Politics

When Gov. Rick Scott recently listed ways he thinks Florida could reduce voting difficulties and long polling lines, he drew the most attention for a change of course in suggesting that more early voting might help.

But another idea Scott raised may have more far-reaching implications for public policy in Florida, and might even be more difficult to accomplish than the politically volatile suggestion about early voting.

Advocates for working folk haven’t had a lot of luck establishing a right to paid sick leave in Florida.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Barbara Jordan's proposal was defeated last year and, in Orlando, Orange County commissioners found a way to avoid a sick time referendum, even though 50,000 residents had won a ballot spot, fair and square, with their signatures on a petition.

Republican  State Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla of Miami was an early and enthusiastic supporter of cutting back Florida's early voting period from 14 to 8 days in 2011. He called it a "voter friendly" bill that would save money.

"Generally, early voting in Miami-Dade County has not been very efficient, " Diaz de la Portilla said at the time. "What you see more often than not is that there is a trickle of two or three people a day at a very high cost to keep those public libraries and polls open. ... We felt it was an efficiency measure."

A South Florida lawmaker filed legislation Friday to repeal the law allowing the use of red light cameras, following a report earlier this week that says intersections where they're used have seen drops in crashes in most places.

Rep. Daphne Campbell, D-Miami, seeks to end the use of the cameras, saying they unfairly dole out tickets to people who can't defend themselves, noting that malfunctioning cameras can't be cross-examined.

With hundreds of thousands of homes already foreclosed in Florida--and eight percent of current mortgage holders delinquent--you’d think that thousands of people would be flocking to get help.

Yet when Wells Fargo Bank invited an average of 14,000 of its troubled mortgage holders to four Home Preservations Workshops it held across the state, fewer than 300 showed up each time. 

“People are scared, ” says Barry Zigas, housing policy director for the Consumers Federation of America.

"Representative Wasserman Schultz is present. Representative Schultz has always been present. Representative Wasserman Schultz is present. Representative Wass--"

Sorry. I was just brushing up on 1984-style Newspeak so that I may continue my work here at the Ministry of Truth.

A little Orwellian doublethink is necessary, evidently, as we consider what is clearly a photo of Debbie Wasserman Schultz at an event  she clearly did not attend.

On the Florida Roundup: 2013 begins with the fiscal cliff averted, despite U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s vote against the agreement.   We find out whether Florida's fragile economy can "hang on" when many decisions have been kicked down the road.  

Among the more than 80 House freshmen who were sworn in this week, there were several who had been there before — including Florida Democrat Alan Grayson.

After starting his first term four years ago, Grayson quickly made a name for himself with biting comments targeting Republicans — like when he said during the health care debate: "If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly."

His national stature, however, didn't prevent him from being defeated in 2010. But now Grayson is back.

The Obama Administration has announced another significant reset of national deportation law that could allow hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to apply for legal residency without leaving the country.

It was another use of the president's executive power, analysts say, to soften the ground for major legislative immigration reforms ahead.

The new policy applies to immigrants who are spouses, parents or children of U. S. citizens and would otherwise face long family separations under the previous process of applying for residency.

All this week, we've been looking at the continuing foreclosure crisis sure crisis in Florida. Today, we check in back in with one woman who fears losing her home.

While there are many federal, state and private bank programs to modify troubled mortgages, each requires the lender to agree.

Unlike the more than 260 lenders in Florida who are helping, Marla Popkin’s mortgage holder won’t. Popkin is an Occupational Therapist in Miami. Work is slow and she has come into some rough times. Now she's trying to save her home.