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Informed Personalities from Across the State, Across the Spectrum
Margo Pope's picture
I hope to call readers to action from time to time on topics including Florida's Sunshine Law, citizen access to government, the Legislature, education, tourism, taxes, the controversy over where Juan Ponce de Leon really landed in Florida, and St. Augustine as it nears 450 years as the nation's oldest permanently occupied European settlement in today's United States.
Friday, May 03, 2013 — Margo Pope

As media websites throughout Florida on Tuesday told of the end of the notorious “parent trigger” bill for this year, one state senator nailed the problem – the law already allows parents to get involved in fixing failing public schools but few of them bother to do so.

The speaker was Sen. Bill Montford, a respected lawmaker and executive director of the Florida Association of District School...

Thursday, April 18, 2013 — Margo Pope

The bane of my existence is the driver ahead of me who misses the light change because he or she is texting away while stopped. These are the drivers so engrossed in their texting that they don’t see traffic move ahead of them through the green light.  And then, as it is turning yellow, they speed through, leaving me stopped.

Talk about road rage.

...

Tuesday, April 09, 2013 — Margo Pope

The  500th anniversary of the arrival of Juan Ponce de Leon in what we call Florida is huge business. Florida’s tourism industry sells sunshine, beaches, history and golf to name a few of the top draws. State statistics show it has more than a $67 billion economic impact annually on our state.

In St. Johns County, the annual impact from tourism is around $716 million, according to Richard Goldman, head...

Monday, March 11, 2013 — Margo Pope

State Sen. Joe Negron is on his third attempt to get a key change added to Florida’s landmark Sunshine Law -- the right of the public to speak before a public  board or commission takes official action.  

If the general public thinks it has that right already, that’s because people have been lulled into the comfort zone by decision-making boards and commissions through their own local rule making. There...