Three House Democrats wrote letters in support of former House Representative and Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion. Eggelletion was sentenced on Friday for conspiring to launder money. Rep. Perry Thurston, D-Plantation, Rep. Hazel Rogers, D-Lauderdale Lakes, and Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach, urged the judge to offer leniency to Eggelletion. Eggelletion pleaded guilty in DecemberAmelia Island has been a GOP hot spot lately with two of the states lead Republicans speaking there this month. Gov. Charlie Crist spoke at Fridays Lincoln Day Dinner and Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, will be there on March 19, as she continues her gubernatorial campaignMarco Rubio is up in South Carolina at fundraisers hosted by U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint on Monday. The fundraising events will be closed to the press.
Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio gave her last state-of-the-city address this week. During the speech, she focused on mass transit issues. This is the big issue of our time. This is the big issue of our generation, she said.U.S Rep. Jeff Miller is turning up the heat on Crist. An early Rubio supporter, Miller said Crist was getting desperate in his Senate campaign. Miller is even writing Crist off as a liberal. On issue after issue, Crist actually supports the Obama agenda, Miller asserted. Hard to believe that Crist almost chose Miller to be his running mate back in 2006Bad news could be coming for Okaloosa County. The price tag of the F-35 has jumped from $276 billion when first estimated in March 2007 to $323 billion. The future of Eglin Air Force Base relies heavily on the F-35 and there are increasing concerns coming from Congress, including Armed Services Committee member George LeMieux.
Things are looking upfor Polk County Elections chief Lori Edwards, but not so good for Sen. Charlie Justice, D-St. Petersburg. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released the Red to Blue list of seats going all out to be picked up from the GOP in November. The list included Edwards bid to pick up the House seat that Adam Putnam is vacating for his agriculture commissioner campaign. The list did not include Justices bid to knock off Rep. Bill Young. The reason? Justices campaign has not lived up to expectations on fundraising.
Connie Mack has been making some news on Capitol Hill with his strong statements on links between the Venezuelan government and terrorism in Colombia. Mack ripped into Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, even saying that Simon Bolivar would be ashamed of ChavezFormer Collier County Sheriff Aubrey Rogers passed away Wednesday at the age of 83. Initially appointed to the post by Gov. Reubin Askew in 1975 after Sheriff E.A. Doug Hendry resigned, Rogers was sheriff until he retired in 1988.Over his tenure, he wonthree elections to hold on to his post. Rogers oversaw the expansion of the Collier County Sheriffs office,which grewfrom 163 officers when he came on to almost 700 when he left. Rogers also led modernizing efforts, bringing in CB radios, 911 service and using laser technology to identify fingerprints.
