James Call - page 53

Stakeholders and regulators remain at odds over how medicinal marijuana will be distributed in the Florida starting Jan. 1. Department of Health officials are reading the measure signed into law in June as authorizing just five dispensary organizations with one retail outlet each. They proposed that a distribution “infrastructure” requirement can be met with a “transportation plan” for deliveries. “It’s a nightmare,” said Jeff Sharkey of the Medical Marijuana Business Association. “This particular part of the rules is totally inefficient…

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Citizens in the Capital City bypassed the city commission and placed an initiative on the November ballot to include an ethics amendment in the city charter. Citizens for Ethics Reform announced Tuesday it had collected more than twice the legally required number of signatures and submitted them to the Leon County Supervisor of Elections. The City of Tallahassee has been notified that 20,657 signatures have been certified and now state law requires the city commission to place the proposal on…

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Florida’s tourism industry is humming along quite nicely. An interim report released Monday indicates Visit Florida should meet a goal of 100 million annual visitors in 2015. A report commissioned by the public-private partnership for tourism marketing indicate that the industry hosted a record number of visitors in the first quarter of this year and preliminary second quarter numbers are up compared to a year ago. “There is no question the tourism industry in the state of Florida has a…

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In the dog days of summer,  state policy wonks gather up the numbers that inform the decisions the legislature and officials make during the spring legislative session. This week in Tallahassee much of the talk will be about money, what will be coming in and what is going out. There’s a reason it’s called the Capital City. State economists will discuss school construction dollars and general revenue. The Public Service Commission will hold a hearing on nuclear cost recovery and…

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Carol Marbin Miller may be the most effective advocate the children of Florida have. The Miami Herald reporter sets a high standard for public service journalism and Thursday she was promoted to senior investigative reporter for the Herald. In a memo announcing the promotion, executive editor Aminda Marques Gonzales said that Miller’s investigative reports have led to changes in state laws  including reducing the use of psychiatric drugs among foster kids, requiring foster kids to be in school, ending juvenile military…

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Associated Industries of Florida Thursday released its endorsements for the 120-member Florida House. All members are up for election this year and the business group endorsed candidates in 75 races. The group says its main purpose is to enhance the business climate in Florida. “All of these candidates have showcased their commitment to the success of our great state in terms of growing our economy, expanding our job base and positioning Florida as the No. 1 state to conduct business,”…

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Proponents of a new school choice law for special needs children Thursday had harsh words for the Florida Education Association. The state’s largest teachers union went to court earlier this month to stop implementation of a personal scholarship account.  The suit argued lawmakers violated the single-subject provision of the constitution when it approved the bill authorizing the program. Six families with special needs children want to intervene in the suit to defend the measure. They were joined by a member…

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