Daily Clips for October 13, 2010

FEATURED STORIES No sign Kendrick Meek or Charlie Crist will drop out, but chatter builds By Adam C. Smith St. Petersburg Times Three weeks from Election Day, the math is clear: So long as nonpartisan candidate Charlie Crist and Democrat Kendrick Meek divvy up Democratic votes, Republican Marco Rubio is poised to comfortably win a U.S. Senate seat. New poll: Ads attacking Scott's ethics help Sink surge to dead heat in Fla. gov race By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post After weeks of negative ads from both campaigns and less than a week before early voting begins, the Florida governor's race is in a statistical dead heat, according to a new poll released Tuesday. Sink chastises DCA judges By Paul Flemming Florida Capital News Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink on Tuesday spanked judges of the 1st District Court of Appeal and project managers at the Department of Management Services with an audit that derides lavish spending on the $49-million project, criticizes bullying judges who made it happen and finds fault with a state agency failing to protect taxpayer dollars. DCF won't appeal ruling against Florida's gay-adoption law By Carol Marbin Miller Miami Herald Related: Equality Florida: DCF decision not to appeal gay adoption ruling puts 'the best interest of Florida's children first' Florida child welfare administrators will not appeal last month's ruling that tossed out Florida's controversial gay-adoption law. FLORIDA POLITICS More dirt under new carpets at 'Taj Mahal' Editorial St. Petersburg Times Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink's eye-opening audit of the $48 million "Taj Mahal" courthouse shows stunning lapses by the Florida agency charged with overseeing state construction projects. POLITICAL RACES Rick Scott, Alex Sink in tight race for governor, Quinnipiac poll shows By Marc Caputo St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Related: Rick Scott dodges answers by invoking Fifth Amendment, Democrats claim in ad Related: Does Rick Scott invoking the Fifth Amendment imply guilt? Related: Sink's ad attacking Scott gets fraud claims right, but also misleads Republican Rick Scott clings to a single percentage point lead over Democrat Alex Sink, 45-44, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday. Poll finds ethics will matter in gov. race By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News A tight race for governor will be decided by voter perception of the candidates' business ethics, according to a new statewide survey released Tuesday. Scott continues attack on Sink's decisions, judgment By Catherine Whittenburg Tampa Tribune Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott continued Tuesday to criticize Alex Sink, the state's chief financial officer, for allowing people with criminal histories to work in the insurance industry. Argenziano quits Florida PSC to support Alex Sink for governor By Bruce Ritchie FloridaEnvironments.com Nancy Argenziano announced Tuesday she is resigning from the Florida Public Service Commission to support Democrat Alex Sink in her race against Republican Rick Scott for governor. McCollum leaning toward a vote for Scott; Crist says he hasn’t decided By William March Tampa Tribune Attorney General Bill McCollum told reporters today that while “I respect her as an individual,” he can’t support Democrat Alex Sink for governor and is leaning toward casting a ballot for his former primary rival, Rick Scott. Poll: Rubio maintaining big lead in Senate race By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Republican Marco Rubio is maintaining a big lead in the home stretch of Florida's U.S. Senate race, according to a new poll released today. Meek campaign denies rumors he's dropping out of Senate race, blames Crist team for starting them By Ana M. Valdes Palm Beach Post Stuck in third place in a three-way race, Democrat Kendrick Meek's campaign spent much of Tuesday scrambling to dispel rumors that he might consider dropping out of the U.S. Senate race. Schwarzenegger Endorses Crist In Senate Race Staff Report Lakeland Ledger Gov. Charlie Crist lost endorsements from prominent Republicans when he bolted the party for an independent Senate run, but one is sticking by him: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Handful of races could determine if GOP gets veto-proof majority By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune A handful of races across Florida could decide whether or not Republicans gain enough seats in the upcoming election to hold a veto-proof majority. John Thrasher, Deborah Gianoulis, stake claims at Beaches in Florida Senate race By Drew Dixon Florida Times-Union Both candidates in the state Senate District 8 race share the same views on issues such as protecting tourism and the environment, and they both call the Beaches area home turf. Undisclosed money pours into Central Florida congressional races By Travis Pillow Florida Independent Last week, controversy erupted over a report by the liberal blog ThinkProgress that accused the U.S. Chamber of Commerce of funneling foreign money into U.S. elections. Boyd, Southerland trade charges By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital Bureau News Republican Steve Southerland sought to depict U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd as a puppet of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a pair of debates Tuesday. Tea party star in tight bid for Congress in Fla. By Matt Sedensky The Associated Press Republican congressional candidate Allen West calls his incumbent Democrat opponent a cretin. Records don't back South Florida GOP House candidate David Rivera's job history By Scott Hiaasen and Patricia Mazzei Miami Herald Over the past seven years, Republican state Rep. David Rivera repeatedly said in sworn documents that his main source of income, outside of his salary from the legislature, came from consulting work he did for the U.S. Agency for International Development. National Dems pulling back from Kosmas but contend she'll win By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times Central Florida Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas, considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the country, issued Tuesday what has become a fairly routine bit of news from her campaign: A strong fundraising quarter. BALLOT INITIATIVES Amendment 8 about money, not helping students By Sen. J. Alex Villalobos Palm Beach Post Amendment 8 is not a benign revision of class size. It is about politics and money. Don't get snookered by fears spread by Amendment 4 foes By Lauren Ritchie Orlando Sentinel The lies are starting to work. A multimillion-dollar campaign financed by developers, builders, land speculators and others who stand to make fortunes from over-development is starting to convince Floridians that Amendment 4 will bring on Armageddon. Amendment 4 battle lines drawn By Jackie Barron Tampa Tribune The war over Amendment 4 has gained steam as Election Day draws closer. Amendment 4 supporters seek voice in development By Timothy R. Wolfrum Bradenton Herald The unnerving jangle of a nearby jackhammer provided fitting background noise to an Amendment 4 rally Tuesday afternoon across from the Manatee County Administration Building. Voters will get chance to embrace or repeal public finance of Florida campaigns By Adam Playford Palm Beach Post Amendment 1 is giving Florida voters a simple choice: Do you want taxpayer money to pay for political campaigns? What we think: Yes on Amendments 5 & 6 Editorial Orlando Sentinel If only those who run state government felt as strongly about securing the jobs of other Floridians, perhaps we wouldn't be pushing a 12 percent unemployment rate. 'Yes' on Amendments 5 and 6 Editorial Sarasota Herald-Tribune In the last 10 years, 505 incumbent Florida legislators have stood for re-election, the Florida Times-Union reported recently. Only 10 of them have lost. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Obama Administration Lifts Oil Drilling Ban -- Too Soon? By Trimmel Gomes WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that the moratorium in the Gulf has been lifted because of new safety standards and the significant progress made in reducing the risk of deep water drilling. But environmentalists like Eric Draper with the Audubon of Florida says six months is not enough time to determine that oil drilling in the future is safe. Florida's Everglades buyout shrinks to fraction of promised restoration By Craig Pittman St. Petersburg Times Two years ago, Gov. Charlie Crist unveiled what looked to be the biggest triumph ever in the somewhat rocky history of Everglades restoration: a $1.75 billion deal to buy out U.S. Sugar lock, stock and sugar mills — and, most important, take over 187,000 acres. Panthers, orchids `watchdogs of the environment' By Susan Cocking Miami Herald The chief biologist at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge has been propagating orchids in his lab 20 miles east of Naples for the past 11 years as a way of saving one of the most endangered mammals in the U.S. Will NE Florida run out of water? By Christopher Curry Gainesville Sun During the Tampa Bay water wars of the 1990s, one Pinellas County commissioner famously announced, "Keep the Suwannee River cold, because we're coming for it." LGBT Judge acts while others debate Pentagon gay policy By Pete Yost The Associated Press A federal judge's ruling that the military must stop its "don't ask, don't tell" policy comes amid conflicting concerns of gays who think the government is moving too slowly to let them serve openly and Pentagon officials who believe that moving too quickly might disrupt a military engaged in war. DCF won't appeal overturn of gay adoption ban By Brendan Farrington The Associated Press Florida's gay adoption ban won't be enforced anywhere in the state after the Department of Children and Families decided Tuesday not to appeal the ban's overturn to the state Supreme Court. Florida’s first gay adoption in more than 30 years By Mike Thomas Orlando Sentinel Frank Martin Gill has become the first openly gay person to adopt a child in Florida in more than 30 years. EDUCATION Florida gets poor grades in new study on education funding By Tom Marshall St. Petersburg Times Florida earned a D grade on one measure of education funding in a new study by the New Jersey-based Education Law Center, with support from the Ford Foundation. Debate over chocolate milk in school cafeterias has officials cutting sugar, banning altogether By Sonja Isger Palm Beach Post Is sugar-laden chocolate milk a necessary lunchroom bribe to get needed calcium and Vitamin D into our children? JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Florida tomato workers to announce deal with growers The Associated Press South Florida Sun-Sentinel A farmworker organization and major Florida grower are expected to announce a new deal to improve worker conditions. HEALTH AND SENIORS How the American Legislative Exchange Council turned health care repeal into a national wave By Jesse Zwick Florida Independent In early August, an obscure measure called Proposition C — which prohibits the government from mandating the purchase of health insurance — passed overwhelmingly in a Missouri referendum and soon became national news. New concept to counter HMOs? By Jim Saunders Health News Florida Faced with a likely expansion of Medicaid HMOs, the Florida Medical Association is looking at a new possibility to give doctors more control over patient care: "accountable care organizations." CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Poll: Most Floridians and Other Americans Don’t Want War with Iran By Gina Presson Public News Service Florida Despite sanctions and harsh rhetoric from the Obama Administration - when it comes to bombing Iran, most Americans want to take that option right off the table. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Courts will ask lawmakers to reinstate two percent pay cut By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune Florida’s court system is asking that state lawmakers reinstate a two-percent pay cut of judicial salaries that took effect in 2009.