Sports is big business in Florida, bringing in over $2 billion in revenue each year. Not surprisingly, our professional sports teams generate the most revenue in sports each year because they benefit not just from ticket sales, but revenue sharing from television.
Early in my legal career I had the privilege to serve as a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Joe Eaton. Born in Monticello, Judge Eaton was a star athlete in college. He also played professional baseball. During WW II, Judge Eaton served as a flight commander in the Air Corps and flew bombing missions over German missile sites (D-Day was his 51st bombing mission).
Running for office statewide in Florida is a daunting task. The state is 361 miles wide and 447 miles long and is in two time zones. Florida has 67 counties, 282 cities, 119 towns and 19 villages. In short, Florida is big and campaigning in the entire state is hard work.
The fact that Donald Trump is currently leading in national polls in the Republican race for president is interesting -- but hardly a predictor of the outcome of the election. In fact, based on the recent history of presidential elections, it is not likely Trump will be the Republican nominee.
On the opening day of the 2014 session in the Florida House of Representatives, then-Speaker of the House Will Weatherford spoke at length about an issue that few leaders in government talk about -- generational poverty. During his remarks, Speaker Weatherford noted, “There will always be poverty -- the kind that results from temporary setbacks: job loss, foreclosures, or unexpected challenges … but there’s a far greater and more dramatic problem for some of our Floridians. They’re stuck in generational poverty -- the persistent, year after year oppression and hopelessness that starts with grandparents, is passed on to parents and continues to their children.”
It seems like every year a new debate arises on the best way to fix Floridas education system. The latest example is the debate over Common Core.
I recently had the opportunity to take my 8-year-old son Jackson to see the movie 42 -- the story of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondis office recently filed suit against BP to recover damages incurred by our state as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
My family, like most families in America, has its share of veterans. My Uncle George served in the Army under General George Patton during World War II. Other uncles served in the Navy and Air Force during Vietnam. My father-in-law was a radio man in the Marines serving in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Summer officially ends Sept. 22 -- and it wont be a day too soon.The summer of 2011 may go down as one of the most challenging in history for children in our country -- and not for the reasons you may think.
