Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryJanuary 4, 2016

Happy New Year to everyone, and welcome back to reading the MPR in 2016. Sunday many of the GOP presidential candidates were on “the shows” as The Donald refers to them, and there were amusing moments throughout the morning. My favorite was perhaps Chris Wallace getting into Chris Christie’s grill regarding how the New Jersey […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 3, 2016

Political prognostication is not an exact science despite what forecasters and pundits would have readers believe. Many fall somewhere between the obvious and the inane, and often take a familiar and non-threatening shape. “The race for (insert candidate here) comes down to which campaign turns out their voters,” or some similar form. Imagine a sports […]

Marc YachtDecember 30, 2015

There’s some dispute about who uttered the line: “If I knew I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.” Some have argued Mickey Mantle, George Burns, or Cary Grant. Researchers found the jazz pianist Eubie Blake made the comment in 1983. However, it appears Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount Pictures, […]

Blake DowlingDecember 30, 2015

Have you received your new credit card in the mail with a microchip in it? Does it allow the credit card company to know everything about you day or night? Maybe. But in the short term it’s an added layer of security attempting to slow down the roaring rapids of credit card fraud and data […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 29, 2015

Florida had been a state for less than a century when it came time to honor famous citizens with two statues at the U.S. Capitol, and there were few plausible candidates. Dr. John Gorrie, the physician who invented mechanical refrigeration – imagine modern Florida without it – was an outstanding choice. But from today’s perspective, […]

Sally SwartzDecember 29, 2015

The good news about Martin County’s new $275,000 website: It displays nicely on mobile phones and tablet computers. There’s also a lot of bad news: No staff directory. No easy way to locate agendas, minutes, documents or just about anything else. And so many complaints and disgruntled users the county could use another website just […]

Guest AuthorDecember 29, 2015

This is the year of melting. Let me clarify. It is not the year of melting because we are having warmer-than-usual fall and winter seasons. This is the year of melting because I finally decided to allow myself to experience emotions, to experience them and to sit in them. It was an epiphany, actually. I […]

Guest AuthorDecember 28, 2015

From palace intrigues to pot, 2015 brought a plethora of material to the Capitol Press Corps. Trying to pick the top 10 state government stories is a subjective pursuit, to say the least, but here are the FloridaPolitics.com picks for the passing year: No. 1: The “firing” of Gerald Bailey Gov. Rick Scott actually forced […]

Shannon NickinsonDecember 28, 2015

In Escambia County, minimum wage jobs aren’t just for kids. And that’s part of the reason this metro area lags behind others in the state in terms of prosperity. That’s according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, shared by the UWF Office of Economic Development and Engagement. About one of every five jobs (23.6 […]

Guest AuthorDecember 27, 2015

If you pay attention to the news, you’d think Florida, the nation and the world are doomed. South Florida is falling into the sea. Disney World is installing metal detectors to thwart terrorists. Jeb!, the Donald, Ben and Marco – Florida’s presidential wannabes – are predicting that Islamic extremists soon will destroy the West. But […]

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Mitch Perry Report for 1.4.16 — Welcome back Christie, Carly and the whole gang

Peter Schorsch: 5 bold predictions for 2016

Dr. Marc J. Yacht: Rules for living a long, happy life

Blake Dowling: It’s past time to start “dipping” your chip

Martin Dyckman: Many Floridians of note deserve U.S. Capitol honor

Sally Swartz: New public website looks good, has little to say

Yolanda Hood: Show compassion – for others and yourself

Jim Rosica's Top 10 stories of 2015 in state government

Shannon Nickinson: Minimum wage now amounts to a minimum life

Tom O’Hara: The biggest story of 2015: cheap and effective gene-editing