Daily Clips for December 2, 2009

FEATURED STORIES

Session timing at odds with national meet of black legislators; GOP leaders not changing dates
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Florida House Speaker Larry Cretul on Tuesday refused to delay the onset of the special session slated to begin Thursday despite requests from black lawmakers and the state's top Democrat.

Is George LeMieux gearing up for 2012 Senate campaign?
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
U.S. Sen. George LeMieux's office is still identified by a plastic placard -- a temporary replacement for the bronze sign that read " Mel Martinez" just 11 weeks ago.

Pam Bondi enters state attorney general race
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Shaking up an already unpredictable statewide campaign for Florida attorney general, Hillsborough prosecutor Pam Bondi jumped in the race Tuesday, touting her legal experience and status as a Tallahassee outsider.

Jailed lawyer Rothstein accused of making improper campaign contributions
By Jay Weaver, Amy Sherman and Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Fort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein doled out large bonuses to his firm's lawyers, purportedly for exemplary work -- but they would receive the awards only after they made fat campaign contributions in their names to political candidates of Rothstein's choice.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Lawmakers gear up for special session
By Jim Ash
Tallahassee Democrat
With a deal in hand and the votes seemingly in his pocket, Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday he was confident that a special session on rail issues would go smoothly later this week.

Special Session Train Wreck
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
State lawmakers are attempting to accomplish in an eight day special session what they couldn't agree on in two previous 60 day session.

Ethics Commission may ask for more power and steeper fines
By Gary Fineout
The Fine Print
In the same week that Gov. Charlie Crist gets rebuffed in his bid to create a statewide grand jury to probe corruption, the state's ethics commission may do something that Crist hasn't done so far: Ask the Florida Legislature for increased investigative power, steeper fines and a different standard to prove that someone has broken the state's ethics laws.

Gaetz asks for AG opinion on Florida's Great Northwest
By Matt Dixon
Panama City News Herald
State Sen. Don Gaetz on Tuesday officially requested an attorney general opinion regarding whether or not economic development group Florida's Great Northwest falls under state Sunshine Laws.

State officials weigh in on Bowden's retirement
By Paul Flemming
Tallahassee Democrat
Elected officials with Florida State University connections Tuesday spoke fondly and respectfully of Bobby Bowden, who gave them much to brag about in a Capitol often divided not along partisan lines, but by Seminoles and Gators.

2010 RACES

Eleven candidates running for Meek's congressional seat
By Beth Reinhard
Miami Herald
U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek's campaign for the Senate has unleashed a torrent of candidates vying for his Miami-Dade congressional seat in 2010.

In the race for U.S. Senate, Crist should be
By Michael Putney
Miami Herald
No more Mr. Nice Guy?

Lawyer: FDLE investigating House candidate Samarrai
By Karen Voyles
Gainesville Sun
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is apparently conducting an investigation into Alachua County Republican Remzey Samarrai's campaign for the Florida House District 22 seat currently held by House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Man Sentenced to Life in Prison in Skipper Murder
By Suzie Schottelkotte
Lakeland Ledger
William "Bill-Bill" Brown Jr., who was convicted last month for the March 2007 murder of a gay student in Lakeland, will spend the rest of his life in prison.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Argenziano takes helm of Public Service Commission
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Despite outside efforts to derail her appointment as the next Public Service Commission chairwoman, Nancy Argenziano won unanimous approval Tuesday to lead the utility authority for a two-year appointment beginning in January.

Fla. PSC approves renewable energy contracts
The Associated Press
Ocala Star Banner
The Public Service Commission has approved two biomass renewable energy contracts for Progress Energy Florida.

DEP delays sewage sludge action after business complains
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection today delayed action on proposed stricter rules over the land disposal of sewage sludge after one disposal company said the changes could cost it more than $1,000 per day.

Push to overbuild continues
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Six months after the state turned from growth watchdog to lapdog, the fight over growth management in Florida continues.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Poll: More than 80 percent of Floridians anxious about their financial situation
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
A new Mason-Dixon poll confirms what you've heard already from your friends and neighbors: The economy in Florida is more depressing than a Swedish film festival.

New, smaller companies pose new risks
By Jim Saunders
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Before hurricanes started blowing through Florida in 2004, a few big names dominated the state's property insurance market.

Crist woos Cubs at Capitol
By Jim Ash and Glenn Miller
Tallahassee Democrat
The quest to bring the Chicago Cubs to Collier County ran through Gov.Charlie Crist's office on Tuesday, where he met with Cubs owner Tom Ricketts and team president Crane Kenney.

EDUCATION

Search narrows for new FSU president
By Shannon Colavecchio
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The search for a new president at Florida State University got rocky Tuesday, when some members of the search committee said they aren't enthusiastic about the pool of applicants and would rather appoint an interim leader while the search is extended.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Senators express hope for a health reform bill
By Shailagh Murray and Lori Montgomery
Washington Post
Senators prepared to cast their first votes Wednesday on health-care reform, but even as partisan divisions hardened and contentious amendments stacked up, Democrats increasingly expressed optimism that they would succeed in passing a bill before Christmas.

Fla. Medicaid lawsuit heads to trial
By Kelli Kennedy
The Associated Press
The state has spent about $2 million defending a class-action lawsuit that claims Florida is violating federal Medicaid requirements by providing inadequate medical and dental care to more than a million children.

Registered nurse practitioners push for prescription power
By Fernando Quintero
Orlando Sentinel
Every year for the past 16 years, the Florida Nurses Association has lobbied unsuccessfully to allow its most highly trained colleagues the right to prescribe painkillers and other controlled substances.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Crist appoints David Rimmer to serve as judge
Staff Report
Pensacola News Journal
Longtime Pensacola prosecutor David Rimmer on Tuesday was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist to serve as a circuit judge.

Beachfront property dispute at Supreme Court
By Mark Sherman
The Associated Press
The Supreme Court is wading into a new property rights dispute over who owns the sand the state of Florida dumped onto a stretch of beach to control erosion.