Florida Watchdog
FL: Debbie Wasserman Schultz sinks to new low, say fact checkers and media critics
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — South Florida’s most prominent congresswoman, Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, has not been held in high regard following her party’s nominating convention in Charlotte, a fact that ultimately could trouble her re-election campaign at home. In just a matter of weeks, Wasserman Schultz has received criticism from media critics and…
FL: Scott’s school tour puts education reform on front burner
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — Not stymied by the efforts of national and state teacher unions, Florida Gov. Rick Scott is picking up on last year’s significant changes to merit-pay for educators. The governor is making the rounds on a listening tour this week, aimed at introducing more wide-scale reforms in schools across…
OSSOWSKI: Political parties are no longer engines of democracy
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG, Fl. — Twice now, visible to all on national television, Americans have witnessed a democratic process snuffed by inner political party elites. First came the complaints of grassroots conservative activists in Tampa, Fla., at the Republican National Convention, upset by the national committee’s maneuvering granting future presumptive nominees the…
FL: Charlie Crist auditions for Democrats in Charlotte
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — Seizing the opportunity of a lifetime,Democratic politicians from all parts of the country are taking to the well-lit podium at theDemocratic National Convention in Charlotte, hoping to play the audience’s heartstrings and secure their own political futures. They have historical reasons to be hopeful: It was at the 2004…
FL: RNC power brokers work to shut out insurgent candidacies
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA — Billed as a national gathering of passionate Republicans unified to support their nominee for president and vice president, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, the Republican National Convention has, of late, shed that image, playing host to a high-stakes rules battle that could change the future of the party itself. The central…
FL: As rain douses protests, cops keep strong grip on Tampa
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA— As delegates and suit-clad Republican Party officials were busy rewriting the nominating rules for the Republican Party on Monday at the Tampa Bay TimesForum, detractors and protesters were getting their message out three blocks away at the Lykes Gaslight Park. Seemingly undeterred by the growing mass of police officers dressed head to toe in…
FL: Inevitable Romney faces week of unknowns at RNC
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA— After a year and a half of the Republican presidential nomination process, it seems that the inevitable nominee will be nominated at the Tampa Bay Times Forum next week. Clinging to the title of presumptive nominee, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney will take to the floor at the Republican National Convention to shed that…
FL: New Black Panthers still angry with ‘conservative whites,’ but won’t be appearing at RNC
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA— People expecting stiff resistance from the New Black Panther Party at the Republican National Convention in Tampa next week can breathe a sigh of relief. Speaking exclusively to Florida Watchdog, Michelle Williams, chief of staff for the local chapter of the New Black Panther Partyin Tampa-St. Petersburg, said her group has no more plans to appear alongside…
FL: Voter ID still going strong, ensuring ‘one person, one vote’
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA — As county election officials thumbed through the 2 million ballotscast during the Aug. 14 party primary election in Florida, a state judge nearly 1,000 miles away was preparing his ruling on a law closely mirroring the voter identification requirements in the Sunshine State. The next day, Aug. 15, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson rendered…
OSSOWSKI: Good business — barring lawyers from legislatures
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA — In the business world of today, there is much more to worry about than just the bottom line. Entrepreneurs are forced to not only appeal to consumers, but they must also comply with federal, state and local regulations, keep an eye out for upcoming laws that will…