Free Republic

TAMPA, FL (WFLA) – Driving on Florida toll roads is part of doing business for trucker Bill VanEpps. “Tolls are a huge expense, and it adds up to a lot of money at the end of the year,” Bill said. He noticed a lot of mistakes with his EPass account so he switched to SunPass in January. “I’ve discovered weekly mistakes,” Bill added. Between January and September, Bill found 42 mistakes by the SunPass electronic tolling system. “My rig is a five axle rig. I’ve been charged for as many as 7 at one time. I’ve been charged for as...

It's believed to be the largest battle between Europeans and Native Americans north of the Rio Grande, but the city of Mabila remains lost... A team of historians, archeologists and geologists have come to the University of Alabama for three days to study the battle.. Their aim, though, isn't to find the city, but to compile everything known, for possible future excavations, said Jim Knight, a UA anthropology professor who helped organize the conference... Finding Mabila means addressing a host of problems ranging from suspect accounts of De Soto's expedition to the possibility that modern dams may have flooded the...

Fort Myers Police Chief Douglas Baker has been fired for the wrongful detainment in February of former University of South Florida football player Nate Allen, who now plays with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders. Fort Myers city manager (a Black man)sent a letter to the mayor Friday notifying him of Baker’s termination after Allen’s controversial arrest in February.

ADulay, a regular contributor to opencarry.org, wrote about the open carry event that was held in Tampa over the weekend.   From opencarry.org: For those of you who could not make this meeting, here's a very quick synopsis of what you missed. Just over 50 guys, all open carrying, showed up with fishing gear, donuts, coffee and a great attitude. No police anywhere near the place. Lots of civilian people fishing and no problems with that at all. Several questions from curious people and most, if not all were amazed at the laws in Florida. I can only assume that...

Whenever members of the Judah P. Benjamin Camp of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans don their grey wool uniforms for a demonstration or re-enactment, Al McCray is there among his brothers. Quick Clicks Rally supports Baker Courthouse... NAACP wants Ga. Confederate... Thousands rally to support... Flag debate highlights racial... Confederate signs defaced in... He marches in the parades and flies the Confederate flag. He speaks out against the notion that the Confederate battle flag is a symbol of racism and defends "Southern heritage" causes. Yet McCray is different from the rest of the camp. While the other members are...

Rep. David Jolly of St. Petersburg is poised to announce his plans to run for U.S. Senate next week, following a Florida Supreme Court ruling that could add a substantial swath of Democratic voters to his congressional district. “Congressman Jolly is seriously considering a U.S. Senate run, and is moving towards a decision and announcement early next week,” Jolly spokeswoman Sarah Bascom said. The Florida Supreme Court ruled last week that eight congressional districts will need to be redrawn, including Jolly’s. The justices said that the Tampa-based seat of Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor can no longer jump across Tampa Bay...

A historic Tampa cigar factory has been destroyed in a fire. Authorities say the roof and floors of the Palmetto Beach Cigar Factory collapsed in the fire which broke out shortly after midnight Sunday. The fire marshal said the building is considered a total loss. It's unclear whether anyone was inside at the time. Firefighters were not able to enter the building for safety reasons. They had the fire under control in less than two hours, but were still putting out hot spots on Sunday afternoon.

After hearing calls to remove statues of Robt E. Lee, and to stop screening "Gone With The Wind" I'm surprised that they haven't already targeted the BIGGEST Confederate Battle Flag in the world.

<p>A 6-year-old boy who forgot his stuffed tiger Hobbes at Tampa International Airport when he went on vacation earlier this month got a big surprise upon returning home.</p> <p>Hobbes had been busy while he was in Houston.</p> <p>When the boy discovered he left behind his handmade tiger, his mother Amanda Lake called the airport to see if anyone could help find it.</p>

Muslim Leader Who Said Israel is ‘Enemy of God’ Invited to White HousePosted By Joe Kaufman On May 15, 2015 @ 12:28 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 6 Comments [1]Regardless of the circumstances, when a representative from CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a group with close ties to Hamas, is allowed into the White House, a serious, indeed dangerous, problem exists.One day after the brutal death of his cousin – a revenge attack following the murder of three Israeli teens – Tariq Abu Khdeir, a 15-year-old boy who had traveled to Israel from Tampa, Florida, found himself arrested and...

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spain has again seized an American treasure-hunting ship over a dispute with its owners over who has rights to millions of dollars worth of booty recovered from the sea, officials said. Spain seized the "Odyssey Explorer" -- owned by Odyssey Marine Exploration based Tampa, Florida -- as it sailed out of port in the British colony of Gibraltar on Tuesday. Armed Spanish government vessels were waiting for the Explorer when it reached 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) off Gibraltar's shore and entered what Spain considers its territorial waters. The vessels forced the Explorer to dock at Spain's...

Hold your breath forever waiting for Obama’s Justice Department to take action or even make mention of this hate group urging to kill white babies. Can you fathom what would happen if the colors were reversed here?It’s easy to call these hateful ignoramus’ but I think the important factor here is that they’ve become emboldened by the fact that their racist and violent actions and words in the past have been met with no resistance from this White House. Our guy Joe Newby has the story: In a video posted at Breitbart.com on Tuesday, a New Black Panther Leader identified...

An ongoing lawsuit has pried loose new records linked to a family of Sarasota Saudis who left home in a hurry just before 9/11. It was Halloween night, 2001. The horrors of 9/11 were still fresh on the the minds of Americans. At a time when everyone was on edge, the sight of a man disposing documents in a dumpster behind a Bradenton storage facility aroused suspicion. Summoned to the scene, Manatee County sheriff’s deputies confronted the man, who had a Tunisian passport. According to FBI records, authorities searched the dumpster and found “a self-printed manual on terrorism and Jihad,...

A newly released video shows a military veteran chasing down a Florida panhandler who thought he could get away with pretending to be a veteran. According to Tampa Bay ABC affiliate WFTS: “Garrett Goodwin, a military veteran, said he was driving to MacDill Air force Base on Sunday when he saw the panhandler and decided to confront him.” In the video, Goodwin follows the panhandler, who is trying to walk away from him when he demands to see the panhandler’s military ID card. When the man admits he doesn’t have one, Goodwin tells him: “You take my uniform off!” While...

Jill Kelley, the Florida housewife whose complaint over threatening emails revealed David Petraeus´ affair, has visited the White House three times in the past three months, it has emerged. In by far the most astonishing example of her determination to reach the top, the shrewd socialite and her twin sister, Natalie Khawam, were invited to two ´courtesy´ meals in the Executive Mansion mess hall as a guest of a White House aide, an Obama administration official has revealed. She met the mid-level aide through her work with MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, where she also rubbed shoulders with the

Woman, 54, severely injured after being mauled by caged BEAR she was trying to pet at wildlife center. Here is the link. But what can you say? Who in any state of mind sticks their arm in a cage with a 400 pound bear? This would be like going to your local zoo and attempting to pet a panther or cougar through the 4x4 inch cage gaps.

Newspapers across the country are afraid to run this comic strip penned by outspoken conservative cartoonist Jim Davis. But we here at the Spring Hill Courier aren’t afraid of controversy. Je suis Charlie!

Florida Girl, 5, Was Alive Before Being Thrown From Bridge: Police Dad Allegedly Throws 5-Year-Old Daughter Off a Bridge NBC NEWS CHANNEL The Florida toddler found dead after she was tossed from a St. Petersburg bridge was still alive before the fatal 60-foot plunge, police said Friday based on preliminary evidence. At a news conference following Thursday's horrific act, investigators didn't immediately know whether 5-year-old Phoebe Jonchuck was initially alive, and were awaiting the results of a medical examiner's report. A police officer who witnessed the crime — allegedly committed by her father, John Jonchuck Jr. — said he may...

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba has allowed construction of the country's first new Catholic church in 55 years, the church said Monday. Experts said it's a sign of improving relations between the Vatican and Cuba's communist government. The church, funded by donations from Catholics in Tampa, Florida, will be built in Sandino, a citrus and coffee-growing town in the far-western province of Pinar del Rio. The church publication "Christian Life" said it will have space for 200 people.

A man calls in to a radio show, claiming his future son-in-law was seated next to the vomiting man on the airliner that was recently in the news. Audio only, 5 minutes, 45 seconds.