Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaDecember 30, 2016

From algebra to Zika, 2016 brought a plethora of material to the Capitol Press Corps. Trying to pick the top state government stories is a subjective pursuit, to say the least, but here are the FloridaPolitics.com picks for the passing year. In (kind of) chronological order: — Kevin McCarty ousted as state Insurance Commissioner, replaced by […]

Scott PowersDecember 16, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott called on Visit Florida’s Executive Director Will Seccombe to resign Friday afternoon, continuing a bloodbath at the pseudo-state agency that saw two other top executives fired earlier in the fallout from how it handled a marketing contract with Miami rapper superstar Pitbull. In a letter the governor sent to Visit Florida’s board […]

Scott PowersDecember 16, 2016

Florida’s beleaguered tourism promoter has fired two of its top executives in the wake of revelations and criticism of a $1 million contract with Miami rapper Pitbull, an action that Gov. Rick Scott said was a matter of holding people accountable. Scott confirmed Friday morning in Eatonville that Visit Florida’s President Will Seccombe has fired Chief Operating Officer […]

Peter SchorschDecember 16, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott has confirmed the firings of Chief Operating Officer Vangie McCorvey and Chief Marketing Officer Paul Phipps at Visit Florida, the state’s tourism agency. Scott was in Orlando Friday to release the latest unemployment figures. CEO Will Seccombe suddenly postponed a quarterly staff meeting scheduled for Friday morning to the afternoon. Speculation was that he was heading to the Governor’s Office […]

Joe HendersonDecember 16, 2016

There has been a lot to like about the tone new House Speaker Richard Corcoran has set in Tallahassee. There is a new emphasis on ethics and disclosure of how the people’s representatives do their business — and more importantly who they do it for. We all benefit from that. That includes, especially, Corcoran’s insistence […]

Florence SnyderDecember 15, 2016

With 11 shopping days ‘til Christmas, Yahoo dropped a lump of coal into the stockings of 1 billion of its users with news that their accounts had been “breached.” That’s tech-speak for “bad guys forged your cookies” — and they are not talking about the sweets you leave next to Santa’s glass of milk. Worse, […]

Scott PowersDecember 15, 2016

In a surprise move, Miami rapper Pitbull released his entire controversial contract with Visit Florida this morning by posting it onto a tweet Thursday, revealing the breadth of duties he’d signed onto as a celebrity tourism ambassador for the state, and Florida’s fee for his service — $1 million per year. The move comes just […]

Scott PowersDecember 13, 2016

Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran sued PDR Productions Inc. Tuesday for a judge’s permission to publicly release documents involved in the Visit Florida deal used to hire Miami rapper Pitbull to promote Florida tourism. At issue is Corcoran’s concern that Visit Florida deals — done increasingly in secret — may require deeper scrutiny in how it’s spending state […]

Jim RosicaOctober 21, 2015

A South Florida lawmaker wants the official symbol of New Year’s Eve celebrations in the state to be “The Big Orange.” State Sen. Gwen Margolis, a Miami-Dade Democrat, filed her bill (SB 606) on Wednesday. As the legislation explains, the Big Orange – a 35-foot-wide, 2,000-pound, “LED-lighted icon” – was created 30 years ago “to ignite the […]

Guest AuthorMarch 11, 2014

I know how I am going to sound. Really, I do. And I hate it. When I was younger, I always vowed that when I reached my current age (mid-40s), I would never be that guy. But I must face the fact that I am indeed turning into that guy. Seriously, what’s wrong with kids’ […]

Tag: Pitbull

Jim Rosica’s review of top state government stories in 2016

Visit Florida housecleaning continues: Rick Scott calls on chief Will Seccombe to resign, board to publish business

Rick Scott says Visit Florida firings are holding people accountable

Visit Florida axes top officials after Pitbull controversy

Richard Corcoran battle over Pitbull, Visit Florida contract sets the right tone

Christmas is a-‘comin’ and the geese are gettin’ hacked

Pitbull releases $1M Visit Florida contract on Twitter; state suit still pending

Florida House sues over Visit Florida-Pitbull deal documents

Look out Times Square Ball, here comes the Big Orange

Tom Cavanagh: Is today’s music too obscene, or have I become ‘that guy’?