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Progress Florida -- Progressive Solutions for Florida

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Daily Clips for February 9, 2010

FEATURED STORIES

Secret contract, lavish spending push Republican Party of Florida to crisis

By Adam C. Smith and Beth Reinhard

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald staff writers

As a volatile election season gets under way, the Republican Party of Florida is facing its biggest crisis of confidence in decades.


Florida GOP's financial woes continue; lawmaker takes back $655,000 he raised

By Aaron Deslatte

Orlando Sentinel

As Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer announced last month he would resign amid criticism for his profligate spending, House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon was clearing out $655,000 from the party's bank account.


Florida 2010: Charlie Crist, Marco Rubio, Alex Sink and the Law of Unintended Consequences

By Carl M. Cannon

Politics Daily

Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio sought to curry favor with conservatives last week by suggesting that not all immigrants should be counted in the 2010 Census.


Claims of misconduct at FPL prompt investigation

By Mary Ellen Klas

Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau

State utility regulators and Florida Power & Light's parent company said Monday they would investigate anonymous allegations that FPL managers broke the law and committed fraud by forcing employees to provide inaccurate and misleading information to regulators and shareholders.


Offshore drilling opponents to join hands in protest Saturday

By Bill Cotterell

Tallahassee Democrat

Black-clad opponents of offshore oil drilling hope to mount the biggest protest in Florida history by joining hands along the coastline Saturday.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Candidate calls for full disclosure

By Bill Cotterell

Tallahassee Democrat

A Republican candidate for governor challenged both major contenders for her party's chairmanship to disclose all of the Florida GOP's finances, including credit-card bills of party officers.


Lifting the Lid on Campaign Contributions and Spending

By Michael Joe Murphy and Martha Musgrove

FloridaThinks

'Politics is so expensive that it takes a lot of money just to be defeated," humorist Will Rogers used to quip.


Rove says he's "still wired" for politics

By Janet Begley

TC Palm

Although he last served as senior White House advisor to former President George W. Bush in 2007, Republican party strategist Karl Rove said he's "still wired" for politics.

POLITICAL RACES

Senate candidate Meek courts NASCAR fans

By Anthony Man

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek is adding some horsepower to his race.


Meek: Bickering Hurts State

By Bill Rufty

Lakeland Ledger

Gov. Charlie Crist and former Speaker of the House Marco Rubio should stop personal assaults on each other and begin to deal with issues, said the man who is likely to meet one of the Republican candidates in the Nov. 2 general election.


Could Meek's immigration stance help him take Florida?

By Lesley Clark

Miami Herald

A new report out from a pro-comprehensive immigration group predicts "Latino voters are poised to play a crucial role in key House and Senate races across the country" -- including in Florida, where it says that Barack Obama's "strong focus on courting the Latino vote in Florida helped him carry the state that supported George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004.


Rubio smashes Crist in straw poll

By Matt Reed

Florida Today

For a while there, it looked as if U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio might win over the right-wing activists in Brevard County but not rank-and-file Republicans.


'PAC'ing it in: Boyd hauls in campaign cash

By Matt Dixon

Panama City News Herald

On Nov. 18, U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd held a "reception" at Tortilla Coast, a Washington. D.C., Tex-Mex restaurant that touts itself as a place "to watch Capitol Hill movers and shakers in action."

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Offshore oil drilling supporters prize access to federal waters

By Paul Flemming

Ft. Myers News-Press

Sometimes the money quote takes some time.


Farming water: new plan for Everglades restoration would pay ranchers to use land for storing water

By Paul Quinlan

Palm Beach Post

Jimmy Wohl's father got his unlikely start in the cattle business in 1962, snapping up 320 acres of military surplus land in western Broward County for $25 an acre and setting 10 cows loose on the property.


Cabinet to consider 2,800-acre purchase Tuesday

By Bruce Ritchie

FloridaEnvironments.com

The governor and Cabinet on Tuesday will consider approving the state purchase of 2,849 acres in Jefferson County.


Cold took heavy toll on Florida wildlife

By Curtis Morgan

Miami Herald

Despite four decades of slogging through Everglades marshes and mangroves, wildlife ecologist Frank Mazzotti had never experienced anything like the aftermath of frigid January.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

The 2007 Solution: Senator LeMieux's plan for the federal budget

By Fred Barnes

Weekly Standard

Republican senator George LeMieux of Florida has done the math.


Metrorail Marti

By Kirk Nielsen

Poder Magazine

Certain Republican lawmakers are always saying we can't afford this or that government program, like federal health insurance or President Obama's stimulus plan.


Report targets homeowner associations

By Ron Hurtibise

Daytona Beach News-Journal

Millions of people live under the control of homeowner associations in Florida.


Tourist tax is tumbling

By Bill Thompson

Ocala Star-Banner

Local promoters appear to be working overtime to sell Marion County to visitors as an ideal spot to spend some time - whether it's taking in an event like Horse Shows in the Sun or a professional golf tournament or visiting a familiar place like Silver Springs or a local museum.

EDUCATION

Governor ducks talk of schools tax hike

By William March and Catherine Whittenburg

Tampa Tribune

Gov. Charlie Crist delivered an optimistic message about the state budget and economy to a gathering of political and civic leaders in Tampa on Monday, saying, "Something good is starting to percolate in our economy."


FACT writing testing begins

By Iricka Berlinger

Tallahassee Democrat

With sharpened pencils in hand, students in the fourth-, eighth-, and 10th-grades head to school today to take the writing portion of the FCAT.


Broward schools defying the FCAT odds

By Kathy Bushouse

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Statistically speaking, students at these schools should not do well on the FCAT.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Some defend DOH secrecy

By Carol Gentry

Health News Florida

The state Department of Health's decision to withhold information on its consumer web site about pending actions against health professionals -- including arrests -- is entirely appropriate, say attorneys who defend doctors in disciplinary matters.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Fla. Justices Refuse To Halt Execution of Martin Grossman

Staff Report

Lakeland Ledger

The Florida Supreme Court on Monday refused to halt the execution of a man convicted of murdering a state wildlife officer 25 years ago.


Bankruptcy attorneys sue Rothstein partner

By Amy Sherman and Jay Weaver

Miami Herald via St. Petersburg Times

Russell Adler, a name partner in convicted lawyer Scott Rothstein's former Fort Lauderdale firm, was sued Monday for more than $1.2 million by bankruptcy attorneys who claim the money was the fruit of Rothstein's massive investment scam.


Bill would exempt public defenders from records law

By Matt Dixon

Panama City News Herald

A bill being sponsored by state Rep. Brad Drake would exempt current and former public defenders from state public records laws.


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