James Call – Page 17 – SaintPetersBlog

Florida unemployment rate remains steady

Published on March 17, 2015 in Statewide/Top Headlines by James Call

Gov. Rick Scott continues to preach from the Book of Low Taxation while a choir of number crunchers sings about more people going to work. The Florida jobless rate remained unchanged in January at 5.7 percent, above the national rate of 5.5 percent but showing an increase of 13,900 jobs compared to December and 274,000 more jobs than a year ago, according to the Department of Economic Opportunity. “Florida’s exceptional economic turnaround makes it clear that we are enacting policies…

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The day that was in Florida Politics — March 16

Published on March 16, 2015 in Statewide/Top Headlines by James Call

It was a day of announcements at the state Capitol. Morning broke with former legislator Joe Scarborough announcing that Marco Rubio was selling his Tallahassee home. Details here. Rubio had purchased a three-bedroom/two-bath house with fellow lawmaker David Rivera in 2005. It has been a bit of a headache for Rubio. The two were unable to unload it when the Great Recession created a housing glut and they had left Tallahassee for new jobs in Washington. A bank had started…

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Catching up with Florida Democratic Party chair Allison Tant

Published on March 16, 2015 in Top Headlines by James Call

An Allison Tant rant was featured in a House Republican video produced for the annual Capitol Press Corps Press Skits. The segment set to rap music was taken from a news conference when Tant used strong language to head off a potential House Democratic eadership fight. It was unclear whether it was included to get laughs at Tant’s expense or to encourage the Democrats to get their act together; after a while a string of 81-39 victories get kind of redundant —…

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Growler beer draws unanimous vote, Jack Latvala to consider tasting restrictions

Published on March 16, 2015 in Top Headlines by James Call

The Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee quenched Sen. Jack Latvala’s thirst for votes by unanimously passing his proposal to end the state’s prohibition on growler-size beer containers. Florida law allows beer to be sold in sizes up to 32 ounces and more than 128 ounces but not in the half-gallon containers that are the favorite of craft beer aficionados nationwide. Latvala started out, he explained to the committee, with just a growler beer but the Regulated Industries Committee put more…

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Matt Gaetz says he’s frustrated by Charlotte’s Web’s unsolved mystery

Published on March 16, 2015 in Top Headlines by James Call

State Rep. Matt Gaetz began Monday morning describing an “unsolved mystery,” how to get Florida’s first legal marijuana crop in the ground and begin supplying children afflicted with a severe form of epilepsy with medicinal oil to calm their seizures –- which can be fatal. “I sense an enhanced appetite for legislative review but how to inject the Legislature into rule making without creating more delay is an unsolved mystery – at this point,” said Gaetz. Gaetz was the House…

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The week ahead in Florida politics

Published on March 15, 2015 in Statewide/Top Headlines by James Call

At the state Capitol this week the budget begins to take shape and Rep. Richard Corcoran increasingly becomes the man to watch. By the end of the week the Senate will have released its budget allocation and Corcoran and Sen. Tom Lee, the two chambers’ appropriation chairs, will move closer to center stage as a spending plan begins to take shape. The House released its allocations, the amount of money dedicated to each spending silo; education, health care, etc., last week. The document left…

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The week that was in Florida politics – March 13

Published on March 13, 2015 in Statewide/Top Headlines by James Call

I was all prepared to begin this week’s column telling you how cool and smooth I think John Armstrong is. I’ve taken some shots at the Secretary of Health over his handling of developing rules to implement the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014. The process places us in an adversarial relationship and the Scott administration communication strategy makes it a heated one. My Buckeye education though mandates acknowledgement of a skilled player at work. Seriously, Pittsburgh Pirates icons decorate…

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Life and politics from the Sunshine State's best city

James Call - page 17

James Call has 398 articles published.

Florida unemployment rate remains steady

The day that was in Florida Politics — March 16

Catching up with Florida Democratic Party chair Allison Tant

Growler beer draws unanimous vote, Jack Latvala to consider tasting restrictions

Matt Gaetz says he’s frustrated by Charlotte’s Web’s unsolved mystery

The week ahead in Florida politics

The week that was in Florida politics – March 13

James Call - page 17

James Call has 398 articles published.

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