Florida Gov. Rick Scott is sharply criticizing Jesse Jackson over comments he made while joining a Capitol protest. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Tag Archives: Rick Scott
Florida Gov. Scott asks Jesse Jackson to apologize for 'divisive, reckless' remarks
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is asking civil right leader Jesse Jackson to apologize for “reckless and divisive” comments following the jury verdict in the George Zimmerman murder trial.
Gov. Scott meets with protesters at Florida Capitol building, announces day of prayer for Trayvon Martin
Protesters who set up camp in the state Capitol building earlier this week finally got to meet with Gov. Rick Scott late Thursday, and they urged him to push for the repeal of Florida’s “stand-your-ground” law and to take steps to combat racial profiling.
In a conference room near his office suite, Scott met for nearly an hour with seven leaders of the protest, which began Tuesday. They described their frustration about last weekend’s acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death ofTrayvonMartin and their own experiences of being racially profiled.
Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the shooting death of Travyon Martin who was unarmed. His attorneys argued that he shot Martin in self-defense, but the case sparked an outcry because Martin was black and Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic.
Saying the 17-year-old’s death happened on Scott’s watch, the protesters renewed their request that the Republican governor call state legislators into special session to repeal the law which justifies the use of deadly force when a person’s life is in danger.
“There has to be a comprehensive approach to make sure every child in Florida can feel safe again,” Gabriel Pendas told the governor.
Scott listened intently and took copious notes on a yellow legal pad. But at the end of the meeting he told them directly that he supported keeping the “stand-your-ground” law intact and he would not call a special session.
Scott, who said he had spoken earlier in the evening with Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, instead said he would call for a day ofprayerSunday for unity.
He also urged the protesters to talk to local legislators if they wanted to change state law and offer them examples of why they believe it may lead to more violence.
“If you believe stand-your-ground should be repealed tell them why,” Scott said.
It is considered unlikely the GOP-controlled Legislature would revisit the stand-your-ground law, which had the strong backing of the National Rifle Association.
The governor also asked them to give him ideas about how to combat racial profiling.
Near the end of the meeting, Scott told them: “I appreciate you and I look forward to seeing you again.”
After the meeting, protesters reiterated that Scott should show leadership and call legislators into special session. They said they would remain in the Capitol until he agreed to their demands.
“We’re not here to play games,” said Phillip Agnew, who is executive director of the Dream Defenders, one of the groups that organized the protest. “… We’re very serious about this. And it pains our heart that we do live in a state where a child can be killed just for the way he looks.”
The protesters marched on the Capitol Tuesday and began occupying Scott’s office. The group has refused to leave the building and they have brought in pillows and mats to sleep in the hallway while supporters have brought them food.
Scott has been out of town for much of the week and his arrival at the Capitol on Thursday evening was his first since the protest began.
The meeting …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Florida's Innovative, Consumer-Driven Replacement for Obamacare's Medicaid Expansion
When Florida was faced with the choice of whether or not to implement Obamacare’s enlargement of Medicaid, Republican governor Rick Scott said “yes,” but the GOP-controlled legislature said “no.” But that, it turns out, isn’t the end of the story. Today, two leaders in the Florida House of Representatives, Will Weatherford and Richard Corcoran, unveiled a new proposal to replace the Obamacare Medicaid expansion with a 100-percent state-funded program to give low-income Floridians the money to purchase private, catastrophic health coverage. Their plan is impressive and thoughtful. It could serve as a free-market model for the many states that are skeptical of Obamacare’s push to double down on the broken Medicaid program.
Florida's Ban on Slot-Like Games Shuts Hundreds of Parlors
Filed under: Scandals and Lawsuits, Consumer Issues, Consumer Protection, Computers, Spending
By GARY FINEOUT
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Up to 1,000 strip-mall parlors where people can play slot-like computer games became illegal Wednesday in Florida, with the governor signing a ban on the heels of a federal investigation into a charity that authorities say was an illegal gambling front.
The law took effect immediately after Gov. Rick Scott signed it, roughly a month after nearly 60 people were arrested in connection with the racketeering investigation into Allied Veterans of the World. The arrests prompted the resignation of former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, who did consulting work for the group but hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing.
The Legislature and governor acted with dizzying speed, leaving many questions as to the law‘s impact and how the centers known as Internet cafes would react. The ban is also expected to directly affect adult amusement arcades that cater to senior citizens.
Scott, who quietly signed the bill behind closed doors, called the ban the “right thing to do for our state.”
Enforcing the ban will fall to local authorities. But some arcade operators said they weren’t taking any chances.
Johnny Figueria, manager of the Tropicana Bingo & Arcade in Hialeah, said nearly 100 machines were shut down Tuesday as a precaution until he and other arcade managers understood the law.
“This law will affect everyone here,” he said in Spanish. “There are people who come here in the morning to play bingo and then stay later to play the machines until their son comes to pick them up, so they won’t be home alone.”
Four employees were told not to show up for work Wednesday, and bingo manager Kenia Landa said she was worried she may lose her job.
“I feel so sorry, including me, because I don’t know what is going to happen,” she said. “The only support I have is this job.”
During a brief question-and-answer session with reporters, Scott brushed aside questions as to jobs that could be lost by the new ban. Scott, who has made job creation his primary focus, instead said legislators should pass tax-cut measures he is pushing this year.
But Scott could soon have another legal battle on his hands.
Bruce Rogow, a well-known constitutional lawyer in Florida, met behind closed doors with more than 100 arcade operators in Pompano Beach.
“I think that there is probably no choice but to file a lawsuit,” said Rogow.
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Scott and legislators acted in the wake of the Allied Veterans of the World charity scandal. The charity — which was affiliated with dozens of storefront parlors — was accused of
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/florida-bans-slot-like-gaming-parlors/
Jennifer Carroll Resignation Addressed By Ex-Florida Lieutenant Governor
By The Huffington Post News Editors
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Former Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll said Thursday she had no idea law enforcement was investigating a veterans charity accused of running illegal slot machine-style casinos until two agents walked into her office last month.
Carroll said the agents told her she wasn’t under investigation and asked her about Allied Veterans of the World, a group she had done public relations for before becoming lieutenant governor. When the agents walked out about 20 minutes later, Gov. Rick Scott‘s chief of staff was waiting outside her office. He told her Scott wanted her to resign. She said yes – there was no discussion, no hesitation.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
Jennifer Carroll Resignation: Florida Lieutenant Governor’s Office Shuts Down
By The Huffington Post News Editors
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The administration of Florida Gov. Rick Scott is shutting down the lieutenant governor’s office for now.
Former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll resigned earlier this month after she was interviewed as part of an ongoing investigation into an alleged widespread gambling ring. She has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
This Week in Health Reform
By Brandy Betz, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
News about the Affordable Care Act continues floods the headlines, as health care providers, insurers, and government officials attempt to get things in place for the laws major provisions going into effect in 2014. The top stories don’t always directly involve public companies, but they’re usually sneaking around somewhere in the background.
Here are a few of this week’s top health care reform stories.
Florida hits Medicaid expansion snag
Gov. Rick Scott‘s surprising turn toward Medicaid expansion ran into opposition this week. The state’s legislature voted against expansion as defined by the ACA, but several politicians indicated a willingness to find a different way to cover the same low income individuals. It’s still possible that the historically conservative state will opt-out of the expansion. But they might try to strike a deal similar to Arkansas, where the governor received federal approval to send beneficiaries to private insurance exchanges with Medicaid money.
Feds seek power to overrule premium rate hikes
Congressional Democrats reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would grant the Department of Health and Human Services permission to block premium rate hikes from insurers. Some states have the power to overturn rates, but the federal government doesn’t.
The bill arrived as Californian politicians spoke out against forthcoming double-digit rate increases from Aetna and a WellPoint Blue Cross unit. State lawmakers currently lack the power to veto unfair increases, but the issue should be on the ballot next year. California will have a health insurance exchange, and participating insurers were supposed to submit their rates this month.
Both the legislature and the competitive exchange market may make it harder for the companies to make such rate raises in the future.
Cigna bows out of CT exchange
Speaking of state-run exchanges, Cigna announced that it won’t participate in Connecticut’s Access Health CT. The exchange may include 200,000 individuals looking for private insurance after the first of the year. Insurers who agree to join the state’s exchange have to stay for two years, which Cigna may have wanted to avoid. Aetna and United Healthcare are among the insurers already signed up.
Health care spending slows
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius wrote Thursday that health care spending is on the decline. Sebelius cited a USA Today study that said last year’s spending “rose at one of the lowest rates in a half-century”. The cause? If you’ve read the rest of this article, you can probably guess. (Hint: It has an acronym of ACA). Sebelius also noted reports from her own office, which have shown slow paces for both Medicare and Medicaid spending per beneficiary.
Ignore the noise; focus on the long term
While it’s important to understand how short-term developments can affect a company, the best investing approach is to choose great companies and stick with them for the long term. The Motley Fool’s free report “3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich” names …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Gov. Rick Scott Touts Creation Of Jobs In His Address
By The Huffington Post News Editors
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott, who was elected to office with the slogan “Let’s get to work,” proclaimed several times “It’s working” during his State of the State address Monday.
Scott touted Florida’s improved unemployment numbers and 200,000 non-government jobs that have been created since he took office in 2011 and urged lawmakers to continue to make the state more business-friendly by eliminating the sales tax on manufacturing equipment.
Read More…
More on Opportunity: What Is Working
Tea Party Upset With Rick Scott As Florida Legislative Sesssion Begins
By The Huffington Post News Editors
Gov. Rick Scott came into office on a conservative wave, promising to change Tallahassee, fight President Barack Obama‘s health care overhaul and make Florida as business friendly as he could.
What's Next for Obamacare Foes Now That Fla. Gov. Rick Scott Has Caved
By Bruce Watson
Filed under: Health Insurance
On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, one of the most outspoken critics of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act — and the Medicaid expansion it carries with it — announced that Florida will accept the federal windfall that the program will bring. This is a major about-face for Scott: When the Supreme Court ruled the Act constitutional, but said states could opt out of the Medicaid expansion, he was one of the first governors to announce that his…
What’s Next for Obamacare Foes Now That Fla. Gov. Rick Scott Has Caved originally appeared on DailyFinance.com on 2013-02-22T05:00:00Z.
Rick Scott Brushes Off Tea Party
By The Huffington Post News Editors
Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s ascent to the governor’s mansion was every bit about the power of the Tea Party.
Governor Rick Scott Supports Medicaid Program Expansion, Florida
The Governor of Florida, Rick Scott, announced yesterday that he would support a limited, 3-year expansion of the state’s Medicaid program, reversing a previous position. The federal government pays 100% of the costs, which protects state taxpayers and the uninsured in Florida, Gov. Scott said… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Medical News Today
Florida Gov. Rick Scott's Obamacare Medicaid Mea Culpa
In a major about-face, it appears Rick Scott, the former hospital chain CEO turned Republican governor of Florida, will expand the state’s Medicaid insurance program for the poor under the Affordable Care after all. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
Big Reversal: Florida Gov. Backs Key Part of ObamaCare
By John Johnson 
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
Gov. Scott agrees to expand Florida Medicaid program
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has announced that he will expand Medicaid to an estimated 900,000 additional Florida residents under President Barack Obama‘s health care overhaul. The decision is a surprise since Scott has been a vocal critic of the Affordable Care Act.
Gov.'s Stunning Obamacare Reversal
AP
Florida Gov. Rick Scott spent millions of his own money trying to kill Obamacare, but now he seems to have reversed his opposition to it. Head scratching move made Wednesday
…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at AOL
'Satanists' Rally to Support Governor?
‘Satanists’ Rally to Support Governor?
WZVN
Some self-proclaimed devil worshipers seemed to praise Fla. Gov. Rick Scott‘s controversial bill signing — but the story isn’t that simple.What legislation will allow in schools
Source: FULL ARTICLE at AOL
Florida 'Satanists' praise governor for prayer bill
A group of self-proclaimed Satanists on Friday praised Florida Gov. Rick Scott for signing a bill into law last year that lets Florida school boards permit student-initiated prayer and other “inspirational messages.”
During their rally, a white sign with black lettering was stretched across the steps of Florida’s Old Capitol proclaiming “Hail Satan! Hail Rick Scott!”
A high priest wearing goat horns and four “minions” dressed in black, hooded robes were joined by a spokesman, sound technician and camera crew.
The devil, though, was in the details.
The spokesman, Lucien Greaves of Cambridge, Mass., earlier this month had been listed on the Actors Access website as the casting director in an ad seeking unpaid, nonunion actors in Tallahassee. They were wanted to perform in a “mockumentary” titled “The Satanic Temple.”
Greaves insisted it wasn’t all a hoax, although a smile creased his face as he said it.
“Mockumentary” wasn’t his terminology, Greaves said. He said the video crew was shooting public service announcements and a history of Satanism for internal use.
“We’re doing it in a humorous, kind of lighthearted fashion,” Greaves said. “We wanted to do old-style, like `80s Mormon kind of PSA-type things and keep it funny.”
He added that “we don’t want to be Gothic, doom and gloom all the time.”
When asked for a response, Scott spokeswoman Jackie Schutz said, “This is a great country. Everyone has a voice.”
The high priest, who identified himself only as “Dark Eminence,” and one of the minions, a teenager who said her name is Cassandra Wagner, addressed the media and a few onlookers.
The girl said the school prayer law would give her an opportunity to explain to her classmates that Satanism is misunderstood.
The group handed out religious tracts on delinquency and Halloween that describe Satan as having the “compassion and wisdom of an angel” while being subordinate to God and God’s proxy “in the sphere of the physical.” The pamphlets feature comic-book like stories, mimicking tracts often handed out by conservative Christians.
The girl, though, is unlikely to get a chance to present any inspirational messages in school. That’s because none of Florida’s 67 school districts has yet adopted rules permitting them. Groups that advocate the separation of church and state have made it clear they will sue any district that allows such messages.
While the Dark Eminence was speaking, a man in shorts and sunglasses shouted: “You believe you’re going to Hell?”
“I believe it and I’m very excited about it,” the high priest said.
“You’re excited to go to Hell?” the heckler responded. “Awesome.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Florida's first family gives back rescue dog
The mystery of what happened to Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s rescue dog has been solved — the Labrador Retriever, it turns out, was given away.