Thursday, February 14, 2013
County commissioner Norm Roche said it would be easier to advocate for a statewide domestic partnership registry than have varying registries at the local level.
The governing bodies of Pinellas County, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Tampa and Gulfport have all passed ordinances within the past year creating domestic partnership registries. Now at least one Pinellas County commissioner thinks the same should be done at the state level before any more communities — or counties — follow suit. Domestic registries grant couples, gay or straight, to have a certificate that allows them to have most of the same rights as heterosexual married couples in Florida. Those rights can include hospital visitation rights, end of life decisions, childcare decisions, and in some cases, insurance coverage. Up until Jan. 24, when Hillsborough County Commissioners surprisingly voted against creating a registry, no Tampa …
Sunday, January 20, 2013
OK, so you had a busy week. We understand. Let us catch you up on all the highlights from Patch!
Trista Sarles-Redfield, 9, was delighted to see her father enter her fourth-grade classroom at Dunedin Elementary School on Thursday. He surprised her with flowers in front of her peers a day earlier than expected. Trista said it was a Christmas wish come true. Dan Soyka's condition has declined since being diagnosed with incurable ALS, but his friends are determined to help. A Dunedin Sweetbay Supermarket, at 1681 Main St., is among 33 under performing stores in Florida scheduled to close in Feburary, the grocer's parent company announced Wednesday. What would you like to see in its place? Pinellas County Sheriff's detectives are investigating an armed robbery at the Union Street Munchee's late Tuesday in Dunedin. Unmarried couples, gay …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Unmarried couples, gay and straight, in Pinellas will be able to register as domestic partners following Tuesday's county commission vote.
Unmarried couples, gay and straight, in Pinellas County will be able to register as domestic partners following Tuesday's vote by county commissioners, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The legal recognition will give couples the right to visit each other in the emergency room, make health care decisions for each other in a crisis and, depending on their employers, share health insurance coverage, the Times reports. Commissioners voted 6-1 to approve the registry, with Norm Roche casting the dissenting vote. The Times story notes that residents of Gulfport, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, where domestic partnership registries are already in place, the planned $50 fee will be reduced. Those residents will only have to pay the difference between …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
City Attorney Tom Trask and City Clerk Denise Schlegel present a draft resolution Thursday expressing city support for a countywide domestic partnership registry ordinance to be read for the first time on Jan. 15.
Pinellas County Commissioners are gearing up for a public discussion of a countywide domestic partnership registry early next week. And Dunedin officials are planning to lend support for its passing during Thursday's city commission meeting, starting at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. Tom Trask, city attorney, and Denise Schlegel, city clerk, present a draft resolution expressing city support for a countywide domestic partnership registry ordinance to be read during a public hearing for the first time on Jan. 15. "There are a significant number of residents within Pinellas County, and specifically within the City of Dunedin, who maintain important personal, emotional and economic relationships with persons to whom they are not married," draft …
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Dunedin City Hall
542 Main St, Dunedin, FL
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Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The provision would allow, in part, domestic partners to make health care decisions for each other, including for end-of-life care, among other things.
Dunedin Patch's story last week asking readers what they think about Pinellas adopting a countywide domestic partner registry caught lots of attention. Pinellas County expects to vote in 2013 on a proposal for a domestic registry that grants domestic partners — gay and straight — many of the same rights as married couples. The provision would allow, in part, domestic partners to make health care decisions for each other, including for end-of-life care, among other things. A public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15. Dunedin city leaders have not created a local registry like some other cities in Pinellas have (Gulfport, Clearwater and St. Petersburg). City leaders have said they wanted to wait and see what action Pinellas County leaders …
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Commissioners' eyebrows raised last week after mayoral candidate Bob Hackworth's strong commentary suggesting city leaders were disinterested in creating a domestic partnership registry.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Mayoral candidate Bob Hackworth said he was 'ashamed of Dunedin' for its 'silence' on the issue, prompting commissioners to fire back that they're pursuing a countywide ordinance.
Commissioners' eyebrows raised last week after mayoral candidate Bob Hackworth's strong commentary suggesting city leaders were disinterested in creating a domestic partnership registry. Hackworth, a former Dunedin mayor known for his support for the lesbian and gay community, said he was "ashamed of Dunedin" for its apparent "silence" on establishing a domestic partner registry during a Sept. 26 forum. But Dunedin Commissioner Julie Ward Bujalski said Hackworth is "wrong." "We had indeed discussed it and agreed that a countywide registry would benefit our residents much better," Bujalski wrote in an email to Dunedin Patch. Email records show that Dunedin began researching the issue in April, on the heels of Tampa's historic ordinance …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
President Obama announced Wednesday his support for same-sex marriage, with advocates across Florida, including Dunedin, cheering his decision.
The head of Equality Florida lauded President Barack Obama Wednesday for voicing his support for lesbian and gay couples who want to marry. This is a "historic day," said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida. "The President's support moves us closer to the day when all Americans will be able to enjoy full marriage equality," Smith said in a written statement released this afternoon to the media. Domestic Registries in Florida The President's discussion comes at a time when some Florida communities are moving toward adopting domestic registries that would recognize unmarried couples in committed relationships, including same-sex couples. Dunedin and Gulfport are the only two cities in Pinellas County to have passed Human …
Katie Dolac
3:03 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Thank you, Commissioner. That is a point that deserves clarification. more ›