Month: September 2011

U.S House District 25 candidates Democrat Joe Garcia and Republican David Rivera launched negative TV ads this week while calls from The Florida Independent to

Donald Berwick, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told reporters yesterday that the agency has the funds necessary to move forward with the Obama administration's plans to create state health care insurance exchanges throughout the country. However, Florida remains one of five states that has not made any effort to take part in the reform.

A report released today by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Diabetes Association, the American Lung Association and the health care consumer group Families USA shows that Medicaid plays a vital role in providing health care to Floridians with chronic illnesses.

State Medicaid directors from across the country are asking a group of federal lawmakers to consider allowing more flexibility in state Medicaid plans in order to cut costs.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports today that an immigration enforcement bill is one of several items Gov. Rick Scott has on his controversial legislative agenda.

The recently suspended leader of the anti-abortion group Priests for Life, Frank Pavone, compared supporting abortion rights to supporting terrorism in a blog post published yesterday.

Nezar Hamze, executive director of the South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has applied to become a member of the Broward Republican Executive Committee and to create a Muslim Republican Club.

The Mobile Press-Register is reporting that oil spill claims administrator Kenneth Feinberg has agreed to an audit of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

Florida right-wing groups are up in arms over a 19-year-old initiative launched by the United Nations in an effort to promote sustainable development in communities all over the world. The groups are convinced the U.S. is being held hostage in a secret plot by the U.N. to steal our sovereignty and individual property rights — and the belief is seeping into mainstream Florida politics.

Gov. Rick Scott today said he is trying to balance the importance of driving more visitors to Florida parks with the need to preserve environmentally sensitive lands.

Having only recently assumed the role of executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, Melissa Meeker is already touting efforts by her agency to streamline regulations and coordinate lobbying efforts.

The Florida Senate's immigration bill, which today drew scorn from business and religious leaders, has been tabled until after lawmakers break for Easter.

Waiting lists have continued to grow for programs that help supply life-saving drugs to HIV/AIDS patients who are uninsured and unable to afford their medications. This month 8,100 people were on waiting lists for AIDS Drug Assistance Programs in 13 states, an increase of more than 2,500 since January. Nearly half of those patients live in Florida.

The state Legislature turned away $2.8 million in annual funding from the federal government for comprehensive sex education in Florida.

Following a meeting with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson today, Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, said in a press release that the federal agency tasked with protecting the environment has taken the broad authority irresponsibly ceded to them by Congress, and run wild with it. Ross also said that the agency must realize that moms and dads cannot afford thousands more in power bills or plummeting home values.

In the wake of news that an estimated 5 percent of Key West residents have dengue fever, which government researchers said had not been reported in the

Due to new regulations drafted by Kansas officials, the state's last three operating abortion clinics could be closed down — making Kansas the first state to have absolutely no abortion access.

Last week, radical anti-abortion right’s group Operation Rescue told Life News that the Texas Medical Board has continued to investigate the group’s claims that women’s health clinics providing abortions in Texas were violating the law. Clinic operators continue to dispute the claims, but fear that a wave of harassment and intimidation against abortion providers could follow.

In an exclusive interview with Florida Baptist Witness, Gov. Rick Scott briefly discussed public reaction to the state legislature's passage of five bills aimed at restricting abortion rights in Florida. All five bills await his signature. According to the Florida Baptist Witness, Scott said he was not persuaded by criticism that the pro-life measures are a distraction at a time when the Legislature should focus on job creation.

The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission has charged 1st District Court Judge Paul Hawkes with abusing his position as he lobbied for the courthouse that became known as the Taj Mahal. The allegations in the notice released today range from usurping oversight of the court's budget to ordering court employees to buy vinegar to clean his personal coffee machine. They suggest Hawkes demonstrated a pattern of conduct that can only be characterized as intemperate, impatient, undignified and discourteous and that his conduct has inflicted substantial harm upon the entire state court system.

Marco Rubio's Reclaim America PAC said in a press release Wednesday that a recent speech delivered by the senator at the Ronald Reagan Library drove extreme liberals crazy, and they are on the attack.