Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Florence SnyderOctober 10, 2017

Eleven days ago, Gov. Rick Scott dropped a news release proposing a 10 percent pay raise for juvenile detention and juvenile probation officers. Today, the Miami Herald dropped its comprehensive carpet bomb on Scott’s Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). Maybe it’s a coincidence. The Herald’s book-length investigative series is a stomach-churning compilation of examples of […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 20, 2017

Nearly nine years after former Nasdaq chair Bernie Madoff was arrested for running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, his victims may finally start receiving compensation within the next few months. More than $4 billion sits in a fund created in 2012 to repay Madoff’s victims in one of the biggest fraud cases ever. The fund consists […]

Mitch PerryJuly 17, 2017

Illeana Ros-Lehtinen’s decision to not seek another term representing Florida’s 27th Congressional District has spurred six Democrats to enter the 2018 contest. Among those Democrats is Michael A. Hepburn, a senior academic adviser for the School of Business at the University of Miami. He lost a 2014 primary election against Daphne Campbell for the state House. […]

Peter SchorschJuly 13, 2017

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It was a moment Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones remembered clearly — even though she got it completely wrong. Talking with the Miami Herald in 2017, Jones recounted a visit to Graceville Correctional Facility two years earlier; Graceville is a North Florida correctional facility operated by Geo Group, a Boca Raton-based private company […]

Mitch PerryJune 16, 2017

It was a tough room for House Speaker Richard Corcoran. Speaking before an unfriendly crowd of public school supporters in Tampa, Corcoran doubled down on his support of an education bill that creates a new system of charter schools to replace underperforming public schools. On Thursday, Corcoran stood beside Rick Scott in Orlando as the Governor signed the controversial […]

Peter SchorschJune 15, 2017

Earlier this month, FloridaPolitics.com reported on the outpouring of community support for the “signature bridge” design chosen for the new I-395 overpass through Miami’s Overtown neighborhood. Despite protests by some with a political agenda, the drumbeat of support for Archer Western-de Moya’s winning design continues to grow in intensity. After more than a quarter-century of discussion […]

Mitch PerryJune 6, 2017

Miami Beach House Democrat David Richardson will run for the Congressional District 27 seat being vacated next year by Republican Illeana Ros-Lehtinen. Richardson has served in the Florida House since 2012, when he became the first openly-gay lawmaker elected in Florida. He had been considering entering the race after Ros-Lehtinen announced in late April that she would step […]

Jim RosicaJune 5, 2017

The state’s anti-gambling expansion group is pushing back against comments that it’s “misinformed” about casino gambling not being a “meaningful attraction for Florida tourism.” Steven Norton, a longtime gambling executive and consultant, linked to Nick Sortal‘s Friday column for the Miami Herald in Norton’s Monday email roundup of the gambling scene in the South. “As I survey the scene […]

Peter SchorschJune 2, 2017

Bridges have one purpose, to get people safely from one place to another. Being aesthetically pleasing is just a bonus. Drama should not be part of the deal. Yet no bridge has come as much drama as the proposed I-395 overpass through Miami’s Overtown neighborhood. It’s time to end the spectacle and move forward. The […]

Mitch PerryMay 31, 2017

Sarasota Republican Vern Buchanan wants the Department of Justice to begin paying the victims of Bernie Madoff‘s multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme with some of the recovered funds. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Buchanan points out that the victims of Madoff’s crime have yet to receive a penny from the $4 billion victim fund […]

Tag: Miami Herald

Florence Snyder: Rick Scott’s juvenile justice budget, a wet bandage for Stage 4 cancer

DOJ says Bernie Madoff victims are finally about to be compensated

Congressional hopeful Michael Hepburn boasts of already receiving more than 1,700 contributions

How Julie Jones got it completely wrong with GEO Group ‘Continuum of Care’

In Tampa, Richard Corcoran faces hostile crowd angry about school bill

United in purpose, Miami’s Overtown says ‘move on’ with I-395 project

David Richardson seeks to bring his brand of reform politics to D.C.

No Casinos responds to criticism it’s ‘misinformed’ about casino gambling

Time to move forward with the Miami I-395 project, reconnect a divided Overtown

Vern Buchanan tells Justice Department ‘pay up’ for Bernie Madoff victims