Daily News Clips for March 6, 2013

AWAKE THE STATE IN THE NEWS

Crowd pushes for reform at Awake the Vote rally
By Rochelle Koff
Miami Herald
Excerpt: "The point is to send a clear message to the Legislature that we want to see meaningful election reform during the legislative session," said Damien Filer, of Progress Florida, one of the organizers of Awake the State…"We're not asking for anything new. We're just asking them to undo the damage they did in 2011."

Awake the State rallies push Florida election reforms, House passes bill
By Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Naples Daily News
Excerpt: There is no reason Florida should still be the laughing stock,” said Damien Filer, the political director for Progress Florida, a nonprofit organization promoting progressive values in Florida. “We have to have meaningful election reform.”

Lawmakers approve election reform and ethics measures on first day of session
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Florida progressives held “Awake the State” rallies around the state Tuesday, including in front of the old Capitol, demanding that the legislature do more to make it easier to vote. They want a maximum two-week early voting period, a 75-word restriction on proposed constitutional amendments and to allow voters to change their address at the polls and cast a regular ballot.
Tampa Bay Times: Awake the State rally a sign of voter frustration
Orlando Sentinel: Senators voice frustration at Gov. Scott at rally, “it’s not working”
Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County protesters demand reforms to ease voting
Ocala Star-Banner: Free the Vote Rally
Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia, Flagler residents join 'Awake the State' rallies
TC Palm: Floridians rally for voters rights package
First Coast News Jacksonville: Jacksonville rally participants move to 'Awake the State' on voting rights
WJXT Jacksonville: Awake the State rallies in St. Johns, Duval Counties
Pensacola News Journal: Awake the State Rally
WINK News Ft. Myers: Awake the State Rally held in Lee County
ABC 7 Ft.Myers: Residents attempt to ‘Awake the State’
Ft. Myers News-Press: Voting rally in Lee is part of a statewide effort to reach lawmakers
Bradenton Herald: 'We're watching,' Bradenton rally-goers alert Tallahassee legislators

FEATURED STORIES

'It's working,' Gov. Rick Scott declares in upbeat State of the State address
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Transcript: Gov. Rick Scott's State of the State address
Related editorial: Scott plays nice and safe
Gov. Rick Scott delivered an upbeat State of the State address to the Legislature Tuesday, declaring that his policies are working and Florida's economy is strong enough to give a generous pay raise to teachers.

Weatherford talks of loss in mounting case against Obamacare
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Will Weatherford’s dad says Medicaid helped family
Related: Gaetz: With House opposition, Medicaid expansion could be non-starter
Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford laid out a menu of top priorities during his inaugural speech for the 2013 session on Tuesday -- changes in the state’s ethics and campaign finance laws, pension reform.

Florida lawmakers vote for ethics and early voting changes
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
In an attempt to restore voter trust after a tarnished election season, Florida lawmakers used the first day of the 60-day session to vote on two bills, one that would reverse the state’s controversial early voting laws and a second to mend holes in the state’s ethics laws.

Protestors in Florida's Capitol rotunda urge end to 'Stand Your Ground' law
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A well-organized coalition of students carrying signs and chanting greeted lawmakers at the start of the 60-day legislative session Tuesday morning, urging them to repeal the state’s Stand Your Ground self-defense law and amend other laws they say harm minorities.

Florida voter registration fraud: Strategic Allied Consulting ex-employees admit forging forms
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
Two employees of a company once aligned with the Republican Party of Florida admitted to law-enforcement authorities that they forged voter registration forms.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Scott sounds re-election themes as 2013 session opens
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott previewed what sounded remarkably like a re-election campaign slogan -- "It works!" -- as he opened the 2013 legislative session by urging state lawmakers to give him a $2,500 teacher pay raise and tax breaks for job-producing industries.

Anger and Kudos as Florida Governor Tacks Left
By Lizette Alvarez
New York Times
A few days after Gov. Rick Scott of Florida endorsed a Medicaid expansion, a U-turn so sharply executed that it flabbergasted his supporters, the head of a local Tea Party group typed up a “breakup note.”

Rick Scott: What he says; what it means
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Up in Tallahassee, Gov. Rick Scott's "State of the State" speech was all the buzz Tuesday.

Bob Graham weighs in on Scott’s speech, Crist’s switch, daughter’s potential Congress bid
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Bob Graham, the former Florida governor and U.S. Senator and the state’s most famous itinerant laborer, made a rare opening day appearance in the Capitol today and sat in the front row of the House chamber for Gov. Rick Scott’s State of the State speech.

Harrell pushing for stronger elections bill than version passed by House on Tuesday
By Jonathan Mattise
TC Palm
State Rep. Gayle Harrell voted for the House’s main elections law rewrite Tuesday, which targets long waits at the polls.

Campaign Finance Reform: Latvala Knows Better
By Peter Schorsch
Florida Voices
No one could have predicted that convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky would be central to the Florida Legislature's debate over how to best reform the state's broken campaign finance regulations.

Ban on texting-while-driving back in Florida Legislature
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A statewide texting-while-driving ban that has eluded passage for several years is again moving through the Florida Legislature.

Five things to look for in Wednesday’s Legislative session
By Steve Bousquet
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
On the second day, the Florida Legislature will get down to business.

POLITICAL RACES

Potential Democratic gubernatorial candidates await Charlie Crist
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
The state of the 2014 Florida governor's race is boiling down to this: What will Charlie do? 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Red tide manatee death rate on track to break records
By Josh Rojas
WTSP Tampa Bay
So far this year, nearly 100 manatees are suspected of dying from red tide poisoning in Southwest Florida, which puts the endangered species mortality rate on track to break a record, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Natural gas vehicles bill is amended and moving in House and Senate
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A bill that supporters say would encourage the conversion of commercial fleets to natural gas is moving in both the House and Senate.

Short-sighted land deal
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
A short-sighted measure in the Florida Legislature would essentially put an end to the state and local land conservation programs, making it impossible to preserve the natural treasures that are the foundation of the state's appeal.

EDUCATION

Teachers prominent in State of the State
By Cara Fitzpatrick
Tampa Bay Times
Teachers were given a place of prominence in Gov. Rick Scott’s State of the State address today.

Pasco School Board drops challenge to Florida Virtual Academy
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
The Pasco County School Board on Tuesday reluctantly dropped its fight to keep a virtual charter school from opening in the county.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Local wage theft ordinances could be overturned by state legislation
By Marcia Heroux Pounds
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The controversial issue of unpaid wages makes a return appearance at Florida's spring legislative session, which opened Tuesday.

Multiple bills take on foreclosures
By Michael Pollick
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
With Florida among the slowest states to wade out of the post-boom foreclosure morass, lawmakers in Tallahassee have proposed a number of bills to speed up the process of property seizures.

Citizens' incentive loans program pops up in Senate bill
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
A controversial provision allowing state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to use surplus money as loans to private companies that take over its policies is included in a Senate bill up for a vote Thursday.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

‘Safety net’ of Weatherford’s anti-Medicaid expansion tale apparently hospital charity
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Drawing a sharp contrast Tuesday with Gov. Rick Scott over Medicaid expansion in Florida, House Speaker Will Weatherford drew on his own family history — recalling a brother who died of cancer at age 2.

Clock starts on Medicaid maneuvering
By James Call
Florida Current
House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, started the Florida Legislature’s 2013 session by drawing a line in the sand on Medicaid expansion.

Rick Scott May Want Obamacare, But the Florida Legislature Doesn't
By Stephanie Mencimer
Mother Jones
Florida Governor Rick Scott, one of the nation's most unpopular governor's, thanks to his embrace of tea party economics, has been trying hard to overhaul his image in an effort to save his reelection bid next year.

Scott’s Medicaid shift ’causes concern’ with conservatives, GOP committeeman says
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Florida Republican National Committeeman Peter Feaman of Boynton Beach says Gov. Rick Scott‘s recent 180-degree turn on expanding Medicaid as part of the federal health care law has caused some heartburn with his conservative base.

Health Overhaul: Will Spanish Speakers Struggle to Navigate ACA?
By Kelli Kennedy
Associated Press
Thousands of non-English speaking Floridians who go online to sign up for Medicaid and other welfare programs are met with a frustrating barrier — the state's main webpage is only in English, even though the applications a few clicks away are translated in Spanish and Creole.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

"Dream Defenders" Push for Ethics, Elections And "Stand Your Ground" Changes
By Ryan Benk  
WFSU Tallahassee
More than fifty young men and women gathered at the Florida Capitol building today to conduct what they call “the real state of the state address.”

Jeb Bush’s book puts him in the cross fire on immigration
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Jeb Bush pulled off a rare feat Tuesday — getting beat up by Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Lawyer: State's most important witness in George Zimmerman murder case lied
By Rene Stutzman and Jeff Weiner
Orlando Sentinel
Trayvon Martin's girlfriend, the state's most important witness in the George Zimmerman murder case, was caught in a lie Tuesday.