Former Republican lawmaker Nancy Argenziano was foiled this year in her attempt to run for Congress as a Democrat.
But now running as an independent for a state House seat in Citrus and Hernando counties, the outspoken -- and often controversial -- Argenziano has received the backing of the Florida Democratic Party as it tries to knock out a Republican incumbent.
It was one line --- a total of nine words --- in a lengthy speech in Roanoke, Va.
As he tried to make a point that successful people have received help in various ways, President Obama said, "If you've got a business --- you didn't build that."
But more than a month later, with Republicans rallying in Tampa at their national convention, that line has become a centerpiece of the GOP's campaign to try to oust Obama in November.
Looking for the price-tag of the federal Affordable Care Act, analysts have released a report estimating that an expansion of the Medicaid program would cost the state $79.2 million during the 2016-17 fiscal year and that the costs would grow to $337.6 million by 2022-23.
After a proposed settlement agreement touched off two days of high-stakes maneuvering, the state Public Service Commission will go ahead Monday with a hearing about whether Florida Power & Light should raise base electric rates.
Commission Chairman Ronald Brise late Friday issued an order rejecting a request to suspend the hearing. FPL and three groups of large power users proposed the settlement agreement Wednesday afternoon and also asked for a suspension, as they hoped to get a decision on the settlement by the end of August.
Just days before the start of a possibly contentious hearing before state regulators,Florida Power & Light said Wednesday it will seek approval of a settlement agreement that would increase customers' base electric rates next year by $548 million.
FPL, the state's largest utility, reached the proposed settlement with groups representing large electricity users and scaled back an earlier proposal to raise base rates by about $690 million in 2013.
Gov. Rick Scott and Republican legislative leaders have long argued that the federal health overhaul would drain too much money from Florida's budget.
But as a group of state analysts met Tuesday, it became clear that Florida's additional Medicaid costs from the federal Affordable Care Act -- Obamacare -- are difficult to pinpoint.
In a final push before Tuesday's primary elections, House and Senate candidates collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions during the past three weeks -- and, in some cases, wrote big checks themselves, new reports show.
When Gerard Robinson was chosen in June 2011 to become Florida education commissioner, Gov. Rick Scott hailed the newcomer's leadership as "exactly what Florida needs to reach the next level of education reforms that will benefit both our students and the businesses of our state.
But with Robinson's resignation this week, someone else will have to help lead Florida to that next level.
In the latest twist in the saga of the 1st District Court of Appeal, the Florida Department of Management Services and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater are sparring legally about whether the state should pay for historical photographs at the opulent new courthouse.
