Florida House district 55 (Frank Peterman's former district, which includes much of south St. Pete, parts of Hillsboro, Manatee, and Sarasota counties) is preparing for a special election, following Gov. Crist's appointment of Peterman to Juvenile Justice...

There are three Democrats and one write-in candidate -- which means that there will be a primary for Democrats, followed by a general election.

Like almost every other homeowner in Florida, I'd love to reduce my property taxes.  I don't like paying taxes any more than anybody else does -- however, I do like having the public services that those taxes pay for.  So, while I may grumble about it, the truth is I'd rather pay taxes than not have the services.

Yesterday I had to report for Jury Duty.  Fortunately, the case I would have been involved in resolved shortly after lunch, so I never got to the courtroom.  I've always considered jury duty to be a bit of an annoyance, but all-in-all I've always thought of it in terms of justice for the parties involved -- plaintiffs, defendants, prosecutors and the like.  While I've never been completely convinced that a "trial by jury" is the best course, I've never been able to come up with a better idea.

I've never used a blog before, so I don't know what this is going to become.  I'll probably not use this much, but we'll see...