Central FL

Written by: Janelle Irwin

St. Petersburg is officially gay-friendly. Based on the annual nationwide Municipal Equality Index rating, St. Pete earned a perfect score on its level of LGBT equality.

“I’m proud to say our score is the best in the Tampa ay region,” mayor Rick Kriseman said during a press conference on the steps of City Hall. The city received a score of 100, up from just 66 last year.

Written by: Margie Manning

Diversity is key to developing a live-work-play environment that is vital for businesses and the workforce they are seeking.

That's why the perfect 100 score that St. Petersburg got on the Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index is being celebrated widely at City Hall and the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. The index measures the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals in municipal law and policy.

Written by: Staff Report

Tampa – With a unanimous vote, Hillsborough County Commissioners passed a law prohibiting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The law, which became effective immediately, re-establishes protections that were eliminated in the 1990s, when that former commission repealed amendments to its human rights ordinance protecting the gay community.

Written by: Al Everson

Transgender-rights advocates are asking the Volusia County School Board to allow students to use restrooms of their choosing.

Robert Byrd of Deltona described his son as “a strapping guy with facial hair” who was born female. After being harassed and even slapped in the girl’s bathroom at school, Byrd said, his son now uses the administrators’ restroom.

"For years my child has been required to use a bathroom separate from other students," Byrd said.

One day last fall, Denise and Jan Lowe showed up at Jamerson Elementary in St. Petersburg to enroll Denise's grandsons.

The Pinellas County school board counted 245 emails as of Monday afternoon from people who support the board's majority vote to stop funding a character education program offered by a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America.