PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
By Stephen L. Goldstein
Corporate toadies, pond-scum, puppets, hypocrites, bottom-feeders -- that's my mildest take on the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature for its recent, ignoble "Special Session Interruptus."
FEATURED STORIES
By Lee Logan
Calling the wording of a Republican-backed constitutional amendment on health care "manifestly misleading," a Circuit Court judge in Leon County has tossed it off the November ballot.
By George Bennett
The federal injunction blocking key portions of Arizona's immigration law hasn't deterred Republican legislators and candidates who want to bring a similar measure to Florida.
By Aaron Deslatte
The two wealthy, self-funded newcomers vying for Florida's open governor's office and U.S. Senate seat are teaching the veteran politicians a thing or two, according to yet another statewide poll.
By Travis Pillow
Responding to reports that BP's $32 billion in oil spill charges could yield $10 billion in tax savings ("about half the amount pledged to aid gulf coast victims of the catastrophe"), Sen. Bill Nelson sent a letter yesterday to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Ranking Member Charles Grassley calling for an investigation.
BEST OF THE BLOGS
By Joy Reid
The new Quinnipiac poll has some news you'd expect -- Rick Scott is still ahead of Bill McCollum -- and some things that well, you'd also expect, since he's spending so much money and flooding the zone with advertising.
By Inkberries
Well, that didn't take long. 49 minutes. In the midst of one of the biggest oil spill disasters in history, that's all it took for GOP leaders in Florida to tell voters who want to vote on an oil drilling ban near Florida shores: tough luck suckers!
Miami-Dade County slinks away from pushing off-road vehicles into middle of Everglades
Eye on Miami
FLORIDA POLITICS
By Richard Danielson, Jessica Vander Velde and Cristina Silva
LeRoy "Roy" Collins Jr., a retired two-star admiral, successful businessman, champion for veterans and son of one of Florida's best-known governors, died Thursday when a sport utility vehicle struck his bicycle.
By Bill Cotterell
Former House Speaker Ray Sansom and two codefendants in a felony grand-theft case might have gotten off lightly with a bit of "humiliation" in an unsuccessful plea offer, State Attorney Willie Meggs testified Thursday.
By Lee Logan and Steve Bouquet
The specter of once-powerful Ray Sansom wearing a jail jumpsuit and picking up roadside trash scuttled a proposed plea deal with the former House speaker, court testimony revealed Thursday.
Bill Cotterell
There's an old adage -- variously attributed to Confucius, Lincoln or Pogo -- that goes something like, "Choose your enemies carefully, because that's whom you'll become."
POLITICAL RACES
By Marc Caputo
The anti-incumbent winds sweeping the country are kicking up a storm in Florida, where two super-rich political outsiders are threatening to knock off two veteran officeholders running for governor and U.S. Senate.
By Bill Cotterell
Two wealthy political newcomers with bottomless bank accounts have taken substantial leads in Florida's top two statewide races according to a poll released on Thursday.
By Michael Scherer
Beyond the obvious, here are five reasons the Sunshine State will be worth watching this year.
By Dara Kam
For Florida Democrats, it might appear fortunate that two of their best and brightest are running for statewide office. Unfortunately for the party, they're running against each other.
By Josh Hafenbrack
For two months a year, they sit six feet from each other on the floor of the Florida Senate, battling the Republican majority in the state Legislature.
By Bill Thompson
State Rep. Kurt Kelly is asking for an official probe into whether U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson wrongfully masked a re-election campaign ad as a taxpayer-funded, official communique from Grayson's congressional office.
By Bill Cotterell
A football star got stopped just short of the goal two years ago, but the Florida Republican Party still thinks it can win a House seat in a heavily Democratic district that includes the state Capitol.
By Adam Smith
While Democrats across the country are fearing mid-term elections thanks to the poor approval ratings of Congress and the White House, Florida Democrats continue to argue optimistically that in the sunshine November will really be a referendum on the Republican leadership in Tallahassee.
By Beth Reinhard
President Barack Obama is slated to headline a fundraiser for the Florida Democratic Party on Aug. 18 at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.
BALLOT INITIATIVES
The Associated Press
A proposed constitutional amendment that would have blocked the state from starting a health care program similar to President Barack Obama's federal plan was removed from the ballot Thursday by a judge who said its wording would confuse voters.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
By Campbell Robertson
Related: Lawyers, Far From Gulf, Skirmish on Spill Claims
Backlash grows against BP's effort to 'buy up' Gulf scientists
Facing South
Whistleblower claims conspiracy between BP and EPA to hide oil spill impact
By Maryann Tobin
The Examiner
After more than 100 days, the public perception of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster has changed from outrage over when the spilling will stop, to where has all the oil gone?
By Thomas Becnel
Raised eyebrows. Worried looks. Shrugs of acceptance.
By David Fleshler
The top federal official on the BP oil spill said Thursday there's now very little chance any of the oil will reach South Florida.
By Bruce Ritchie
Groups and individuals opposed to biomass energy plants announced Thursday they are taking steps to block a proposed plant in Gainesville while opposing federal legislation dealing with renewable energy.
The Progress Report
Think Progress
The debate over the New START arms control treaty with Russia is winding down. Senate committees have held nearly 20 hearings, and treaty opponents are now repeating the same tired arguments that have already been thoroughly debunked and discredited.
EDUCATION
By Leslie Postal
The 2010 FCAT results may end up being correct, despite troubling "anomalies" cited by school districts across Florida.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Staff Report
A University of Central Florida economist says that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has delayed the Sunshine State's recovery from the Great Recession by at least a year.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida had the third-largest uninsured population in the nation in 2007, with more than 24 percent of its population lacking health insurance, according to the latest figures released by the United States Census Bureau.
News Service of Florida
Health News Florida
Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos unveiled plans Wednesday for a multi-city tour of health care roundtables that would revive the Legislature's push to overhaul Medicaid, which now commands about one-quarter of the state's $70.2 billion budget.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
By Marcos Restrepo
State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, who recently said he has a bill in the works based on Arizona's S.B. 1070, tells The Florida Independent that he will move forward with his legislation, despite a judge's decision to block parts of S.B. 1070 from going into effect.
Editorial
The ruling by a federal judge temporarily preventing key parts of the controversial Arizona immigration law from taking effect highlights the constitutional problems with the state's approach.
