Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
The Florida Legislature's regular session ended Friday much as it began two months ago, with lawmakers ignoring Gov. Rick Scott's priorities and House Speaker Richard Corcoran dominating the agenda. Republicans wrapped up work on an $82.4 billion budget that strongly bears Corcoran's imprint, with an expansion of charter schools, more bonuses for teachers and principals and the elimination of most of Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development agency crucial to Scott's job expansion efforts that suddenly teeters on the brink of extinction.
In an extremely rare move, House leaders are rushing a gun bill that none of their members have considered to the floor during the final week of session. The Rules & Policy Committee, chaired by Miami Lakes Republican Rep. Jose Oliva, put the bill on the daily floor calendar after senators passed it on Friday.
There are still 110 active fires covering 20,285 acres, according to the Florida Forestry Service. The destructive wildfires, which have been burning from the Florida-Georgia border down to Miami-Dade County, led Gov. Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency on Tuesday, which remains in effect Sunday.
At least 126,000 acres have burned in wildfires across Florida since January, surpassing the five-year average of acreage burned in a typical year, officials said. Florida's fire season peaks this month, during the driest part of the year in the state, and experts warn that the fire risk may worsen in the coming weeks.
Money and ambition always play leading roles when the Florida Legislature is meeting. And the 2017 session, which is set to open Tuesday, promises to be scrappier than usual - with skirmishes breaking out even as the ceremonial opening-day speeches and traditional displays of unity still ring in the air.
President Donald Trump, center, salutes the U.S. Air Force security detail at Orlando International Airport during his arrival to visit to St. Andrew Catholic School in Orlando, Fla., Friday, March 3, 2017. PALM BEACH, Fla.
President Donald Trump greets fourth-grader Janayah Chatelier as U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos greets St. Andrew Catholic School fourth-grade teacher Jane Jones on Friday in Orlando, Florida. Looking on is Florida Gov. Rick Scott , Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and John Kirtley , a tax-credit scholarship proponent.
"Nobody knew health care could be so complicated," the president mused to a group of 46 governors at the White House yesterday. Except everyone in his audience has long known exactly how complicated this issue is.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott joined with the nation's governors who are scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Scott left Thursday for Washington D.C. where he attended events connected to the winter meetings of the National Governors Association and the Republican Governors Association.
Instead of euthanizing Visit Florida, House Speaker Richard Corcoran has decided to try to put it on a tighter leash. Corcoran, a Republican from Land O'Lakes, has been waging an internecine battle against Gov. Rick Scott over the state's taxpayer-funded tourism marketing agency.
False claims of 'terror' in Sweden and false 'voter fraud' in New Hampshire may be funny, but Trump's fake news is deadly serious... "This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine," says Trump.
Senate President Joe Negron appears willing to look beyond sugar farmland to carry out his proposal to reduce the flow of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee into bays on both coasts. The Stuart Republican, speaking at the Capitol this week, maintained his desire to buy 60,000 acres for a reservoir south of the lake to store and clean water.
Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday that he has approved $15.8 million for emergency beach and dune restoration projects in four Northeast Florida counties impacted by Hurricane Matthew in October. The money will be split by St. Johns, Flagler, Volusia and Brevard counties to restore critically eroded beaches and to repair dunes where there is "an imminent threat to beachfront structures, such as roadways, homes and businesses," according to the governor's office.
First, there was the post-presidential election, post-Fidel death letter to RaAol Castro in December asking the Cuban leader to "allow a new era of freedom and opportunity for Cuba" or continue "down a path of poverty." Rick Scott, Governor of Florida, comments on ports in Florida doing business with the "ruthless dictator" Raul Castro".
After nearly six months of anticipation, Gov. Rick Scott on Friday appointed retired naval captain Greg Hansen to replace late Flagler County Commissioner Frank Meeker on the county's board, according to a press statement from the governor's office. "Commissioner Frank Meeker was an incredible asset to the Palm Coast community and will be dearly missed by all," Scott stated in the release issued Friday afternoon.
"Now I look forward to exploring ways of how best to serve both my community and my state," Levine says in the video. That exploration, he says, will include "How to make Florida a leader in the 21st century world economy based on innovation, investment and daring.
The Iraq war veteran accused of killing five people at a Florida airport apparently chose to travel to the US state to carry out the rampage, authorities say. three dozen others were taken to local hospitals with bruises or broken bones suffered in the chaos as passengers fled the area.
There is a new leader for the agency Gov. Rick Scott has most relied on to achieve his job creation campaign promises, but turmoil from the previous leader continues to grow. Enterprise Florida agreed on Wednesday - with Scott in attendance during the entire two-hour meeting - to hire former Tampa state Rep. Chris Hart IV to run the embattled quasi-governmental agency that oversees the recruiting of businesses to relocate to Florida.
Sen. Marco Rubio said he was not going to "jump into an electoral argument right now." Though comfortably back in the Senate for another six years, Sen. Marco Rubio faces a tough political choice in 2018: partner or party? With fellow Florida Sen. Bill Nelson up for re-election, and incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Scott his likely challenger, Rubio shied away Monday from commenting directly on the race, according to the Tampa Bay Times .
Governor Rick Scott met with President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday in an effort to help the 45th president reinvent the federal government. There has been speculation for months though that the governor might be considered for a position in the Trump administration, although the governor has denied the claims.