SPECIAL REPORT
Fundraising and Web 2.0 update for 2010 statewide races
By Jon Bleyer
Progress Florida
With fundraising totals for 2009 now having been reported, let's examine how the major candidates for statewide office fundraising efforts compare with their internet and social networking footprints entering 2010.
FEATURED STORIES
State lawmakers back plans to replace high school FCAT
By Jeffrey S. Solochek and Ron Matus
St. Petersburg Times
The FCAT in Florida high schools might soon become a thing of the past.
Florida Rep. Ray Sansom lobs misconduct charge at state prosecutor, seeks to get charges dropped
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau State Rep. Ray Sansom accused a state prosecutor of misconduct Tuesday and asked that charges of misusing $6 million in taxpayer money be dismissed.
Poll: McCollum leads Sink in governor's race
By Marc Caputo
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has jumped to a 10 percentage point lead over state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink in the race for governor, according to Quinnipiac University's latest Florida poll measuring issues of the day in the state.
Rubio leaps past Crist in Senate poll
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Florida's Republican primary for the U.S. Senate has rocketed from ho-hum to dead heat.
Crist says he'll propose corporate tax cut, is optimistic about budget
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Charlie Crist expressed optimism today about the state budget and the state economy, and said he'll propose a corporate tax cut, targeted at small businesses, to help create jobs.
FLORIDA POLITICS
Crist now says he might join Obama in Tampa
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Related editorial: Crist should greet Obama
Gov. Charlie Crist, who has been taking a steady pounding for his "man hug" with President Barack Obama in February, now says he might be with the president again Thursday in Tampa.
Obama event scheduled for University of Tampa
Staff Report
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will hold a town hall meeting Thursday at the University of Tampa, a day after Obama delivers his State of the Union address.
Local residents give Obama mixed reviews
By Jeff Burlew Tallahassee Democrat
Big Bend residents are divided on whether the country is on the right or wrong track as President Obama delivers his State of the Union address tonight.
President Obama 1 year later: Wary, weary, still waiting
By Deirdre Conner
Florida Times-Union
Last January, on the eve of President Barack Obama's inauguration, four Northeast Florida residents talked to The Times-Union about their lives and their hopes for change.
Many wonder if Obama can deliver on promises
By Ron Hurtibise
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Republicans and independents are souring on President Barack Obama in large numbers, but they aren't the only ones expressing concerns.
Crist may seek new talks on Fla. Indian gaming
The Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Charlie Crist may try to renegotiate a deal with the Seminole Indians to expand gambling at the tribe's Florida casinos.
Fla. legislative leaders to meet the press
The Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Legislative leaders and statewide political candidates including Gov. Charlie Crist are meeting the Florida press. POLITICAL RACES
Crist's Lead in Senate Race Evaporates
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Lakeland Ledger Gov. Charlie Crist's once formidable lead in the U.S. Senate race has evaporated with the continued rise of former House Speaker Marco Rubio in the Republican primary, a new poll shows.
Poll: Crist, GOP challenger tied in Senate primary
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post Gov. Charlie Crist has the money. Former Florida House speaker Marco Rubio has the momentum.
Cruz and Chamberlin edge out narrow, tentative wins in State House 58 primary race By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Tmes
It appears Republican Hunter Chamberlin and Democrat Janet Cruz were victorious in a special primary election Tuesday for the District 58 state House seat.
Crist must pick up fight, or sink
Editorial
Ft. Myers News-Press
The conservative anti-tax, anti-spending, anti-status quo "Tea Party" mood of so many voters looks likely to cause an upset in Florida almost as remarkable as the one last week in Massachusetts.
BALLOT INITIATIVES
Fair Districts give vote back
By Nancy Rudner Lugo
Orlando Sentinel
It took years of work by FairDistrictsFlorida.org, the League of Women Voters, other organizations and individual citizens to gather the more than 1 million signatures necessary to get two constitutional amendments on the Nov. 2 ballot aimed at stopping the gerrymandering of political districts.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Historic moment: Orange school board approves desegregation settlement
By Erika Hobbs
Orlando Sentinel
It's the end of an era -- and the beginning of a new one - for Orange County public schools.
Ruling a third strike against Florida's gay adoption ban
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
A Miami judge has approved the adoption of a foster child by a lesbian couple, bringing to three the number of adoptions by gay parents since 2008.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Rock Mining: An economic asset, or environmental hazard?
By Joshua Lee Holton WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Florida's economy is known for its housing market, which takes tons of concrete to maintain.
Canal work begins in Everglades project
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Water managers and environmentalists Tuesday celebrated breaking ground on a $30 million overhaul of a canal cut across the southern Everglades in the 1960s -- the third Everglades restoration project to begin this year.
During record cold, farmers used 1 billion gallons of water daily, causing 85 sinkholes
By Craig Pittman
St. Petersburg Times
Farmers in Hillsborough and Polk counties pumped nearly 1 billion gallons of water a day out of the aquifer during the 11-day cold snap this month, causing 85 sinkholes in the region and about 700 complaints of dried-up or damaged residential wells, according to figures released Tuesday by the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
Cold contributes to mass die-off of manatees
By Paul Quinlan Palm Beach Post
The New Year's cold snap devastated the state's manatee population, with more than 100 carcasses showing up in state waters in the first three weeks of 2010, state wildlife officials said.
Governor proposes reviving land-buying fund in Florida environmental budget
By Paul Quinlan Palm Beach Post
Gov. Charlie Crist has proposed a relatively modest $2.1 billion environmental budget for 2010 that drew a tepid response from environmentalists for all but one component: the resurrection of Florida Forever.
PSC questions FPL's choice of words after rate case
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Did Florida Power & Light mislead state regulators when it announced Jan. 13 that it would be forced to suspend projects because it didn't win a 30 percent rate increase?
Florida springs rally slated for Capitol for Feb. 16
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
A rally for Florida springs protection to be held at the Capitol on Feb. 16, the Florida Wildlife Federation announced Monday. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Governor Pushes Corporate Income Tax Cut to Aid Smaller Firms
By John Kennedy
News Service of Florida
With Florida unemployment at a 36-year high, Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday called for scaling back the state's corporate income tax as a means of keeping cash in struggling companies.
Late Gov. Lawton Chiles' Son Criticizes Use of Father's Endowment Fund
By David Royse
News Service of Florida
The son of the late Gov. Lawton Chiles is criticizing Gov. Charlie Crist for a plan to dip into the state fund named for Chiles, and taking the opportunity to criticize Crist's budget more generally.
Sink creates 'CFO Depot' to help pinch pennies on office supplies
By John Frank
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Alex Sink, the state's chief financial officer, reinforced her business acumen and title as the paper-clip-saving queen Tuesday as she announced the creation of "CFO Depot."
Rep. Boyd looking for job creation, fiscal responsibility from Obama
By Bart Jansen
Tallahassee Democrat
Rep. Allen Boyd wants President Barack Obama to talk about fiscal responsibility, tax relief and small-business incentives to "repair our crumbling economy," when the president delivers his first State of the Union speech today.
Rep. Miller seeking job creation from Obama
By Bart Jansen
Pensacola News Journal
Rep. Jeff Miller wants to hear President Barack Obama propose better ideas for creating jobs and improving national security when the president delivers his first State of the Union speech Wednesday.
Obama aims to ax moon mission
By Robert Block and Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon are dead. So are the rockets being designed to take them there -- that is, if President Barack Obama gets his way.
Fla. investment panel OKs cap on legal fees The Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
The panel that invests state money including pension funds has approved a $50 million per case cap on legal fees paid to outside lawyers.
EDUCATION
Schools' evolution debated
By Ronnie Blair
Tampa Tribune
Educators and state lawmakers gathered this week to talk about issues of concern to local school officials and parents such as graduation requirements, Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test reform, teacher quality, technology, budgets, charter schools, career academies and virtual education.
Florida schools' gaudy ranking not necessarily impressive
Editorial
TC Palm
Florida's report card in an annual ranking of public schools looks pretty good -- No. 8 in the nation.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Voters clueless about bills: report
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida Americans who say they don't support the health reform bills pending in Congress change their minds when informed of the major provisions of the bills, according to an analysis of public attitudes by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
State of the Union: Health bill might hinge on Obama rallying cry
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
As President Obama delivers his first State of the Union address tonight, the defining goal of his first year in office -- passing health care reform -- remains unfulfilled, while discontent boils over double-digit unemployment, a $1.3 trillion deficit and a crumbling sense of economic security.
Miami-Dade institutions report on Haitian healthcare efforts
By John Dorschner
Miami Herald
The Haitian earthquake costs for South Florida's healthcare institutions keep piling up.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
Critical state report targets Juvenile Justice chief Peterman
By Steve Bousquet and Lee Logan
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau A highly critical state report released Tuesday night finds Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Frank Peterman ran up $25,000 in questionable travel and should reimburse taxpayers for those expenses.
Despite high stakes, Rothstein plea likely to be a low-key affair
By Jon Burstein and Paula McMahon
South Florida Sun-Sentionel
Related: Toxic shock of Rothstein's fall felt across South Florida
Don't expect any bombshells when Scott Rothstein pleads guilty Wednesday to running a massive fraud that fueled his meteoric rise from little-known labor attorney to omnipresent fixture in Broward County's political and charitable circles.
New day, new limits
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
The U.S. Supreme Court drove a bulldozer through the legal landscape for federal political campaigns last week, knocking down decades-old rules against corporations and labor unions bankrolling political advertisements.
