FEATURED STORIES
Voters In Florida And Everywhere Are Fed Up With The Status Quo
By Adam Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Related: A Voter Revolution, Or A Normal Midterm Cycle?
Related: With Spotlight On Pennsylvania, A Host Of Maybes In Florida's Senate Race
In Kentucky, tea party favorite Rand Paul blew away the candidate anointed by the party establishment in the Republican Senate primary. In Pennsylvania, voters tossed aside 30-year incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter in favor of an upstart Democrat who cast Specter as a party-switcher more concerned with keeping office than helping Pennsylvanians.
Experts Say Oil In Loop Current Could Send Tar Balls To The Keys In 10 Days
By Craig Pittman and Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Feds, Fla. Officials Differ From Scientists On When Oil Will Hit S. Fla, How Bad It Will Be
Related: Tar Balls That Washed Up In Keys Not Related To Gulf Oil Spill, Coast Guard Says
Residents of the Florida Keys should brace themselves: The tar balls are coming. Oil has officially been spotted in the Gulf of Mexico's loop current, which means tar balls are likely to wash ashore somewhere in the Keys -- or several somewheres -- in eight to 10 days.
FLORIDA POLITICS
Gov. Charlie Crist Puts Off Special Session On Drilling
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
Related: Florida Democratic Lawmakers Push For United Front Against Drilling
Related: Local Lawmakers Weigh In On Special Session
Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday that he has ruled out calling the Legislature into an anti-oil drilling special session as early as next week because he still lacks agreement from lawmakers, but he is prepared to veto millions of dollars in budget projects as well as what he calls a "mean-spirited'' abortion bill.
Crist Backs Fair Districts Reform And Bashes Legislature's "Rigid Adherence"
By Mary Ellen Klas
The Buzz
Here's proof that Gov. Charlie Crist is enjoying his newfound freedom as a candidate untethered to a party platform.
Stop The Lobbyists' Bailout Act
Editorial
Miami Herald
Gov. Charlie Crist told the Editorial Board Wednesday that he is leaning toward vetoing an overreaching measure that would have the Legislature play governor.
Veto campaign Under Way For Bill Passed Unanimously By Florida Legislature
By Steve Patterson
Florida Times Union
After passing unanimously through Florida's Legislature, a bill that critics say will let lawmakers micromanage many state agency rules has alarmed a growing list of opponents, who want Gov. Charlie Crist to veto it.
Bicyclists Ask Crist To Veto Bill
By Dale White
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
As if Florida bicyclists did not have enough to worry about -- starting with by far the highest number of fatalities of any state -- some fear a bill recently passed by the Legislature will make the state's roads even more dangerous.
POLITICAL RACES
South Carolina Senator Helps Bankroll Rubio's Senate Run
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
Republican Marco Rubio's Senate candidacy in Florida has been buoyed by a U.S. senator from South Carolina who has showered Rubio with praise, contacts and an unprecedented amount of money.
Ranking The Vulnerable U.S. House Seats In Florida
By Louis Jacobson
St. Petersburg Times
The Republican Party needs 40 seats to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the road runs through Florida.
Rich Health-Care Exec Plays To Anti-Insider Mood In Try For Fla. Governor's Mansion
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
If spending $5 million on TV ads and registering competitive polling numbers aren't evidence that Rick Scott has become a factor in the Florida governor's race, the reaction of his rivals this week should erase any doubt.
Alex Sink Chats With Bubba The Love Sponge About Rent-Boy Scandal
By Adam Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Maybe it takes a shock jock like Bubba the Love Sponge Clem to get Alex Sink to relax.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Florida Regulators Say FPL Should Refund $14 Million To Customers For 2008 Outage
By Julie Patel
Orlando Sentinel
The Public Service Commission staff recommended Wednesday that Florida Power & Light refund nearly $14 million to customers, including interest, for costs related to a 2008 outage that left as many as 3 million Floridians without electricity.
Hurricane Oil? Fierce Storm Could Make Spill Worse
By Oren Dorell
USA Today
As hurricane season looms, forecasters, scientists and residents along the Gulf Coast worry that a major storm could make the oil spill worse.
Manatee Group Wants To Prevent Future Drilling
By Carl Mario Nudi
Bradenton Herald
Although frustrated with the continued delay in stopping the gushing oil from the Deep Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico, the board of a local environmental group urged its members to be proactive.
EDUCATION
Vast Majority Of High School Seniors Fail In Last-Ditch Attempt To Pass FCAT Before Graduation
By Kevin D. Thompson
Palm Beach Post
Only 13 percent of Palm Beach County 12th-graders retaking their sophomore-year reading FCATs got passing scores this spring, in what may have been many students' final chance to graduate after previously flunking the high-stakes exam, according to results the Florida Department of Education released tonight.
Pinellas Students Protest Teacher Pay Cuts
By Ron Matus
St. Petersburg Times
More than two dozen Pinellas high school students rallied in front of school district headquarters Wednesday to protest deep cuts in their teachers' pay.
Teachers Continue Protest Against Low Wages Before Palm Beach County School Board
By Kevin D. Thompson
Palm Beach Post
In 1999, Michael Farrelly quit his job as a lifeguard - something he had done since age 16 - to become a teacher.
Hernando School District Faces Crisis In Funding Drug Counseling For Students
By Tony Marrero
St. Petersburg Times
This week, a Hernando County high school student collapsed in class.
Manatee Schools Look To Mandarin To Give Its Students An Advantage
By Christopher O'Donnell
Sarasota Herald Tribune
About 1.1 billion people around the world speak Mandarin, the official language of China.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Florida Business Leaders Peg Economic Recovery On International Trade
By Jeff Harrington
St. Petersburg Times
A group of Florida business leaders on Wednesday launched a campaign to double state exports in the next five years, singling out international trade as a key catalyst for the state's economic recovery.
Orlando Area's Consumer-Bankruptcy Rate Soars To Record
By Richard Burnett
Orlando Sentinel
Personal bankruptcies have roared back to record levels in Central Florida, only a few years after Congress overhauled the nation's bankruptcy law in an attempt to rein in the number of people declaring themselves broke.
Jobs Bill Could Attract Movies To Florida
By Steven J. Smith
Sarasota Herald Tribune
A jobs bill passed by the Florida Legislature could be a boost to the state's film industry and Southwest Florida, area lawmakers said in a forum this week.
New Plan For Tourism Blooms In Brevard
By Dave Berman
Florida Today
Amid the seas of purple and pink and yellow wildflowers in local parks and along the roadside, ecotourism advocates are envisioning green -- the money that visitors would bring to the area to see the natural blooms.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Medicaid Pilot Hearings Begin
By Jim Saunders
Health News Florida
A massive overhaul of Florida's Medicaid system is on the shelf --- at least for now. But get ready for three more years of debates over the pilot managed-care program that former Gov. Jeb Bush left behind, with hearings starting Friday.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
Buchanan Cites Smith Case After DNA Vote
By Robert Napper
Bradenton Herald
Even as the U.S. House of Representatives just approved a bill that offers funding for local law enforcement agencies to collect DNA upon arrest for a wider range of crimes, federal authorities are still struggling with the existing backlog of inmates' DNA samples that haven't been entered into federal databases.
By Lee Logan
Miami Herald
A state prosecutor said Wednesday he will drop a perjury charge against ex-House Speaker Ray Sansom, citing additional information about his role in budgeting money for a state college in the Panhandle.
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