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Progress Florida -- Progressive Solutions for Florida

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Daily Clips for May 13, 2010

FEATURED STORIES

Tampa will host 2012 Republican National Convention

By Janet Zink

St. Petersburg Times

Related: 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa: Your questions answered

Related: What they're saying about Tampa and the 2012 Republican National Convention

For more than an hour they waited for the call.


Charlie Crist changes voter registration and his mind about giving donor refunds

By Beth Reinhard, Aaron Sharockman and Amy Sherman

St. Petersburg Times

Gov. Charlie Crist personally renounced the Republican Party Wednesday, making over his voter registration to "no party affiliation" to match his remodeled U.S. Senate bid and spurning any requests from donors who want their money back.


As Gulf oil spill spreads, a rush to stop the gush

By Daniel Chang and Jennifer Lebovich

Miami Herald

BP engineers will put to the test as early as Thursday an experimental plan to capture crude oil gushing from a ruptured well a mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico -- either in the form of a ``top hat'' containment dome or a pipe placed in the leak.


Florida tourism plummets

By Paul Flemming

Tallahassee Democrat

Related: Obama proposes relief for jobs lost to oil spill

Related: Counties submit oil spill plans to state

Florida's Panhandle on Wednesday boasted of famous sugar-sand beaches, clear Gulf waters and a new international airport set to open.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Republicans Settle on Florida for 2012 Presidential Convention

By Jeff Zeleny

New York Times

The Republican Party selected Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday as the site of its 2012 presidential nominating convention, with the city winning out over Phoenix and Salt Lake City as the place to kick off the party's quest to defeat President Obama.


Jeb Bush: says leaders must focus on future

By Wayne T. Price

Florida Today

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Monday urged leaders in both the private and public sectors to take on the risks associated with big issues and to do a better job making decisions with the future in mind instead of focusing "on the here and now."


Facing protests Crist will not say whether he will veto ultrasound bill

By Sean Kinane

WMNF Community Radio Tampa

Protesters will gather tomorrow in Sarasota and St. Petersburg to ask Governor Charlie Crist to veto a controversial abortion bill passed by the state Legislature.


Crist portrait sells for $7,700 in eBay auction

By Ray Reyes

Tampa Tribune

A weeklong eBay auction for a portrait of Gov. Charlie Crist ended this morning with a flurry of bids that went down to the last second.


Florida not jumping on marijuana bandwagon

By Lise Fisher

Gainesville Sun

Marijuana - legalizing it, making it available for patients, reducing penalties involving it - is on the minds of legislators around the country.


Government should let us grow up

By Joy-Ann Reid

Miami Herald

To hear the pundits tell it, there's a debate raging across America over whether our government is too big.

POLITICAL RACES

The race for governor said to be wide open

By Jeremy Wallace

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

It is not just Florida's U.S. Senate race that has been turned upside down in the past 30 days.


Poll: Most voters undecided on Florida attorney general races

By Howard Altman

Tampa Tribune

The leaders are thrilled, those trailing are encouraged and everyone says it is way too early to put too much stock in the first polling data released on the state's cabinet races.


Oil drilling vote sparks Florida House primary challenge

By Paul Flemming

Tallahassee Democrat

Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda's 2009 vote in favor of drilling in Florida waters was already the key reason Rick Minor challenged her in the Democratic primary.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Hometown Democracy and 'squirming like worms' in Carl Hiaasen's words

By Peter Gaddy

Naples News

Carl Hiaasen, as investigative journalist, editorialist, and novelist, has chronicled the destruction of Florida's natural beauty by a genre of greedy businessmen and crooked politicians.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

BP Says Leak May Be Closer to a Solution

By Henry Fountain and Matthew L. Wald

New York Times

After days of deepening gloom, BP and two Obama administration officials suggested on Wednesday that the company was closer to a solution that might halt the seemingly uncontrollable oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.


Fisherman question use of chemical dispersants in gulf oil spill

By Craig Pittman

St. Petersburg Times

Everyone agrees that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is a disaster for the Gulf of Mexico. But now fishing industry groups and Louisiana officials are wondering if chemical dispersants being used to limit the spill may lead to a more long-lasting disaster.


Will oil-spill disaster spark widespread change?

By Kevin Spear

Orlando Sentinel

The nation's most notorious oil spill from an offshore rig occurred 41 years ago near Santa Barbara, Calif., triggering seismic changes in attitudes in that state and nationwide about drilling, and spurring landmark environmental laws.


EPA defends use of chemical dispersants against oil

By Bruce Ritchie

FloridaEnvironments.com

Federal officials on Wednesday defended the use of chemical dispersants to battle the huge oil spill off the Louisiana coast.


Crist: Oil Spill Off the Coast, but Our Beaches Are Still Open

By Gina Presson

Public News Service Florida

In an effort to protect Florida businesses hurt by BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Gov. Crist signed an emergency order Wednesday to cut red tape for local governments providing relief, and he asked the Small Business Administration to provide low-interest loans.


Beyond Petroleum

The Progress Report

Think Progress

More than three weeks have passed since BP's "safe" Deepwater Horizon exploratory rig exploded 40 miles off the Louisiana coast, killing 11 workers and unleashing an undersea torrent of oil.


Congress should raise the cap on oil companies' liability for spills

Editorial

St. Petersburg Times

The sorry spectacle in Washington this week of three companies blaming each other for the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion illustrates why government must be vigorous and vigilant in this disaster.

LGBT

Anti-gay rights activist resigns after trip with male escort

Staff Report

CNN

The anti-gay rights activist who recently toured Europe with a male escort has resigned from a group that promotes counseling for people who "struggle with unwanted homosexuality," though the man insists that he is not gay.


Our take on: Bill McCollum's "expert" witness George Rekers

Editorial

Orlando Sentinel

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum's recommendation of an "expert" witness to defend the state law banning gay adoption has become a big embarrassment for the would-be Republican governor.

EDUCATION

Seminole begins painful adjustment to class-size law

By Dave Weber

Orlando Sentinel

Kids who show up at certain Seminole County schools next fall may be told there is no room and they must go elsewhere.


Short-changed

Editorial

Gainesville Sun

To hear Tallahassee tell it, public education was the big winner in this year's legislative session.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Crist Asks BP to Pay for Proposed Florida Tourism Ads

By Bill Kaczor

The Associated Press

Gov. Charlie Crist asked BP PLC on Wednesday to pay nearly $35 million for an emergency ad campaign to assure the world that Florida's beaches and coastal waters are untainted by the company's Gulf of Mexico oil spill.


New budget bill reflects hard times

By Derek Catron

Daytona Beach News-Journal

Back when government coffers were flush, the spring legislative session could seem like Christmas, with lawmakers delivering packages of goodies to their home districts.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

44% favor blocking 'mandate'

By Jim Saunders

Health News Florida

With state lawmakers taking aim at federal health reform, fewer than half of Florida voters support a ballot proposal that would seek to prevent residents from being required to buy health insurance, a new poll indicates.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

New ABA chief, a UF grad, sees a 'justice gap'

By Nathan Crabbe

Gainesville Sun

A lack of funding for the judiciary and rising court fees are among problems that are limiting access to the legal system for the poor, University of Florida graduate and incoming American Bar Association President Stephen Zack said Wednesday.

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