Rep. Marco Rubio, a Miami legislator who rocketed through Republican party ranks, has clinched a bid for state House speaker following the 2006 election, becoming the first Cuban American designated to lead one of the legislative chambers.
Rubio secured the position Friday with the surrender of two key rivals after a short but furious campaign that at one point had nearly a dozen contenders angling for support. "Miamian in line to lead House".
IT NEVER ENDS (PART 2) -man who has fought a long legal battle to remove a feeding tube from his brain-damaged wife, only to have the state pass a special law to thwart him, won another round in court Friday when a judge ruled against Gov. Jeb Bush. "Judge says case of brain-damaged woman can proceed". See also "Judge calls Terri's Law intrusive".
IT NEVER ENDS (PART 3) -With re-election looming next year, the White House believes winning the support of hard-line, anti-Castro voters in South Florida is more important than effective and rational diplomacy. So, political back scratching has squandered another opportunity to push the island toward a transition to democracy and a more productive economy. "Policy Needed, Not Pandering".
MEL (NOTHING BUT POLITICS) MARTINEZ MAY BE IN HOT WATER -HUD Secretary Mel Martinez, whose job as HUD Secretary appears to be little more than serving as a "hispanic" face at GOP fundraisers and pep rallies around the country, might be in hot water:
Mel Martinez isn't a U.S. Senate candidate yet, but his phone calls to Florida Republicans are drawing heat from Democrats.
Martinez, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, may have violated the Hatch Act, a federal law banning political activity by federal employees, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said.
The committee called on Martinez to release government phone logs and e-mail and said it will file a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain the records.
"It is entirely likely that these calls were made on government phones or at a minimum from government offices, either of which is a possible violation of the Hatch Act," said Brad Woodhouse of the DSCC. "Secretary Martinez should release his phone records to simply clear this matter up." "Democrats want to examine HUD chief's telephone logs".
DO US A FAVOR MEL AND STAY IN DC - Hard to tell where the line is these days as Florida spends thousands of dollars a year to provide drivers and door openers for people who have been designated "dignitaries."
For two years we taxpayers have been footing the bill for personal security services for Mel Martinez, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, when he travels in Florida. The cost since January is more than $20,000. . . . Without this duty, agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Capitol Police might be out catching criminals like regular cops.
This weekend FDLE is squiring Martinez around as he celebrates homecoming at Florida State University. Martinez is among former graduates who are being honored. On Friday he was a featured participant in a parade through downtown Tallahassee. . . . One might wonder if all these trips Martinez is making to Florida were designed to help him win friends for a future race.
The former Orange County chairman's name popped up this week as a possible candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being abandoned by Bob Graham. Martinez was long considered a possible candidate for governor in 2006. . . . Martinez has asked 13 times since January - mostly on trips to Orlando. One trip was to a World Series game. Another was to a football game.
The security includes a car and driver, so a politician doesn't have the hassle of getting from one place to another on his own.
No agents accompany U.S. Sens. Bob Graham and Bill Nelson when they visit Florida and none are provided for Attorney General Charlie Crist or Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher.
Bush says he authorizes it for Martinez and any governor or foreign dignitary who requests it. Some suspicious souls believe the governor is doing it for Martinez because he wants to help him win an election. Bush insists he's not taking sides. "Personal security has a public cost".
STRAW BALLOT -Florida Democrats meet Sunday in Tampa under pressure from national party leaders to kill a proposed presidential straw vote at next month's state convention. "Florida Democrats to decide straw vote".
IS THIS STILL AN ISSUE? THOUGHT "JEB!" ALREADY SAVED US FROM COASTAL DRILLING -A far-reaching Republican compromise on energy legislation to be unveiled today will not include an inventory of gas and oil that could have led to drilling off Florida's coast, according to congressional sources. "Deal blocks prospecting for oil, gas off Florida".
SCRIPPS -Environmentalists on Friday blasted the county's plans to put The Scripps Research Institute on a 2,000-acre citrus farm near The Acreage, saying the project and the growth it could spawn threaten neighboring conservation lands. "Scripps choice faces criticism".
NOW WE KNOW WE'RE IN TROUBLE - "Scripps oversight panel lists movers, shakers". The "movers" and "shakers" - appointed by that estimable trio of Bush, Byrd and King - include "a nursing home executive, the head of a Fortune 500 company, a BellSouth vice president and the founder of Outback Steakhouse. There's also the state's top medical official, a former university president, a lawyer for developers, a dentist and the owner of a waste-disposal company."
WHOOPEE -Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development agency, has predicted that, if FTAA becomes a reality and Miami is its headquarters, the state's economy will receive a boost of $13.6 billion "Trade pact could mean $13.6 billion Florida boon".
But, "difficult to foresee is how the free trade agreement itself, no matter where the secretariat is located, might impact area businesses." Moreover, "[t]he state's citrus and sugar cane growers oppose the FTAA, largely because of Brazil, the world's largest producer of oranges and sugar cane. Tariffs protect the citrus juice industry in Florida, and sugar has the benefit of quotas that limit imports. Growers believe that, if the barriers are removed under FTAA, their industries will be largely overwhelmed by cheaper products from the South American nation." 4:28 AM
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