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Progress Florida -- Progressive Solutions for Florida

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Daily Clips for July 28, 2010

FEATURED STORIES

Florida a finalist in 'Race to the Top' education grants

By Kathleen McGrory

Miami Herald

Florida is one of 19 finalists in a national competition for federal education dollars, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced Tuesday.


School burden is shifting in state

By Christopher O'Donnell

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

The Florida Legislature took credit this year for not raising taxes during a tough economic time.


100 Days Of Oil: Gulf Life Will Never Be The Same

The Associated Press

NPR

A hundred days ago, shop owner Cherie Pete was getting ready for a busy summer serving ice cream and po-boys to hungry fisherman.


Obama must step carefully during his Florida vacation

By Zac Anderson

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Florida has lured vacationing presidents for more than a century. First families from the Nixons to the Trumans and the Bushes often came south to soak up the sun for weeks at a time.


Gay adoption: The kids really are all right

By Tracy Clark-Flory

Salon

This study should once and for all silence critics of same-sex parenting. Not that it will, but it certainly should.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Jeb Bush says no to 2012 run

By Andy Barr

Politico

Former Florida GOP Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday that he is "not running" for president in 2012.


Brevard's voter rolls show surge in no-party preference

By Kaustuv Basu

Florida Today

The latest voter registration numbers in Brevard County indicate a surge in "no party" voters, a number that surpasses registering Democrats and nips at the heels of newly registered Republicans.

POLITICAL RACES

Meek organizing 10-day bus tour

By Jim Stratton

Orlando Sentinel

Looking for some mojo in his campaign against a Palm Beach billionaire, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek is launching a 10-day bus tour that will start in Orlando next Wednesday.


Crist campaign buys furniture and office gear from former GOP Chairman Jim Greer

By Marc Caputo

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau

Gov. Charlie Crist has said he's "disappointed" in his former hand-picked Republican Party chairman, Jim Greer, who faces fraud charges for allegedly bilking the state GOP.


Sink offers broad support for renewable energy

By Bruce Ritchie

Florida Tribune

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink released an energy plan on Tuesday that offered broad support for new renewable energy policies while banking on an increase of federal economic stimulus dollars to grow clean energy jobs in Florida.


Bill McCollum lobs attack after attack at gubernatorial rival Rick Scott

By Aaron Sharockman

St. Petersburg Times

Related: State: Scott's lawsuit seeks election 'chaos' and should be thrown out

Down now even in his own polls, Bill McCollum launched attack after attack against primary rival Rick Scott on Tuesday, hoping something -- anything -- can convince Republican voters that the TV image of Scott won't be what Floridians get as governor.


McCollum touts property tax freeze for local governments

By Christian M. Wade

Tampa Tribune

Like most municipalities in Florida, Tampa has cut its budget for four years in a row because of state-mandated property tax reforms and declining housing values.


Sick of nasty ads? Tough. You paid for 'em

By Scott Maxwell

Orlando Sentinel

There's only one thing more annoying than the constant barrage of ugly ads you see each campaign season -- and that's knowing you helped pay for them.


It's rich guys vs. politicians

By Michael Putney

Miami Herald

This is going to be a compare-and-contrast column. The comparisons will be between the two rich guys running for office for the first time, Rick Scott and Jeff Greene, and the contrast with those darned "career politicians" who are running against them.


Candidate Bud Chiles is walking uphill but confidently

By Jim Stratton

Orlando Sentinel

In a state with no mountains, Lawton "Bud" Chiles III spends every day walking uphill.


'Paminator' Bondi, Kottkamp trade barbs over trial-lawyer ties

By Steve Bousquet

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau

In the hotly contested Republican primary for attorney general, it doesn't take much to start controversy.


Democratic Attorney General Candidates Rely on Their Resumes to Differentiate Themselves

By Carson Cooper and Joshua Stewart

WUSF Public Radio Tampa

The Democratic primary for state attorney general is not a race about stark differences over legal issues.


Sender of political attack mailers says he was conned

By Carrie Wells

Miami Herald

A 19-year-old Florida State University student says a Republican lobbyist conned him into sending mailers attacking Democratic congressional candidate Joe Garcia.


Candidate slapped with drug charges

By Louis Cooper

Pensacola News Journal

A candidate for the state House and former law enforcement officer is free on bond after his arrest late Monday on felony charges of illegally obtaining 1,200 painkiller pills from five doctors over seven months.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Safety Harbor project gives voters a Hometown Democracy warm-up

Editorial

St. Petersburg Times

A proposed Safety Harbor development project now embarking on months of government review illustrates some of the issues that will confront voters if the so-called "Hometown Democracy amendment" on the November election ballot is approved.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

St. Pete Times environmental reporter Craig Pittman on the BP oil disaster

By Robert Lorei

WMNF Community Radio Tampa

BP's outgoing Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward said today that the Gulf of Mexico oil well disaster represents a failure for the entire deep water oil and gas drilling industry, not just for BP alone.


Meet The New Boss

The Progress Report

Think Progress

Over the weekend, news broke that three months after his oil company's rig set off the largest oil spill in American history, BP CEO Tony Hayward would be stepping down.

LGBT

McCollum On Rekers: He Was The Best Anti-Gay Expert We Could Find

By Rachel Slajda

TPM

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum yesterday stuck by his decision to hire anti-gay activist George Rekers -- the George Rekers who was later caught with a male escort -- when the state had to defend its ban on adoption by gay couples.


Gainesville church to protest city's gay mayor and hold 'Burn a Koran Day'

By Brett Ader

Florida Independent

The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville has been stirring up controversy in recent days, with the announcement of two upcoming events: a "No Homo Mayor Protest" on Aug. 2, focusing on the city's first openly gay mayor, Craig Lowe, and the "International Burn a Koran Day," slated for the anniversary of 9/11.

EDUCATION

State votes to adopt national standards for math, reading in schools

By Kevin D. Thompson

Palm Beach Post

As expected, the state Board of Education today unanimously adopted a set of sweeping new national standards in math and English that administrators believe will help students think more critically and better prepare them for the workforce.


FCAT confusion leaves School District in a bind

By Joe Callahan

Ocala Star-Banner

The date on which school grades will be released remains uncertain as the state waits for audits of elementary Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores to determine whether they were accurately graded.


Pinellas school board agrees to join lawsuit over class size

By Rebecca Catalanello

St. Petersburg Times

Pinellas County School Board members voted 5-2 Tuesday to join a lawsuit to stop the state from penalizing school districts that don't comply with class size laws in the coming school year.


District joins lawsuit against the state

By Jeff Schmucker

Tampa Tribune

School board members are fighting against the class size amendment by joining a lawsuit against the state.


Spend money on teachers, not the FCAT

Editorial

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Recently there have been many stories about the FCAT scores being late and then found to supposedly be incorrect. Here's a novel idea: Scrap the FCAT.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Floridians' confidence in their own finances hits a record low, UF survey shows

By Jeff Harrington

St. Petersburg Times

Many Floridians are feeling glum about where their bank accounts are headed.


Stimulus flameout could impact more than two dozen states

By Gary Fineout

Florida Tribune

A new report warns that failure to extend higher matching rates for Medicaid could be a blow to the financial recovery for many state budgets.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Poll shows majority of seniors are bewildered by new healthcare reform law

By Mike Lillis

The Hill

The majority of the nation's seniors have little understanding of what the Democrats' newly enacted healthcare law actually does, according to poll results released Monday.


Quality meter for FL hugs the line

Staff Report

Health News Florida

A federal agency that tracks measures of health-care quality lists Florida's as "average," but barely. The arrow hovers right on the line above "weak."

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Could Florida Be the Next Immigration Law Hot Spot?

By Andrea Stone

AOL News

If some Republican state lawmakers here get their way, Florida and Arizona may soon have more in common than just baseball's spring training.


South Florida children march against deportations in the capital

By Alfonso Chardy

Miami Herald

Chanting slogans and cheering, 25 U.S.-born children and their undocumented parents were aboard a bus heading to Washington, D.C., from South Florida to take part in a ``children's march'' against deportations across from the White House on Wednesday afternoon.


Reports of anti-Semitic incidents in Florida drop again

By Jaweed Kaleem

Miami Herald

Anti-Semitic incidents in Florida declined last year by 26 percent, according to an audit the Anti-Defamation League is scheduled to release Tuesday. It counted 90 incidents -- 32 fewer than in 2008 -- and 60 were in South Florida.


ACLU of Florida wants records on FBI racial and ethnic profiling

By Sean Kinane

WMNF Community Radio Tampa

Is the FBI keeping records about your race or ethnicity?


Anti-gay group Westboro Baptist Church plans picket at Spring Hill soldier's funeral

By Janie Porter

WTSP 10 Connects Tampa

Wednesday, an anti-gay group plans to picket at a Spring Hill soldier's funeral.


More Floridians seeking help for gambling

By Gary Taylor

Orlando Sentinel

With more and more opportunities to wager their money -- from the Florida Lottery to slot machines to Internet cafes -- Floridians are looking for help with gambling problems in record numbers.


Immigration reform should include guest worker program

Editorial

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Sure, foreign guest worker provisions should be reviewed under a comprehensive overhaul of our antiquated immigration laws.

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