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Progress Florida -- Progressive Solutions for Florida

Monday, June 7, 2010

Daily Clips for June 7, 2010

FEATURED STORIES

Crist, Buffett visit beach, try to console Panhandle residents

By Dara Kam

Palm Beach Post

With cleanup crews in hazardous material suits scooping tar patties in the background, Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida music icon Jimmy Buffett stopped by this Panhandle beach on Saturday to offer comfort to despondent natives and leery tourists.


Sen. Nelson: Spill Could "Alter Our Way of Life"

By Kevin Hechtkopf

CBS News

Sen. Bill Nelson is warning that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could have a long-term economic impact if the oil is not stopped soon enough.


Oil cleanup may last into fall

By John M. Broder and Clifford Krauss

New York Times

Related: BP Pays Out Claims, but Satisfaction Is Not Included

The Coast Guard commander in charge of the federal response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico warned on Sunday that even if the flow of crude is stopped by summer, it could take well into autumn -- and maybe much longer -- to deal with the slick spreading relentlessly across the Gulf.


Scandal-stained former ally contradicts Gov. Crist

By Beth Reinhard

Miami Herald

Gov. Charlie Crist personally signed off on his former Republican Party chairman's confidential fundraising role with the state party, according to Jim Greer's attorney, whose allegation contradicts the governor's statement that he "didn't know anything" about the deal now part of a criminal investigation.


Crist secretive on how he'll lean if elected to Senate

By Alex Leary

St. Petersburg Times

Gov. Charlie Crist says if elected to the U.S. Senate he may not caucus with Democrats or Republicans. "I'll caucus with the people of Florida."


McCollum paid anti-gay witness caught in rentboy scandal double his contract fee

By Mary Ellen Klas

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau

Disgraced psychologist George Rekers was labeled a "right-wing, religious-based" expert witness and rejected for months by state attorneys defending Florida's gay adoption ban.


Florida abortion bill with sonogram requirement nears decision by governor

By Lona O'Connor

Palm Beach Post

With only a few days left before a controversial abortion bill must be delivered to Gov. Charlie Crist's desk, abortion foes are working on Plan B in their campaign to pressure Crist to sign the bill.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

Editorial cartoon of the week

By Jeff Parker

Florida Today

FLORIDA POLITICS

Crist denies knowledge of Greer's fundraising pact

By Bill Cotterell

Tallahassee Democrat

Gov. Charlie Crist, eager to distance himself from a longtime political ally, said Sunday he knew nothing about a secret fundraising contract between the Republican Party of Florida and ousted party chief Jim Greer.


Republicans await new fiscal controls

By Tristram Korten

Florida Independent

In the wake of its former chairman Jim Greer's long-ranging fiscal abuse, culminating in his arrest Wednesday, the Republican Party of Florida cut up all but one of its credit cards.


Will Greer's downfall force a look at Tallahassee political money?

By Aaron Deslatte

Orlando Sentinel

The indictment of former GOP Chairman Jim Greer is dominating the headlines.


It's not party, but power that corrupts in Tallahassee

By Howard Troxler

St. Petersburg Times

Given the current scandals involving Republicans in Florida politics, I've heard lots of people say something like: "This proves that Republicans are more corrupt, and that we need to elect Democrats instead."


Lawmakers still waiting on special session

By Jeremy Wallace

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Since April, state legislators have been resigned to the idea that Gov. Charlie Crist would force them to return to Tallahassee for a special session to redo the budget or tackle new ethics reforms.


Crist signs laws regulating pill mills, tattoo parlors

By News Service of Florida

St. Petersburg Times

Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed legislation Friday aimed at expanding public notice when road work is planned, but signed into law two dozen other measures including stricter regulation of controversial pain clinics.


Nine more specialty license plates coming to Florida roads

By Richard Tribou

Orlando Sentinel

Another round of bills signed by Gov. Charlie Crist today means a total of nine new specialty license plates could be on Florida roads this year.


State law buys county time on buying new ADA-compliant machines

By Christopher Curry

Gainesville Sun

A broad state elections bill will buy the Supervisor of Elections and county government more time for the required purchase of new ADA-compliant voting machines and erase the need for a more $1 million expenditure in a tight budget year.

POLITICAL RACES

Public financing may be doomed in Florida, but McCollum sure needs it

By Steve Bousquet

St. Petersburg Times

As you curse the barrage of negative political TV ads you'll see all summer, remember one thing: You paid for some of them, so enjoy 'em.


Democratic candidates take jabs at Republicans at Orlando gala

By Susan Jacobson

Orlando Sentinel

The Republican positions on gay adoption, health care, gays in the military, abortion and the environment took a beating Saturday night as a slew of Florida Democratic candidates made their pitches at a fundraising dinner downtown.


McCollum pledges water study commission

By David Damon

Orlando Sentinel

Attorney General Bill McCollum pledged Friday to set up a "water strategy and action commission" and make Florida a leader in finding alternative sources of water if he is elected governor.


Scott 'wild card' in Florida governor's race

By Bob Rathgeber

Ft. Myers News-Press

Tucked away down a corridor, across the street from a Naples beach, is a nondescript office where Rick Scott spends his time working on strategy to become Florida's next governor.


It's not Crist's flexibility that's a problem, it's his loyalty

By Tim Nickens

St. Petersburg Times

Republicans are missing a broader concern about Gov. Charlie Crist's judgment as they complain about his firm but flexible positions on issues ranging from education reform to oil drilling to abortion rights.


Crist: Tea Party 'a positive'

By Sean J. Miller

The Hill

The Hill's J. Taylor Rushing recently spoke with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist about the loneliness of his Independent Senate bid, his decision to keep his old party's donations and the strength of the Tea Party movement.


Kendrick Meek pushes for Senate seat in Melbourne

By John A. Torres

Florida Today

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek extolled his track record and leadership abilities Saturday to a banquet hall full of Brevard County Democrats as he continued to vie for the party's nod in his run for the open Senate seat in Florida.


Jeff Greene's personal life, not his politics, sets him apart

By Adam C. Smith

St. Petersburg Times

What is so far most striking about billionaire Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Greene is certainly not his ideas.


Separating the candidates for Florida attorney general by key issues

By Lee Logan

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau

When voters choose from among five candidates to be Florida's next attorney general, their decision could have a profound effect on some of the state's most highly charged issues, from gay adoption to health care reform.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Amendment 7: Fair districts, not poison pill, are needed

By Deirdre Macnab and Pam Goodman

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

"Despicable," "devious," "arrogant," "shameful," "harmful to democracy." What could have unleashed such outrage around the state from major newspapers and voting rights groups?

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Doomsday Scenario: Could the Oil Spill Reach Europe?

By Steven James Snyder

Time Magazine

Related: BP Makes Progress on Spill, Less on Restoring Trust

Experts seem confident that the oil spill will hit Florida, and then proceed to race up East Coast.


Oil sheen creeping eastward

By Paul Flemming

Tallahassee Democrat

Tar dollops, balls and patties continue to wash ashore on Florida's Panhandle beaches, as winds and current push breakaway sheens and masses of oil farther east.


Cap captures more spillage; slop sullies Florida's shore

By Patricia Mazzei, Laura C. Morel and Jaweed Kaleem

Miami Herald

A containment cap British Petroleum placed over its gushing underwater disaster is slowly increasing the amount of oil it's collecting, the U.S. government's point man said Saturday.


Hundreds protest: 'Spill Baby Spill'

By Ashton Wilkins

Tallahassee Democrat

Hundreds of students from Florida State University and local schools gathered Saturday on the steps of the Old Capitol to protest BP and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.


Many Gulf federal judges have oil links

By Curt Anderson

The Associated Press

More than half of the federal judges in districts where the bulk of Gulf oil spill-related lawsuits are pending have financial connections to the oil and gas industry, complicating the task of finding judges without conflicts to hear the cases, an Associated Press analysis of judicial financial disclosure reports shows.


State vessel monitors oil's advance sheen by sheen, glob by glob

By Craig Pittman

St. Petersburg Times

Lt. Rama Shuster pulled the boat's throttle back to idle speed as his two crewmen peered at the mess in the water.


Crist's new push for renewable energy leaves some puzzled

By Bruce Ritchie

FloridaEnvironments.com

Gov. Charlie Crist keeps saying that he wants to take up renewable energy legislation in a possible special session that would also deal with offshore oil drilling.


Oil spill must push U.S. toward a clean energy future

Editorial

St. Petersburg Times

President Barack Obama was on the Gulf Coast again Friday vowing to limit the damage from the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.


Deepwater Horizon debacle hits home

Editorial

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

It's Florida's turn. As the oil from the Deepwater Horizon blowout threatens to damage the Florida Panhandle -- prompting fears that it won't stop there -- the question remains, is the state doing all it can to mitigate the approaching disaster?

EDUCATION

FCAT score delays could last weeks

By Dominick Tao

St. Petersburg Times

For schools around Tampa Bay, Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores are necessary for figuring out staffing for the next school year.


All schools, not just public, need anti-bullying policies

Editorial

Palm Beach Post

Port St. Lucie police spokesman Tom Nichols says that "after a thorough and complete investigation" of events surrounding Celina Okwuone's suicide, "there was no evidence that a crime was committed."

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

107,000 Floridians lose jobless checks June 4

By Jim Stratton

Orlando Sentinel

About 107,000 Floridians will lose their unemployment benefits today, a number expected to grow by 34,000 people with each passing week.


Florida Supreme Court tightening foreclosure rules

By Todd Ruger

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

The Florida Supreme Court has reaffirmed its fight against the sloppy legal work being used to retake homes in thousands of foreclosure cases across the state.


Florida salutes state employees for productivity

By Bill Cotterell

Tallahassee Democrat

Legislative presiding officers honored "the hardest-working people in Florida" Friday, with a top prize going to their own watchdog agency -- whose budget they plundered in the 2010 session.


Drywall victims get zero, like it

By Mary Wozniak

Ft. Myers News-Press

A new law that ensures Florida homeowners with defective drywall will get a break on property assessments could drop the taxable value of property in Lee County by tens of millions of dollars.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

McCollum pushes proposed abortion bill

News Service of Florida

Miami Herald

Attorney General Bill McCollum sent a letter Friday urging Gov. Charlie Crist to sign into law legislation requiring women to be given a chance to view an ultrasound of their fetus before obtaining an abortion.


Ultrasound bill sponsor has personal motive beyond antiabortion politics

By John Frank

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau

The smiles in the delivery room didn't last long.


Can nursing homes block lawsuits?

By Jim Saunders

Health News Florida

The Florida Supreme Court next week will wade into a controversy about nursing homes requesting that residents or their family members sign away legal rights as part of getting admitted for care.


Experts question Jackson Health System's figures

By John Dorschner

Miami Herald

Related: Jackson Health System's international mystery

The crucial part of the debate about Foundation Health System's performance focuses on its report that its international program produced ``net profit after all costs'' of $21.2 million in fiscal 2009.


Unsealed drywall documents show how information was stifled

By Aaron Kessler and Joaquin Sapien

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Once it had replaced the tainted Chinese drywall causing a furor among builders and suppliers in South Florida during 2006, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. offered the problematic material back to its main supplier with the caveat that it not be sold in the United States.


Florida stretch of I-95 is nation's most deadly highway

By Rick Stone and Luisa Yanez

Miami Herald

Five years of highway fatality data have found that Florida's 382-mile stretch of the highway is the most dangerous road in the country, with the worst rate of fatal accidents, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Crist signs bill protecting First Amendment rights

The Associated Press

Tampa Tribune

Gov. Charlie Crist has signed a school prayer bill that prevents schools from infringing on the First Amendment freedoms of teachers, staff or students unless they sign a waiver.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Scott Rothstein asks judge for mercy

By Jay Weaver

Miami Herald

Lawyer Scott Rothstein sought the mercy of a judge in a letter released Friday, saying he "begged God to help" him as he contemplated committing suicide before returning from Morocco last fall to accept blame for orchestrating South Florida's biggest financial fraud.


Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein says he's been working undercover for FBI

By Lucy Morgan

St. Petersburg Times

Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, the Fort Lauderdale lawyer who spent the past five years handing out millions of dollars in campaign contributions to Florida politicians, says he has spent the past few months working undercover for the FBI.


Jeweler accused of Ponzi scheme made political campaign donations

By Enrique Flor

Miami Herald

Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina acknowledged he received campaign contributions and had a business relationship with Luis Felipe Perez, a Cuban jeweler accused of scamming dozens of Hispanic business owners in South Florida.

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