There's comfort in familiar faces, and a couple of well-known people were floating through the world of Florida politics this week, either transitioning into or making the case for new jobs.
Influential Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, continued his quest to take over as president at Florida State University, Thrasher's alma mater. Outgoing Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, was tapped by Gov. Rick Scott for a seat on the Public Service Commission. And Captain Citrus was joining forces with the Avengers -- with adventures that could serve as the plot line for a future installment in the comic-book movie franchise.
But not everything in Florida agriculture was as smooth as the spandex on the good captain's suit. The state's nascent medical marijuana industry is having some trouble clearing the last few weeds from the regulations that will govern the growing of pot in Florida. That's the thing about going with something that's not as familiar: Innovation can be tricky.
MEET AND GREET(?)
It's no secret to those who have watched the machinations of the FSU presidential hunt that Thrasher might be the front-runner among search-committee members and perhaps the least-favored candidate among faculty and students at the school. This week, Thrasher headed directly into the line of fire, meeting (as other candidates did) with the people who have questioned his credentials.
The gathering was successful on at least one level, Thrasher said -- it showed critics that the chairman of the Senate Rules Committee and chairman of Scott's re-election effort is, in fact, not the devil.
"Talking to people helps. They realize I don't have horns," Thrasher said during a break between groups. "I am who I am, and I think they're beginning to understand that."
As for total acceptance -- well, that appears to be a ways off.
"He's saying that nothing in the past matters regarding his votes, but he keeps mentioning his (legislative) funding for the medical school," said Michael Buchler, associate professor of music theory. "He can't have it both ways."
The series of forums, while at times testy, were predominantly civil and also included support from faculty and students.
Still, at one point Thrasher threatened to walk out due to heckling from a small group, mostly graduate assistant students, seated in the front during the faculty forum, while he was acknowledging a need to learn more about climate change.
"If I'm going to get heckled from the front row, by people laughing and making jokes about it, then I'm not going to stay. I don't think it's fair to you and me," Thrasher said, breaking from his response regarding climate change.
Three other finalists are seeking the position: Michele G. Wheatly, who until June had been provost at West Virginia University; Colorado State University System Chancellor Michael V. Martin; and Richard B. Marchase, University of Alabama at Birmingham vice president for research and economic development.
Using feedback from the forums this week, the university's 27-member Presidential Search Advisory Committee is scheduled Monday to make a recommendation to the university's trustees.
While Thrasher being selected for the position is widely expected, the formal naming of the next president will take place Tuesday afternoon. The presidential search is listed among the first agenda items for a meeting of the university's board of trustees.
POLITICAL PATRONIS-AGE?
Meanwhile, an even longer-term supporter of Scott has already locked up a job for the next few years, as Patronis prepares to take a seat on the PSC.
Scott also reappointed Commissioner Julie Brown to a four-year term on the panel that regulates utilities. Both appointments take effect in January, when the current terms of Brown and outgoing Commissioner Eduardo Balbis expire.
Patronis, 42, was already scheduled to leave the House in November because of term limits. He's vice president of the family-run Captain Anderson's Restaurant and was one of the first lawmakers to endorse Scott's upstart bid for the GOP nomination for governor in 2010.
"Representative Patronis has faithfully served Florida families during his years of service in the Florida House of Representatives,'' Scott said in a prepared statement. "I am confident that Jimmy will make an excellent addition to the Public Service Commission as he continues to put Florida families first."
Brown, 39, an attorney from Tampa, has served on the Public Service Commission since January 2011. Balbis declined to seek another term.
Patronis wasn't the only political or government hand in the running. Former state Rep. Dave Murzin, R-Pensacola, was among the candidates, as was Patrick Sheehan, director of the Office of Energy in the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Public Service Commission members are paid an annual salary of $131,036, according to the state budget.
Appointments to the Public Service Commission can have far-reaching implications, as the panel approves utility rates and, in recent years, has grappled with thorny issues such as the costs of nuclear-power projects. In three earlier selections to the five-member panel, Scott reappointed Art Graham, Ronald Brise and Lisa Edgar.
Patronis is Scott's first new appointee to the board; the other four members were originally selected by former Govs. Jeb Bush or Charlie Crist, now Scott's opponent in the November election. But the incumbent has gotten to appoint or reappoint every board member during his term.
OF POT AND PODS:
It didn't take long for the newest draft of Florida's oft-rewritten rules of the road for the medical marijuana industry to draw a challenge. In fact, it took less than a week, after a Monday challenge by Miami-based Costa Farms opened up a battle over the regulations.
The company, the state's largest nursery, filed the challenge with the state Division of Administrative Hearings, questioning the proposed use of a lottery to pick five licensees -- one in each region of the state -- to grow, process and distribute the non-euphoric strains of cannabis legalized by the Legislature and Scott this spring.
The complaint contends the proposed rule is also invalid because of another component that restricts qualified nurseries to applying only once for a license but allows other entities that partner with nurseries to make multiple applications.
"The way the rules are written today, essentially you have given out-of-state actors multiple bites of the apple, whereas the nurseries that are the ones that are prescribed in the bill as being the sole obligants only have one shot at it," Costa Farms Vice President Peter Freyre told The News Service of Florida in an interview.
The challenge argues that Florida's new law approving strains of marijuana low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and high in cannabadiol, or CBD, did not authorize the Department of Health to use a lottery to grant the licenses. The complaint also accuses the agency of contradicting the Legislature's intent regarding who can get one of the highly sought-after licenses.
Other challenges soon followed, including one from Plants of Ruskin and one from the Florida Medical Cannabis Association.
TO THE RESCUE:
Need a peace mission in Florida's agriculture industry? This looks like a job for ... Captain Citrus. The new and improved Captain Citrus at that.
The once-rotund orange had $1 million of work done by Marvel Entertainment, turning him into a more buffed figure, powered by the sun and intended to help boost Florida citrus sales while fighting evil.
Now he's John Polk, empowered by mysterious solar pods found growing in his family's Central Florida citrus grove. In a debut issue of a digital comic, Polk joins members of the Avengers -- Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Black Widow -- to battle a "gamma enhanced evil genius" known as the Leader whose minions have attacked Orlando.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, appears to be on the verge of becoming president of Florida State University.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "If you don't know that I support Charlie Crist, you don't read my tweets." -- Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano, a Republican and longtime backer of Republican-turned-Democrat Crist, who is running for governor in November.
