Paula Bono Dockery

From casino gambling to mutant animals, we're covering a lot of ground in today's Friday Files — including an offer from the Maxwell family to share one of our more coveted possessions: our "Celebrate plate." •We start with Florida's troubling...

In this edition of the Friday Files, we're looking at everything from political lies to a contest for Florida's most unpopular politician. But first, I have a game for you to play: This year, while no one was looking, President Barack Obama made...

The odds of riding SunRail to downtown Orlando are now about the same as riding Moby Dick to Atlantis. This is not all that surprising. SunRail has been a dead train chugging since Rick Scott became Florida's first Maximum Leader. It's how he is...

Business-interest groups have provided report cards on legislators for years, so it naturally follows that pro-labor, pro-worker organizations would do the same thing. Today, Florida Watch Action, Progress Florida and America Votes — all left of...

TALLAHASSEE — Three more Republican officials have come out to oppose the Republican Party of Florida's unique decision last month to go after the Supreme Court justices facing merit retention votes this fall. Justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente...

In local public-affairs programming this weekend: ***Aviation pioneer Joe Kittinger is a guest on “Central Florida Spotlight,” which airs at 12:30 p.m. Saturday on WFTV-Channel 9. Kittinger, a retired Air Force colonel, discusses his record...

There's a lot hubbub these days about cracking down on voting rolls, purging names and more.  Some of the concerns are legitimate. Others are overhyped conspriacy theories. Some, the result of confusion. I want more info. And it looks like we have...

The race for the GOP nomination to run for the U.S. Senate in Florida is heating up an old issue that has haunted front-runner U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV for years: his commitment to living in Florida. Mack has always insisted he lives in Fort Myers and...

TALLAHASSEE — It's a novel expression of the pitfalls of representative democracy. Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, and Rep. Richard Steinberg, D-Miami Beach, are sponsoring legislation to allow voters to “veto” legislation that is passed...

State Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, and radio talk show hostess Lynne Breidenbach are among supporters that Republican U.S. Senate candidate George LeMieux has named to his Polk County “victory team.” Others on LeMieux's Polk County campaign...

TALLAHASSEE – Over complaints that its work continued decades-old gerrymandering, Senate Republicans rammed through a proposed map for their own 40 seats that more evenly divides population gains over the last decade and maintains an electoral...

TALLAHASSEE — A prison privatization bill pushed by Senate leadership may be in trouble, with Senate President Mike Haridopolos cutting off debate Tuesday and not saying when the bill would come up for a final vote. The proposal would privatize 28...