Ever since I acquired the rights to the perfect domain for my efforts — FloridaPolitics.com — I knew that one day, this website would have to be put out to pasture.
Well, after more than 51,000 posts, this is the final one.
Going forward, I am devoting my full energies to the Florida Politics brand, whether it be the website, email programs like “Sunburn” and “Last Call,” or our gorgeous, award-winning INFLUENCE Magazine. Keep Reading
Two days after the St. Petersburg City Council passed an ordinance limiting campaign contributions, which is expected to be legally challenged, Council Chair Darden Rice was still exulting. A former president of the League of Women Voters in St. Pete, Rice was an early champion of the just passed measure that … Keep Reading
Four of the top five teams in the country kicked off their games at noon Eastern on Saturday, which suggests that all were expected to roll. No. 2 Clemson, No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Georgia all did just that. Then there was No. 3 Oklahoma. The Sooners and Iowa … Keep Reading
After hours of debate, the St. Petersburg City Council approved a campaign-finance reform measure Thursday, which could have national implications. The final vote was 6-2, with Council members Ed Montanari and Jim Kennedy dissenting. Once the final vote became clear, the crowd in city chambers erupted with cheers. … Keep Reading
If there was any doubt about the interest level in the ‘battle of the two Ricks,’ check the latest campaign finance reports for Rick Kriseman and Rick Baker, both of whom raised substantial money during the last two weeks of September. … Keep Reading
Evan Longoria and Logan Morrison homered Friday night and the Tampa Bay Rays clinched third place in the AL East with a 7-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Longoria led off the fifth with his 20th homer off Baltimore starter Wade Miley, marking Longoria’s fifth straight 20-homer season and the ninth of his 10-year career.
A man who formerly supervised teens in the Florida House of Representatives’ page and messenger program was convicted Friday on an attempted underage-sex charge. Michael A. Chmielewski, 38, was found guilty on one count of “attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity” by a federal jury in Tallahassee, court records show. He could face up to life imprisonment at a Jan. 5 sentencing.
Health officials won’t be able to meet a legislatively mandated Tuesday deadline to hand out five new medical-marijuana licenses, the head of the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use said Friday.
Sen. Dana Young has again filed a bill to exempt fantasy sports play from regulation under the state’s gambling laws. Young, a Tampa Republican, filed her measure (SB 374) Friday afternoon. She introduced similar legislation this past session.
O.J. Simpson won’t return to Florida if Pam Bondi has any sway over his homecoming. The state’s Republican attorney general sent a 2-1/2 page letter to Corrections Secretary Julie Jones on Friday, saying she objected to Simpson’s return on behalf of the state. He previously lived in Kendall, Miami-Dade County.
While Florida’s senators expressed outrage at the Cuban government Friday, Tampa area Democratic Representative Kathy Castor is offering a noticeably less punitive response. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio were angry after the U.S. State Department announced it will remove more than half its staff from the American embassy in Havana in the wake of mysterious attacks that have injured 21 people associated with the embassy.
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam announced Friday that Puerto Rican students displaced by Hurricane Maria will be able to get free school meals through the National School Lunch Program. That’s “in response to the ongoing crisis in Puerto Rico and in preparation for an influx of evacuees,” Putnam’s office said in a release.
