Does this sound fair?

At Florida Power & Light they believe that profits are for its executives and stockholders. The losses: that’s what customers are for. Here’s the story. Although regulated by the state, FPL has a virtual monopoly on electricity in Florida. Net earnings in 2013 were $1.35 billion. It earned $1.24 billion in2012. Compensation in 2013 for FPL’s chairman, president and CEO, James L. Robo, was $10,405,603. Moray P. Dewhurst, FPL vice chair, CFO and executive vice president, was paid approximately $4,377,051. Still, during the past seven years FPL has been asking for the right to charge its customers more for the planning costs of two, new, proposed nuclear reactors in Miami’s Turkey Point plant. 

A million plu$ for a county commission seat

The Miami-Dade county commission race between incumbent Lynda Bell and challenger Daniella Levine Cava may turn out to be the most expensive in county history. They’ve already raised more than $1.3 million between the two of them. And most of that cash is being spent on ads attacking each other. What a waste… Thank God we know that Levine Cava has spent years helping those in need in the community. And Bell has spent years helping herself… 

Charlie a hypocrite? 

Governor wanna be Charlie Crist refuses to debate his Democratic primary opponent, Nan Rich. No explanation given, just a flat NO. Polls demonstrate that Crist should beat the former state senator on Aug. 26. But in Charlie’s world (or have we forgotten he was once a republican, then an independent and now a democrat) he seems to set his own rules. Last week he blasted incumbent Florida governor Rick Scott for not taking part in additional debates after he asked for more than the three that Scott had agreed to. Crist called it a “disservice to voters.” Some are calling Crist hypocritical…

Start pissing boys

Last week we learned that federal authorities have indicted seven persons in Miami for distribution of steroids. The case deals with a now defunct clinic in Miami that also got 13 Major League ballplayers in trouble for using the performance enhancing drug – including Yankees’ star and Miami’s own Alex Rodriguez. And now we understand that the Miami-Dade School Board announced its commitment to start a testing program among high school athletes. At Progreso Weekly we suggest that if we’re going to go crazy testing for steroids among athletes, shouldn’t we also check out police departments? From what we understand, use of the drug is rampant there too. It might also explain the aggressiveness of some cops who shoot first and ask questions later.

For and against the pot amendment

The Florida Medical Association has announced its opposition to Amendment 2, the proposed constitutional amendment that would authorize doctors to use marijuana to treat patients in Florida. The group represents 20,000 physicians across the state. On the other end of the spectrum is Dr. Dorothy Bray, chairman and CEO of Cannabis Science, who stated, “It is encouraging that polling data are so favorable in Florida for the state’s upcoming medical cannabis referendum.” Adding, “Florida’s voters may provide another tipping point in the medical cannabis movement with ramifications for patients not only in Florida but also throughout the entire country.”

Florida gerrymandering

Following orders from a federal judge to redraw the state’s voting district maps, since racial gerrymandering rendered the first draft unconstitutional, Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature unveiled revised maps last week. But the new maps look quite like the old ones, especially the boundaries of the snakelike District 5, one of the most gerrymandered seats in the country. The new map proposed by state legislators would reduce Rep. Corrine Brown’s District 5 to 48 percent African-American, while boosting her neighbor’s district–represented by Rep. Dan Webster (R-FL) from 10 to over 12 percent African-American. Other than that tweak, the basic politics of the state are unlikely to change. No wonder 17 of our 27 members of congress are republicans in a state where a majority of voters are Democrat.

Standing by she who hates you

Florida officials are not very gay friendly. Any doubts ask its attorney general Pam Bondi, who will do whatever it takes to assure that gay couples not be allowed to wed. In spite of this fact, there are proud, gay republicans in Florida – locally known as the Miami Log Cabin Republicans. One of these is activist and district councilmember Mimi Planas, who is planning a wedding in October to her girlfriend, Isis Martinez. There’s a slight hitch: They will have to travel to New Mexico to make it official. Still, Planas backs Bondi’s stand on gay marriage saying, “If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be doing her job.” And later they say democrats are weird…

Florida is number 1!

Tampa Bay Times staff writer Claire Wiseman recently wrote that according to Tyler Fleming of the National Weather Service, “no one keeps a good record of how many people have been struck by lightning and survive.” But the fact is that six of the 16 reported lightning deaths this year have happened in Florida. Lightning killed 23 people in 2013 in the United States. Fleming’s advice for avoiding lightning strikes is fairly straightforward: stay inside.

Up in smoke

Two hundred twenty-five drums of confiscated marijuana, each weighing 55 pounds, were incinerated by South Florida police agencies last week. Burnt also were a few pallets of boxed narcotics. Very few members of the media were invited to the secret affair that occurs a few times a year. Only two of the media personnel who attended were allowed to view the burning. Sources tell us that potheads all over town were sniffing in hopes of a final whiff of the burning weed. No such luck, we were told.