Life and politics from the Sunshine State's best city

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William March - page 3

William March has 21 articles published.

Senator’s child with Down syndrome inspires legislation

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As Andy Gardiner and his wife, Camille, drove home from the Orlando hospital with their newborn son 11 years ago, in shock at having just learned he had Down syndrome, they made a decision that reverberates in the Florida Legislature today. With Gardiner now in the powerful post of state Senate president, lawmakers are poised to pass legislation that will put Florida on the cutting edge in education, savings and employment opportunities for the intellectually disabled. The package of bills…

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New restrictions on abortion could pass in state Legislature

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The Florida Legislature is considering several new measures to restrict abortions, including one with a strong chance of passage that calls for a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can undergo the procedure. That measure, House Bill 0633, would require that a woman make one trip to the clinic for legally required counseling before coming back 24 hours later for the procedure. Another measure, House Bill 147, with less chance of passage, would require that abortion clinic doctors have admitting…

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In Tallahassee, there’s a low-profile push for child welfare

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    In a state legislative session preoccupied with gambling, guns, booze and tax cuts, the Children’s Movement of Florida is pushing a cause that gets little attention: healthcare and early education for children from poor families. It may not draw high-powered lobbyists to the Capitol rotunda, but Vance Aloupis, director of the group, said it’s about the future. “Way too often these issues that are truly foundational to the future of our state are going unnoticed,” he said. “Every…

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Rick Scott, Cabinet reject Confederates for veterans hall of fame

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Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet rejected nominations of three Confederate soldiers for the Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame Tuesday after being told they weren’t eligible because they didn’t serve in the U.S. military. Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans argued they should be included because they honorably served the state and became prominent citizens after the Civil War. But the state NAACP opposed their nomination. Tallahassee NAACP President Dale Landry said the men symbolized a time of…

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In Florida’s “beer war,” the growler appears to be winning

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After a two-year political and public relations battle, Florida’s craft beer fans may soon be able to leave their local brewery with the preferred half-gallon refillable jug of the microbrew they love and retire their “Free the growler” T-shirts. The Florida Legislature appears poised to pass a bill that would legalize 64-ounce refillable beer jugs or “growlers,” which are legal in every other state. Florida already allows quart and gallon growlers, but the popular half-gallon became a pawn in a…

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Alimony reform bill again stirs passions on both sides

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The Florida Legislature is considering a bill that would end permanent alimony in most future divorces, setting up formulas that would set time limits and amounts based on the length of the marriage and the income difference between the spouses. Sponsored by state Rep. Colleen Burton and state Sen. Kelli Stargel, both Polk County Republicans, the bill (HB 943) calls for payments that would last to between 25 and 75 percent of the length of the marriage. Judges could break…

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Rick Scott, black legislators find little common ground

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In what one legislator called a “long-delayed meeting,” Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislative Black Caucus discussed race relations, economic deprivation and healthcare in sometimes confrontational language Tuesday, finding little common ground. State Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, caucus chairman, said afterward he heard “non-responses” from Scott. “The blood of the community is boiling” over police shootings in Florida and elsewhere,” Bullard told reporters after the meeting. He told Scott caucus members are working in their districts to “quell those…

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