Daily Clips for September 1, 2010

FEATURED STORIES Florida Supreme Court strikes 3 GOP-backed amendments from Nov. 2 ballot By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post The Florida Supreme Court struck a blow to the GOP-dominated legislature Tuesday by stripping three proposed constitutional amendments off the November ballot, ruling they were confusing to voters. Independent Bud Chiles expected to drop out of governor's race By Lee Logan and John Frank St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau In a sign of relief for Democrats, Lawton "Bud" Chiles III is expected to announce today that he is abandoning his independent bid for governor. Report may aid Glades land buy By Curtis Morgan Miami Herald Forcing water managers to build a massive abandoned reservoir would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars but still not do enough to clean up the Everglades, according to an advisor to a federal judge. POLITICAL RACES Scott eyes insider as No. 2 By Gary Fineout Sarasota Herald-Tribune In the days before Rick Scott landed his knockout win over Attorney General Bill McCollum, he disparaged his GOP rival as a "career politician." Hispanic lawmakers urge Rick Scott to focus less on illegal immigration By Beth Reinhard Miami Herald The "800-pound gorilla'' in the room at Tuesday's closed-door meeting between the newly crowned Republican nominee for governor and Hispanic state legislators wasn't their strong support for his former rival, according to one participant. Jeb Bush: Scott prepared to be governor The Associated Press Tampa Tribune Former Gov. Jeb Bush says political novice Rick Scott is prepared to be Florida's next governor — and a good one. Alex Sink unveils plan for school changes By Mary Ellen Klas Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink envisions an education system in Florida where at-risk students have incentives to stay in school, better-trained teachers get performance-based raises and school buildings become community centers. Chiles to drop bid for governor By Jim Ash Florida Capital News Bud Chiles, son of the late Gov. Lawton Chiles, is expected to announce today he'll drop his independent bid for governor. Aspiring Politician to Sue 2 Florida Papers By Jeremy W. Peters New York Times Jeff Greene, a Florida real estate developer who lost one of the year’s most bitter and closely watched primary elections, is preparing to sue The St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald for libel, claiming that articles they published cost him his bid for the United States Senate. NRSC puts $2.5M behind Marco Rubio By Sean J. Miller The Hill Republicans are making a multi-million dollar investment in Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio (R). Rick Scott owes the voters: He's trying to avoid discussing his business record Editorial Palm Beach Post Rick Scott won the Republican nomination for governor by buying, and controlling his contact with, the public. Charlie, who are you now? Editorial Tampa Tribune Charlie Crist seems to have become a campaign chameleon, shifting shape and changing colors depending on where he is and to whom he's talking. Return to controversy Editorial Sarasota Herald-Tribune It's not deja vu all over again. There are no "butterfly" ballots, no presidency at stake, no Supreme Court arguments and no candidates by the name of Bush or Gore. BALLOT INITIATIVES Florida Supreme Court keeps three amendments from ballot By Lee Logan St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau The November ballot just got less crowded. Legislature loses court battles over redistricting By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune Florida lawmakers were given a resounding defeat in their bid to control redistricting on Tuesday. Fla. justices nix health care amendment The Associated Press Tampa Tribune A measure intended to let voters voice opposition to the U.S. health care overhaul was kicked off Florida's Nov. 2 ballot Thursday by the state Supreme Court, along with two other proposed state constitutional amendments. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Special master's recommendation buoys supporters of Everglades land buy By Ana M. Valdes Palm Beach Post The South Florida Water Management District may be allowed to abandon a $700 million reservoir project in the southern Everglades Agricultural Area, after a court-appointed Special Master on Tuesday said the Everglades would benefit more from the district's purchase of 27,000 acres from U.S. Sugar than from completing the reservoir. Oil spill: Bank suing BP for leaving mess By Jamie Page Pensacola News Journal Regions Bank is suing BP, claiming the oil company, without notifying the bank, moved oil spill response equipment onto a piece of vacant Baldwin County, Ala., property owned by the bank. Officials pledge to work more closely on oil spill research By Kameel Stanley St. Petersburg Times The academic community and the federal government are one step closer to coordinating research efforts concerning the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Drilling agency imposes conflict-of-interest rules The Associated Press Tampa Tribune Scandalized by federal regulators who had sex with oil company executives and negotiated with them for jobs, the agency that oversees offshore drilling is imposing a first-ever ethics policy that bars inspectors from dealing with a company that employs a family member or personal friend. Cannon makes ‘anti-environment’ candidates list By Tristram Korten Florida Independent The League of Conservation Voters has named state Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, to its first-ever state-level Dirty Dozen — a list of 12 state legislators throughout the country who the group claims, have an “anti-environment record.” UCF climate study: Is our weather getting wacky? By Linda Florea Orlando Sentinel If the Australian pine and the cabbage palmetto are to be believed, Florida's winters and springs have grown a bit cooler during the past half century — even as the state's summers and autumns have heated up a touch. PSC delays action on contested utilities' conservation plans By Bruce Ritchie FloridaEnvironments.com The Florida Public Service Commission on Tuesday agreed to delay action until September on energy conservation plans proposed by six utilities. LGBT Adoption, Raising Questions By Lisa Belkin New York Times Charles Perez is a former Miami news anchor, now living in Kansas. Scott Simon is the host of NPR’s Morning Edition. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY In Tampa, officials tout high-speed rail's jobs potential By Kate Bradshaw WMNF Community Radio Tampa The U.S.’s first “real” high-speed rail line is quickly approaching Tampa. Good riddance to sprawl-promoting law Editorial Miami Herald Local governments -- and the taxpayers who pay for them -- got a fair shake when a judge struck down a controversial 2009 growth-management bill that put an undue financial burden on cities and counties. HEALTH AND SENIORS Court tosses Amendment 9 By Jim Saunders Health News Florida The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that targeted the new federal-health reform law, ruling that state lawmakers included misleading wording that could not be fixed. High court tosses "health care freedom" amendment By Christine Jordan Sexton Florida Tribune A move to blunt the impact of the federal health care reform act was thrown out by the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday. It's the end of the Tom Arnold era By Jim Saunders Health News Florida Tom Arnold spent part of his last day at the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration talking about the Medicaid "reform" pilot and potential budget cuts. With or without Arnold, some things presumably will never change. Unhealthy habit brings casinos healthy business By Nick Sortal Orlando Sentinel One casino boasts that it is endorsed by the American Lung Association. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES The Hate Turns Violent The Progress Report Think Progress For months, the right wing has been leading a hateful campaign against the proposed Park 51 Islamic community center that will be built two blocks from Ground Zero in New York City.