Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschDecember 28, 2017

Florida and Airbnb are making an excellent pair, as a new report shows users of the global vacation rental website had a significant role in the state’s record-setting tourism year. In 2017, nearly 40,000 Florida Airbnb hosts earned a combined $450 million from approximately 2.7 million guests, according to company figures released Thursday. That is […]

Peter SchorschDecember 26, 2017

Tampa residents really like Bob Buckhorn. A new citywide poll is showing three-quarters of Tampa voters approve of the mayor’s job performance — and more than half will support a mayor like Buckhorn, one who will continue his policies. They also favor Tampa developing a citywide rail system to ease traffic congestion, paid for by taxpayers. […]

Jim RosicaDecember 26, 2017

Spoiler alert: If you’re a regular of this site, and reading this story, you can guess what the #1 pick is. Otherwise, 2017 still offered a bounty of material to Tallahassee’s reporting ranks. We still chuckle at the uninitiated who ask, “What do you write about when the Legislature isn’t in session?” Without further ado, […]

Peter SchorschDecember 16, 2017

Some send letters to Congress, others pray. When it comes to DACA, some Floridians do both. DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is the “government program that protects young undocumented immigrants from deportation,” as NBC News explains it. In Florida, the effort to push Congress to pass a replacement for the Obama-era program was […]

Danny McAuliffeDecember 14, 2017

Get ready, Florida. Devastating storms like Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria are the new normal. At least that’s what Craig Fugate, who led FEMA under President Barack Obama, and other partners in a campaign are saying to raise awareness and involvement in a new age of hurricane safety. “Irma made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane […]

Peter SchorschDecember 10, 2017

A coalition of progressive and open government organizations is again taking the state’s Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) to task, this time for “glaring examples of rule violations” and calling the panel’s conduct “a travesty.” Leaders of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, the Florida First Amendment Foundation, the League of Women Voters Florida and […]

Danny McAuliffeDecember 4, 2017

A proposal seeking to fund affordable housing programs in the wakes of Hurricanes Irma and Maria could be underfunded by Gov. Rick Scott’s proposed budget. The policy recommendation, submitted by Altamonte Springs Republican state Rep. Bob Cortes, was mentioned in passing Monday at the House Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness meeting. Cortes’ proposal […]

Peter SchorschDecember 2, 2017

If you fly in and out of Tallahassee International Airport (TLH) this holiday season, you may have cause to panic. A staffing snafu has left thousands of American Airlines flights without pilots and in danger of cancellation. But the airline is reassuring passengers that their holiday season travel plans are still good to go. While […]

Michael MolineNovember 30, 2017

Pay rates for insurance adjusters jumped by up to 30 percent as Citizens Property Insurance Corp. scrambled to respond to claims following Hurricane Irma, the carrier’s Consumer Service Committee learned Thursday. The hikes were prompted by competition for trained adjusters with Texas, still recovering from Hurricane Harvey when Irma hit Florida on Sept. 10. Texas […]

Jim RosicaNovember 29, 2017

A member of the Constitution Revision Commission says he’s become the victim of a “smear campaign” after proposing a constitutional amendment creating a “bill of rights” for nursing home and assisted living facility residents. On Wednesday, Conwell Hooper, head of an Atlanta-based group called the American Senior Alliance, issued a press release that he had […]

Tag: Hurricane Irma
Crowds gather to see Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. (Gabrielle Russon)

Airbnb a key player in record-setting year of Florida tourism

New survey shows Tampa voters really like Bob Buckhorn, police

Jim Rosica’s review of top state government stories of 2017

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Praying for DACA?

Former FEMA admin: Life-threatening storms are the ‘new normal’

Takeaways from Tallahassee — A ‘travesty’ in Tallahassee?

Hurricane proposal could clash with Rick Scott’s budget

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Stuck in TLH with you?

Citizens paid premiums to entice adjusters after Hurricane Irma

Brecht Heuchan says ethics complaint is part of ‘smear campaign