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

Guest AuthorApril 1, 2015

Florida drew national media attention in 2008 when 2-year-old Caylee Marie Anthony of Orlando was reported missing. In the months and years that followed, her mother, Casey, was charged and ultimately acquitted of Caylee’s murder. Along the way she became society’s public example of a bad mother. During the months leading up to and after […]

Guest AuthorApril 1, 2015

A major debate is taking place in the Florida House and Senate over public policy regarding water and the allocation of Amendment 1 funds. Various special interests are striving to make their voice the most influential regarding these two high profile issues. At stake is finding a balance of effective policies, which will guard our […]

Guest AuthorApril 1, 2015

With the million-dollar sugar babies still running the show in the Legislature, it might seem impossible to stop the polluting discharges bombarding the coasts and sucking dry the Everglades. And yet there seems to be a sense of momentum for change in the air. More and more angry citizens are realizing that purchasing 46,000 acres […]

Guest AuthorMarch 31, 2015

Dear legislator: A number of years ago I was playing golf at Solivita, a community near Poinciana on the Polk County side of Osceola County. The area looked strangely familiar, especially the cypress swamps and pine woods between the holes. As I came up one fairway and looked into an oak hammock, I saw the […]

Guest AuthorMarch 31, 2015

Dear legislator: A number of years ago I was playing golf at Solivita, a community near Poinciana on the Polk County side of Osceola County. The area looked strangely familiar, especially the cypress swamps and pine woods between the holes. As I came up one fairway and looked into an oak hammock, I saw the […]

Guest AuthorMarch 31, 2015

Most of us have the capacity to show concern for others, but way too often it’s only when those “others” are a lot like us. It should surprise no one that a mouthy, opinionated woman like me is an avowed feminist. Oh and the LGBT movement is stocked full of gay people. Plus the Republican […]

Guest AuthorMarch 31, 2015

Florida legislators created a prescription drug program in 2009 to monitor controlled substances, which has helped reduce the number of Floridians who suffer from prescription drug addiction. Medications provide great benefit to patients when used correctly and under the guidance of their treating physician. Some opioid drugs, though, are crushed into powder or injected by […]

Guest AuthorMarch 30, 2015

We live in one of the richest nations on earth. Most of us never miss a meal unless we choose to. But, ironically, the nearly 3 million agricultural workers who cultivate and harvest the food that ends up on our tables lack the basic protection they need to keep themselves and their families safe and […]

Guest AuthorMarch 29, 2015

The uncertain future of Medicaid financing has received much attention during the past few weeks of the legislative session. Adding to that uncertainty is an unhealthy dose of speculation and misinformation about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and federal reliability. As chairman of the Florida Senate’s Health and Human Services (HHS) Appropriations […]

Guest AuthorMarch 29, 2015

I tend to believe systems self-regulate towards maintaining equilibrium. However, for the first time, I am starting to ponder, “Is America’s current two party system heading towards collapse?” A simple definition of complex systems is a system comprised of many, diverse actors who have interdependent relationships providing feedback and adapting in an ever-changing landscape. We all can agree, […]

Guest Author

Melody Bowdon: Practical ways everyone can advocate for children

Dan Peterson: Buying more land isn't Amendment 1's first priority

Karl Wickstrom: Use Amendment 1 to buy land, take on Big Sugar

Rick Dantzler — Dear Legislator: Where will Fla. kids learn to hunt and fish?

Rick Dantzler: Dear legislator, where will Fla. kids learn to hunt and fish?

Catherine Durkin Robinson: Empathy for others who really are 'others'

Sandi Frear: Why abuse-deterring opioids must be a priority this legislative session

Eve Gartner: Let's strengthen protections for those who endure so much to grow our food

Rene Garcia: Setting the record straight on Florida's Medicaid program

Alex Patton: Is America's two-party system heading toward collapse?