Columns

Bright-eyed Anitere Flores -- with that arresting smile, the bounce in her step and so much time, it seemed, to hear out all comers -- entered the Republican Senate in 2010 with as much promise as I'd ever seen in a freshman.

As young people transition to adulthood, earning their driver’s license provides a certain level of independence and economic mobility -- a vehicle, if you will, to go places in life.Whether heading to school or work, the doctor’s office or the grocery store, having the ability to drive is a necessity most Floridians take for granted. 

The Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (FSHCC) is the only statewide economic development organization dedicated to serving the needs of the Hispanic business community. We have 38 chapters in Florida and work with more than 80,000 minority-owned businesses, many of whom are in the grocery and convenience store industry.

The business rent tax is the only state-sanctioned sales tax on commercial leases in the entire country and Florida is the not-so-proud holder of that title. Not even tax-happy havens like California and New York impose this state tax on its businesses. Due to this burdensome tax, Florida businesses shell out more than $1.7 billion dollars every year to the state. As a result, our state economy dramatically suffers in the form of suppressed job growth and economic activity.

Bret Berlin is being paid for having paved the way for Stephen Bittel to become the Florida Democratic Party chair in the form of a 2nd vice chair position, as well as a position on the FDP Rules Committee.

Thursday marks the 100th anniversary of World War I, one of the most pivotal events in American and world history. 

Is it me, or has Senate Bill 10 just entered the Twilight Zone?

If there is one operative rule in this city's left-right paradigm, it is to shift the focus of any conversation that seems at risk of revealing something approximating truth -- a game at which the current administration and its media surrogates happen to excel.

A bill permitting big brewers to give away branded glassware to bars and restaurants is sailing through the Legislature.  Currently, retailers must buy such glassware at cost.  The proposed legislation, HB 853 (Rep. Tom Goodson, R-Rockledge) and SB 1040 (Sen. Frank Artiles, R-Miami) could shut Florida’s craft brewers out of your favorite pub.

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Florida Democratic Party's DCCA retreat in St. Petersburg.

Since I was first elected to Congress, I have fought to hold government agencies and Washington bureaucrats more accountable to Floridians and all Americans. Unfortunately, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) continues to operate in a manner unaccountable to Congress, the president and American taxpayers.

People who experienced the phenomenon of Charles D. "Pug" Ravenel can't have helped wondering what might have been -- if only he had won.

This column is a vehicle for a number of items in a bits-and-pieces, strictly opinion, sometimes irreverent format. Look for "Just Sayin'" to run once a week in this spot.

A recent poll from Mason-Dixon research showed that Florida residents overwhelmingly support vacation rentals. An astonishing 93 percent of respondents believe Florida visitors should be allowed to stay in accommodations other than hotels.

"The most disrespected person in America is the black woman."The most unprotected person in America is the black woman.