Tag Archives: Florida

Flashback Friday: Expressway revolts in Dade, Broward, Pinellas and Hillsborough

In the 1960’s urban planners were preparing for explosive growth in the Tampa Bay area and southeast Florida. Population was exploding in both areas and various proposals for expressways were floated and eventually adopted by regional planning councils.The network of expressways proposed would have displaced existing neighborhoods and would have cost millions in local tax […]

Gwen Graham, “The Third Way” and a possible statewide run

Newly elected Congresswoman Gwen Graham is not your average freshman. As the daughter of of a former Florida Governor and US Senator her visibility from the word go was higher than just about any other Democratic Congressional challenger in the nation. Then in a wipe-out year for Democrats on so many levels she became one […]

Monday Musings – Gwen Graham making waves, Rubio an attention whore, secession, the Battle of Natural Bridge and the Civil War

Gwen Graham is making waves quickly as a number of questionable votes have raised eyebrows among the progressive community.   With her support of the Keystone pipeline and a vote against Nancy Pelosi, she is distancing herself from the Democrats and the internet is abuzz with criticism.  However, in the long run, minority party politics […]

Is Jeb Bush the “adult” that improves Florida’s national reputation?

Florida politically has had another complicated week. Attorney General Pam Bondi was sworn in for a second term after conducting a campaign in the courts against marriage equality that would have made the late Jerry Falwell proud. Senator Marco Rubio has continued to give bizarre and contradictory interviews to whomever will listen and write about […]

The Florida Squeeze, the corporate media and “independent” journalism

Consolidation in the media business and particularly in new media has become a normal course of business. Part of this consolidation has been pushed by corporate interests and those who seek to influence politics like the Koch Brothers, Disney and News Corp. Political coverage across the board it can be surmised has been skewed by […]

Tuesday Poll: Should the FDP move its HQ?

In recent weeks in conversations with activists across Florida, I have heard a consistent theme – the Florida Democratic Party is out of touch because its political staff is based in Tallahassee. I was even told this by a well-connected Tallahassee insider. Quite honestly, I found this attitude surprising. Personally, I do not necessarily subscribe […]

Governor Scott’s shallow inaugural appeal

Having been returned to office by Florida’s electorate despite failing to meaningfully grow Florida’s economy in his first term, Governor Rick Scott will appeal to residents to relocate to Florida. Since this Governor and his allies in the legislature proudly gutted the growth management laws that worked for 30 years, a potential influx in population […]

High-speed rail gaining momentum across the country even among Republicans

While Florida’s political leadership felt it was in the state’s best interest to turn down federal funds for High-speed rail (HSR) in 2011, allowing that money to be allocated to other states, politicians in other parts of the country including many Republicans are embracing the concept as a driver of economic development and a nnecessityin […]

2015: 150 years since the Civil War ended

Throughout 2015 we will be looking back at the end of the Civil War in Florida. Throughout much of the war, union forces occupied Pensacola and Key West the two most strategic locations in the state. But the capital, Tallahassee which was the size of a large village at the time was never captured and […]

Changes at the Florida Squeeze for 2015

Our readers have probably noticed changes here the last few weeks. We’ve changed our look to allow for more images and easier browsing for recent articles. We’ve added more non-political content which is Florida-related while we have continued our long-standing analysis of developments in Florida politics and government.