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Author: Fran Dance
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Florida Legislation

Politics is changing Florida’s brand

By David Houle, Special to the Herald-Tribune, March 27, 2023 About a year ago, in this space, I wrote a series of columns about how much Sarasota was changing.  These columns triggered more and longer emails than at any other time I have been a columnist here at the Herald-Tribune.  The thrust of the columns

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Florida Legislation

Legislature went too far to help insurers

The following editorial was published in The Daily Sun on March 25, 2023. OUR POSITION: The Florida Legislature’s laws giving insurance companies and businesses added protections against lawsuits will hurt too many Florida residents. By now the Florida Legislature will likely have passed House Bill 837 and Senate Bill 236 which cover how plaintiffs can recoup

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Florida Legislation

NRA conservative says gun law is a mistake

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on March 25, 2023. Express your opinion on any topic; write your own letter to the editor by clicking HERE.  Our governor and Legislature are making a big mistake in advocating for open carry and permitless carry of firearms. I am a gun

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Florida Legislation

Affordable housing plan gets final approval

By JIM TURNER, NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA, March 25, 2023. TALLAHASSEE — With approval Friday from the Florida House, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s $711 million effort to make housing more affordable for working Floridians is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The House voted 103-6 to pass a bill (SB 102) dubbed the “Live Local Act.”

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Opinion

Transgender people should have rights too

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on March 24, 2023. Submit your own letter to the editor by clicking HERE.  I am writing to express my opposition to Senate Bill 254, which would allow the state to take temporary custody of children who may be receiving gender-affirming care now

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Florida Legislation

No taking back a death penalty

The following editorial was published in The Daily Sun on March 24, 2023. OUR POSITION: We would urge lawmakers in Tallahassee to take a step back and reconsider their zeal for making it easier to hand down the death penalty in Florida. The Florida Legislature is about to make a decision we believe is driven almost

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Florida Legislation

Contact legislators to protest anti-freedom bills

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on March 23, 2024. HB 991 and SB 1220: Defamation, False Light, and Unauthorized Publication of Name or Likenesses must not become law. These anti-democratic bills silence the First Amendment right of free speech in seven ways: Chill speech critical of government. Make

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Health Care

Ladapo’s claims, beliefs are a concern

The following editorial was published in The Daily Sun on March 23, 2023. OUR POSITION: Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is not protecting Florida residents by spouting his theories and opinions on COVID that run counter to all medical knowledge we have about the disease. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is doing no favors for people

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Housing

Property values or neighborhood values?

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on March 23, 2023.  My neighbors recently defeated a proposal to increase the number of residents in a house that functions as an assisted living facility. They cited changes in density and property values. In a county where workers and families and the

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Opinion

Non-DeSantis lovers should be welcome here

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on March 23, 2023.  On March 15th, The Daily Sun published another letter to the editor stating that people who don’t agree with the politics of Gov. DeSantis are not welcome in Florida and should spend the winter months in another state with

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Florida Legislation

So many questions about school voucher bill

The following editorial was published in The Daily Sun on March 21, 2023. Any day now, the Florida Senate will side with their colleagues in the House and approve a voucher bill that will give money for any student in the state to attend a private school. Republican legislators want to expand the state’s voucher

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Environment

State wants power of oversight over water

The following letter to the editor was published in The Daily Sun on March 21, 2023. Communities across Florida have a huge stake in clean water. But if two bills filed and introduced in the state Legislature early this month become law, they will abolish local governments’ ability to fight pollution, inevitably leading to dirtier

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Florida Legislation

Is DeSantis darkening Florida’s sunny open-records laws?

By DAVID A. LIEB, ASSOCIATED PRESS, Mar 14, 2023. Florida has long been known for sunshine — not only the warm rays that brighten its beaches but also the light of public scrutiny afforded by some of the nation’s strongest meetings and records laws. Although years of rollbacks have gradually clouded the impact, advocates are ringing

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Florida Legislation

School vouchers deal will increase our taxes

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on March 11, 2023. The Florida Legislature is passing an expanded school voucher program. (HB1 & SB202). The program will divert $7,000 for each student whose parents decide to use a private or home school education for their student, regardless of income. The

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Call to Action

Stop harmful water bills now

Communities across Florida have a huge stake in clean water. But if two bills filed and introduced in the state legislature early this month become law, they will abolish local governments’ ability to fight pollution, inevitably leading to dirtier water. House Bill 1197 and Senate Bill 1240 would grant sole authority to the state to

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Charlotte County Democrats

The Democratic party is looking for candidates

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on March 8, 2022. As chair of the Charlotte County Democratic Party, I am compelled to speak out against the alarming trend of overreach by Republican legislators who are blindly rubber-stamping Governor Ron DeSantis’ autocratic, performative, and extreme right-wing initiatives. Many readers of

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Economy

Commissioners’ questions are coming too late

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on March 7, 2023. I was in disbelief at this morning’s newspaper concerning the new Sunseeker Resort. Now the commissioners are “concerned” about traffic, parking, and finding 13,000 workers? Now you have questions? You are now concerned that our roads are not built

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Opinion

We didn’t come to Flordia for DeSantis

The following Letters to the Editor were published in The Daily Sun on March 7, 2023. Letter to Ron DeSantis: Recently you appeared in Venice to sell your book. Among your false and misleading comments, is one I find particularly dubious and offensive. “Florida is among the fastest growing states.” That is true. You then

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Florida Legislation

Florida Legislature seems lost on priorities

The following editorial was published in The Daily Sun on Mar 4, 2023. OUR POSITION: From the looks of bills being proposed by Republican lawmakers in Tallahassee, we are left wondering how the party could have diverted from what should be its priorities this year. Florida is flush with cash and riding a population explosion

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