Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanMarch 9, 2015

One of the truthful boasts in Gov. Rick Scott’s curiously brief speech to the Legislature last week may not have been good news to all who heard it. “We are at a 43-year low in our crime rate,” he said. In fact, by 2013 crime in Florida had fallen 60 percent from its high point […]

Diane RobertsMarch 9, 2015

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE–You think you live in a representative democracy. You don’t. You live on a sugar plantation. You call it “Florida.” And while you may reside far from the muck farms and wouldn’t know a cane field from a pawpaw patch, it doesn’t matter. Your state government works for Big Sugar. In 2012 and 2014, […]

Bruce RitchieMarch 8, 2015

Florida’s beekeepers say honey bees play a sweet role in agriculture and the economy but they need help – and state funding – to maintain a healthy population. The Florida State Beekeepers Association is requesting $3.5 million for an apiary research center at the University of Florida. Florida is the third largest honey-producing state, with […]

Bruce RitchieMarch 8, 2015

Florida’s beekeepers say honey bees play a sweet role in agriculture and the economy but they need help – and state funding – to maintain a healthy population. The Florida State Beekeepers Association is requesting $3.5 million for an apiary research center at the University of Florida. Florida is the third largest honey-producing state, with […]

Guest AuthorMarch 8, 2015

Florida’s educational ship of state hit an iceberg last week. By the end of the week, Education Commissioner Pam Stewart was insisting that it was just a “small gash” and that the problem had been fixed. Legislators are rushing in to change the route and even suggesting that the ship return to port. The voyage […]

Guest AuthorMarch 6, 2015

For decades casino lobbyists have tried to turn Florida into Las Vegas. But they have been turned back time and again by voters, legislators, governors and business groups that understand the toxic nature of gambling economics. But gambling lobbyists are back again, this time pushing for the biggest expansion of gambling in Florida’s history. There […]

Daniel TilsonMarch 5, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott wrote a letter to President Obama this week. Isn’t that special? Well, yes and no. Yes, because it’s something that doesn’t happen every day. In a different world it might actually hold some promise of a constructive new dialogue beginning between presumably the most powerful man in Florida, and the most powerful […]

Daniel TilsonMarch 3, 2015

Once again, Rick Scott owes George Orwell a debt of gratitude. Without the classic novel “1984” and its primer on political doublespeak, the governor’s State of the State speech this week would have been way more…let’s say transparent, since that’s a word repeatedly and ridiculously run through Scott’s Orwellian propaganda grinder recently. My dictionary defines […]

Julie DelegalMarch 3, 2015

And you thought the Obamacare web rollout had problems. Computer malfunctions, brand new curriculum standards and unparalleled stress have characterized the debut of the new Florida Standards Assessments. But could Florida’s testing debacle be alleviated by a stroke of the governor’s pen? On Monday, 36 of Florida’s 67 counties – more than half – experienced […]

Martin DyckmanMarch 2, 2015

A bit of ancient wisdom in the legal profession holds that if the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. And if both the facts and law are against you? Argue jurisdiction: tell the court that it has no business hearing the case. Secretary of State […]

Tag: Gov. Rick Scott
Now it's time for Florida to start cleaning up.

Martin Dyckman: Drop in crime bad news for Florida's private prison biz

Diane Roberts: Florida Legislature in the sticky embrace of Big Shug

Bruce Ritchie: Beekeepers stung by 2014 veto, try again for research site

Bruce Ritchie: Beekeepers stung by 2014 veto try again for research site

Catherine Martinez: Florida's Titanic testing journey

John Sowinski: Dana Young's gambling bill encourages parasite casinos

Daniel Tilson: Gov. Scott's latest tactics in 'Operation Obamacare Fail'

Daniel Tilson: Gov. Scott touts Florida 'Exceptionalism' full of exceptions

Julie Delegal: Gov. Scott, give kids a break from computer-plagued tests

Martin Dyckman: Rick Scott is rich, and the disclosure law is poor