advertisement

SSN on Facebook SSN on Twitter SSN on YouTube RSS Feed

 

Blog

516596
Well we all make mistakes and I made one in my rush to deadline. In my story on energy and the battle shaping up in the 9th House District between Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, and former Leon County Democratic chairman Rick Minor, I said, "She may be in for another tough fight in 2010 as Minor's campaign has kept up with her fundraisng efforts the last two quarters." This should have read "kept up with her fundraising efforts two of the last three quarters."
515356
By
Gov. Charlie Crist took some time this afternoon to talk with Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell by phone. Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey told me via e-mail: "The governor is not sure what the call is about...it was a request from Gov. Rendell's office." It was a curious call, to say the least. Does Rendell know anything about oil spills? Or independent campaigns for U.S. Senate? Not that we're aware of. But Rendell does know a thing or two about hardball politics, and how to play them in a state that leans both left and right.
514891
Thirty-one RPOF American Express credit cards issued, but not a single one to the governor? On the other hand, why would the governor need a credit card when his minions are flashing theirs to the tune of more than $7 million? And these are in-the-shadows people, backgrounders that most Floridians have never heard of. Readers, RPOF credit cards are going to be the gift that keeps on giving. Trust me. Bookmark this Web site.
514406
Can you imagine Bob Dole leaving the U.S. to move to Costa Rica and, after 15 years, making a political comeback in his new home? Me either but that's kind of what is happening in South Florida as former Haitian Senate President Bernard Sansaricq, a powerful figure in Haiti in the 80s and early 90s, attempts to knock off Congressman Alcee Hastings. Yomin Postelnik, currently running in an interesting Republican field to take the place of Rep. Ellyn Bodanoff, R-Ft. Lauderdale, in the 91st House District,has also been helping out on Sansaricq's bid.
509676
It's all the media's fault, apparently. Carol Dover, president and CEO of the 10,000-member Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, and others in the hospitality industry blamed an unspecified number of coastal cancellations on reports that the oil spill caused by the explosion and sinking of the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig could reach Florida's shores. "Those who are thinking about canceling your plans for your Florida vacation, please don't," she said.
508631
Congressman Kendrick Meek is not the only candidate taking aim at Jeff Greene. Now former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, who is running against Meek and Greene in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, is also taking shots at the billionaire who made his fortune in real estate investments. "It's appalling enough that Jeff Greene made his money off of the misfortune of hard-working Floridians," said Ferre on Thursday. "It's even more insulting that he thinks he can use his loot to buy their votes."
508156
Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and a group of key Democratic lawmakers proposed Thursday to ask voters in November to ban off-shore oil and natural gas drilling in Florida waters. At a press conference in St. Petersburg, Democrats called on Gov. Charlie Crist to hold a special legislative session to give lawmakers a chance to add a Constitutional amendment banning the drilling to the November ballot. Sink, a Democratic gubernatorial hopeful, was joined by Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg, and Rep. Keith Kitzgerald, D-Sarasota.
507971
Republican Aaron Bean, a former state representative from Fernandina Beach, waged a brief campaign in the special election for the 8th district state senate last year. Bean pulled out of the race to back the eventual winner, John Thrasher. But Bean did not fold up his campaign and is in the process of transferring his campaign over to the 5th district senate seat-currently held by Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, who is leaving due to term limits.
507926
Saying he had been pushing the issue long before former Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox entered the race to be Floridas next commissioner of agriculture and consumer services, Rick Minton, a former state representative commented on his opposition to off shore drilling today. Minton and Maddox are both running in the Democratic primary. Minton said that offshore drilling would damage Floridas tourist and agriculture economies with little benefits in return.
507846
By
Following up on my story about cronyism in the tribal gaming deal, South Florida political operative Roger Stone says this: "The (Seminole) compact allows the Indians blackjack -- but no one else -- which violates the equal protection clause. I hear the Andrew Jackson Institute will be filing suit in the federal courts in D.C. with a very, very heavy constitutional lawyer(a former solicitor general) to strike down the deal."
504156
With 5,000 barrels of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico daily, empty tables and rooms might be in the future for the state's coastal restaurants and hotels. And the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association wants residents to know it. Carol Dover, president of the 10,000-member Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, will be speaking in Pensacola on Thursday about the tourism industry's worries about the possible impact of the spill that followed the explosion of the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
503696
Let's hope Florida Sen. Mike Bennett likes to travel, because in the last 72 hours the Bradenton Republican has zipped around the world like a yo-yo. Well, his video image, anyway. Millions of viewers in London, Stockholm, Berlin, Sydney, Bogata, New York -- and at least a dozen destinations in between -- have seen the point-and-click senator and his not-quite-bikini-clad, dancing quartet. Over and over and over again. I call it a modern miracle of technology.
503691
Congressional candidate Scott Fortune was very gracious on Wednesday when asked about comments from Duval County Democratic Chairman Travis Bridges saying he did not know much about him. Im not offended, said Fortune. I am a newcomer. Fortune, an attorney based in Duval County specializing in employment and discrimination cases, is making an underdog challenge in the Democratic primary to knock off veteran incumbent Congresswoman Corrine Brown.
503171
Less than a week after filing papers to run, former North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns will announce at Wednesdays Democracy for America meeting in Coral Gables that he is ending his campaign for the U.S. Senate and will instead run for the state senate seat that Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, is vacating to run for attorney general. With real estate billionaire Jeff Greene announcing on Friday that he would enter the Democratic primary for the Senate, Burns and his team said the dynamics of the contest had changed.
503081
Major donors from across the state sent Gov. Charlie Crist demanding their money back. The list of signers is pretty impressive-Al Cardenas, Amb. Al Hoffman, Congressman Gary Lee, Anita Mitchell, Tom Petway, Amb. John Rood, Jason Unger and other financial supporters of the G.O.P. As longtime and loyal contributors to Republican causes and your many campaigns, this letter is not easy for us to write, they wrote. But your actions have forced us to take action.
advertisement
advertisement
Live streaming of WBOB Talk Radio, a Sunshine State News Radio Partner.

advertisement