Emails & Opinions

Guest AuthorMay 2, 2017

You may have heard about a man having a grand mal seizure on the Florida Senate floor two weeks ago. That was me. I am a die-hard conservative activist. I support Floridians’ now-constitutional right to access medical marijuana. And I’m a patient. I was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 13 and like most went through […]

Peter SchorschMay 2, 2017

To be frank, it was a pretty smart move, in retrospect. As competing bills to implement Amendment 2 get bogged down mid-Session, the hot-button flashpoints began: The number of new medical marijuana licensees, as well as the process to award those highly-valued “Willy Wonka” golden tickets. Current license holders have a point: “We invested millions […]

Martin DyckmanMay 2, 2017

Some things in life ought to be above politics, none more so than a parent’s relationship to a child. How this truth was sorely tested in Florida not so long ago is the subject of a new documentary that we should all want to see. CNN reportedly will air it sometime after it begins to […]

Peter SchorschMay 2, 2017

Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, Mitch Perry and Jim Rosica. GWEN GRAHAM TO LAUNCH 2018 BID Graham is ready to make it official. The former Democratic congresswoman from Tallahassee is expected to announce her 2018 gubernatorial bid on Tuesday. The announcement will make Graham, the […]

Peter SchorschMay 1, 2017

With the end of the Legislative Session mercifully (hopefully?) in sight, the discrepancies between Senate and House budgets on various issues are becoming more heightened. At times like these, the two sides need to learn how to swallow their pride when it’s clear one chamber has the better plan. This lesson would serve them — […]

Peter SchorschMay 1, 2017

At a time when everything seems to be done online, it comes as little surprise that states and cities across the U.S. are moving their permitting and licensing systems online to maximize efficiency and serve constituents more effectively. Many counties and municipalities in Florida are following suit, replacing obsolete systems with new, user-friendly technology. Unfortunately, […]

Guest AuthorMay 1, 2017

I wanted to take a moment to alert Floridians to The Estates’, a Lakeland-based nursing home, significant concerns with the Florida Health Care Association’s (FHCA) plan, which would change the way nursing homes are paid, under consideration in the Florida Legislature. The FHCA is asserting that this prospective payment system (PPS) plan will incentivize nursing […]

Florence SnyderMay 1, 2017

This afternoon, The Rick Scott and Pam Bondi Opioid Listening Tour opens in West Palm Beach. Scott and Bondi won’t be there, but People with Big Titles and No Power will. Scott, who used to run hospitals for a living, thinks that mosquitoes carrying Zika are a public health emergency, even as Floridians and medical […]

Joe HendersonMay 1, 2017

Increasing the state’s homestead exemption by $25,000, which is a priority for House Speaker Richard Corcoran and his merry band of tax-slayers, would no doubt be popular with voters. If the measure gets past the legislative hoops and on the 2018 ballot as a constitutional amendment, I imagine it would easily break the 60 percent […]

Peter SchorschMay 1, 2017

Money to help smaller communities market themselves during the off-season could still be in play as legislative leaders continue to negotiate the 2017-18 budget. The Senate has proposed language to move a state-funded marketing program run by the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation from Visit Florida. The House […]

Emails & Opinions
Image via X (Duke Energy).

Michael J. Bowen: For epilepsy, Senate medical marijuana bill is ‘step in right direction’

Medical marijuana: OK, it time to drop caps on dispensaries

Martin Dyckman: Elian Gonzalez, a painful chapter in Cuban-American history

Sunburn for 5.2.17 – Gwen Graham’s ready to launch; Adam Putnam, Matt Caldwell make 2018 plans official; Joe Negron optimistic on budget, gambling legislation; Mike Dew to FDOT? Mama Wiggins last Session

Senate’s proposed hospital budget cuts, unlike House, spreads pain equally

Tyler Tech’s troubles in South Florida raise several red flags

Brian Robare: Proposed nursing home payment system raises serious concern

Florence Snyder: Florida’s opioid crisis, Part 6; Opioid Kabuki Theater opens today in West Palm Beach

Joe Henderson: Homestead exemption increase would be great politics, lousy governing

Hospitality marketing money still in play, lawmakers say