Monthly Archives: May 2014
Is Florida journalism in a bad way?
As we discussed briefly on Wednesday, LobbyTools, Inc. news imprint The Florida Current is in the process of “evolving,” i.e. contracting or disappearing altogether. In itself this is simply a business decision made by the publication’s parent company to sacrifice in-depth coverage in order to bolster their bottom line. But as the Current employed a significant portion of the […]
Flashback Friday – 1950s Suwannee River Video
A scenic and informative circa 1950s video chronicling a boat cruise along the Suwannee River.
Looking ahead to the 2014 State House campaigns
On Sunday, The Florida Squeeze will unveil our pre-qualifying ratings of House races throughout the state. Following qualifying we plan to update these ratings each Sunday until the November election. While the reapportionment trial is continuing to expose the lengths to which some Republicans went to circumvent the law and the spirit of the Fair […]
Florida’s Redistricting Doesn’t Have to be a Mess Ever Again
Not so long ago there was a sweeping constitutional revision of the state’s redistricting process. Pushed through by a coalition of reformist organizations and opposed by an entrenched majority, it was a painful first step away from decades of hyper-partisan map making and the perennial shady maneuverings of incumbents eager to maintain their offices. Not surprisingly, the newly-drawn maps […]
Looking for new contributors
We are looking for new contributors at the Florida Squeeze that can cover: Campaign 2014 Legislative issues The Florida Congressional Delegation in Washington We also need an additional copy editor for the site and for our forthcoming ebook. For the next month and a half, professional commitments related to this summer’s World Cup will limit […]
Thursday Bookshelf: Legacy of Leadership: Florida Governors and Their Inaugural Speeches
Patricia Lasche Clements who is one of the foremost female historians in the state and was long an active figure in Tallahassee wrote a book in 2005 tying together all the inagural speeches of Governors from William Moseley to Jeb Bush. By perusing the pages of this book you get the sense of how […]
The Florida Current: happy trails?
LobbyTools news imprint The Florida Current began reducing its capacity yesterday, letting go of reporters Bruce Ritchie and Gray Rohrer and announcing the “evolution” of their news operation to focus more on short “policy notes” largely comprised of information found in other publications. Sarah Iarussi, president and co-owner of the Tallahassee-based firm, told SaintPetersBlog yesterday that this […]
Wednesday open thread
Per usual, let’s talk about it. All comments on any subject welcome provided they are not libelous.
NSF: FL Supreme Court overrules lower court, makes admissable RPOF redistricting documents
The Florida Supreme Court today offered us a stark reminder of what’s at stake in the 2014 Governor’s race when they again did the right thing and allowed the League of Women voters and other plaintiffs in the ongoing reapportionment case to review and enter into evidence (and hopefully someday the public record) operative-drawn maps, emails and […]
The demise of the Val Demings Campaign yields important lessons for Democrats
Val Demings’ withdrawal from the Orange County Mayoral Race was a shock to most observers of Florida politics. It seems all so surreal because after years of misfiring Democrats had actually landed a highly-touted recruit for a big race in the state of Florida. Local Democrats had recruited a superstar, someone capable of commanding tremendous […]
The Florida Squeeze 