A Seattle man imploded on his ill-conceived plot to get even with Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Secretary of State Ken Detzner and finally pleaded guilty Thursday to charges related to sending letters to GOP donors questioning their citizenship and ability to vote in the 2012 election.

Ardent Democrat James Webb Baker Jr. pleaded guilty in Tampa federal court to one count each of voter intimidation and identification fraud. He faces a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $350,000 fine.

Let Charlie out of his cage and he's flailing like a lost canary.

That was some luncheon speech the Democratic gubernatorial candidate treated trial lawyers to Wednesday at the posh Coconut Grove Ritz-Carlton.

Apparently Charlie figured he was among friends at the Miami-Dade Justice Association fundraiser, so who needs to talk policy?

David Dunn-Rankin, Florida Press Association chair, and Bob Gabordi, Florida Society of News Editors president, announced in a written statement Friday details for the first forums for Floridas 2014 gubernatorial candidates.

They will take place at the organization's annual meeting, more than a month ahead of the primaries, but -- as in previous gubernatorial election years -- presenting an opportunity for editors to hear all candidates address the issues and clarify their positions.

The mayor of Destin and the Destin Chamber of Commerce won't wait for the next round of discussions on casino gambling in the state Legislature. They want to do something right now to make sure it can't come to their city.

Rep. Katie Edwards summed it up for thousands of Democrats Saturday when she told Anthony Man of the Sun-Sentinel, any idea that supporting Nan Rich is helping the re-election of Republican Rick Scott is "nonsense."

Though earlier in the week sources close to the Rich campaign quoted a conversation between Nan and Hillary to me and Gossip Extra, as reported in Sunshine State News and in a Thursday GE follow-up story ("EXCLUSIVE Charlie Crist Disinvited From Bill Clinton Party by Hillary!"), Rich has assured me the conversation never happened.

Charlie's Crist's newest claim that he left the Republican Party because of racism was soundly ridiculed across the state Wednesday. But, the newspaper that perhaps said it most succinctly came out of the Beltway.

Rep. Katie Edwards, D-Plantation, a key architect of the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014, called on Gov. Rick Scott Friday to sign Senate Bill 1030 into law.

Waggish Roger Stone, one of my favorite authors, a general bon vivant and Florida political-everything, may be a little despondent about the GOP's 2016 White House prospects. My clue is this campaign button he sent me to wear.

He asks, "You got anyone better?"

The Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Review Board, scheduled Tuesday to approve paying for half of the $1.9 billion Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP), instead postponed completing its review -- a needed step before it can get Congress's final funding approval.