FEATURED STORIES
By Lesley Clark
Marco Rubio wowed a crowd of influential conservative activists here Thursday with a call for smaller government and a stinging critique of President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats.
By Alex Leary
Unable to reach a deal to avert a spectacle that could embarrass some of the state's top politicians, the Florida House plans to begin its trial of Rep. Ray Sansom next week.
By Craig Pittman
A coalition of environmental and civic groups sued the Obama administration Thursday over its refusal to declare 1.3 million acres as critical habitat for the endangered Florida panther.
BEST OF THE BLOGS
By Tally
Watching legislative committee hearings, especially contentious ones, is sort of like going to the theater, except there's no plot and the acting's not very good.
By Gimleteye
It was twenty years ago in the Keys and I was a novice activist when I first heard the oldest lie in Florida to justify another development, "expanding our tax base is necessary to provide services for residents."
By R.S. Pienta
Leave a Comment A teacher I met via Facebook recently vented her frustration about the No Child Left Behind policy and how it is implemented via rules about FCAT in the state of Florida.
FLORIDA POLITICS
By Bill Kaczor
The Florida Legislature this year will be rewarming a plate full of leftovers from past sessions.
By Keith Laing
A House panel took on cell phones this week, sifting through a half-dozen bills aimed at cracking down on distracted driving.
Editorial
Florida's elections system was crafted around local control.
POLITICAL RACES
By Brendan Farrington
Marco Rubio and J.D. Hayworth have different styles and different backgrounds and they're from opposite sides of the country.
By Dana Milbank
The anti-Crist came to Washington on Thursday. In the ballroom of the Marriott Wardman Park, they acted as if he were the Messiah.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
By Gary Fineout
Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Keystone Heights, filed a sweeping anti-abortion bill on Wednesday that bans all abortion in the state of Florida unless two doctors determine that the life of the mother is in jeopardy.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
By Brandon Larrabee
Those involved in responding to offshore drilling incidents in the Gulf of Mexico told lawmakers Thursday about the steps that had been taken to minimize the impact of oil spills, as others warned that the consequences of exploring for oil in state waters might not be clear.
By Clara Anne Graham and Laura Miller
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
By Andy Reid
South Florida farmers and local governments alike on Thursday called for federal regulators to back off tough new water pollution rules they argue would cost too much to follow.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
By Bill Kaczor
Legislation that would delay an unemployment compensation tax increase for two years is on a fast track to early passage in the Florida Legislature.
By Robert Block
A statewide space symposium convened by Gov. Charlie Crist in Orlando on Thursday heard repeatedly from industry executives, academics and experts that Florida had to adapt to a new U.S. national space policy that favored commercial rocket companies or give up its ambitions to be a world-class launch center.
By James Thorner
They're resorting to bribery. Lenders and politicians won't call it that, but that's what it is.
By Diane C. Lade
State regulators took the first step Thursday in what they said will be an ongoing effort against unlawful mortgage modifiers, ordering several South Florida operations to immediately stop doing business.
By C. Ron Allen and Angel Streeter
The Great Recession hit law enforcement hard. Police budgets were slashed; hiring of officers curtailed.
EDUCATION
By Doug Blackburn
Florida State University lured Mike Wetz away from the University of North Carolina with the offer of an assistant professor position in FSU's highly regarded Department of Oceanography.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
By Carol Gentry
After verifying that medical costs in Florida are now 11 percent higher than last year, the state Office of Insurance Regulation has granted that level of rate increase to Blue Cross and Blue Shield's Cover Florida program.
By Jim Saunders
As health groups grow increasingly alarmed about potential budget cuts, the Agency for Health Care Administration has come up with a plan to expand Florida's controversial Medicaid-reform pilot program by up to 19 counties.
By Paul Quinlan
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson called on mustering the "full research capability of the federal government" to find the cause of the cancer cluster in the Acreage.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
The Associated Press
A law that let voters revoke their petition signatures would have gutted Florida's citizen initiative procedure, the state Supreme Court said Thursday in an opinion finally explaining the justices' decision to strike down the statute eight months ago.
