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

Associated PressMarch 20, 2017

Florida is dropping charges against an attorney once accused of being at the center of a $300 million gambling ring that led to the 2013 resignation of Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll. Jacksonville attorney Kelly Mathis was convicted of 103 counts of racketeering, possessing slot machines and other charges and sentenced to six years in prison. […]

Associated PressMarch 19, 2017

$fracking-ban-miami-dade-county.jpg$

Citing unresolved health concerns, Florida lawmakers are weighing the fate of a measure that would ban fracking across the state. Legislators are pushing the bill to safeguard Florida’s clean water supply, which is the drinking water source for 90 percent of Floridians and a major player in the state’s economy, from agriculture to tourism. If […]

Associated PressMarch 19, 2017

Just down the road from a Krispy Krunchy fried chicken store, in a nondescript east coast business park in Florida, a 60,000-square-foot factory produces about 2,500 AK-47 rifles a month. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Ulrich “Uli” Wiegand, a German immigrant who started the company called Inter Ordinance Inc., sees a bright future for […]

Associated PressMarch 19, 2017

Jermaine Anderson keeps going back to the same memory of Donald Trump, then a candidate for president of the United States, referring to some Mexican immigrants as rapists and murderers. “You can’t be saying that (if) you’re the president,” says Anderson, a 21-year-old student from Coconut Creek, Florida. That Trump is undeniably the nation’s 45th […]

Associated PressMarch 19, 2017

Miami-Dade homeowners frequently renting stays to Airbnb customers risk losing their homestead exemptions. The Miami Herald reports this is the latest example of the popular “home sharing” service dividing the county’s political establishment. A one-page flier prepared by the office of Property Appraiser Pedro Garcia carried the headline “Homestead Exemption Fraud and Airbnb” and warns […]

Associated PressMarch 19, 2017

Florida is among one of the nation’s top states in recovering money from health care providers suspected of Medicaid fraud. Data released earlier this month by the federal government shows that Florida’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit recovered more than $165 million during the 2016 federal fiscal year. That placed Florida second behind the state of […]

Associated PressMarch 19, 2017

The Trump administration wants to build a 30-foot-high border wall that looks good from the north side and is difficult to climb or cut through, according to a pair of contract notices posted to a government website further detailing President Donald Trump’s promise to build a “big, beautiful wall” at the Mexican border. The notices […]

Associated PressMarch 18, 2017

The Florida prosecutor who thrust herself into the forefront of the anti-death penalty movement is a political novice who was elected just seven months ago. Aramis Ayala, a Democrat and former public defender and assistant state attorney, surprised many of her own supporters when she announced this week that her office would no longer seek […]

Associated PressMarch 18, 2017

Prosecutors in Florida have found no evidence of a crime in the death of a prison inmate left for nearly two hours in a hot shower, concluding that he died accidentally in part because of undiagnosed heart disease and suffered no burn injuries. The memo released Friday by the office of Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle […]

Associated PressMarch 17, 2017

Florida’s economy is continuing to grow according to new preliminary estimates from state economists. State officials are meeting Friday to draw up new forecasts to predict how much the state will collect in taxes. The forecasts will be used by state legislators when writing this year’s budget. Preliminary forecasts prepared by economists predict the state’s […]

Associated Press

State drops charges in case that shook Florida politics

Republicans lead fight to ban fracking in Florida

Florida firm pushing sales of its American-made AK-47

Young Americans: Most see Donald Trump as illegitimate president

Officials warn Miami’s Airbnb hosts: You may risk tax fraud

Florida unit investigating Medicaid fraud gets high marks

Trump admin’s contract notices call for 30-foot-high wall at Mexican border

Aramis Ayala anti-death penalty stand surprises many

Prosecutors: No crime in Florida inmate’s hot-shower death

Florida’s economy still growing, but budget cuts loom