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Progress Florida -- Progressive Solutions for Florida

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Daily Clips for February 3, 2010

FEATURED STORIES

Now trailing Marco Rubio, Charlie Crist emphasizes his job

By Adam C. Smith and Beth Reinhard

Miami Herald

Charlie Crist's supporters across Florida are in varying states of panic, and for good reason: Two polls released this week show the once-inevitable Republican U.S. Senate nominee trailing challenger Marco Rubio by 12 points and 14 points among GOP voters.


House panel rips Crist budget proposal, suggests he 'start over'

By Dara Kam

Palm Beach Post

State House members of both parties battered Gov. Charlie Crist's proposed $69.2 billion today, lambasting it for what they called unsound financial assumptions and suggesting he resubmit another plan.


Florida ballot proposal targets class size limits

Staff Report

Bradenton Herald

A newly filed ballot proposal to weaken Florida's class size limits drew immediate opposition Tuesday from the statewide teachers union and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, who led a 2002 campaign that put the requirements in the state constitution.


As Sansom watches, House panel votes to put him on trial

By Steve Bousquet

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau

A last-ditch attempt by Rep. Ray Sansom to dismiss or delay charges that he damaged the Legislature's integrity failed Tuesday as a panel of his colleagues voted to put the former speaker on trial later this month.


Deutch called the Dem winner in District 19; Lynch and Budd battle in GOP race

By George Bennett

Palm Beach Post

State Sen. Ted Deutch scored a blowout victory in a special Democratic congressional primary tonight while the Republican primary was too close to call in Robert Wexler's old U.S. House district.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Committee votes to proceed with Sansom hearing

By Bill Cotterell

Tallahassee Democrat

A special committee refused to dismiss a complaint against former House Speaker Ray Sansom today, then voted to proceed with a trial-like hearing on Feb. 22.


Iorio on Obama's bow: What's the big deal?

By Kim Wilmath

St. Petersburg Times

To Mayor Pam Iorio, it was a courteous little bow.


Obama nominates FAMU VP

By Angeline J. Taylor

Tallahassee Democrat

A man Florida A&M University administrators, faculty and students relied on to lead the university during one of its darkest periods has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve in a top commerce spot.


DeMint to headline local GOP fundraiser

By William March

Tampa Tribune

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint -- one of the leading figures in the move to pull the national Republican Party to the right -- will headline the Hillsborough County Republican Party's major annual fundraising dinner in March.


Jeb, George H.W. and Barbara Bush coming to Bonita for reading celebration

By Leslie Williams Hale

Naples News

A former first family is coming to Bonita Springs to highlight literacy.


Bid to recall Miami-Dade mayor fails

By Matthew Haggman

Miami Herald

The bid to recall Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez has fallen short.

POLITICAL RACES

Census has Crist and Rubio at odds

By Gary Fineout

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio has come out against including illegal immigrants in the national census -- even though doing so could significantly reduce Florida's political power and share of federal funding.


Gutierrez to pursue a baseball team, not Grayson

By David Damron

Orlando Sentinel

South Florida transplant Armando Gutierrez says he wanted to serve in Congress - but he also saw a chance to find a way to bring major league baseball to Orlando.


Buchanan holds lead in fundraising

Staff Report

Bradenton Herald

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan ended 2009 with more than 100 times more money in his campaign account than his Democratic challenger in the 13th Congressional District, James T. Golden, according to the Federal Elections Commission.


District 31 candidate arrested

Staff Report

Florida Today

Joseph F. Crowley, a Democratic candidate for Florida House District 31 in Brevard County, is in federal custody after being arrested for using the telephone to induce a minor boy into sexual activity, arrest records show.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Do-over on class size proposed

By Bill Cotterell

Tallahassee Democrat

Florida voters would get a chance to "right size the class size" next November, under a constitutional amendment endorsed Tuesday by two legislative leaders and a wide array of education administrators, teachers and parents.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Allegations about air marshals using slurs get attention of elected leaders

By Walter Pacheco

Orlando Sentinel

The derogatory comments about gays and other minorities found in an air marshals field office in Orlando are raising concerns at the congressional level.


Repeal 'don't ask, don't tell' now

Editorial

Miami Herald

`Don't ask, don't tell'' is not only patently unfair, it's also self-defeating. Since the policy was put into effect in 1993, U.S. military forces have discharged some 13,500 gay men and lesbians.


Ending bias in military can't wait

Editorial

St. Petersburg Times

Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave Congress unnecessary cover Tuesday when he suggested he needed a year to study the impact of repealing the 1993 law that bars those who are openly gay from serving in the military.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Florida Supreme Court to hear case over U.S. Sugar land deal

By Curtis Morgan

Miami Herald

Even before its justices rule, the Florida Supreme Court has erected a potential legal hurdle to Gov. Charlie Crist's $536 million land deal with the U.S. Sugar Corp.


Florida Senate panel OK's PSC ethics bill

By Mary Ellen Klas

Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau

A Florida Senate committee unanimously approved a bill Tuesday that would tighten the ethics requirements on the Public Service Commission, but the measure was immediately criticized as too soft on the companies the commission regulates.


Senators hear plight of Wakulla Springs

By Bruce Ritchie

FloridaEnvironments.com

Eight Florida senators today heard from Wakulla Springs State Park supporters about their efforts to fight increasing nitrogen levels that have caused the springs to become choked with weeds and algae.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida Businesses Descend on D.C.

By Gina Presson and Deb Courson

Public News Service Florida

A delegation of about 15 "green-energy" business leaders from Florida converges on Washington D.C. on Wednesday to show support for Congressional action on comprehensive climate and energy legislation.


Five final missions

By James Dean

Florida Today

NASA plans to bring three decades of shuttle flights to an end this year after five more missions.

EDUCATION

South Florida schools in wait-and-watch mode over possible arrival of more Haitian students

By Kathy Bushouse and Marc Freeman

South Florida Sun-Sentinel via Palm Beach Post

South Florida's schools are in wait-and-watch mode.


Pre-K program could be headed for 'train wreck'

By Leslie Postal

Orlando Sentinel

Florida's pre-kindergarten program is in financial trouble -- facing a nearly $29 million budget shortfall this year and a worse deficit next year.


Beyond FCAT

Editorial

Daytona Beach News-Journal

For 10 years, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test -- alternately known as the FCAT or the bane of student and teachers -- has held the reputation of every public school and the academic fate of every student in its grip.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

MediPass could soon disappear

By Christine Jordan Sexton

Health News Florida

This could be the year the state of Florida eliminates its popular MediPass program, which gives more than half a million Medicaid recipients, mostly aged and disabled Floridians, an alternative to HMOs.


Jeb Bush's Medicaid plan faces uncertain fate

By Marc Caputo

Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau

Costs are down. Patients appear to be satisfied. Doctors are practicing more preventive care.


Safety advocates push bill to require booster seats for kids 4 - 7

By Jim Ash

Tallahassee Democrat

Calling them the "forgotten children," safety advocates are back again this year with a bill that would require car booster seats for kids 4-7.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Trial lawyers, businesses spar over legislation to restore liability waivers

By John Frank

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau

If a child rides in a race car or climbs a rock wall, a parent is typically expected to sign a company's liability waiver acknowledging the risks.

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