Politics

The agendas probably say nothing about amends-making or damage control, but the mission is already clear as House and Senate elections committees begin hearings today in Tallahassee on overhauling Florida's elections system.

Just when it looked like it would be a good two years before the next major election campaign , Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Charlie Crist are at it already.

Though he rarely mentions his name, Scott was pretty clearly campaigning against his predecessor this weekend on the CBS4 show, "Facing South Florida With Jim DeFede." And Crist is losing no opportunities to tell potential voters how he objected and even blocked Republiucan voter law changes, signed into law by Scott,  that ultimately turned ordinary ballot-casting into an endurance challenge on election day.

City of Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones is suing Mayor Tomas Regalado and state attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle for what she says is a plot to destroy her political career by accusing Spence-Jones of political corruption.

On Monday, Spence-Jones filed a lawsuit claiming that Fernandez Rundle and Richard Scruggs, the lead prosecutor in a case accusing Spence-Jones of corruption more than a year ago, misled key witnesses.

These criminal cases surrounding Spence-Jones turned out to be unsuccessful.

After  helping direct a successful re-election campaign, a top Democratic official says President Obama wants South Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to stay on as party chair.

What would a plunge off the fiscal cliff mean in Florida?

Disaster, according to the data. Higher taxes, job losses and probably a recession because of curtailed consumer spending.

Forty years ago, the U.S. House and Senate passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), an amendment adding language to the U.S. Constitution that says "equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

The amendment was the result of a historic surge of women's rights activism in the country. It took decades to get the amendment passed in Congress, but it did indeed pass at a federal level.

On The Florida Roundup: Hurricane season has officially ended.  South Florida was saved from any severe hurricanes, but we see the effects of climate change as beaches erode, roads crumble and flooding inundates parts of region.  

I am sorry, everyone, but a judge doesn't want to let us all in on some of the more "defamatory'' and "salacious" aspects of the saga of Jim Greer, the former Florida Republican Party leader who was accused of defrauding the party to the tune of $200,000.

After this year's disastrous election in Florida, state lawmakers are looking to make some changes to some of the culprits for the long lines and delayed ballot-counting.

Among the changes: Democratic state Sens. Gwen Margolis of Miami and Arthenia Joyner of Tampa have introduced bills that would make early voting more accessible and last longer.

With its low-level waterfront communities, South Florida is particularly vulnerable to climate change. 

But perhaps no area is more vulnerable than the Florida Keys.

James from Cudjoe Key tells us that a nature trail he has walked for 10 years is now regularly flooded, even at low tide.  Here is a photo he sent us:

While much has been written about the danger to South Florida caused by rising water levels, Pamela from Miami points out that Miami should pay attention to its air:   

The Miami Dade County Commission will consider a policy next month that would allow prayer before every commission meeting.

For years, the commissioners have simply observed a moment of silence before meetings, which allowed people to pray or not pray.

However, at the urging of a conservative Christian group, the commissioners are moving to change that policy back to a few years ago when praying was allowed before meetings.