Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiOctober 27, 2018

Correction: The piece when first published said we reached out for comment to the Scott campaign Friday for comment on these charges. We reached out this morning. Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday that he is returning to the campaign trail. But there are some suggestions that he never stopped, with charges that the Governor exploited storm relief for […]

Peter SchorschOctober 27, 2018

They’re inexpensive, quick and ideal for short-distance trips — and they could be coming to a Florida city near you. Dockless scooters are the latest disruptions to the continually evolving transportation industry. But the two-wheeled rides — provided by companies like Bird and Lime — aren’t yet ready for a prime-time fight in the Legislature. […]

Scott PowersOctober 26, 2018

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Gov. Rick Scott will be returning soon to the campaign trail while still making recovery efforts from Hurricane Michael his first priority, his U.S. Senate campaign announced Friday. The announcement did not say exactly when he’ll be returning to campaigning or what events might be upcoming, other than his intention to […]

Staff ReportsOctober 24, 2018

Gulf Power has beaten its estimate for returning electric power to 95 percent of its customers in the Hurricane Michael disaster zone by about 30 hours, the company announced Wednesday. That required rebuilding “a significant portion” of its grid in Bay County, where the company serves 103,000 customers, including more than 6,800 distribution poles. Following […]

Peter SchorschOctober 24, 2018

Recall last year during the cleanup of Hurricane Irma that, due to a variety of factors, debris cleanup was a mess. Pun very much intended. Irma hit the Sunshine State on the heels of Hurricane Harvey in turning the greater Houston area into a lake for weeks. The back-to-back crises meant that truckers and haulers […]

Drew WilsonOctober 23, 2018

There’s light at the end of the tunnel for the thousands of utility workers who have pitched in on Gulf Power’s efforts to get service restored in the Florida Panhandle, but for the many homes and businesses destroyed by Hurricane Michael fixing the grid won’t fix the problem. Michael left hundreds of thousands without power […]

Staff ReportsOctober 23, 2018

Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis urged financial institutions on Tuesday to waive late fees and charges for using ATMs in the Hurricane Michael impact zone, among other forms of disaster assistance. “It is absolutely essential that financial institutions support those impacted by Hurricane Michael by waiving fees and penalties to aid the victims,” Patronis said in […]

Danny McAuliffeOctober 23, 2018

Several expensive fighter jets stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base were sheltered on site instead of being moved to a different location while Hurricane Michael crept toward Florida’s Panhandle. That’s cause for concern to Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who noted that at least 17 of the 55 F-22 Raptors at the Panama City facility — almost […]

Staff ReportsOctober 22, 2018

Secretary of State Ken Detzner, Florida’s chief elections officer, sent out a reminder Monday on early voting options for the Nov. 6 general election. Voters have three ways to exercise their right to vote, he said: Voting-by-mail, early in-person voting and voting at the polls on Election Day. Gov. Rick Scott issued an executive order that […]

Blake DowlingOctober 22, 2018

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This time last week, power returned to our house in Tallahassee. A lot of communities in North Florida weren’t so lucky after Hurricane Michael. Normally, I crank out a column pretty fast about the news of the day, but I had no desire whatsoever to write about what went down last week. As I sat […]

Tag: Hurricane Michael

Ethics, election complaints question Rick Scott’s use of post-storm footage

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Is Bird the word?

Rick Scott heading back out on campaign trail

Gulf Power beats own deadline for turning lights back on

After Michael: Are we in for another truck war?

Gulf Power gives $200K to Michael relief as grid work nears finish line

Jimmy Patronis: Banks need to give a break to hurricane victims

Marco Rubio highlights need to restore fighter jets at Tyndall

After hurricane, Ken Detzner sends reminder on early voting

Blake Dowling: Reflections on the storm