Age: 68
Residence: Weston
Time in the Legislature: 10 years
Political Affiliation: Democrat
Spouse: David
Children: Laurie Levinson, Larry, Marcie, Jennifer
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I never thought I'd be a state senator. I was an English major in college at the University of Florida.
What do you consider to be your biggest political achievement?
Few spectacles these past two months have been as nauseating as Big Powers goose-stepping march through the Florida Legislature.
Actually, I've known whole countries that put up a lustier fight against the enemy than this group of grasping lawmakers did to protect Florida's long-suffering energy consumers.
BUDGET TOPS $70 B
Bottom line on the 2010 budget that hit lawmakers desks Tuesday just before 3 p.m.? $70.4 billion. The House earlier proposed a $67.2 billion spending plan. And the Senate approved a $69.4 billion version. But weeks of negotiations that followed seemed only to fatten the spending plan, a swelling that occurs almost every year once anticipated federal dollars, trust funds and agency "reversions" of money are calculated. A vote on the measure Friday will be one of the last acts of the spring session.
EARLIEST SINE DIE: POSSIBLE IS 2:59 PM FRIDAY
The Legislature moved closer Tuesday to giving Floridas largest investor-owned utilities the power to raise rates as they gain ground in the states renewable-energy sector.
Despite fears of imposing a new fee upon Florida taxpayers and putting smaller energy producers at a disadvantage, the House voted 83-34 to give the utilities the power to raise rates to fund renewable-energy projects.
The Senate has voted out Gov. Charlie Crist's nominees, and Crist is none too happy about it. Here's his message to the lawmakers:
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Rallying around concerns that Gov. Charlie Crist's nominees were neither professionally qualifiied nor diverse enough, senators refused to confirm Ben Stevens and David Klement for seats on the Florida Public Service Commission, the state agency charged with regulating utilities.
Senators voted 21-17 against Klement, former editorial page editor of the Bradenton Herald, and 23-14 against Stevens, past president of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
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Despite his prominent opposition to two redistricting amendments on the November ballot sponsored by Fair Districts Florida, Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, won reelection as chairman of the Florida Black Legislative Caucus.
It is an honor to continue to lead this esteemed Caucus as it proceeds to advocate on behalf of the African American communities all over this State, said Siplin.
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During the House session Tuesday afternoon, staffers placed copies of the 2010-11 budget on representatives desks -- unveiling a state budget that rose from $66.5 billion last year to almost $70.4 billion, an increase of more than 5 percent.
At more than 400 pages long, the final agreement in the Legislature cost Florida taxpayers more than any budget in the states history -- and more than any of the three initial budgetary proposals.
If Gov. Charlie Crist still cares about firming up his conservative bona fides, he might want to say something serious about immigration.
Rival Marco Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush left the field wide open on Tuesday with squishy comments about the need for immigration "reform." That's D.C. speak for legalizing illegal aliens. Some even call it "amnesty" and appeasement to migrant activists' upcoming May Day demonstrations.
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Two bright lights shine amid the carnage of Florida's record unemployment: health care and private higher education.
The state's jobless rate hit 12.3 percent in March -- 2.6 percentage points above the national average.
