Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Daniel TilsonSeptember 4, 2014

Let’s forget Democratic and Republican dogma for a bit. Or at least overlook it. Let’s ignore Left vs. Right labeling systems used by media pundits and campaign consultants to generate storylines and get grudge match juices flowing. Let’s put the blame game that dominates the political arena aside for a while. If nothing else, consider […]

Martin DyckmanAugust 24, 2014

In Germany two weeks ago, we were impressed by the multitude of solar arrays along the autobahn. There were too many to count. They perched on the rooftops of homes, apartment buildings, barns, offices, shops, storage sheds and garages. They were free-standing in cornfields and pastures — any place with a southern exposure and space […]

Dominic CalabroAugust 20, 2014

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great German theologian who paid the ultimate price for standing up to Hitler, once said: “The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.” By that metric, Florida is doing better – but not well enough. In the most recent legislative session, business leaders, policymakers and […]

Guest AuthorAugust 19, 2014

That snarky putdown headlined an opinion piece in The New York Times last week. Written by Pamela Druckerman, a former Miamian transplanted to Paris, where she gained notoriety with a book on the superiority of French mothers, the essay wrote Miami off as a vapid, anti-intellectual backwater. The piece was filled with half-true generalizations based […]

Guest AuthorAugust 14, 2014

When you vote in Florida’s 2014 primary election on August 26 (or vote early or by absentee ballot), ask why more than 2.9 million Florida voters who are registered “no party affiliation” (NPA) or are affiliated with a minor political party can’t vote. They can’t vote because Florida’s primary election is closed, meaning it is […]

Guest AuthorAugust 7, 2014

I am beginning to think that taking an “ignorecation” from social media might be in order as we approach election season. Who am I kidding? Election season runs year-round these days; only the intensity of duplicity rises the closer we get. Perhaps it comes with age, but as time passes you begin to notice the […]

Guest AuthorJuly 30, 2014

Florida has a long-standing rivalry with the other Sunshine State, California. As a proud Floridian myself, I have to say that this Eastside-Westside beef almost always comes down in favor of the East. And as the campaign manager for United for Care — the organization advocating for medical marijuana and the passage of Amendment 2 […]

Guest AuthorJune 9, 2014

The rosy picture laid out recently about the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund’s status isn’t quite so rosy once you look at the real facts and consider the financial damage a storm would do to our state, given our reliance on government mechanisms and public debt rather than private capital. The managers of the Cat Fund […]

Peter SchorschMay 29, 2014

At this point, there’s probably no denying that Republican incumbent Rick Scott has taken a narrow lead over his likely Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist. According to the most recent poll by SurveyUSA for Tampa Bay’s News Channel 8, Scott leads Crist with 42 percent of voter support, compared to 40 percent for Crist. Nine percent of […]

Guest AuthorMay 22, 2014

Eight and a half years is a long time. Since October 2005, The Colbert Report spun off from The Daily Show and aired more than 1,200 episodes; Pluto was downgraded to dwarf planet status; Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, introduced the iPhone with seven generations following after, and the last hurricane to impact significantly […]

Tag: Florida
Milton aftermath. Photo by Phil Ammann.

Daniel Tilson: Choosing the pragmatic over the political in Florida election 2014

Martin Dyckman: How Florida laws are made and utility regulators are appointed leave the state way behind Germany in use of solar energy

Dominic Calabro and David Lawrence Jr.: Investments in early learning save taxpayer dollars, produce results

Doug Clifton: The headline said, ‘Miami Grows Up. A Little’

Ray Hudkins: Ask me why I can’t vote in Florida’s 2014 primary election

Ed Moore: Social media and the election season: A need for a civility of attitude

Ben Pollara: Florida can show other states how to regulate medical marijuana

Tom Feeney: Florida’s Cat Fund isn’t as rosy when you look at the facts

Peter Schorsch: Views on state of the state behind Scott’s narrow lead?

Donovan Brown: It has been 8 1/2 years, but it only takes one storm