FEATURED STORIES
Giant Plumes Of Oil Found Under The Gulf
By Justin Gillis
New York Times
Related: BP: Mile-Long Tube Sucking Oil Away From Gulf Well
Related: BP's Role In Cleanup Frustrates Officials
Scientists are finding enormous oil plumes in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, including one as large as 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick in spots. The discovery is fresh evidence that the leak from the broken undersea well could be substantially worse than estimates that the government and BP have given.
Effort To Change Class Size Law Faces Tough Fight
By Kathleen Houghney
News Service of Florida
For school administrators, convincing lawmakers of the need to loosen class size limits was the easy part. Convincing parents, teachers and other voters now looms as the far more difficult task.
State Stepping Up Efforts To Curb Billions Of Dollars in Medicaid Fraud
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
Amid all the shouting over health care reform this year, one issue has united the left and the right: Outrage over the scale and brazenness of health care fraud.
Lawton Chiles III Poised To Run For Florida Governor
By Adam Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Alex Sink's hopes for an effortless waltz to the Democratic gubernatorial nomination may be dashed.
FLORIDA POLITICS
Crist Vetoes 2 Bills; Move Could Strain Relations With GOP-Controlled Legislature
By Gary Fineout
Lakeland Ledger
Gov. Charlie Crist on Saturday shot down two bills sent to him by state lawmakers, a move that could strain an already tense relationship with the GOP-controlled Legislature.
Oil And Politics May Mix For Crist
Capital Comment
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
House Republican leaders say Gov. Charlie Crist is putting politics before public policy by calling for a special session to ban oil drilling in state waters.
Immigrants Are The GOP's New Exiles
By Miriam Marquez
Miami Herald
Hi little girl, is your daddy home? No, he's working, I said from the half-opened door in the apartment by the Miami River as my mom tried to intercede.
Florida Ranked One Of The Nation's Most Corrupt States
By Gary Fineout
Florida Tribune
Forget about all that talk about Florida's spot in national education rankings. The Sunshine State has a new top 10 ranking it can boast about.
Earmarks That Pump Millions Into Local Projects Under Fire
By Derek Catron
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Earmarks have been getting a bad name in Washington and on Main Street -- unless the earmark is being used to resurface or widen that road in your town.
POLITICAL RACES
Charlie Crist Paths To Victory: I-4 and Independence
By Jane Healy
Orlando Sentinel
With his support, well, dropping like a rock, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist had almost no choice but to run as an independent in his race for the U.S. Senate. Running without a party is an uphill battle. But here are two things that might make it work.
5 Key Republican Candidates Get Backing At Orlando Gun Show
By EloÃsa Ruano González
Orlando Sentinel
U.S. Senate hopeful Marco Rubio and four other Republican hopefuls stumped at Central Florida's largest gun show Saturday, courting a powerful force in Florida politics: gun owners.Orlando Sentinel
Greene Made Billions Through Controversial Financial Move
By William March
Tampa Tribune
"Naked credit default swap" may sound vaguely obscene, but it's actually a complex financial instrument that helped make Palm Beach real estate investor Jeff Greene a billionaire.
Candidate Meek Under Fire From Democratic Rival
By Beth Reinhard
Miami Herald
U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek came under attack Saturday by his new Democratic primary rival, Jeff Greene, who called the Miami congressman "corrupt'' for seeking federal money for a developer and campaign supporter later charged with massive fraud.
Rubio Says Country Relying Too Much On Government
By Brendan Farrington
Associated Press
Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio told an anti-gay marriage group Saturday the country is relying too much on the government, in part because of a breakdown of family and faith values over the last 50 years.
Stumbles Bedevil Daniel Webster
By Alex Isenstadt
Politico
Former Florida Senate Majority Leader Daniel Webster was once thought to be a top House prospect, a politically pedigreed Republican who offered the GOP its best chance at knocking off freshman Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.).
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Florida's Energy Future Depends On Incentives For Renewables
By Jim Rossi and Dave Cartes
St. Petersburg Times
As Florida gears up for the possibility of a special legislative session on energy, discussion seems to have focused almost exclusively on a constitutional drilling ban and a quick-fix "renewable energy mandate" for the state.
Amid Political Fray, PSC Regulators Fired
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
David Klement still has the 27-second message from Gov. Charlie Crist on his cellphone in which the governor thanks him for accepting the Public Service Commission appointment and proudly exclaims: "I know you'll do great."
Gulf Oil Spill Creates Environmental Research Interest At FGCU
By Leslie Williams Hale
Naples Daily News
Loop Current or not, Southwest Floridians are keeping a watchful eye out for effects of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Reptile Found In Ocala Forest Concerns Experts
By Martin E. Comas
Orlando Sentinel
As if the latest reports of Burmese pythons, monitor lizards and Cuban tree frogs crawling around Florida are not enough to creep you out, there's a scary new invader in town.
LGBT
Transgender Candidate A Label-Free Conservative
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
Donna Milo - a Cuban-American, conservative Republican, transgender woman running for Congress - says she doesn't like labels.
EDUCATION
Schools Gearing Up For New, Tougher Graduation Requirements
By Tom Marshall and Tony Marrero
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Next Up: Tougher Academic Standards
The days of watered-down algebra and simplistic science may be coming to an end for Florida high school students.
More Students Will Get Free Breakfasts - But Who Pays Tab?
By Denise-Marie Balona
Orlando Sentinel
Thousands more hungry kids in Florida will be able to chow down on ham-and-egg biscuits, French-toast sticks and fresh fruit for free next school year.
There's More Than 1 Way To Reach That Diploma
By Mark Harper
Daytona Beach News-Journal
When you go to high school in 2010, you face a lot of choices - many more than your parents did.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Well Ahead Of The Oil, Fear's Already Here
By Kevin McQuaid & Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Amid panic in the Panhandle over oil washing ashore and the summer travel season washing out, Southwest Florida tourism officials and operators are battling an equally insidious foe: perception.
As Oil Leak Continues In The Gulf, Stone Crabbers End Season With Uncertainty
By Ben Montgomery
St. Petersburg Times
Ryan Wagner, barefoot, Camel between his lips, Gators cap on his head, guides his boat alongside a muck-covered buoy.
Jacksonville-Area Economy On The Upswing, Indicators Show
By Kevin Turner
Florida Times-Union
After enduring the ravages of an economic downturn for nearly three years, the Jacksonville area's economy is well into a pronounced upswing.
SunRail Commuter Train, Lynx Buses Will Require Tax, Officials Say
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
Taxes almost certainly will go up to pay for the SunRail commuter train and the buses that would ferry passengers to and from the system starting in 2013.
Congress Mans Up On Rating Agency Reform
By Barbara Kiviat
Time
Credit ratings companies played a key role in the financial crisis by blessing the packages of sliced-and-diced mortgages that big banks were selling, even when there was little evidence that the ever-more-complicated deals would hold up over time.
Congress Nears Deal On Tax Cuts
By Stephen Ohlemacher
Associated Press
Congress is finally getting around to extending more than 50 popular tax breaks that expired at the end of last year, including money savers for homeowners, businesses and shoppers in states with no income tax.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Health Insurers Try To Shape Rules
By Robert Pear
New York Times
Health insurance companies are lobbying federal and state officials in an effort to ward off strict regulation of premiums and profits under the new health care law.
Florida's Doctor Discipline Not Tough Enough, Critics Say
By Bob LaMendola
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Raven Morgan can't believe a nurse who knowingly exposed patients to the risk of infections such as HIV/AIDS can still work in Florida.
New Florida Law Promises To Crack Down On "Pill Mills"
By Kate Howard
Florida Times-Union
The last thing Cindy Harney's 20-year-old son said to her before he died of an overdose was that he was hooked on a prescription drug and he couldn't be helped.
Health Tax Districts: 'Self-Perpetuating'?
By Leon Fooksman
Health News Florida
It's long been noted that health care doesn't operate like an ordinary business. Palm Beach County's Health Care District offers what some say is an instructive example.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
By Nancy Benac and Mark Sherman
Associated Press
Six times in the past nine months, Solicitor General Elena Kagan has come to the mahogany lectern in the hushed reverence of the Supreme Court to argue the government's case before the justices she now hopes to join soon.
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