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 [...]
For the second year in a row, a Central Florida lawmaker has filed legislation to kill a middle school PE requirement that went into effect in 2009. Rep. Larry Metz, R-Yalaha, who filed the bill, HB 4057, told the Orlando Sentinel education blog, “If you’re going to cut back the money you’ve got to cut back the mandates.” [...]
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. [...]
Mark your calendars for an online AP Stylebook political chat with AP political editor Liz Sidoti on Monday, Nov. 21, 2:30 p.m. – Three out of ten journalism start-ups don’t have a business plan. – Member or not, visit Facebook, and it tracks you: How Facebook compiles tracking logs of Web pages you’ve visited during [...]
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 [...]
St. Petersburg Times - Don’t make gambling’s damage to Florida worse International casino companies would have Floridians believe there would be no downside to building up to three mega-casinos in South Florida. But statistics tell a different story. • New data from the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling — a group underwritten, until this year, by [...]
The new Department of Economic Opportunity is asking lawmakers for $230 million in incentives to lure businesses to Florida next year, according to the agency’s legislative budget request, reports the News Service of Florida. That’s more than twice the $93 million lawmakers spent on economic incentives this past year. Meanwhile, newspapers reported Thursday that some [...]
The following is a letter-to-the-editor written by Rep. Chris Dorworth originally published in the Orlando Sentinel. In just the past year, Scott Maxwell has published columns and blog posts about my mortgage, my marriage, my E-PASS, my cell phone usage and my Facebook account. Now twice in one week, he has written columns attacking how [...]
The head of the agency that oversees expressways in the Orlando area is resigning early next year, acknowledging controversies surrounding the agency’s debt load, reports David Royse of the News Service of Florida. Mike Snyder said in a Monday letter to the chairman of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority that he’ll step down as executive [...]
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 [...]
