Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Phil AmmannAugust 31, 2017

Thursday, Florida’s University System Board of Governors reviewed its legislative budget requests for the 2018-19 fiscal year which will be sent for consideration by the governor and the Legislature. LobbyTools reports that requests for performance-based funding will increase by $100 million in state funds – totaling $690 million. The state and the institution’s investments would amount to […]

Scott PowersJune 9, 2017

The budget package deal that gave Gov. Rick Scott the $85 million he wants for a Florida Job Growth Grant Fund also restored cut funding sought by Florida colleges and universities for 17 different projects, including funding for medical marijuana research. The research money, $1.69 million will go to the University of Florida Health Center […]

Scott PowersJune 8, 2017

Lodging alternative marketing service Airbnb released figures Thursday that shows families and friends of college graduates piled into vacation rental homes from Pensacola to Miami Guests booking rooms in Airbnb-marketed vacation rental homes more than doubled in Gainesville and Tallahassee during the University of Florida and Florida A&M University commencement weeks in April. Tallahassee also […]

Scott PowersJanuary 25, 2017

Asked to prepare for 10 percent budget cuts, Florida’s state university and college leaders pledged to try to avoid affecting students but told the House Subcommittee on Higher Education Appropriations Friday the impacts would still be profound. “The target reductions are set at 10 percent for each entity,” Subcommittee Chairman Larry Ahern said after spelling […]

Peter SchorschSeptember 15, 2016

A spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Scott wouldn’t confirm or deny the governor had urged University of West Florida trustees not to pick state Sen. Don Gaetz as the school’s next president. UWF Board of Trustees Chair Lewis Bear said during Thursday’s meeting his board had been “interfered with,” that certain people in “high office” had tried to intimidate them […]

Associated PressAugust 17, 2016

State Sen. Don Gaetz wants to be the next president of the University of West Florida. Media outlets in the Florida Panhandle report that the Niceville Republican is among more than 70 applicants for the job. Gaetz is serving his second term in the Florida Senate and faces term limits in November. He served as […]

Shannon NickinsonMay 9, 2016

A child’s work is play, the saying goes. Which is why adults are always trying to sneak learning into places where kids are already having fun. That’s part of the theory behind the Story Walk at Bryan Park in Northeast Pensacola. The park is built around the Tryon Branch of the West Florida Regional Public […]

Jim RosicaApril 19, 2016

Senate President-designate Joe Negron is asking: What do state university students need? Had Negron stuck around a few minutes longer Monday on one leg of his “state university listening tour,” he might have heard one answer. Negron is barnstorming the state with fellow senators and other state officials, hitting 12 institutions of higher learning in four […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterApril 18, 2016

Senate President-Designate Joe Negron is heading back to college. Negron kicks off a four-day listening tour of Florida’s State University System on Monday. The Stuart Republican is expected to visit all 12 of the state universities during the listening tour. “Over the last several years, I have had the opportunity to discuss with fellow senators […]

Shannon NickinsonApril 5, 2016

Sometimes it’s not about having all the answers — it’s about knowing where to go to find them. The Golden Apple roundtable is a gathering of teachers of the year from Escambia Schools. It’s a forum where the best and brightest minds on the front lines of education in Escambia County get together to share […]

Tag: University of West Florida
Image via DFS

State University Board of Governors discuss 2018 budget, praise ‘remarkable progress’

Medical marijuana research, 16 other higher-ed programs restored in budget deal

College graduates’ families, friends pump up Airbnb bookings

Universities, colleges paint depressing picture of dealing with 10 percent cuts

Rick Scott won’t say whether he lobbied against Don Gaetz as UWF prez

Don Gaetz applies to be UWF president

Shannon Nickinson: Program takes aim at kids’ weight, readiness for kindergarten

What Joe Negron needed to hear during his “State University Listening Tour”

Joe Negron kicks off State University listening tour

Shannon Nickinson: Communities need to make sure kids are ready for kindergarten