Columns

Hurricane Irma touched nearly all parts of Florida, but now that the sun is shining once again, our state’s tourism industry stands together as we recover and rebuild. The entire industry has come together to support those that were impacted.

On Friday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., sent a letter to U.S. Navy Sec. Richard Spencer calling him to expand the review announced in the wake of two deadly collisions to include all ships, including those stationed at Naval Station Mayport on the First Coast. 

It was an epoch-defining decision to place in Westminster Abbey, among statues of monarchs, priests and poets, a large one of James Watt, inventor of the separate-condenser steam engine. The statue's inscription says Watt ranks among the world's benefactors because he "increased the power of man." The economist and historian Deirdre McCloskey believes this honor, conferred in 1834, signified society's endorsement of the dignity of practical people who apply science for human betterment.

Since Hillary Clinton has decided to come out of the woods, having gone through the five stages of grief, and go all-scorched-earth mode with her "look at me, America" book tour, let's look at her.

This week, former Vice President Joe Biden started getting politically active again but, if history is any guide, he might have a hard time in 2020 if he wants to make a third bid for the presidency. 

Much as I hate deputizing the hypocrisy posse to chase down a Republican, hypocrites in positions of influence deserve a good public "outing" no matter which way they lean.

During a special meeting last Thursday, Coral Gables city commissioners and residents took it in turn to lambaste Florida Power and Light Co. for virtually everything Hurricane Irma did to collapse and darken the sweltering Miami-Dade city.

Many Americans' moral vanity is expressed nowadays in their rage to disparage. They are incapable of measured judgments about past politics -- about flawed historical figures who were forced by cascading circumstances to make difficult decisions on the basis of imperfect information. So, the nation now needs an example of how to calmly assess episodes fraught with passion and sorrow. An example arrives Sunday night.

Florida’s nursing home industry is populated by hundreds of excellent centers staffed by thousands of dedicated, caring professionals. It’s unfortunate, but inevitable, that they will get painted with the same negative brush when one facility fails to meet the high standards we set for ourselves. It is grossly unfair, however, for that challenge to be exacerbated by misleading news reporting that inaccurately suggests the long term care profession actively blocked reforms that could have saved lives.

Labor Day a year ago, Hurricane Hermine ravaged Tallahassee as it swept through the Big Bend part of Florida.

There's no part of Gov. Rick Scott's job more heavily criticized during his seven years in office than the friends and supporters he's appointed to leadership posts, generally as a lucrative prize for loyalty.

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have laid waste to large sections of two of our largest states. Our news is full of tragic stories, but also replete with heroic efforts by many, as well as an intense spirit of giving and caring. By nature, we are a good people and in our hearts we care about the welfare of our neighbors, even if as neighbors they live hundreds or thousands of miles away. 

Apart from Gov. Rick Scott and some members of the Florida Cabinet, did you see any elected official who worked harder to get constituents through Hurricane Irma than state Rep. Katie Edwards?

 Life is exhausting -- and daily choices are unbearably burdensome -- for some Americans who are so comfortably situated that they have the time and means to make themselves morally uncomfortable. They think constantly about what they believe are the global ripples, and hence the moral-cum-political ramifications, of their quotidian decisions. And they are making themselves nervous wrecks.

The U.S. Air Force "sniffer plane" was collecting air samples off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on Sept. 3, 1949, when it gathered evidence of radioactivity, confirming that the war-shattered Soviet Union had tested a nuclear device. The Soviets' Aug. 29, 1949, test had come faster than expected.