Murphy is the Democratic establishment pick for U.S. Senate. Grayson has churned out the descriptions “lickspittle pillock” and “sock puppet” to deride his fellow congressman.
Florida
Flagler’s 5.1% Unemployment Nearly Matches U.S. Rate Even as Jobs and Labor Force Dip
Flagler’s unemployment rate has fallen a full percentage point in a year, and is down from 8.3 percent two years ago. The rate went down even though 179 fewer people held jobs in April, because the labor force shrank by a larger number.
Pressured to Defy Obama Order on Transgender Bathrooms, Scott and Bondi Stay Mum So Far
Opponents of allowing transgender students to use restrooms of their choice could lead to a breakdown in school discipline or even attacks, supporters say there is no evidence of that.
FPL Bills Customers for Unbuilt Nuclear Plants But Wants Out of Justifying Need
Attorneys for consumers and business and environmental groups are fighting FPL’s request for a waiver from filing an annual analysis about the feasibility of adding two nuclear reactors in South Florida.
Hundreds Of Thousands Lose Food Stamps In Florida as Work Requirements Kick In
In Florida if you can’t show that you’re working or meet the work requirements some other way, you get penalized and lose your food stamps for the following month. If you fail to meet the requirements again, it’s a three-month sanction and then six months.
Opponents of Medical Pot Legalization Awaken from Slumber With Warning Video
The video, posted online by the “Vote No on 2 Campaign” alleges the measure would lead to a plethora of “pot shops” similar to the marijuana industry in California.
At Florida GOP Gathering, Opposition To Clinton Congeals Support for Trump
Florida Republican leaders are girding themselves for a must-win battle this fall as opposition to Clinton proves more unifying than Donald Trump.
License for Probable Cause: Justices Rule You May Be Pulled Over For Any Visible Tag Issue
Florida Justices, in a 5-2 decision, rejected an appeal from a driver stopped by Orlando police because a tag light and wires were hanging over the license plate on a vehicle he was driving.
Gov. Scott Seeks Congressional Hearing On Zika as Florida Cases Pass 100
Scott, who traveled to Washington on Wednesday, is seeking federal money for such things as Zika “preparedness” kits and additional staffing at mosquito control districts, his office said.
George Zimmerman’s Auction Of Gun He Used to Kill Trayvon Martin Misfires
Zimmerman described the gun as “a piece of American history” and said he’d send “portions” of the proceeds to “fight [Black Lives Matter] violence and fight “Hillary Clinton’s anti-firearm rhetoric.”
Florida’s Tortured Medical Pot Law Regulating Nurseries Keeps Drawing New Legal Challenges
The state has spent nearly $500,000 on private lawyers to represent the Department of Health in legal challenges that have delayed implementation of a 2014 law that first opened the door for medical marijuana in Florida.
South Florida Judge Declares State’s New Death Penalty Law Unconstitutional
While the decision is not necessarily controlling in Flagler County and the rest of Florida, it again muddies the fate of a law barely eight weeks old, and further sheds a harsh light on Florida’s outlier system of executions.
Suicide, Now 2nd-Leading Cause of Death for Young Floridians, Seen as Public Health Threat
While suicide is increasing for nearly every age group, it’s now the second-leading cause of death for Floridians aged 25 to 34, according to the state Department of Health Vital Statistics, and the third-leading cause of death among youths aged 10 to 24.
Volusia County Wants Out Of the Next Bear Hunt
The Volusia County Council on Thursday unanimously approved a “symbolic” resolution urging the commission to reinstate a prohibition on hunting Florida black bears.
Florida Republicans Try to Come to Terms With The Donald, #NeverTrump Notwithstanding
Shortly after Trump’s victory Tuesday, Republican Party of Florida Chairman Blaise Ingoglia issued a statement calling on the party to get over a contentious primary that once included U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Florida’s Death Penalty Alive and Willed as Guzman Is Sentenced to Die For 3rd Time in Daytona
A jury in Daytona Beach today voted 11-1 to recommend death for James “Chico” Guzman in the hacking to death of David Colvin, 48, at a motel on Ridgewood Avenue on Aug. 10, 1991.
Road Clears for Charlie Crist’s Election to Congress as Opponent Drops Out for Another Race
Eric Lynn, a former Pentagon official who was battling Crist in the Democratic primary in the newly redrawn Congressional District 13, issued a statement saying he will run for a legislative seat being vacated by state Rep. Dwight Dudley, D-St. Petersburg.
Speculation of Donald Trump-Rick Scott Ticket Increases As Governor Tours Nation
Trump encouraged the rumors when he praised three governors as possible contenders–Rick Scott, Chris Christie and John Kasich. Scott has kept up a rigorous travel schedule to raise his national profile.
A New Way to Keep an Eye on Who Represents You in Congress
The project adds pages for each elected official, where you can find their latest votes, legislation they support and statistics about their voting. As we move forward we want to add much more data to help you understand how your elected officials represent you, the incentives that drive them and the issues they care about.
No, Pat Mooney, Immigrants Aren’t Cattle
Republican candidate Pat Mooney, running for the congressional seat that includes Flagler, managed to compare all Syrians to terrorists, all tourists and immigrants to cattle, and called for foreigners to be “chipped” and tracked the moment they enter the country.
Lawmakers Are Reducing Florida’s Public Schools To Factories of Failure and Inequity
Time to take a good look at whether the changes we’ve endured — mass privatization, real-dollar funding decreases, high-stakes testing, and loss of local school board authority — gets us closer to carrying out our constitutional duty to our children.
In a Blow to Business, Supreme Court Bans Workers Comp Limits on Attorney’s Fees
The ruling stemmed from a case in which an attorney was awarded the equivalent of $1.53 an hour in successfully pursuing a claim for benefits for a worker injured in Miami.
Sen. Travis Hutson Draws a Democratic Opponent in Palm Coast’s Curtis Ceballos
Curtis Ceballos, 54, launched two technology startups in the past two years and intends to focus on technology jobs and vocational education in his campaign. He unsuccessfully ran for county commission in 2006.
Trump Wins Again in Florida as Court Votes For Him in Beachfront Hotel Dispute
The failed Trump International Hotel & Tower Fort Lauderdale is among other Trump-branded projects that tanked and prompted lawsuits from disgruntled investors who lost millions of dollars in deposits.
Homeschooling: Not So Eccentric Anymore
The number of American K–12 children educated at home increased from 1.09 million in 2003 to 1.77 million in 2012. That means they make up 3.4 percent of the nation’s school population.
Florida Health Summit Concludes With One Overriding Prescription: Expand Access to Care
While senators have focused heavily on access, the House and Scott have pushed for health-care changes that include reducing or eliminating some longstanding regulations. They contend that such ideas would create more competition and lower health-care costs.
In Florida, Court Rules, a 55-Year Prison Sentence For a Juvenile Is Not a Life Term
Anthony Julian Collins was two months shy of 17 when he was committed an attempted second-degree murder, carjacking with a firearm and attempted armed robbery.
Right to an Attorney Often a Myth as Public Defenders Are Overworked and the Poor Bullied to Plea
There is a lack of funding for public defense in every state, and people charged with low-level misdemeanors, often poor minorities, suffer the most as public defender offices focus their few resources on felony cases.
Florida Justices Block 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period Pending Review
On a 5-2 vote, justices granted a stay of a lower court’s order allowing the 2015 law to take effect. The Supreme Court said it would keep the stay in place while it decides whether to review the decision by the 1st District Court of Appeal.
Florida Justices: Cops May Not Keep Lawyer From Client Even in Voluntary Interviews
While a murder suspect was being voluntarily interrogated before he confessed, his lawyer appeared at the sheriff’s office but cops wouldn’t let the lawyer see his client.
Court Deals Blow to FPL’s Already Leaky Nuclear Power Plans at Turkey Point
An appeals court Wednesday overturned a decision by Gov. Rick Scott and the state Cabinet that could have helped clear the way for Florida Power & Light to add two nuclear reactors in Miami-Dade County.
In a Rebuff to Florida, Federal Government Says New Abortion Law Can’t Block Clinic Funding
A key federal health agency on Tuesday notified Florida and other states that they may not ban Medicaid funding for family-planning services at clinics that also offer elective abortions.
Zone-Busting School Bill That Allows Student Transfers Anywhere in the State Is Now Law
The measure would allow parents to transfer their children to any public school in the state that isn’t at capacity through an “open enrollment” process, among many other provisions in the 160-page bill.
Citing Problematic Time-Sharing of Children, Gov. Scott Again Vetoes Alimony Reform Bill
The plan became one of the most hotly contested issues of the 2016 legislative session when it was amended to include a child-sharing component that would have required judges to begin with a “premise” that children should split their time equally between parents.
Ethics Commission Unanimously Approves $6,200 Fine Against Sheriff Manfre, and Public Censure
State ethics commissioners voted without discussion to impose the fine and censure. Manfre has vowed to keep fighting the charges dating back to the early part of his tenure in 2013.
Public Agencies That Violate Sunshine Law Must Pay Attorney’s Fees, Supreme Court Rules
Justices rejected arguments that agencies should be shielded from paying plaintiffs’ legal fees if public-records requests are handled in “good faith.”
Claiming “Robust” Bear Population, Florida Wildlife Commission Targets Another Hunt
The commission in October 2015 held its first bear hunt in more than two decades as a means to slow the increase of black bears in the state and to reduce dangerous interactions between bears and humans. But the hunt was highly controversial, with opponents protesting in various parts of the state.
Outside Gov. Scott’s Office, a Battle Over Alimony Bill’s Elevation of “Father’s Rights”
The most contentious part of the measure involves not alimony but offspring. It would tell judges that, when determining child-custody arrangements, they should begin with a “premise” that children should split time equally between parents.
What Cara Jennings and Black Lives Matter Protesters Don’t Get
Progressive ideals and values are strong, they don’t need to be shouted or paired with epitaphs to pack a punch. Our jobs are already challenging, and you are making them worse, argues Catherine Durkin Robinson.
Rick Scott’s Shout Show
To trade public punches with another politician or a media critic is an accepted part of the game. To defame a private citizen — one who wasn’t even responsible for publicizing the original incident — is out of bounds.
Bowing to Baptist and Catholic Pressure, DCF Backs Off Protecting LGBT Children from Discrimination
Proposed language protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in a DCF rule was opposed by the Florida Baptist Children’s Home and the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, so it was deleted.
Rookies Hutson and Renner Sum Up Legislative Session as Veterans of Policy and Reforms
First-year Sen. Travis Hutson and Rep. Paul Renner, whose districts include all of Flagler, spoke at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast this morning in a celebration of of the session they just completed, and promises to keep cutting taxes and reducing government regulation.
300,000 Floridians Could Lose Food Stamps as State Restores Work Obligations and Time Limits
The requirement was suspended in the aftermath of the recession, but starting Jan. 1, all able-bodied, childless adults 18 to 49 were required to work, get job training or volunteer 20 hours a week to receive food stamps . Otherwise, they’re limited to three months of food assistance in each 36-month period.
Closer to Home: Gainesville’s San Felasco Nurseries Approved for Marijuana Growing
San Felasco’s approval came after an administrative law judge ruled in February that health officials wrongly rejected the nursery’s application last year because of a decade-old drug crime.
Has Business Biased Florida’s Workers Comp Law Too Far Against Labor? Court Will Decide
Plaintiffs argue that lawmakers have taken too many rights and benefits from people who get injured on the job, while business groups say a 2003 law kept costs from “spiraling.”
Declaring 2008 Amendment Unconstitutional, Judge Closes Book on Gay-Marriage Ban in Florida
In a harshly worded ruling, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle chastised state officials like Pam Bondi for reluctance in acknowledging that the Florida ban had been overturned
Scrubbing Sexism: Scott Signs Bill Awarding Big Raise to Supervisors of Election
The long-overdue raises, averaging 18 percent, redress salaries traditionally kept low because most supervisors were, and still are, women.
Behind Florida’s Deceptively Low Unemployment Rate
The labor force participation rate should always be taken into account when determining the overall state of the job market and the economy, and that rate has fallen significantly since the Great Recession, argues Dominic Calabro.
Florida Drops Planned Parenthood Case, Eliciting Charge of Political Motivation
Barbara Zdravecky, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, blasted the state Agency for Health Care Administration for “political gamesmanship” in a statement.
As Scott Signs Bill Stifling Abortion Clinics, Planned Parenthood Sees Danger and Cruelty
The restriction means low-income Floridians could lose access to the organization’s health-care and family-planning services. Planned Parenthood said it has more than 67,000 patients in Florida annually.