Associated Press, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Associated PressOctober 9, 2017

Is it time to say arrivederci to Christopher Columbus? A movement to abolish Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day has gained momentum in some parts of the U.S., with Los Angeles in August becoming the biggest city yet to decide to stop honoring the Italian explorer and instead recognize victims of colonialism. […]

Associated PressOctober 8, 2017

Officials in Key West have a mystery on their hands. They want to know who took the sign that welcomed visitors to “Paradise U.S.A.” Residents say they last saw the “Welcome to Key West” sign on the ground after it was presumably knocked down by Hurricane Irma on Sept. 10. The sign at the island’s […]

Associated PressOctober 6, 2017

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A Florida nursing home that had 12 patients die after Hurricane Irma has laid off 245 workers. The Sun Sentinel reported the layoffs Friday for the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills. The facility was evacuated last month, several days after the storm damaged the electric transformer that powered the facility’s air conditioning. State officials later suspended […]

Associated PressOctober 6, 2017

Sean Baker‘s “The Florida Project” takes place in a blindingly purple low-budget motel named the Magic Castle, just down Route 192 from Disney’s Magic Kingdom. For the children of single parents who live there, the Kissimmee, Fla., motel is a playground — even if they’re living in poverty. “The Florida Project,” which opens in theaters […]

Associated PressOctober 5, 2017

The last shelter used for Hurricane Irma evacuees has closed in Miami-Dade County. Ronald Book, who oversees the county’s homeless agency, says the final resident of the shelter set up inside the shelter was placed in a long-term apartment on Wednesday. Book tells the Miami Herald the woman was homeless before the hurricane, which complicated her exit […]

Associated PressOctober 5, 2017

Louisiana is helping Florida process its thousands of unemployment claims related to Hurricane Irma. The Louisiana Workforce Commission, the state’s labor department, said Thursday that it reached out to Florida to offer assistance. Louisiana had to cope with an influx of disaster unemployment claims after Louisiana’s flooding last year and after hurricanes in previous years. […]

Associated PressOctober 4, 2017

State officials say Hurricane Irma caused more than $2.5 billion in damage to Florida’s agricultural community. Irma dealt Florida’s iconic orange crop the most devastating blow causing more than $760 million in damage. Beef cattle and dairy were next with $237 million and nearly $12 million respectively. The preliminary assessment was released Wednesday by Florida Commissioner […]

Associated PressOctober 3, 2017

On the ground in Puerto Rico nearly two weeks after a hurricane ravaged the island, President Donald Trump heaped praise Tuesday on his administration’s relief workers and, more selectively, Puerto Rican officials after earlier dismissing critics of the federal response as “politically motivated ingrates.” Trump told officials and relief workers assembled in an airplane hangar […]

Associated PressOctober 2, 2017

A federal judge has blocked a Florida law that would require people and groups that provide abortion advice to register with the state and furnish women with a detailed explanation of the procedure and alternatives. U.S. Senior District Judge Robert Hinkle issued the ruling late Friday saying that the lawsuit filed by a minister, two […]

Associated PressOctober 2, 2017

Officials at a remote Nevada prison where O.J. Simpson was set free early Sunday after nine years for armed robbery arranged the former football and Hollywood star’s dead-of-night departure to avoid public scrutiny. It worked. Simpson signed release paperwork just before midnight and disappeared into the darkness minutes into the first day he was eligible […]

Associated Press
A mailer from the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee claiming Jackie Gross-Kellogg is "Bad for Israel" and "Bad for America." Image via Dani Rivera.

Indigenous Peoples Day? Italians say stick with Columbus

Mystery: Where’s the sign that welcomes visitors to Key West

Nursing home that had 12 people die lays off all workers

‘Florida Project’ shines a bright light on hidden homeless

Last shelter used for Hurricane Irma evacuees closes

Louisiana helping Florida process Irma unemployment claims

Hurricane Irma causes $2.5B in damage to Florida crops

Donald Trump in Puerto Rico, lauds administration’s relief effort

Federal judge blocks Florida abortion law

O.J. Simpson freed from prison. Right now, he’s staying near Vegas but will he return to Florida?