Life and politics from the Sunshine State's best city

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Gary Fineout - page 23

Gary Fineout has 257 articles published.

Dana Young unveils new, slimmed-down gaming proposal

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A push to bring Las Vegas-styled resort casinos to South Florida is once again being rejected by the state Legislature. The idea was a long shot from the start, but a top House Republican on Tuesday filed a revamped gambling proposal that drops any mention of casinos. House Majority Leader Dana Young kicked off the 60-day session with a proposal to upend the state’s entire gambling industry. It called for two massive casinos in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, while allowing…

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Florida legislators stuff budget with millions for projects

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Florida legislators say there just isn’t enough money for everything when it comes to crafting a new state budget. State workers, for example, aren’t getting a raise. There’s no money for new judges to handle the growing number of cases in the courts. There’s more money for schools, but most of it is coming from an increase in local property taxes. And there’s a chance that Florida’s hospitals could lose more than $1 billion that is now used to help…

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Florida senators meet with feds over health care money

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Amid growing budget discord that could derail this year’s session of the Florida Legislature, Senate President Andy Gardiner dispatched two top Republican senators to Washington to talk with federal officials about more than $1 billion in healthcare grants the state could soon lose. Gardiner, an Orlando Republican who works for a hospital, took the unusual step even as top officials with the administration of Gov. Rick Scott are directly negotiating with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and…

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Push for resort casinos stalls in Florida Legislature

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The push to bring Las Vegas-resort-style casinos to South Florida is stalling again this year as the Florida Legislature remains divided over what type of gambling to allow in the state. A major gambling bill sponsored by a top House Republican that includes the casino proposal has yet to be voted on – and it may not get its first vote until sometime in April. The 60-day session ends May 1. A House panel held a four-hour workshop Thursday on…

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Florida may promote 3rd graders who fail standardized tests

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Amid continued backlash over Florida’s testing regimen, the state may stop holding back third-grade students who fail the state’s standardized tests. If Florida lawmakers agree to the change, it would mark a major departure from a policy pushed into law by then-Gov. Jeb Bush, who decried “social promotion” when he campaigned for governor. Bush vowed to end the practice as part of his A+ education law enacted in 1999. The law tied promotion to the fourth grade to how students…

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‘Chasm’ of more than $4 billion divides Florida Legislature

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Florida’s Republican-led Legislature has a budget “chasm” of more than $4 billion that is dividing the House and Senate with six weeks left to go in the annual session. The two chambers on Friday released their initial spending plans for the coming year and the differences are stark. The House is proposing a nearly $76.2 billion budget, while the Senate’s budget is more than $80.4 billion. The rival budgets are just the starting point for what could be a lengthy,…

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Florida House releases nearly $76.2 billion spending plan

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The Florida House is proposing a nearly $76.2 billion spending plan for this year. The House released its proposed budget early Friday. The Senate’s full spending plan is expected to be released later in the day. The rival plans are expected to be as much as $5 billion apart. That’s because the Senate wants to include extra money to help hospitals. The Senate is also proposing to draw down federal aid in order to extend healthcare coverage to 800,000 Floridians.…

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