New legislation aims to light a fire under Florida's lukewarm recycling efforts.
Blending a market-based approach with more rigorous reporting requirements, House Bill 7243 aims to move the state closer to its 75 percent recycling goal by 2020.
When Charlie Crist appeared on a Pensacola beach with President Barack Obama last month, there was no hug. Yet the widely publicized photo op didn't mean Floridians were embracing their "independent" governor, either.
Conventional wisdom in the media suggests that Crist has raised his profile, and his popularity, amid the oily mess spewing in the Gulf. Recent polls showing him retaking the lead in the U.S. Senate race point to the governor's role in protecting Florida's shores. A cartoon in the Miami Herald even showed him walking on water while a marooned Marco Rubio looks on.
Ousted Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer calls them "the four horsemen." But Bill McCollum, Mike Haridopolos, Dean Cannon and John Thrasher do not appear on the prosecution's witness list.
While Gov. Charlie Crist is named 62 times in the investigative report on Greer and could be called as a witness by both the prosecution and the defense, the four top Republicans are nowhere to be found.
Organizers of a Florida Energy Summit convening in Orlando on Thursday say they aim to "educate policymakers and citizens on the urgency of clean energy."
One key target audience is the Florida Legislature, which summiteers hope will finally enact a renewable-energy bill.
Those hopes were energized when Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolis agreed to moderate a series of panel discussions at the daylong forum.
Gov. Charlie Crist angered his former fellow Republicans with high-profile -- and highly politicized -- vetoes of an ultrasound abortion bill and teacher performance pay.
But eight other Crist vetoes jilted businesses or agriculture, or just contradicted previously stated positions, with potentially damaging impacts to Floridians and the state's economy.
The Florida TEA Party claims that two of its candidates who were bounced from the fall ballot were victims of "ticky-tack technicalities" at the state Division of Elections.
James Ferentinos and Marshall DeRosa "did not name a depository as required by statute," said Jennifer Krell Davis, communications director for the Florida Department of State.
January
Florida Libertarians are making history this year with the first-ever contested primary in a so-called "minor" party.
But the race between Franklin Perez and Ellen Paul in state House District 33 is hardly one for the civics textbooks. It illustrates how a small party can be manipulated and splintered by personal grudges.
The oily mess in the Gulf threatens to get messier if and when Floridians start making claims for damages. Insurance industry experts cite several scenarios for compensation, as well as many slippery pitfalls.
Amnesty may carry a negative connotation when it comes to immigration, but it turns positive when applied to taxes. At least some people think so.
Beginning Thursday, the state of Florida will waive penalties on back taxes owed by businesses and individuals. During a three-month window closing Sept. 30, all applicable interest fees also will be cut in half.
A similar tax-amnesty program recouped $260 million in previously lost revenue in 2003. This year's version, coming in tighter economic times, is projected to generate up to $100 million.
