Commentary
Florida’s teacher shortage can be remedied by better pay
Back to school is my absolute favorite time of year. I spent a decade as a high school music teacher and band director, and the season will always be about fresh starts, new opportunities and all the hope that students, teachers and support staff bring to another year. I experienced that good energy recently at […]
Threats to our voting rights come from outside and within Florida
As the 2020 presidential election approaches, our state faces numerous challenges to a free and fair voting process. Some challenges may come from outside our country; we know of attempts by Russian operatives to hack election systems in at least two Florida counties in 2016, and we can expect more such actions. But when it […]
Your Florida news landscape might be about to change – a lot
UPDATE: GateHouse purchased Gannett on Monday, shortly after this column was published. Florida’s journalism picture may be about to change dramatically. A merger between America’s two biggest newspaper companies – GateHouse and Gannett – could be announced soon. If it happens, the majority of newspapers in the state will be owned by a single company. […]
A birthday wish for Medicaid
Today, July 30, is Medicaid’s 54th birthday and that should be a cause for celebration for all Americans. In Florida alone, Medicaid now provides health insurance for over 40% of all children born in the state and four out of seven disabled Floridians who need nursing home care. Medicaid has lived through needed reforms and […]
Four awful new state laws that punish citizens
It’s never been more perilous for a Florida citizen or a local government to stand up for what they believe than it is right now. That’s because the Florida Legislature passed laws this spring specially designed to shut down dissent, and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed them into law. DeSantis got public accolades for vetoing […]
I don’t see any “white privilege,” do you?
Editor’s note: This is satire. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of all the haters. White people invented everything–Big Macs, sales tax, Spanx, malls, Lite beer, Taylor Swift, the NFL–every single dang thing that makes the US of A the greatest nation in the galaxy. You’re welcome. Now all of a sudden, we’re […]
Importing prescription drugs into Florida is more show than serious policy
During a visit to The Villages last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 1528 into law, legislation that establishes a prescription drug importation program that would allow the state of Florida to import less expensive prescription drugs from Canada. Florida joins Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia to use such laws to address rising […]
A newspaper helped victims get justice when it seemed impossible
If there’s ever any question why journalism matters, look no further than the case of Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein. Because of dogged investigative work by the Miami Herald – and the courage of Epstein’s victims who spoke out – Epstein sits in a New York jail right now, facing charges that he sexually exploited […]
Wait, you’re not going to drink that, are you? (Or swim in it or even touch it?)
The water is trying to kill you. The Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, plus Florida’s rivers and springs and lakes and streams and sloughs and marshes and creeks and sinks, can be–and often are–deadly. Wait, you’re not going to drink that, are you? What comes out of Florida’s taps can be a bit […]
We celebrate the birth of our nation but not the latest assault on our principles
Today we celebrate the Fourth of July and the 243rd anniversary of our nation. Ours is a country founded on the principles of freedom and self-determination. It took some time – and the passage of many amendments and federal intervention – to address the suppression of the vote of Black people and women. But we […]
On environment, Florida Legislature refuses to close the barn door
Florida lawmakers came away from this spring’s session congratulating themselves on the heroic job they did in defense of Florida’s environment. After the Rick Scott years, that wasn’t hard. Unfortunately, it wasn’t true. With Gov. Ron DeSantis’ leadership they did a heroic job of spending money on trying to repair self-inflicted damage. They did nothing […]
Cruelty, Inc.
You will have heard the news: on Monday, June 24th, Customs and Border officers removed a couple of hundred children from a filthy, overcrowded “detention center” on the Mexico border. Come Tuesday, June 25th, 127 of those same children were returned to that same detention center, a place called “inhumane” by lawyers who had seen […]