Emails & Opinions

Peter SchorschFebruary 29, 2016

Legislators met in the Capitol over the weekend to work out spending on key areas such as education, transportation and health care, having reached a broad budget deal regarding tax cuts and overall spending. Now budget committees are working on individual items. Here’s what I think I think today about budget negotiations, Andy Gardiner‘s legacy, and the […]

Peter SchorschFebruary 29, 2016

Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. IF YOU’VE BEEN AWAY FROM FLORIDA POLITICS FOR 3 DAYS and you could only call one person to get a concise briefing of everything you missed about legislative politics, who would you call? Me? Gary Fineout, Travis Blanton, Chris Dudley were at the top of my list. OVERHEARD at a […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 29, 2016

I was delighted to read online in the middle of the night that “Spotlight,” the Tom McCarthy directed film about the Boston Globe’s investigations into the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal, won Best Picture at the 2016 Academy Awards last night. I read about it, because I wasn’t staying up past midnight to find out […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 28, 2016

The GOP candidates are now sprinting to Super Tuesday. Donald Trump has the momentum from victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. However, this is a big contest and no primary should be taken for granted. Trump also has the advantage of holding good polling numbers going into Tuesday’s elections. The Super Tuesday voting […]

Phil AmmannFebruary 28, 2016

I have spent almost 25 years studying alimony and if I have learned anything, it’s that alimony is complex. Reform can have unintended consequences and so should be the product of a careful, deliberative effort to understand and improve the law rather than a one-sided push to protect people who pay alimony by kicking recipients […]

Julie DelegalFebruary 28, 2016

As the Florida Legislature works to repair the state’s unconstitutional death penalty sentencing laws, one murder victim’s mother delivered an unusual message to Tallahassee. “Put that money somewhere else,” Darlene Farah told lawmakers on Tuesday. In an interview on Wednesday, before she attended another hearing in her daughter’s murder case, she said she spoke to […]

Phil AmmannFebruary 28, 2016

It looks like there’s one more chance this year for the Legislature to decide whether to sensibly regulate hydraulic fracturing in Florida and it will happen Tuesday at the Senate Committee on Appropriations. For those who view the failure of these bills as some kind of victory, you’re fooling yourselves. A “no” vote on Senate […]

Peter SchorschFebruary 28, 2016

Budget negotiations kicked off Friday night after days of will-they-or-won’t-they speculation. But the first meeting unveiled some surprising revelations. That $1 billion tax cut the House passed a few weeks ago? It’s now a $400 million tax cut. The $250 million the Senate set aside for the Florida Enterprise Fund? Nonexistent. House and Senate budget writers are trying […]

Phil AmmannFebruary 28, 2016

A roundup of Sunday editorials from Florida’s leading newspapers: Tampa Bay Times — Less is better from the Florida Legislature It’s not over until it’s over. But with any luck, the 2016 legislative session will be best remembered for the bad ideas state lawmakers are killing rather than for the good public policy they are […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 26, 2016

Marco Rubio poses as a national security expert. Perhaps among the Republican contenders, he’s the closest thing they’ve got. In which case, God help us all. A Washington Post story over the weekend indicates that Rubio’s interest in national security was just a pose from the beginning. As a rising star in the Florida House, […]

Emails & Opinions
Buccaneers QB Teddy Bridgewater. Image via AP.

Here’s what I think I think about budget negotiations, Andy Gardiner, and the Seminole Compact

Sunburn for February 29 – Leaping towards Super Tuesday, a budget deal, and maybe a new Seminole Compact

Mitch Perry Report for 2.29.16 – #OscarsSoLong

Tim Bryce: What to expect from the GOP on Super Tuesday

Cynthia Lee Starnes: Rick Scott should block alimony reform, appoint task force

Julie Delegal: Murder victim’s mom to lawmakers: spend death penalty money elsewhere

Greg Preble: Legislators should approve bill that regulates fracking

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Everything is not awesome

A roundup of Sunday editorials from Florida’s leading newspapers

Jac VerSteeg: Marco Rubio is a national security shirker