Tagged: politics

New figures show incomes in the South Florida region have dropped, and Florida's unemployment figure of 8.8% remains unchanged.  Has Governor Rick Scott's economic policy made any difference?  Meanwhile, Mitt Romney looks to recover from gaffes about the 47% made at a Boca Raton fundraiser. Both he and Barack Obama spoke at Univision forums in Miami to appeal to Hispanic voters.  Plus: after testimony by victims' families, will a state task force recommend changes to the Stand Your Ground law?

Mitt Romey made a stop at El Palacio de los Jugos, or the Palace of Juice, to reach out to Republican Latinos.

El Palacio is a popular Latino spot located on Coral Way in Miami.

Romney was met with an excited crowd at the event. However, experts will probably tell you that this isn't exactly a sign that Romney has a lock on the Hispanic vote.

In fact, polling shows that he doesn’t. With Latinos as a whole, Romney is doing best with South Florida's Cuban Republicans.

One of the ugliest primary races in the state is going on here in South Florida.

Gus Barreiro and Alex De la Portilla, both former Republican state lawmakers, are battling it out for a Florida House seat in Miami.

Their race has become a messy fight with a series of slurs against each man’s moral character.

They also have quite a bit in common.

Both men come from political families, as well as a past as state lawmakers in the Florida Legislature. 

Monroe County, and four other Florida counties,  have begun early voting for the August 14th primary. All five are protected by the 1965 Voting Rights Act. This means that any new voting law there must be cleared by the federal government.

Last year, state lawmakers passed a law reducing the number of early voting days.

“Until this year, the state has refrained from implementing those changes statewide until it had pre-clearance to do so in the five covered counties,” explains Michael Masinter, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University.

09/12/12 - Wednesday's Topical Currents looks at the decades old question of marijuana decriminalization with journalist and author Doug Fine.  Proponents of loosening laws governing cannabis point to economics: the sale value of legal and illegally grown pot is greater than revenues from corn and wheat. The cost of policing, prosecuting and incarceration of violators is staggering.  Doug Fine has written, Too High To Fail: Cannabis And The New Green Revolution. 

Forget the US election. 

There may be an even more important presidential vote taking place in Venezuela this fall. 

Miami Herald South America bureau chief Jim Wyss updates WLRN's Phil Latzman on Hugo Chavez's fight to keep his job against upstart opponent Henrique Capriles. Also discussed: political strife in Colombia and Latin American countries tasting rare Olympic glory during the Summer Games in London.  

Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs lost last night in the Congressional primary. 

She was hoping to become the Democratic nominee for District 22, which covers Broward and Palm Beach counties. The seat was  left vacant when Republican Rep. Allen West changed districts.

During her concession speech, Jacobs thanked the crowd of about 50 for believing in her. 

"I'm so blessed to have been a part of it," Jacobs said. "I think it was the most wonderful thing I've ever tried to do, and I'm sad about not winning but energized by the future."

Tuesday’s race for Miami-Dade County Mayor ended on odd terms.

Even though Mayor Carlos Gimenez won by a significant margin, his challenger refused to concede.

Mayor Gimenez’s campaign spent hours at the Doubletree hotel near the airport waiting for his opponent to throw in the towel-- but that never happened.

Throughout every election cycle, it’s fair to say that there’s more nail-biting in Palm Beach County than in any voting district in the country. For nearly 12 years, a reputation for botched elections has clung to the county like a hanging chad.