Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Terry RoenNovember 8, 2016

Residents of Key Haven voted decisively against a referendum to allow genetically modified mosquitoes to be released in a test to control the spread of Zika virus, while residents of Monroe County voted to approve the test. The vote is non-binding and the district’s board of commissioners will have the final say on the test. Key […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterNovember 8, 2016

Presidential races get all the attention, but it’s the folks down ballot that make the real decisions. In the Sunshine State, there’s no shortage of high intensity — and sometimes high drama — battles for office. And we aren’t talking about the races for state House and Senate. There have been allegations of election fraud in a […]

Associated PressOctober 20, 2016

The government on Wednesday recommended Zika testing for all pregnant women who recently spent time anywhere in Florida’s Miami-Dade County. The county is the only area in the continental U.S. where mosquitoes have been spreading the virus since the summer. Testing is recommended for pregnant women who lived in — or visited — Miami-Dade since […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterOctober 13, 2016

The Department of Health has identified a new transmission zone for locally acquired Zika. Gov. Rick Scott announced Thursday that health officials confirmed local transmissions are occurring in a small area in Miami-Dade County. The one-square mile area straddles Interstate 95 and stretches from N.W. 79th Street to the north to N.W. 63rd Street to […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 11, 2016

Even though it’s mid-October, the state of Florida continues to battle the Zika virus. And on Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott announced $7.4 million in additional state funding to Miami-Dade County to combat Zika’s spread. The money will be allocated toward mosquito control, including increased spraying of insecticide and hiring additional staff. Since June, Gov. Scott has authorized […]

Scott PowersOctober 10, 2016

Accusing his Democratic opponent U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy of lying about him, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has released a new Spanish-language TV commercial declaring, “You know me.” Yet the the commercial leaves unclear what it was that Murphy is alleged to have lied about regarding Rubio. The narrator and visuals do not make it clear if […]

Associated PressOctober 3, 2016

Just over a month ago, Miami Beach Botanical Garden was home to over 2,000 colorful, water-trapping bromeliads, some featuring red flowers that burst like fireworks from dark green spirals. Identified as breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry Zika, they’ve all been pulled out, leaving shallow depressions in flower beds and exposing irrigation lines. Walking through […]

Associated PressOctober 3, 2016

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More federal money finally is available to fight the Zika virus even as the news worsens: Babies who at first seem to have escaped its devastating hallmark defect — an abnormally small head at birth — might not be out of the woods after all. Brazilian doctors have counted a small number of babies who at birth […]

Jim RosicaOctober 1, 2016

Yet another batch of mosquitoes in Miami Beach tested positive for the Zika virus. The results were in the same location “where five other samples had previously tested positive,” the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced Saturday. The latest positive sample of Aedes aeqypti mosquitoes was from a trap located on West 49th Street in Miami […]

Joe HendersonSeptember 29, 2016

I think we have one of our first major campaign issues for the 2018 race to succeed Rick Scott as Florida’s governor. Any serious candidate who doesn’t come out strongly in favor of seriously beefing up the state Department of Environmental Protection will miss a great opportunity. In just the last couple of months alone, […]

Tag: Zika

Key Haven residents vote against mosquito test

More than just the presidency: 10 down ballot races in Florida to watch on Election Day

Zika test urged for pregnant women throughout Miami-Dade

Rick Scott identifies new Zika transmission zone in Miami-Dade County

Miami-Dade to get $7.4 million more in state money to fight Zika

Marco Rubio’s new Spanish commercial: ‘You know me’ — but what does it say about Zika-abortion issue?

Growers: Bromeliads aren’t to blame for Zika in Miami Beach

After Zika, critical to monitor babies’ health — but how long?

Still more Miami-Dade mosquitoes test positive for Zika

Joe Henderson: Issue 1 in 2018 Gov’s race, fixing Florida’s environment