"After the first of the year we will make our decisions," Brown said.

Her decisions could affect three Congressional districts.

Brown is in her 12th term representing Congressional District 5, which stretches from her home in Jacksonville in a long, meandering path southward to Orlando, taking in numerous black communities along the way.

Still, speculation is building that Brown has a Plan B to move to Orlando and run in District 10, which now includes many of her previous constituents in Eatonville, Pine Hills and west Orlando. Last week former Democratic state Sen. Al Lawson of Tallahassee filed to run in the new District 5, saying Brown had "given indications" of switching.

"She still told me she's not sure she wants to run up this way," said Lawson, who had represented much of the area within new District 5 area during his 10 years in the Florida Senate. "I had to make a decision."

Brown said she does not want to talk about it.

Webster Buries the Hatchet

"Despite losing to Paul Ryan in the House speakership race at the end of October, Dan Webster has kind words for his victorious rival even as he looks ahead to a difficult 2016." "Dan Webster, Future Uncertain, Buries the Hatchet With Old Rival Paul Ryan."

Trump gears up for Florida

Anthony Man writes that "in Florida, Trump is quietly assembling a political organization. His team of experienced political hands, bolstered by grass roots Republican activists, is attempting to channel the energy of supporters in a way that produces actual votes in the March 15 presidential primary." "Donald Trump gears up for full-scale Florida campaign."

Crisafulli talks slots

"Crisafulli talks Seminole compact and slots."

Has DWS Found a Way to Strangle Sanders?

Update: "Bernie Sanders' Campaign Reaches Voter Data Deal With Democratic National Committee."

Nancy Smith: "Debbie Wasserman Schultz finally blew it bigtime, threw a monkey wrench in Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign, and all she can do now is hope it can all blow over fast." "Have DWS and the DNC Finally Found a Way to Strangle Bernie Sanders?."

Mr. Stone said he has not talked to Mr. Trump or his campaign about the Committee to Restore America’s Greatness. Mr. Trump has been an outspoken critic of super PACs and frequently claims to be self-funding his campaign, though he has received and spent millions of dollars in donations.

“Would Rubio simply be a boy-toy for the billionaires?” he asks.

Senate lawyers beg judge: anything but voting-rights groups' proposed voting districts

"The final state redistricting trial in a nearly four-year legal battle over Florida's political boundaries ended with both sides trading charges of partisan gerrymandering, some of them the same accusations that have been hurled in court since the beginning."

In closing arguments Thursday before Leon County Circuit Judge George Reynolds, lawyers for the state Senate and a coalition of voting-rights groups made final pitches for their versions of a map for the Senate's 40 districts.

The existing map was set aside this year under a legal settlement in which the Legislature admitted the plan would likely have been struck down under a voter-approved ban on gerrymandering. Reynolds will select a plan to recommend to the Florida Supreme Court from among five maps --- one offered by the Senate and four from the voting-rights groups --- or draw his own.

In fact, lawyers for the Senate all but urged Reynolds to craft a new redistricting plan if he decides to rule that the Senate's proposal is still colored by partisan political intent.

"Florida's fabled but withered wilderness"

"A proposal with broad political support would spend at least $200 million a year in state money to restore the Everglades, South Florida's fabled but withered wilderness." "$200 million in state land-buying funds may help restore Everglades."

Raw political courage

"A statewide revision to stabilize court funding in 2009 changed the way the Legislature distributes money to the elected clerks of court, basing it entirely on fees they collect. Since then, the clerks have seen budget cuts, dealing with them through reductions in staff, hours and branch offices. Now, another round of cuts is coming unless lawmakers come up with some remedies when the Legislature convenes Jan. 12." "Budget cuts mean longer waits for help from court clerks."

Lie down with dogs

The Tampa Trib editors: "Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri has taken a perfectly reasonable stand against proposed legislation to allow the open carry of firearms in Florida."

And that has unleashed the usual broadsides from the pro-gun forces in favor of allowing the state’s 1.4 million holders of concealed weapons permits to walk down the streets and into businesses with their guns on full display.

Gualtieri has testified against the proposed law. He believes it is unnecessary and will lead to dangerous and perhaps deadly confrontations. Deputies responding to chaotic situations won’t be able to tell the good guy from the bad guy.

The sheriff is right. The law is unnecessary, and it could lead to fear and confusion among the public and damage Florida’s family-friendly image.

But try telling that to groups that treat every proposed gun law as an assault on their freedoms. They have distorted Gualtieri’s comments and taken to social media to call for his resignation, an absurd response that reveals much about gun zealots and their intimidation tactics.

NASA rising?

"NASA nabs major funding in new federal budget."

New corporate welfare chief

"Cissy Proctor, who has served for nearly a year as chief of staff at the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, was named Thursday by Gov. Rick Scott to run the jobs agency." "Chief of staff promoted to lead state jobs agency." See also "Rick Scott Promotes Cissy Proctor at DEO."

Lopez-Cantera grubs for Cuba dead ender vote

"Running for the Republican nomination in the U.S. Senate race in 2016, Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera came out swinging at President Barack Obama’s effort to normalize relations with Cuba." "Carlos Lopez-Cantera Slams Obama's Cuba Policy."

Meanwhile, recent polling shows that even "exiles now support the president’s decision to recognize Cuba" and "a majority of Cuban Americans favor lifting the U.S. embargo." "Poll: Cuban-Americans warming to Obama’s policies toward the island."

Rich likes Murphy

"Broward's Nan Rich bestows liberal seal of approval on Senate candidate Patrick Murphy."

"What's hot, crazy or shady about politics in the Sunshine State"

Marc Caputo: "The Rubio-jitsu of Cruz – Medical marijuana makes the ballot; solar amendment flames out – Stone leads Trump super PAC – POLL: Cuban exiles back Obama’s Cuba deal – FL is ground zero for Sandy ‘Hook hoaxers’." "Florida Playbook."

So far, the Senate legal challenge and a separate lawsuit that got the state’s congressional lines invalidated has been a stream of bad procedural news for attorneys representing the House and Senate.

Along with the Florida Supreme Court tossing the state’s congressional lines, the judge during the congressional trial would not allow a host of evidence that the state’s attorneys argued showed that the plaintiffs drew their maps to favor Democrats, including a host of emails from 2011. That changed when circuit court judge George Reynolds overturned a plaintiff’s objection that the four-year-old emails should not be submitted into evidence.

Thursday is the final day of the four-day trial. An expert witness for the Senate is set to testify before closing arguments.

Concealed carry in class

"Florida Congressional Democrats are speaking out against proposed legislation to allow individuals with concealed carry permits to bring their firearms onto college campuses, adding fire to a bill which is already heating up before the 2016 legislative session has even begun." "Florida Congressional Democrats: Say No to Campus Carry."

"What's hot, crazy or shady about politics in the Sunshine State"

Marc Caputo: "Rick Scott’s sweet king of Spain hookup – FL poll: bad news for Marco, worse for Jeb – Cuba-US deal is a year old, and….? -- Miami Beach Police’s War on Hanukkah -- Key West strippers sue for overtime." "Florida Playbook."

From the far right

Ed Dean: "Joe Negron, Fred Costello Get Holiday Cheers; Corrine Brown, Frederica Wilson Hang with the Grinch."

"Rubio’s apparent reluctance to really work the trail is all a bit mystifying"

The Daily Beast's Will Rahn wonders, if GOPers should start asking themselves "if this is really a two-way race between Cruz and Trump"; and "instead of talk of a boom for Rubio, we increasingly have Republicans wondering how the guy is getting so consistently out-hustled on the ground.“ [U]nderneath the buzz, GOP activists in New Hampshire are grumbling that Rubio has fewer staff members and endorsements than most of his main rivals and has made fewer campaign appearances in the state, where voters are accustomed to face-to-face contact with presidential contenders,” The Boston Globe wrote this month. Iowa Republicans, meanwhile, are likewise annoyed that he doesn’t have much of a presence there."

Rubio’s apparent reluctance to really work the trail is all a bit mystifying. He says he’s missing Senate votes because he’s busy campaigning, and then people in New Hampshire and Iowa get miffed that he’s nowhere to be found. You don’t need a lot of money to barnstorm, which is why it’s usually the preferred tactic of candidates like Rubio, who has lagged behind Cruz and Bush in the fundraising race.

TV ads are expensive, so candidates light on cash, the thinking goes, need to really be working voters on the ground. Rubio’s staff, meanwhile, has indicated that they reach enough voters through Fox News and the debates to make up for whatever deficiencies on the trail. So far, his stable but not-great primary polling doesn’t provide a lot of evidence to back up that theory.

As he showed again Tuesday night, Rubio may be the most eloquent speaker in the party—especially on foreign policy. He’s also cut a number of good ads and has a rightly respected communications team. But there’s no reason to think he can continue to run his campaign out of a cable-news greenroom.

It’s possible Rubio still takes off, but the GOP has never nominated a guy who lost both Iowa and New Hampshire, and the latter, where he’s still struggling, is probably a must-win for him. It’s a weird year, sure, but why should we think, in a primary season that’s been dominated by talk of restricting immigration, the guy whose biggest legislative push was for a bipartisan “amnesty” bill will capture the nomination?

Public servant haters channel the same League of City propaganda

Funny how the allegedly separate editorial boards for the Orlando Sentinel and the Sun Sentinel just happen the channel precisely same League of Cities hate: "Don't burn cities with fire mandate."

Tycoon arranged Scott's ill-fated meeting with king"

"Florida Crystals has long been one of the biggest players in state government and politics. It has a seven-person state lobbying team and has been a consistently large campaign donor over the years. During the 2014 election cycle alone, it gave $150,000 to Scott’s political committee and more than $1 million to the Republican Party of Florida, whose number one priority was Scott’s re-election." "Sugar tycoon arranged ill-fated meeting between Scott and Spanish king."

At issue was a report done by Baodong Liu, a University of Utah political science professor, who was hired by the Senate as an expert witness for the both the Senate redistricting challenge and a separate congressional lawsuit.

Tampa remains eager to make the most of normalized U.S. and Cuba relations

"If there were any doubts Tampa was eager to make the most of better relations between the U.S. and Cuba, the year since it happened puts them to rest. Civic and elected officials have advocated for a Cuban consulate here, started cultural exchange programs, forged an environmental research partnership and welcomed Cuban dignitaries to both sides of the bay." "Tampa makes Cuba inroads in first year of normalization."

Lawson to run for Congress, Brown eyes Orlando

"Former state senator Al Lawson announced Tuesday he'll run for Florida’s newly drawn 5th Congressional District, putting more pressure on Rep. Corrine Brown to seek the seat or else run for a new one based in Orlando. The race could get crowded. Fellow Democrat Andrew Gillum, Tallahassee’s mayor, told POLITICO Florida this month that he’s eying the seat." "Lawson announces run for Congress."

"Lawson said he spoke with Brown, the Jacksonville Democrat who has served the current configuration of the district since 1992, and calls her a longtime friend. 'She's given all kinds of indications she'll run out of Orlando,' he told the Miami Herald." "Lawson to run for Congress, says Brown may move to Orlando race."

Florida’s graduation rate remains well below national rate

"Florida’s high school graduation rate continues to rise ever so slightly, but it still remains well below the national rate." "Florida's Graduation Rate Improves, But Still Trails Behind National Average."

Rubio really right-wing throwback

"Marco Rubio often pitches himself as the candidate of the future, but when it comes to the issue of same-sex marriage, he's something of a throwback." "Rubio's Same-Sex Marriage Opposition Clashes With Generational Message."

Even the Orlando Sentinel gets it

Even the Orlando Sentinel editorial board gets it: Florida's corrections officers "haven't received a general pay hike in eight years. Their average salary of less than $32,000 a year makes them among the lowest-paid guards in the nation's biggest prison systems. Nearly a third of Florida's correctional officers leave within two years to take higher-paying jobs elsewhere, leaving less experienced guards in charge."

But Scott, who proposed $1 billion in tax cuts in his latest budget, didn't include money for raises for correctional officers. Jones has not asked legislators to fund raises, either. Scott did include funding for additional staff and capital improvements in prisons, but those will be of limited benefit as long as the department hemorrhages officers as fast as it trains them.

Teabaggers run wild at GOP debate

"Edging closer to Donald Trump at the top of the crowded Republican presidential field are two men with remarkably similar biographies: first-term senators in their mid-40s from large Sun Belt states, born five months apart to Cuban American families and propelled into the Senate by tea party rage." "Twin paths of Rubio and Cruz end at their political perspectives."

Decoupling

"Once posh destinations drawing A-list socialites, celebrities and gangsters, Florida’s dog and horse tracks are now at the center of a dispute over whether they should be allowed to do away with live racing altogether. The issue, known as 'decoupling,' is one of several key items lawmakers and industry leaders are trying to work out as they cobble together gambling legislation for the session that begins next month." "Seminole gambling deal draws opposition from horse industry."

"Bear hunting and witch hunting"

"At the state level, 2015 was all about bear hunting and witch hunting."

"What's hot, crazy or shady about politics in the Sunshine State"

Marc Caputo: "Grayson’s Iran oil deal – The Rubio-Cruz debate -- WPB tenants want De-Trumpification –‘Too Tall’ Lawson makes CD5 move – Curbelo wants a Cuban welfare crackdown." "Florida Playbook."

Yet charter schools in 30 districts have wound up closing after receiving as much as $70 million combined in such funding, the AP’s analysis showed.

Taxpayers usually can’t recover the capital money invested in those schools because most of it has been spent on rent or leasing costs. The Department of Education reported it has taken back just $133,000 in the last three years from schools that closed.

The AP’s analysis was derived from department data that lists charter schools that received money set aside in the annual state budget. That data was compared with schools that the state listed as closed. The state listed as closed some schools that had merged with others; the AP did not count money that went to those schools in tallying the total spent on now-defunct schools.

The list of schools that got money includes Miami’s Liberty City Charter, set up with great fanfare by Jeb Bush shortly before he ran for governor in 1998. Liberty City closed after eight years because of severe financial problems but not before receiving $1.1 million in state capital funds.

Bush, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has remained a champion of charter schools and vouchers. His campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Charter schools, which proponents see as a way for some families to move their children into schools better suited to their needs, have grown in popularity since they were authorized in the ’90s. There are currently more than 650 charter schools statewide, teaching more than 250,000 students. These schools receive money from school districts to pay for day-to-day expenses like salaries.

But the growth of charter schools has trigged a tug of war in the Legislature over how much money should also be given them to pay for capital needs such as classrooms and transportation. The capital money directed to charter schools reached a high of $90 million two years ago but dropped to just under $48 million for the current budget year.

"A typical Tallahassee ploy"

Tampa Trib editors argue that "Floridians should be alarmed by fracking legislation that would rob local elected officials of any say over whether the practice could take place in their communities. It is a typical Tallahassee ploy: seize control of such decisions at the urging of industry lobbyists, who know they are unlikely to get their way with the local elected officials who would have to live with the consequences." "Fracking unbound."

Floridians collapsing in latest Iowa poll

"Iowa Poll: The inside skinny on each GOP candidate."

"What's hot, crazy or shady about politics in the Sunshine State"

Marc Caputo: "Rubio misleads on Iran deal – Jeb’s Mitt Problem -- Gunshine State gun linked to Paris terror – Lopez-Cantera goes Star Wars -- OJ’s hurting and marijuana wants in FL –DEEP COVER: Cuba-stripper influx." "Florida Playbook."

Scott’s plan deserves skepticism

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "The state Senate is wise to be asking questions about Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal to cut taxes overall by $1 billion — including a $770 million plan to permanently eliminate the corporate income tax on manufacturers and retailers." "Gov. Scott’s $1B corporate tax cut plan deserves skepticism."

Latvala agin' Crist?

"Will Jack Latvala run for Congress? Against Charlie Crist?."

Rubio's Obamacare boasts are "overheated, misleading and spectacularly cynical"

Michael Hiltzik writes that Marco Rubio's Obamacare "claims are a little overheated, wholly misleading and spectacularly cynical. Let's set the record straight." "No, Marco Rubio didn't score a blow against Obamacare -- he merely hurt patients."

Former Jebbites jump ship

Ballard ditches Jeb! "Full Deflection."

"A bipartisan group of nearly three dozen members of the United States Congress [including Republican Ron Desantis] wrote to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last week asking the agency to rescind its decision allowing companies to explore for energy resources off the country’s southeastern coast." "Proposed seismic testing off Florida coast raises concerns."

Is a judgeship on the horizon for Scott's "corporate welfare" shill?

"As Jesse Panuccio’s nearly three-year term as Gov. Rick Scott’s jobs chief comes to an end, his tenure is cast in two very different lights."

Supporters of Panuccio, who has been one of Scott’s staunchest allies, point to the fact that nearly 700,000 jobs have been created since he took over as executive director of the Department of Economic Opportunity in 2013. Opponents — mostly Democrats — color his term as one marked by “corporate welfare” at the expense of other government services.

"9,000 sick kids have been purged from the state’s health-care program"

Joe Henderson: "Forget for a moment that most of [Rick Scott's] newly created jobs don’t pay much and look at the real effect of the proposal."

When the state reduces its income through tax breaks, something else has to be cut. Recently, the Miami Herald presented a different slant on what those reductions mean to Florida.

The newspaper reported that more than 9,000 sick kids have been purged from the state’s health-care program under a so-called screening tool to establish need.

The Herald told of a 6-year-old boy who is nearly blind, can read only in Braille, and walks with a cane. He was able to receive specialized care under the state’s Children’s Medical Services program for the last two years to preserve what little remains of his eyesight. The state, however, kicked him out of the program, deciding he was “not clinically eligible.”

If Scott gets all the corporate breaks he wants, he would help pay for it by eliminating more than 700 medical positions beyond what already has been cut. How many more kids on an overburdened system will be declared not clinically eligible?

The argument goes that reducing the burden on business is good because it creates jobs, and Florida’s unemployment rate in October was 5.1 percent, down six points from when Scott was first elected.

However, it doesn’t appear that many of those new jobs carry benefits; 16.57 percent of Florida residents have no health insurance. Only Texas and Alaska have higher rates. The state ranks 46th in the country for the number of uninsured children at 9.34 percent.

What’s the governor doing about that?

From all appearances, nothing.

Even worse, he doesn’t seem to care.

Finance records disclose biggest political battles

"With less than a year until the November 2016 elections, campaign finance records released Thursday already show where the biggest battles for Florida Legislature seats are developing." "Finance reports reveal biggest election battles brewing in Florida Legislature."

"NRA stooges like Rubio"

Carl Hiaasen: "A strange thing happened the other day in Washington, D.C.:"

Marco Rubio actually showed up for work.

Without needing Mapquest he found his way to the Senate floor. He even remembered where his seat was.

These days a Rubio sighting in the Capitol is rare, the birdwatcher’s equivalent of spotting a blue-footed booby. Like all senators who’ve run for president, Marco’s been away a lot.

The reason for his recent detour to Washington was to cast a very important vote affecting the security of this country, and of all the Floridians he’s supposed to represent.

The Senate was considering a law to prevent persons on the FBI’s terror watch list from buying explosives or guns. To most Americans, that’s a no-brainer.

Rubio showed up to vote against the bill. Went out of his way to vote against it.

If the day ever comes when one of those watch-list suspects uses that legally purchased weapon for mass murder, part of the blame will fall on those in Washington who made it so easy.

Just try to find Marco then.