FEATURED STORIES
Ousted Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer accused of grand theft, money launderingBy Marc Caputo and John Frank
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee BureauRelated: Greer arrest records outline deception and greed at Florida GOP's top tier
Related: Republicans may feel ripple effect from Greer's arrestRelated: Cast of characters in ex-Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer's money laundering scandal
Related column: Greer is a symptom -- here's the causeRelated editorial: Greer arrest raises questions for other top GOP officials
Jim Greer, the big-spending former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with six felony counts in connection with a secret consulting contract he struck with the party, state police said.
Stuck Saw Delays Effort to Cap Well
By Henry FountainNew York Times
The latest procedure to try to contain the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico hit a snag on Wednesday when a saw that was being used in a crucial part of the operation became stuck, officials said.
Gloom deepens in oil slick's path
By Zac Anderson and Lloyd DunkelbergerSarasota Herald-Tribune
A sense of desperation began to sink in among the communities of Northwest Florida on Wednesday as a slick of oil hovered within a few miles of Pensacola Beach.
Gulf Coast oil spill could wreck region's tourism and fishing industries
By Peter WhoriskeyWashington Post
The gargantuan blob of light Louisiana crude floating in the Gulf of Mexico has already closed oyster beds, shut down shrimpers, cancelled fishing tournaments and panicked beach hoteliers from New Orleans to Key West. FLORIDA POLITICS
Greer arrested on felony chargesBy Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee DemocratRelated: Greer affidavit
Ousted Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer was jailed Wednesday on six felony charges of skimming more than $100,000 from the state GOP under a secret contract he rigged with an aide.
Is this man Charlie Crist's worst nightmare?
By Gary FineoutFlorida Tribune
Jim Greer's high profile arrest Wednesday on charges of fraud, money laundering and grand theft could easily become damaging for Gov. Charlie Crist.
One anonymous letter leads authorities to Greer
By Tristram KortenFlorida Independent
Republican Party chairman Jim Greer's precipitous decline started in earnest at the kitchen table of a 76-year-old retiree in Fort Myers, Fla., shortly after Christmas
Agriculture groups push for override of two Crist vetoes
By Carlos E. MedinaOcala Star-Banner
The Florida Farm Bureau used an annual luncheon celebrating the state's agriculture industry on Wednesday to officially urge Florida House Speaker Larry Cretul to push for an override of Gov. Charlie Crist's recent vetoes of a pair of agriculture bills. POLITICAL RACES
Chiles' son may announce candidacyBy Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee DemocratThe namesake son of Gov. Lawton Chiles is expected to announce his candidacy for governor today on an outsider platform of "taking a broom to the system" of big money in Florida politics.
McCollum's opponents rush to link him to arrested ex-party officialBy David Hunt
Florida Times-UnionFormer Florida Republican chairman Jim Greer's arrest Wednesday prompted a skirmish in the governor's race as the top-ranking candidates analyzed Attorney General Bill McCollum's role in the case.
Crist says he's 'lonely' on campaign trailBy J. Taylor Rushing
The Hill Florida Gov. Charlie Crist says it is "very lonely" running as an independent.
U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Greene has yet to release tax returnsBy Beth Reinhard
Miami HeraldUnlike his U.S. Senate rivals, Democrat Jeff Greene -- who reaped millions off the subprime mortgage market that helped wreck Florida's economy -- is not releasing his tax returns.
Intoxicated on fundraisingBy Ruth Marcus
Washington Post"You don't have to drink. You just have to pay."
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Oil would kill mangroves, coralsBy David Fleshler and Andy Reid
South Florida Sun-SentinelRed mangroves on the coast of Everglades National Park stand on stilt-like roots engineered to withstand the year-round assault of salt water.
Gov. Crist tours Pensacola Bay, calls oil spill 'disgusting, disturbing'By Jamie Page
Pensacola News Journal Florida Gov. Charlie Crist this afternoon took a boat tour of Pensacola Bay to get a first-hand look at the local oil boom plan for protecting inland waters.
Destin-area woman files class-action suit against BP, Halliburton and others over oil spillBy Virginia Chamlee
Florida IndependentA Destin-area woman filed suit in USDC Middle District Court on Monday against BP, Haliburton and Transocean (among others), alleging that the oil spill will cost her thousands of dollars in lost vacation-rental income.
BP's Credibility GapThink Progress
The Progress ReportSix weeks ago, BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig located nearly 40 miles off the Louisiana coast exploded and sank, killing 11 workers.
House panel chairman says Crist must have been misled By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.comA "pretty darn upset" Rep. Ralph Poppell said Wednesday he thinks Gov. Charlie Crist was misled by an aide into vetoing his bills dealing with petroleum contamination sites and yard waste in landfills.
EDUCATION
Deadline looming on bill that would limit restraint of disabled public school studentsBy Samantha Frank
Palm Beach Post The clock is ticking on a bill that sets requirements for the use of seclusion and restraint on public school students with disabilities, and that requires training for employees working with disabled children.
UF committee to consider student fee increaseBy Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville SunA University of Florida committee meets today to consider hiking student fees.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
New oil spill ad campaign in works
By Jim Ash Tallahassee Democrat
Blistered by critics for not aggressively promoting the Panhandle's oil-free beaches, Gov. Charlie Crist and state tourism officials scrambled Wednesday to retool a $7 million ad blitz as currents pushed the Deepwater Horizon spill closer to Florida's shores.
Crist asks feds to declare state fishing industry a disaster
By Christine Stapleton Palm Beach Post
Federal officials closed a significant portion of commercial and recreational fishing grounds along Florida's Panhandle at 6 p.m. Wednesday, a day after thousands of tar balls were discovered bobbing offshore.
Fishing industry woes grow
By Kate SpinnerSarasota Herald-Tribune
Nearly 40 percent of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico are now off-limits to commercial and recreational fishing, as oil coats the area off the northern Gulf coast and patchy sheens of crude slowly drift south, hundreds of miles from the Deepwater Horizon spill site.
Florida's Hurricane Catastrophe Fund in Good Shape
By Michael PeltierNews Service of Florida
Florida will enter the 2010 hurricane season in the best financial shape it has been in years despite a sluggish economy that has been a drain on state and local coffers for the past three years. HEALTH AND SENIORS
Pain-clinic doctor to set rules?By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida Dr. Joel Rose, chairman of the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine, has appointed himself to a state panel that makes rules to control pain clinics, even though records show he works for at least three of those clinics.
Crist Signs Law To Protect Senior Citizens From Financial ScamsStaff Report
Lakeland LedgerGov. Charlie Crist has signed bills to crack down on financial scammers who target seniors and tighten oversight of the state's pension fund.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
Fla. Ponzi lawyer's ex-cars, boats being auctionedThe Associated Press
Palm Beach PostSome of the flashier spoils of disbarred attorney Scott Rothstein's massive Ponzi scheme are being sold at an auction in Fort Lauderdale.
Florida innocence commissionEditorial
Orlando SentinelSprinkled throughout the U.S. Constitution is the notion that accused criminals are to be treated fairly and justly.
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