Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschSeptember 22, 2018

Brian Pitts, a perennial presence in the halls of the Legislature, has readied 11 bill proposals ahead of the 2019 Legislative Session. They cover a wide range of topics: Education, ethics, civil and criminal justice, and judicial reform. Pitts’ nonprofit Justice-2-Jesus this year is taking on a “controversial and aggressive bill package,” according to his website. The […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 13, 2018

Jokes by a medical school professor about porn, sex toys and the Zika virus has led to a lawsuit against Florida State University, according to a complaint filed in Leon County this week. Christina R. Goswick-Childers, formerly an academic program specialist at the school’s College of Medicine in Tallahassee, filed sexual harassment and retaliation claims after […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 4, 2018

A gun-rights group is again suing over Florida State University‘s guns-on-campus policy. Florida Carry sued the state university last week over its student conduct code, which was “amended” last June. It now wrongfully prohibits “the open possession of long guns, i.e. rifles and shotguns, in a vehicle unless they (are) concealed,” according to the complaint. The organization sued in Leon […]

Peter SchorschAugust 25, 2018

The work of the Constitution Revision Commission is under attack in the courts. And that’s fair, according to Brecht Heuchan, who led the CRC’s drafting process. “I’m not mad about the lawsuits,” he told us. “That’s what people do when they feel aggrieved.” But a new effort spawned this week encouraging Floridians to opt for […]

Peter SchorschAugust 18, 2018

Rick Wilson, the Tallahassee-based Republican operative whose moonshot to the spotlight accompanied his unwithering criticism of President Donald Trump, came home this week. His landing spot: The capital city’s Midtown Reader bookstore, to read from and discuss his new best-selling book, “Everything Trump Touches Dies.” “This process started a little bit as catharsis,” Wilson told […]

Jim RosicaAugust 15, 2018

Devin Galetta now is deputy communications director to Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, reporting to Anna Alexopoulos Farrar. “I’m excited that Devin is part of the team,” she said. “He is a thoughtful, steady, smart communications professional. I’ve worked with him over the years, and he knows this office and will be an asset to […]

Peter SchorschAugust 11, 2018

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Charter chalks a win The Leon County School District suffered a bruising defeat this week when an appeal panel unanimously recommended the state overturn the county’s decision to block a new charter school from setting up shop in the county. The Charter School Appeal Commission, composed evenly of traditional public and […]

Peter SchorschAugust 4, 2018

Every July Fourth, Florida Supreme Court Justice Ricky Polston reads a copy of the Declaration of Independence reprinted in the Tallahassee Democrat. “I always sit in the morning with a cup of coffee and read back through that,” Polston told members of the Economic Club of Florida in Tallahassee this week. “I just enjoy doing […]

Peter SchorschJuly 28, 2018

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With a brow-raising $89.3 billion for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the state appropriated the largest budget in Florida history, a $4.36 billion increase from last year. Those big numbers make Florida TaxWatch’s recently released Taxpayer’s Budget Guide all the more valuable. Authored by the watchdog group’s vice president of research, Kurt Wenner, the interactive series […]

Peter SchorschJuly 21, 2018

Clouds are brewing over the journalism industry, but the long-term forecast is promising. That’s according to Diane McFarlin, the former publisher of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and current dean of the University of Florida College of Journalism. She delivered a media ‘forecast’ to an audience of UF alumni in Tallahassee this week. In the short term, […]

Tag: Florida State University

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Signs of Session

Jokes about porn, sex toys spur lawsuit on FSU medical school

Tempest over ‘truck guns’: FSU sued—again—over firearms on campus

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Second-guessing the CRC

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Hustlin’ 45

Personnel note: Devin Galetta now deputy comm’s to CFO Jimmy Patronis

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Charter chalks a win

Takeaways from Tallahassee — A justice talks civics

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Budget breakdown

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Weathering the storm

Florida politics had 11 questions before federal qualifying week. Here are the answers.