A Miami-Dade County Republican will again try to pass legislation that would prohibit sports franchises from being able to build or renovate stadiums on publicly owned land.
Florida cities and counties are in a dilemma about pot. State lawmakers approved regulations in June that left city and county officials with a Hobson’s choice about the sale of medical marijuana in their communities.
State Rep. Paul Renner pledged military-unit-like reliance on teamwork and full collaboration after he was elected by his Republican peers to be their leader-designate. The Palm Coast Republican won on a first ballot during a closed-door meeting of Republican members of the freshman class Friday. He beat out J.W. Grant of Tampa, Erin Grall of Vero Beach, and Bryan Donalds of Naples. Renner, a retired U.S. Navy Reserves commander and attorney, spoke of teamwork and collaboration, said his class is deep with…
Does Florida’s governor have the power to take away a prosecutor’s case if he disagrees with a decision not to seek the death penalty? The state’s highest court will hear arguments Wednesday over that question in a legal fight between Gov. Rick Scott and State Attorney Aramis Ayala, whose district covers the Orlando area. Their fight began in March when Ayala, a Democrat, said her office would no longer seek the death penalty, explaining the process is costly, it’s not…
Surrounded by House Speaker Richard Corcoran and many of his members in a small, Orlando Catholic school dedicated to special needs students, Gov. Rick Scott signed House Bill 7069 into law, initiating major shifts in how Florida provides education. While the education omnibus bill offers changes for all kinds of schools in Florida, from requiring recess to reducing mandatory testing, it accelerates state tax dollar funding for-profit and nonprofit charter and private schools, expands parents’ abilities to chose schools, and tightens…
As Orange County once again unfurled a piece of the Sea-to-Sea Rainbow Flag in downtown Orlando, city and county leaders insisted its values of acceptance, understanding, diversity and inclusion shall forever define Orlando. The anniversary of the catastrophic mass murder at Orlando’s popular gay nightclub Pulse on Latino night, June 12, 2016, began largely in celebration of what this community found within itself in the hours, days, months and now the first year since. City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, introduced at…
Unlike their friends in county government a few blocks east on Kennedy Blvd., Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn‘s administration is recognizing the anniversary of the mass shooting of 49 people at the Pulse LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, which took place one year ago June 12, 2016. The city is hanging the rainbow Pride flag from the top of Old City Hall this weekend; the rainbow colors will be featured over the five downtown bridges. Tampa is also showing solidarity with Orlando in a new thirty-second…
