Tag Archive for bill nelson

Governor Rick Scott delivers pay raises for teachers as promised

April 29, 2013 2014 elections, bill nelson, charlie crist, florida legislative session, florida politics, governor rick scott, orlando politics No comments
Rick Scott open collar

It’s done. Let’s see if it helps his popularity.

Florida Governor Rick Scott kicked off the new year with a new message. He was going to make “Florida the #1 place in the country to get a job and an education”. It was basically the statement that was going to set the tone for the second half of his first term.

He doubled down on that statement by promising a $2500 dollar pay raises. And after a few tense moments, where it seemed like he might not be able to deliver, the news broke last night that the deal was done.

The raises will be merit based by performance. Teachers can earn between $2500 and $3500 depending on their rating. This condition should also quiet any critics that believe under performing teachers are being rewarded without delivering results.

The pay raises were far from a sure thing days ago. Voices in the legislature weren’t sure that the money was going to be there to deliver the pay increases. After the additional performance based measures were added, they were able to get the deal done.

Now, we’ll have to see if this helps Scott’s relationship with educators.

After taking office in 2010, Scott slashed billions from education. A move that caused educators to rush the capitol and protest the cuts. Since then, Scott has slowly been putting the money back, year by year.

The pay raises will take effect next year in the middle of campaign season when Scott is up for re-election against tough competition from former Governor Charlie Crist or Senator Bill Nelson who’s seen support for his Gubernatorial bid surge in recent weeks.

Video: Boston, Immigration, Gun Control, Jobs in a very busy week in Florida Politics – WIR

April 22, 2013 alan grayson, barack obama, bill nelson, buddy dyer, corrine brown, daniel webster, florida politics, governor rick scott, gun control, immigration, john mica, marco rubio, orange county commission, orlando politics, orlando venues, pam bondi, ron desantis, teresa jacobs No comments

This was a very busy week.

This could have been a full 30 minute show, with so much to cover but it manages to clock in at just under 12 minutes.

Of course, the main story is Boston. From the terrible attacks at the Boston Marathon leading to the capture, and finally a moment to begin the healing. We’ll talk about how are lawmakers supported the area during the tragedy.

The vote for extended background checks on gun purchases failed on capitol hill this week. We’ll talk about our Senators and how they voted on the measure.

We’ll stick with Marco Rubio as we discuss the Immigration Reform bill released by the “gang of 8″ this week and the challenges that were waiting for it.

At home, we’ve got soccer stadiums, veterans memorials, lawsuits on energy giants, and pro wrestling all dominating the Florida Political landscape.

This is your Week in Review.

BP Beatdown? AG Bondi sues Energy Giant on 3 Year Anniversary of Gulf Spill

April 20, 2013 barack obama, bill nelson, florida politics, pam bondi No comments

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced that the state of Florida will be suing BP or British Petrol, for potential lost revenue due to the spill in the gulf in 2010.

“The State of Florida suffered considerable economic losses as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and BP and Halliburton must be held accountable,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi.” said in her release.

The spill, which President Barack Obama called “The Greatest Environmental disaster in history” was a severe blow to the Southeastern tourism industry that includes the Sunshine State, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

BP has been on damage control ever since. You might recall these commercials that were part of a PR campaign by the energy giant to give tourists the “all clear” on environmental conditions.

Bondi also isn’t the only Florida lawmaker to go on the offensive against BP this week. Senator Bill Nelson has been making noise on Twitter.

I’ll keep an eye on this as the lawsuit moves a long.

Bondi announced the State would sue BP for lost revenue

Bondi announced the State would sue BP for lost revenue

Florida Senators split on Gun Background Checks, Rubio tries to diffuse Immigration myths, Dyer reveals more info for Soccer Stadium

April 18, 2013 barack obama, bill nelson, buddy dyer, florida politics, gun control, marco rubio, orange county commission, orlando politics, orlando venues One comment
Senate Gun Control Background Checks

It was a really busy! Hectic at times (thanks CNN) and so many events occuring, you could have had 8 television screens and still not have eyes on everything.

This makes for a very hectic daily wrap.

The big late story was the Senate voting down extended background checks in the gun control debate. Florida Senators split with Democrat Bill Nelson voting “Yes” and Republican Marco Rubio voting “No”. After the vote President Barack Obama took to the podium at the White House surrounded by those affected by gun violence and slammed Senate Republicans.

Rubio remained in the news when the full text of sweeping immigration reform hit the web. Wild speculation from questionable interpretation of the bill had the Rubio staff beating back myths the entire day.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer also spoke to WFTV Channel 9 today and revealed more facts concerning the Soccer only stadium the Orlando City want to try and win an MLS franchise. The stadium would require tax dollars for completion.

This is your daily wrap for Wednesday April 17th 2013.

Gun Control Background Checks get “Yes” from Nelson, “No” from Rubio in Key Senate Vote

April 17, 2013 barack obama, bill nelson, florida politics, gun control, marco rubio No comments
Marco Rubio Bill Nelson

In a key component for Gun Control legislation, this afternoon, the Senate voted on a measure that would extend background check regulations, when purchasing firearms.

The two Senators from Florida split. Democrat Bill Nelson voted “Yes” in favor of the measure. Republican Marco Rubio voted “No”.

The measure failed to pass and prompted an emotional press conference from President Barack Obama. With former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, her husband Astronaut Mark Kelly, and parents from the victims of the deadly Sandy Hook shootings at his side, the President slammed Senate Republicans calling the measure common sense legislation, and continued saying “All in all this was a pretty shameful day for Washington. But this effort is not over.”. He also cited statistics that %90 of Americans agreed with extending the background checks, as well as the efforts the bi-partisan team of Senators Jon Manchin (D) and Republican Pat Toomey (R).

The vote was expected to go down this way, and the argument is expected to conntinue on this very passionate issue.

The Senators from Florida have been at the center of controversy in recent days. Rubio rolling out sweeping immigration reform and Bill Nelson announcing support of Gay Marriage, after a long hold-out.

This issue will continue to be debated on Capitol Hill. The President has made Gun Control one his top priorities for his second term and called the day of the Sandy Hook tragedy, the toughest day of his Presidency.

Control de los armas falla en la Senado, el pelea para reforma migratoria empiezas, y mas detalles para estadio de Futbol en Orlando

April 17, 2013 Uncategorized No comments
Senate Gun Control Background Checks

Un dia muy ocupado en el mundo de politica.

Empezamos con la vota para reforma de los armas. Este legislacion va incluye mas cheques para gente que querer comprar armas. La vota falla en el senado con dos Senadores de Florida seperado. Democrata Bill Nelson voto “Si” y Republicano Marco Rubio voto “No. Despues de la vota Presidente Barack Obama delante de la familia de los victimas de Newtown dijo que esto es solamente es el inicio de esto campana.

Seguimos con la anuncia de la legislacion para reforma migratoria. Su puede leer la detalles de la ley aqui. Pero hoy fue el primero dia con todo la legislacion estaba disponsible para el publico. La reforma es como ocho ciento paginas y cuando los criticos empieza leer lo estaba mucho confusion de los regulacions y tenia muchos gente enojada. El administracion de Rubio gasto todo el dia explicando a Facebook y Twitter la verdad. Nosotros podia a vez esto problema vienendo para Rubio. Esto es un luchar que va necesito mucho paciencia de todos involucrado.

Finalmente, mas informacion de el nuevo estadio para futbol que es un posibilidad para Orlando y pude trae un Equipo MLS. Alcade de Orlando Buddy Dyer hablo con WFTV de la tierra la ciudad compro para el estadio. Dijo que un nuevo sitio que estas solamente para futbol va querar circa de Downtown, el Citrus bowl, y tambien el Amway center. Ellos compro la tierra para 8.2 milliones pero la tierra es dignio para casi 3 miliones. Dyer dice que esto es un bueno inversion. El equipo de Football Los “Orlando City” querer dinero de empuestos para esto estadio.

***EN INGLES***

Bill Nelson supports Gay Marriage, Jennifer Carroll was asked to resign, Parent Trigger and Anti-OC Sick Time Bill Advance

April 5, 2013 Uncategorized One comment

So much for that break.

It was a big day with Florida Senator Bill Nelson formally endorsing Gay Marriage. Nelson has been quiet on the issue that has been debated in Washington over the last couple of weeks and has dominated social media and was getting pushed by activists to support the initiative. He made it official today.

In what would normally be a top story discovery, former Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll gave her first television interview today where she says she was asked to resign after her connections to the racketeering investigation behind Allied Veterans of the world that lead to dozens of arrests. You would tend to believe that the relationship between those two would have been closer. NOTE: the footage of the interview is awful but the sound is good. You can watch the original footage at the Local 6 website here.

All of this and the internet cafes that led to the Carroll resignation will be illegal as the bill set forth by the legislator goes to Rick Scott for signature. We’ve also got parent trigger and anti- Orange County sick time measures moving forward in the legislature.

Busy day, and we’ve still got Friday.

Video Transcript:

Florida Politics with Frank Torres. This is your daily wrap up and a big day in Florida Politics. A lot of these developments happening later in the day or really close to close of business on this Thursday. We start out with the big news from today, that would be with Florida Senator Bill Nelson coming out today on gay marriage. Gay marriage has been one of the big issues in Washington as its being debated in front of the supreme court and the big social media push with that red equal sign dominating your Facebook pages. Florida Senator Bill Nelson throwing his support in favor of gay marriage if you look at the political math involved, there isn’t much behind it. The guy is in his 70′s he’s gone as high as he’s going to go. There has been some rumors he would go after Rick Scott next year for Governor is a race I believe he would win but, he’s defused those rumors, he’s doing it strictly because he thinks it’s the right reasons to. He’s quoted as saying that his reason for publicly supporting same sex marriage is because god wouldn’t have created homosexual couples like he has heterosexual couples if he did not want us to support them. So, that’s the big news. He was even trending on Twitter, yes Bill Nelson. You’ve got to wonder if he’s even familiar with that particular social media outlet.

Anyways another big announcement later in the afternoon is news that former Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll was actually asked to resign after it was discovered that she was being investigated for her connections with Allied Veterans of the world. That company is under investigation for racketeering and almost 60 people have been arrested. This adds more controversy to an already complicated situation and more problems for Florida Governor Rick Scott. You know these reports coming out earlier, this was handled very coldly. We’ve got footage by Local 6. Let’s have a look at it right now.

(Jennifer Carroll Footage)

Very eye opening stuff by the former Lieutenant Governor. A very shocking revelation coming out, you thought they were closer. Well, that’s the way it happens up there in Tallahassee.

In a connected issue you’ve also got that ban on Internet Cafe going to Rick Scott for signature. That’s moved along quickly. Those will soon be illegal in Florida.

Some other controversial legislation has been Parent Trigger. This would allow parents to have a say over the direction a failing school would take, this would include firing the principal or other administrators or even changing the public school to a charter school. Current State Rep. Karen Castor Dentel a school teacher herself, has come out strongly against it, saying in the Orlando Sentinel it makes the charter schools or for profit groups look like heroes. but parents and their voice over how their kids a very precious thing. That legislation is moving along.

Now bringing it back to Orange County, you’ve got legislation at the state level that would nullify the Orange County Sick Time initiative. Sick Time would make it mandatory for employers to offer paid sick time to workers after a certain amount of hours have been reached. Workers in favor believe it would be there right to receive that, those against believe it would hurt hiring, and growth and would possibly result in lawsuits.

A very big day. Nelson coming out in favor of Gay Marriage. Jennifer Carroll’s shocking interview, and these big legislation moving quickly. Big enough to take me off of break but hey, you do what you have to do. I’ll see you for Week in Review. For now I’m Frank Torres.

National Journal Rankings Mica and Posey Most Conservative in Central Florida, Nelson Middle of Dem Pack

February 23, 2013 Uncategorized No comments

Every year the National Journal Releases their most Conservative/Liberal Rankings of all of the members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives. Most of the time the behaivior you see in the media pretty much syncs with the Journal’s rankings but when you see them scored side by side there are a few surprises. Let’s break it down by member of the 2012 Congress.

Rep. Sandy Adams 88th Most Conservative in the House with a score of 79.5: She never missed during her term before being defeated by fellow Rep. John Mica in their redistricting showdown. 88th is a fine ranking but Mica actually scored slightly higher. This could have been because Adams voted “no” on proposals that weren’t Conservative enough. Higher than? Allen West Ranked 110th Scored 74.7. Wow. In fact all of our local Reps. scored higher than the Tea Party favorite.

Corrine Brown 92nd Most Liberal in the House with a score of 79: The longtime Rep of the third district easily won re-election last year. Nancy Pelosi? 79.2 coming in at 90th. Brown votes with her leader.

John Mica 82nd Most Conservative in the House with a score of 79.8. Tied with Fellow Rep. Bill Posey who also scored 79.8: The Winter Park Republican and fellow local Congressman Bill Posey will have to share the title of the “Most Conservative Congressman” in the Area. Compared with Paul Ryan? The Wisconsin House Rep and former Romney Running mate is 127th with a score of 71.3 but he was on a Presidential ticket.

Daniel Webster the Most Liberal Republican in Central Florida? Scores 75: This isn’t knock on Webster’s Conservative Cred. Locals know better. It’s just hard to believe that this Winter Garden Grandpa is the Tea Party Radical that the DCCC and other targeting his seat in 2014, want us to believe. Compared with someone like Michelle Bachmann? She scored an 80 coming at 80.

Your Senators:

Bill Nelson is 28th Most Liberal in Senate with a 75.3: His Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scored an 87.5. and one of the President’s biggest allies Chuck Schumer from NY scored a 79.2. Nelson’s score leans firmly left but he gets just enough leverage to call himself a moderate…barely.

Marco Rubio is 17th Most Conservative in Senate with a Score of 82.8: John McCain? 73.2. Lindsey Graham? 71.5. 28th and 33rd respectively. Rubio is not only emerging as a leader within this group of Republican leaders but can say his record is more conservative than theirs. His recent “Frenemy” and SOTU night fellow speaker? Rand Paul from Kentucky is 6th with a score of 90.8. There is a quick 2016 GOP Primary Snapshot.

These rankings are fascinating and are sometimes badges of honor or marks of embarrassment. We’ll see if these rankings effect any of our officials behavior.

Both Mica and Posey rank high in the latest rankings

Both Mica and Posey rank high in the latest rankings

A Florida Political Valentines Day – Drama, Divorces, Bromances, and later sunsets

February 14, 2013 Uncategorized No comments

It’s Valentines Day here in the Sunshine state and tens of thousands will be celebrating the holiday with dinner, flowers, chick-flicks, and chocolates. If you’re one of those people have a great evening.

You know, this holiday has political ties as well, Ok, maybe not direct political ties but the drama is definitely there. Let’s kick-off your Florida Political Valentines Day.

“The Unhappy Political Marriage that makes it work”- Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs: These two have to work together. The two most powerful people in Central Florida have their responsibilities so intertwined that they can’t afford not to. They’ve publicly criticized one another in the media and clash during initial talks for any big projects.

But they eventually find a way to make it work. For the kids or in this case, Central Florida Residents.

Whether its balancing the books to make the Performing Arts Center Work, finding the money to renovate the Citrus bowl, or even to take a gamble with Tourist Taxes that eventually paid off, the two Mayors continue to get it done.

“The Bromance”- Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio: Despite being on opposite sides of the political ideological spectrum, Florida’s two Senators are often seen working together on issues that affect Florida. When other states try to poach what space coast jobs are left, Rubio and Nelson will often join forces to keep that from happening. Nelson has also supported Rubio’s recent Bi-partisan, Senate Immigration bill.

As Rubio’s star continues to rise (despite missed opportunities) and Nelson enters the twilight of his political career, expect more collaboration.

“The Awkward Couple” Charlie Crist and Florida Democrats:: Now that a “Tell All” Jim Greer trial is out of the picture. Florida Democrats can fully embrace the former Republican Governor, turned Independent Senate Candidate, turned defiant Democrat, in front of “the Ex” (RPOF) and try to take back the Governors Mansion in 2014.

“Setting the Mood” State Senator Darren Soto wants later Sunsets: The local lawmaker recently sponsored the “Sunshine Protection Act”, a Bill that would keep Florida on Daylight Savings time all year. The bill has gotten some good publicity and the idea of keeping the tourists in the parks and at the beaches, spending their money is appealing. We’ll see if it goes anywhere.

So yes, none of these are tradition romances and their isn’t even a fondness involved in some of these match-ups but these lawmakers show their affection in different ways. Happy Valentines Day!

The Bill could help tourism and lead to longer, later walks on the beach.

The Bill could help tourism and lead to longer, later walks on the beach.

Nelson es los Mas Bravo Politico en Washington? y el verdad razon por que Rubio no apoyer Hagel

February 7, 2013 Uncategorized No comments
Thanks to the sponsors that make it possible

Ambos Senadores estan en la noticia hoy. Es bueno para un estado de votantes quien querer que los Senadores quedan asi.

Bill Nelson, El Mas Macho:

Salir hoy en el U.S News and World Report es uno de los mas bravo en Washington.en articulo dijo que es porque el fue a los everglades para luchar con los pitones que estan corriendo todo los sitios alli.

Hay tiempos cuando Nelson fue muy bravo con los temas aqui en Florida. Recuerdas cuando el apoye el estimulo y la plan para salud de Presidente Obama. Y tamibe estaban 2010 cuando el fue el ultimo Democrata en Florida que estaban elegido de todo el estado.

El desafio conservador de Marco Rubio:

El potencial candidato para Presidente en 2016 es en un situacion dificil. El esta lider para el plan de Senado. Esto hace dano para el reputacion conservador. Nosotros hablamos de eso ante.

Mas reciente fue que el no podia apoye Chuck Hagel para secretario de defense. Hagel tenia un audicion muy mal a frente de el Senado comite. Si, es acostumbrado que el Senado apoye los nombramientos pero Rubio dijo no. Porque?

Porque apoye un plan para inmigracion contra de Republicanos pero no apoye un nombramiento que los mismos Republicanos vas?

Rubio haces eso por que el ahora caminar un linea que necesiade que el apoye los temas en la medio pero en las mismo vez quedan conservador.

Si, peleando con pitones es Bravo pero el desafio de Rubio es un poco mas dificil.

*EN INGLES*

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