Daily Clips for September 3, 2010

FEATURED STORIES Bud Chiles will help Alex Sink's campaign for governor By Lee Logan St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau As an independent candidate for governor, Lawton "Bud" Chiles railed against the corrupting influence of special interest cash. Out of the race, he's supporting an establishment figure: Democrat Alex Sink. Republican Rick Scott and his new running mate, Jennifer Carroll, hit campaign trail By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Rick Scott and Jennifer Carroll made their debut as the Republican gubernatorial ticket Thursday and met small but enthusiastic crowds on a three-city flyaround. State Sen. Al Lawson endorses Charlie Crist for US Senate By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News State Sen. Al Lawson endorsed Gov. Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate Thursday, saying "Charlie's always been there for us" when state employees, rural counties and universities needed help. BEST OF THE BLOGS Sorry Charlie By Steve Schale Steve Schale Related: More on Crist's Steep Climb Charlie Crist will not be Florida's next United States Senator. How Do You Define “U-N-I-T-Y?” By Inkberries Beach Peanuts Apparently for the Republicans in Florida, it depends on who you ask, and when you ask them. Florida Supreme Court Clarifies Republican Agenda By Daniel Tilson The Examiner In three 5-2 rulings, the Florida Supreme Court has slapped down and out the latest set of partisan ideological overreaches by Republican legislators. Florida Legislature: Pathetic By Gimleteye Eye on Miami On the last day of August, the Florida Supreme Court tossed the Florida legislature's effort to thwart redistricting on the November ballot. POLITICAL RACES Out-of-state groups to pour millions into U.S. Senate, congressional races By Mark K. Matthews Orlando Sentinel For those few Florida voters unfamiliar with attacks ads, the latest TV spot by the conservative Americans for Prosperity offers a classic take on the genre. Sink weighs Chiles factor News Service of Florida Sarasota Herald-Tribune Independent candidate Lawton "Bud" Chiles formally dropped out of the governor's race Thursday, throwing his support to Democrat Alex Sink. Bud Chiles backs Alex Sink for Fla. governor By Jim Ash Florida Capital News Bud Chiles, who until this week was running an independent campaign for governor, ended it Thursday with a kumbaya moment with Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the Democratic nominee. Rick Scott picks Jennifer Carroll as running mate By Aaron Deslatte Orlando Sentinel Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rick Scott reached into a shallow bench of Republican African-American politicians and tapped state Rep. Jennifer Carroll as his lieutenant governor nominee on Thursday. Gov. candidate Scott picks Florida Legislature's only black Republican as running mate By Michael C. Bender Palm Beach Post After five months of campaigning as a "conservative outsider," Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott found his running mate Thursday from within the establishment he has promised to shake up. Many questions surrounding Scott-Carroll ticket go unanswered By Matt Dixon Florida Times-Union As Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott officially announced state Rep. Jennifer Carroll as his running mate Thursday, questions about when he chose the Fleming Island legislator and the experience she feels she brings to the ticket were left largely unanswered. McCollum right to be skeptical By Joy-Ann Reid Miami Herald Allow me to defend Bill McCollum. Yes, that Bill McCollum. McCollum briefing gives Bondi overview of office By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Republican nominee Pam Bondi got "a great overview" of the Cabinet office she is seeking Thursday and said Florida's legal staff can't afford further budget cuts. Crist, McCollum, Bronson certify Florida primary results By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Gov. Charlie Crist and two Cabinet members formally certified results of the Aug. 24 Florida primary elections today. BALLOT INITIATIVES Future of Amendment 8 campaign in question By Kathleen Haughney St. Augustine Record Republican lawmakers have spent much of the past two years advocating a rollback of a constitutional cap on the number of students in school classrooms. Supporters of growth measure go after Florida Chamber By Bruce Ritchie FloridaEnvironments.com Supporters of Amendment 4 say the Florida Chamber of Commerce, a major opponent of the proposed growth management measure, is encouraging employers to pressure their workers to join the opposition. Backers of Amendment Four: Florida Hometown Democracy (audio interview) By Robert Lorei WMNF Community Radio Tampa Coming up today we’ll hear about Hometown Democracy—it’s on the ballot this November and it’s backers say it’s a way for Floridians to curb the sprawling development that’s spoiled much of Florida’s natural beauty. Pols can't summarize By Mark Lane Daytona Beach News-Journal On topics from health care to redistricting to property taxes, the state Supreme Court said Tuesday the Florida Legislature can't write a decent constitutional amendment. Fooling the voters Editorial Gainesville Sun It's not nice to fool the voters. Our state Legislature doesn't get that. Fortunately, the Florida Supreme Court does. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Another Gulf rig explodes; no hazard apparent By Curtis Morgan Miami Herald Another offshore rig exploded Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico, an unsettling echo of BP's deep-sea blowout less than six months ago, but this time it appears there won't be another environmental catastrophe. New oil rig explosion creates Florida political firestorm By Bruce Ritchie FloridaEnvironments.com A new oil rig explosion off the Louisiana coast on Thursday led House Republicans and Democrats to trade accusations about oil drilling. BP Says Limits on Drilling Imperil Oil Spill Payouts By Clifford Krauss and John M. Broder New York Times BP is warning Congress that if lawmakers pass legislation that bars the company from getting new offshore drilling permits, it may not have the money to pay for all the damages caused by its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Snook fishing ban extended another year The Associated Press Miami Herald State wildlife regulators Thursday extended a ban on snook fishing along the state's Gulf coast for another year, hoping that will give the species enough time to rebound from last winter's cold snap that killed thousands of the fish. Lift liability cap for oil spills Editorial Miami Herald Foot-dragging and partisan politics are likely to replace common sense this fall in the U.S. Senate. LGBT St. Petersburg poised to offer same-sex health benefits to police officers By Jamal Thalji St. Petersburg Times The city is on the verge of extending same-sex health benefits to rank-and-file police officers. EDUCATION Florida gets millions to devise new student assessment tests By Carli Teproff Miami Herald Florida is part of a consortium of 26 states that will receive a total of $170 million in federal funding to help develop new tests to assess students' mathematics and language arts skills, the U.S. secretary of education announced Thursday. Students to take new FCAT, end-of-course exams By Marc Freeman and Akilah Johnson South Florida Sun-Sentinel The FCAT you've come to know — and often complain about — is changing this school year as the state pushes higher academic standards and new testing. Packed schools at issue again in Broward By Rafael A. Olmeda South Florida Sun-Sentinel The contentious issue of school boundary changes is once again on the table. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Bankruptcies in South Florida up 5.7% in August By Marcia Heroux Pounds Orlando Sentinel Personal bankruptcies in South Florida rose in August, by 5.7 percent from July and by 59 percent from August 2009, according to data released by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Miami on Wednesday. Florida reverses 2009 population decline By Jeff Ostrowski Palm Beach Post Florida posted a slight increase in population this year, but head counts in Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties continue to edge down, the University of Florida said Thursday. HEALTH AND SENIORS Employers Push Higher Health Insurance Costs Onto Workers By Phil Galewitz Kaiser Health News The day after President's Day this year, employees of the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center in Springfield, Ill., got bad news: The hotel would no longer help pay for health insurance coverage for workers' spouses and children. Big leap in private health coverage predicted By Stacey Singer Palm Beach Post The oft-repeated GOP warning that the Affordable Care Act will lead to a government takeover of health care does not materialize under computer simulations run by the Rand Corp. that were released on Thursday. Fla. 'pill mill' program has raised $500,000 The Associated Press Sarasota Herald-Tribune Cash-strapped Florida is about halfway to it's goal of raising $1 million in donations to pay for a prescription tracking program. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Lawmakers Say Crackdown on Illegal Immigrants Would Have Downside By Margie Menzel WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee Voters liked the get-tough-on-illegal-immigration stance of Republican gubernatorial candidates Rick Scott and Bill McCollum.