Daily Clips for September 21, 2010

FEATURED STORIES Congressional vets align with business groups to challenge redistricting proposals By Mary Ellen Klas Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau As the high stakes battle over drawing political boundaries goes to the November ballot, two veteran Florida congressmen joined with business groups Monday to launch a campaign to defeat the proposals that would upend the way their districts are drawn. Gov. Crist assails today's 'hard-right tack' of Republican Party By Jim Stratton Orlando Sentinel Gov. Charlie Crist continued his feud with his former party Monday, portraying state Republican leaders as political hacks who have been cowed by big business and ultra-conservatives. New GOP charge against Sink deceptive The Associated Press Florida Times-Union A Republican ad says it's Democratic gubernatorial nominee Alex Sink's fault the state pension fund lost $24 billion — a charge that's deceptive. Holes in the GOP audit By Daniel Ruth St. Petersburg Times Sheesh, Neville Chamberlain's Munich peace treaty with Adolf Hitler had more credibility than the Republican Party of Florida's whitewash audit of its spending irregularities. FLORIDA POLITICS How the Legislature voted on a bill to return to legalized slush funds By Howard Troxler St. Petersburg Times It used to be in Florida that if you wanted to buy favor in the Legislature, you just made a big cash payment directly to the next speaker of the House or president of the Senate. Clunker politics Editorial Miami Herald It's one thing for Republican legislators to carry on their feud with Gov. Charlie Crist on a party level. POLITICAL RACES Scott's plan for Citizens Property Insurance would allow rates to rise By Marc Caputo and Beth Reinhard St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Rick Scott called for some politically tough medicine Monday when he unveiled his position on property insurance: Make the state's government-run company "actuarially sound." Scott calls for major changes to Florida's insurance market By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune GOP candidate for governor Rick Scott on Monday unveiled a "tax and insurance" plan that calls for additional restrictions on lawsuits and promises to return Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to its role as “an insurer of last resort.” Taking the Fifth -- 75 times -- an achievement By Fred Grimm Miami Herald The usual template goes like this: First, we elect a public official. Then, he takes the Fifth. Lawsuit seeks GOP refund of Crist donations The Associated Press Tampa Tribune A lawsuit filed in Collier County is seeking refund of millions of dollars contributed by Republican donors to Gov. Charlie Crist's campaign for the U.S. Senate. Cosmic opposites Alan Grayson and Dan Webster clash in U.S. House race By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times Daniel Webster hurried across the street, trying not to forget the lines fed to him with lunch. Gianoulis leads Thrasher in fundraising for Florida senate seat By Tia Mitchell Florida Times-Union State Senate candidate Deborah Gianoulis said she initially had a hard time asking family and friends to donate money to her campaign. Dems include West social security number in flier, call it 'oversight' By George Bennett Palm Beach Post The Florida Democratic Party today said it made an "oversight" when it included Republican congressional challenger Allen West's Social Security number in an attack mailer. BALLOT INITIATIVES Fair Districts Fla. draws opposition By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Two members of Congress and an ex-secretary of state said Monday the Fair Districts Florida proposals will backfire on minority voters if approved in November. Members of Congress fighting Florida redistricting amendments By Catherine Whittenburg Tampa Tribune Former Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning has joined U.S. Reps. Corrine Brown, a Democrat, and Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican, in the fight against the "Fair Districts" ballot amendments, launching a "Protect Your Vote" campaign. Amendment 4 Pros, Cons By Steve Newborn WUSF Public Radio Tampa Of all the measures voters will cast a ballot on in November, perhaps the one that will have the greatest impact on the state is Amendment 4. Amendment 4 land use question sparks strong reaction By Michael Mayo South Florida Sun-Sentinel If your boss tells you to clean your desk, finish a project by next Thursday or use Orbitz for all business-related travel, that seems reasonable. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY BP's well sealed, but oil disaster continues in the Gulf By Sue Sturgis Facing South BP successfully killed its leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico this weekend, installing cement plugs that halted the flow of pollution into the ocean. BP fund czar: No deduction for spill cleanup wages The Associated Press Tampa Tribune The administrator of the fund for victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster says he will waive a requirement that wages earned by spill cleanup workers be subtracted from their claims of lost revenue. Money dries up to buy, preserve environmentally sensitive land in Florida By Kevin Spear Orlando Sentinel Visitors to Brevard County's Barrier Island Sanctuary encounter some of Florida's most uncommon real estate: an unblemished stretch of coast considered a national treasure by many because of the refuge it provides for nesting sea turtles. Florida agency moves forward with sprawl, climate change rules By Bruce Ritchie FloridaEnvironments.com The Florida Department of Community Affairs last week continued moving ahead with two important proposed rule changes, but the question is whether DCA will adopt them before a change in administrations. LGBT Florida child welfare agency won't take gay man's kids News Service of Florida Miami Herald If an appeals court reverses a South Florida judge and rules that Florida's ban on adoptions by gay couples is valid, the state's child welfare agency won't remove the two children at the center of the challenge, the head of the agency said Monday. Catholic groups spent millions supporting anti-gay marriage efforts By Jesse Zwick Florida Independent The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal society founded in New Haven, Conn. in 1881, does a lot of good work. EDUCATION Fla. looking for 'Race to the Top' volunteers The Associated Press Tampa Tribune Florida education officials are looking for volunteers to help implement the state's $700 million "Race to the Top" grant. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY State sticks with its story, says it was misled by Wall Street on investments The Associated Press Orlando Sentinel The State Board of Administration on Monday stuck to its claim that Wall Street investment firms misled the agency into buying risky securities after a newspaper cited public records to dispute that contention. Grayson calls on Florida Chief Justice to halt “foreclosure mill” cases By Travis Pillow Florida Independent Citing the reporting of Mother Jones and the New York Times, Congressman Alan Grayson has sent a letter calling on the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court to “abate” foreclosure cases involving three law firms currently under scrutiny from the Office of Attorney General Bill McCollum until the investigation is complete. Debate renews: Dream or nightmare of home ownership? By Robert Trigaux St. Petersburg Times Are folks losing faith in the American dream of homeownership? Florida median income levels increase to $45,631 By Kevin Turner Florida Times-Union Last year, when median household income slipped in many states, Florida’s managed to increase to $45,631 from $44,857 in 2008, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released last week. Intolerable Poverty In A Rich Nation The Progress Report Think Progress Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released its Current Population Survey, documenting the American population's access to health insurance and family economic well-being. HEALTH AND SENIORS Obama-led healthcare arrives Thursday -- here's what to expect By John Dorschner Miami Herald Of the many healthcare changes starting Thursday as part of federal reforms, one is a potential life-changer for Tarina Garcia, a Miami mother who was unable to obtain commercial insurance coverage for her 11-year-old daughter's epilepsy because it's a “pre-existing condition.” Milk party rally's goal is more money for children By Janine Zeitlin Ft. Myers News-Press A movement that aims to push children to the top of the state's agenda is bringing its milk party to Southwest Florida. Florida employers tap into federal money to help ease health-care costs for early retirees By Linda Shrieves Orlando Sentinel It's one of the most overlooked pieces of health-care overhaul, but a plan to help companies pay health-care costs for early retirees has proved popular in Florida, where 69 companies and government agencies have applied for federal help. State health officials say Acreage cancer investigation is near the end, with no cause found By Mitra Malek Palm Beach Post After more than a year of investigation and a promise from Gov. Charlie Crist to spare no energy at finding answers, state health officials said on Monday that they have neared the end of searching for whatever caused the cancer cluster in The Acreage. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Meek joins rally in support of immigration bill By Melissa Sanchez Miami Herald Rep. Kendrick Meek, who is running for the Senate as a Democrat, joined about 100 students and others Monday at Miami Dade College to support passage of a bill this week in Congress that would allow tens of thousands of young illegal immigrants to become legalized residents. New immigration support has advocates dancing By Victor Manuel Ramos Orlando Sentinel They had tried writing letters. They had requested meetings and had filed petitions to no avail.