July 19, 2012 (Written by Tony Man – Sun Sentinel) WEST PALM BEACH— President Barack Obama, whose hopes of winning re-election may hinge on Florida, flew into South Florida on Thursday evening to court two key constituencies: seniors and Jews, groups that may determine if he gets a second term in the White House.At the retiree-rich Century Village condominium community west of West Palm Beach, Obama took aim at Republican challenger Mitt Romney with one of the most potent weapons in the Democratic arsenal: protection of Medicare. Romney, the president warned, “plans to turn Medicare into a voucher program.”
News Release Category: Industry News
2nd Presidential Debate Is Less Formal, but Little Is Left to Chance
October 15, 2012, Written by Jeremy Peters, New York Times – The format for the second presidential debate is designed to be a little less stiff — a free-flowing question-and-answer session between the candidates and a studio audience. But behind the scenes, little is left to chance. There are 80 participants, culled by Gallup, the polling firm, from a sample of uncommitted voters who live near the debate’s location in Hempstead on Long Island. On Tuesday morning, they are scheduled to arrive at the site to begin rehearsals with the moderator, CNN’s Candy Crowley. They will have prepared questions to ask but will not use them during the prep session. To preserve as much secrecy as possible, they will rehearse with dummy questions. Ms. Crowley will select the participants to call on during the actual debate, which she will determine by reviewing their questions beforehand. The campaigns are not allowed to screen any of them.
In battleground states, race is now hand-to-hand combat
October 15, 2012, Written by Dave Boyer, The Washington Times – Since President Obama’s lackluster showing at the first debate two weeks ago, the race has tightened across the board, both in national surveys and where it matters most — in the 11 battleground states that will decide the election. In every state still considered up for grabs Nov. 6, the Real Clear Politics (RCP) average of polls shows Republican nominee Mitt Romney has gained ground on the president — and has taken the lead outright in Colorado, Florida and North Carolina.
Justices to Review Voter Law in Arizona
October 15, 2012, Written by Adam Liptak, WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide whether Arizona may require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections. The federal appeals court in San Francisco blocked the state law in April, saying it conflicted with a federal one.
Unions spread cash to liberal super PACs
October 15, 2012 , Written by Rick Levinthall, Politico – The Citizens United decision gave corporations and unions new powers to spend money for political purposes, and organized labor is taking advantage of late. The United Auto Workers funneled more than $5.44 million this summer into its super PAC, the UAW Education Fund, a super PAC, new federal records show.
Absentee-ballot war: 500,000 Floridians have voted; Democrats slightly trail Republicans
October 17, 2012, Written by: Marc Caputo, The Miami Herald – In a sign of the intense interest in the presidential race, about 500,000 Floridians have already cast absentee ballots and that number is growing by the day.More than 1.8 million additional voters have requested the ballots, which are typically mailed in. The heaviest voting so far is taking place in Tampa Bay, Miami-Dade and the so-called Interstate 4 corridor in the center of the state. Generally, whoever wins the I-4 corridor — the swing area of the swing state — wins the election. Overall, Republicans lead Democrats in the number of voted absentee ballots so far, by a 45-40 percent spread. That’s despite the fact that registered Democrats exceed Republicans by a 4-percentage-point margin in the state.
Nelson, Mack meet in bitter Fla. Senate debate
October 17, 2012, Written by: Brendan Farrington, TBO.com – DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — The first and only debate between Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican challenger Rep. Connie Mack IV Wednesday came across almost like the old school-yard taunt, “I know you are, but what am I?” Both candidates accused each other of lying about the other’s records, both used the “there you go again” line made famous three decades ago by President Ronald Reagan and both strayed from the subject of questions to take shots at the other. The debate wasn’t so much a look at what the candidates will support if elected, but rather a lot of finger pointing about each other’s records to date.
Final debate turns focus to Florida
October 21, 2012, New York Times, Herald Tribuen – In Florida, which wrote the book on battleground states in 2000, “it’s going to be hand-to-hand combat all the way down,” a senior adviser to the Romney campaign, Brett Doster, said over the weekend. When Vice President Joe Biden visited Orlando on Saturday, he skipped a public rally in favor of dropping in on a campaign office, where he urged volunteers to canvass their neighborhoods — “the thing that matters the most.”
BP urges U.S. judge to approve US$7.8-billion oil-spill settlement
October 23, 2012, Laurel Brubaker Calkins and Margaret Cronin Fisk, Bloomberg News – BP PLC urged a U.S. federal judge to approve a proposed US$7.8-billion settlement of thousands of claims by coastal businesses and property owners who sued over economic damages from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. “The settlement will bring full compensation to all class members, including those on the Gulf Coast, while resolving a major component of the Deepwater Horizon litigation,” BP lawyers said Monday in an after-hours filing in New Orleans. “The alternative is all-out litigation that would last many years and have an uncertain outcome for class members.”
2010 health care law: Next steps for restaurateurs
(NRA) – Employers should not wait until 2014 to determine the impact on their business. Now is the time to understand the law’s requirements and what it will take to comply. For the 10 steps to take now to prepare for the health care law click here.