Central Florida Political Pulse

DeLand urban-renewer has set his sights on the governor's office

Orlando Sentinel — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:06:31 -0500

Lots of people may not realize it, but Alex Sink isn't the only Democrat running for governor next year. Michael Arth, who earlier this decade revitalized a mini-slum into one of DeLand's most charming neighborhoods, has declared his candidacy. The...

Who's on the guest list for Sansom hearings?

Aaron Deslatte — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:00:12 -0500

By David Royce, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE -- Ray Sansom's preliminary list of possible witnesses for a committee investigating his conduct includes two of the three central characters in the drama over the former speaker's work with Northwest...

Should Sink be worried about this guy?

Aaron Deslatte — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:54:30 -0500

By Ludmilla Lelis, Orlando Sentinel DeLAND — In 2001, Michael E. Arth moved into a drug-infested slum in DeLand and, with no money and lots of doubters, rebuilt it into a quaint tree-lined enclave of historic homes. Now Arth wants...

> Photos: Palin gets cheering welcome back to Villages, Orlando

Joe Burbank — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:06:35 -0500

Reminiscent of her September 2008 Florida campaign debut here, former Alaska governor & '08 GOP veep nominee Sarah Palin got a rousing welcome from hundreds of fans during a book-signing stop at a Barnes & Noble store in The Villages,...

Sarah's coming -- read all about it!

Orlando Sentinel — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:10:00 -0500

They're lined up at The Villages -- and even in Orlando -- for Sarah Palin's book-signing appearance at two Barnes & Noble bookstores later today. The former Alaskan governor will be autographing copies of her new book, Going Rogue, at...

Sparks fly at Dockery's Winter Park appearance

Daphne Sashin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:59:30 -0500

WINTER PARK – State Sen. Paula Dockery’s case against SunRail drew both cheers and jeers at a city commission meeting Monday before she even stepped to the podium. Dockery, a Lakeland Republican who is running for governor, is one of...

Sink tries to save some trees

Aaron Deslatte — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:54:50 -0500

TALLAHASSEE -- Remember not too long ago when she trashed all her staff's BlackBerrys? Now Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink is going after the paper people waste in the course of operating and communicating the daily doings of government. Sink...

A new rail solution? What you're already paying at the pump

Aaron Deslatte — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:41:09 -0500

TALLAHASSEE - Florida lawmakers may have a way to avoid the thorny issue of raising taxes to pass commuter-rail legislation: Motorists may be paying enough at the gas pump to bail out South Florida's beleaguered Tri-Rail commuter system. State economists...

Who's smiling now? McCollum fights back with his own Rothstein-Sink photo

Aaron Deslatte — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:18:02 -0500

TALLAHASSEE -- The Alex Sink gubernatorial campaign sent out a photo of a smiling Bill McCollum and Scott Rothstein earlier this month, taken in the better days before Rothstein was accused of defrauding hundreds of millions of dollars from investors....

Florida lawmakers lobby Obama for more NASA funding

Mark Matthews — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:45:56 -0500

WASHINGTON -- More than 80 U.S. House members wrote President Barack Obama today, urging the White House to increase NASA funding by up to $3 billion annually so that the agency can accelerate plans to send astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit....

Ag candidate Maddox blasts oil drilling push

Aaron Deslatte — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:33:27 -0500

TALLAHASSEE -- Democratic agriculture commissioner candidate Scott Maddox teed off on the push to open up Florida's near-shore waters to oil exploration Monday, saying he could think of no better way to destroy the economy and "mortgage the future." “My...

Grayson's 1st West Point appt. disagrees on Afghanistan strategy

David Damron — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:32:42 -0500

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson surprised The Orlando Lutheran Academy's Jeffrey Knutson and his fellow students Monday morning by announcing that the senior had earned an appointment to West Point. His dad and school Principal Jeff Knutson was visibly choked up...

SunRail andTri-Rail: A match made in the Legislature

Aaron Deslatte — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:50:30 -0500

By Dan Tracy, Orlando Sentinel MIAMI – Veronica Jackson pored over a training notebook as she sat in a Tri-Rail commuter train one day last week. Glancing over, she could see thousands of cars and trucks creeping along Interstate 95,...

Senators looking for answers on Medicaid, health care

Aaron Deslatte — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:41:55 -0500

Two of the most powerful men in the Florida Senate took a trip to Washington last week that could foretell the state's eventual response to the federal health-care debate. Sens. Mike Haridopolos, the Merritt Island Republican next in line to...

Feds go after Orlando spyware company

Aaron Deslatte — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:39:15 -0500

By Amy L. Edwards, Orlando Sentinel It records everything you type: Your passwords. Your user names. Even the text you deleted. It logs the Web sites you've visited and stores screenshots of whatever you are viewing. You don't even know...

Facing Senate inquiry, Orlando blood bank changes its ways

Aaron Deslatte — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:35:04 -0500

By Dan Tracy, Sentinel Staff Writer With a state Senate investigation of its practices heating up, Metro Orlando's largest blood center said Friday that it will no longer do business with its board members, who now will be subject to...

> Photos: Glenn Beck in Orlando

Joe Burbank — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:11:50 -0500

Glenn Beck, the conservative talk radio and Fox TV commentator, got a cheering reception as he arrived for a book-signing appearance at the Barnes & Noble store on East Colonial Drive in Orlando, Friday. Beck, who was promoting his bestseller...

Crist taps Sorenstam for physical fitness council

Aaron Deslatte — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:39:18 -0500

By Josh Hafenbrack, Tallahassee Bureau TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Charlie Crist today appointed golfing legend Annika Sorenstam to his council on physical fitness. Sorenstam, who retired from the game last year after notching 92 worldwide victories, has a foundation named after...

Productive. Frank. RPOF Unplugged

Aaron Deslatte — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:02:32 -0500

By John Kennedy, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE -- Productive. Frank. An open discussion. That’s how Florida Republicans Friday described their huddle in remote Howey-in-the-Hills a day earlier. The party’s executive committee gathered in the Lake County town in...

Nelson, LeMieux split on healthcare vote

Mark Matthews — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:53:03 -0500

WASHINGTON -- Much like the rest of the U.S. Senate, Florida’s two senators are split along party lines on whether to open debate Saturday on the Democrats’ massive healthcare package. In an interview Thursday, U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, R-Florida, said...

The shifting Democratic argument for more stim bucks (Alternate headline: Getting the most mileage out of your message)

Aaron Deslatte — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:32:14 -0500

TALLAHASSEE -- Earlier this week, a cadre of Democratic voices from Alex Sink to Kendrick Meek called for Florida legislators to revisit their decision last spring not to expand jobless benefits and draw down an additional $444 million in federal...

Orlando EDC job claims drawing negative scrutiny

David Damron — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:43:49 -0500

Orlando Sentinel business columnist Beth Kassab followed up on the job claims of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission and found something troubling. While the taxpayer-supported agency boasted that it helped create 902 jobs in Seminole County in the last...

Orlando city council candidate arrested again

Aaron Deslatte — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:38:06 -0500

By Susan Jacobson, Sentinel Staff Writer Law-and-order Orlando City Council candidate Ezell "E-Z" Harris was arrested again Thursday on more prescription drug-trafficking charges after agents searched his home and office and said they found numerous drugs, guns and pill bottles....

NASA allies in Congress get tough over Constellation

Aaron Deslatte — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:35:41 -0500

Mark K. Matthews, Washington Bureau WASHINGTON – Two NASA allies in Congress dug in their heels Thursday and said that the agency should continue with its troubled Constellation program and not rely on global partners to access space after the...

Florida jobless rate hits 11.2 percent

Aaron Deslatte — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:12:52 -0500

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida's jobless rate inched up to 11.2 percent in October, a slight gain over the previous month as the worst recession in more than three decades lumbered along. Florida's unemployment rate in September was 11.1 percent, and state...