do you know why? Do you know how I set up my voicemail?” The answer is usually yes, and I don’t usually mind helping. However, I always […]
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New Port Richey Mayor Rob Marlowe in his weekly blog on current events. This week: the midterm elections of 2014.
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Only those closely following the scheduling of meetings in New Port Richey, or receive updates from Mayor Rob Marlowe, would have known about an innocuous city council workshop held at 5:30 pm on Tuesday. Up for discussion was the City’s alcohol “special event” ordinance. I wrote an editorial on that very same ordinance two weeks, decrying the […]
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The city of New Port Richey’s Environmental Committee wants to substantially improve the local ecology, sustinability and, perhaps more notably, improve the city’s curb appeal.
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New Port Richey City Council members voted to approve the application for a special event alcohol permit for the Cotee River BikeFest 2014 at the meeting on Tuesday. The event was discontinued in 2013 due to a loss of sponsor revenue. The event is hosted by the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce. At the time, […]
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Refugees escaping dangerous countries are traditionally welcomed to U.S. shores. Jewish refugees came through Ellis Island circa 1910 to escape Russia. Cuban refugees poured into Florida in 1959. They left family and possessions to escape Castro’s communism. The U.S. welcomed the “Lost Boys of Somalia” and other victims of rape and torture in the 90s. […]
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Gerrymandering Trial Awaits Judgment This article is a follow up to a previous OP-ED on NewsPortRichey. Courtesy of Ecology Florida Summary The Gerrymandering trial is over, and it is now up to Circuit Judge Terry Lewis to render a judgment in the case. Whatever his ruling, the impact of the actions prompting this trial have […]
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A judge’s ruling that threatens teacher tenure in California further undermines job security for teachers. Public school teachers continue to feel the brunt of political opportunists, unfair evaluations, the conservative push to privatized education, inadequate classroom funding, and lack of wage increases. It is ironic that the legislators responsible for undermining public schools are the […]
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Mayor Rob Marlowe’s observations on the eve of the new city manager starting.
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The Biggest Trial in Florida That Few Are Following Courtesy of Ecology Florida Summary One of the most important trials in recent Florida history is currently occurring in Tallahassee. Most Floridians are not following it very closely – if at all. The trial grows out of a suit contending that the design of Florida’s congressional […]
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“One dead in New Port Richey house fire”–“New Port Richey man accused of counterfeiting money”–“New Port Richey man dead after shootout with deputies.” These are three headlines taken from the Pasco Times for one day last Thursday. What do they all have in common? Not a single one of them happened in New Port Richey. […]
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OP-ED: Let’s ignore the loudmouths and listen to sensible talk An old adage states, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” It seems the louder the outcry, the more the attention. Whether the issue is health care, education, taxes, abortion; the media focus on noise. That’s unfortunate, because a lot of wise, unassuming folks get lost in […]
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JAH Architects, the firm hired by New Port Richey to develop plans for upgrades to the City’s central Sims Park, unveiled rough visualizations for the project at Tuesday’s council meeting. Council members committed $1.8 million tot he first phase of the project, including moving the playground to the north end of a larger overall Sims […]
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A new poison may soon be coming to an ecosystem near you. This is Dow Chemical’s Enlist Duo, a close relative to Monsanto’s aggressively marketed and wildly popular Roundup. Dow’s powerful herbicide is on the fast track to approval by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). New Toxins and GMOs Headed Our Way.
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One of the biggest challenges of having a mental condition such as Asperger’s syndrome is predicting how it will affect your behavior. This was never clearer to me than the morning after a night at the ballpark. Nearly three years ago, my co-workers and I went to a Rays game. We had box seats and […]
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Many of Florida’s public school teachers see little value in the value-added-model (VAM) teacher evaluation process that’s being used this year. Also labeled “value added analysis” or “value added assessment,” the evaluation tool is tied to student testing results. VAM assesses how one student’s scores compare to others and tracks how each student is performing […]
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The definition of a common carrier is a person or company that transports goods or passengers on regular routes at set rates. Last year the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had a tough time with labeling Internet service providers (ISPs) as common carriers, despite the fact that they provide transportation of data at a set rate. […]
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