For the first time in three decades, Democrats get a net increase in Florida Senate seats. They reduced the GOP majority in the house from 81-38 to 76-44, despite redistricting, and the state’s direction appears no longer to favor Republicans as easily as it has.
Florida
Allen West Gone, Alan Grayson Back: Democrats Hail Gains in Florida’s Congressional Delegation
Allen West, a Tea Party favorite, lost against Patrick Murphy despite outspending him 6-to-1, while Alan Grayson returned to to Congress in what Democrats are calling a mini-wave in Florida, where they picked up seats in the Legislature as well while keeping the state in Obama’s camp.
No Close Call: Obama Wins; Weeks, Meeker, Nelson, DeSantis, Thrasher, Hanns, Moore-Stens, Manfre and Hutson Win
Flagler County election results will be posted here as soon as they are available, along with results of presidential, federal and state races, and updated as long as results are generated. All results for all Flagler County and related elections will be on this page.
Florida’s Political Petals: Where Obama and Romney Will Win Easily, Region By Region
From Little Haiti to West Orlando to The Villages and rural northeast Florida, certain regions are sure wins for either Obama or Romney, and counties ripe for each campaigns’ get-out-the-vote ground game. An analysis.
Crime in Flagler County Declines Again, Adding Another Wrinkle to Sheriff’s Race
Flagler County Sheriff Don Fleming was quick to tout the 6.2 percent crime rate decline in the first six months of 2012 as vindication of his policies, while his opponent, Jim Manfre, a former sheriff, pointed out that crime was lower during his tenure.
To Reduce Jail Overcrowding, Civil Citations Are Advocated For Lesser Offenders
Florida’s criminal justice system has seen some success with using alternatives to lock-ups for juvenile offenders. It’s been so successful that there’s a burgeoning movement to increase the use of non-jail diversion programs with non-violent adult offenders, which could have significant impact in Flagler County.
Obama Clings to Smallest Lead in Florida, But His Ohio Margin May Make Florida Irrelevant
The latest Quinnipiac/New York Times/CBS News poll–one of the more reliable polls tracking the swing-state electorate–shows President Obama again in the lead in Florida. A larger lead in Ohio may make Florida irrelevant to Obama’s path to 270 electoral votes.
Party Spin Kicks In as 1.9 Million Floridians Have Already Cast Early Voting Ballots
Democratic voters accounted for 39.5 percent of the absentee returns, with voters affiliated with other parties and NPAs making up the remainder. In early voting, the roles reverse. Democrats made up 49.1 percent of the more than 528,000 voters who cast ballots over the weekend. Republicans made up 28.6 percent.
More Charter Schools, and Debit Cards to Teachers, as Scott Unveils Education Agenda
The most controversial element of Scott’s plan could potentially prove to be measures to increase the role of charter schools, removing enrollment caps on existing charter schools and allowing school districts to operate their own charter schools.
Florida Chamber, Countering GOP Allies, Opposing Ban on Cuba-Syria Contracting
The Florida Chamber of Commerce is asking a federal appeals court to continue blocking a new law that would prevent state and local governments from contracting with firms that have business links to Cuba or Syria. A a Miami federal judge ruled in June that the law likely violates the U.S. Constitution.
Smacked by Local Tax Collectors, State Retreats on License Plate Revamp, for Now
Florida highway safety officials are putting on hold for at least a short time a plan to redesign state license plates, and to privatize their distribution, following objections from tax collectors.
Amendment 3: A Fight Between Capping Taxes and Funding Government Responsibly
Amendment 3 before Florida voters on the November ballot would tighten the state’s rarely-used revenue cap, potentially giving it more teeth – something supporters say will restrain reckless spending but opponents say would gut vital services.
Smart Meters and the Paranoia of Fake Fears
With smart meters as with numerous other issues, some of our most basic scientific or technological advances are being held hostage to perversions of evidence no more legitimate than superstition and sham controversies.
Gov. Scott Joins Florida Cattlemen Asking For Suspension of Ethanol Content in Gas
Gov. Rick Scott joined several other governors from both parties this week in asking the federal government to suspend the requirement for putting a certain amount of ethanol into America’s gas tanks, saying it’s causing a shortage of cattle feed for Florida ranchers.
Flagler’s Unemployment Rate Falls to 11.9%, Its Lowest Level Since December 2008
Flagler County may have a little something to cheer about: its unemployment rate in September fell to 11.9 percent, from 12.3 percent the month before. That’s the lowest unemployment rate in the county since December 2008, when it was 11.8 percent.
Amendment 6: Narrowing Down Florida’s Abortion and Privacy Rights
Sandwiched within a long list of issues on a crowded ballot, Amendment 6 is emerging as a multi-million dollar fight touching abortion, parental rights and privacy protections now guaranteed in the Florida Constitution.
I-4 Corridor, Rife with Legislative Battles, Is Florida’s Electoral Ground Zero Again
The I-4 corridor is almost a mythical place in presidential politics, with Republicans and Democrats seeing it as a ticket to the White House. But down the ballot, the vast stretch of Central Florida also is the biggest battleground this year in state House and Senate races.
Environmentalist Lawyer Clay Henderson Is Stetson’s George and Mary Hood Award Recipient
Clay Henderson, the New Smyrna Beach lawyer and environmentalist who’s leaving his mark on Florida’s geography, is the 2012 recipient of Stetson University’s George and Mary Hood Award, one of the university’s most prestigious honors.
For Opponents of Amendment 8, “Religious Freedom” Has Never Been Under Threat
The so-called “religious freedom” proposal to amend the Florida constitution would create a government bureaucracy to channel tax dollars to religious organizations, its opponents say, jeopardizing the very religious freedoms it claims to be protecting.
Board of Governors’ Power Over Universities Would Grow While Curtailing Legislature’s
A higher education task force is moving toward a recommendation that would significantly increase the power of the Florida Board of Governors, allowing the panel to set the budgets for each of the state’s 12 universities.
Amendment 1: Floridians Will Get Their Say on Obamacare, But Only Symbolically
Lawmakers have proposed a constitutional amendment that, if passed, would say Floridians can’t be forced to buy health coverage. At least in the short term, the measure would appear to have little effect, but House sponsor Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, pointed to what he sees as a “basic right” that Floridians should not be “fined, taxed or penalized for our health care choices.”
Florida Republicans’ Poll Tax Nostalgia
Hoping to minimize Democrats’ turnout, the GOP-dominated Florida Legislature is going out of its way to make voting more of a privilege than an absolute right. There are a few ways to get around the voter-suppression schemes.
Flagler Beach Kills Discussion on Amendment 4 as Property Tax Measure Divides Politicians
The quick death of the discussion item is a reflection of the polarizing effects of Amendment 4, which has ardent anti-tax advocates–including politicians elected on limited government platforms–rallying around it while some local government representatives strain to explain how it would short-change revenue.
Counties Begin Push-Back Against State’s Prohibition of Stronger Gun-Control
Circuit Judge John Cooper said during a hearing that the counties can continue suing Gov. Scott over part of the law that would give the governor the power to remove local officials for violations — a provision that Palm Beach and Broward say exceeds the governor’s constitutional authority.
An iPad for Every Student? Florida’s Textbook-Closing Switch Would Cost $441 Million
Lawmakers have helped drive the state toward more reliance on digital learning materials, passing a bill two years ago requiring schools to adopt digital-only textbooks by the 2015-16 school year and spend at least half their textbook budget on electronic materials.
Flagler Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston Criticizes State’s License Plate Rule Changes
Citing a likely drop in customer service and an eventual increase in costs, Flagler County Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston joined tax collectors across the state to criticize parts of Florida’s plans to redesign the state’s license plates and end local residents’ ability to get their plates locally and immediately.
Three Florida Supreme Court Justices Fire Back at Attempted Conservative Putsch
Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince pushed back against a campaign to push them off the bench that has spread from a conservative grass-roots uprising to a denouncing of the three by the Republican Party of Florida. The justices spoke to an audience at the FSU College of Law comprised mostly of students.
Holland-Hutson Money Race Still Lopsided; Manfre Doubles Take, Closing Fleming Gap
The last two weeks of September saw Travis Hutson add almost as much money to his treasure chest–$13,000–as Milissa Holland raised in the entire election cycle ($15,502). Sheriff Candidate Jim Manfre has raised $19,000 to incumbent Don Fleming’s $24,000.
Should You Keep Paying FPL and PEF For Nukes Plants that May Never Be Built?
The up-front nuclear costs for plant construction have become highly controversial, at least in part because there is no guarantee that FPL and Progress will build the planned reactors and because projected costs have risen to over $40 billion for four reactors. The Supreme Court will decide the matter.
Proposed Conservation Amendment: $5 Billion Over 10 Years, Without Raising Taxes
The proposed 2014 constitutional amendment, dubbed the Florida Water and Land Legacy Amendment, would set aside 33 percent of documentary tax collections for 20 years for land and water purchases, leases and restoration efforts. The taxes are collected on real estate and other legal transactions.
Bob Graham Ridicules $300 Million Higher Ed Cut as Issue Galvanizes Democratic Races
Democrats have started a push to make higher-education cuts and the state’s tuition burdens an issue in state legislative campaigns. The state pays just 40 percent of universities’ tabs, down from 75 percent.
Anti-Terror “Fusion Centers” Like Central Florida’s Slammed as Ineffective and Intrusive
A two-year Senate investigation finds that Department of Homeland Security efforts to engage state and local intelligence “fusion centers”–six of which are set up in Florida, including one in central Florida–has not yielded significant useful information to support federal counterterrorism intelligence efforts.
For Florida Justices, Two Lesbian Mothers, One Child, and a Question of Parenthood
The case pits two former lesbian partners, one of whom provided an egg that was fertilized and implanted in the other woman, who later gave birth. After the relationship ended, the woman who gave birth blocked her former partner from having parental rights.
Jose Godinez-Samperio, Undocumented Immigrant and Lawyer, Falters at Florida Court
A skeptical Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday said it may be powerless to let Jose Godinez-Samperio, an undocumented immigrant, practice law in the state despite recent moves by the Obama administration to allow immigrants brought to the country as children pathway to permanent status in the United States.
Amendment 5 and the Battle to Remake, And Subdue, the Florida Supreme Court
Amendment 5 would subject all Supreme Court nominations to confirmation by the Florida Senate and lower the bar for the Legislature to overturn court rules and would give lawmakers access to the records of judicial investigations.
Florida Conservation Groups Mobilize for National Public Lands Day Saturday
A coalition of Northeast Florida’s leading conservation organizations are using this occasion to raise awareness about the importance of publicly-owned conservation lands and to encourage the community to explore, volunteer and advocate for the protection of these vital natural resources.
Customer Wins “Stand Your Ground” Ruling After Confrontation With FPL Bill-Collectors
An appeals court Thursday agreed with the dismissal of criminal charges against a Miami-Dade County man who relied on the state’s “stand your ground” law after a confrontation with two Florida Power & Light workers on his property.
From Red Lights to School Buses: Florida Looks For Traffic Spy Cameras’ Next Perch
Despite having by far the safest record of any mode of transportation, including in Flagler, Florida school officials are looking to add spy-and-snap cameras on school buses similar to red-light cameras at Palm Coast and other cities’ intersections. School districts would reap most of the cash benefits from fines.
Obama Opens Biggest Florida Lead Yet As Romney Reels from 47% Remark
Romney’s challenge is no longer to win just undecided voters–a very thin sliver–but to win back voters who have decided to give Obama a second term. The three October debates are Romney’s last chance to make a play for those voters.
Conservative Koch Brothers Enter Florida Supreme Court Fray
Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group financially backed by billionaires Charles and David Koch, is slated to release a series of ads aimed at recalling liberal Justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince from the state’s highest court.
Floridians’ Consumer Confidence at Highest Level Since 2007
All five of the five components that make up consumer confidence increased, including expectations about personal finance, national economic conditions, and buying confidence, according to the latest analysis by the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
Early Voting War Over as Judge, Citing “Souls to the Polls” Sundays, Refuses Injunction
The war over early voting in Florida ahead of November’s presidential election appeared to wind down Monday, with a federal court refusing to block a portion of the state’s controversial 2011 elections law. In a ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan denied a request from Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown and other black voters to […]
Florida Republican Party Wades Into Supreme Court Fight as Justices Curtail Fund-Raising
The Republican Party of Florida issued a statement saying the GOP opposes three justices who form the backbone of the court’s left-of-center majority–R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince. The justices slashed their fund-raising activities according to the latest filings.
Florida Unemployment Unchanged at 8.8%, Flagler’s Dips Slightly, to 12.4% in August
Florida’s unemployment rate was unchanged in August, at 8.8 percent, as the state added just 23,200 jobs–for a total of just 77,800 in the past 12 months–while Flagler County’s rate dipped to 12.4 percent. Flagler’s rate has been in the 12 percent range since February.
Florida’s Gang of 10: How You Got Robbed of Representation by Lawmakers’ Rubber Stamp
Just 10 of Florida’s 160 legislators voted recently on a $58-million budget amendment that carries large policy implications for citizens across the state. Few citizens were representedby this or any other decisions passed by the Legislative Budget Commission.
In a Stab at Human Trafficking, Florida Suspends 81 Massage Licenses
The massage-therapist crackdown resulted from an investigation into human trafficking in Florida that revealed that some of the massage therapists paid up to $15,000 to get fraudulent transcripts and certificates to get their licenses.
In Flagler and Across Florida, More Perky Housing Sales Point to Encouraging Trends
Sales of single family homes in Flagler were up 9.5 percent in August over a year ago, 10.8 percent across Florida, while pending sales have skyrocketed in further signs of health for the battered housing sector, even as prices still stagnate.
In Volusia Senate Fight Between Bruno and Hukill, a Bellwether of Republican Dominance
Would voters be better off again electing a Republican to the GOP-dominated Senate? Or is it time for Democrats to claw back a seat in the newly-drawn, swing district? The Senate District 8 race between Democrat Frank Bruno and Republican Dorothy Hukill will answer the questions.
Gov. Scott, Ending Week-Long Education Tour, Speaks of Increasing School Funding
Gov. Rick Scott will push lawmakers to avoid cutting the education budget this year, the governor said following a dinner with union officials late last week. And if there’s enough money, he’ll again push for an increase.
Warning of “Scary Things” in Coming Election, County Attorney Hadeed Urges Voter Education
In a surprisingly candid talk framed around the 225th anniversary of the Constitution, Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed warned of the potentially corrupting influence of money in Florida’s judicial elections, and of the Legislature’s loading of the November ballot with 11 purposefully long and confusing constitutional amendments, a spiteful snub of the Supreme Court.