A crowded race in what is essentially a new House district in North Florida is in some ways serving as an outlet for the area's frustration over its diminishing influence and the GOP's continuing interest in privatizing prisons.
The civil and criminal cases surrounding embattled former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer took another bizarre turn Thursday, with Greer's attorney and a lawyer for the party disagreeing over whether the sides are discussing a potential settlement.
Damon Chase, who represents Greer, said the two sides are still trying to hammer out a deal that would settle Greer's lawsuit against the party. Chase emailed reporters a copy of an agreement to keep those talks confidential Thursday.
"We've been talking about a settlement this whole time," Chase said.
At least 11 sitting lawmakers derive some of their income from work with firms that lobby the Legislature, according to a new report by the watchdog group Integrity Florida.
But the legislators involved say they've done nothing wrong and that their firms take pains to separate them from the daily operations of lobbying practices.
Dan Krassner, executive director of Integrity Florida, said the findings of his group's report show the need for greater transparency in the personal finances of elected officials.
The Florida Department of Education is once again dealing with the fallout from test scores and school grades, this time after admitting that dozens of grades released earlier this month were mistaken.
In all, 213 schools and nine districts had to have their grade revised as part of a "continuous review process," according to the agency. The move affects 8 percent of the schools in the state. All of the scores increased by a single letter grade.
As part of her defense in a criminal trial, a former aide to Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll said she caught the lieutenant governor in "a compromising position" with another aide shortly before being fired last year.
The allegations are part of the ongoing prosecution of Carletha Cole, a former aide to Carroll who shared a recording of a conversation with Carroll's chief of staff with a reporter for the Florida Times-Union after she was fired.
Cole has been charged with disclosing that recorded conversation.
Sen. Arthenia Joyner and a pair of voting-rights organizations have filed an administrative challenge to the state's decision to push ahead with a new elections law in 62 of Florida's 67 counties.
The filing, which the groups announced Monday, is the latest chapter in an ongoing legal saga over who will be allowed to vote in the state's elections and what the rules will be for casting ballots.
