So much news, so little time:
In Florida, not only can you “double-dip” but you can even have a go at defeating fair elections while you’re doing it!
Gov. Rick Scott yesterday announced his appointment of Kurt Browning as Florida’s secretary of state, a position filled by Browning from 2006 till April 2010. After resigning, Browning led Protect Your Vote, a political committee largely bankrolled by the Republican Party of Florida that sought to defeat Florida’s so-called “Fair Districts” amendments.
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Browning is the first double-dipper of the Scott Administration. He was forced to resign on April 30 because of a law passed by the Legislature a year ago narrowing a loophole that allowed highly paid state workers to retire and return to their old jobs and draw two salaries.
But Browning is allowed to return after the mandatory six-month hiatus. But he’ll still be drawing two salaries: One from the state (that salary, in what is becoming tradition with new Scott hires, was not released) and the other from the state pension, which Scott has vowed to reform.
Scott appoints fox to oversee henhouse. Developer to oversee growth management:
Gov. Rick Scott has appointed St. Joe Co. executive Billy Buzzett as secretary of the Department of Community Affairs, the agency that oversees growth management.
Buzzett is a lawyer, developer and engineer who helped smooth the way for St. Joe’s massive expansion in the Panhandle.
Buzzett served on Scott’s transition team, which recommended doing away with the agency, something Scott has said he would consider.
Buzzett’s role would be to “better align Department of Community Affairs functions with other functions across state government,” Scott said in a press release.
Education. The nightmare continues:
Rhee, who is accompanying the governor on a visit today to a Miami-Dade charter school, was part of the 20-member education transition team, which released a series of recommendations last month to expand voucher programs, revisit merit pay for teachers, and dramatically alter how public schools are funded.
She will continue to “provide input on best practices” and advise Scott in advance of the upcoming legislative session, the governor’s office said in a press release.
“I am honored to work with Governor Scott as he executes his education agenda for Florida,” Rhee said in a statement. “I am also proud to work with such a strong reform community and its leaders, including those I worked with during the transition. Florida is leading the country in areas such as sharing information about school performance, and we look forward to helping Gov. Scott push the envelope in promoting innovative policies, including a focus on high-performing teachers.”
As chancellor, (of Washington D.C.’s public schools) Rhee made national headlines for sparing with the teachers union and firing hundreds of so-called ineffective teachers.
From the “Irony Files” did Rick Scott someone say something about “accountability?” Oh. Never mind:
Wright, according to the order, pled no contest to grand theft auto, a third degree felony, and was given three years probation. Former Gov. Charlie Crist had suspended Wright from office on April 16, two days after Wright was arrested.
Hey, this sure has a familiar ring to it. Cough, Palin, cough:
Gov. Rick Scott is selling the state’s two airplanes, saying the $2.4 million a year to operate the aircraft is a waste.
Scott’s offering the 10-year-old Beech King Air 350 and 2003 Cessna Citation Bravo on the Aircraft Shopper Online website. Bids will open at 2 p.m. on Feb. 9.
Editor’s note: Let’s just hope our proposed high-speed-rail project doesn’t take a similar “Palin” route and become Rick Scott’s “Train To Nowhere.”
[...] Oh, and Florida? Michelle Rhee WILL be around (though I have to be dubious about anyone who expresses “honor” at being in the presence of Rick Scott…) / Hat tip to BeachPeanuts. [...]
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