Colorado's Democratic governor is poised to sign an education reform bill similar to the one Florida Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed.
The Colorado Legislature last week passed a bill that links teacher pay to pupil performance. Colorado's plan goes further than Florida's Senate Bill 6 in that it strips tenure from deficient instructors. SB 6 only abolished tenure for new hires.
As in Florida, Colorado's largest teacher union fought that state's measure. But resistance softened when Randi Weingarten, leader of the American Federation of Teachers, came out in support.
If you can believe the tweet, Gov. Charlie Crist thinks Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan would "do a great job."
That's the sound bite from a St. Pete Times Twitter posting this afternoon, and it has a ring of authenticity, given Crist's tendency to tilt toward Democratic positions.
The U.S. Senate candidate, who officially surrendered his Republican Party registration today, has not only embraced President Barack Obama (and, now, apparently, his high court choice), he's echoing other Dems as well.
Further fueling the national debate over immigration, a new report finds that the percentage of U.S.-born teenagers in the workforce has fallen as the share of immigrant workers rises.
The Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based group that supports tighter border controls, found that the number of U.S.-born teenagers not in the labor force increased from 4.7 million in 1994 to 8.1 million in 2007. In the summer of 2009, the figure stood at 8.8 million.
Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida rose 24 percent in first quarter of 2010, marking the seventh consecutive quarterly gain, the state Realtors association reported today.
Condo sales were up for the sixth straight quarter as well, jumping 67 percent from a year ago.
Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Economic Competitiveness, noted, however, that median prices continue to fall in virtually every part of the state. But, he added:
Raise your hand if you think Gov. Charlie Crist's call for a special session is anything other than a fund-raising opportunity.
Hands down, this is a blatant ploy to soak up more campaign contributions heading into the November elections. How? By tacking on plans to give tax incentives for utilities to diversify and explore renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power.
The state House passed HB 7229 to incentivize investor-owned utilities (and bypass the Public Service Commission), but the Senate let the bill die in the waning hours of the 2010 session.
On Friday, I reported that Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and Charlie Crist had a telephonic tete-a-tete that afternoon.
It turns out that the governor/Senate candidate also got a call from another big-name Democrat -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that Reid called to wish Crist well in his independent campaign. No word if Kendrick Meek or any other Democrat in the field got similar encouragement.
Gov. Charlie Crist took some time this afternoon to talk with Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell by phone.
Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey told me via e-mail: "The governor is not sure what the call is about...it was a request from Gov. Rendell's office."
It was a curious call, to say the least. Does Rendell know anything about oil spills? Or independent campaigns for U.S. Senate? Not that we're aware of.
But Rendell does know a thing or two about hardball politics, and how to play them in a state that leans both left and right.
Following up on my story about cronyism in the tribal gaming deal, South Florida political operative Roger Stone says this:
"The (Seminole) compact allows the Indians blackjack -- but no one else -- which violates the equal protection clause. I hear the Andrew Jackson Institute will be filing suit in the federal courts in D.C. with a very, very heavy constitutional lawyer (a former solicitor general) to strike down the deal."
While U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, defends his 16th Congressional District seat this November, older brother Pat Rooney Jr. is running for a state House seat.
"When he told me, I said, 'Are you crazy?''' Rep. Rooney related Monday during a visit to John Carroll Catholic High School in Fort Pierce.
The 83rd House District seat is currently occupied by Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, who is term-limited and running for state Senate.
The first passenger train to run from Miami to Jacksonville in 47 years made a successful run Saturday, cheered on by crowds at eight of the stops along the way.
