Emails & Opinions

Peter SchorschMarch 29, 2017

Sen. Jack Latvala has backed Gov. Rick Scott in his defense of Enterprise Florida—but that wasn’t always the case. The Clearwater Republican, who now chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, had some choice words for the public-private economic development organization back in 2015. That’s when he was chair of the Senate’s Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development […]

Joe HendersonMarch 29, 2017

The words “green space” can have a different meaning depending on the person involved. Democrats generally believe green space to mean protected grasslands, pristine parks, waterways, and regulations to keep companies from belching pollutants into the atmosphere. Republicans generally appear to believe green space is a metaphor for money that can be made by paving […]

Darryl PaulsonMarch 29, 2017

Until 1987, presidential nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court were respectfully received and reviewed by the U.S. Senate. In 1986, Antonin Scalia, a judicial conservative and constitutional originalist, was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a vacancy on the court. He was confirmed 98 to 0 by the U.S. Senate. The confirmation process imploded in […]

Peter SchorschMarch 29, 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. WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS (BUDGET) PLACE So now the lines of negotiation are being drawn over the budget, the one bill constitutionally required to be passed every session, and already […]

Peter SchorschMarch 28, 2017

Florida’s Eyeball Wars rage on in Tallahassee, as optometrists continue pushing a bill allowing them to perform laser surgeries despite a potentially dangerous lack of medical training. Richard Miniter, the chief executive officer of American Media Institute, broke down the issue in-depth with a three-part series co-authored with Joseph Hammond, in which he describes how […]

Joe HendersonMarch 28, 2017

On the old TV show Dallas, family patriarch Jock Ewing once memorably screamed at his son Bobby: “So I gave you power, huh? Well, let me tell you something, boy. If I did give you power, you got nothing! Nobody gives you power. Real power is something you take!” The 2017 version of that story […]

Peter SchorschMarch 28, 2017

Is the Spring 2017 edition of INFLUENCE Magazine — available now in digital format, soon in print — sexist? According to Jessica Bakeman, a transplanted education reporter for POLITICO Florida and the current president of the Florida Capitol Press Corps, the answer is ‘yes.’ In a series of tweets posted Monday, Bakeman wrote that the […]

Peter SchorschMarch 28, 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. IT’S DISRUPTION DAY IN THE LEGISLATURE With the House set to tackle legislation aimed at vacation rentals and the Senate taking up a bill focused on ride-booking services, it seems like 2017 […]

Blake DowlingMarch 27, 2017

One of the first columns I ever put together was on assistive technology for those who need it for communication. It was based on a 60 Minutes expose highlighting the power of a tablet to open doors to those who, for most of their lives, have been unable to communicate. Since then, I have written […]

Florence SnyderMarch 27, 2017

If there’s one thing a $113,000 a year Florida tourism executive urgently needs, it’s a $26,000 raise. Otherwise, says the Brevard County Director Compensation and Job Performance Committee, its Office of Tourism Executive Director Eric Garvey might leave the Space Coast — where the median household income is $48,483 — for greener Florida tourism pastures, […]

Emails & Opinions
Gold Coast Eagle Distributing;s Javier Bermudez and Chad Fraser bring water to Helene victims in Bradenton. Image via Gold Coast.

Was Jack Latvala against Enterprise Florida before he was for it?

Joe Henderson: Concern for the environment really depends on which party is in charge

Darryl Paulson: On Neil Gorsuch; both parties should just grow up!

Sunburn for 3.29.17 – Budget fireworks; Mid-Session thaw on gambling; Netflix & chill bill; Vanna White at The Villages!; Spider Man trailer!!!

New three-part series unpacks ‘dark side’ of money, influence in Florida’s Eyeball Wars

Joe Henderson: Richard Corcoran’s moves show that real power is taken, every bit of it

Is the latest edition of INFLUENCE Magazine ‘sexist’?

Sunburn for 3.28.17 – Disruption day in the Capitol; Bondi’s D.C. moves; Max Steele exits

Blake Dowling: Senate Bill 772 — Time to help

Florence Snyder: VISIT clueless tourism officials in Brevard County