Emails & Opinions

Peter SchorschJanuary 19, 2017

I hate to overstate the findings of any report, but my first thought while reading the latest audit of the Agency for State Technology was: “Jeez, is this joint as potentially ‘leaky’ as I think it is?” The report by Florida Auditor General Sherrill F. Norman’s office, which I got a copy of on Thursday, […]

Joe HendersonJanuary 19, 2017

You ever talk yourself into trying one of those amusement park thrill rides, the kind that turns you upside down and inside out? You told yourself a million times you would never ride that thing, but here you are, strapped into your seat as your car reaches the top of that terrifying first drop. Just […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 19, 2017

It’s incredible how foggy some people’s memories are when it comes to past efforts to restore the Everglades, buy farmland and build a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. Time and again, environmental extremists are quick to blame the sugar industry for every ill in the region, past, present and future, without any regard to science […]

Darryl PaulsonJanuary 19, 2017

(Part 2 of the Obama legacy) With the inauguration of Donald Trump, it is a good time to review the electoral impact of eight years of the Obama White House. One of the impacts is the election of Trump which surprised the entire political universe. Whatever Obama may have achieved in public policy, it is […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 19, 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. FLORIDA POLITICOS HEAD TO D.C. Watching wall-to-wall inauguration coverage this week? Be on the lookout for Floridians. The Sunshine State will be well represented at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Friday. So who’s […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 18, 2017

In the two weeks since Rick Kriseman announced he would seek re-election, the St. Petersburg mayor has been hit with a barrage of bad headlines on a range of issues. Some of these setbacks are of Kriseman’s direct making, but most are not. Still, taken together, these stories seem to answer a question posed recently by the […]

Florence SnyderJanuary 18, 2017

In Leon County, the median household income is $47,000, and people who are lucky enough to have a full-time job are generally expected to work that job, you know, full-time. At $75,829, plus benefits, Leon County Commissioners’ compensation is well above what most of their constituents earn, but it’s less than what Commissioners Nick Maddox […]

Joe HendersonJanuary 18, 2017

Betsy DeVos, whose children never attended public schools, may soon lead the nation’s Department of Education. Assuming she is confirmed, care to take a guess what Florida public education will look like four years from now? Perhaps former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who is DeVos’ biggest cheerleader, can provide some insight. He wrote a stirring […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 18, 2017

It’s no secret that Sunshine State News, the de facto house organ for the Rick Scott campaign in 2010 and 2014, is no fan of Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist. So complaining about SSN’s coverage of Crist is probably akin to writing a letter to the editor of the Boston Globe criticizing its sports columnists for hating on the New York Yankees. Still, […]

Darryl PaulsonJanuary 18, 2017

(Part 1 of two. Part two will deal with Obama’s political legacy) The 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama focused on the theme of change. Obama promised to “restore our moral standing” and “focus on nation-building here at home.” Obama, as a candidate, told audiences that “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We […]

Emails & Opinions
Three people were killed in an accident on the Florida Turnpike in St. Lucie County on Aug. 12. Image via Treasure Coast Newspapers.

Audit slams security, other lapses at state tech agency

A Donald Trump administration; Too late America, we’re doing this

J.P. Sasser: Environmental activists rewriting history, fraudulently manipulating data to sell land plan

Obama’s electoral legacy: After 8 years, we get a Donald Trump

Sunburn for 1.19.17 – D.C. SPOTTEDs galore, Rick Scott’s assist; Drop the Suit wins; Doug Izzo exits DEO

A barrage of bad headlines greets the first weeks of Rick Kriseman’s re-election campaign

Commissioners get two fat salaries; public gets half their time, all the bill

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos could mean more Florida charter schools, a lot more

In Sunshine State News’ book, Charlie Crist is damned if does, damned if he doesn’t

A look at Obama’s legacy, foolish hope of ‘post-racial’ America