Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Associated PressSeptember 30, 2017

The tourism promotion agency for the Florida Keys is initiating a $1 million emergency ad campaign to attract visitors back to the island chain following Hurricane Irma. Keys tourism officials released details Friday. The ad campaign promotes the theme “We Are 1,” referring to U.S. Highway 1, the Florida Keys Overseas Highway that runs throughout […]

Associated PressSeptember 30, 2017

Shelby Hoogendyk says that when she, her husband and her 17-month-old son arrived at an emergency shelter as Hurricane Irma closed in, they were separated from others by yellow wristbands and told to stay in an area with other people like them – the homeless. Sheriff’s deputies, she says, told them the wristbands were prompted […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 29, 2017

Screen-Shot-2016-07-01-at-12.59.11-AM.png

A man who formerly supervised teens in the Florida House of Representatives’ page and messenger program was convicted Friday on an attempted underage-sex charge. Michael A. Chmielewski, 38, was found guilty on one count of “attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity” by a federal jury in Tallahassee, court records show. He […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 29, 2017

O.J. Simpson won’t return to Florida if Pam Bondi has any sway over his homecoming. The state’s Republican attorney general sent a 2-1/2 page letter to Corrections Secretary Julie Jones on Friday, saying she objected to Simpson’s return on behalf of the state. He previously lived in Kendall, Miami-Dade County. Simpson’s lawyer also Friday said the […]

Associated PressSeptember 29, 2017

O.J. Simpson will live in Florida following his parole from a Nevada prison where the former football star and celebrity criminal defendant has been held for the past nine years after a robbery conviction, his lawyer said Friday. Attorney Malcolm LaVergne didn’t specify where Simpson would live in Florida, although Tom Scotto, a close friend […]

Staff ReportsSeptember 29, 2017

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam announced Friday that Puerto Rican students displaced by Hurricane Maria will be able to get free school meals through the National School Lunch Program. That’s “in response to the ongoing crisis in Puerto Rico and in preparation for an influx of evacuees,” Putnam’s office said in a release. Since 2012, the Florida […]

Scott PowersSeptember 29, 2017

Airbnb, the nation’s largest vacation rental home marketing business, announced Friday it is extending its Disaster Response Program two more weeks in Florida to help with displaced evacuees and relief workers from Hurricane Irma and evacuees from Hurricane Maria. The company and a few of its host properties have agreed to offer rent-free stays for […]

Scott PowersSeptember 29, 2017

The situation in Hurricane Maria-ravaged Puerto Rico is so bleak that the military response needs to shift from talk to all-out action today or “drastic measures” will have to be taken, Florida’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson declared in Orlando Wednesday. “This is a disaster of gargantuan proportions,” Nelson said. Speaking at the Acacia Puerto […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 29, 2017

hurricane-irma-nursing-home-deaths-2-ap-jt-170917_31x13_992.jpg

A Tallahassee judge on Thursday set the first hearing in the lawsuit lodged by the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills against the state. Circuit Judge Jim Shelfer scheduled the hearing for 9 a.m. on Oct. 27 in the Leon County Courthouse, court records show. The nursing home sued the Agency for Health Care Administration last […]

Scott PowersSeptember 28, 2017

After flying to Puerto Rico, visiting the ports, and touring some of the island by air, Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday evening that Florida is ready and in good position to help, though many of Puerto Rico’s challenges are distinct from Florida’s experiences, being an island with limited roads, many washed out from Hurricane Maria’s […]

Headlines

Florida Keys launches $1 million emergency tourism campaign

Yellow wristbands, segregation for Florida homeless in Irma

Former House page supervisor convicted on attempted sex charge

Pam Bondi just saying ‘no’ to O.J. Simpson’s return to Florida

Attorney: ‘No doubt’ OJ Simpson goes to Florida after prison

Incoming Puerto Rican students eligible for free school meals

Airbnb extends disaster response for Hurricanes Irma, Maria

Bill Nelson: Puerto Rico response must ramp up now or drastic measures coming

Nursing home lawsuit set for first hearing

Rick Scott says Florida is willing and in good shape to help Puerto Rico