Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanMay 12, 2014

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The dinosaurs and many lesser species became extinct in the blink of an archaeological moment some 65 million years ago. Scientists attribute that to an asteroid more than six miles wide striking the earth with climate-changing force. That was a warning. Our solar neighborhood is still perilous, teeming with asteroids. Smaller ones strike earth with […]

Guest AuthorMarch 20, 2014

The Florida property insurance market continues to make great strides forward and, while there is still some work to do, consumers are finding it easier to obtain insurance in the private market and insurance rates are beginning to stabilize. This is great news for consumers! The Florida insurance market is starting to benefit from the […]

Guest AuthorMarch 13, 2014

As the Florida Legislature gets underway this week, a couple of bills have been introduced with the laudable intent of keeping down the cost of higher education at state schools. One (SB 732) would provide savings for families who buy the state’s tuition prepayment plan, which would not directly affect the schools’ funding from the […]

Guest AuthorMarch 4, 2014

First in an occasional series about Florida history. As the Legislature convenes in Tallahassee, it’s a good time to reflect on how we got to where we are as a state and how it all began. On March 3, 1845, Florida joined the Union as the 27th state. Hanging in my office is a map […]

Daniel TilsonFebruary 27, 2014

Let’s face it. Most working families and retirees in Florida take a pass on paying much if any attention to the 60-day lawmaking scrimmage that takes place in Tallahassee around this time each year. Maybe if legislators actually scrimmaged in pads and helmets while debating what they’re going to do to our lives, we’d pay […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 20, 2014

One of the most bitter and painful religious controversies in American history was waged between 1979 and roughly 1995 in the Southern Baptist Convention. Known as the “conservative resurgence,” among other names, it was an internal political fight for control of the convention’s leadership, its agencies and its seminaries, with a conservative wing that had […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 3, 2014

What if I told you that Florida has a law that that if you use it, you increase your chances of spending time in prison and being dependent on government services for most of your life? How about if I told you that 10 other states have this same law? Well, we and they do […]

Daniel TilsonJanuary 19, 2014

With Florida public policy and lawmaking controlled by Republicans since 1996 and by Gov. Rick Scott’s posse of hardcore GOP conservatives since 2011, Martin Luther King Day 2014 seems high time to ask: What MLK would make of the state of the Sunshine State these days? It’s safe to say he wouldn’t see eye to […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 29, 2013

Human intuition — aka common sense — can be a keen judge of the obvious. For example, “coffin nails” was slang for cigarettes long before the surgeon general’s statistics proved that’s what they are. When it comes to persuading judges and politicians, it usually takes science to prove the obvious. Today, anybody with eyes and […]

Guest AuthorOctober 14, 2013

Sometimes when Florida scores a high ranking, it’s not really good news. Such is the case with Florida’s current No. 3 national ranking in human sex trafficking. Recently the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice hosted a one-day Summit on Human Sex Trafficking to highlight a growing problem. The public needs to become vigilant. Pimps are […]

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Image via AP.

Martin Dyckman: Our leaders fiddle (and avoid comment) while the world burns

Donovan Brown: ‘Insuring’ a brighter future for Florida property

Cary McMullen: Holding the line on higher education costs

Ed Moore: Celebrating an important birthday: Florida’s!

Daniel Tilson: Middle-class Floridians, pay attention to the 2014 legislative session

Cary McMullen: A survey of Florida Southern Baptists may surprise you

Ed Moore: We need to significantly reduce the number of high-school dropouts

Daniel Tilson: What would MLK make of Florida in 2014?

Martin Dyckman: Voter suppression aims to curb black vote, study says

Barney Bishop: Florida’s high rank in sex trafficking needs a vigilant public