Emails & Opinions

Joe HendersonApril 17, 2017

There were all kinds of messages being sent to Gov. Rick Scott late last week at the Florida House of Representatives. The one from Democrat Bill Nelson, a three-term U.S. senator, can be summed up in two words: game on. Republican House Speaker Richard Corcoran had his own two-word message for the governor. I think […]

Peter SchorschApril 17, 2017

An excited text message may have cost state Rep. Paul Renner his shot at the Speakership—or kept it in play, if you believe several freshmen House Republicans. That same text message, whoops, also may have violated Florida House Republican Caucus rules governing campaigning for leadership positions. As Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida so capably reported, Renner “held […]

Florence SnyderApril 17, 2017

Planting pinwheels may “raise awareness” of child abuse, but the hard and labor-intensive work of preventing child abuse goes on in places where skilled professionals collaborate to do more difficult things. One such place is Orange County’s B.A.B.Y. Court. There, Circuit Judge Alicia Latimore offers lollipops to toddlers and tots who have suffered the trauma […]

Peter SchorschApril 15, 2017

Florida’s state universities are filled with master teachers, gifted researchers, and highly motivated students.They and their families make incalculable sacrifices to pursue knowledge, truth, and a better society for all. They persevere in the face of headlines that are deeply disheartening. The stories have been around much too long, and they are not going away […]

Peter SchorschApril 15, 2017

“Before we begin with agency business,” Gov. Rick Scott said at this week’s Cabinet meeting, “we have one more person to recognize.” To his surprise, it was CFO Jeff Atwater, who’s leaving Tallahassee after this Legislative Session to join Florida Atlantic University as VP and CFO “I don’t see this on the agenda,” Atwater said, […]

Blake DowlingApril 15, 2017

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@Last weekend, I was on the road in Gainesville for some spring football. As I sat in my mobile command station (aka the Wyndham) the following day — watching an epic Masters, NBA and college baseball weekend — I couldn’t get the old PSA from Saturday Morning Cartoons out of my head, and I started […]

Guest AuthorApril 15, 2017

A few weeks ago, I stood at Yaki Point on the edge of the Grand Canyon watching the sunset. A cold desert wind rushed up the cliff sides, sucking the last remaining heat from the sandstone below. The rustle of pinyons and junipers gave sound to the silence of the setting sun. I was almost […]

Peter SchorschApril 14, 2017

The $4-billion gap between the House and Senate budget plans got a lot smaller this week, courtesy of Gov. Rick Scott’s Low Income Pool (LIP) victory. Scott took a trip to Washington and returned home with $1.5 billion in new health care funding for Floridians. After refusing the prior administration’s mandate that LIP funds would […]

Darryl PaulsonApril 14, 2017

The Era of Good Feelings is the term used to describe the aftermath of the War of 1812 where the American nation sought to establish national unity during a period of one-party dominance. The Federalist Party, representing the urban and aristocratic citizens, disappeared after the disastrous Hartford Convention in 1814, leaving only the Jeffersonian Republicans […]

Peter SchorschApril 14, 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. EASTER AND PASSOVER AS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THESE LOBBYISTS AND POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS Grab your bonnet, pull out the seersucker and get ready for a good-old-fashion Easter egg hunt. Americans are expected […]

Emails & Opinions

Joe Henderson: Richard Corcoran’s invite to Bill Nelson a stick in Rick Scott’s eye, maybe more

The text message that almost blew up the 2022 Speaker’s race

Florence Snyder: Why children die: B.A.B.Y. Court works, but Florida prefers to pay for things that don’t

Toward a preeminent university system, Part 1: The Corcoran rock and the Naples Daily News hard place

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Going in style

Blake Dowling: Legislative Session 2017 – I’m just a bill

Nathan Vink: Earth does not need us, but we most certainly need a healthy planet

Florida House should add miraculous LIP funding to its budget numbers

Darryl Paulson: The Era of Bad Feelings

Sunburn for 4.14.17 – Happy Easter Weekend