Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJune 11, 2015

The first meeting of the Lenny Curry transition team’s Blight Committee, chaired by E. Denise Lee, carried on the work that the city council’s ad hoc Blight Committee has done for the past couple of years. The people in the room, by and large, had not been to a meeting of Lee’s council committee. The influx of new […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 11, 2015

The strain of medical marijuana legalized in Florida is Charlotte’s Web: a high-CBD variant of the plant with minimal THC content. For the Legislature, Charlotte’s Web has been more like a Russian novel, with a panoply of twists and turns involving virtually every part of the regulatory framework. In Jacksonville, it’s going to take at […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 11, 2015

Denise Lee is approaching the end of her tenure on Jacksonville City Council. She has a lot to be proud of as she exits for her next venue, with smart money having her headed toward the Curry administration. Her signature achievement, however, must be considered the Blight Committee, which she has used to take aim […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 11, 2015

Florida Politics has obtained a cache of emails related to Jacksonville Mayor-elect Lenny Curry’s transition. The emails date back to May 22. They provide an invaluable record of the transition, as the self-styled “transformational mayor” moves quickly from the seemingly perpetual candidate to the city of Jacksonville’s chief executive. To highlight the nature of the […]

Mitch PerryJune 11, 2015

2011-09-13T011118Z_01_TPA07_RTRIDSP_3_USA-CAMPAIGN-DEBATE-1024x1024.jpg

As has been the case in the past two Republican presidential primary cycles, CNN will be bringing its resources to Florida to host a televised debate. The cable news network announced Wednesday that it will come to the Sunshine State to host a debate on March 10, five days before registered Republican voters here will vote […]

Associated PressJune 11, 2015

The Florida School Boards Association is dropping out of a lawsuit that contends the state’s largest private school voucher program is unconstitutional. The group’s board of directors voted Wednesday against pursuing the lawsuit any further. A circuit judge in May ruled the groups filing the lawsuit did not have a legal right or “standing” to […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 10, 2015

Maria Mark is a “straight ally.” Some politicians talk the talk; she walks the walk, and it is a centerpiece of her re-election campaign for the Atlantic Beach City Commission. “Maria helped draft and sponsor the Human Rights Ordinance that recently passed (4-0) on Aug. 11, 2014. Maria was recently awarded the ‘Voice for Equality […]

Guest AuthorJune 10, 2015

Amid the flotsam of a journalism instructor’s desk at the end of a hectic academic year – strewn business cards, papers never picked up by students, memos, meeting notes, neon pink paper clips and half a pack of Ice Blue breath mints – lies a stub of a burned-out candle. “Every journalist has talismans,’’ says […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 10, 2015

On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed two bills into law with vastly different ramifications for Jacksonville. The first, HB 647, amends the Jacksonville city charter to modify the authority of the Civil Service Board, revising the authority of the civil service board to hear appeals, complaints, and grievances. Rep. Lake Ray‘s bill amends provisions in the charter […]

Guest AuthorJune 10, 2015

I’m sure if I listened hard enough, I could hear my 15-year-old self yelling at me right now. When I was 15, I wore black skirts, combat boots and about 900 black rubber bracelets to school; let’s not even discuss what I’d wear to alternative clubs to watch Suicidal Tendencies and slam dance. I valued […]

Uncategorized

Lenny Curry transition Blight Committee carries on earlier work

Medical marijuana distribution in Jacksonville needs more enlightened approach

Future Jacksonville undersheriff talks blight enforcement

Emails provide fly-on-the-wall perspective inside Lenny Curry’s mayoral transition

CNN returning to Florida in March to host presidential debate

School board association drops out of voucher lawsuit

LGBT rights take center stage in Atlantic Beach City Commission race

Rick Brunson: A journalist’s life snuffed out reminds us to ‘Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way’

Governor signs Jacksonville civil service, kiteboarding bills

Catherine Durkin Robinson: Ten reasons why students benefit from uniforms in school