Associated Press
A former Florida House speaker who stood up to Gov. Rick Scott is being pushed off the Florida State University board.
Scott on Friday replaced Allan Bense on the FSU board of trustees with Max Alvarez, a Doral businessman and friend of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.
He also reappointed two trustees including one, Joe Gruters, who is helping with Donald Trump‘s presidential campaign.
On Saturday, Bense said he had asked for a new term on the FSU board but was turned down. His only comment: “I respect the decision.” Bense’s removal was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times.
In 2013, Bense voted in favor of a tuition hike opposed by Scott. FSU officials contended the tuition hike was mandated by state law but Scott’s staff tried to pressure schools to vote it down.
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Gene Cryer, the former editor of what is now the South Florida Sun Sentinel, has died following complications from a stroke, the newspaper reported Saturday on its website.
Described as “a tough-as-nails editor who guided the South Florida Sun Sentinel from a sleepy Fort Lauderdale newspaper into a regional media force,” Cryer was 80 years old.
He came to what was then the Fort Lauderdale News in 1979 from Rockford, Illinois.
He became editor of two newspapers – the News and Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel – when both merged in 1982.
The combined newspaper, owned by the Tribune Company, grew quickly and expanded to open bureaus in Washington, Atlanta, Miami and West Palm Beach.
He is survived by sons Scott and Michael, and daughter Patty Shepherd. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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The former president of the Broward Teachers Union has been sentenced to five years in prison for fraud and campaign finance violations.
Broward Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Levenson imposed the sentence Friday on Patrick Santeramo, who ran the union for 11 years. A jury convicted Santeramo of multiple charges in January.
The Broward state attorney’s office says between 2001 and January 2012, Santeramo diverted about $165,500 in union money to himself through a kickback scheme with a construction company. Santeramo was ordered to pay $165,500 in restitution to a pair of insurance companies.
Santeramo also made illegal campaign contributions by having 25 people make the donations and then reimbursing them with teacher union money.
Republished with permission of The Associated Press, © 2016.
