News
TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Rick Scott on Friday sealed a grand bargain with legislative leaders that will beef up funding for public education, tourism marketing and economic development, areas that bedeviled lawmakers during the regular session.
The deal could cool off – at least for now – a civil war among Florida’s Republicans.
Lawmakers will return to the Capitol next week for a three-day special session to add $215 million for PreK-12 schools, as well as more money for Visit Florida and a new incentive program for businesses — all top priorities for Scott.
The special session is scheduled to start Wednesday and end Friday. Read More in the Orlando Sentinel
Check out the panel that Trimmel Gomes participated in as part of an episode of Capital Dateline Online titled "The Pundits: Digital Media Edition." Also included on the panel were Peter Schorsch, Brian J. Burgess, POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon.
White House press spokesman Sean Spicer wouldn’t say during a briefing Thursday afternoon. Asked specifically why the administration had picked the Palm Beach southern White House for the summit, Spicer demurred. He simply said the location was just one of a host of issues agreed to by Trump administration officials and their People’s Republic counterparts, without offering details. Read more at pbpo.st/2nFCoCc
Attorney General Pam Bondi has been appointed to President Trump's Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission, which will be led by Chris Christie. "Thousands of Americans each year die from drug overdoses," Bondi said in a statement. "I want to thank the President of the United States, Governor Christie and many others for caring about this deadly epidemic." Read more at bit.ly/2oC4s95
More than 600 Florida physicians, including 32 in metro Orlando, can now recommend medical marijuana to patients, but many have questions and some are holding off until state rules for the emerging industry are clarified. Orlando glaucoma specialist Javier Perez completed the eight-hour course required for state licensing about a month ago. As soon as he passed, he said he immediately asked a friend: “Now what?” Read more at bit.ly/2o9PMys
Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran sharpened his ax against economic incentives by calling out companies with state deals by name. Corcoran singled out aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin during a speech at the Panhandle Tiger Bay Club on March 17. Corcoran told a story about the company as an example of how easy it is to walk back ambitious job goals prescribed in state incentive contracts. Read more at bit.ly/2o2xFNR
It looks like President Donald Trump may break his streak of weekend visits to his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. Trump, who returned to Washington, D.C., on Monday after spending a third weekend at his oceanside estate, will stay at the White House this weekend as he prepares to address a joint session of Congress on Feb. 28, according to CNN. It will be the president’s first speech before the House and Senate since his Jan. 20 inauguration. Read more at pbpo.st/2mcIxog
Gov. Rick Scott lost again. Over the last two weeks he toured the state, launched campaign style robo calls, and penned a sharply worded letter in newspapers statewide all in a bid to pressure House Republicans out of backing a bill to kill the state agency that has been central to his job creation programs. But on Tuesday the House Appropriations Committee responded with an unmistakable rejection. Read more at bit.ly/2l4Y5cH
Congressman Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, supports President Donald Trump’s executive order to ban refugees and citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries, saying a short-term ban prevents terrorists from coming into the U.S. Meanwhile, Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio had concerns. Posey, who represents Indian River and Brevard counties, issued a statement saying “allowing unvetted immigration” is “risky and dangerous.” Read more at on.flatoday.com/2jXID4i
