SPT: Tour stop suggestions for GOP presidential hopefuls

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http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/article1192309.ece

Tour stop suggestions for GOP presidential hopefuls

By Ben Montgomery and Michael Kruse, Times Staff Writers
In Print: Monday, September 19, 2011

Welcome to Florida, Republican presidential hopefuls! We understand you'll be spending some time touring our fair state before the Sept. 24 straw poll. We hope you make yourselves at home. Maybe you'll even stick around. We've got plenty of property for sale. But, listen: We're not just The Villages. We're widely diverse in age and income and heritage and political ideals, with nearly 19 million residents from across the globe situated on a narrow peninsula that sticks out like a thumb. We're hard to peg, unpredictable. If you want to address some of the most important issues we're facing, you have to know where to stop the bus. And so we offer this guide to places that probably aren't on your schedule, but should be.

1. The Free Clinic, St. Petersburg

The Free Clinic tries to be a safety net for our chunk of the 49.9 million Americans who have no health insurance.

Always busy is its health center, which tries to reach folks before they have to seek emergency room care. The clinic operates on grants and donations, and its tiny paid staff relies on volunteer doctors and nurses. The clinic had some 6,400 patient visits last year and is seeing more this year.

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