FEATURED STORIES
Crist, Rubio debate over money and ObamaBy Alex Leary
St. Petersburg TimesRelated: Crist and Rubio tax claims are (still) false
Related: Are attack ads a sign of Crist's desperation?Fox News Sunday cast it as a "rough and tumble battle," and for 40 minutes, Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio gave a national audience just that, arguing about a lot of things that ultimately were about two: money and President Barack Obama.
Meek, the other Senate candidate, trying for historyBy Lesley Clark
Miami Herald For nearly a year, Rep. Kendrick Meek has traversed Florida, persuading voters to sign a petition to get him on the ballot and, he says, in the history books.
McCollum's legal foray into health care mired in debateBy William March
Tampa TribuneFlorida Attorney General Bill McCollum grabbed national attention and praise from Republicans last week with a lawsuit challenging the health care reform bill.
More politics than usual dominate Florida legislative session By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau As Florida legislators hit the halfway mark in their 60-day session, they are following a simple election year recipe: sprinkle in a little policy, then pour on plenty of politics.
GOP pushing merit pay for teachersBy Jim Ash
Tallahassee DemocratFlorida is on the verge of becoming the first state in nation with universal merit pay for teachers, a sign that the stars are lining up for conservative Republicans and that the influence of the powerful Florida Education Association may be on the wane.
EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Chan Lowe
South Florida Sun-SentinelRead the artist's commentary here.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
With session approaching midway point, much work left undoneBy Brandon Larrabee
Florida Times-UnionAs lawmakers left Tallahassee Friday, they were halfway home.
Tracking the Senate's rightward shiftBy Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times You've heard the old axiom about the Florida Legislature: "The House proposes and the Senate disposes."
Is the GOP grassroots rising up against leadership fund bill? By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando SentinelOsceola State Committeeman Mark Cross, a longtime party activist who ran unsuccessfully for chairman last month, is urging fellow Republicans to ask Gov. Charlie Crist to veto the elections bill lawmakers passed this week.
Culture wars: Legislative actions feed divisiveness in FloridaBy Stephen Goldstein
South Florida Sun-SentinelOne example of anything may be written off as a mere isolated instance. A second similar one may even be dismissed as a coincidence.
Prison plan assailed as 'sneaky,' misleadingBy Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post After repeatedly emphasizing his commitment to "open and transparent" government during a committee meeting Thursday evening, Senate budget chief J.D. Alexander attached a last-minute prison-privatization amendment to the state's spending bill without any warning to anyone it would affect, including the Department of Corrections.
New bill may make release from jail difficultBy John Frank
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee BureauA powerful special interest and two influential state lawmakers united Friday to push a measure that critics contend will make it harder to get out of jail before a trial.
Florida Legislature tosses out costly claims billsBy Robert Samuels
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee BureauThe bills come with some of the most tragic stories heard in the Capitol -- parents who've lost children and children who've lost their faculties, all at the hands of public officials and civil servants.
Student-restraint bill advances in House Staff Report
Daytona Beach News-JournalA locally sponsored bill that establishes standards and procedures for the use, monitoring and reduction of unnecessary restraint and seclusion on students with disabilities passed unanimously through a key House committee this week.
Major issues remaining in the LegislatureBy Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-TribuneMajor issues facing the Florida Legislature at the midpoint of its 60-day annual session:
Fla. lawmakers have short week due to holidaysBy Ron Word
Gainesville SunThe Florida House and Senate have a short week ahead this week and will only be in session Wednesday and Thursday.
Florida lawmakers aren't facing up the state's budget crisisEditorial
St. Petersburg TimesRefusing to acknowledge the obvious need for more revenue and a fairer state tax system, the Republican-led Florida Legislature is once again cobbling together a roughly $68 billion state budget with duct tape, bailing wire -- and considerable help from the feds.
Gun-shy trust raidersEditorial
Sarasota Herald-TribuneFlorida legislators have a long and shameful record of raiding state trust funds and dedicated funding sources -- taking whatever they deem necessary to balance the budget while avoiding the appearance of raising taxes.
POLITICAL RACES
Rivals Crist and Rubio tear into each other in Fox News debateBy Beth Reinhard and Lesley Clark
Miami HeraldRelated: Rubio, Crist both stretch truth over taxes during debate
Gov. Charlie Crist tried to chip away at his U.S. Senate rival's conservative boy-wonder image during their first televised debate Sunday but failed to deliver a broadside powerful enough to level the surging Marco Rubio.
Crist vs. Rubio: Florida GOP Heavies Face Off
By Tim PadgettTime Magazine
Florida Governor and GOP Senate candidate Charlie Crist went into his first debate against primary-election opponent Marco Rubio on Sunday with a nagging reminder of the deep hole his campaign has fallen into.
Crist, Rubio face off in 1st Fla. Senate debate
By Brendan FarringtonThe Associated Press
Gov. Charlie Crist repeatedly assailed opponent Marco Rubio's handling of political contributions on Sunday in the first debate of the Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat in Florida, while Rubio questioned whether the governor would fight President Barack Obama's agenda.
New poll shows Crist falling further behind Rubio
By Lesley ClarkMiami Herald
Gov. Charlie Crist's popularity among Republicans has dropped ``significantly'' over the past year, leaving him 11 points behind Marco Rubio among Republican primary voters, a new poll shows.
Little difference between tea party and Grand Old Party
By David JarmanSalon
With Saturday's much-publicized rally in Searchlight, Nevada, there is lots of talk about the effect that the tea party movement could have on this November's elections.
GOP to scout Tampa for 2012 convention
By Christian M. WadeTampa Tribune
Related editorial: Welcome GOP: Let's party!A Republican committee, exploring possible sites for the 2012 Republican National Convention, will descend on the Tampa Bay area this weekend.
Dockery: GOP Must Return to First PrinciplesBy Bill Rufty
Lakeland LedgerThe Republican Party must move back to the conservative and ethical principles it had when it won control of Congress in 1994 and the Florida Legislature in 1996 or it will lose the right to those principles, state Sen. Paula Dockery told an applauding crowd Saturday night.
3 candidates surface for congressional seats By Ron Hurtibise
Daytona Beach News-JournalThree more candidates have surfaced for U.S. House seats that include parts of Volusia and Flagler counties.
BALLOT INITIATIVES
Group wants voters to have a say in growthBy Dale White
Sarasota Herald-TribuneThe president of Florida Hometown Democracy, a group pushing a proposed state constitutional amendment that would empower voters to ratify or veto changes in their communities' growth management plans, rallied her local fan base Saturday.
Florida Association of Counties opposition to Amendment 4 is no surprise to Florida HometownStaff Report
The Bradenton TimesIt's no surprise that the Florida Association of Counties voted yesterday to oppose Florida Hometown Democracy/Amendment 4, a citizen's reform which will appear on the November ballot.
Did TBARTA break the law in voting to oppose Hometown Democracy?By Mariella Smith
Creative Loafing TampaIt's not surprising that TBARTA (Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority) passed a resolution opposing Amendment 4, also known as Florida Hometown Democracy.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Could oil-spill disaster happen in Florida? Aussie rig debacle offers lessonsBy Kevin Spear
Orlando SentinelAs the nation's top regulator of offshore drilling, Elmer "Bud" Danenberger was nearing retirement last year when he began to get word of a major rig accident halfway around the world.
Black gold, Florida snake oil Editorial
Daytona Beach News-JournalSo, as Florida's drilling supporters drool over royalty millions, they will do well to remember that beach-related tourism accounts for roughly $50 billion a year, or 10 percent of the state's entire economy.
Shelve state drilling plan: Push might be off for this year, back on for next yearEditorial
Palm Beach Post Five weeks remain in the legislative session, and until the handkerchief drops on April 30, Tallahassee remains capable of mischief.
'An awful lot of development'Editorial
Tampa TribuneEvery legislative session, pro-growth lawmakers try to weaken growth rules. This year the pretext is to restore lost construction jobs, as if a worthy motive validates the false assumption that state and local governments have somehow stopped developers.
LGBT
D.C. group calls for investigation of Dove World centerBy Chad Smith
Gainesville SunA Washington D.C.-based group that advocates for the separation of church and state has lodged a complaint against a Gainesville church that has taken a seemingly blatant political stand against a mayoral candidate.
EDUCATION
Legislature's schools strategy: shock and aweBy Tim Nickens
St. Petersburg TimesRelated column: Legislation will drive away our best teachers
From 250 miles away, it sure looks like the Republican-led Florida Legislature is mounting a full-scale assault on public schools.
Bill takes a narrow-minded approach to education
By Thomas TryonSarasota Herald-Tribune
The official first principle espoused by the Republican Party of Florida includes the phrase "the most effective government is government closest to the people." The Republican-controlled Legislature is, again, making a mockery of that self-proclaimed principle.
Three bills, three fates for Florida's universities
By Ron WordGainesville Sun
How will Florida's state universities fare in this year's Legislature? About halfway through the session, there's no clear indication.
Changes dim Bright Futures appeal
By Mark HarperDaytona Beach News-Journal
Hardly your typical 15-year-old high school freshman, Devin Cameron says he has been keeping close tabs on the Bright Futures scholarship since middle school.
Rising sales boost education spending
By Mike SalineroTampa Tribune
Last year's bleak budgetary outlook for Hillsborough County public schools has brightened somewhat as rebounding sales tax collections increased available state money for education.
Florida changing its view of alternative high school diplomas
By Mary Kelli PalkaFlorida Times-Union
Homework overload. Too many mornings spent sleeping in. A family crisis. Baby or work responsibilities.
Parents upset over plan to cut bilingual program
The Associated PressTampa Tribune
Parents of Spanish-speaking students in central Florida are preparing to contest a plan to cut a bilingual program for more than 1,000 students in 29 Orange County schools.
More 'Big Ideas'
EditorialGainesville Sun
It is awesome to behold the dizzying speed with which the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature is reinventing public schools.
Education reform bill contains too many flaws
EditorialBradenton Herald
The idea of merit pay sounds like a no-brainer -- employees who perform the best earn the largest raises, and deservedly so. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Florida February jobless rate hits 12.2 percentBy Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee DemocratFlorida's unemployment rate hit a record 12.2 percent in February and probably topped 20 percent, when "discouraged workers" who opt for part-time jobs and those who have given up hope of finding work are counted.
Florida job market may be near turnaroundBy Jim Stratton
Orlando SentinelFlorida's unemployment rate climbed to 12.2 percent in February, the highest since officials began tracking the number 40 years ago, while in Metro Orlando, the rate fell a tenth of a point to 12.5 percent.
Floridians' income drops 2.7 percentBy The Palm Beach Post
Miami HeraldIn another reflection of the state's weak economy, Floridians' personal income fell by 2.7 percent from 2008 to 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said Friday.
State hires help to aid cities with housing fundBy Kevin Wiatrowski
Tampa TribuneTampa and other Florida communities soon could get some help spending millions in federal housing money ahead of a September "use-it-or-lose-it" deadline.
Rebate program may energize appliance salesBy Anthony Clark
Gainesville SunFlorida's cash-for-appliances rebate program is scheduled to last 10 days, but based on responses in other states, is projected to run out of its $17.6 million in funding on the first day.
The cost of luring touristsBy Jeff Schweers
Florida TodayWhen Brevard County tourism officials flew to London to sell the Space Coast to foreigners, they stayed at a four-star boutique hotel known for its award-winning restaurant and designer rooms in the fashionable West End theatre district, nine miles from the convention site.
Florida rebukes insurer over transactionsBy Paige St. John
Sarasota Herald-TribuneA Florida property insurer that bought hurricane protection from its own Bermuda company has been ordered to attempt to recover the money, following a Herald-Tribune report about the transaction.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Poll: Health-care plan, Nelson under fire in FloridaBy Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee DemocratFloridians strongly oppose the new national health-care plan -- so U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who voted for it, has some political repair work to do before 2012, according to a statewide survey released Saturday.
Health care in voters' handsBy Alex Leary
St. Petersburg TimesJust before signing the health care bill, President Barack Obama paid tribute to the "historic leadership and uncommon courage of the men and women of the United States Congress, who've taken their lumps during this difficult debate."
The Repeal CampaignThe Progress Report
Think ProgressLast Tuesday, President Obama signed his landmark health care overhaul -- the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- into law, making it the most extensive social legislation enacted in decades.
The Rage Is Not About Health Care By Frank Rich
New York TimesThere were times when last Sunday's great G.O.P. health care implosion threatened to bring the thrill back to reality television.
Wasserman Schultz's breast cancer awareness program part of healthcare overhaulBy Lesley Clark
Miami HeraldA breast cancer awareness program for young women championed by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is included in the healthcare bill that President Barack Obama signed into law.
Free clinics expect to stay open and full, despite health care reformBy Dana Treen
Daytona Beach News-JournalLess than 45 minutes after opening for the first of its twice-weekly free medical clinics for the poor, a nurse at the Barnabas Samaritan Medical Clinic in Fernandina Beach posted a "clinic-full" sign telling new patients they would have to come back another day.
Changes in store for DOHBy Jim Saunders
Health News FloridaSpeaker Larry Cretul and other House leaders put a bulls-eye on the Florida Department of Health during the first day of this year's legislative session.
New Project Focuses on In-depth Health CoverageBy Scott Finn
WUSF Public Radio TampaA new grant will allow several public broadcasters in Central Florida, including WUSF Public Broadcasting, to hire eight people for a special project focusing on in-depth health reporting.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
FDLE's Offender-alert system marks second anniversaryStaff Report
Tallahassee DemocratThe Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Florida Offender Alert System marked its second anniversary Friday.
