Daily Clips for November 11, 2009

FEATURED STORIES

Tough primary races points to a divided Florida GOP
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Florida Republican leaders worked hard to thwart any costly and potentially divisive primaries in this busy election cycle.

What a nation owes those who serve
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
The Fort Hood shootings are a grim reminder this Veterans Day of the far-reaching impact the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are having on America's military families.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Gov. Charlie Crist's claim of biggest tax cut doesn't add up
By Aaron Sharockman
St. Petersburg Times
It has become part of Gov. Charlie Crist's firewall when confronted with criticism that he isn't conservative enough.

2010 RACES

E-mails raise new questions about Crist's Obama denials
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Gov. Charlie Crist stunned many by saying he did not know President Barack Obama was in Jacksonville recently to visit with U.S. troops.

What hug? Governor just doing his duty
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
Charlie Crist needs to figure out a way to undo a hug.

Dockery bills herself as antidote for GOP's ills
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Paula Dockery kicked off her insurgent campaign for governor Tuesday night, delivering what campaign aides billed as her first major speech.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

PSC wants more time to work on conservation goals
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Signaling another shift in direction at the Public Service Commission, state utility regulators ordered their staff Tuesday to come up with "more robust" energy conservation goals that reward customers for using less energy.

Some locals lining up against drilling
By John Kennedy
News Service of Florida
Panhandle communities and Gulf Coast chambers of commerce are among the unlikely allies environmentalists and Democratic opponents of offshore oil exploration are gaining as they push to block House efforts to lift the state's 20-year-old drilling ban.

Buchanan remains a no on drilling
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Do not count Rep. Vern Buchanan among the politicians in Florida easing their opposition to oil drilling off the coast.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Citizens Property Insurance pressed over hike request
By John Frank
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
The state's insurance regulators sharply questioned Citizens Property Insurance officials Tuesday, challenging a proposed rate hike for high-risk policyholders with wind protection.

The Coalition Of Immokalee Workers campaigns for tomato harvesters (includes audio)
By Robert Lorei
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
The farmworkers of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) have been on a campaign for better wages for Florida tomato pickers.

Florida banks' CEOs hit with cuts in compensation
By Jeff Harrington
St. Petersburg Times
It's tighter all over these days, even in the corner office of Florida banks.

EDUCATION

2011 FCAT date again testing school calendar
By Patricia Mazzei and Hannah Sampson
Miami Herald
After Broward School Board members complained in August that the FCAT coincided with Easter and Passover in 2011, state officials agreed to change the schedule for giving the high-stakes exam.

Graham: How the FCAT is killing civics
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham believes the deterioration of basic understandings of civics is correlated to the rise of standardized testing in schools.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Stomping On Women's Rights
The Progress Report
Think Progress
On Saturday, one Republican joined 219 Democrats in the House of Representatives to pass sweeping health care reform legislation, a $1 trillion bill that the Congressional Budget Office says would not add to the budget deficit and would expand health insurance to 36 million Americans.

Shedding light on vote
By U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas
Florida Today
Over the past several months, I have met with families, small business owners, doctors, and others across Central Florida to discuss health care. The concern I've heard most often is the fear that they will lose the ability to maintain or access quality health coverage due to skyrocketing health care costs.

Panama City turnout low for Boyd town hall
By Matt Dixon
Tallahassee Democrat
U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd's Panama City town hall came and went Tuesday night.

Opt-Out' Proposal Puts State Leaders to the Test
By Kevin Sack
New York Times
In the two weeks since the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, embraced a proposal that would allow states to opt out of a new government health insurance plan, state leaders have begun debating whether to take part, and the question has emerged as a litmus test in some campaigns for governor.

Why not have cross-state sales?
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
The argument in favor of letting insurers sell health policies across state lines makes sense: Some states have cheaper insurance because they have fewer coverage requirements.

Aging boomers strain pension funds
By Josh Hafenbrack
Orlando Sentinel
Since World War II, Florida has beckoned retirees looking to spend their golden years in the sun. The steady stream has made Florida the oldest state in the nation.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler hit with involuntary bankruptcy filing
By Paula McMahon and Jon Burstein
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm was hit with an involuntary bankruptcy filing late Tuesday as investors stepped up efforts to try to recover money they say is missing in what federal authorities call a massive Ponzi scheme run by the firm's co-founder, Scott Rothstein.

Rothstein accused of duping car mogul out of $57 million
By Jay Weaver, Scott Hiaasen and Amy Sherman
Miami Herald
When auto magnate Ed Morse faced a legal tussle with a South Florida interior decorator, Morse turned to his lawyer Scott Rothstein -- and got taken for a ride.