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

Guest AuthorNovember 3, 2015

Marathon voters on Tuesday re-elected Mark Senmartin to the City Council and sent Michelle Coldiron into office, as well. Senmartin, owner of a gun shop and pawn shop, and Coldiron, owner of a medical supply business, were two of five candidates running for two at-large seats, meaning the two with the most votes won. “I […]

Guest AuthorNovember 3, 2015

I was doing research about Florida’s astonishingly efficient bear hunt and I came across an equally astonishing analogy. The chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission wrote this about hunting: “Think of it as nature’s Whole Foods.” In fairness to Brian Yablonski, here’s that nugget in context: “Hunting is the first and original […]

Guest AuthorNovember 3, 2015

What in the world is going on? As if our political world isn’t enough to drive us crazy, we seem to be bombarded by a constant barrage of bizarre events that are difficult to comprehend. Nonetheless, the news media insists on producing stories testing our common sense. They would be funny if we knew they […]

Guest AuthorNovember 3, 2015

Backers and opponents of letting people bring guns onto Florida’s college campuses can’t logically support their arguments until there’s more slaughter to analyze. It appears that a bill that would allow students with a concealed-carry permit to bring their guns onto the state’s public college campuses will become law next year. A similar bill died […]

Guest AuthorNovember 2, 2015

Backers and opponents of letting people bring guns onto Florida’s college campuses can’t logically support their arguments until there’s more slaughter to analyze. It appears that a bill that would allow students with a concealed-carry permit to bring their guns onto the state’s public college campuses will become law next year. A similar bill died […]

Guest AuthorNovember 2, 2015

What is your battle? Getting legislation passed? Trying to close a deal? This piece will explore different kinds of battles. Buckle up. I just watched a story on ESPN about the California School for the Deaf that focused on its football team. It detailed the most recent season as its team competed against hearing players […]

Guest AuthorNovember 2, 2015

If you believe that smoking cures cancer and rainfall is a fix for flooding, then Gov. Rick Scott has some health care proposals for you. Scott wants to foist a battery of new regulations onto about 129 hospitals across Florida in 2016 as a means of improving health care. He has proposed requiring them to […]

Guest AuthorNovember 1, 2015

If you believe that smoking cures cancer and rainfall is a fix for flooding, then Gov. Rick Scott has some health care proposals for you. Scott wants to foist a battery of new regulations onto about 129 hospitals across Florida in 2016 as a means of improving health care. He has proposed requiring them to […]

Guest AuthorNovember 1, 2015

Ten years, eight months. That’s how long I’ve been an academic librarian. And, still, I love what I do. I wake up every morning, eager to go to work. And, contrary to the pop culture image of librarians, I don’t sit around reading all day, prim and proper, in a pencil skirt, cardigan and cat-eye […]

Guest AuthorOctober 30, 2015

Tuesday will be Florida Recycles Day at the Florida Capitol. It’s the third year the Florida Recycling Partnership and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have teamed up to promote recycling. Displays will be on the first floor of the Capitol from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Florida Recycling Partnership is a coalition of top […]

Guest Author

Mark Senmartin re-elected to Marathon City Council; Michelle Coldiron gets nod for open seat

Tom O’Hara: They don’t sell bear meat at Whole Foods

Tim Bryce: It's getting strange out there

Tom O’Hara: Allowing guns on campus is dumb, but it won’t change college life much

Tom O’Hara: Allowing guns on campus is dumb, but it won’t change college life much

Blake Dowling: Check into tech to help win your battle

Sarah Maricle Ayers: Rick Scott should stay out of hospitals’ business

Sarah Maricle Ayers: Rick Scott should stay out of hospitals’ business

Yolanda Hood: Today’s libraries (and librarians) have shaken off old stereotypes

Keyna Cory: Recycling push coming to Capitol