Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschSeptember 13, 2016

Labor Day has come and gone, and with it, any sense of the summer doldrums. Election Day is nigh. The most tumultuous election season in a generation is now heading into the homestretch. So once again, let’s ask some questions, the answers to which may hold the fate of the state, and even the nation. How bad will the […]

Scott PowersSeptember 12, 2016

Florida’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson declared Monday the Senate is close to another Zika deal, and expressed urgency that this one needs to go through cleanly. “I am here to share with the Senate that I think we have finally found a path forward to fund the fight against Zika,” Nelson announced on the […]

Joe HendersonSeptember 12, 2016

There was an interesting news release Monday on the Florida Department of Health website. The agency issued a lengthy rebuttal to a Miami Herald report last month that its data on the state’s Zika problem was wrong, late or both. “This story is misleading and the claims made in it are inaccurate,” the agency said. […]

Associated PressSeptember 12, 2016

Backlash over aerial spraying of the insecticide naled in South Beach is prompting other Florida residents to question how it’s used. Miami-Dade County plans another spraying of naled early Sunday over South Beach, the first place on the U.S. mainland where the Zika virus was isolated in mosquito samples. The first round of aerial spraying […]

Associated PressSeptember 10, 2016

Centers-for-Disease-Control-and-Prevention-Director-Thomas-Frieden.jpg

The head of the government’s fight against the Zika virus said that “we are now essentially out of money” and warned that the country is “about to see a bunch of kids born with microcephaly” in the coming months. Friday’s warning from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Thomas Frieden came as lawmakers start […]

Associated PressSeptember 10, 2016

Aerial insecticide spraying to combat mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus is underway in Miami Beach. A plane carrying the insecticide naled released the spray over the targeted area before dawn Friday. The next round is scheduled for 6 a.m. Sunday. Some residents oppose the spraying, citing the potential for harmful effects. But county officials say […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterSeptember 9, 2016

The trip is back on. Gov. Rick Scott will head to Washington D.C., next week to push for Zika funding. The governor’s office said Scott will travel to the nation’s capital on Sept. 13 and 14. The Naples Republican was scheduled to travel to D.C. earlier this week to meet with members of Congress and ask […]

Guest AuthorSeptember 9, 2016

Last week, the Senate again blocked $1.1 billion in desperately needed funding to help research, prevent, and fight the spread of the Zika virus — all for political reasons. The last time I checked, members of Congress are sent to Washington with the duty to protect the American people, not play political games with their […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterSeptember 8, 2016

Sen. Marco Rubio is taking steps to make sure U.S. troops are protected from the Zika virus. The Miami Republican introduced legislation Wednesday to provide troops with additional resources to protect against the spread of Zika. Among other things, the bill — dubbed the Servicemembers’ Zika Protection Act — would make funding available to send insect […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 8, 2016

To begin with today, props to the Tampa Bay Times’ Anastasia Dawson for her portrayal on the very short life of Levonia Riggins, the 22-year-old black man shot and killed last week by a white Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputy because … well, because they said he went for a gun when he was confronted in […]

Tag: Zika

7 big questions facing Florida politics heading into the fall

Bill Nelson: Senate is close to another deal on Zika funding

Joe Henderson: Cutting through the maze of political blame over Zika

Florida residents outside Zika zones express pesticide fears

CDC Director: ‘Essentially out of money’ to fight Zika

Aerial spraying for Zika virus begins in Miami Beach

Rick Scott headed to D.C. to talk Zika next week

Dennis Ross: Put political agenda aside, Congress must pass Zika funding now

Marco Rubio pushes legislation to protect servicemen and women from Zika

Mitch Perry Report for 9.8.16 — The reality of our binary choice for POTUS