Daily Clips for December 28, 2009

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS Local group aims to obtain, hold onto funding for teachers By Joe Callahan Ocala Star-Banner Excerpt: At age 23, University of Florida graduate Ray Seaman decided to rally educators early this year throughout Marion County...Seaman works for Progress Florida, which launched the Stop the Cuts campaign this year aimed at protecting Florida Forever, Medicaid and education. FEATURED STORIES 2010 set to be momentous year for Florida By Paul Flemming Tallahassee Democrat It's always a big year in Florida politics, but rarely can you see the import so clearly lined out for a coming 12 months. Florida politics had lots of no-brainers in 2009 By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Related AP story: Weak economy, high unemployment Fla.'s top story As the year draws to a close, editors like to compile lists of the biggest stories of the year. In that spirit, here are my favorites of 2009. FLORIDA POLITICS The finagling's begun for added House seat By Bill Cotterell Ft. Myers News-Press The process to determine how Florida slices up its 26 congressional seats has started. Legal woes continue to swirl for former Republican Party of Fla. finance chair Harry Sargeant By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post Since 2004, the U.S. government has paid Boca Raton-based International Oil Trading Co. $1.4 billion to deliver jet fuel through Jordan to U.S. troops and their allies in Iraq, according to federal contracts. Greer to Critics: You can talk -- but that's it By Aaron Deslatte Orlando Sentinel Embattled Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer will grant his critics a hearing next month to discuss his performance -- but they won't be able to vote him out of the job just yet. Document damaging to Sansom By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times As the Florida House prepares for an unrivaled investigative hearing in January into its former leader, new information undercuts key parts of Rep. Ray Sansom's defense. Wexler's legacy: Loyal constituents, bipartisan bonds and passionate critics By Anthony Man South Florida Sun-Sentinel Virtually every politician in America fantasizes about achieving what Robert Wexler has attained: Constituents who love him so much that he could cruise to an easy congressional re-election until he's ready for retirement. An unhealthy monopoly on voting machines Editorial Miami Herald The only people who benefit from monopolies are their owners. 2010 RACES Fla. gov hopeful McCollum: It's not about Crist By Brendan Farrington The Associated Press It's not hard to find policy areas where Republicans Bill McCollum and Gov. Charlie Crist have differences. Banking ties an issue in race By Jeremy Wallace Sarasota Herald-Tribune Democrat Alex Sink and Republican Bill McCollum have significant ties to the banking industry, yet that has not stopped either candidate for governor from attacking the other for their connections to the industry. Rubio vs. Crist: Close race shows concern among voters By Kingsley Guy South Florida Sun-Sentinel Marco Rubio apparently has closed the gap in the race for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate seat. Can it be? Charlie Crist, Marco Rubio agree bill raises taxes By Aaron Deslatte Orlando Sentinel "The plan will cripple state economies and add half a trillion dollars in new taxes on top of half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts," the U.S. Senate candidate said last week as the health-care bill approached a final vote in the Senate. In South Florida, a political squabble, investigation over campaign mailer By Marc Caputo St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Miami-Dade School Board member Renier Diaz de la Portilla is under investigation for allegedly skirting bidding rules to pay for a mailer that could help his brother in a political campaign to succeed their other sibling as state senator. BALLOT INITIATIVES Florida redistrcting has national implications for the next decade By Bill Cotterell Tallahassee Democrat Suppose you had a big baking pan shaped like the state of Florida and had to pack it with 26 clumps of cookie dough that contained the exact same amount of sugar, flour, red sprinkles and blue icing while dozens of powerful people and thousands of regular folks try to tell you how to do it. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE, AND SOCIAL ISSUES Legislation would bar benefits for undocumented immigrants By Brandon Larrabee Florida Times-Union Undocumented immigrants would be ineligible for some of the most basic government services, including public education, under a measure sponsored by a pair of Republican lawmakers. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Florida's future bright with clean energy By Eric Draper South Florida Sun-Sentinel Whether the goal is economic recovery or environmental protection, investing in energy efficiency is one of the most important actions a business can take. Everglades once again will make headlines By Kevin Lollar Ft. Myers News-Press During last year's look-ahead series, The News-Press said Everglades restoration would be a big story in 2009, and it was with the South Florida Water Management District's plans to buy 73,000 acres of U.S. Sugar land. Feds Under Fire from Three Environmental Groups to Protect Panthers By Kate Spinner Lakeland Ledger While the state's largest cats teeter on the edge of extinction, federal regulators are accused of hastening the Florida panther's demise over the past few years by allowing some of their best habitat to be bulldozed. Rock mine expansion proposed for panther habitat in west Broward By David Fleshler Orlando Sentinel The Seminole Tribe has applied for a permit to expand a rock mine in a remote corner of northwest Broward County, in a proposal that could generate opposition from environmentalists concerned about the Florida panther. Report finds pollutants lurking in S. Florida tap water By Curtis Morgan Miami Herald More than 100 pollutants, from farm herbicides to factory solvents, have shown up in Florida tap water during the last five years -- many barely detectable, but more than a quarter exceeding federal standards at least once, according to a report compiled by an environmental group. FPL can live with less, report advises By Mary Ellen Klas Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau Florida Power & Light should be allowed to raise its base rate $357 million next year, not the $1.3 billion the company seeks, the staff of the Public Service Commission recommended Wednesday in a report that also says the utility should be forced to cut its executives' pay. Protect Florida coast. Again Editorial Palm Beach Post Great. If the Senate tries to rekindle its romance with bipartisanship, there might be no love for Florida. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Will Florida's growth-a-holic tendencies change with new reality? By Jim Stratton Orlando Sentinel In a state hooked on development, Flagler County became a junkie. Florida still low in per-capita stimulus funds By Duane Marsteller Bradenton Herald Florida continues to get the smallest bang from federal economic stimulus bucks, according to a recent analysis of government figures. More leaving Florida than moving in By Jeff Kunerth Orlando Sentinel More people continue to leave Florida than move in from other states, reversing a decades-long trend of population growth fueled by retirees and job seekers, according to estimates released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Florida taking part in federal program to get residents back to work Staff Report Tallahassee Democrat Florida is participating in a new federal stimulus program aimed at putting jobless people back to work by subsidizing their pay and benefits through Sept. 30. New rules to take effect on sinkholes, property taxes By Catherine Whittenburg Tampa Tribune The start of 2010 brings with it the enactment of new state rules and regulations relating to sinkhole insurance and property taxes. EDUCATION How the decade changed education By Tiffany Lankes and Christopher O'Donnell Sarasota Herald-Tribune The big theme in education for the past decade: accountability. Budget crisis guts teacher-certification program By Denise-Marie Balona Orlando Sentinel The number of Central Florida teachers earning prestigious national certification plummeted last school year because of budget cuts. States race to finish federal grant applications for billions in school money By Iricka Berlinger Tallahassee Democrat The January 19 deadline for states to apply for the federal Race to the Top grant is drawing near. HEALTH AND SENIORS Nelson says health bill not perfect but has good elements By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times Florida Sen. Bill Nelson joined fellow Democrats in voting for the health care reform bill. Comparison looks at House, Senate health care proposals The Associated Press Tampa Tribune A comparison of the health care bills before Congress. Senate health care bill also has benefits for Florida seniors By John Dorschner Miami Herald The Senate's version of health care reform approved Thursday has a provision to protect Florida seniors from losing a rich benefit package they have as members of Medicare Advantage Plans. Fla. specialists oppose possible Medicare cuts The Associated Press Panama City News Herald Cardiologists across Florida are organizing protests and opposition to Medicare cuts they say could cause delays in treatment. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Some Scott Rothstein victims were repaid By Amy Sherman and Scott Hiaasen Miami Herald In the weeks before his $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme was revealed, lawyer Scott Rothstein repaid hundreds of millions of dollars to the investors he had swindled, according to records filed in bankruptcy court this week. Florida's Stand Your Ground law vexes courts By David Ovalle Miami Herald No one disputes that Maurice Moorer fired more than a dozen bullets to kill a rival sitting in a car in West Little River last year.