Mel Sembler – Page 2 – SaintPetersBlog

Mel Sembler donates $500K to Vote No on 2 campaign in May

Published on June 10, 2016 in Statewide/Top Headlines by Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster

Drug-Free Florida raised more than $500,000 in May, almost all of which came from a single donor. State records show the committee raised $500,085 in the one-month fundraising period. Mel Sembler, a prominent St. Petersburg fundraiser, donated $500,000 in May. In April, Sembler announced he planned to raise once again money to defeat the state’s medical marijuana initiative. At the time, Sembler told the Tampa Bay Times he planned to raise at least $10 million to help defeat the amendment.…

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Successful in 2014, medical marijuana opponents ramp up campaign against latest ballot initiative

Published on May 16, 2016 in Statewide/Top Headlines by Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster

The campaign to convince Floridians to “Vote No on 2” is officially heating up. Vote No On 2, the group leading the charge against the 2016 medical marijuana initiative, Monday aimed at highlighting the dangers of legalizing medical marijuana. Throughout the three-minute video, viewers see what happened in California after the Golden State approved its medical marijuana program. The video — called “Search” — shows viewers what would happen if they searched medical marijuana on Google. In a news release Monday,…

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Marijuana Business Conference: John Morgan brings the holy mission message

Published on May 10, 2016 in Statewide/Top Headlines by Scott Powers

The Marijuana Business Conference & Expo in Orlando is more about business than pot. It’s where high-tech engineering for climate control gets introduced to cannabis growers. It’s where boutique banking and financial service operations troll for cannabis cash. It’s where packaging and marketing experts track down cannabis products in need of packaging. At the sixth Marijuana Business Conference, the first in Florida, the announced attendance of 3,000 and 200 exhibitors is where the nation’s rapidly growing marijuana industry gets treated…

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Today on Context Florida: Donald Trump’s success, election tsunami, vice presidential picks and Harm Reduction

Published on May 4, 2016 in Apolitical/Top Headlines by Phil Ammann

Today on Context Florida: As the primary season continues and we near the GOP convention in July, one thing has become certain to Steven Kurlander. Whether the GOP likes it or not, Donald Trump will be the Republican presidential nominee. What’s not certain is whether Trump the GOP nominee, or if elected president, will build on his brilliant exploitation of dissatisfaction to seize a moment in history to rebuild the American political system. It’s quite popular among out-of-touch Republican conservatives to…

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Email Insights: John Morgan calls out Mel Sembler in fundraising email

Published on April 26, 2016 in Statewide/Top Headlines by Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster

John Morgan has a message for supporters of a medical marijuana ballot initiative: They won’t be bullied. In an email Tuesday, Morgan encouraged supporters to donate to the United for Care campaign and stand up against opponents, including St. Petersburg Republican financier Mel Sembler. Sembler told the Tampa Bay Times he was hoping to raise $10 million for the Drug-Free Florida Committee. The committee raised more than $7 million to defeat the 2014 medical marijuana amendment. “I made a commitment…

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Rick Scott part of elaborate grand opening for new e-commerce office in Ybor City

Published on February 23, 2016 in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by Mitch Perry

When Rick Scott campaigned for governor in 2010, he boasted that he would create 700,000 in seven years. Now beginning his sixth year leading the state of Florida, Scott said in Ybor City on Tuesday that he’s blown away that metric, and then some. “We’ve added 1 million, 25 thousand jobs,” he boasted in front of a large crowd gathered in Centro Ybor, celebrating the grand opening of Ashley Furniture’s opening a new e-commerce center in the middle of the Centro Ybor…

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