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

Peter SchorschOctober 15, 2013

For hundreds of thousands of Floridians, flood insurance rates are about to skyrocket. The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act contains a little-known provision thatsaddles 268,000 Floridians with rate hikes of 20 to 25 percent each year. These homeowners will see their rates rise upon renewal. If they choose to sell their homes, new buyers will face much higher […]

Peter SchorschOctober 12, 2013

Former State Representative Betty Easley was a proud self acclaimed “Army Brat.” She was from Texas and had a reputation as a straight shooter among her colleagues in the legislature. She rose through the ranks of her minority Republican Party on her intellect, tenacity, sense of humor and being a team player. She became so […]

Peter SchorschOctober 8, 2013

When lobbyists Ron Book and Guy Spearman filed suit in 2006 to block enforcement of a law requiring lobbyists to report how much they are paid, it probably never occurred to them that the compensation reports they sought to keep private would one day be used as marketing tools. Book, Spearman, and other members of […]

Peter SchorschOctober 3, 2013

Imagine you are an NFL player whose team has made it deep into the playoffs. You have one game left — the conference championship — standing between you and playing in the Super Bowl. Now imagine that your opponent in that conference championship match-up just decided it won’t be playing that game, meaning you’re on […]

Peter SchorschSeptember 19, 2013

Even though my last guess — I won’t call it a prediction — about when Charlie Crist would announce his plans for 2014 turned out to be very wrong, I’m ready to make another bold prediction, err, I mean guess: Charlie Crist will announce he is running for governor … later rather than sooner. I can […]

Peter SchorschSeptember 17, 2013

Legislatures don’t like to raise taxes. So they delegate that dirty work to taxing districts or tolling authorities — entities of their creation. Clean hands on taxes? Maybe. Clean hands overall? Far from. The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority isn’t top of the list for public interest, and that’s just how they want it to stay. Billions […]

Peter SchorschSeptember 9, 2013

Now that he is firmly ensconced in the mayor’s office, Tampa’s Bob Buckhorn occasionally seems to forget how far he once was from that position. He seems to forget that he was an underdog for much of the 2011 mayoral race and very well may not have made the run-off had former Mayor Dick Greco […]

Peter SchorschAugust 25, 2013

As more than one friend has counseled, it’s crazy to be launching any sort of journalism endeavor in today’s marketplace. Aren’t newspapers laying off editors and reporters? Aren’t media companies being bought up like Boardwalk and Park Place in a game of Monopoly? Unfortunately, the answer to those two questions is “yes.” But that doesn’t […]

Peter SchorschAugust 24, 2013

Perhaps my Twitter account had been hacked. Maybe I had bumped my head. There was even a conspiracy that I had succumbed to a political payoff. Whatever the reason, my followers on Twitter could not believe what I tweeted. That’s because this avowed progressive and Charlie Crist acolyte dared to write something positive about Republican […]

Peter SchorschJuly 26, 2013

Every day, news outlets highlight Florida’s water challenges: Rising sea level, drought, and concerns about water quality. Today, Florida is over-pumping our groundwater aquifer — a finite water source — and consuming water at an unsustainable rate. This is rapidly decreasing our access to fresh water and causing a variety of unintended consequences. Sinkholes, caused […]

Peter Schorsch
Florida's crackdown on Asian ownership is having an impact on Jacksonville ports.

Bryan Desloge: Washington must stop disastrous flood insurance hikes

Robert McKnight’s Quorum Call on former State Rep. Betty Easley

Peter Schorsch: Rescind law that requires lobbyists to report how much they’re paid

Peter Schorsch: Winners, losers emerging from Alex Sink’s decision not to run for governor

Peter Schorsch: When, oh when, Charlie?

Peter Schorsch: What the hell is going on at the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority?

Peter Schorsch: Bob Buckhorn’s shtick begins to wear old

Peter Schorsch: Putting Florida in Context with the launch of ContextFlorida.com

Peter Schorsch: Giving Credit to Rick Scott, If Still Not Embracing Him

Colleen Castille: The right path for Florida’s water future