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Staff ReportsSeptember 20, 2017

The chair of the state’s Public Service Commission, which regulates investor-owned utilities, says her board also has started “thinking” about how it can help get power back on quicker after major storms. Julie I. Brown released a statement Wednesday morning, more than a week after Hurricane Irma knocked out electricity to millions of Florida homes […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 20, 2017

An appellate court on Wednesday ordered satellite-television companies to pay legal and other costs in a long-standing tax case they lost earlier this year. After DirecTV and Dish Network sued, the Florida Supreme Court in April decided satellite TV can be taxed at a higher rate than cable TV. The case was remanded to the 1st District […]

Associated PressSeptember 20, 2017

Republican governors are getting into the “news” business. The Republican Governors Association has quietly launched an online publication that looks like a media outlet and is branded as such on social media. The Free Telegraph blares headlines about the virtues of GOP governors, while framing Democrats negatively. It asks readers to sign up for breaking […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 20, 2017

Nearly nine years after former Nasdaq chair Bernie Madoff was arrested for running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, his victims may finally start receiving compensation within the next few months. More than $4 billion sits in a fund created in 2012 to repay Madoff’s victims in one of the biggest fraud cases ever. The fund consists […]

Terry RoenSeptember 20, 2017

Visit Florida has launched an aggressive month-long marketing campaign to entice tourists back to the Sunshine State. Gov. Rick Scott announced that the multi-phased campaign will be paid for with existing Visit Florida funding and include digital, social, broadcast and traditional marketing methods in both domestic and international markets. The marketing push starts this week […]

Associated PressSeptember 19, 2017

During Hurricane Irma, Temple Shalom served as a sanctuary of a different kind. When the storm changed course at the last minute, the Naples synagogue suddenly became an emergency shelter. As power stayed off for days, the Reform temple, which had only minimal damage, was a place for neighbors to escape the heat and have […]

Phil AmmannSeptember 19, 2017

Prudence Duchene will never forget the day she moved to Key West. It was Aug. 30 — the day a storm brewing in the Atlantic got named Irma. Duchene, 22, was actually waiting to board her Florida-bound flight from Albany International Airport when she saw the news that the newly named tropical storm was headed […]

Scott PowersSeptember 19, 2017

The massive power outage Hurricane Irma left behind last week with more than 6.5 million homes and businesses is down to a handful of pockets outside the still heavily-darkened Monroe, Collier and Lee counties that were hardest hit by the storm. The latest data provided by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, showing power through […]

Scott PowersSeptember 19, 2017

State Sen. Jack Latvala called Tuesday for electric utilities in Florida to stop donating to political campaigns and instead spend the money on improving their power grid infrastructure. Latvala is a Republican gubernatorial candidate from Clearwater, has received electric company money in his political committee, Florida Leadership Committee, but not nearly as much as his […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 19, 2017

A Tallahassee judge has tossed out a lawsuit against Attorney General Pam Bondi that accused her of improperly coercing businesses to donate millions of dollars to unregistered charities. Those donations are part of settlements in consumer protection cases her office pursues under the “Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.” Orlando entrepreneur John D. Smith, who was investigated on a […]

Headlines
Image via GasBuddy.

PSC enters hurricane readiness debate

Court to DirecTV, Dish: Pay up in taxing case

GOP governors launch ‘news’ site critics call propaganda

DOJ says Bernie Madoff victims are finally about to be compensated

Visit Florida unveils campaign to bring tourists back

After Irma, Florida Jews seek respite in High Holy Days

For a new Key West resident, Irma was her welcome-to-town

Power restored except South, Southwest, Central Florida pockets

Jack Latvala swears off electric cash, urges utilities to stop political donations

Court throws out charities lawsuit against Pam Bondi