Tuesday, December 4, 2012
A University of Florida economist warns of massive job loss if a deal is not struck in Washington, D.C.
FISCAL CLIFF POSES DANGERS FOR FLORIDA by William Gibson of the Orlando Sentinel The Orlando Sentinel reported on the economic risks in the Sunshine State, if the budget is not cobbled out in Congress... "Without a deal, the combination of tax hikes and spending cuts would reduce Florida's economic output by $16 billion by the fourth quarter of 2013 and lead to a loss of 130,000 to 140,000 jobs, according to a University of Florida economist. "That's enough to set off a mild recession and an uptick in the state's unemployment rate, said UF's David Denslow, who made the projections after reviewing a Congressional Budget Office assessment of the nationwide impact and applying it to Florida. "On the other hand, he said, averting the cliff …
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Florida Gov. Rick Scott wants the state’s universities to come up with a way to make higher education more affordable. His challenge could save St. Pete households thousands.
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012
St. Petersburg residents who find themselves scrimping and saving to pay for college might have it a little easier in the years to come if Gov. Rick Scott gets his way. The Republican leader is challenging the state’s 12 public universities to come up with a way to create $10,000 degrees, according to TBO.com. "You should be able to work and go to school and not end up with debt," Scott said in an interview on News Channel 8. "Yet those degrees cost so much money and tuition is so high that that's not going to happen. So I put out this challenge to our state colleges." Scott’s challenge comes on the heels of major budget cuts to the state’s university system. This year alone, Florida’s universities took a $300 million cut in funding, …
Friday, September 28, 2012
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has renewed efforts to get non-citizens off the voter lists.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Arizona Sen. John McCain, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Florida Gov. Rick Scott are among the marquee speakers at the Tampa event.
On Monday, RNC chair Reince Priebus announced the initial list of headlining speakers for the Republican National Convention in Tampa Aug. 27-30. Speakers include Florida Gov. Rick Scott, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Arizona Sen. John McCain, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. "The Republican National Convention comes at a critical time for determining America's future. Mitt Romney knows that it is the hard-working people of America who build businesses and create jobs - not the government," Scott said in a RNC news release. "We share that same belief here in Florida where we continue our progress in helping to create jobs by …
Florida's governor will pen posts on job creation strategies for a pre-convention blog.
Gov. Rick Scott will contribute to a new Huffington Post blog aimed at spotlighting job creation, Scott’s spokesperson Brian Burgess confirmed via Nora McAlvanah of FLDemocracy2012.com He will write for the pre-convention blog called “Opportunity: What Is Working,” featuring posts from governors, mayors, and other elected officials focused on “coming up with strategies to bring jobs to their constituents.” Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of Huffington Post Media Group, sent Scott an e-mail this week inviting him to contribute to the blog, which she said was “aimed at highlighting successes in turning around the country’s economic morass.” Florida Recovery Is 'Bumpy, Sluggish' The University of Central Florida's latest …
Monday, July 2, 2012
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said despite the Supreme Court's ruling, Florida would not comply with President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.
Despite a 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court that President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act is constitutional, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said the Sunshine State would not comply with two parts of the law. The two provisions Scott said Florida would not comply with are the expansion of Medicaid for the poor and creating a private insurance exchange. According to the news service Reuters; Scott said expansion of Medicaid, which provides healthcare for the poor, would cost $1.9 billion while the state has other health programs in place. Premiums would rise on the insurance exchange, he said. “Floridians are interested in jobs and economic growth, a quality education for their children, and keeping the cost of living low,” Scott said in a news…
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Among the new legislation are laws regarding school prayer, concealed weapons, disabled parking permits and sanctions for recruiting players for high school sports.
A number of new Florida laws, passed by the Legislature during the 2012 session, will go into effect July 1. Here's a sampling: Inspirational Messages in Public Schools Senate Bill 98 allows local school boards to set guidelines for students desiring to offer "inspirational messages," which could include prayer, at any school event. It was passed in the Senate by a 31-8 vote and the House by an 88-27 vote. Hunting, Fishing on Private Land House Bill 313 limits the liability of landowners who contract with the state to allow their private land to be used by the public for hunting, fishing and other recreational purposes. HB 313 unanimously passed in both the state Senate and House. Renewing Concealed Carry Permits House Bill 5601 reduces …
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Local and state politicians react to today's Supreme Court ruling to uphold the Affordable Care Act.
Today the United States Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act and its individual mandate, 5-4. Local and state officials were quick to offer a response to today's historic decision, using social media -- Facebook, Twitter -- and traditional media. Gov. Rick Scott: "The Justices have declared that the central provision of ObamaCare is a judicially mandated tax. A new tax pure and simple. This is just another burden the federal government has put on American families and small businesses, while the economy struggles to recover." Sen. Marco Rubio: "Now that we know #Obamacare is indeed a #jobkilling #Tax we should move to #RepealObamacare as soon as possible." State Rep. Rick Kriseman: "It is my hope that Rick Scott, Pam Bondi will now…
Monday, June 25, 2012
A Level 1 state of emergency, the lowest declaration, is in effect as Tropical Storm Debby brings rain, winds and flooding to Florida.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency Monday afternoon as the state deals with the effects of Tropical Storm Debby. Scott declared a Level 1 state of emergency, the lowest, which activates storm operations in all 67 counties, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Scott receieved a briefing on the storm's effects before advising Floridians "to be safe, avoid non-essential driving, pay close attention to weather reports and stay away from downed power lines," according to the Times. "I think the most important thing is, one, just use common sense. Be careful," Scott said. "If you're close to a beach, be very cautious. Look at all the beach advisories. If there's any standing water, if there's any flooding, don't drive into it. Be very…
Monday, June 18, 2012
The U.S. senator from Florida pens an autobiography, but is he eying higher office? Gov. Rick Scott is the new greeter at the Tampa airport. Here are some headlines from 'Sunburned,' a newsletter about Florida politics.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's memoir "An American Son" will be released Tuesday, as speculation continues about whether the Florida politician is on the short list to be Mitt Romney's vice presidential candidate in his GOP bid for the presidency. The Associated Press received an advance copy of the book, which reveals Rubio was close to dropping out of the 2010 Senate race. Jonathan Martin in the Wall Street Journal writes that the book does not "drop any political bombshells or even offer much in the way of news about a man regularly included on lists of Mitt Romney's potential running mates. The preferred euphemism among GOP insiders when it comes to Mr. Rubio's vice-presidential prospects is that his stock lately has been diminished by …
Linda Varonich
1:18 pm on Monday, December 10, 2012
EXTEND MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUTS NOW! Why does my Member of Congress, Bill Young, 10th CD, continue to vote to support his long term wealthy constituent’s portfolios and not ALL PEOPLE? Yet he refuses to meet and discuss his position. People of the State: I stand before you as a transplant from the Great Lakes region and state resident since May 2010. Both my husband and I lost our jobs, we lost our … more ›