All Stories | Sunshine State News | Florida Political News

Senate Sends Citizens Bill, With Altman Amendment, Back to House

Submitted by Anonymous on March 6, 2012 - 10:21am

The Senate approved, in a 26-8 vote Tuesday, a sweeping reform of Citizens Property Insurance designed to reduce the number of policies the state-owned insurer covers, despite a late amendment many senators hope the House will remove.

Comments are now closed.

Mitt Romney Seen as Clear Favorite for the GOP Nomination

Submitted by Kevin Derby on March 6, 2012 - 10:08am

Its Super Tuesday and the wind is behind Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romneys back.

Comments are now closed.

Fear of Illegal Fungicide May be Squeezing Orange Juice Sales

Submitted by Anonymous on March 6, 2012 - 9:34am

Orange juice sales are down 15.5 percent and Florida citrus officials believe the cause is consumers fear of foreign imports tainted with carbendazim, a fungicide illegal in the United States due to potential hormone-disrupting effects.

Florida citrus officials told the Lakeland Ledger Monday that buyers are concerned about the fungicide making its way into U.S. orange juice products from Brazilian imports.

Comments are now closed.

Mike Haridopolos Expects Special Session on Redistricting

Submitted by Anonymous on March 6, 2012 - 7:29am

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, anticipates legislators will need to come back after the regular session to redraw some of the proposed redistricted legislative and congressional boundary lines.

Haridopolos told reporters Monday he wouldnt be surprised if the Supreme Court, based upon questions posed by some of the justices during a Feb. 29 hearing, rules out parts of the House and Senate maps.

Comments are now closed.

Mike Haridopolos: Senate Won't Bring up Bill to Ban Internet Cafes

Submitted by Anonymous on March 6, 2012 - 6:49am

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said Monday that the Senate most likely will focus on reviving a Senate bill aimed at regulating Internet cafes that offer sweepstakes prizes from slot machine games instead of taking up HB 3, which has already been approved by the House.

Comments are now closed.

Who Are Rush Limbaugh's Advertisers? Have a Look

Submitted by Nancy Smith on March 6, 2012 - 1:31am

Rush Limbaugh still claims he isn't worried about advertisers quitting him because he called college student Sandra Fluke a "slut." He says he can pick up more radio advertisers at the drop of a hat -- in fact, "he insists he's turned away 'millions.'"

Who so far have announced they'll pull their ads? There are seven companies: AOL, ProFlowers, Quicken Loans, Sleep Number beds, Sleep Train, Citrix Systems and LegalZoom.

Comments are now closed.

Bucking Florida Party, Big-Name Democrats Support 'Parent Trigger'

Submitted by Anonymous on March 5, 2012 - 10:08pm

While some Florida Democrats complain about "Parent Trigger" legislation that targets failing public schools in the state, two big-name Democrats from California are supporting the bill.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- Democratic National Convention chairman, Barack Obamas national campaign co-chairman and a former teachers union organizer -- applauded the concept, saying:

Comments are now closed.

Sandy Adams' Poll Gives Her 'Terrific Shot' at Ousting John Mica in CD 7

Submitted by Anonymous on March 5, 2012 - 9:43pm

A poll for Rep. Sandy Adams' campaign projects that she will "close the gap significantly" on Rep. John Mica in the months leading up to their August primary election.

Mica and Adams, both R-Orlando, have each declared for the newly drawn 7th Congressional District. Mica is a 20-year veteran of the House and chairman of the Transportation Committee. Adams is a freshman.

Comments are now closed.

J.D. Alexander, Denise Grimsley Reach Budget Compromise

Jim Turner

March 4, 2012 - 6:00pm

The legislative session is now on track to be completed on time Friday.

The House agreed Monday to a Senate plan to create a 12th state university, while the Senate settled on the House proposal on how to draw $300 million from the other 11. The agreements were among the final pieces of the approximately $70 billion state spending plan.

A complete fiscal plan will be fully unveiled Tuesday morning, allowing the required 72-hour waiting period before a final vote can be taken in both chambers and sent to Gov. Rick Scott for final approval.

Storm Continues to Brew over Reforming Citizens

Jim Turner

March 4, 2012 - 6:00pm

A bill to reduce the number of policies handled by the bloated Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will advance to a full Senate vote as early as Tuesday.

However, an amendment narrowly added to the bill on Monday, in a 21-18 vote that included a number of Republicans, could be enough of a disturbance to sweep away the effort to reform the state-run Citizens.

Pages