Round-up, 2.08.09

A few items I wanted to highlight today:

South Florida Sun-Sentinel:
“Plane truth: Jeff Kottkamp’s trips home are costly for taxpayers”

Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp and his moustache have cost Florida taxypayers $425,000 for 365 flights on state planes during his first two years in office:

Two-thirds of the flights involved getting Kottkamp to and from Fort Myers, where he and his wife own a $1.4 million house. State planes flew empty one-way 70 times to pick him up or drop him off in his hometown, flight records show.

Kottkamp’s wife and toddler son flew for free on some two dozen trips, despite rules requiring them to pay. Those flights cost taxpayers $12,974.

Now that someone’s noticed, Mr. Kottkamp says he’ll reimburse the State for his wife and son’s travel.

St. Petersburg Times:
“Three-step program to prevent Ray Sansom-type scandals in Florida”

Times columnist Steve Bousquet suggests three changes the Legislature could make to avoid Ray Sansom-type scandals:

1. Prevent future legislators from accepting jobs at institutions that get state money.

2. Open up the budget-writing process and stop the secret deals.

3. Ask voters to extend term limits from eight to 12 years.

I’m not sure I agree on the third suggestion, but the first two are great ideas, of course. Ray Sansom wasn’t and isn’t the only state legislator with his hand in the cookie jar. Numerous legislators on both sides of the aisle are running the same scheme; they just didn’t have Rep. Sansom’s profile.

Pensacola News Journal:
“Bringing king, queen took royal effort”

The PNJ has a readworthy story on the impending visit of the King and Queen of Spain to Pensacola.