Gary Fineout - page 28

There’s a chance that Florida’s bitter – and expensive – governor’s race between incumbent Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic challenger Charlie Crist could trigger a recount – a word that sends shudders through the state. Polls consistently show the contest between Scott and Crist tied, but if that sticks voting officials insist a recount would not be a replay of 2000, when the presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore was not decided until 36 days later as…

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Attorney General Pam Bondi wants a federal judge to keep the state’s ban on gay marriage in place despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. Bondi on Friday contended in a court filing that there was a “great public interest in stability of the law” and that the ban should remain intact while the legal battles continue. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month chose not to hear appeals from five states seeking to prohibit gay and lesbian unions. The…

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Gov. Rick Scott is holding firm against testifying in a bitter public records lawsuit. A Tallahassee attorney asked Scott to appear Friday for a deposition. Steven Andrews wants information about private Google email accounts set up by the governor and two former aides. He maintains they were used by the Scott administration to sidestep the state’s open records law. Scott did not show up and was campaigning instead in South Florida. Scott campaign spokesman Greg Blair called the effort to…

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Gov. Rick Scott, who got elected four years ago after spending more than $70 million of his own money, is being forced to dip into his own wallet in the final days of his re-election campaign. Scott told a Miami television station Wednesday that he is going to be “investing” in his race, although he did not cite a specific amount. The amount probably won’t be known until the end of the month. The decision by the Republican incumbent comes…

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No matter who wins Florida’s brawl for governor there may be one clear loser: The truth. In the lead up to the Nov. 4 election, voters have been hit with a barrage of television ads that so far have totaled as much as $50 million with still more to come. In those ads, as well as on the campaign trail, Republican Gov. Rick Scott and his Democratic rival Charlie Crist have engaged in a stream of misstatements, half-truths and distortions.…

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In a sweeping ruling, Florida’s highest court said Thursday that police in the state have no right to use a cellphone to track someone’s movements without a warrant. The state Supreme Court in a 5-2 decision ruled that Broward County Sheriff’s Office had no right to stop and arrest Shawn Tracey for possession of more than 400 grams of cocaine. Detectives had gotten a tip from that Tracey was involved in moving cocaine from Broward over to Cape Coral on…

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A bitter public records dispute is now forcing Florida Gov. Rick Scott to dip into his own pocket, and may force him to testify on his own behalf before next month’s election. Tallahassee attorney Steven Andrews, who clashed with Scott even before he took office, wants information on private Google email accounts that he says were used by the Scott administration to sidestep state law. A Florida judge sided with Andrews, but now Scott has hired lawyers to fight the…

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