rssPosts by Cooper Levey-Baker
Cooper Levey-Baker lives in Sarasota, Fla., and is the editor of The Florida Independent. When he does get the chance to write stories, they're usually about redistricting. Email him at cooper [at] floridaindependent [dot] com.
State Senate approves redistricting plan; Fair Districts supporters cry foul
The Florida Senate voted 34-6 yesterday to approve new congressional and state Senate district lines; opponents of the chamber’s maps were quick to argue that the new redistricting plans “do not comply” with the Fair Districts requirements approved by voters in 2010.
Occupy Tampa to celebrate anniversary by targeting for-profit university
According to a new press release, protesters affiliated with Occupy Tampa will today celebrate the movement’s three-month anniversary by marching on Argosy University, “operated by Education Management Corporation in which Goldman Sachs is a principal investor.”
Oral arguments in anti-Fair Districts appeal coming next Tuesday
The same day the Florida Legislature meets to kick off its 2012 session, lawyers for Reps. Corrine Brown and Mario Diaz-Balart and the state House will again argue their case against one of the two Fair Districts amendments approved by Florida voters in November 2010.
Gaetz: Charlotte County concerns prompted shift in Florida Senate’s District 13 map
The Florida Senate redistricting committee has released a revamped draft of how it proposes to redraw Florida’s congressional lines. The new map shows a big shift in the district of Rep. Vern Buchanan — a shift that came about because of urgings from Charlotte County residents to lump them in with other coastal residents, according to committee chairman Don Gaetz.
Broward Republicans say redistricting proposals for Allen West are unconstitutional
The Miami Herald today published an “open letter” from Broward County GOP chairman Richard DeNapoli to the Florida Legislature’s redistricting committees. In it, DeNapoli sharply criticizes state lawmakers’ proposals for how Rep. Allen West’s district should be redrawn, saying they doesn’t live up to the Fair Districts standards approved by Florida voters in November 2010.
Best Of: Brennan Center says ‘piecemeal implementation’ of new voting law is illegal
In a May article, The Florida Independent’s Travis Pillow documented how Secretary of State Kurt Browning’s office was rushing to immediately implement Florida’s controversial new election law in 62 of Florida’s 67 counties, while holding off in the remaining five counties till the U.S. Department of Justice approves the changes — a necessary step under the Voting Rights Act because of the history of discriminatory voting rules in those five counties.
Best Of: Occupy Wall Street group protests at campaign finance HQ
Just days before the 2010 elections, we posted a feature by Florida Independent contributer Luke Johnson that took a hard look at one of the most famous addresses in Florida politics: 610 South Blvd., Tampa. The accounting firm located there, Robert Watkins and Co., managed the finances for dozens of conservative political action committees — including one comparing Obama to Castro — and candidates for higher office during the 2010 cycle.
Best Of: Group calls for FBI to investigate Florida congressman
A year ago last week, The Florida Independent’s Virginia Chamlee became the first reporter anywhere to write about a Federal Election Commission lawsuit filed against a former business partner of Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, as well as a car dealership the two once co-owned.
Best Of: Construction workers get paid after wage theft is exposed
The Florida Independent’s Marcos Restrepo broke news in August that between 40 and 45 construction workers at a South Florida site were being stiffed out of wages they were owed for weeks of labor. Restrepo identified many of the companies involved in the wage theft (Pozo Construction, Florida Shell Construction and BJ&K Construction), each of whom blamed others on the project for the missing money.
Best Of: LGBT advocate pressures Broward sheriff to develop better HIV training
In early June, The Florida Independent’s Marcos Restrepo began blogging about HIV criminal charges brought against Daniel Hay Lewis, a South Florida man who allegedly bit an officer during a shoplifting arrest.
