There are 13 Floridians vying to win the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Republican incumbent Rick Scott.

That’s after the qualifying period for all federal candidates, which ended Friday at noon.

Leading the pack is Scott, who narrowly won the seat six years ago against then 18-year Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson. He will face two candidates in August: businessman Keith Gross and John S. Columbus.

On the Democratic side, while former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell has dominated news coverage in the past few months, she still will have to defeat four other challengers to get a chance to face off against the GOP candidate in November.

In addition to Mucarsel-Powell, the other Democrats in the race are Stanley Campbell, Rod Joseph, Brian Rush and former Congressman Alan Grayson.

Rush served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1986-1994. He ran and finished a distant second to Val Deming’s in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in 2022.

Grayson is a former star in Florida Democratic politics who hasn’t been in public office since 2016. He represented a Central Florida congressional district from 2008-2010, and again in 2012-2016. But he has lost his last three races – the 2016 Democratic Senate primary against Patrick Murphy; the 2018 Democratic primary in Congressional District 9 to Darren Soto; and the Congressional District 10 primary against Maxwell Frost in 2022.

Grayson says that while the establishment believes that Mucarsel-Powell is the favorite, he begs to differ, saying that there haven’t been any polls of the Democrats in the contest.

“I think that what the establishment is doing is covering up the fact that I’m the only candidate with any statewide recognition,” he says. “I’m definitely in it to win it.”

He says he can do so by concentrating his resources on voter-registration efforts.

In addition to the major political party candidates, there are five other independent and/or third-party candidates who have filed for the U.S. Senate seat.

Three of them are non-party-affiliated candidates: Shantele Renee Bennett, Ben Everidge and Tuan TQ Nguyen. Libertarian Feena Bonoan and write-in candidate Howard Knepper complete the list.

Amid a national conversation on infrastructure and environmental sustainability, Florida positions itself at the forefront with a significant financial commitment to investing in water quality. Governor Ron DeSantis’s recent announcement of a $1.5 billion investment, focusing heavily on the iconic Everglades Restoration Project, comes at a critical time. As Florida’s population continues to swell, the strain on water resources and wastewater systems grows, echoing a broader national urgency to upgrade aging infrastructures and ensure ecological and public health. The move aims to prevent scenarios like the 2022 Jackson, Mississippi water crisis, underscoring the high stakes of proactive environmental management.

What does this substantial investment mean for Florida’s future, and how will it impact its residents’ environment and quality of life? This pressing question has many Floridians and environmental scientists pondering.

Daniel Ferreira, the Assistant Chair and Associate Professor of Environmental Science at Kennesaw State University, offers a detailed analysis of the scope and implications of Florida’s water infrastructure strategy, highlighting the urgency of investing in water quality.

Here are the key takeaways from Professor Ferreira’s insights:

• Preventative Investment: The funding is a crucial preventative measure to avoid disasters like those experienced in Jackson, Mississippi, where failed water systems led to severe public health crises
• Long-term Sustainability: This investment caters to future water needs and infrastructure resilience, a strategic move as Florida’s population grows
• Ecosystem Protection: By upgrading wastewater treatment facilities, Florida aims to prevent pollution in its waterways, crucial for maintaining healthy ecosystems and supporting biodiversity
• Economic Implications: Beyond environmental benefits, robust water infrastructure can drive economic stability and growth, ensuring businesses and communities thrive
• Public Health: Ensuring access to clean and safe water is fundamentally linked to public health, and this funding helps secure this right for all Floridians

Through this funding, Florida sets a national example for how states can and should invest in critical infrastructure, reflecting a broader commitment to environmental stewardship and public safety. The strategy of investing in water quality not only protects the environment but also enhances the quality of life for Florida’s residents.

Article by James Kent

Sure, just as everyone said before the playoffs began, this is one great, in-state hockey rivalry.

In South Florida.

In Tampa, they’re booing now. In St. Pete, they’re livid. On west coast of Florida, they can’t believe their big weapon, Nikola Kucherov, hasn’t scored or how their top-rated power play was harmless in four chances Thursday in the Panthers’ 5-3 win in Game 3.

It’s 3-0 in the series now, meaning the remnants of Tampa Bay’s proud Stanley Cup dynasty is being ground to dust like the Ming Dynasty by the Florida Panthers.

“I thought the big story would be the penalty-killing,’’ Panthers coach Paul Maurice said about Game 3.

This series’ big story is bigger. It’s better. It’s Panth-ier. The story is that Vegas’s co-favorites to win it all have entered the playoffs in just the manner you’d want a team with championship aspirations to do.

They’ve come out and taken the lead every game. Their goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, hasn’t been asked to do too much but has made big moments when asked. Their specialty teams like, yes, the penalty kill, have flexed their muscle.

The Panthers’ big guns have come out gunning in these opening games, too. Sam Reinhart scored his second goal of the series on Thursday minutes after Tampa Bay had its first lead of the series, 2-1. Brandon Montour then made it 3-2 from just inside the blue line.

This series has been so one-sided that Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk has been able to hone his shooting at empty nets. He got his second such goal to end Game 3. Can someone call Elias for the record on empty-net goals in a series sweep?

“The depth of this lineup is a joke, right?” said Steven Lorentz after the game on Bally Sports.

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Lorentz scoring on the fourth line. That’s who.

No joking, these Panthers made a run to the Stanley Cup Final last spring and are better this spring. That doesn’t mean they make it back. It just means it’s going to take a special team or hot goalie to knock them off and Tampa Bay isn’t it.

The most impressive stretch for the Panthers of this series was the third period Thursday when they entered with a goal lead and Tampa Bay knew its season was effectively on the line.

The Panthers gave up seven shots in that period to the league’s fifth-ranked offense. Seven. Sure, Tampa Bay scored with five minutes left to cut it 4-3, but the Panthers weren’t releasing their vise grip on this series.

Tampa Bay’s big offense has taken 19, 23 and 29 shots this series. That’s nothing.

“We’re in a position right now that we would have dreamed about at the beginning of the series,” Tkachuk said. “We’re in a great position. To stand here now and say we’re up 3-0, I’ll gladly take it.

“But there have been stretches where they’ve played really, really well. think it’s been a close series so far in the first three games.”

That’s just the defense-first, grind-like-a-banshee style of this team.

“We never dominate games that’s not really who we are,’’ Maurice said. “Most of are games we are in the grinder. That’s how our games are played. And battled.”

Some things beyond taking too many penalties Thursday will have to be cleared up as the playoffs run. They’re not all hockey-centric, either. Montour, for instance, wore an odd T-shirt after the game that seemed to be decorated with pictures of veteran teammate Nick Cousins.

Quirky? Well, this team has the quirk gene in it.

More than that, it has a playoff gene. A contending gene. It can close out this series Saturday in Tampa Bay with a win. Tampa Bay has won enough series through the years to know the trouble it’s facing.

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said, “You want the believers to show up to the rink (Friday). And if you’re not going to believe, then you don’t have to come. We’ll see how many guys show up.”

That’s what the Panthers have done to a former champion. This big state rivalry only feels big in one part of the state.