Gotta love West Miami Mayor Cesar Carasa. He allegedly made more than $70,000 worth of personal calls from his city-owned cell phone. Most of the calls were to the Dominican Republican, even during a trip to China. Talk about roaming charges.
Gov. Charlie Crist suspended him.
Senate President Jeff Atwater and House Speaker Larry Cretul jointly issued a statement Monday evening calling for a special legislative session on commuter and high-speed rail to begin at 9 a.m. Thursday Dec. 3 and ending at noon Friday, Dec. 11. Read the proclamation here.
-- Steve Bousquet
[...]Tallahassee's Allan J. Katz has been nominated ambassador to the Portuguese Republic (that's the official name for Portugal)
Katz, a major Obama fundraiser and member of his national finance committee, is a former city commissioner in Tallahassee.
President Barack Obama also nominated Bisa Williams -- whose recent trip to Cuba made headlines -- [...]
CFO Alex Sink issued a legal opinion today that amounts to an "I told you so" to Attorney General Bill McCollum, who questioned the constitutionality of her proposal in September to expand the SBA that oversees Florida's $110-billion pension fund.
Sink's press office released the legal analysis from former Florida [...]
Senate President Jeff Atwater just sent senators a memo telling them to be in Tallahassee by 9 a.m. Thursday for a special session on commuter rail in South and Central Florida, though the official call is still being drafted.
The special session will extend into next week, when lawmakers already are scheduled [...]
Gov. Charlie Crist's request for a statewide grand-jury to probe potential corruption in Florida (more here) was denied Monday by the Florida Supreme Court. Only Justice Charles Canady dissented. Here's what the court said:
THE COURT, having considered the Petition of the Honorable Charles J. Crist, Jr., Governor of Florida, [...]
Gov. Charlie Crist's new pick for Broward County Commission -- Republican Al Jones -- starts today and will be sworn in by Broward Judge Elijah Williams at the 10 a.m. meeting Tuesday.
When Crist announced the appointment last Monday, Jones vowed transparency and that he would move to the district soon [...]
The Florida Public Service Commission picked former state senator and Tallahassee lobbyist Curt Kiser to serve as the agency's general counsel Monday, vowing to make a "clean break'' and bring a fresh start to the embattled agency.
Kiser, who served in the legislature from 1972 to 1994 and most recently represented'" [...]
Is being an answer to a question in the renowned Herald Hunt! Among the opening questions yesterday was this gem: In August, Sen. Mel Martinez resigned as one of Florida's U.S. Senators. Whom did Gov. Charlie Crist appoint to replace him?
G. A [...]
Top Florida lawmakers are balking at Congress' plans to help more poor people get health care, though they've protected an entitlement of their own for years: free insurance premiums.
Taxpayers have been stuck with covering the premiums at an annual cost of about $45 million -- even while lawmakers pledged to scrimp [...]
As a special session seems likely on rail issues, opponents of the proposed SunRail commuter system say it's the same old bad deal. The issues: cost, liability for taxpayers and federal protections for railroad workers on the tracks the state wants to buy from CSX for Central Florida commuter rail. [...]
During his first visit to South Florida since joining the Senate, Republican George LeMieux talked about how he's looking out for Florida -- and for the man who put him in office, Charlie Crist. He also discussed the nationwide debate over the right course for the Republican party. Story [...]
Step aside Gov. Charlie Crist. You've got some double-talking company** in the Republican race for U.S. Senate: Marco Rubio.
"I have never voted for a tax increase," Rubio says on his campaign Web site.
Not so, says the Pulitzer Prize-winning Politifact checker:
From 2000 to 2008 -- the years Rubio was in' [...]
Attorney Bill Scherer filed an amended complaint today on behalf of investors who lost around $100 million due to Scott Rothstein. Among the new defendants: Irene Stay, CFO at the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm.
When the law firm's phones were ringing off the hook from bilked investors when Rothstein took [...]
Legislators might not be thankful for this heads-up: Senate President Jeff Atwater and House Speaker Larry Cretul just sent letters to members in their respective chambers to notify them that if negotiations continue to move positively, a special session on commuter and high-speed rail could be called Monday -- to [...]
Word is that legislative leaders and Gov. Charlie Crist are close to a deal on Tri-Rail, SunRail and high-speed rail, and could call a special session as early as next week.
Crist said he preferred the week of Dec. 7, but the Legislature might meet before then to avoid running into Hannukah.
Expect Sen. Paula Dockery of [...]
Gov. Charlie Crist just released the executive order to reschedule the special election to fill Congressman Robert Wexler's seat. The original date conflicted with Passover. Now it will be held April 13, 2010.
Read the order here: Download Wexler Executive Order 09-265
[...]Herbert Stettin, the trustee in the bankruptcy case involving Scott Rothstein's former law firm, raised questions today in court about Rothstein's defense attorney, Marc Nurik, living in one of his client's homes.
Stettin explained after the hearing that he wonders if the house was purchased with money from the Rothstein Rosenfeldt [...]
Gov. Charlie Crist bragged the other night that all his chiefs of staff have been from Broward County, forming a "Broward County connection."
Accused Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein was from there as well. And he gave loads of money to Crist and the Republican party. Did George LeMieux (now a Sen.) [...]
As expected, the Florida Supreme Court approved the permanent disbarment of alleged Ponzi schemer and major political donor Scott Walter Rothstein. The order, signed by the court's clerk, allows the Florida Bar to recover $1,250 in costs from Rothstein, though it might be difficult considering those at the front of the reimbursement line.
Rothstein [...]
The Rubio camp sent out this transcript of Rush Limbaugh on the Republican Senate race:
“I like Rubio. …
“In the Republican Party particularly, there is a fatigue with RINOs and moderate Republicans. …
“Republicans, the only chance they ever have of winning national elections is to go conservative. And I think that's' [...]
Ah, the perks of raising money for candidates! Wagar, the Coconut Grove attorney and President Barack Obama's chief Florida fundraiser during the 2008 campaign, is among the bigwigs at tonight's State Dinner at the White House in honor of India, mingling with political dignitaries and the likes of actors Blair Underwood and Alfre Woodard, directors [...]
Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, ex-Senate President Ken Pruitt and Senate budget writer Lisa Carlton are potential witnesses in the House investigation of Rep. Ray Sansom, according to new documents that portend a high profile, politically-charged spectacle.
The names, [...]
Gov. Charlie Crist's office repeatedly said they wouldn't remove disgraced lawyer Scott Rothstein off the Fourth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission until he resigned or was charged.
But today, Crist gave him the boot citing his right to suspend anyone for malfeasance. Rothstein has agreed to surrender his law' [...]
Well, it took awhile, but Gov. Charlie Crist finally suspended accused Ponzi schemer and major political donor Scott Rothstein from the Fourth DCA Judicial Nominating Commission.
Crist just release the executive order, which comes about three weeks after the initial reports of Rothstein's alleged misdeeds. He also has appointed William [...]
During his first visit to South Florida since his appointment to the U.S. Senate, Republican George LeMieux received gushing praise from the hometown congressmen, U.S. Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart.
They were so complimentary you'd think LeMieux planned to be on the ballot in 2010 instead of his former boss,' [...]
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released its final report today in its investigation into the Public Service Commission and concluded, as expected, no criminal wrongdoing. Download PSC Report
What is newsworthy is that PSC Commissioner Nathan Skop was the one who first brought the issue to state investigators on [...]
The 60 Plus Association -- which bills itself as the "conservative alternative" to the AARP -- today announced a new ad campaign targeting senators like Bill Nelson who voted Saturday to keep debating the Senate health care bill.
The $2 million ad buy which begins tomorrow, target centrist Democratic senators in 7 other states – Alaska, [...]
Her name is Anna Alexopoulos, and today was her first day as field director for Charlie Crist's Senate campaign in Broward and Palm Beach counties. She hit the ground running by making sure Crist had a good turnout (about 300 people) at tonight's Broward Republican Party meeting.
Alexopoulos is 24 years old, [...]
In a speech to about 300 Broward Republican activists tonight, Gov. Charlie Crist said he agreed with Sen. George LeMieux's vote Saturday to block the Democrat-backed health care legislation. Republicans failed to stop the Senate from taking up the bill for debate.
Crist said he agreed with his political appointee and former chief' [...]
Rumors are circulating that suspended Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, who has a hearing in federal court Wednesday, has a plea deal in the works.
"I don't know anything about that,'' he said today. "I don't know where you are getting your information from. You need to go back to your [...]
From Politico: A top adviser on Hispanic issues to John McCain’s presidential campaign said Sunday that a joint interview with McCain and Sarah Palin planned for Univision last fall had to be canceled because Palin was unprepared to discuss Latin America policy.
“She did not feel comfortable speaking about issues regarding Hispanics and Latin [...]
A special lawmaking session over high-speed and commuter rail inched closer Monday as legislative leaders and the governor said they were ready to tap surplus money discovered in the transportation budget rather than raise taxes on rental cars.
The surplus money -- about $76 million for the current and next budget [...]
Vowing to save the state $5 million, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink said Monday she's asking legislators to make it easier for her office to go paperless to collect payments from vendors. The proposed legislation would allow her to require electronic funds transfer payments, instead [...]
When does Al Jones -- Gov. Charlie Crist's pick today for a Broward County Commission seat -- need to move to the district?
That could lead to a debate. Jones lives in Dania Beach which isn't in the district that spans Fort Lauderdale to Pompano Beach. Republican officials are under the' [...]
Despite criticism that he's focused too much on fundraising and not enough on governing, Gov. Charlie Crist continues to mingle with the rich and famous. Billionaire Donald Trump is hosting a $1,000-per-person reception on Dec. 11 for Crist's Senate campaign at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm [...]
So the Alex Sink for Governor campaign unearthed a photo of Republican opponent Bill McCollum smiling with accused Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein (more here). Now McCollum's folks have dredged up their own photo of Sink and Rothstein. Here it is.
Neither the Sink or McCollum photos [...]
Sounding engaged and no longer a bit dismissive of the threat from former House Speaker Marco Rubio in the Republican U.S. Senate race**, Gov. Charlie Crist suggested the Miami Republican has escaped significant scrutiny and has been able to campaign in a vacuum. But not for long.
"What is said sometimes" [...]
Gov. Charlie Crist today appointed Dania Beach City Commissioner Al Jones to replace suspended Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion.
Crist spoke about Jones' longtime involvement as an educator, coach and public servant in Broward.
"The thing I love most about Al is his dedication,'' Crist said. "I know that he will serve' [...]
Initial findings from a study of 51 homes by the Consumer Product Safety Commission links corrosion in homes with Chinese drywall to the imported product, the agency said Monday.
Several federal agencies have been investigating complaints from thousands of homeowners -- many in Florida -- whose homes were built with [...]
Agriculture Commissioner candidate Scott Maddox, a Democrat, made his position on offshore oil drilling perfectly clear at a press conference Monday: "an absolute no."
The former state party leader and Tallahassee mayor stood next to an enlarged photo of an oil rig on fire and declared that offshore oil drilling (in any form) [...]
Gov. Charlie Crist will announce his replacement for Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion at County Hall today at 2:30 p.m.
Will it be Dania Beach City Commissioner Al Jones or Broward College Trustee Levi Williams? Both are black Republicans vying to represent a black Democratic district -- which means that Democrats [...]
Mustering all the fear of Armageddon, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush warns in an op-ed in the Tallahassee Democrat this weekend that if Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy don't get their rate increases a reliable energy grid could be "threatened." He blames "populist politics,'' translation: Gov. Charlie Crist, who has'" [...]
Today's Miami Herald editorial board urges George LeMieux to drop his "hold" on the US ambassador to Brazil.
"When George LeMieux was appointed three months ago to replace retiring U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, the 40-year-old former chief of staff to Gov. Charlie Crist vowed to focus on making government more efficient and" [...]
The dynamic duo of Gov. Charlie Crist and Sen. George LeMieux will be the "featured guests'' at a fundraising lunch for the Republican Party of Florida on Tuesday at the Riverside Hotel in Fort Lauderdale.
Hosted by Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer, tickets to the reception start at $1,000" [...]
A bevy of Republican senators -- including Florida's George LeMieux -- took to the lectern ahead of today's Senate vote to allow debate on a sweeping health care bill.
LeMieux said his office has fielded 950 calls on the matter in the last 6 days -- and at least 800 callers [...]
Thirty years of spying for Cuba will send a retired State Department official to prison for life after he and his wife pleaded guilty Friday to sending secrets to the United States' longtime antagonist.
Walter Kendall Myers, 72 -- known to his Cuban handlers as ``Agent 202'' -- agreed to a life sentence without' [...]
Attorney General Bill McCollum says there is reason to appeal a circuit court ruling dismissing part of the criminal case against dethroned House Speaker Ray Sansom.
A motion motion filed today with the First District Court of Appeal, lays out several technical arguments why the appeal is justified and asks the appellate court [...]
State Sen. Mike Bennett sent an angry letter to the state's five Public Service Commissioners this week, "appalled with the lack of oversight'' in the general counsel selection process when it let agency executive director Mary Bane "change the rules as you go in order to accommodate candidates who failed to meet the deadlines.''
"With'" [...]
Lesley Clark, Shannon Colavecchio, Marc Caputo, Beth Reinhard, Amy Sherman, Mary Ellen Klas, John Frank, Alex Leary, Lee Logan, Patricia Mazzei
