Sunburn for 8/5 – A morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics

A morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.

***Sunburn is sponsored by Tucker/Hall – one of Florida’s leading public affairs and public relations firms. Bring in their team to help you with state and local government issues, ballot initiatives, regulatory issues and grassroots campaigns. They can also help you push back against fake consumer groups. Visit TuckerHall.com to read about their team.***

2 ASKS 

1. Help us raise 10,000 Legos for the kids! Great Explorations is building a new construction exhibit where they’ll have more than 22,000 Lego bricks! But only if you pitch in and help us “raise” 10,000 Legos. 

Michelle and I are asking all of our friends to join usin collecting Legos for Great Ex’s new exhibit. Please consider donating some new or well-loved Lego bricks. You can drop them off at our home, or buy what the Museum needs on E-Bay (link here) and have it delivered to us. 

Let’s collect as many Legos as possible between now and August 15. Please visit this Facebook page for more information.

2. Help determine who are Florida’s best political consultants: By analyzing campaign finance spending data, election results and several other metrics, as well as surveying dozens of operatives in the industry, we are compiling the definitive list of the best political consultants in the state. 

This special series will be unveiled beginning September 2. In the meantime, your input is welcomed. Who belongs on this list? How should this list be compiled? Would you like to be part of the panel which determines who makes the list? If you are interested, please drop me an e-mail to [email protected]. 

THE WEEK AHEAD

In the wake of Duke Energy Florida announcing it will scrap plans for two nuclear reactors in Levy County, a debate about nuclear-project costs will shift Mondayto the state Public Service Commission. Later Monday, the state is scheduled to execute a mass murderer from Miami-Dade County. Then, Gov. Rick Scott and the state Cabinet will become the main attraction as they decide Tuesday whether to allow researchers to exhume remains at a former reform school in Jackson County.

The News Service of Florida offers a comprehensive preview of the week ahead here.

FIVE QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What kind of reception will Duke Energy and its recently announced settlement receive at Monday’s meeting of the Public Service Commission?

Will the sit-in staged by the Dream Defenders, now in its third week, come to an amicable conclusion now that Speaker Will Weatherford has announced plans to hold hearings on the controversial ‘Stand Your Ground’ law?

It’s the hottest time of the year in Florida, but what will the temperature be for members of Congress returning to their districts for a month-long recess? Will this be another “hot” Summer like in was in 2010 when the fate of the Affordable Care Act raged at fiery town-hall meetings?

How rosy is Florida’s economic future?  The Revenue Estimating Conference meets on Friday to  discuss general-revenue taxes, a key source of funding for education, health and criminal-justice programs. 

Is Governor Rick Scott ever going to get around to naming a Lieutenant Governor? One way to change the topic away from the resignation of Tony Bennett would be to announce a new LG.

***Today’s SUNBURN is brought to you by Bright House Networks Business Solutions, your locally-based leader in advanced communications and networking solutions. At Bright House, it’s not just about providing customized solutions to fit your business; it’s about making sure you have the necessary support for all your IT needs. We provide IT support tailored to the small to mid-sized business as well as Enterprise Managed Services. So whether you need help setting up your network, want ongoing maintenance and the security of knowing your technology is up to date, or you want to outsource all your IT needs, we can help. We have the right technology for any size business.***

OBAMA TO ADDRESS VETERANS IN ORLANDO ON WEDNESDAY via Alex Leary of the Tampa Bay Times

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will travel to Orlando next Saturday for the Disabled American Veterans’ National Convention, according to an official.

Obama will address attendees following an introduction by Mrs. Obama.

ICYMI: U.S. ADDS 162K JOBS, UNEMPLOYMENT TICKS DOWN TO 7.4%

A lukewarm and familiar jobs report released this morning found the economy added 162,000 jobs in July, the fewest since March and about 20,000 below most economists’ expectations. The unemployment rate fell to 7.4 percent, its lowest reading since December 2008 and down from 8.2 percent in July 2012, because of employment gains, though some people also stopped looking for work and dropped out of the labor force. The July data is consistent with a slow pace of employment growth that, if continued, would take more than seven years to close the jobs gap created by the recession. The stock market greeted the lackluster jobs numbers with a small skid.

AFTER YEARS OF LAGGING, FLORIDA BEATING THE U.S. ON EMPLOYMENT

Employers added 162,000 jobs in July, which was below expectations and offered more evidence of a recovery still stuck in second gear. The new rate means Florida still has a lower unemployment rate (7.1 percent) than the nation as a whole, though the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not yet released state unemployment reports for July. 

***CoreMessage is a full-service communications and issues advocacy firm with the experience, relationships and expertise to help you get your message out. Connected at the state capitol and throughout Florida, the CoreMessage team unites issues with advocates, messages with media and innovative solutions with traditional tactics to get results. Follow CoreMessage on Twitter and visit them on the Web,www.coremessage.com***

CONGRESS IN CHAOS via David Espo of the Associated Press

Internal dissent among Republicans nearly toppled Speaker John Boehner when lawmakers first convened in January. And leadership’s grip is no surer now: A routine spending bill was pulled from the floor this week, two days before the monthlong August break, for fear it would fall in a crossfire between opposing GOP factions.

A few weeks earlier, Boehner suggested a new standard for Congress. ‘We should not be judged on how many new laws we create. We ought to be judged on how many laws that we repeal,’ he said as Republicans voted for the 38th and 39th time since 2011 to repeal or otherwise neuter the health care law … [T]hey did it for a 40th time on Friday 

… [T]here have been accomplishments, … although two of the more prominent ones [nominations and debt ceiling] merely avoided a meltdown … Legislation linking interest rates on student loans to the marketplace passed, and … a bill to strengthen the government’s response to crimes against women. Two more measures sent recovery funds to the victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Among the 18 other measures signed into law so far: one named a new span over the Mississippi River as the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge, after the late baseball legend. Another renamed a section of the tax code after former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. A third clarified the size of metal blanks to be used by the Baseball Hall of Fame in minting gold and silver commemoratives: a diameter of .85 inches in the case of $5 gold coins, and 1.5 inches for $1 silvers. The Senate passed sweeping immigration legislation … The Senate approved a bipartisan farm bill that followed customary lines in providing funding simultaneously for growers and for government programs to feed the hungry. But a revolt by tea party conservatives blocked passage of a combined bill in the House.

THOUGHTS ABOUT CONGRESS TAKING A ‘RECESS’ via Matt Cooper of the National Journal

While the rest of us cram our vacations into a couple of weeks a year, members of Congress, who invoke the word “American” in every sentence, live like Europeans — taking August off. Yes, this is a “District Work Period,” but that has all the credibility of when the rest of us say “I’m working from home.”

Of course, there’s often drama during the vacation … er … recess. The tea party galvanized during the 2009 and 2010 summer breaks, foreshadowing the 2010 Republican sweep. Pitchforks and protests seem less likely at town meetings this year. But dread looms. The budget bills are nowhere. A debt-ceiling crisis is in the making. Immigration reform seems moribund.

When the members are on line at Reagan National waiting to jet home, they’ll have a lot to think about besides their tans.

***The Public Affairs Consultants Team of Jack Cory, Keyna Cory and Erin Daly  are traveling the state, from Pensacola to Key West, professionally coordinating Grassroots Programs for their clients with members of the Florida Legislature and local government officials.  They are already preparing for Interim Committee Meetings,  Special or Regular Legislative Session. For over 20 years, the P A Team has successfully helped their clients through the legislative, state and local government process by providing governmental consulting, lobbying and grassroots programs.  So far this year their Clients have received over $1 Billion in state appropriations and contracts. “They Cover Florida like the Sun”. ***

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY PROTESTS BCBS’S OBAMACARE PROFIT SCHEME via contributor Karen Cyphers

It is no secret that Blue Cross and Blue Shield stands to benefit greatly from federal health care reforms under Obamacare, but not everyone is happy about just how that is going down… Americans for Prosperity Florida state director Slade O’Brien in particular. O’Brien protested Friday in front of the Florida’s BCBS headquarters in Jacksonville to bring attention to the mega-insurer’s role in directing the efforts of Enroll America, the non-profit created to funnel Americans into health care policies through federally created exchanges.   Using Enroll America’s tax exempt status, BCBS and other board members are able to contribute to the entity receiving a tax deduction, while using the entity to sell their own products for a profit.  And in BCBS’s case, this is not small potatoes profit.

BCBS’s outreach isn’t on its own the problem.  Instead, according to O’Brien, the concern is with how BCBS is going about its advocacy. “As a board member, Blue Cross and Blue Shield is running an organization that is advocating for people to buy a product they sell. That’s called inurnment and it’s not only unacceptable, it’s illegal,” O’Brien said in a statement. “Blue Cross and Blue Shield will pad their pockets with new taxpayer-subsidized insurance policies, while citizens lose jobs and businesses are unable to hire and expand…” To Americans for Prosperity, this is “the epitome of a big business-big government partnership designed to grow private business profits through government force, all under the guise of a non-profit.”

Consider what the reaction from the left would be if a Republican administration set up a program in which Big Insurance was to profit so largely while getting tax breaks to do so, specifically if the American public were as disapproving of the program as they are of ObamaCare. Public opinion polls have shown growing distrust of federalized hearth care, and this certainly won’t improve any time soon if people get the sense that the administration is complicit in a multi-billion dollar shell game played on the backs of Americans.

***Aggressive. Strategic. Creative. Sachs Media Group is Florida’s dominant independent communications firm. With offices in Tallahassee and Orlando, Sachs Media Group sets the pace in public relations, crisis management, branding, digital/social media, graphic design and video production. When the stakes are high, put the award-winning Sachs Media Group team on your side. SachsMedia.com***

GOVERNOR TO LAUNCH NEW PURGE OF FLORIDA VOTER ROLLS via Steve Bousquet and Michael Van Sickler of the Tampa Bay Times

Gov. Rick Scott will soon launch a new hunt for noncitizens on Florida’s voter roll, a move that’s sure to provoke new cries of a voter “purge” as Scott ramps up his own re-election effort.

Similar searches a year ago were rife with errors, found few ineligible voters and led to lawsuits by advocacy groups who said it disproportionately targeted Hispanics, Haitians and other minority groups. Those searches were handled clumsily and angered county election supervisors, who lost confidence in the state’s list of names.

“It was sloppy, it was slapdash and it was inaccurate,” said Polk County Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards. “They were sending us names of people to remove because they were born in Puerto Rico. It was disgusting.”

… Scott’s top elections official, Secretary of State Ken Detzner, is now creating a new list of suspected noncitizen voters by cross-checking state voter data with a federal database managed by the Department of Homeland Security.

Detzner’s director of elections, Maria Matthews, sent a letter to election supervisors Friday, promising “responsible measures that ensure due process and the integrity of Florida’s voter rolls” and vowing to include them “in the planning and decision-making.”

Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, chairman of the Florida Hispanic Legislative Caucus, said Detzner told him that the state would resume its purge of potential noncitizens within 60 days. 

ORLANDO STEPS UP BIG FOR SCOTT’S RE-ELECTION COMMITTEE via David Damron of the Orlando Sentinel

Orlando business interests stepped up big for Rick Scott’s re-election effort last month, with recently released figures showing Mears Transportation and hotelier Harris Rosen among his top donors in July.

The “Let’s Get to Work” committee posted a July haul of more than $563,000, bringing his overall total to $9.2 million so far this year, records show.

Rosen wrote a $50,000 check toward the end of the month, while Mears and its City Cab Company of Orlando handed the incumbent governor $35,000 in various checks.

Darden Restaurants — which owns Red Lobster and Olive Garden — gave $2,000, and the Lake County-based retirement development, The Villages, cut a $25,000 donation check.

SCOTT’S $25 MILLION BY JANUARY TARGET MAY BE A STRETCH via Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times

Unless he’s planning to dig into his own $84 million net worth (and that doesn’t include his wife’s money), the governor will have to spend A LOT of time raising money over the next five months.

His Let’s Get to Work committee had $13.2 million on hand as of July 31, and so far this year he’s hauled in an average of $1.3 million a month (July was slow with a mere $563,000 raised). To get to $25 million in the bank, Scott will have to raise another $12 million by year’s end, requiring an average monthly haul of $2.4 million. That’s about $80,000 a day.

And that’s not even factoring in expenses. So far this election cycle, Let’s Get to Work has spent more than $1.3 million, including nearly $930,000 for consultants ($475,000 to his fundraiser, Forward Strategies, and $202,000 for his pollster and top strategist, Fabrizio McLaughlin & Associates). Weirdly but generously, Let’s Get to Work also spent more than $112,000 on holiday ornaments sold by the foundation that supports the Governor’s Mansion.

SMITH NAMES SCOTT HIS ‘LOSER OF THE WEEK IN FLORIDA POLITICS’: “Tony Bennett’s resignation amid questions about whether he gamed the school grading system in Indiana for a generous donor is only the latest sign of turmoil in the Scott administration. Among the casualties of controversy or scandal over the past 15 months: Chief of Staff Steve MacNamara; Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson; Department of Economic Opportunity director Hunting Deutsch; Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll; Department of Children & Families secretary David Wilkins.”

***Today’s SUNBURN is sponsored by Corcoran & Johnston Government Relations. One of Florida’s Top Lobbying Firms, Corcoran & Johnston has demonstrated the ability to navigate government and successfully deliver results for clients, time and again.  To learn more visit www.corcoranfirm.com.***

BENNETT RESIGNATION BUOYS FLORIDA SCHOOL TESTING CRITICS via The News Service of Florida

Critics of the state’s education policies are now seizing on the resignations, arguing that the problem is less the person on the job than the state’s accountability system.

… “It is baffling that some in the Legislature keep moving the bar higher on our children, while the bar for gubernatorial appointees to ensure their success seems to get lower and lower,” Sen. Audrey Gibson said in a statement issued Thursday. “Not to mention the instability of the ‘swinging door effect’ that undermines forward movement on the critical role of government to educate our children.”

Florida Education Association President Andy Ford was among those saying that Bennett was done in by the “so-called reforms” that he backed. 

“As long as it is a political appointment, the office of the education commissioner will be a revolving door, and our students, schools and communities will continue to experience the whiplash of these policies,” Ford said. “It’s past time that we include teachers, parents and administrators in developing solutions, not just listen to the ‘reformers’ who have an approach that has been a disaster for public education in Florida.” 

In many ways, it’s a battle that goes beyond Scott or the education commissioner, who is technically chosen by the State Board of Education but is often the governor’s favored pick. The fight over high-stakes testing and its role in Florida’s attempt to measure student performance has its roots in the education reform battles during former Gov. Jeb Bush’s term.

BENNETT’S INCREDIBLE ACT OF CHUTZPAH 

According to Jordan Ellenberg in Slate, Bennett has a “different” explanation for changing the “C” for the Christel House Academy to an “A.”  He was simply correcting a math error.

Ellenberg writes that Bennett’s account is “perfectly mathematical reasonable,” and it could get him off the hook, except for one thing — it appears to be completely false.

Bennett says the state system unfairly penalizes schools without grades 11 and 12, and those schools (13 in all) received a “zero” in those upper grade rankings. This created an “unusual grade configuration” that officials caught and “fixed.”

Unfortunately for Bennett’s version of the situation, the schools were already using weighted numbers, which take in account the two “missing” grade levels. Upon closer examination of the actual numbers used, the “unfair” zeros look more like a “complete fabrication.”

Since Christel was not technically a high school, Bennett asserted the formula used for high schools didn’t apply, and it was acceptable to change the grades as he saw fit. In essence, he completely ignored both ninth- and 10th graders at Christel who were not performing well. Bennett felt the school was good at what it does, regardless of the scores it received.

Ellenberg says that it was “an act of astonishing chutzpah.” Bennett should have stuck with the “C” for Christel and delivered some “tough love,” forcing them to accept the lower grade as an incentive to improve.

That is, in fact, what accountability in education means. 

“Actually, I think it says even more, perhaps, about Jeb Bush and his policies,” said Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, when asked what the repeated resignations said about the DOE under Scott.

***RSA Consulting Group is a full service consulting firm with expertise in the areas of government & legislative affairs, community affairs, strategic planning, as well as media & public relations.  RSA fully integrates all of these areas to achieve far-reaching results and yield high-impact successes for their clients.  When you choose RSA Consulting Group, you’re choosing a team well known for their exceptional work ethic, integrity and ability to accomplish the goal.  For more information, visit RSA Consulting Group’s website.*** 

POLICY NOTES

Property taxes tallied: The Revenue Estimating Conference will discuss ad valorem, or property tax, revenues. 9 a.m.

Nuclear costs discussed: The Florida Public Service Commission will start a hearing about costs that would be passed along to customers of Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy Florida in 2014 for nuclear-power projects. The PSC could defer the portion of the hearing related to Duke’s costs, after the utility announced an agreement that includes scrapping a controversial nuclear project in Levy County. Regulators are expected to take up the agreement, which also deals with base electric rates and other issues, later this year. 9:30 a.m.

Medicaid costs at issue: The Social Services Estimating Conference will discuss Medicaid expenditures, a key issue in the state budget. 1:30 p.m.

REVENUE FORECASTERS SET TO MEET THIS WEEK via the News Service of Florida

State economists will try to get a fix on how well Florida’s economy is doing and what that means for state revenues next week. Forecasters are set to get together for a general-revenue estimating conference on Friday, updating their projections for how much tax money will be coming into the state. Later versions of the numbers will be used to put together the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2014.

***SUNBURN is brought to you in part by Bascom Communications & Consulting, LLC, a top-notch public affairs, political communications and public relations firm.  Visit www.bascomllc.com to read about their growing team, success stories and case studies.***

WEATHERFORD TAPS GAETZ TO HOLD SYG HEARINGS via Michael Van Sickler of the Tampa Bay Times

In an op-ed published Friday, Speaker Weatherford agreed, albeit grudgingly, to hold hearings this fall on the state’s “stand your ground” law.

“Our evaluation of its effectiveness should be guided by objective information, not by political expediency,” Weatherford said. “Does the law keep the innocent safer? Is it being applied fairly? Are there ways we can make this law clearer and more understandable.”

Although the announcement falls short of holding a special legislative session that could repeal or change the stand your ground law, it’s the biggest commitment to date by Republican leaders to review the controversial law that’s been blamed by some in the Trayvon Martin case. Gov. Scott has refused to ask for a special session, as have Weatherford and Senate President Don Gaetz. Meanwhile, Democrats are writing letters to the Secretary of State to trigger a poll of the Legislature on whether to hold the special session. It’s considered a longshot with 96 lawmakers needed to ask for the session.

But Weatherford’s announcement of a hearing accomplishes a top goal by the Dream Defenders, a group of activists who are entering their fourth week in holding a sit-in at the Capitol. Members of the group welcomed the news Friday of hearings because they said it will continue to shine a national spotlight on their cause.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I don’t support changing one damn comma of the stand your ground law,” Matt Gaetz, the chair of the House’s Criminal Justice subcommittee. Gaetz, who passed a bill this session that expedited death row cases, is no apologist for stand your ground. 

TAMPA BAY TIMES PUNISHES WEATHERFORD FOR SUBMITTING THE OP-ED TO THE TAMPA TRIBUNE

Because he had the audacity to submit to the Tampa Tribune the aforementioned op-ed, Weatherford was punished by the Tampa Bay Times with this headline.

Or was Weatherford punished because, after passing major legislation reforming the state’s elections and ethics laws, he would not support expanding Medicaid in Florida under Obamacare?

Either way, the headline is for a story not even written by a Times staffer, but by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting. A story on such shaky ground that The Jacksonville Times-Union‘s Matt Dixon (who is right now about as connected there is a reporter in Tallahassee) tweeted, “So, wait, story is he failed to disclose something the same story says he wasn’t required to disclose?”

Jeez, Steve Bousquet and Michael Van Sickler, if you’re that pissed off the Trib got an op-ed why not just call the Speaker a son-of-a-b*tch and be done with it.

***Applications are now being accepted for the 2013 Central Florida Political Leadership Institute. National political and public policy experts will lead the two and a half day program being held at the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College in Winter Park, October 24-26, 2013. If you live within the 7-county central Florida region and interested in learning more about what it takes to run an issues-based campaign for local, state or federal office, please apply for the 25-member class by August 9. Contact PLI Director Christina Johnson for more information.***

FLORIDA HOMELESS ADVOCATES SET AGENDA FOR 2014 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

The Florida Coalition for the Homeless met in Orlando to establish legislative priorities for the 2014 state session. 

The group unanimously approved the agenda with two spending-based legislative priorities to take to Tallahassee next year:

• A $5 million Challenge Grant Program, authorized by Florida law to provide funds to assist local efforts to deal with the homeless, support prevention services, outreach and transition to permanent housing.
• An increase by $1 million to Florida’s local homeless coalitions, divided equally between each of the 28 groups. These would be funds for continued day-to-day operations to administer state and federal programs providing homeless services.

“Our goal today was to work together,” said FCH President Suzanne Edwards, “collaboratively with our local homeless coalition members to identify a short list of budgetary priorities that will make a difference in our efforts to assist children, families and Floridians who are homeless.”

The goal of these two priorities, according to Edwards, is to “implement the best ideas for ending homelessness.” For two years, the FCH operated without help from the Legislature; the current focus is now to secure funding for a “minimal increase in local coalition infrastructure.”  

LEGISLATIVE STAFFING MERRY-GO-ROUND

On: Harold Hedrick has been hired as Legislative Research Assistant in the Senate Majority Leader’s Office. 

Off: Jeff Branch has left Sen. Gwen Margolis’s office.

On: Shannon Hardy is the new Legislative Assistant  in Sen. Greg Evers’s office. 

Off: Jessica Neer has departed Sen. Joseph Abruzzo’s office.

On: Teresa Williams-Elamen is now working for Sen. Audrey Gibson.

On: Julia Garcia is Rep. Victor Torres’ new district secretary.

Off: Marianne Marshall retired at the end of July from the office of Rep. Janet Adkins.

On: Alexis Moseley has been brought on by Rep. Shevrin Jones.

On: Shayra Rosario has been hired by Rep. Larry Ahern,

REP. MARK DANISH’S POLITICAL ACTIVITY UNDER SCRUTINY FROM HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

As a teacher and state legislator, Rep. Mark Danish of District 63 tries to keep the two sides of his life separate. He took a leave of absence from teaching science at Benito Middle School, and was careful not to take his political persona into the classroom.

However, Danish has an open file in the Hillsborough County school district professional standards department. No one seems to know why, and school officials will not disclose the nature of the investigation.

Danish, a Democrat who represents northern Hillsborough County, was not aware there was a pending investigation.  He does remember at one time being told the district was “watching him,” since there is a strict policy against campaigning during work. His principal told Danish that it is a common practice when school personnel run for office and that he should “just be very careful.”

The Hillsborough School District’s policy against campaigning at work is currently under federal scrutiny, when a maintenance worker filed a lawsuit over his firing for passing out petitions to cafeteria workers in 2012.

TWEET, TWEET: @fineout: From St. Augustine Record: Traffic jam/backup on I-95 blamed on back-to-school tax holiday

***Today’s SUNBURN is brought to you by the Florida Medical Association: Affordable, safe, patient-centered health care in Florida starts with a physician-led team, with all health care professionals playing valuable and appropriate roles. Learn more here.***

GARY AUBUCHON APPOINTED TO CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Former state Rep. Gary Aubuchon was appointed Friday by House Speaker Will Weatherford to a three year term as a member of the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s Board of Governors.  Aubuchon was elected to the Florida House in 2006, where the homebuilder and real estate broker chaired the Rules & Calendar Committee and championed issues such as affordable housing, growth management, and building safety.  Aubuchon replaces Carlos Lacasa, whose term expired July 31.  The Citizens Board is scheduled to meet next on September 20, 2013 in Jacksonville.

JOURNO DARA KAM LEAVING PALM BEACH POST FOR NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Tallahassee journalist Dara Kam will join The News Service of Florida staff next week, bringing her extensive reporting experience to our coverage of state government and politics.

Kam, who was named recently by The Washington Post’s political blog as one of the best political reporters in Florida, has worked the past nine years for The Palm Beach Post. She also has reported in Tallahassee for the Associated Press and Gannett News Service. During the past 15 years, she has covered legislative sessions and statewide campaigns, along with high-profile issues such as the 2000 presidential-election recount, the Terri Schiavo case, Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

With the News Service, she will play a key role in legislative and campaign coverage and bolster reporting on Gov. Rick Scott’s administration. Also, Kam will lead coverage of gambling issues, write about the lobbying industry and provide in-depth reporting about numerous other topics.

WONDERING whether anyone can get anybody at The Post to go on the record with the question on everybody’s mind….will they be accepting applications for Dara’s job.

***SUNBURN is sponsored in part by Strategic Image Management – Florida’s premier one-stop shop for political campaigns, issue advocacy, legislative initiatives, & public relations.  Strategic Image Management does everything in-house, saving you money and providing maximum flexibility. Individualized campaigns for a customizable world. From Congress to County and issues to initiatives, Strategic Image Management WINS. Visit www.simwins.com or follow us on twitter @SIMWINS and start winning today***

APPOINTED: Peter Crocitto to the Commission for Independent Education.

KYLE SIMON LEAVING HCA via the Florida Current

Kyle Simon has left his position as Government Affairs Director at the Home Care Association of Florida in Tallahassee to take a public affairs position at the DCI Group in Washington, D.C., according to a news release from HCA. He worked at HCA since February 2010.

MATT CARTER JOINS RAMOS & SPARKS

Matt Carter, former Public Service Commission Chairman and current member of the governing board of the state university system, has joined the Tallahassee firm of Ramos & Sparks Group. Carter will serve as Of Counsel and be responsible for the firm’s issue and executive branch advocacy efforts in the areas of energy, telecommunications, technology, education and business.

NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS

Janay Austin: AARP

Slater Bayliss, The Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners: 10/20 Digital

Bo Bohannon, Marty Fiorentino, Joe Mobley, Mark Pinto, The Fiorentino Group: No Casinos, Inc. 

Nicole Fried, Trevor Mask, Katherine Webb, Colodny Fass Talenfeld Karlinsky Abate & Webb: No Casinos, Inc.

Frank Matthews, Hopping Green & Sams: Duke Energy Corporation

PANAMA CITY ATTORNEY JOINS CROWDED FIELD FOR HD 6

Attorney R. Waylon Thompson is the latest Republican joining an increasingly crowded race for the Florida House District 6 seat as reported in the Panama City News Herald.  This makes six GOP candidates, as well as two Democrats, looking to replace the term-limited Rep. Jimmy Patronis.

The Panama City lawyer, a partner in the firm Manuel & Thompson, filed to run this week. He will be competing with Republicans Mark Anderson and Thelma Rohan from Panama City; Norman Ray Bishop and Brian Rust from Panama City Beach; and Melissa Hagan from Lynn Haven. The Democratic candidates for District 6 are Ryan Jack Singleton from Panama City and Jamie Carroll Shepard from Panama City Beach.

WALMART HIRES MONE BROWN via the Florida Current

Mone Brown has joined Walmart as Director of Public Affairs and government relations covering state government affairs and strategic initiatives in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, according to a news release from the retail giant. She came from the Metz, Husband and Daughton consulting firm where she specialized in representing Fortune 500 businesses and nonprofits in the Florida Capitol. She has also has had roles in several state government agencies.

***101 Restaurant and Mint Lounge in Tallahassee is where Big City Style Meets Southern Hospitality.  101 offers a modern American cuisine featuring steaks, seafood, and specialty cocktails.   Our private rooms are perfect for a client dinner, fundraising reception, or any event you desire.  Located near the Capitol, 101 is open for lunch and dinner every day.  Check out www.101tally.com or call at 850-391-1309 to make a reservation or book your private event. Or email us at [email protected].***  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Rep. Ed Hooper.