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Progress Florida -- Progressive Solutions for Florida

Monday, February 22, 2010

Daily Clips for February 22, 2010

FEATURED STORIES

Sansom resigns House seat on eve of ethics trial

By Alex Leary

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau

Related: Ray Sansom's resignation letter

Ray Sansom resigned from the Florida House of Representatives on Sunday night, a dramatic decision on the eve of an ethics trial by his colleagues over his dealings with a Panhandle college.


Thrasher elected leader of Florida GOP

By Adam C. Smith

St. Petersburg Times

The Florida Republican party elected state Sen. John Thrasher its new chairman Saturday, then leaders promptly called for an exhaustive audit of party records to finally get past the scandal and distrust that has defined much of the past year.


GOP momentum eludes Florida

By Jeremy Wallace

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Republicans are riding high following surprise electoral wins in the Northeast, President Barack Obama's slipping popularity and unexpected retirements in the U.S. Senate that give the GOP new hope of regaining control of Congress.


Rep. Charles Van Zant seeks ban on abortion

By Bill Cotterell

Tallahassee Democrat

A legislator who has travelled the world as a Baptist minister wants Florida to ban abortion -- inviting a U.S. Supreme Court rematch over law, morality and medicine.


Crist's DCF is still trying to stop gay adoption

Orlando Sentinel

By Scott Maxwell

Orlando Sentinel

Last week, the state stepped up its taxpayer-financed fight to prevent a South Florida woman from adopting one of her own relatives.


`All the free speech big money can buy'

By Carl Hiaasen

Miami Herald

Despite the public's epidemic disgust with politicians, now would be a splendid time to run for office in this country.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

Editorial cartoon

Title: Why Florida's ethics laws need an upgrade!

By Ed Gamble

Florida Times-Union

FLORIDA POLITICS

Sansom resigns from House

By Bill Cotterell and Jim Ash

Tallahassee Democrat

On the eve of a trial-like committee hearing that would have been politically painful for the Republican Party and some of its top candidates, former House Speaker Ray Sansom resigned Sunday night from the Florida Legislature.


Other House speakers brought home bacon, but Sansom brought trouble

By Steve Bousquet

St. Petersburg Times

Related: Democratic Party helped coordinate Sansom complaint

Look around, and you find elaborate monuments to former House speakers, all courtesy of Florida taxpayers.


Sen. Thrasher new chair of Florida Republican Party

By Bill Cotterell

Tallahassee Democrat

State Sen. John Thrasher, a veteran Tallahassee insider, won the Florida Republican Party chairmanship Saturday with a promise to put $1 million in the depleted GOP treasury and unite the party for an aggressive campaign against "the liberal media and Democrats" in a tough election year.


Questions about GOP credit card use get louder

By William March

Tampa Tribune

A scandal over alleged misuse of state Republican Party money and credit cards, formerly a tempest in the party teapot, is threatening to boil over and affect the party's 2010 election chances.


Florida senators in middle of rum fight

By Lesley Clark

Miami Herald

Yo, ho, ho and a lot of bottles of rum.


Tea Party groups finding their voice

By Zac Anderson

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

The "old money" island community of Boca Grande has traditionally been safe conservative territory, where residents warmly greet vacationing Bush family members during the holidays.


GOP must open the books: State party facing two critical tests on ethics

Editorial

Palm Beach Post

The Republican Party of Florida will choose a new chairman today, an election party leaders hope will help the embattled state GOP recover from months of financial scandal.


State ethics: The hall of shame

Editorial

Florida Times-Union

Here is a lineup for you. A total of 37 Floridians - mostly elected officials or public board appointees - have been suspended or removed from public roles due to ethics concerns since Gov. Charlie Crist took office in 2007.

POLITICAL RACES

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek tries to be heard over Crist-Rubio battle

By Jim Stratton

Orlando Sentinel

Imagine you are a little-known congressman from South Florida, fighting for a seat in the U.S. Senate.


Crist, Rubio camps dicker over debates

By William March

Tampa Tribune

Related AP story: Crist, Rubio to debate on TV

Gov. Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio apparently will conduct the first debate of their Senate primary campaign March 28 on Fox News Channel.


Young says he will seek re-election

By William March

Tampa Tribune

U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young pleased a hometown crowd of Republicans on Saturday night by announcing he'll run for re-election in November for his 21st term in Congress.


Brown-Waite announces re-election bid

By Mike Wright

Citrus County Chronicle via Tampa Tribune

U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite dropped a bombshell Friday night for Republicans, but probably not the one they expected.


3 vie for House District 58 seat in Tuesday's vote

By Kathy Steele

Tampa Tribune

There are hints that while voters stayed away for the special Democratic and Republican primaries, they are taking more notice of Tuesday's special general election for state House District 58.


Will Democrat's funding advantage triumph in special election for Florida House 58 seat?

By Janet Zink

St. Petersburg Times

Tuesday is election day in Tampa.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Court pans legislative sabotage

By Mark Lane

Daytona Beach News-Journal

Your correspondent strives to be a full-service columnist. When he writes about something and tells you something else will happen later, he means to return.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE, AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Faith leaders pray for immigration reform

By Jaweed Kaleem

Miami Herald

Jose Dugand can almost predict the stories he increasingly hears each week from undocumented immigrants as the pastor at Ekklesia Global Church.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Environmental fight brewing over rock mining push on former Everglades land

By Andy Reid

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Palm Beach Aggregates plans to expand its rock mining to 2,300 acres -- allowing 25 more years of digging -- in an area environmentalists contend threatens Everglades restoration.


Fishermen taking snapper ban fight to Washington

By Jordan Kahn

Daytona Beach News-Journal

Because of new laws, small businesses are reeling, the federal government is being sued and a legislative fight is entering round two. And this isn't about health care or Wall Street bailouts.


It's time for Florida to work on water quality

Editorial

Bradenton Herald

Since the state of Florida dawdled for more than a decade over a federal mandate to set limits on farm and urban runoff and water pollution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stepped in with proposed regulations last month.


Clean springs

Editorial

Daytona Beach News-Journal

Once a mermaid, Barbara Wynn became a militant.


It's still a threat

Editorial

Miami Herald

More than two-thirds of the nation's land mass had snow on the ground when the day dawned, and then it snowed ever so slightly in Florida to make it 49 states out of 50.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida (again) leads in foreclosures

By Duane Marsteller

Bradenton Herald

The federal government plans to pump more foreclosure-prevention money into Florida, which continues to have the highest rate of people falling behind on their mortgages.


State leaders limited in ways to create jobs but 'heat is on'

By Catherine Whittenburg

Tampa Tribune

Staggering unemployment during an election year means the pressure on state leaders to spur job growth couldn't be greater.


Florida lawmakers want to encourage hiring

By Gary Fineout

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Florida legislators will enter the 2010 session repeating the same thing as politicians all across the country: "Jobs, jobs, jobs."


D.C. group blasts Florida sales tax holiday

By Lloyd Dunkelberger

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

A back-to-school sales tax holiday supported by the governor and legislative leaders is a bad idea that will have little impact on the state's struggling economy.


State's Cell Phone Use Varies Across Departments

By Bill Kaczor

The Associated Press

While some state agencies are reducing or eliminating cell phone use to save money, the Department of Children and Families is adding more such devices to possibly save lives.

EDUCATION

Don't diminish the value and quality of our public schools.

By Rick Kriseman

St. Petersburg Times

The American Civil Liberties Union recently sued Florida, alleging that the state has failed to meet its constitutionally mandated duty to ensure that all public school students receive a quality education.


State of education

Editorial

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Doing more with less has long been a requirement for Florida's public schools.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

FL to get $282M refund

By Carol Gentry and Jim Saunders

Health News Florida

Congratulations, Florida! You're getting a refund of $282.5 million in overpayments to Medicare, thanks to a recalculation of drug premiums for low-income elderly and disabled patients.


State proposes expanding controversial Medicaid reform plan, to cut costs

Staff Report

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

A new study has found that doctors dislike Florida's controversial Medicaid reform experiment in Broward County, but a large shortfall in the state budget has led officials to propose expanding the reform into all big-city areas, including Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.


Health official: State lawmakers must 'take some action' to curb growth of pain clinics

By Michael LaForgia

Palm Beach Post

Despite new rules targeting the pain management industry, unscrupulous clinics that supply narcotics traffickers and addicts will keep spreading across Florida unless lawmakers enact tougher restrictions immediately, according to a top state medical official.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Group can't fight prayer case

By Kris Wernowsky

Pensacola News Journal

A federal judge has ruled that a group representing Christian educators cannot intervene in a settled prayer-in-schools lawsuit involving the Santa Rosa County School District.


Is Broward's state attorney soft on corruption?

By Tonya Alanez

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Critics for years have labeled Broward County State Attorney Mike Satz as soft on public corruption.


City employees at crash didn't recognize police chief or Scott Rothstein

By Brittany Wallman

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

When the city's police chief turned up in photographs at a car crash scene next to Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, one of the drivers' attorneys asked if the chief's presence influenced the investigation.


Florida hasn't complied with new sex offender tracking law yet, but is getting there

By Elysa Batista

Naples News

One. That's how many states in the U.S. have fully complied with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection Safety Act of 2006.

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