Gabriella B. Ferraro, communications manager for Martin County, posted an explanation and defense of the county's lobbying programs and its lobbyist after Sunshine State News published Nancy Smith's April 29 column, "Brian Ballard's Worth the Disappointment, Reasons Martin Commission."  The SSN column followed a story in the local Treasure Coast News that reported Tallahassee lobbyist Ballard not only is Martin's chief lobbyist, but he lobbies for one of Martin's prime antagonists, All Aboard Florida.

Florida will once again be front and center in a presidential election come November as the largest swing state. 

A Florida congressman cheered the news that a Green Beret was fully reinstated in the Army after he was forced out of service after reporting an Afghan ally abusing a child. “What took so long?” Vern Buchanan asked on Friday, after a review board determined Sgt. Charles Martland could remain in the service. 

Sen. Marco Rubio, at the South Florida Water Management District today, is meeting with scientists, then briefing District personnel and the media -- no doubt sharing news that the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP), though not funded, is included in S.2848, the 2016 Water Resources Development Act.

Two congressional representatives from Florida offered very different takes on Donald Trump, the favorite for the Republican presidential nomination, on Thursday. 

Jeff Miller, the Panhandle Republican who chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee, endorsed Trump, saying the businessman can clean up the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. Miller is not running for reelection in November.  

Florida Republican Marco Rubio brought out a bill to ensure the State Department does more to protect religious liberty across the globe on Thursday. 

Morning Consult released its “Senator Approval Rankings” on Thursday and found the two senators from Florida are headed in different directions. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential bid has hurt his standing in the Sunshine State the new poll shows. Rubio is one of only six senators across the nation with disapproval higher than 40 percent. The poll shows 45 percent of Florida voters approve Rubio while 41 percent disapprove of him. 

Members of the Florida delegation are spearheading an effort on Capitol Hill for Germany to “fulfill its moral responsibility to Holocaust survivors and urgently provide the financial resources necessary to ensure that Survivors live in dignity and comfort in their remaining years.”

More than in any recent presidential campaign, the process of selecting the delegates that are unbound and will vote at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this summer has moved from a conversation among political strategists to weighing on the average voter's mind.

The spin is on:

Donald Trump:

Bob Graham isn’t the only politician from the Sunshine State putting pressure on Saudi Arabia as Republican Ted Yoho is pushing on Capitol Hall to cut funds to that nation when it comes to high tech weapons.