Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschOctober 7, 2017

Florida State University President John Thrasher announced the members of the President’s Advisory Panel on University Namings and Recognitions, according to a news release. “I want to thank the members of this panel for their willingness to take on this important matter,” Thrasher said in a statement. “I expect them to be deliberate, to be thoughtful and to […]

Peter SchorschSeptember 30, 2017

Former Congresswoman Gwen Graham of Tallahassee, a Democratic candidate for governor, said she’s filed additional public record requests “for all communications” to and from Gov. Rick Scott via his private cellphone about the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills nursing home. Graham also seeks “all communications in the Governor’s Office, the Agency for Healthcare Administration and […]

Peter SchorschSeptember 23, 2017

The first sentence of a Reason blog post this week got House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s attention: “Mere hours after Hurricane Irma, Miami-Dade County was ticketing residents for building code violations on their wrecked properties.” The House’s graphics team soon was on the case, producing an infographic based on the story, first reported by WSVN-TV. Corcoran tweeted it with the message: “Revealed: […]

Peter SchorschSeptember 16, 2017

Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera wants to “help you.” With what exactly, we don’t know. Lopez-Cantera filed papers with the state on Sept. 5 forming a new political committee called “Helping You.” The paperwork was sparing in detail, listing the committee’s statement of purpose as “political” and saying “none at this time” for any candidates or individuals the […]

Peter SchorschSeptember 9, 2017

Publisher’s Note — As Hurricane Irma looks more likely to track up the middle of the state, we’re publishing an abbreviated version of “Takeaways from Tallahassee” this week so staff and readers have more time to prepare for the storm. Be safe, everyone. — We all need some non-hurricane news, so how about a lawsuit […]

Peter SchorschSeptember 2, 2017

The mother of a Tallahassee elementary schooler is suing the local school board after a teacher slammed a “timeout room” door on her special-needs son’s hand, breaking his finger, according to her complaint. The case is being handled by an attorney for Morgan & Morgan, the statewide personal injury law firm founded by Orlando lawyer […]

Phil AmmannAugust 26, 2017

An Orlando entrepreneur is now demanding a jury trial in his suit against Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which he claims she forces businesses to donate millions of dollars to unregistered charities as part of settlements in consumer protection cases. John D. Smith, who invented Storm Stoppers plastic panels, marketed as a “plywood alternative” to protect windows during storms, […]

Peter SchorschAugust 19, 2017

And now for some good news out of Tallahassee, the Florida Lottery this week announced, “it has reached the $32 billion mark in contributions for the state’s” education fund. Maybe Lottery Secretary Jim Poppell’s ‘housecleaning’ is paying off? “We are extremely proud of this achievement and what it means for Florida’s students and schools,” Poppell said in a […]

Peter SchorschAugust 13, 2017

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A federal court’s ruling this week in Kansas has bolstered Florida’s lawsuit against the feds over U.S. savings bonds it holds as unclaimed property. In 2016, then-Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater sued the feds for over $1 billion — the amount of all the bonds he held as unclaimed property. He said the U.S. Treasury […]

Peter SchorschAugust 5, 2017

Rather than adding yet another specialty license plate to the state’s plethora of tags, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is coming out with a new twist on an old favorite. The department on Friday announced it was releasing a “newly redesigned Florida Panthers (hockey club) specialty license plate,” to be “delivered to […]

Takeaways from Tallahassee — FSU takes on campus names, markers

Takeaways from Tallahassee — The politics of nursing home deaths

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Fences make happy code enforcers

Takeaways from Tallahassee — CLC’s mysterious new PC

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Be safe, everyone

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Lawsuit: Teacher breaks kid’s finger

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Back to court

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Lottery cleans up after ‘housecleaning’

Takeaways from Tallahassee — A billion-dollar fight over bonds

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Panthers prowl with new tag