A bill that would restrict take-home sales of cans, bottles and kegs of beer at Florida breweries is ready for a Senate vote. The bill was amended Monday over questions that it could hurt breweries. The bill would allow bottle and can sales at breweries, but they would be limited to no more than 20 percent of the total beer production. The restriction wouldn’t apply to breweries that produce fewer than 2,000 kegs of beer a year. It also would…
Florida candidates seeking a spot in the U.S. Congress are now qualifying for the 2014 ballot. Federal candidates and judicial candidates could seek a spot on the ballot starting at noon on Monday. Qualifying closes at noon on Friday. A handful of incumbent members of Congress quickly qualified including Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Panama City, and newly elected U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-St. Petersburg. Florida has 27 seats in the House of Representatives. Eighteen incumbents have already assured a spot on…
The Florida Sheriff’s Association is set to make a large push against the legalization of marijuana. Voters will decide on the legalization of medical marijuana in November. The association sent an email to sheriffs across the state during the winter asking for their support. The Tampa Bay Times (http://bit.ly/1nxstKY ) reported that 63 of 67 sheriffs were in favor of opposing any measures to legalize the drug. The association is also looking for the support of substance-abuse awareness and anti-drug…
Congress gets back to work Monday after a two-week vacation, and it’s looking like lawmakers will do what they do best: the bare minimum. Forget immigration, a tax overhaul, stiffer gun checks. They’re all DOA. Raising the minimum wage or restoring lost unemployment benefits? Not going to happen. Forcing government approval of the Keystone XL pipeline? Veto bait. The only things likely to become law in a Congress bitterly divided between House Republicans and the Democratic-led Senate are those that…
President Barack Obama on Sunday described comments reportedly made by the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers “incredibly offensive racist statements,” before casting them as part of a continuing legacy of slavery and segregation that Americans must vigilantly fight. “When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don’t really have to do anything, you just let them talk,” Obama said when asked to respond to Donald Sterling’s reported comments. Obama’s description of the controversy as part of a larger…
A White House review of how the government and private sector use large sets of data has found that such information could be used to discriminate against Americans on issues such as housing and employment even as it makes their lives easier in many ways. “Big data” is everywhere. It allows mapping apps to ping cellphones anonymously and determine, in real time, what roads are the most congested. But it also can be used to target economically vulnerable people. The…
Aubrey Stewart was standing next to his family’s car three years ago when a massive branch from a city-owned tree suddenly broke and crashed down on him, breaking the then-15-year-old’s spine and leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Jacksonville officials had been warned about the rotting tree, so they quickly reached a $3.5 million settlement with Stewart’s parents to pay for his care and to make their home wheelchair accessible. But most of that money has never been paid.…