There’s a surprise coming to Florida property owners at the end of August, one wrapped in the federal government’s signature red tape.
After 10 Glorious Years, Sunshine State News and I Are Passing the Baton
You probably can't imagine how much fun I've had at Sunshine State News over the last 10 years. I don't think anybody could.
November 1, 2019 - 6:00am
Politics
Columns
Since China devalued its currency 3 percent, global markets have gone into a tailspin. Why should this be?
Bowing to politics instead of science, Florida regulators are violating state law with unjustified restrictions on two Indian Rocks Beach basins.
Even as the Wall Street Journal reports that he is drawing closer to entering the 2016 presidential race, Joe Biden will soon find he will be running against history’s headwinds.
Donald Trump's six-page platform on immigration may not be, as Ann Coulter wrote, "the greatest political document since the Magna Carta." But given the issue's role in elevating the candidate to leading Republican polls, it merits serious attention.
Before any more state capital folks take a misty-eyed stroll down memory lane, let's get one thing straight.
Term limits happened in Florida for a reason.
"This was not a subject that was on anybody's mind until I brought it up at my announcement."
-- Donald Trump, on immigration, Republican debate, Aug. 6
Florida is doing the right thing. In case you doubt the wisdom of Attorney General Pam Bondi's decision to join a multi-state bipartisan lawsuit against the EPA attempt to seize regulatory control over large categories of state waters, you might want to take a look at the graphic reproduced just below.
Let's assume, for fun, that Donald Trump's supporters are thinking with their brains, not their viscera. If so, they will want to know that the issue he has lassoed for self-aggrandizement has been utterly demagogued. Trump is playing them for chumps.
With businessman Donald Trump leading national polls and now ahead of the GOP primary pack in key states including Florida, former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., is relying on the last Republican to sit in the White House for help: his brother former President George W. Bush.
Trending Now
By Kevin Derby
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and other Republican senators wrote to U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on Wednesday, urging him to stand up to President Barack Obama and warning that the White House could ignore Congress by funding Obamas signature federal health-care laws risk corridor aspects. The Republican senators also warned about insurance company bailouts under the law.
By Kevin Derby
Gov. Rick Scotts team pounced on Democratic rival former Gov. Charlie Crist for accepting $40,000 from strip clubs. SB Productions Inc. out of Hollywood, Fla., sent a Crist PAC $30,000 while J.W. Lee Properties LLC out of Hallandale gave the PAC $10,000.
SB Productions and J.W. Lee Properties are companies owned by Brandon Samuels, John Blanke, and William Beasley," the Scott team noted. J.W. Lee is doing business as Scarletts Cabaret, a Hallandale strip club. Scott's team tried to connect these donors to old Crist ally Jim Greer.
By Kevin Derby
Conservative group American Action Network (AAN) announced on Wednesday it was going to send $1.1 million to South Florida to run TV and online ads against U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla., who is facing a major challenge from Republican candidate Miami-Dade School Board member Carlos Curbelo. The new ads, which are in both English and Spanish, hit Garcia on ethics.
By Kevin Derby
The fate of Amendment 2, which would expand medical marijuana use in the Sunshine State, continues to be undecided according to a new poll.
WFLA and Survey USA released a poll of likely voters late on Tuesday night which shows only 51 percent plan to vote for Amendment 2. A third of those surveyed -- 33 percent -- plan to vote against it while the remainder are undecided.
By Kevin Derby
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., wrote U.S. Sec. of State John Kerry on Tuesday, backing a temporary travel ban on African nations hit hard by the Ebola virus. Nelson urged the Obama administration to support such a ban. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said a travel ban was not currently on the table
Considering the changing events and overall magnitude of the situation, it may be time to re-examine the travel issue from the standpoint of visas, Nelson said on Tuesday.
Nelson wrote Kerry the following:
By Kevin Derby
U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., part of the U.S. House leadership in his role as senior deputy majority whip, received the Award for Manufacturing Legislative Excellence from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Ross was honored for scoring 97 percent on what NAM recognized as Key Manufacturing Votes.
By Kevin Derby
Miam- Dade School Board member Carlos Curbelo, the Republican candidate running against U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla., in a close congressional race in South Florida, pointed to reports that Wal-Mart was cutting man hours as more proof that President Barack Obamas federal health-care law is not working.
By Kevin Derby
Gov. Rick Scott unveiled a new TV ad on Wednesday which hits Democratic rival former Gov. Charlie Crist on ethics issues.
Crist is accused of selling judgeships, the narrator of the ad says before noting that close associates of Crist -- former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer, fundraiser Alan Mendelsohn and Scott Rothstein who donated heavily to Crist before being convicted of fraud -- did prison time.
By Kevin Derby
Former President Bill Clinton gave a shout out to former Gov. Charlie Crist, the Democratic candidate looking to defeat Gov. Rick Scott in Florida. Clinton sent out an email on behalf of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Tuesday night which praised Crist and other Democrats across the nation.
By Kevin Derby
With the ACLU wanting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to overturn the amendment to Florida's Constitution recognizing only traditional marriage in the Sunshine State, Gov. Rick Scott said he supports his fellow Cabinet member.
The attorney general is defending Floridas Constitution, which is her duty, Scott said on Tuesday. This is a matter that will be decided by the courts. Whatever the eventual outcome is from the courts, Florida will of course abide with it.
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