Sen. Jack Latvala – Page 4

Visit Florida defenders swarm Senate Appropriations Committee hearing

Published on January 26, 2017 in Statewide/Top Headlines by Michael Moline

Tourism business owners flocked to a Senate committee room Thursday to plead the case for Visit Florida, the state’s embattled tourism promotions agency. Representing both large operations and independent hotels and restaurants, they urged members of the Appropriations Committee to let the agency continue to sell Florida to potential tourists in the United States and overseas. Sheldon Suga, a manager at Hawks Cay Resort in Duck Key, brought 1,000 letters from hotel housekeepers and desk clerks, charter boat captains, and other…

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Jack Latvala defends Visit Florida amid Pitbull contract controversy

Published on December 15, 2016 in Statewide/Top Headlines by Michael Moline

Visit Florida, beleaguered over its $1 million promotional contract with the rapper Pitbull, found a defender Thursday in Senate budget chairman Jack Latvala. In light of a soft construction sector, “what’s kept the whole outlook from softening up has been our strong tourism economy,” Latvala told reporters after the Appropriations Committee heard about the financial demands the state faces during the next three years. “That’s particularly important today in light of the criticisms that seem to be coming now on a…

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Jac VerSteeg: Sen. Joe Abruzzo’s ‘wide open’ alternative to the Seminole Compact

Published on January 26, 2016 in Statewide/Top Headlines by Jac VerSteeg

What happens if the Florida Legislature refuses to ratify the Seminole Compact that Gov. Rick Scott negotiated with the Tribe? No one really knows, of course, but state Sen. Joe Abruzzo, a Boynton Beach Democrat, offered a tantalizing hint toward the end of a recent workshop by the Senate’s Regulated Industries Committee. Addressing Jim Allen, the CEO of Seminole Gaming, Sen. Abruzzo said: “In looking at this and all the moving parts and how difficult this issue is, we hear…

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