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Columba Bush, the press-shy wife of presumed presidential candidate Jeb Bush, will make a co-star appearance at a Miami fundraiser for her husband next month. An invitation sent to donors Friday shows that Columba Bush and her husband will appear at the event the evening of May 18. The fundraiser will be held at a youth center in the couple's hometown of Miami, with a minimum entrance fee of $25, a notably modest sum for a Bush fundraiser.

Columba Bush, the famously private wife of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, appears to be taking on an increasingly prominent role in her husband’s nascent presidential campaign. Later this month, Mrs. Bush will headline a fundraiser for her husband’s leadership PAC, Right to Rise, in Miami. This week, she attended a retreat for Mr. Bush’s donors at an oceanfront luxury hotel in Miami Beach, where she gave a heartfelt speech about her husband, according to those present. Her name has also been popping up with increasing frequency in fundraising emails — last week she asked supporters to “join with my...

In 1999, Columba Bush, the famously private wife of then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was detained and fined by federal customs officials for misrepresenting the amount of clothing and jewelry she had bought while on a solo five-day shopping spree in Paris. The incident left the Florida first lady deeply mortified and her husband politically chagrined. Jeb Bush said the first lady had misled customs officials because she did not want him to know that she had spent about $19,000 on the trip. “The embarrassment I felt made me ashamed to face my family and friends,” Columba Bush said in a...

LEÓN, Mexico — The story of Columba and Jeb Bush began by happenstance in 1971, on the elegant, sun-washed central plaza of this city in the heart of Mexico. Columba Garnica Gallo was a shy high-schooler, tagging along for a drive with her sister and a new boyfriend from the States. John Ellis Bush was an aimless yanqui blue blood, in Mexico for a couple of months on a program through his New England prep school. He was captivated by the doe-eyed beauty he spotted in the car with his friend. Destiny and DNA might have foretold that Jeb would...

A gathering of about 350 donors to the prospective Jeb Bush presidential campaign finished up a two-day conference here Monday listening to a rare public statement from the candidate's media-shy wife, Columba. "It was touching and emotional," said one person in attendance who described the three-minute speech as "very personal." She talked about about "her husband and the family and Jeb's qualities as a father, a husband, a grandfather."

EXCLUSIVE: An illegal immigrant, warring parents and a bitter rift with the father she did not see for 40 years – extraordinary story of Columba Bush as her husband bids to make her the first Hispanic first lady Columba Bush was born and raised in Leon, 250 miles outside Mexico City, where she met Jeb Bush and married him when she was 20 Her father was born to a peasant family and entered America illegally to work He had a stormy marriage to her mother and the couple divorced – but Columba's account differs from his and his relatives' in...

Several years ago, Columba Bush was at a Republican women’s gathering in Jacksonville, Florida, looking like she wanted to bolt for the exit. Tom Slade Jr. – former chairman of the Florida GOP and a friend of Columba and her famous husband, former Gov. Jeb Bush – recalled how she seemed utterly ill at ease. Her dislike of being in the spotlight, and at events where people go to see who’s there and to be seen, is well-known among those who know the Bush couple. Columba Bush, who is 60, has endured it, Slade told the Washington Post, because the...

Jeb Bush can trace some of his most appealing qualities as a potential presidential candidate for a diversifying electorate to his 40-year partnership with his Mexican-born wife, Columba. The couple speak Spanish to one another, and their lives have been immersed in Hispanic culture and the immigrant experience. But Columba’s intense distaste for the public arena is one of the issues weighing most heavily on the former Florida governor as he grapples with whether to run for the White House in 2016, according to interviews with friends, former staffers and GOP donors close to the family. -snip- Columba Bush at...

Florida first lady Columba Bush made a mistake and "feels horrible" about her embarrassing run-in with U.S. Customs agents late last week, a chagrined Gov. Jeb Bush said Monday. "I can assure you it was a difficult weekend at our house," the governor said. "She knew that what she did was wrong and [she] made a mistake." Columba Bush was briefly detained and fined at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport on Thursday after her arrival following a five-day shopping spree in Paris. The governor was not with her. She declared only $500 worth of merchandise on a Customs form at the...

Former President George W. Bush today cheered on the “progress” in pushing comprehensive immigration reform through Congress. “The legislative process can be ugly,” Bush said with a chuckle in an interview aired today on ABC’s “This Week.” “But it looks like they're making some progress.”

Calls the project a "labor of love." ~~~~ Infamous Hollywood screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, 64, known for such sordid films as Basic Instinct and Showgirls, has undergone a conversion and now will be writing a new film on Our Lady of Guadalupe. Eszterhas has been one of Hollywood's most influential screenwriters, writing lucrative blockbuster films, such as Flashdance, Jagged Edge, and Basic Instinct, and raking in million-dollar paychecks. Known for living the full 'Hollywood lifestyle', Eszterhas gave it up to move home to Ohio with his wife and children in the late 1990s. In 2001, faced with throat cancer resulting from...

ORLANDO, FL - Florida First Lady Columba Bush joined Florida Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings and Republican Party of Florida Chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan to announce the Bush-Cheney '04 Florida "W Stands for Women" Leadership Team. "George W. Bush has been a solid supporter of the policies and programs that are empowering women in America, and Florida women appreciate his steady leadership on all issues important to our state and nation," stated Bush. America's 10.1 million women-owned businesses employ 18.2 million people and contribute 3.6 trillion dollars to the national economy. Women-owned businesses are growing at twice the rate of all...

'The Jeb Bush Nobody Knows' - Part 20: An Open Letter to the FAEA [Endorse Gov. Bush!] Written by summer - a former Dem, now an independent and a FL certified teacher ---------------------------------- For a list of outstanding FL students who received Art Scholarships last year -- thanks to FL First Lady Columba Bush -- click HERE. ----------------------------------------------------------- To: Nan Williams, nwilliam@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu President, Executive Committee Board of DirectorsFlorida Art Education Association [a professional organization representing FL Art Teachers; known as "FAEA"] Re: Why the FL Art Education Association Should Publicly Endorse Bush/Brogan 2002 NOW! Dear Nan Williams: I noticed FL's...

<p>The Central Florida program that Noelle Bush sought for drug treatment is well-known to Gov. Jeb Bush and his family.</p> <p>Bush and his wife, Columba, began visiting the Center for Drug-Free Living in Orlando before he took office, according to counselors. They have had an ongoing interest in drug-prevention programs statewide.</p> <p>"They've worked very closely with us," center spokeswoman Joan Ballard said. "Columba has been a big advocate for prevention."</p> <p>Founded in 1971, the center has grown into a $30 million-a-year collection of residential- and outpatient-treatment facilities that treated 14,655 people last year in Orange, Osceola and Brevard counties.</p>

Gov. Jeb Bush and First Lady Columba Bush attend a recent drug prevention conference. Governor Jeb Bush and First Lady Columba Bush to Receive the "Family of Courage" Award For Immediate Release Friday, May 24, 2002 Contact: Elizabeth Hirst (850) 488-5394 Governor Jeb Bush and First Lady Columba Bush will receive the "Family of Courage" Award at the 11th Annual Mothers In Crisis Anniversary Celebration this evening in Tallahassee. The Governor and First Lady are being recognized for their continued support of the prevention of substance abuse. Established by Governor Bush, the Florida Office of Drug Control is charged with...

FL First Lady Columba Bush Bush's Wife Among 'New Americans' Florida's first lady, a university professor, a journalist, businessmen and philanthropists -- they chose distinct paths but have a common beginning. They're all immigrants. On Friday, Catholic Charities Legal Services celebrated the achievements of six different ''New Americans'' at its second annual New American Awards Banquet. The event at the Hotel Sheraton Bal Harbour, 9701 Collins Ave., was hosted by Archbishop John Clement Favalora to honor their professional work, diversity and community service: Horacio Aguirre, founding editor of Diario Las Americas; first lady Columba Bush; Carlos de la Cruz, a...

In Partnership With the Wakayama Perfectural Government First Lady Columba Bush and Art Scholarship Winners Participate In International Youth Cultural Exchange WAKAYAMA CITY, JAPAN First Lady Columba Bush and two winners of the First Lady's Art Recognition Scholarship, who are serving as ambassadors of the arts will participate in an International Youth Cultural Exchange Exhibition in Wakayama City, Japan,on Sunday, March 17. The First Lady and her student ambassadors, Virginia Munday, from Polk County, and Christopher Adkins, from St. Johns County, will be the honorary guests at the opening ceremony at an arts exhibition promoting Friendship through the Arts....

First Lady Takes Part in Drug Summit By: Victoria Langley Star Banner.com March 12, 2002 Florida's first lady was at the Capitol today to drum up support in the fight against drug abuse. She and former first lady of Pennsylvania Michelle Ridge took part in the state's drug summit. The discussion focused on efforts to reduce abuse in Florida by 50 percent over five years. Experts say Florida is a leading state in putting programs in place to fight drug abuse... but programs need to get more family participation. First Lady Columba Bush referenced her family's recent experience with...