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."

Dems: Floridians Should Vote to Ban Off-Shore Oil Drilling

By Kevin Derby

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.

Aaron Bean Gunning for Wise's Seat, Not Thrasher's

By Kevin Derby

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.

Agriculture Commissioner Candidate Rick Minton Blasts Offshore Drilling

By Kevin Derby

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.

Turning the Gaming Tables on Seminoles

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."

Resort and Dining Industries to Check in on Oil Spill

By Kevin Derby

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.

Sen. Bennett and His Not-Quite-Bikini-Clad Babes Travel the World

By Nancy Smith

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.

Scott Fortune: An Underdog to Watch

By Kevin Derby

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.

Kevin Burns Ends Bid for U.S. Senate to Run for State Senate Seat Gelber is Vacating

By Kevin Derby

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.

Major Donors to Crist: Give Us Our Money Back

By Kevin Derby

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.

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