By now we have all heard about the presidents tour of colleges to tout his plans for making higher education more affordable. Being lectured by the head of a government in perennial deficit is interesting.
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
New York City seems on the verge of making the same mistake that Detroit made 40 years ago. The mistake is to abolish the NYPD practice referred to as stop and frisk.
WASHINGTON -- Egypt today is a zero-sum game. We'd have preferred there be a democratic alternative. Unfortunately, there is none. The choice is binary: the country will be ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood or by the military.
Buried in a New York Times story about the economy was this arresting statistic: Median family income for black Americans has declined a whopping 10.9 percent during the Obama administration. It has declined for other groups as well -- 3.6 percent for non-Hispanic whites and 4.5 percent for Hispanics -- but the figure for blacks is huge.
WASHINGTON -- Nowadays the federal government leavens its usual quotient of incompetence with large dollops of illegality. This is eliciting robust judicial rebukes, as when, last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia instructed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to stop "flouting the law."
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Kathleen Sebelius called it quits from her position as secretary of Health and Human Services, and most voters think she's the one who's responsible for the problems with Obamacare so far. Voters also believe she was forced to resign for political reasons, but feel less hopeful that problems with the president's signature health-care law will be fixed more quickly by her successor.
By Kevin Derby
Money is flowing into North Florida where U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., is battling Democrat Gwen Graham in one of the most closely watched congressional contests in the nation.
On Monday, Southerland announced his campaign had brought in $509,000 in the first quarter of 2014, raising their total to almost $1.5 million and having almost $1.2 million on-hand.
By Kevin Derby
The team behind former Florida Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich is trying a new tactic as they look to gain ground on former Gov. Charlie Crist in the Democratic primary to see who will challenge Gov. Rick Scott in November: Florida Supreme Court nominees. On Monday, the Rich team turned up the heat on Crist, who is the favorite for the Democratic nomination despite spending most of his political life as a Republican, for naming conservatives to the Florida Supreme Court.
By Kevin Derby
Businessman Curt Clawson went with a different tactic in his battle for the Republican congressional nomination in a special election in Southwest Florida. With barely a week to go until the primary, Clawson released a new commercial on Monday featuring peace and quiet which his team insisted on to contrast with commercials being run from his two main rivals: Florida Senate Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, and former state Rep. Paige Kreegel.
By Nancy Smith
To the chagrin of media critics and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson who wanted him fired, Jesse Panuccio will keep his job.
The embattled, $141,000-per-year executive director of the Department of Economic Opportunity was overwhelmingly confirmed on the Senate floor Friday.
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The Florida Senate unanimously passed SB 1642 on Friday, paving the way for an overhaul of Florida's K-12 school grading system.The bill would streamline school grades and suspend punishment for school grades for one year while a new state assessment test is introduced in Florida schools.
The passage of the bill won praise from Jeb Bush'sFoundation for Floridas Future (aFloridaPromise), which lauded the legislation as a step in the right direction for schools in the Sunshine State.
By Kevin Derby
U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., weighed in on Friday to the news that U.S. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is resigning her post. Crenshaw vowed to continue to oppose President Barack Obamas federal health care which Sebelius played a major role in implementing.
By Kevin Derby
On Friday, Gov. Rick Scott announced 40 schools in Lee County will be getting $3.5 million due to high-performing bonuses.
Our students and teachers in Lee County deserve to be rewarded for their hard work, and I am pleased to recognize them for their achievements with this $3.5 million investment, Scott said. One of my top priorities as governor is to create jobs and opportunities for Florida families. We know that a good job starts with a great education, and Florida continues to be a leader in education. I look forward to continued gains.
By Kevin Derby
With the resignation of U.S. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott said it was about time for Sebelius to leave her position.
Scott rose to political prominence by opposing President Barack Obama's federal health care, which Sebelius played a key part in implementing.
By Kevin Derby
With a week and a half to go in the Republican primary in the special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fla., in Congress, Florida Senate Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, pointed toward her support of conservative items on the legislative calendar on Friday.
Today is one of the Legislatures busiest days of the year, Benacquisto said on Friday. The Florida Senate will convene at 9:30 a.m. to hear 30 bills up for vote on final passage and 28 additional bills that will come up on the calendar to be discussed and vetted.
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