$355 million aircraft manufacturing deal set to boost Jacksonville economy

Tallahassee, FL – On the heels of a $355 million aircraft manufacturing contract awarded by the U.S. Air Force to Jacksonville-based Embraer and partner companies, Governor Rick Scott commended the team effort by Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, Senator Bill Nelson, Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown and other Florida officials, including members of the Florida Congressional Delegation, who all played key roles in landing the contract for Florida.

“This is an important deal for Florida’s economic future, and I’m particularly proud of Lt. Gov. Carroll’s leadership, alongside that of Senator Bill Nelson, Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, and that of the Florida congressional delegation, all of whom worked hard on this deal for our state and community,” said Gov. Scott. “The Lieutenant Governor personally testified before the U.S. International Trade Commission on behalf of Embraer, and her military aviation background and strong ties to the Jacksonville community played an important part in helping to seal this deal.”

Consistent with Gov. Scott’s plan to make Florida the number one state for doing business, Lt. Gov. Carroll has vigorously embraced her role as an economic ambassador for Florida.

In addition to leading two trade missions, Lt. Governor Carroll appeared before the United States International Trade Commission in Washington D.C. on September 28th, 2011, to testify at the “Business Jet Aircraft Industry: Structure and Factors Affecting Competitiveness” hearing. The Lt. Governor appeared in support of Embraer, an aircraft manufacturer that has their North American headquarters in Melbourne Florida.

The full text of the Lt. Governor’s remarks before the commission can be viewed here.

Additionally, Lt. Governor Carroll penned an op-ed encouraging Floridians to contact their member of Congress in support of the Embraer deal, and as a former Navy Lieutenant Commander and aircraft maintenance officer, she also appeared in a video extolling the advantages of Embraer’s A-29 Super Tucano for the light attack role sought by the United States Air Force.

The video can be viewed here.

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CONTACT: LANE WRIGHT
(850) 488-5394

MEMORANDUM

DATE: December 30, 2011

TO: Interested Media

FROM: Brian Burgess, Communications Director
Executive Office of the Governor

RE: Governor Rick Scott’s Weekly Radio Address

Attached please find Governor Rick Scott’s weekly radio address. Learn more about Governor Scott’s work to bring jobs to Florida by eliminating job-killing regulation, holding government accountable and making sure Florida has the best educated workforce.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please call Governor Scott’s press office at (850) 488-5394.

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Weekly Radio Address – Friday, December 30, 2011

Hi, this is Governor Rick Scott.

I hope you had as good a Christmas as I did. I got to spend time with my two daughters and their husbands, my wife Ann, and our first grandchild.

The beginning of session is right at the beginning of the year. We’re going to have a great new year. It was a great 2011, and jobs are coming back, but it’s never fast enough.

We are working every day to ensure that every Floridian has a job and every child can get a great education.

We are going to make sure that we do the right things. We’re going to balance the budget, with no new taxes and no new debt. Jobs and education will remain our focus.

Have a happy new year.

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In a two-minute video, state Rep. Mark Pafford (D-West Palm Beach) offers insight into how the state budget is crafted.

Click on the image below or follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_0UPFiNC2g&feature=youtu.be

CONTACT: Office of Rep. Mark Pafford
(561) 682-0156

MEMORANDUM

DATE: December 6, 2011

TO: Interested Media

FROM: Brian Burgess, Communications Director
Executive Office of the Governor

RE: Governor Rick Scott’s Weekly Radio Address

Attached please find Governor Rick Scott’s weekly radio address. Learn more about Governor Scott’s work to bring jobs to Florida by eliminating job-killing regulation, holding government accountable and making sure Florida has the best educated workforce.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please call Governor Scott’s press office at (850) 488-5394.

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Weekly Radio Address – Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Hi, this is Governor Rick Scott.

One of my duties as Governor is to making sure every student gets a good education and the opportunity to get a job. By ensuring Florida has the best educated workforce, companies will recognize our state as the best place to tap into the talent that will allow business to grow and succeed.

Part of making sure Florida has the best educated workforce is improving education in the STEM areas of science, technology, engineering and math.

While education is essential to Florida’s economy, our state is facing a “perfect storm” of unique challenges when it comes to funding education.

For the 2012 – 2013 school year, we anticipate an increase of more than 30,000 students. At the current funding level, Florida will need to spend about $191 million more on education than we spent this year.

Florida’s growing student population comes at a time when we also estimate a loss of local revenue. This means Florida school districts will have over $200 million less to spend. In spite of this bleak budget picture, I am committed to increasing Florida’s investment in the education of our young people.

To gain a better understanding of how Florida needs to invest in education, I am meeting with teachers across our state to hear their ideas about to improve our schools and encourage student achievement. Teachers are essential to the success of our schools and our students, and I am confident that those who daily work to inspire children and young people to learn and achieve their dreams can show us the best way to invest Florida’s education dollars.

Education pays, and we clearly must find a way to increase our investment in Florida’s students. Please share your ideas with me by emailing rick.scott@eog.myflorida.com.

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TALLAHASSEE – In the ongoing foreclosure crisis, California and Florida have a lot in common when it comes to the high number of people caught in its grip, but that’s about where the similarities end. California’s attorney general has been aggressively pursuing banks and lender service companies, recently issuing another round of subpoenas in her drive to pursue criminal and civil charges on behalf of victims of mortgage fraud and other unscrupulous foreclosure practices.

In Florida, Attorney General Pam Bondi took a decidedly different track. Not only did she move to protect financial companies from criminal prosecution, but fired two of the most aggressive attorneys in her agency pursuing mortgage fraud shortly after taking office. News of the ouster prompted a flurry of activity to justify the abrupt dismissals, with the attorney general apparently more concerned with her own well being than that of victimized homeowners. “I can finally go to sleep now and quit worrying about how these women will attempt to destroy me,” Bondi confided in one late-night email.

This week on the Florida Senate Democratic Update, Senator Eleanor Sobel (D-Hollywood) talks about Florida’s approach to the foreclosure fraud crisis, and the firings of June Clarkson and Theresa Edwards.  Three months after Bondi’s request to a fellow Republican Cabinet member for an “outside” investigation of the dismissals, Senator Sobel is still waiting for answers.
Watch this week’s reality check at: http://www.youtube.com/flasenatedems or www.flsenate.gov/offices/minority.

CONTACT: MICHELLE DeMARCO
850.487.5833

~ Experts highlight how parents and teachers have educational options available ~

TALLAHASSEE – The latest episodes of the popular Teacher Talk show are now available, highlighting the ins and outs of school choice options and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The shows highlight a Gadsden County charter school, the Florida Virtual School, and also include a presentation on the English/Language Arts common core standards by Student Achievement Partners Founder and Chief Executive Officer David Coleman, a key figure in developing the CCSS. Teacher Talk is hosted by the Department of Education’s Teacher Liaison, Kelly Seay.

“Florida schools continue to make great strides because of our commitment to rigorous standards,” said Kelly Seay. “The Common Core State Standards will motivate and challenge our students toward the goal of becoming the highest academic performers in the nation.”

Throughout the country, states are beginning to transition to the Common Core State Standards, a set of focused subject area content that will help students prepare for college and career. Florida continues to be a national leader in providing a wide variety of outstanding school choice options, boasting two of the top 10 and eight of the top 50 school districts in the country for the number of charter school students enrolled in 2010-2011.

Teacher Talk is a television show produced by the Florida Department of Education that focuses on Florida teachers and their innovations both in and out of the classroom. Each show is aired on the Department’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/educationfl in the “Educators” playlist. For more information about “Teacher Talk,” please visit http://www.fldoe.org/justforteachers.

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CONTACT: DOE PRESS OFFICE
(850) 245-0413

Press Conference/Protest
November 22, 2011
12:00 Noon
In front of Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff West Palm Beach Office.

The link below will feature the press conference/protest held today at Senator Bogdanoff’s West Palm Beach Office.

For more information contact: Martin Camacho at (561) 329-7896

PAY TO PLAY: Governor Rick Scott and Thomas Scully, From HCA Fraud to a Lucrative State Contract
 

TALLAHASSEE – He was once the high-powered Washington lobbyist representing investor- owned hospitals including giant HCA, a conglomerate then-run by Governor Rick Scott and later embroiled in a massive federal Medicare fraud investigation. Ten years ago, Thomas A. Scully abruptly abandoned his $675,000 lobbying salary to take over as the $134,000 head of the federal agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid. Eight months into the job, he was accused of attempting to undermine the Department of Justice’s investigation into HCA, negotiating a $250 million settlement a Republican U.S. Senator not only questioned as “too lenient” but as a way to thwart the law. The final settlement was a record $1.7 billion reached about the same time Scully announced he was leaving the agency.

Fast forward to 2011: Scully is employed with a New York investment company and senior counsel at Alston & Bird, a D.C. law firm. Rick Scott is Florida’s governor, while still maintaining his ownership of Solantic, a corporation offering walk-in care and drug testing, with Scully a member of the board of directors. As Scott comes under fire for Solantic’s potential to profit from his mandatory drug testing policies and Medicaid changes, the governor sells the company to Scully’s investment firm in June for an undisclosed amount. One month later, Scott reportedly recommends that Florida hire Alston & Bird in an unusual $500,000 contract to defend the state in yet another court challenge to a law’s constitutionality. Confronted by the press, Scott claims he didn’t even know Scully works for the firm.

On this week’s Florida Senate Democratic Update, Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich (D-Weston) and Senator Chris Smith (D-Ft. Lauderdale) weigh in on the $495/hour contract, and the move to bypass Florida in the governor’s search for an outside legal defense team.

Watch this week’s reality check at: http://www.youtube.com/flasenatedems or www.flsenate.gov/offices/minority.

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CONTACT:            MICHELLE DeMARCO  850.487.5833

The Florida Senate Majority Office is pleased to share its “Majority Report” for this week in the Florida Senate. View video from Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner.

Highlights include:
- Senate Committee on Reapportionment Discusses Scenarios for Redrawing District Lines
- Florida’s Budget Forecast Takes Shape

Contact: Florida Senate Majority Office
Office: (850) 487-5184