Corporate Handouts Need Accountability Tampa Bay Times—A new state law gives Gov. Rick Scott unprecedented discretion to steer $86 million in public money to private companies that promise to create jobs. Now it’s Scott’s job to ensure that every penny of that taxpayer money is accounted for and wisely spent, which would be a sharp [...]
Senate President Mike Haridopolos said in a deposition last week that he believed ousted Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer was pushed out for political reasons — not necessarily for the misuse of party funds, something RPOF officials had suggested was a major source of discontent, reports Brandon Larrabee of the News Service of [...]
St. Petersburg Times - Marco Rubio needs to commit to solving immigration problem Finally, from Florida’s junior U.S. senator comes some common sense advice to fellow Republicans about toning down the hostile rhetoric over immigration. But Marco Rubio’s admonishments to the GOP in recent weeks would be even more impressive if it was matched by action. [...]
Associated Press - 1 of a kind: Barrel racing betting set to open In what might be an event that’s unique to this small, rural North Florida town, operators are planning to open a spot where gamblers may bet on barrel racing – if opponents don’t win a challenge of the permit. Creek Entertainment Gretna plans [...]
In the first Senate hearing on a proposal to allow up to three luxury casinos in South Florida, executives from some of the biggest casino companies in the world told lawmakers their proposals would bring thousands of jobs and better regulation to the gambling industry in Florida. But executives from the pari-mutuel industry say they [...]
I’ve only had an opportunity to look at the top lines of today’s eye-opening poll from Quinnipiac which shows late-entrant Connie Mack atop the field for the GOP nomination in the race to face Democrat incumbent Bill Nelson, but there are several clear takeaways from the numbers. 1. Let’s not get too far ahead of [...]
Daytona Beach News-Journal - Santorum gets standing ovation at Daytona tea party convention Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum got a front-runner’s reception when he arrived Sunday at the Tea Party Florida Convention. A crowd of more than 300 conservative voters gave a standing ovation to the only presidential candidate to make a visit on the final [...]
St. Petersburg Times - Lack of political courage on the debt It was a rare moment of congressional bipartisan unity when 40 House Republicans joined with 60 Democrats to urge the debt reduction supercommittee to consider all options — including raising revenue — to address the nation’s $14.8 trillion tide of red ink. But only three [...]
ABC WTFS - Florida lawmakers begin redistricting process State lawmakers are starting to draw new maps for the once-a-decade redistricting process and they have a mountain of material to sort through from Floridians. But the question remains: Will lawmakers use those ideas or dump them into a political black hole? This week the deadline passed for [...]
The question on everyone’s minds this weekend is not what they’ll dress up as for Halloween, but whether former Governor Charlie Crist will make a cameo appearance at this weekend’s Florida Democratic Convention. Blogger Nick Kakanis (who has a great site at the Florida Clarion) says that Crist recently assured Debbie Wasserman-Schultz that a party [...]
