Culture & Society
Dueling doctors, different credentials, in Democratic state Senate primary in North Florida
On the “Kayser Enneking for state senate” website, the candidate appears in a typical white doctor’s coat, with a stethoscope around her neck. Move on to the link for “Kayser’s Story” and the first paragraph highlights her profession: “Kayser Enneking, MD, is a mother of two, a lifelong Gainesville resident and longtime UF Health physician.” […]
Women candidates: “That’s what a state senator looks like.”
Gainesville anesthesiologist Kayser Enneking remembers watching the crescendo of comments coming from presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2016, spurring her to act. “As he began spewing disgusting, racist, misogynous comments, I thought, ‘If he wins I am going to run for office.’” And she could count on her first vote: “My husband looked over and […]
38 Florida Democrats get “F” grade from conservative ‘Florida Family Action’ legislative scorecard
Conservative activist John Stemberger’s Florida Family Policy Council has released its 2018 state legislative scorecard, and it includes failing grades for dozens of Democratic legislators. The group scored each member of the 2017-2018 legislative body on ten issues of “life, family, religious liberty and related matters.” Overall, 38 Democrats received an “F”. Sixty-three Republican lawmakers […]
Reproductive rights advocates meet in Tallahassee to demand scrutiny of “fake” women’s clinics
Advocates for reproductive rights converged Tuesday morning at the state Capitol to demand Gov. Rick Scott and other state departments scrutinize what kind of services and information “fake women’s health clinics” offer to women who walk through their doors. A law that went into effect July 1 mandates that state government fund a network of […]
Trump and his supporters are rallying in Tampa tonight
Dozens of hardcore supporters for President Trump camped overnight last night outside Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, the site of the president’s primetime appearance tonight. The event comes four weeks before Floridians go to the polls in the primary election, and if there were any doubts about how the Florida Republican […]
Are voting systems safe or not? Some officials are confident but others are concerned
With crucial midterm elections approaching around the country, election supervisors – and voters – are likely wondering if their voting systems are safe. What sounded like good news came earlier this month: U.S. Homeland Security Dept. Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told state election officials at a convention that there are currently no signs Russia will be […]
Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law is causing a ‘state of emergency’ for people of color, governor’s candidate Andrew Gillum says
Democratic candidate for governor Andrew Gillum called Monday for Gov. Rick Scott to issue a state of emergency to suspend the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law because police didn’t arrest a white man who started an argument and then killed an unarmed black man – over a parking spot. “Stand Your Ground has created an […]
The Endangered Species Act has a target on its back
On a remote beach south of Tallahassee last week, a sizeable crowd gathered to watch legendary marine biologist Jack Rudloe release two rescued juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtles into the wild. Kemp’s ridleys are the world’s most endangered sea turtles; these two were fixed up and ready to go after getting caught in fishing line. […]
“The people will protect the dogs:” New campaign ad targets greyhound racing cruelty
Every three days, a greyhound dog dies on a Florida racetrack. This is according to a new online ad urging voters to end the practice with a vote on the November ballot. The ad begins with an unidentified man in dark sunglasses and a dark shirt looking at the camera. “They’re dogs, they’re not people,” […]
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson calls for special legislative session to fix public beach access mess
U.S. Sen Bill Nelson on Friday called for a special session of the Florida Legislature to repeal the law that is causing controversy and legal problems over the public’s access to the state’s beaches. “This isn’t what Florida is about,” Nelson said in a Friday morning press conference on the Panhandle’s Santa Rosa Beach. “Beachgoers […]
The public deserves to hear confession from gunman who killed students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, judges order
Two judges ruled Thursday that the public deserves to know details from the confession of Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in the South Florida community of Parkland, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. But no information will be released until Cruz has had time to appeal the ruling. According […]
Our governor’s secret job
Gov. Rick Scott — and the governors before him — has a job. That job is a public job, not a secret job. Yet voters who hired Scott for the top political and government job in Florida for the most part aren’t being told what the governor is doing and where he is all day, […]