FEATURED STORIES
Florida Legislature adjourns, rejecting vote on constitutional amendment banning oil drilling
By Steve Bousquet, Mary Ellen Klas, Lee Logan and John Frank
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Video: Crist blasts 'do-nothing' Legislature
Related editorial: Legislature puts politics above its duty
The Florida House abruptly adjourned a special legislative session after 49 minutes Tuesday, rejecting Gov. Charlie Crist's proposal to let voters place a permanent ban on offshore drilling in the Florida Constitution.
Relief tunnel should reach Gulf well by weekend
The Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
Three months into the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the federal government's spill chief says a relief tunnel should finally reach BP's broken well by the weekend, meaning the gusher could be snuffed for good within two weeks.
FLORIDA POLITICS
Legislature rebuffs Crist's call for drilling amendment
By Paul Flemming
Florida Capital News
Related: Lawmakers outline Sept. plans to recoup oil spill losses
The Republican-dominated Florida Legislature on Tuesday swiftly rejected Gov. Charlie Crist's call for a constitutional amendment to ban offshore drilling.
Crist blasts Florida legislature as 'do-nothing' for killing oil session in record time
By Michael C. Bender
Palm Beach Post
In perhaps the shortest special session in state history, Florida lawmakers quit after just 138 minutes on Tuesday, refusing to let voters decide whether oil drilling in state waters should be constitutionally banned.
Incoming GOP House Speaker Has History of Backing Drilling in Gulf
By Zac Anderson
Lakeland Ledger
It was no surprise the Florida House on Tuesday summarily rejected Gov. Charlie Crist's call to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot banning oil drilling off the state's coastlines.
Florida Legislature rejects pleas for tax breaks
By Mary Ellen Klas and Cristina Silva
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
When Florida's legislators quickly gaveled in and gaveled out their special session Tuesday, they also walked away from an opportunity to deliver tax breaks and economic relief to businesses struggling in the oil-ravaged regions of the state.
Hot air, hypocrisy rule this week in Tallahassee
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
If you were expecting serious and contemplative debates about offshore drilling during this week's special session, you must've forgotten where you live.
POLITICAL RACES
David Axelrod won't commit Obama to Meek campaign
By Jonathan Allen
Politico
President Barack Obama's top political adviser declined to say Tuesday whether the commander in chief would campaign for Florida Senate candidate Kendrick Meek -- even amid reports that Vice President Joe Biden may hit the trail to assist the fourth-term Democratic House member.
Kendrick Meek says he'll have ads on television within days, possibly sooner
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek, who's been battered by opponent Jeff Greene's television ads, said Tuesday night he'll be on the air himself imminently.
Rubio sidesteps Tea Party caucus commitment
By Charles Riley
CNN
Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio rejected a blanket characterization of the Tea Party movement as extremist on Tuesday, but at the same time remained noncommittal about the prospect of joining a Tea Party caucus if elected.
Local GOP activists like Scott's message
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Rick Scott, hoping to take the Republican nomination for governor away from Attorney General Bill McCollum, took what looked like a step in that direction Tuesday, getting a warm reception in his first appearance before the Hillsborough County Republican Party.
McCollum pushes economic plan in Tea Party speech
By Christine Show
Orlando Sentinel
Bill McCollum pitched his plan for uplifting Florida's sagging economy during a stop in Lady Lake Tuesday night on his campaign trail for governor.
GOP candidates lining up to run against Kathy Castor in Florida Congressional race
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing
Eddie Adams Jr. has it figured out. Sitting in his South St. Petersburg campaign office on a recent Friday afternoon, the Temple Terrace architect is explaining why he is the only Republican who has a shot at beating Kathy Castor this fall, despite the fact that he's been trounced in the heavily Democratic District 11 Congressional race by Castor the past two elections.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Scientists from St. Petersburg find high methane readings near oil disaster site
By Craig Pittman
St. Petersburg Times
Two years before the Deepwater Horizon explosion, scientists from SRI International took readings on the levels of methane in the Gulf of Mexico less than 10 miles from the rig. Last year, they went back and did it again.
Messy cleanup of BP oil spill damages the Gulf
By Cain Burdeau
The Associated Press
The 5,600 vessels taking part in the oil spill operation on the Gulf of Mexico make up the largest fleet assembled since the Allied invasion of Normandy, according to the Coast Guard.
Renewable energy supporters look ahead after not-so-special session
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
With the BP oil spill again having sounded calls for more attention to energy alternatives, some renewable energy supporters said Tuesday they remain hopeful the Legislature will take up the issue this summer.
Report on health of the St. Johns: Phosphorus and nitrogen "should be reduced"
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Just a day after a panel of scientists, experts and politicians met in a public forum to address the health of the St. Johns River, the annual State of the River Report for the Lower St. Johns River Basin was released.
Report critical of the BP claims process
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
The legal team preparing for Florida suits against BP said Tuesday that federal mediator Ken Feinberg may be letting BP off the hook too cheaply.
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Three months after BP's Deepwater Horizon exploratory rig exploded, the Gulf of Mexico faces a murky future of imperfect solutions to intractable problems.
EDUCATION
FCAT delays push back other assessment results
By Jeff Schmucker
Tampa Tribune
Individual school grades, Annual Yearly Progress and other progress indicators are put on hold while everyone awaits the results of two independent FCAT reviews.
Broward School Board joins class-size lawsuit
By Akilah Johnson, Sun Sentinel
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The Broward School Board on Tuesday joined a statewide lawsuit challenging the multimillion-dollar penalties districts face this fall for violating strict new class-size limits.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Florida unemployment extension fix fails, state Rep. Rader appeals to Crist
By Cooper Levey-Baker
Florida Independent
The U.S. Senate made strides Tuesday to approve an extension of unemployment benefits that will give out-of-work Americans till November to enroll in the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, and fully fund Extended Benefits programs in states -- like Florida -- suffering from high unemployment.
State, Counties Look to BP for Lost Tax Revenues
By Joshua Stewart and Carson Cooper
WUSF Public Radio Tampa
State and local governments are starting to get in BP's claims line, asking the company to pay for harm to state and local budgets they say has been caused by the Gulf oil spill.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Hospital loses court battle to keep medical records secret
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Tribune
Shands Teaching Hospital must release peer review and internal risk documents to a couple who is suing the hospital for medical malpractice, a Tallahassee appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Convicted pastor in St. Pete denounces Islam, seeks donations
By Tristram Korten
Florida Independent
The fundamentalist pastor of a St. Petersburg online ministry has launched a campaign to take donations for a "9-11 Christian Center at Ground Zero" in New York City, in response to plans to build a mosque near the site of the of twin towers.
DCF Overhauling Care For Former Foster Youths
By Kelli Kennedy
The Associated Press
On the eve of Christina Pooley's 18th birthday, her caseworker picked her up from the Jupiter group home where she'd lived as a foster teen for about a year and dropped her off at her new apartment.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
Judiciary panel OKs Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
By Julie Hirschfeld
The Associated Press
Pushing toward an election-year Supreme Court confirmation vote, a polarized Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday approved Elena Kagan to be the fourth female justice.
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