Opinion Archive

Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law has been in effect for more than a 100 years. It’s principle is that a person may use deadly force or threaten to use deadly force if the person believes that such force is necessary to prevent their imminent death or great bodily harm.

When every you have one of those days, don’t ask yourself, “What else can go wrong?” When you ask the universe that question, it will show you. Believe me. It isn’t the end of the world stuff, but really? It made me laugh when everything seemed to be falling and failing around me after I asked that question – to myself mind you. Your mind is a powerful thing – more than I think we even know.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida gained more wealthy residents but also more families living below the poverty line between 2010 and 2015 when the Sunshine State participated in an economic recovery from a devastating housing crash and the worst recession in decades.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Following negative publicity about administrative costs, as well as a critical audit, the administration of Gov. Rick Scott announced Thursday that it had suspended a program that allowed state workers to make charitable donations through their paychecks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has ordered intelligence officials to conduct a broad review on the election-season hacking that rattled the presidential campaign and raised new concerns about foreign meddling in U.S. elections, a White House official said Friday.

The articles on the drug issue in Santa Rosa County represent many weeks of reporting by our reporters who worked with numerous county and national agencies to bring us the latest information on the current trends. The drug issue is a huge issue in most communities and we can’t just turn our backs on the issue.  It is an ugly truth that needs to be faced head on or it will only get worse. And, when a drug issue gets worse in a community, everything gets worse.  This subject tears families apart and feels like it tears out the heart of many parents that watch their children suffer through drug addiction. 

Wow, what a surprise the Electoral College was! Who knew that a candidate could win the race for the presidency even though he didn’t get a majority of the actual national vote, like Donald Trump did? Somehow that possibility evaded all the advisers buzzing around Hillary Clinton, who constantly and smugly assured everyone that they were the modern experts with the superior grasp of data, so worry not about Trump defeating Clinton.

Efforts have been made for decades to educate the public about the downfalls of using and abusing mind-altering substances.  These slogans, while well-meaning, may not say enough about what drug addiction does to a person, to a family.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – On Friday, December 2, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier hosted an insurance roundtable discussion with representatives from more than 25 insurance companies operating in Florida. Hosted at the conclusion of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season, CFO Atwater and Commissioner Altmaier invited the insurance industry as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency to engage in a public conversation about the successes and challenges related to the first two storms Florida has faced—Hurricanes Hermine and Matthew— in more than ten years.

President Barack Obama won’t explicitly say that Donald Trump is on the wrong side of history, but surely he believes it.