Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Scott PowersJanuary 21, 2017

By the end of this year Orlando’s gleaming new $211 million train station should be virtually finished at Orlando International Airport, but it may be many years before trains start rolling in – if at all. The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority is building a train station based on a vision of the future in which […]

Associated PressJanuary 19, 2017

The week after Donald Trump was elected president, Dr. Mai-Phuong Nguyen and two dozen other Vietnamese-Americans active in liberal causes gathered in a circle of folding chairs, consoling one another about an America almost beyond comprehension. Now, days before Trump takes the oath of office, Nguyen sits in a restaurant booth in Orange County’s neon-lit […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 12, 2017

Central Florida Republican Rep. Mike Miller is calling for part of an Orange County highway to be renamed in honor of the late golfer Arnold Palmer. Miller, who represents Winter Park, filed HB 225 this week, which would call a portion of State Road 408 between Kirkman Road and Clarke Road “Arnold Palmer Expressway.” A […]

Scott PowersJanuary 4, 2017

Wednesday is the day that Orange County’s voters figured they had turned their sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, clerk of courts, supervisor of elections and comptroller into non-partisan, term-limited county officials – but it’s not happening. And it is unclear if it will ever happen. Late Tuesday Judge Bob Leblanc of Florida’s 9th Circuit Court […]

Scott PowersDecember 20, 2016

The number of visitors to Florida choosing to stay in private homes through the Airbnb home-sharing app continues to explode and has topped 1.5 million for the 2016 year, the company announced Tuesday. With Florida attracting more than 100 million visitors a year Airbnb still represents a tiny fraction of the market. But it now […]

Scott PowersDecember 2, 2016

Orlando has been named “Gay City of the Year” by the gay travel site GayCities.com, which praised the City Beautiful for its outpouring of compassion and unity following last summer’s horrific massacre at the Pulse nightclub and then noted Orlando had been a strong city for gays all along. “GayCities honors the city & community […]

Scott PowersDecember 2, 2016

The horrific Pulse nightclub massacre, the specter of Zika virus, and the uncertainty of politics and national policies aren’t slowing down tourists coming to Orlando. At least not enough to hurt. The Orange County Tourist Development Council received sparkling reports Tuesday showing record receipts from tourist taxes in the past fiscal year and forecasts that […]

Scott PowersNovember 29, 2016

A $5 million plan to add mid-block crosswalks and other improvements to pedestrian and bicycle safety in the major roads serving the University of Central Florida was unanimously approved Tuesday by the Orange County Board of Commissioners. The plan aims at making sidewalks, bike paths and crosswalks more appealing and safer for the 50,000 UCF […]

Scott PowersNovember 28, 2016

Orange County planners are set to present their proposal Tuesday for helping make the University of Central Florida a safer and easier place to walk or bike around. The proposal comes out of a two-year Pedestrian/Bicycle Safety Study effort to try to address the difficulties faced by tens of thousands of college students and university […]

Scott PowersNovember 28, 2016

Lew Oliver has chaired the Orange County Republicans for decades with little serious opposition but now the leader of Donald Trump‘s campaign in the county, Randy Ross, is taking on the venerable chairman. Ross, 51, of Orlando, declared his candidacy over the weekend for chairmanship of the Orange County Republican Executive Committee after a general […]

Tag: Orange County

Orlando is building the train station, not sure when or if trains will arrive

Donald Trump’s America: Families differ as Ronald Reagan country changes

Mike Miller files bill to rename Orange County Hwy. ‘Arnold Palmer Expressway’

Orange County’s charter amendments falling silently; despite election, no changes in county offices

Airbnb housing in Florida doubles again in 2016, reaches 1.5 million

Orlando named ‘Gay City of the Year’ by gay travel site

Orange County and Orlando get rosy tourist numbers, forecasts

Orange County Commission approves UCF pedestrian plan

Orange County pedestrian safety plan set for UCF area

Donald Trump’s local chair Randy Ross challenges Lew Oliver for Orange County GOP leadership