Gary Siplin

A handful of Central Florida's top elected African-American officials are planning to endorse Orange County Commissioner Bill Segal for county mayor on Friday. Among those planning to stump for Segal:  state Sen. Gary Siplin,  state Rep. Geraldine...

Friday's column looked at Tallahassee's too-cozy relationship between utility regulators and the utility execs they are allegedly regulating. In the past few months, legislators have booted off two potential watchdogs who had vowed to side with average...

TALLAHASSEE — Rep. Geraldine Thompson, an Orlando Democrat and second-ranking minority member in the chamber, has released a statement ripping into the plans unveiled by legislative leaders to rocket an amendment on the fall ballot “...

TALLAHASSEE — Florida voters may find more redistricting questions greeting them at the ballot than they know what to do with. And critics say that may be the point. The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee held a special meeting Thursday to cue...

By Aaron Deslatte, Tallahassee Bureau TALLAHASSEE -- Will Florida voters re-visit term limits for state legislators? That's what Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, is pitching. The chairman of the Senate Community Affairs Committee amended language...

Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo died today, ending an agonizing 15-year odyssey that divided a family and a nation over her right to die. She was 41. Schiavo took her last breath at 9:05 a.m., 13 days after her life-sustaining tube was removed by a court...

Midway through the two-month legislative session, a handful of Central Florida’s freshman legislators are emerging as leaders. Rep. David Simmons, an Altamonte Springs Republican, has already won a reputation for thoughtful oratory -- and daring. On...

One of the most heavily debated issues of the legislative session centered around a bill co-authored by Rep. David Simmons, a freshman Republican from Altamonte Springs. After considerable squabbling, Simmons' bill capping punitive damages against...