PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
Grim Reaper Turns Political In Florida
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Note: Health Care for America Now, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, Florida AFL-CIO and Progress Florida collaborated on this event.
In the spirit of Halloween, the grim reaper made a visit to the state GOP headquarters to press the Republicans to support health care reform. The group Health Care for America Now sent the reaper who was wearing a sign that read "GOP Health Plan." The reaper wasn't invited into the building.
Trick or Treatment!
By Brittany Benner
Tampa Bays 10 CBS News
Republican leaders got a surprise visit from a spooky Trick or Treater Friday. The Grim Reaper paid a visit to the Republican Party of Florida. He also wore a sign around his neck that said "GOP Health Plan."
State rep aims to keep GOP strong
By Jeff Schweers
Tallahassee Democrat, Florida Today
Excerpt: "He's been the champion of a multitude of terrible policy ideas for Florida," said Mark Ferrulo, executive director of Progress Florida. Ferrulo and other progressives fear that Haridopolos will be "just a proxy for Florida's special interests."
FEATURED STORIES
Biggest threat to Charlie Crist's run for Senate: Jeb Bush
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Gov. Charlie Crist's popularity slides
The single biggest threat to Charlie Crist's political future probably isn't his U.S. Senate primary rival, Marco Rubio.
Political operative linked to Crist, Fla. GOP admits helping create anonymous anti-Rubio site
By Michael C. Bender
Palm Beach Post
An anonymous Web site aimed at embarrassing Republican Gov. Charlie Crist's political rival appears to have backfired after one of Crist's top political advisers admitted that he helped develop the site.
Crist says he and LeMieux discussed drilling
By Lloyd Dunkelberger and Gary Fineout
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
While U.S. Sen. George LeMieux isn't talking about his recent stint in the private sector, his former boss talked a little bit about it last week.
Dockery to Announce Run for Governor
By Bill Rufty
Lakeland Ledger
State Sen. Paula Dockery will announce next week that she is running for governor, multiple Republican sources have told The Ledger.
Miami, St. Petersburg set to elect new mayors
By Sarah Larimer and Mitch Stacy
The Associated Press
Miami and St. Petersburg will select new mayors Tuesday with the candidates disagreeing over economic plans for their respective cities and the construction of stadiums for baseball's Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays.
EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Chan Lowe
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Read the artist's commentary here.
FLORIDA POLITICS
Poll: Economy colors Florida voters' top concerns
By Shannon Colavecchio and Marc Caputo
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Florida voters want offshore oil drilling, oppose a so-called "public option'' for health insurance and overwhelmingly support a gambling agreement with the Seminole Tribe, according to a new St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald/Bay News 9 poll.
In Florida's grim economic landscape, politicians court business groups
By Robert Trigaux
St. Petersburg Times
Capture our state economy in a TV series and November 2006 was Florida: Heroes. November 2009 is Florida: Lost.
Alan Grayson has grabbed fame, infamy
By Bill Thompson
Ocala Star-Banner
Few Florida politicians have grabbed national attention as quickly and dramatically as freshman U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson.
Advertising firm suing Alan Grayson
By Tim Alberta
Politico
Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) has been served with a lawsuit alleging he failed to pay a $20,000 "win bonus" to a Minnesota advertising firm that worked for his campaign last year, POLITICO has learned.
Prominent Fort Lauderdale law firm investigates founding partner
By Jon Burstein and Sally Kestin
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
A high-profile Fort Lauderdale law firm has hired a former top prosecutor to investigate allegations involving founding partner Scott Rothstein, a prominent philanthropist and one of Broward County's biggest political contributors, the Sun Sentinel confirmed Sunday night.
Wexler resignation could leave area without Washington voice for four months
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler's looming resignation could leave his Palm Beach-Broward district without a voice in Washington for as long as four months.
House committee deciding on Sansom case
By Tom McLaughlin
Northwest Florida Daily News
The House Select Committee on Standards of Official Conduct should decide next week on how it will proceed with its investigation of state Rep. Ray Sansom.
Florida Republican Party Rotting From Top Down
By Daniel Tilson
OpEd News
Wondering just how callous and self-serving political ambition can get?
2010 RACES
N.Y. race could foreshadow Fla. primary
By William March
Tampa Tribune
In what looks like a victory for the same conservative forces backing Marco Rubio in Florida, the Republican Party nominee dropped out of a special election to fill a vacant House seat in New York on Saturday.
Conservatives take aim at leaders, Charlie Crist, other races
By Jim Vandehei and Alex Isenstadt
Politico
The conservative coup in upstate New York did much more than lay bare the power of conservative activists: It exposed how little control GOP officials hold over this surging and formidable political movement.
Conservative discontent fuels Rubio
By Brandon Larrabee
Florida Times-Union
It was supposed to be easier than this when Gov. Charlie Crist announced in the spring that he would run for the U.S. Senate.
Rubio's dilemma: Moving too far right can be dangerous
By Kingsley Guy
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Marco Rubio has been running to the right of Gov. Charlie Crist in his effort to capture the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
Rubio warming up Panhandle voters
By Beth Reinhard
Miami Herald
U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio is an unlikely contender in northwest Florida, a strip of the Bible Belt closer to Alabama than his hometown of Miami.
Bill McCollum and Alex Sink should fight for us, not each other
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
My kids like puzzles. They don't, however, like to clean them up.
Mr. Rubio has a lot to learn
Editorial
Northwest Florida Daily News
Marco Rubio, a conservative Republican, hopes the voters of Northwest Florida, who are mostly conservative and mostly Republican, will help him become his party's nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010.
BALLOT INITIATIVES
Florida's battleground issue
By Sally Swartz
Palm Beach Post
More than 200 people from both sides of Martin County's development war crowded into Stuart's Blake Library auditorium last week to learn about Amendment 4.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE, AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Florida groups applaud hate crimes law expansion
By Deirdre Conner
Florida Times-Union
Advocates for people with disabilities and in the GLBT community are cheering a new federal hate crimes law.
Don't look for state to change on 'domestic partners'
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
When the Florida Legislature rushed to enact its "Defense of Marriage Act" a dozen years ago, former state Sen. Daryl Jones stood up and told the Senate there was no sense getting in the way of a bill that was so obviously going to pass, but the state should start thinking about all the different formats a family can take.
Honoring adoption: 1,900 children in Broward County still need parents
By Gregory Lewis
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Monique Gray giggles when one of her soon-to-be-adopted sons, Eric, puts a toy bug on her arm and calls her "Mommy."
Orange County falls short on school desegregation
By Erika Hobbs
Orlando Sentinel
In 1996, Orange County school leaders struck a bargain with a federal judge that allowed them to stop busing white students into some predominantly black schools.
Don't leave diversity out of redistricting
Editorial
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Separate but equal was inherently unequal and harmful to black students.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Endangered status sought for loggerhead sea turtles
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
Loggerhead sea turtles are in a ``dire state,'' with a 40 percent decline in the number of nests counted over the past decade, experts say.
Next Halloween without Bats in FL?
By Gina Presson
Public News Service Florida
Halloween with its jack-o'-lanterns, black cats and bats has come and gone, but experts warn many bats may be gone for good.
USF program to track oil spills falters
By Catherine Dolinski
Tampa Tribune
For years, Texas has relied on scientists and technology at Texas A&M University to track oil spills, forecast where they are headed and minimize the damage they cause.
FSU acts as 'broker' for drilling symposium
By David Cartes
Tallahassee Democrat
The energy needs of the United States and the financial condition of the state of Florida have prompted a renewed consideration of oil and gas activity off the Florida coast.
Regional summit highlighted problems associated with climate change
Editorial
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The session had all the jargon that you'd expect at a "green" convention.
Sunshine amid the clouds
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
As the days grow shorter, Florida's prospects for producing clean, renewable energy grow brighter.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Report: Stimulus created 29,322 jobs in Florida
The Associated Press
Gainesville Sun
The federal economic recovery program so far officially has created or saved 29,322 jobs in Florida, but the state's "stimulus czar" Friday said number of people it has employed is much bigger.
Citizens wins right to charge 5.4 percent more on lower risk homes
By Bill Kaczor
The Associated Press
State-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has won approval to raise rates by an average of 5.4 percent for homeowner coverage that includes hurricane damage, except in high-risk coastal areas where premiums will be revised later.
Washington's ultimatum on commuter rail puts plans on track
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida's two-year fight to roll its commuter-rail plans through Tallahassee may be almost over.
Effort under way to promote film industry in Florida
By Dave Hodges
Tallahassee Democrat
State Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda will launch the Film, Entertainment and Television Caucus on Tuesday morning at a media event at the Capitol.
DBPR to crack down on unlicensed practices
By Jenn Meale
Tallahassee Democrat
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation is planning statewide sweeps and stings this week to combat unlicensed business activity.
For tax fairness
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Every day, many of Florida's homeowners are paying much more in property taxes than their neighbors because of the state's discriminatory tax policy.
EDUCATION
UCF student leaders urge students to find ideas to save Bright Futures
By Luis Zaragoza
Orlando Sentinel
Student-government leaders at the University of Central Florida, worried about future cuts and alterations to the state's Bright Futures merit scholarships, are working on proposals they hope will help preserve the program for future generations.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Would House bill help FL?
By Carol Gentry and Christine Jordan Sexton
Health News Florida
Florida lawmakers have been wary of federal health reform in part because it uses Medicaid to cover many of the uninsured.
State law worsens medical staff shortage
The Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A new state law designed mainly to crack down on Medicaid fraud is having unexpected consequences by keeping some health care professionals from getting or keeping their licenses at a time when the state is suffering a shortage.
Reports: State child abuse deaths climb
By Deborah Circelli
Daytona Beach News Journal
Two national reports show Florida rates poorly when it comes to child abuse deaths and representing abused children in court.
Public option
Editorial
Miami Herald
Sen. Bill Nelson should play key role in healthcare reform
The public option in the proposed overhaul of the nation's healthcare system was considered a poison pill that would kill serious reform.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
Grand jury indicts UF professor, wife in fraud case
By Shannon Colavecchio
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A University of Florida professor and his wife have been indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple counts of wire fraud and money laundering that stem from $3.7 million in contracts the couple entered into with NASA, the Air Force and the Navy.
Victim of wrongful incarceration refuses reparations because his legal costs aren't fully covered
By Jon Burstein
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
A Fort Lauderdale man only needs to sign a few legal papers to start receiving $179,000 from the state and become the first wrongfully convicted person compensated under a new Florida law.
Dillon takes financial plea to Fla. House today
By John A. Torres
Florida Today
Twitter William Dillon will make his case today in Tallahassee that he should be compensated for 27 years of wrongful incarceration.
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