Posted: under Florida: Politics, Lifestyle, Comments.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood:
“This morning I met with Governor Rick Scott to discuss the high speed rail project that will create jobs and economic development for the entire state of Florida. He asked me for additional information about the state’s role in this project, the responsibilities of the Florida Department of Transportation, as well as how the state would be protected from liability. I have decided to give Governor Scott additional time to review the agreement crafted by local officials from Orlando, Tampa, Lakeland and Miami, and to consult with his staff at the state Department of Transportation. He has committed to making a final decision by the end of next week. I feel we owe it to the people of Florida, who have been working to bring high speed rail to their state for the last 20 years, to go the extra mile.”
St.PetersburgTimes/ Leary/ 02/25/2011
Florida Latin Connection/ Arnoldo Varona, Editor
* LaHood gives Florida more time for high speed rail..
Feb 25 2011
Posted: under Florida: Politics, Lifestyle, Comments.
A
s Florida lawmakers arrive in Tallahassee for the 2011 session, few dispute that a sea change has swept through the Capitol in recent years.
Term limits ushered in an era that gives lawmakers less time to master the art of legislative politics while accelerating their campaigns for the next political office. Super-parties have emerged from a mish-mash of campaign finance laws. The power of a 40-member Senate and 120-member House has been concentrated among a few select lawmakers. And pro-consumer ideas are often drowned out by the drumbeat of special interests.
In a special report to be published Sunday, theTimes/Herald Tallahassee Bureau examines institutional problems within a Legislature that has struggled to push the state out of its economic crisis.
St.PetersburgTimes/ Bender/ 02/25/2011
* All checks, no balance: A Times/Herald special report..
Feb 25 2011
Posted: under Florida: Politics, Lifestyle, Comments.
WEST PALM BEACH — Former House Speaker and potential 2012 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, arriving at tonight’s Palm Beach County GOP Lincoln Day dinner, says several Floridians could end up on the Republican presidential ballot next year.
“Florida has two and maybe three potential vice presidential candidates right now, maybe four if you count Jeb Bush,” Gingrich said. He mentioned Sen. Marco Rubio, U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation and Gov. Rick Scott.
Gingrich says he’ll announce his presidential plans within a few weeks.
Asked about Florida’s 2012 primary date, Gingrich said Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina should be the first states to hold 2012 presidential primaries or caucuses. After that, he said, “it’s up to Florida. At that point Florida has to negotiate with the RNC.”
The Republican National Committee wants Florida to move its primary from January to March.
PostPolitics/ Bennett/ 02/25/2011
Florida Latin Connection/ Arnoldo Varona, Editor
* Gingrich says Florida home to four potential 2012 veeps..
Feb 25 2011
Posted: under Florida: Politics, Lifestyle, Comments.
Bill Cotterell: “The high-stakes political backlash by public employees in Wisconsin, and their supporters in organized labor and the Democratic Party, has some interesting parallels in Florida.”
[T]here is a big bust for the employee unions pending in Florida. Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, has sponsored a bill (SB 830) that would end employer deduction of union dues and make unions get written permission from members to use dues money for politics.
If they lost payroll deductions and were required to make pro-rata refunds to members who don’t authorize donations to parties or candidates, the already weak public-employee unions would be hobbled. It’s called payback.
Thrasher, a former House speaker who was interim chairman of the Florida Republican Party last year, sponsored the famous (or notorious, depending how you look at it) Senate Bill 6. It would have ended teacher tenure and tied pay raises to student performance, if Gov. Charlie Crist hadn’t vetoed it last year.
It’s not just teachers’ unions. The AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and Service Employees International Union are labor pillars of the Democratic Party. Even the Police Benevolent Association, which backed Crist and Gov. Jeb Bush, spent heavily on TV spots opposing Scott last year.
So while he denies wanting to avenge SB 6, Thrasher’s new bill would cut a cash pipeline to the Democrats.
FLAPolitics/ 02/24/2011
Florida Latin Connnection/ Arnoldo Vartona, Editor
* “It’s called payback” against Florida unions..
Feb 24 2011
Posted: under Florida: Politics, Lifestyle, Comments.
Attorney General Pam Bondi just completed her first Clemency Board meeting by announcing she opposes the automatic restoration of civil rights and will move to immediately change the process. A statement just released:
“I fundamentally and philosophically oppose the concept of the automatic restoration of civil rights. I believe that every convicted felon must actively apply for the restoration of his or her civil rights and that there should be a mandatory waiting period before applying. The restoration of civil rights for any felon must be earned, it is not an entitlement.
“When the Florida Board of Executive Clemency reconvenes for a special meeting in two weeks, it is my hope that the board enacts revised rules that protect Floridians while creating a fair process to restore deserving felons’ rights. The burden of restoring civil rights should not fall on the shoulders of government, but rather it should rest on the individual whose actions resulted in those rights being taken in the first place.”
St.PetersburgTimes/ Hollyfield/ 02/24/2011
Florida Latin Connection/ Arnoldo Varona, Editor
* Attorney General Pam Bondi opposes automatic restoration of civil rights..
Feb 24 2011
Posted: under Florida: Politics, Lifestyle, Comments.
Senate budget chief J.D. Alexander sent Gov. Rick Scott a formal public records request Thursday asking for all information relating to the sale of two state planes.
The request is comprehensive: “I request copies of all written materials (hardcopy or digital) including letters, memoranda, notes, phone logs, office appointment calendars, legal memorandum or opinions, emails, agreements and contracts in the Governor’s Office or the Department of Management Services related to the sale of the two state aircraft which are the subject of my previous two letters to you dated February 17 and 22, 2011,” he wrote.
Alexander wants the information, likely created since Nov. 2, in hard copy and data disk. “Also, since my office, like yours, is located in the Capitol, the requested documents may be delivered to the Senate Budget Office Committee office in room 201, the Capitol.” … Read more
St.PetersburgTimes/ Sanders/ 02/24/2011
Florida Latin Connection/ Arnoldo Varona, Editor
* J.D. Alexander demands Scott turn over public records on state plane sale..
Feb 24 2011
Posted: under Florida: Politics, Lifestyle, Comments.
Gov. Rick Scott is sticking to his position on high-speed rail and has rejected any alternative plan, a Congressional source tells the Buzz.
There was virtually no chance Scott would budge from his position from a week ago, when he rejected $2.4 billion in federal stimulus funding for the Orlando-Tampa line. But bullet train backers have been working feverishly in the days since to craft an alternative.
The plan, calling for local governments to take over the project, was submitted to Scott yesterday after meetings between the governor’s office, federal transportation officials and representatives from the local governments, including Tampa. The source said Scott planned to call U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and inform him of his final word.
St.PertersburgTimes/ Leary/ 02/24/2011
Florida Latin Connection/ Arnoldo Varona, Editor
* Source: Rick Scott done with high-speed rail. Really..
Feb 24 2011
Posted: under The Nation... The People.....
Nobody wants a government shutdown, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says as a March 4 deadline looms for Congress and President Obama to agree on spending levels to keep the government running.
But Gingrich — a potential 2012 presidential candidate who will keynote tonight’s Palm Beach County GOP Lincoln Day dinner — says the 1995-96 shutdown with which he’s associated wasn’t the disaster it’s made out to be.
“It worked in public policy terms because we got four straight balanced budgets,” Gingrich said Wednesday in a brief interview with The Palm Beach Post.
Gingrich also said he’s within a few weeks of announcing whether he’ll run for president in 2012.
PostPolitics/ Bennett/02/24/2011
FloridaLatin Connection/ Arnoldo Varona, Editor
* Gingrich discusses presidential decision, 1995 shutdown before tonight’s speaking gig..
Feb 24 2011
Posted: under Florida....Places to Visit.
Planning a Florida vacation without doing your research is likely to land you in expected destinations such as packed-to-the-gills South Florida or not-so-delightfully tacky Daytona Beach.
To experience Florida’s most pristine and beautiful beaches away from the masses, consider passing on the perpetually populated peninsula and set your sun-loving sights on the state’s loneliest region – the panhandle – instead.
Most people associate that northernmost thin stretch of Florida, which fronts the Gulf of Mexico, with the raucous spring break crowds of Panama City. The busy resort town is the heart of an area that has long been dubbed the Redneck Riviera, much to the chagrin of marketing types, who are hard at work rebranding the beaches around Panama City as the ‘Emerald Coast.’
Snowbirds, mostly hailing from Canada and the Midwest, abound in the winter months throughout the Panhandle. However, they tend to stick to the populated communities of Fort Walton Beach and Destin. Come summertime, crowds thin out and you’ll find endless stretches of solitary sand.
From east to west, we’ve selected four of the panhandle’s most alluring and lesser-known locales.
Feb 23 2011
