Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Scott PowersOctober 5, 2016

Cautioning that “we’ve been through this before” — a reference to the dark period during and following 2004’s Hurricane Charley — Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs advised Central Florida residents Wednesday to prepare for major Hurricane Matthew damage and the prospect of several days with limited services, including power, afterwards. Jacobs was joined by U.S. Rep. John Mica […]

Associated PressMarch 14, 2016

A potentially far-reaching trial that will determine whether the Florida Legislature is shortchanging public schools is starting in a Tallahassee courtroom. In the lawsuit filed six years ago, education groups and parents from Duval and Pasco counties contend the Legislature and state officials have not provided enough money to the state’s schools as required under […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 29, 2015

Everyone wants good schools, but getting people (and politicians) to pay for them is a different matter. In St. Johns County, they may have found a way forward … despite the resistance of powerful politicians and “civic leaders” who stood in their way. In November, a referendum passed resoundingly in St. Johns County. It was […]

Melissa RossNovember 2, 2015

St. Johns County, Florida is known far and wide for its great schools. They’re so great, in fact, that everyone is moving to the county. That’s become something of a problem. Total K-12 student enrollment in St. Johns is up about 45 percent during the past decade. In that time, the district has built 11 […]

Marc YachtSeptember 9, 2015

There are more than 600,000 homeless people in the U.S. on any given night, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says. Most have shelter or some sort of transitional housing. More than a third live in cars, under bridges, in alleys, the woods, or in some other way unsheltered. The homeless have untreated […]

Jac VerSteegAugust 2, 2015

First, give Jeb Bush credit for accepting the Urban League’s invitation to speak in Fort Lauderdale on Friday. Call it a politely hostile forum. Too many other Republican candidates lacked the guts to show up. Give Bush credit also for citing examples of his leadership that could appeal to his Urban League audience. For example, […]

Jac VerSteegJune 15, 2015

“He did nothing wrong. He was afraid for his life. I commend him for his actions.” Those words were, in effect, Alberto Iber’s resignation letter. The Miami high school principal – excuse me, the former Miami high school principal – posted those fateful words online on a Miami Herald comment page. Iber was defending the […]

Guest AuthorJune 2, 2015

Put aside the politics of Florida’s healthcare reform debate for a minute, and you’ll recognize our uninsured crisis is as much a public safety problem as it is a public policy challenge. My entire professional life has been dedicated to public service and safety. Working my way up from patrolman to lieutenant over 26 years […]

Shannon NickinsonFebruary 16, 2015

Judy Bense was the one who brought it home. On Thursday, the business and educational communities got together to announce a new collaborative program called Greater Pensacola Career Pathways. The initiative is a partnership that looks at economic development through the lens of the education system with an eye toward building a strong, educated workforce […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 27, 2015

When asked his opinion about birth control, Bobby Kennedy famously said, “As the last of six children, I may have a conflict of interest.” So do I on the question of elected vs. appointed superintendent. As the first and only non-educator chosen to lead Okaloosa Schools, I freely admit I wouldn’t make the cut in […]

Tag: schools
Trump's economic policies could have a chill in mortgage rates.

Teresa Jacobs advises all to prepare for Matthew and 3 days of post-hurricane ‘in-home sheltering’

Failing grade? Trial over Florida’s schools finally starts

St. Johns County school tax referendum: the most overlooked NE Florida story of the year?

St. Johns County votes Tuesday on taxing explosive growth

Dr. Marc J. Yacht: Homelessness on rise as agencies go underfunded

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: The education “achievement” missing from Jeb Bush’s Urban League speech

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Miami principal inept but didn’t deserve ouster

Robert Asencio: Healthcare expansion is a public safety issue

Shannon Nickinson: Career planning starts at 13, not 23

Don Gaetz: Public must demand better of superintendents, appointed or elected