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Have your say on today's most discussed stories:

1. Florida juvenile justice leader racks up flight expenses: Florida's top juvenile justice official racked up $44,000 on travel — much of it for commercial flights between his office in the capital and St. Petersburg, where his family lives.

"He spent more on travel than I make in a month working for the state." ~ Mike7

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2. On probation in wife's death, Pasco man gets another DUI: Donald Hancock, who lives in New Port Richey, is charged with DUI and violating his felony probation.

"No sympathy for driving under the influence, sorry." ~ tmwmsw

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Hot topics: Today's 5 most discussed stories

Jasen Bruce, the Marine accused of attacking a Greek Orthodox priest in Tampa, continues to remain a hot topic on tampabay.com. What other stories are readers commenting on? Here's a look at the top 5 most discussed stories today on tampabay.com.

If you haven't voiced your opinion yet, make sure you are registered to comment, then have your say:

1. Man accused of attacking Greek Orthodox priest talks to Bubba the Love Sponge: Jasen Bruce, the Marine reservist who has remained silent since police accused him of hitting a Greek Orthodox priest with a tire iron Monday, spoke publicly for the first time Thursday — with Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.

"He was enlisted and can't tell the difference between a Greek Priest? And I wasn't aware that homeless individuals drove cars and wore the holy cloth....discharge this guy. ~ Sticksticklyfrometown

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2. African-American pastor says police singled him out after robbery: "They singled me out among all those people," Harris said. "It was crazy. Just crazy.

"I smell a lawsuit. ~ Darshan2009

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Shawn Ledesma gets probation in crash that killed cheerleader. Fair punishment?

Shawn Ledesma will spend six years on probation, including two years' house arrest, for borrowing his mother's car when he was 15 and causing a fatal accident.

June 2009: Mother, son face trials in crash that left another mother mourning

September 2009: St. Petersburg mom gets 30 days for son's crash that killed teen

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Today's story on Ledesma's sentencing is one of the most discussed on tampabay.com, with readers debating whether his punishment goes far enough. 

Some supported the judge's decision:

"More than enough bad judgment to go around here, but I can't help but wonder how in the world I escaped all the stupid things I did as a teenager," wrote Mitch. "Putting any of these people in jail serves no purpose other than societal revenge. I suppose the biggest punishment will be to live with the memory of what a moment of shear stupidity has cost.The Mom was the most stupid of all."

"Knowing this family, I think the sentence is appropriate," wrote Anne_sp. Shawn - you have a second chance... thanks to Raquel's mother, who owes you nothing. Count your blessings and make something of yourself... make your life count!

Others found it far too lenient:

"The victims family were far too forgiving," Don from Tampa wrote. "While they didn’t want to ruin the defendants life, at least he’s still living. He could have served at least 1 year in county jail, followed by the house arrest and probation….and he’d still be young enough to start his life over."

"He should be in prison, and so should his mother.," Floridave wrote. "The victim's mother showed great mercy, but mercy isn't what the law should be about: It's about punishment."

What's your take? Too compassionate or fair punishment for a teen? Register to comment and have your say.

See photos from Orlando shooting rampage

Police have arrested the man they say shot one person to death and wounded four others Friday at a downtown Orlando office building where he had been fired from an engineering firm two years ago, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

The suspect, Jason Rodriguez, 40, was arrested at about 2 p.m., the Sentinel reported, more than two hours after the shooting. He was taken into custody at the home of his mother about eight miles away from the shootings.

Read our full coverage | View a photo gallery of images from the scene.

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• Are you there or do you know anyone who was there? Share your information here or contact a tampabay.com reporter at 727-893-8599.
• If you have any photos from the scene, please e-mail them to submit@tampabay.com with your name and photo details.
• Keep up with the latest updates on Twitter #orlandoshooting
• Discuss the tragedy on tampabay.com's Facebook fan page

Share your Election Day stories, photos, Tweets

Throughout the day today, tampabay.com will provide complete coverage of the St. Petersburg city council and mayoral races. Our elections section will provide up-to-the-minute details on how things are going at the polls and publish results as soon as the Pinellas County Elections Office releases them.

But we'd like to hear from you, too: Tell us how things go at the polls. Share your stories of any glitches at your polling place. Smooth sailing, no lines? We'd like to hear that as well.

If you snap any photos of the Election Day scene, we'd like to see them, too. E-mail your photos to submit@tampabay.com with your name and photo details in the body of the message.

And whether you are at a party for Kathleen Ford or Bill Foster, or somewhere else altogether, we'll get the news to you:

• Follow @tampabaycom on Twitter for the latest news. You also can use #kyc09 to share your election news on our elections page.
  If you are following us, please let us know here in comments; we'd like to follow you too.
• Fan us on Facebook; we'll post the reults there too.

Honoring the fallen? Or using soldiers' bodies for political capital?

Before dawn this morning, President Barack Obama went to Dover Air Force Base to pay his respects to 18 Americans killed in Afghanistan as their bodies were returned to the United States. The dead included seven Army soldiers and three Drug Enforcement Administration agents who died when their helicopter crashed on Monday. The media were allowed to be present only after one of the grieving families gave their consent. Associated Press photographer Pablo Martinez Monsivais took this photo.

(Click here for a gallery of photos.)

It was the first time Obama has gone to Dover to meet a plane carrying the bodies of dead warriors. Former President George W. Bush often visited with wounded soldiers and their families, but never went to Dover. Do you think it was appropriate for Obama to go?

Should President check in with Congress before accepting Nobel Peace Prize?

Florida Republican Reps. Ginny Brown-Waite (Brooksville), on left, and Cliff Stearns (Ocala) have joined with Ron Paul of Texas in sending President Barack Obama a letter asking him to consult with Congress before accepting the Nobel Peace Prize.

Brown-Waite writes in a news release: "Article I,  Section 9 of  the Constitution clearly states: 'no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince or foreign state.

"I urge President Obama to affirm his devotion to our Constitution and seek the consent of Congress before accepting the award in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 10.”

Obama has already said he would donate the prize money to charity.

Share your feedback: Should Obama be required to consult with Congress before going to Oslo to claim his prize?

Did you get laid off? Was it a blessing in disguise?

Let's look for the silver lining in this economy.

Were you recently laid off from a job in Tampa Bay? Did it force you to chase after your dreams of backpacking through Europe, opening a cupcake store, becoming a triathlete or going to seminary? Was being laid off a punch in the gut -- then a blessing in disguise?

Send your tale to Times reporter Stephanie Hayes at shayes@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8857.

Discussion continues on Kathleeen Ford's HNIC comment

With the St. Petersburg mayoral election just a week away, our two most discussed stories in the last seven days relate to candidate Kathleen Ford's "HNIC comment."

Ford's comment was made during an appearance on Bubba the Love Sponge Clem's radio show. The shock jock described St. Petersburg Deputy Mayor Goliath Davis III, who also was the city's first black police chief, as the "quasi-leader of the African-Americans."

"To me it's like talking down to them, that they have somebody to quell them and keep them in line," Clem said.

Ford responded: "Actually, Cornel West has a whole explanation about the HNIC theory, and I agree with that. We don't need one spokesman for a group."

The comment prompted several St. Petersburg Times stories, columns and hundreds of comments from tampabay.com readers.

Here's a look at what some readers were saying:

Ford's comment divides prompted 165 comments from readers.

Lauren Berns wrote: "Given that she actually made reference to West when she was invoking the term, I think it's hard to conclude "she's a racist" based on this one comment. I don't know enough about Ms. Ford to say, based on other words or actions, but this doesn't convince me."

JAK had a short message for everyone: "Let's all get out and vote!"

"Some people will look for reasons to protest any chance that they get," wrote Longtime resident.

St. Petersburg Times correspondent Bill Maxwell's Sunday column, Kathleen Ford's insensitivity and ignorance, generated nearly 150 comments.

Je wrote: "A slur is a slur. It can't be softened by subbing a word; rather, it is more pronounced than ever."

What they're saying on tampabay.com: 10 quotables of the week

After just a few days of our new commenting system on tampabay.com stories, I'd like to welcome and thank our nearly 1,000 new members.

The registration process seemed to have gone smoothly for most of you. If you are experiencing problems, please e-mail us with specific issues you are having, and we'll help you resolve the problem. 

Some lively discussions took place on stories this week; here are 10 comments that caught our eye.

Sanitation worker killed when car crashes into garbage truck:

Richlew wrote: "I worked for waste management back in the late 80's this type of accident was the crews worst fears."

Wasteworker wrote: "As the wife of a wasteworker this hits home. It could have been my husband. The kids and I pray for him every morning to be safe each day. People do not realize the danger they put other people in when they get in a hurry on the road. Can we just slow down a bit, whatever we are in a hurry for will be there if we arrive five minutes later than we planned. Our prayers go out to the family." 

Florida approves 14.6% hike to Universal Property's homeowners insurance rate

Ace: "NICE....kick 'em when their down. That's the way to build customer loyalty."

VStPete wrote:"Crist, you did a bang-up job getting our insurance under control... sigh."

Birddog asked: "Why is California home insurance LESS than Florida ? They have: Mudslides, earthquakes, wind, rain, etc., but they pay LESS than we do."