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Progress Florida -- Progressive Solutions for Florida

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Daily Clips for June 23, 2010

FEATURED STORIES

Meek, Greene aggressive in first Democratic debate for Florida's U.S. Senate seat

By Michael C. Bender

Palm Beach Post

Related: Meek and Greene on the issues - and each other

Related: Poll: Who won the debate?

The top two Democrats running for U.S. Senate offered few prospective policy differences during their first debate today, choosing instead to level each other with insults and accusations.


Oil Disaster Pushes Florida Event International

By Gina Presson

Public News Service Florida

"Hands Across the Sand" began in Florida as a warning about the dangers of offshore oil drilling even before the Gulf of Mexico disaster, and this Saturday, post-disaster, it goes international.


BP exec visits Fla. areas hurt by oil spill

By Paul Flemming

Tallahassee Democrat

Related: Activist threatening court action against DEP to demand it take a harder stance against BP

BP America's Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles on Tuesday said the company is learning as it goes while responding to its Deepwater Horizon spill, but insisted he was proud of his company's actions in the wake of the spill that continues to pour up to 60,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf.


Oil drilling ban a legal face-off

By Shashank Bengali

Miami Herald

Related: Florida rushes to the rescue again to save oil-soaked pelicans

Related: Gulf oil spill puts unemployed to work on cleanup

A federal judge Tuesday struck down President Barack Obama's six-month ban on new deep-water drilling, siding with oil companies that argued that it would harm their businesses, eliminate jobs and weaken the economies of Gulf Coast states.

FLORIDA POLITICS

For Jeb Bush, Life Defending the Family Name

By Matt Bai

New York Times

For months now, Jeb Bush has been listening as President Obama blasts his older brother's administration for the battered economy, budget deficits and even the lax oversight of oil wells.


Crist to sign bill Tuesday that makes bicyclists use roadside bike lanes

The Associated Press

TC Palm

Gov. Charlie Crist will sign House BIll 971 into law Tuesday.

POLITICAL RACES

Kendrick Meek and Jeff Greene trade barbs in Democratic U.S. Senate debate

By Beth Reinhard and Adam C. Smith

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Staff Writers

You know a campaign is getting down and dirty when one candidate tells his opponent to quit insulting his mother.


Candidates finding success spending millions on own campaigns

By William March

Tampa Tribune

This election year is seeing a dramatic rise in millionaire, self-funding political candidates, and Florida is one of the centers of the action.


Lessons for Meek, McCollum on how to defeat a deep-pocketed opponent

By Tristram Korten

Florida Independent

In Florida politics, it's the season of the deep-pocketed, self-funded candidate.


A diverse fundraiser signals Crist strategy

By Jeremy Wallace

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

It was a group rarely, if ever, seen together on Florida's political money trail.


During Gainesville stop, Rubio criticizes Crist's Shands veto

By Chad Smith

Gainesville Sun

In a quick campaign stop at a Gainesville restaurant Tuesday, Marco Rubio told reporters that Gov. Charlie Crist's decision to veto $9.7 million from the state budget for Shands at the University of Florida to treat the uninsured "makes no sense."


Old friends and allies urge Bud Chiles to bow out of governor's race

By Lee Logan and Steve Bousquet

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau

Lawton "Bud" Chiles III has been an independent candidate for governor for only a few weeks, but some longtime friends and associates already are trying to persuade him to drop out.


Gubernatorial candidate Sink makes a stop in Bradenton

By Beth Burger

Bradenton Herald

"Some people don't even know I'm a woman yet," joked the gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink to an upstairs room filled with about 50 people at Mattison's Riverside on Tuesday evening.


Lawson posts video confrontation on YouTube; no charges to be filed

By Bill Cotterell

Tallahassee Democrat

State Attorney Willie Meggs declined to prosecute anyone Tuesday in the weekend camera-snatching incident at state Sen. Al Lawson's campaign headquarters, so the Tallahassee lawmaker's congressional campaign took the case to a higher court: YouTube.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Crist asks for BP claims data as new complaints raised

By Bruce Ritchie

FloridaEnvironments.com

Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday asked BP for claims information submitted as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill while other state and local officials expressed frustration with the company.


Jones Act not yet waived to deal with oil spill

By Virginia Chamlee

Florida Independent

In the wake of the gulf oil spill, President Obama has been criticized for failing to temporarily waive the Jones Act, which governs the use of foreign vessels in American waters.


Palm Beach rock-mining rule changes weighed

By Jennifer Sorentrue

Palm Beach Post

Palm Beach County commissioners on Thursday will consider a year-long moratorium on rock-mining in the Everglades Agricultural Area, to give staff time to craft long-term restrictions.


Tie vote kills plan for 6,300 homes near the Econ River

By David Damron

Orlando Sentinel

A tie vote Tuesday night killed a controversial proposal to build 6,343 residences in the sensitive Econlockhatchee River region, closing a chapter on one of the most heated growth battles Orange County has seen.


Judge's ruling on oil drilling narrow, reckless

Editorial

St. Petersburg Times

U.S. District Judge Martin L. C. Feldman's decision Tuesday to overturn the Obama administration's six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is indefensible.

LGBT

Florida's same-sex adoption ban: Who's for it, who's against it, and the chances for repeal

By Mitch Perry

Creative Loafing

The Sunshine State ranks in the bottom half of the country on various critical indexes, such as education spending (36th nationally), uninsured children (49th as of a year ago) and juvenile incarceration rates (48th, meaning we jail more juveniles than 47 other states).


Loosen adoption process

By Sen. Nan Rich

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

I applaud Florida's Chief Child Advocate Jim Kallinger's suggestion to "Celebrate Father's Day by adopting A child" (Sun Sentinel, June 17), as well as Gov. Crist's ongoing efforts to encourage Florida families to consider adopting a foster child.

EDUCATION

G.D. Rogers to help with FCAT stumbles

By Natalie Neysa Alund

Bradenton Herald

When G.D. Rogers Elementary got its first Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test reading score back last month, Manatee County School District leaders knew something needed to change.


Plans made to meet class size limits in Broward

By Hannah Sampson

Miami Herald

In an effort to meet the strict new phase of a law that governs class sizes, Broward school district officials are planning to combine classes, ask teachers to take on extra periods and steer students to the Internet.


Cultural diversity demands new vigor in academics

Editorial

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

South Floridians are bombarded with statistics, but here's one that should garner some real attention: Florida is one of 10 states where the minority-majority child population has increased.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Stimulus Money Creating Summer Jobs for Low-Income FL Students

By Gina Presson

Public News Service Florida

Summer jobs have been scarce for students. In Florida, however, federal stimulus funds are enabling some low-income students to work this summer - in real jobs with real paychecks, learning real-life lessons.


Florida's population growth hits a wall

By Anthony Cormier

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

For years, Florida municipalities routinely dominated the list of the Census Bureau's fastest-growing U.S. cities.


Don't let lobbyists dilute banking reforms

Editorial

St. Petersburg Times

Lobbyists are frantically trying to persuade congressional negotiators to carve out more exemptions in a financial reform bill that already has been significantly weakened.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Most plans won't pass muster

By Carol Gentry

Health News Florida

Most health policies that cover small groups and individuals in Florida - including the state's own Cover Florida plan - likely will flunk federal requirements that take effect in September, the governor's office says.


Obama's health care 'rights' draw praise in Brevard

By Susan Jenks

Florida Today

As President Obama unveiled a package of consumer benefits Tuesday to build support for his health care overhaul, local health care professionals generally praised the move although some expressed concerns about the cost.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Services for Homeless Vets Expand as Feds Announce Plan

By Tiffany Lewis

WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee

As the Obama Administration prepares to roll out a plan to end homelessness among veterans, the state of Florida is trying to ensure that vets get all the services they deserve.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Two Visions of Justice

The Progress Report

Think Progress

Next week, as the Senate begins hearings to confirm his successor, Justice John Paul Stevens will take his seat at the Supreme Court's bench for the last time.

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