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

Guest AuthorMarch 10, 2014

Can someone give Sen. Marco Rubio some love? He certainly wasn’t getting much at the recent gathering of conservatives in the Washington suburbs despite his tough rhetoric. Rubio placed a dismal seventh at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in a straw poll of likely GOP presidential hopefuls. And he definitely wasn’t getting it from […]

Guest AuthorMarch 10, 2014

Many of us have heard the facts and figures regarding Medicaid Expansion in Florida. It would cover 1.2 million people who are now uninsured. The federal government would provide $51 billion to Florida over the next 10 years to offset most of the cost. For the first three years, the federal government pays the entire […]

Guest AuthorMarch 10, 2014

As an emergency medicine physician and member of the Florida Legislature, I believe I have a unique perspective on how, and in what fashion, we can work to improve our health-care delivery system and the regulatory framework it operates under. As Vice Chairman of the House Health Care Workforce Innovation Committee, I am proud to […]

Guest AuthorMarch 9, 2014

The gavel is down and the race is on. The annual session of the Florida Legislature has begun; it ends May 2. As Gov. Rick Scott delivered his fourth State of the State message, he was hoping it would not be his last. The press gallery was overflowing with members of the capitol press corps […]

Guest AuthorMarch 6, 2014

Right now, one of the most economically devastating proposals in Florida history is making its way through the Florida Legislature. The proposal, if passed, would allow local governments to “zone out” vacation rental properties, destroying property values, taking houses off the vacation rental market, destroying neighboring property values, and upending Florida’s tourism industry. The resulting […]

Guest AuthorMarch 6, 2014

I went to see the new movie Son of God last weekend with a group from my church. I knew I was in trouble when 30 minutes into the film I’m wondering how I could get up and leave without being branded a heretic and cast into the outer darkness. Two hours later, I stumbled […]

Guest AuthorMarch 6, 2014

Columns about running, written by runners, usually focus on the positive. We can’t help ourselves; newbies especially are like smitten teenagers eager to share with the world all the goodness we’ve just discovered. “When I run through the fog, the dew collects on my eyelashes, feeling as though I’ve been kissed by a dozen angels […]

Guest AuthorMarch 5, 2014

Northwest Florida has felt like the redheaded stepchild of Florida ever since term limits forced the powerful W.D. Childers out of the Florida Senate in 2000. Before then, the westernmost counties could dominate the Florida Legislature because they always re-elected the incumbents. Today, we have to share legislative power with the rest of the state, […]

Guest AuthorMarch 5, 2014

Reason and emotion are the two drivers of decision-making, so it is not surprising that advocates for and against medical marijuana try to appeal to both the head and the heart. While observing the players on both sides of the debate, I have found people whose position comes from their heart, some from their head, […]

Guest AuthorMarch 4, 2014

Picture this: Middle-class parents save much of their adult lives to buy a home in a safe neighborhood in Florida, with a mortgage they can just barely afford. They move in with their children, pleased to have captured a bit of the American dream — and, most important, the safety of a good neighborhood for […]

Guest Author

Andrew Skerritt: Rubio immigration reform and the political fringe

Gary Stein: Corcoran and Bean may stonewall Medicaid expansion bill

Cary Pigman: State must allow highly trained nurses to provide more care

John Grant: The race is on

Paul Hayes: Florida’s economy depends on vacation rental industry

Cary McMullen: This ‘Son of God’ doesn’t redeem itself

Catherine Durkin Robinson: Running is excellent, but it has unpleasant side effects

Rick Outzen: Panhandle grumbles over State of the State address

Gary Stein: Heroes, zeroes and shills battle in the medical marijuana debate

Rep. Bill Hager: Bill addresses major problems created by certain ‘sober homes’