Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanJuly 17, 2014

Dick Cheney slithered out from under a rock the other day to boast of the Iraq war he did so much to cause. “I believed in it then. I look back on it now — It was absolutely the right thing to do,” he said in an appearance at Washington. He said this despite the […]

Bruce RitchieJuly 17, 2014

If you wonder whether utility solar rebate programs for homeowners and businesses were popular, look at how quickly the rebates were snapped up. Florida Power & Light Co. paid $16.5 million in rebates between 2011 and 2013. Each time the program issued its maximum amount of reservations on the same day that applications opened, a […]

Julie DelegalJuly 17, 2014

Florida’s schools have been graded since FCAT began under Gov. Lawton Chiles in 1998. There weren’t any consequences for the first few years — no “turnaround” lists, no teacher bonuses — as schools were given the chance to adjust to the brand new test. Standards of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test have been ramped up […]

Guest AuthorJuly 15, 2014

I heard the first crack when a friend of mine called 15 years ago. He knew I was considering a move from my job as executive editor of the Miami Herald, a job I’d held for eight years. “I have some good news and some bad news,” he said. “A top editor’s job has opened […]

Daniel TilsonJuly 15, 2014

Now is the time for Florida to build momentum toward further state-level immigration reform. The 2014 legislative victory granting in-state tuition rates to undocumented college students has put us on the right path…forward. What we can’t afford to do now is settle for anything less than creating full-steam-ahead support for taking the next steps. Republican […]

Guest AuthorJuly 15, 2014

While job growth has remained lackluster during the economic recovery, the construction industry and other highly skilled trades are facing a shortage of qualified workers that threatens the future of the industry. The construction industry alone will face a shortage of 1.6 million workers by 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thankfully, Congress […]

Martin DyckmanJuly 14, 2014

Democracy in Florida is still a work in progress, even as to the basic principle that every citizen’s vote should count the same. It has been half a century since the U.S. Supreme Court put an end to rural rule by which legislators representing less than a fifth of Florida’s population held more than half […]

Bob SparksJuly 14, 2014

An international scandal is playing out before us on our televisions, radios and newspapers. Not Benghazi, the IRS or Fast and Furious. This one involves children. Each day the media report on the tens of thousands of undocumented Central American children pouring across our border with Mexico. To be certain, thousands of adults are crossing […]

Julie DelegalJuly 14, 2014

Sanity is beginning to trickle into the debate on immigration reform, writes columnist Rick Outzen. The Florida Chamber of Commerce says that developing clearer paths to citizenship is good business and will help fill critical worker gaps in the state’s economy. The chamber, a conservative bastion of entrepreneurs, stood shoulder to shoulder with Catholic bishops […]

Guest AuthorJuly 14, 2014

NPR recently did a news story about stress and the toll it takes on a person’s health. What causes high levels of hazardous stress? According to the NPR story: disabilities, chronic illness, extreme poverty…and parenting teenagers. You heard me. Herpes and raising teens. Similar in more ways than one. Add in some serious traffic problems […]

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Martin Dyckman: Still no accounting for Dick Cheney’s war

Bruce Ritchie: Despite popularity, utilities oppose solar rebate programs

Julie Delegal: Charter school grades should alarm every Floridian

Doug Clifton: Cleveland needs more than LeBron to restore its greatness

Daniel Tilson: Florida must enact its own bold immigration reform

Steve Cona: Bill provides job-training grants to more non-union trainees

Martin Dyckman: Fla. should adopt Iowa’s system for drawing political districts

Bob Sparks: Most Floridians support the right immigration reforms

Julie Delegal: Why is Jeb Bush silent during this immigration crisis?

Catherine Durkin Robinson: Twins are teens and mom is stressed