Rick Scott's critics pummel him plenty for abusing his executive privilege on bragging rights. And it's true, since 2011 our governor's self-promoting press releases have morphed into a kind of waterboard torture for those of us who get to read them daily. 

But let's be fair here. There's no getting around the fact that Scott has been a powerful magician for Florida economy good -- which is exactly what most of his press releases are about.

In a 5-2 opinion, the Florida Supreme Court Wednesday approved a map for the 27 congressional districts submitted not by the Florida Legislature, but by the Florida League of Women Voters and other members of a liberal coalition and approved by Circuit Judge Terry Lewis in October.

A week after Gov. Rick Scott unveiled a 2016 budget that many claim severely shortchanges Florida Everglades restoration by limiting land acquisition, the Florida House of Representatives announced the creation of the “Legacy Florida” bill.

There is a growing fear among prominent Hispanic Republicans that Donald Trump will succeed -- win the party's nomination for president -- and in so doing, slap the GOP with an anti-immigrant label it will take decades to overcome.

As the fight to control the U.S. Senate intensifies, the Democratic National Committee finds it has a money problem -- as in, not enough of it.

As much as we talk about protecting the First Amendment in this country, with each generation apparently we get further away from understanding it.

Lawmakers, if you want to add something to a student's learning experience, have at it. Not many people I know are going to hassle you for that. 

Conservatives talk a lot about American exceptionalism. So do I. It's what we're all about. But if ever there was a time to show we mean what we say -- that our values, our principles, our way of life -- soar above the ways of freedom's enemies, then it's right now, right here, embedded in our acceptance of 10,000 Syrian refugees to America's shores.

It looks like Democrat Lauren Book's virtually clear path to a state Senate seat in 2016 might be made even smoother Tuesday when Fort Lauderdale commissioners pass a resolution giving her her own boulevard in Broward's county seat.

Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, filed a bill Monday he calls "a robust and free-market regulatory approach to the governance of cultivation, processing, and retail sale of medical marijuana in Florida."