Florida Inc Taking Control

"St. Petersburg is a city making incredible progress, attracting entrepreneurs, millennials, businesses and new residents every day. I believe part of that is due to the City Council’s common sense local ordinances that reflect our community’s values.  But lawmakers in Tallahassee have decided they know best, and routinely prevent cities and counties from passing local laws that our citizens want." 

Karl Nurse

Florida INC. Workers' Compensation Policy

Florida is already one of the hardest states for workers seeking treatment or lost wages when injured on the job. Now lawmakers are trying again to make it more difficult for employees to sue when they have wrongly been denied workers' compensation. Senate bills would impose new caps on workers' attorney fees in such disputes, which critics say will discourage lawyers from taking cases. here

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Backers don't entirely deny the charge.

"What we're trying to do is reduce attorney involvement in the system," said Rep. Danny Burgess, a Zephyrhills Republican leading the House legislation.

Florida INC Culture Of Corruption

Florida Power & Light. was so intent on influencing the implementation of a constitutional amendment expanding solar installation in Florida, it drafted legislation designed to create new requirements for homeowners and businesses that install rooftop solar and sent it to the legislator who was authoring the language. here

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The proposal, HB 1351 by Florida Fracker Ray Rodrigues, was passed Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee, it contains sections that include verbatim language supplied by NextEra Energy, the parent company of Florida Power & Light.

Florida GOP Steals $1.3 billion From Affordable Housing Trust Funds

For the 10th year in a row, the governor and legislature are proposing to sweep money from the affordable housing trust funds into the general revenue fund to spend on other purposes. Since the start of the Great Recession, that has added up to $1.3 billion. here

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article142033109.html#storylink=cpy

FPL Customers About To Take It Deep

The Florida House Subcommittee on Energy and Utilities on Tuesday will hear the proposal sought by Florida Power & Light to allow the company to expand its rate base by charging customers for investments in natural gas fracking operations in other states. here

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 If the bill is approved, It would be the first time in the nation that a utility company would be allowed to shift the risk of an exploratory drilling to customers, instead of shareholders, without determining whether the investment is prudent.

Florida Mayors Strike Back

Florida INC. is considering a bill that would limit cities’ ability to regulate businesses and industries. here
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Florida mayors voice their concerns in  Tallahassee
about bills under consideration by
 the Legislature that limit local control.

Florida INC. Taking Over Cities

Right-wing corporate interests are pushing state legislatures to curtail the progressive power of city governments. here

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Right now, there are two bills filed in the Florida legislature that propose sweeping new restrictions on local governments. One (House Bill 17) would bar them from regulating "businesses, professions, and occupations," the other (SB 1158), would expressly preempt "the regulation of matters relating to commerce, trade, and labor."

FLORIDA INC. Searches For New CEO

The Tampa Bay Times recently speculated that termed-out GOP Gov. Rick Scott may try to recruit a wealthy political outsider to succeed him in 2018. here

FLORIDA INC. IS COMING FOR OUR SPRINGS (AGAIN)

An Austrian/Canadian auto parts magnate Frank Stronach is preying on Marion County to build a massive grass-fed beef operation called Adena Springs Ranch. When you think “grass-fed” beef, it brings up images of scattered cattle, lazily chomping on grass until their final hour. That’s not what this is. This is a ginormous, densely-packed industrial cattle production site that has for years petitioned governmental entities to divert as much as 13.2 million gallons of water per day to water the grass. That’s more than the city of Ocala uses. here

Florida's Culture Of Corruption: Big Sugar

The sugar industry has an edge over supporters of a plan to buy land to reduce Lake Okeechobee discharges, at least when it comes to the money both sides spent in political contributions in the 2016 election cycle.  Florida's sugar growers gave more than 

$11.5 million 

to campaigns and political committees since the end of 2014. Compare that to 

$561,000

 from board members and top employees at the Everglades Foundation and Everglades Trust. here

Kids Going Crazy In Rick Scott's Florida

According to Department of Children and Families numbers obtained by the Tampa Bay Times, the total of minors evaluated in Florida under the Baker Act increased by 50 percent from fiscal year 2010 to 2015. 

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In Tampa Bay,

 Pinellas County, the numbers rose by 41 percent, while more than doubling in Hillsborough. here

Florida INC. Sugar Cane Farms

Sugar cane farms repeatedly failing to meet Everglades pollution cleanup goals can continue business as usual thanks to an accommodating landlord — the state of Florida. here

Radioactive Alafia River

 Mosaic’s radioactive, contaminated water that leaked from a sinkhole, is being diluted and dumped into the Alafia river. here

Florida Taxpayers Pay Pitbull A Million Bucks

$1,000,000

Visit Florida, (Florida INC's) tourism agency, refused to release how much they had paid him, calling it a "trade secret. But now the mystery is over, he posted the contract on Twitter. here

Florida INC Suing Miami Beach

Miami Beach challenged state law and passed a mandatory citywide minimum wage ordinance in June. 

The Florida Retail Federation, Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association and Florida Chamber of Commerce are suing. here

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The state minimum wage is $8.05 an hour and will go up to $8.10 an hour on Jan 1. Under the new ordinance, the citywide minimum will be set at $10.31 on Jan. 1, 2018, and increase a dollar a year until 2021.

FIGHT FOR 15 here

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article120939603.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article120939603.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article120939603.html#storylink=cpy

Florida INC. One Billion Dollar Rate Hike

We have just a week to stop Florida Power and Light's (FPL) rate hike request for unnecessary power plants that burn fracked gas.

On November 29, the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) will decide whether to allow the rate hike requested by FPL, which includes more than  one billion dollars' worth of power plants that will soon be  obsolete as FPL itself expects solar power and batteries to out-compete plants that burn gas.

As FPL showed by spending millions of dollars to support Amendment 1 and thwart the growth of rooftop solar, FPL will stop at almost nothing to put its profits before people -- whether it's stunting the clean energy economy in the Sunshine state, or needlessly increasing the state's reliance on fracked gas. Fortunately, Florida voters saw through the charade last week and voted down Amendment 1.

Don't let FPL put its profits ahead of your health, our economy and the environment.

Call the PSC today at 1-800-342-3552  to let them know you oppose FPL's rate hike request for unnecessary gas plants.

Florida INC. 50,000 Gallon Phosphoric Acid Leak

A 50,000-gallon leak of phosphoric acid at a Mosaic plant on County Line Road occurred Saturday. here

Florida INC. Offering Us A Nickel Raise

On Monday, October 17th the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is expected to announce a trivial increase to the state’s minimum wage from $8.05 per hour to $8.10 per hour. 

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10.17 - 10:30am

Press Conference

St. Pete City Hall

info

Floridians Stop Being So Fucking Stupid!

VOTE NO ON 1!

A poll conducted last month by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, shows support for Amendment 1 at 66 percent, with 
16 percent opposed.

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More than three-quarters of the $21 million raised by Consumers for Smart Solar (Amendment 1) has come from the state's four largest utilities —- FPL, Duke Energy, Tampa Electric Co. and Gulf Power.
This is a sham. It is an effort to hinder the development of alternative fuels. Get your head out of your ass and pay attention.

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Duke Energy contributed $5.7 million, 
Tampa Electric Co. provided $3 million,
 and Gulf Power gave $2.1 million, 
in addition to FPL's $5.5 million.

here

Feds Scold Florida INC.

The White House on Friday warned Rick Scott against any effort to "impede" the rights of voters. here

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"Generally speaking, the president thinks we should be making it easier for people to vote, not harder." Presidential press secretary Eric Schultz