When it comes to parties, Karen Thurman is no Jim Greer. But spending by the Florida Democratic Party has rebounded solidly after the FDP's near-death experience in 2004.
Under FDP Chairman Thurman, the party spent $46.3 million from 2007-2009, according to internal financial reports.
With Gov. Charlie Crist leaving the Republican Party to continue his campaign for the U.S. Senate as an independent, leaders at the national level warn Florida conservatives that Crist can't be trusted on the issues -- especially a measure requiring women considering abortions to have an ultrasound.
If you want to watch someone squirm, take a look at the two-minute videotape of Attorney General Eric Holder dodging Republican Rep. Lamar Smith's question of whether "radical Islam" motivated the Times Square bomber.
The $70.4 billion state budget awaiting action by Gov. Charlie Crist is already looking like a museum piece a fattened brontosaurus of a spending plan whose future is threatened by a harsh new age.
The budget includes about $2.5 billion in federal stimulus money the last installment of $16 billion in Washington cash that flowed to Florida the past three years, allowing lawmakers to avoid major tax increases or the deepest spending cuts.
Adding more drama to what already promises to be a gripping political season in Florida, Lawton Bud Chiles III, education advocate and son of the longtime U.S. senator and governor, is seriously considering announcing a run for governor.
The U.S. Senate hopes to conclude the month-long debate on the financial reform bill by week's end, even if the majority leader needs to force a procedural vote promoting a 60-vote threshold to bring debate to a close. This will not only limit the number of hours remaining for debate to 30 hours, but also keeps the remaining amendments germane and on subject.
If Gov. Charlie Crist wants to be nice to the Legislature though really, theres no indication he does he may this week officially call the special session hes already said hell likely pursue. Crist has said he wants lawmakers to return at the end of May, most probably the week of May 24, for the special session on banning oil drilling and alternative energy policy.
A new state audit criticizing Floridas Medicaid program for shoddy oversight is raising heightened concerns about the role state officials play in fueling the runaway costs that have prompted calls to overhaul the health plan covering 2.7 million Floridians.
Medicaid payments from the state to hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and rural health clinics frequently relied on inaccurate rates and unsubstantiated claims, resulting in potentially millions of dollars in overpayments during the 2007-09 period reviewed by state auditors.
