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

Guest AuthorFebruary 26, 2015

Benjamin Franklin delivered the memorable line, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Were he alive today, I believe Franklin would amend his short list of inevitabilities with a declaration that Florida Republicans can solidly count on negative editorials from the Tampa Bay Times. Such is the case […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 25, 2015

I teach a class in the DeVos Sport Business Management graduate program at the University of Central Florida on ethical and moral principles in sport. Last week we welcomed a distinguished panel to our class, which included: Charlie Freeman, executive vice president of the Orlando Magic; Linda Landman-Gonzalez, vice president for government affairs and community […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 24, 2015

A lot of times what one sees at the state Capitol depends on one’s point of view. A spectator’s voter registration card can very well indicate whether he’s watching a war on public education or an attempt to improve students’ learning gains. It’s a bit like the adage about a glass of water. Every now […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 24, 2015

Cold snaps this time of year make spring seem faraway. Yet, Major Leaguers are reporting to Spring Training to refine their skills before the first pitch of the 2015 season. Avenir Holdings LLC, the Coral Gables-based developer proposing to create Palm Beach County’s 15th-largest town on the 7-square-mile Vavrus Ranch site, should be reporting to […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 23, 2015

Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli is right: no one has really made the case to him or anyone that the statutory language of SB 1030, legalizing low-THC medical marijuana, is flawed; but it absolutely is and must be fixed legislatively. I’m willing to accept partial blame here. The conversations surrounding 1030 have largely been driven […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 23, 2015

Cold snaps this time of year make spring seem faraway. Yet, Major Leaguers are reporting to Spring Training to refine their skills before the first pitch of the 2015 season. Avenir Holdings, LLC, the Coral Gables-based developer proposing to create Palm Beach County’s 15th-largest town on the 7-square-mile Vavrus Ranch site should be reporting to […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 22, 2015

When I met Edith for the first time and heard her stories about her kindergarten class, I realized that she is the poster child for what is happening in Florida education at the grass roots level. She is a slight woman in her early 30s, originally from Venezuela, an immigrant like most her students, who […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 22, 2015

Appalled, perplexed, baffled, mystified, angry. Any of these words captures how I feel upon reading story after story about the rise of anti-Semitism, especially in Europe. I am mindful of George Santayana’s adage, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Apparently that condemnation includes us all. We continue to see […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 19, 2015

I don’t know about you, but I’m really feeling sorry for NBC’s Brian Williams. Seriously, did anyone ever have any expectation of depth, truthfulness, or quality reporting from him? Maybe I feel this way because I’m a serious news junkie and, as such, I read a lot more than watch news or commentary on the […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 19, 2015

Speaker Crisafulli is right: no one has really made the case to him or anyone that the statutory language of SB 1030 is flawed; but it absolutely is and must be fixed legislatively. I’m willing to accept partial blame here. The conversations surrounding 1030 have largely been driven by two groups of political actors: advocates […]

Guest Author

House Speaker replies to Times water bill editorial

Richard Lapchick: Power of sport expanding to spur more social change

James Call: Lobbyist not just a voice, he's a knowledgeable voice

Timothy Hullihan: Avenir is sprawl in New Urbanist clothing

Ben Pollara: Fixes that can make Florida's medical marijuana law work

Timothy Hullihan: Avenir is sprawl in New Urbanist clothing

Catherine Martinez: Welcome to the Common Core kindergarten

Ed Moore: Are we Condemned to relive the anti-Semitic 1930s?

Steven Kurlander: Harshing Brian Williams: Is telling a 'buba meisah' really a crime in our culture of deception?

Ben Pollara: Legislative action needed on Charlotte’s Web