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Progress Florida -- Progressive Solutions for Florida

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Daily Clips for March 17, 2010

FEATURED STORIES

Meek sees ugly battle between Crist and Rubio as his opening

By William March

Tampa Tribune

It's a long, sometimes lonely slog for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek, but lately, he's seeing an opening for his all-but-ignored campaign.


Alex Sink sets economic goals if elected Florida governor

The Associated Press

Naples News

Democrat Alex Sink is beginning a two-month tour Wednesday to roll out the economic policies she will propose if elected governor.


Crist, Florida congressmen confer over NASA cuts

By Alex Leary

St. Petersburg Times

Declaring ``we're all united on space,'' Gov. Charlie Crist met with Florida lawmakers Tuesday in an attempt to turn back proposed landmark changes to NASA's mission in the state.


Senate bills would reduce Bright Futures scholarships, boost private school vouchers

By Michael C. Bender

Palm Beach Post

A Florida Senate panel on Tuesday approved a second year of cutbacks for the popular Bright Futures scholarships, citing declining tax collections.


Guns, not gays OK for adoptive parents, GOP lawmakers say

By Mike Salinero

Tampa Tribune

Republican legislation that would decouple adoptions from gun ownership gave Democrats a forum Tuesday to lambast the state ban on adoption by gay and lesbian couples.


Group: Legislature May Mean All Pain, No Gain for Fl. Families

By Gina Presson

Public News Service Florida

Hundreds of union members from across Florida are meeting with their legislators this week to discuss a session they fear is more about corporate tax breaks than caring for Florida families.

LEGISLATIVE SESSION

Budget paints grim picture for services

By Catherine Whittenburg

Tampa Tribune

More expectant mothers could go without prenatal health care; more children could wind up abused.


Senate president shepherds bills affecting CFO post he's seeking

By Marc Caputo

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau

If Jeff Atwater's Senate has its way, the higher office he seeks will have unprecedented power over privatized prisons, billions of dollars in purchasing authority and the power to investigate Medicaid and food-stamp fraud.


Social and other issues on Florida Legislature's agenda

By Marc Caputo

Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau

But it's not only social issues on the agenda.


Florida Legislature seeks property tax cuts, incentives

By Cristina Silva

Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau

Florida lawmakers have proposed tax cuts and incentives this year for a handful of property owners.


Trial lawyers find themselves overruled in this legislative session

By John Frank

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau

The lobbying arm of the Florida trial lawyers limped into this legislative session, and the group's pain is only getting worse.


State Employees Feel Assaulted

By Mike Vasilinda

Capitol News Service

More than a half dozen lawmakers are targeting state employees for cuts and lower benefits as they search for ways to fill a three billion-dollar gap in funding.


Florida legislators set Wednesday for debate on school prayer

By Josh Hafenbrack

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Advocates are stirring for a fight on a long-contentious social issue that suddenly surfaced on the Florida Legislature's agenda: school prayer.


Florida lawmaker proposes ads on state license plates

The Associated Press

Orlando Sentinel

A state lawmaker is proposing allowing corporate logos on Florida license plates.


Perfecting government in the Florida sunshine

Editorial

Tampa Tribune

Floridians have a constitutional right of access to public records and meetings of the government. Unfortunately, not everyone shares an enthusiasm for openness.

POLITICAL RACES

Alex Sink's job ideas for Florida have familiar ring

By Robert Trigaux

St. Petersburg Times

Can any Tallahassee politician really do much to stem Florida's 11.9 percent and still rising unemployment rate?


Marco Rubio, Big Spender

By Arian Campo-Flores

Newsweek

In a recent interview with a Wall Street Journal editorial writer, Florida Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio blasted irresponsible government spending and blamed members of both parties for getting the nation into its current economic mess.


Crist an independent? Rubio on the defensive?

By Hastings Wyman

Southern Political Report

Sunshine State Gov. Charlie Crist (R) is way behind former state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) in the polls for the GOP's US Senate primary.


Crist says Rubio has said he would have accepted stimulus money

Staff Report

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Politifact

It's a move straight out of the campaign playbook: If your opponent criticizes you for something, accuse him of doing the same thing.


Many open seats will make Florida elections historic, lively

By John R. Smith

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

This year is a historic election year for Florida, like we haven't seen in more than 100 years.


It'll be Lowe vs. Marsh, Wells vs. Wheat in runoff

By Chad Smith

Gainesville Sun

In a cramped, stuffy room at the Supervisor of Elections office downtown, Craig Lowe and Don Marsh watched Tuesday night as the tallies came in.


Florida joins House debate on voting rights for felons

By Lesley Clark

Miami Herald

A Florida elections supervisor raised the state's botched 2000 election Tuesday to argue for a controversial bill that would let convicted felons vote in federal elections after their release from prison -- regardless of state law.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Senate Dems Dig-In to Fight Class-Size Overhaul

By John Kennedy

News Service of Florida

Senate Democrats dug-in Tuesday and approved a caucus position opposing the proposed ballot initiative aimed at softening the class-size standards approved by voters in 2002.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Judge shows impatience over Glades cleanup

By Curtis Morgan

Miami Herald

Eighteen months ago, the federal judge overseeing Everglades cleanup progress tentatively endorsed a state bid to buy sugar fields for restoration projects, calling the opportunity to ``buy out the polluters'' a logical solution to long-standing problems.


Palm Beach County questions costs of governor's Everglades restoration land deal

By Andy Reid

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The numbers for Gov. Charlie Crist's blockbuster Everglades land deal just aren't adding up for Palm Beach County officials worried about seeing local environmental projects sacrificed to help cover the $536 million cost.


House proposes to overhaul PSC's structure

By Mary Ellen Klas

Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau

Florida's Public Service Commission would undergo a complete face lift under a draft House proposal released Tuesday that moves the commission's regulatory staff into a separate entity that answers to the Legislature and tightens qualifications for commissioners.


A Good Deal for the Everglades

Editorial

New York Times

The effort to restore Florida's Everglades has been revived thanks to the efforts of President Obama and Florida's Republican governor, Charlie Crist.

LGBT

Fla. Senate, House allow discussion but not vote of proposal to allow gay adoption

By Dara Kam

Palm Beach Post

After years of trying unsuccessfully to get lawmakers to discuss gay adoptions and pass a bill allowing them, Sen. Nan Rich won a victory of sorts on the Senate floor this afternoon.

EDUCATION

It soon may be tougher to graduate from high school

By Leslie Postal

Orlando Sentinel

Florida students would have to take harder math and science courses and pass new, end-of-course tests in those subjects to earn high school diplomas, under a bill that is now headed for a vote on the Senate floor.


Bill increasing voucher money passes Senate committee

By Mike Salinero

Tampa Tribune

A bill that would increase the amount of tax money paying for vouchers so poor children can attend private schools passed a key committee in the state Senate today.


Budget for state's universities to get small boost

By Ron Word

Gainesville Sun

The Senate Higher Education Appropriations Committee is proposing a $7 billion budget for the state's colleges and universities next year, including maintaining Bright Futures scholarships.


Fla. universities considering health consortium

The Associated Press

Tampa Tribune

The Board of Governors is considering a recommendation to form a purchasing consortium for health care insurance covering students at Florida's state universities.


Sarasota County school tax prevails by a decisive margin

By Tiffany Lankes, Christopher O'Donnell and Todd Ruger

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Even with high unemployment, a foreclosure crisis and a lingering recession, Sarasota voters Tuesday renewed a special tax for schools by a record margin.


Why bully state's teachers? Legislature pushing bad merit pay proposal

Editorial

Palm Beach Post

A bill to change the way Florida hires, retains and pays teachers sprawls all over the education map.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Nelson sees gains after Obama talk

By Bart Jansen

Florida Today

Sen. Bill Nelson expressed optimism for NASA's future after meeting with President Barack Obama on Tuesday, but he said specifics will have to wait for an upcoming space summit in Florida.


FEMA rejects Florida's request for drywall aid

By Michael Braga

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

It only took two days for FEMA to reject Florida's request for federal disaster assistance for those suffering from property damage and health issues connected with Chinese drywall.


Fees up but Fla. motor vehicle agency strapped

By Bill Kaczor

The Associated Press

Florida last year taxed motorists' wallets. Now, it's taxing their patience.


State cracks down on loan modification companies in Tampa

By Shannon Behnken

Tampa Tribune

State regulators cracked down on loan modification businesses today, serving one Tampa company with a cease and desist order.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Florida's AG Threatens to Sue Federal Govt. Over Health Care Reform

By Kate Bradshaw

WMNF Community Radio Tampa

As the bill that would overhaul health care pushes through Congress, Republicans are fighting it on nearly all fronts.


With health-care vote looming, supporters rally in West Palm, foes in Boca

By George Bennett

Palm Beach Post

With another self-imposed congressional deadline for health care overhaul looming, supporters and opponents took to the streets in Palm Beach County on Tuesday.


Healthy Families is worth saving, panel told

By Jim Ash

Tallahassee Democrat

Looking for $600 million to slash from health and social welfare programs, a Senate panel got a warning Tuesday from a heavy hitting former colleague -- don't kill Healthy Families.


Jackson Health System eyes possible concessions from nurses union

By John Dorschner

Miami Herald

Related: Keeping track of Jackson Health System's financial woes

The sometimes-combative nurses' union and Jackson Health System were in discussions Tuesday about union workers making some kind of concession to help the beleaguered system save $30 million in labor costs.


'Medical home' passes early test

By Jim Saunders

Health News Florida

With lawmakers moving toward expanding Medicaid managed-care, a House panel today approved a bill designed to be an alternative -- creating physician-driven "medical homes'' across the state.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Attacks against homeless classified as hate crimes by Florida House committee

By Josh Hafenbrack

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The Florida House appears poised to make prejudice-driven attacks against the homeless a hate crime, prompted by the caught-on-video 2006 beating of three homeless men in Fort Lauderdale that made national news.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Florida's inmate population rises

By Diana Moskovitz

Miami Herald

More than half the states in the nation lowered their prison populations last year -- but not Florida, where it continued to rise, according to a recent survey by the Pew Center on the States.

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