Independent NewsPosts Tagged ‘Don Gaetz’
The Calming Clarification
A state senate bill amendment pertaining to RESTORE Act funds made local officials a bit nervous this week. It’s calmer now, after some language-tweaking and assurances from state lawmakers that counties will not be circumvented when the Clean Water Act windfall finally hits. Escambia County [...]
Don’t Think Twice (It’s Alright)
As Escambia County officials begin determining what went wrong with a tourism-incentive gift card program funded primarily through BP funds following the 2010 oil spill, Florida Senate President Don Gaetz has questioned the prudence of placing more spill money—in the form of RESTORE Act [...]
Gaetz Announces Transportation Funding, No Toll
Senate President Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) will be in Pensacola today to announce nearly $1 billion in transportation funding for Northwest Florida. Locally, the funding will support the nearly $600 million construction of a new bridge connecting Pensacola and Gulf Breeze. This state funding means [...]
Lewis Bear appointed to Enterprise Florida Board
Press Release: Senate President Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) has announced the appointments of Senator Nancy C. Detert (R-Venice) and Lewis Bear Jr. to the Enterprise Florida Inc. Board of Directors. Detert, 68, is currently the owner of Primary Creative Solutions, Inc. She currently serves as [...]
Magaha not the only one under fire for pay raises
Once the two legislative leaders were sworn in, Florida Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford immediately hired new chiefs of staff and paid them more than taxpayers pay state Cabinet officials, according to the Miami Herald. Weatherford hired Kathy Mears as his chief of [...]
Quote of the Day
NY Times published today an article on the decline of the Tea Party since the 2012 General Election. Florida Senate President Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) had this to say about how the fringe group believes states can nullify the Affordable Care Act: "We’re not a banana republic. It is dangerous to [...]
Senate Committee on BP Disaster to meet here
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, announced today that the Senate’s Select Committee on the Economy will meet on July 12 here to examine the impact of the oil spill on the economy. Gaetz has asked Gov. Charlie Crist for a schedule of when funds received from BP will be used to combat the [...]
Sen. Gaetz gives Disaster Update
For Immediate Release June 22, 2010 4:30 p.m. CST Latest Oil Spill Developments Dear Neighbor, As dime to five inch-sized tar balls and tar “patties” continue to slowly inundate the Northwest Florida coastline, officials with the United States Coast Guard, British Petroleum, the [...]
Gaetz report
The following is the Friday report from State Sen. Don Gaetz. The only exception I have is that we were told that BP initially responded with six two-man crews, but maybe they upped the number when BP heard girls in bikinis were on the beach: For Immediate Release June 4, 2010 Dear [...]
Don Gaetz’s Legislative Report
Press Release: 2010 Legislative Session Report The 112th session of the Legislature reflected the struggles of Florida families and businesses during the most challenging economic conditions since the Great Depression. Hard times brought rapidly increasing demands for [...]
BP contacts can’t answer many questions, no surprise
State Senator Don Gaetz emailed last week to the media and his constituents the list of BP Contacts in Florida. I had reporter Ryne Ziemba contact them to find who they were, what were their levels of expertise and how long they have been working with British Petroleum. Four of them took his phone [...]
Gaetz narrowly wins House Dist. 4 primary
Matt Gaetz, son of State Sen. Don Gaetz, narrowly defeated former Destin Mayor Craig Barker by margin of 634 votes. Gaetz won the Republican primary thanks to a huge lead in early and absentee voting. Barker actually beat Gaetz in Okaloosa County, which makes up most of this district. Gaetz, [...]