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Tampa Bay region marked for $33M in Florida TaxWatch ‘turkeys’

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Florida TaxWatch, the nonpartisan government watchdog organization, served up its annual list of “Budget Turkeys,” naming almost $178 million in line-item projects part of the $82.4 billion budget passed May 8 by the Florida House and Senate. For the Tampa Bay region, Florida TaxWatch targeted more than $33 million in local projects as individual line items added to the spending plans—usually last minute or in committee — without a thoughtful and thorough budget process. The largest project in the region…

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Rick Scott gets $178M serving of Florida TaxWatch ‘budget turkeys’

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

Thanksgiving is six months away, but Friday is “turkey” day for Gov. Rick Scott. Florida TaxWatch, the nonpartisan government watchdog group, released its annual “Budget Turkey List,” of almost $178 million in line-item projects that are part of the $82.4 billion budget passed May 8 by the Florida House and Senate. Budget Turkeys are individual line items added to the spending plans—usually last minute or in committee — without a thoughtful and thorough budget process. A “Turkey” label does not…

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#25 on list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians — John Legg

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

A list regular for years (14 on last year’s list), the GOP lawmaker from Trinity chaired the influential Senate Committee on Education Pre-K-12. He’s effectively killed several education bills simply by not scheduling hearings for them. Legg’s legacy on education policy will be extensive when he calls it a career in Tallahassee. He spent five years working on creating end-of-course exams. He helped rewrite the state’s school grading system, and advocated for a greater connection between teacher evaluations and student…

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Jeb Bush to appear at RPOF fundraiser in Tampa on Friday

in 2017/Top Headlines by

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will be in Tampa on Friday night for a fundraiser, but it’s not for his own struggling presidential campaign. The GOP presidential contender will be appearing at the Centre Club in Tampa in an event for the Republican Party of Florida. Among the Republicans who are scheduled to attend include Jeff Brandes, Speaker-Designate Richard Corcoran, Bill Galvano, Jack Latvala, and Wilton Simpson. Honorary co-hosts are House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, Senate President Andy Gardiner, Senate President…

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“Unsure” leads new GOP Florida Senate poll — David Jolly next at 11.9 percent

in 2017/Top Headlines by

Rumors still float that there could be more candidates to enter the Florida U.S. Senate race, and a new survey of that race out on Wednesday from St. Leo University Polling Institute shows why that rumor persists. A majority of voters surveyed — 56.5 percent — say they are unsure who they prefer in the race, which doesn’t go before voters until the end of August of 2016. Next on the list is Pinellas County Congressman David Jolly at 11.6 percent. Lieutenant…

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St. Leo University Florida presidential poll out shows Donald Trump with 31% — Marco Rubio 15% — Jeb Bush 14%

in 2017/Top Headlines by

Donald Trump continues to lead in the GOP presidential race in Florida, according to a new poll released on Wednesday by St. Leo University Polling Institute. The NYC businessman is at 30.6 percent, up nearly 5 percent points from a similar survey conducted in October. Marco Rubio is in second place with 15 percent, a drop of over 6 points over the past two months. Jeb Bush is at 14.3 percent, a drop of 1 percent since October. Ben Carson slips to fourth…

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Patrick Murphy calls on Congress to vote to ban those on terrorist watch list from buying guns

in 2017/Top Headlines by

South Florida Congressman and Democratic Senate hopeful Patrick Murphy announced Tuesday his support for legislation that would ban people put on the terrorist watch list from being able to buy firearms in the U.S. That’s the same legislation that the GOP-led Congress rejected last week in both the House and the Senate, coming in the same week of the massacre in San Bernardino. Two Florida Republicans running for Senate, David Jolly and Ron DeSantis, voted against the bill in the House. “This bill isn’t…

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