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

Guest AuthorFebruary 14, 2016

Since 1940, a national nonprofit group called American Forests has been scouring the U.S., looking for the biggest trees in the land. When they find a big tree, they make measurements, compare with other known specimens, and finally record the biggest as Champion Trees. And guess what? Florida has more national champion trees than any […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 14, 2016

It’s Presidents’ Day again, a day when the schools and banks are closed, the local, state and federal bureaucracies leave us alone, and everyone else is busy working to pay for it all. The holiday goes back as far as 1879 and was originally intended to honor George Washington. This was later amended to include […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 12, 2016

A103-St-Lucie-River-Marina-Stuart-Florida-Martin-County-Original-1024x1024.jpg

Candidates who want to keep Martin County different from the rest of crowded South Florida have lost county commission races when two who favor careful growth run against one development-friendly contender. In past elections, the two candidates who support careful growth split the majority vote and the candidate who developers favor coasts to victory on […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 11, 2016

Driving my sons from one activity to another, if I turn off the radio and they put down their phones, is a great opportunity to talk about life. Recently, my youngest mentioned his friend Dave was in trouble because “Dave told Whitney he liked her, but he also likes Alice and wants to date Alice […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 11, 2016

Here’s some wishful thinking. Wanted to Rent: One bedroom, one bath house or apartment. Long-term lease. Willing to pay security, first and last. Employed. Good references. Can afford up to $775 monthly. In Key West. I don’t have a car so need to be close to work. Did that $775 a month make you snort […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 10, 2016

It’s been four years since the media broke the news of Darren Rainey’s brutal mistreatment at the Dade Correctional Institution in Miami. The 50-year-old Rainey was forced into a scalding shower by prison guards angry that the schizophrenic inmate defecated and threw feces at them and around his 13-by-8-foot cell. In retaliation, they forced Rainey […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 10, 2016

Taxpayers beware: There is a dangerously naive proposal making the rounds in Tallahassee. Some politicians want to significantly damage Florida’s successful Contraband Forfeiture Act. This is the law that prevents criminals from profiting from their illegal acts. Just like we prohibit killers from profiting by writing books about their crimes, the civil contraband forfeiture law […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 9, 2016

Here’s some wishful thinking. Wanted to Rent: One bedroom, one bath house or apartment. Long-term lease. Willing to pay security, first and last. Employed. Good references. Can afford up to $775 monthly. In Key West. I don’t have a car so need to be close to work. Did that $775 a month make you snort […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 9, 2016

What would you think if your neighbors decided one Christmas that instead of getting their daughter a much-wanted hula hoop and their son a long-prized model airplane (that loops the loop), fairness demands that they give their children carbon copies of the same toy? If you’re like me, you’d probably think, “Surely, it must be […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 9, 2016

Many people have written on the fear of failure. In many places it goes under the heading “fear of losing face.” I have visited several major laboratories and universities in Japan and China and came away with an uncanny feeling that in many instances they are held back by this fear. Just one example will […]

Guest Author
Dr. Leak Roberts. Image via AP.

Manley Fuller: Commercial logging in state parks is a bad idea

Tim Bryce: Presidents' Day – Could they be elected today?

Sally Swartz: If growth advocates split vote, can conservationist win Martin commission seat?

Catherine Durkin Robinson: Valentine’s Day advice for kids who won’t listen anyway

Linda Cunningham: Key West voters need to preserve housing for workers

Chris Timmons: Fixing Florida’s prisons will take money, determination

Grady Judd: Taxpayers have most to lose from attack on Contraband Forfeiture Act

Linda Cunningham: Key West voters need to preserve housing for workers

William Mattox: Debate over mandatory recess exposes folly of education “uniformity”

Michael Bass: Take risks and savor the rewards