Daily Clips for October 14, 2010

FEATURED STORIES Questions about use of campaign money still dog Marco Rubio in Senate race By Adam C. Smith St. Petersburg Times Related: New poll shows Rubio retains commanding lead This spring Marco Rubio's momentum in the U.S. Senate race was threatened by a series of revelations about him repeatedly using GOP campaign donations to pay for personal expenses — everything from personal care products to a family reunion to groceries. After U.S. Sugar deal, next governor will influence Everglades restoration By Luke Johnson Florida Independent On Tuesday, the South Florida Water Management District bought nearly 27,000 acres of Everglades wetlands from U.S. Sugar for $197 million. Fla. Senate, governor debates canceled The Associated Press Miami Herald The League of Women Voters and PBS have called off televised debates in Florida's U.S. Senate and governor's races. Amendments on Nov. 2 ballot could bring big changes to state By Lillian Guevara-Castro Gainesville Sun On Nov. 2, Florida voters will decide on six proposed changes to the Florida Constitution that could alter the way campaigns for statewide office are funded and prohibit politicians from manipulating legislative district lines to their advantage, among other proposals. FLORIDA POLITICS New scandal shows the 'Taj Mahal' must be stopped By Howard Troxler St. Petersburg Times The only possible response to the newest scandalous revelations about that "Taj Mahal" courthouse in Tallahassee…Is to block the 1st District Court of Appeal from occupying that corrupt, stinking, ill-gotten $48 million palace that it arranged for itself. Argenziano 'looking forward' after resignation from PSC By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Nancy Argenziano is leaving the Public Service Commission her way. POLITICAL RACES Rubio: Personal expenses on GOP card 'would pop up from month to month' By Beth Reinhard Miami Herald In a meeting with the Miami Herald editorial board on Monday (see video excerpts below), Republican U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio called $10,000 in hotel charges for a family reunion billed to a Republican Party of Florida credit card a "major mistake." Linking Crist, Obama paying off for Rubio By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Constantly linking Gov. Charlie Crist and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek to President Obama's policies is proving to be "a smart strategy" for Republican Marco Rubio in Florida's U.S. Senate race, a new poll indicated on Wednesday. Crist gets Kennedy backing in U.S. Senate race but falls in latest poll By Jane Musgrave Palm Beach Post Gov. Charlie Crist's critical, and apparently failing, battle to woo Democratic voters away from Kendrick Meek in the U.S. Senate race got a boost Wednesday from a member of the nation's Democratic royal family. Quinnipiac poll: Rubio leads Crist big in Senate race The Associated Press Tampa Tribune Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio's criticism of President Barack Obama is resonating with Florida voters as they favor him by a wide margin over independent Gov. Charlie Crist and Democrat Kendrick Meek, a poll released Wednesday showed. CFO Alex Sink licensed ex-felons to sell insurance after bashing other agency for similar moves By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau At the same time Alex Sink tried to ban felons from selling mortgages in Florida, her own state office was licensing ex-cons in the insurance business. Scott 527 nets $308,000 in four days By Luke Johnson Florida Independent A 527 group affiliated with Republican candidate for Florida governor Rick Scott has earned an impressive $308,000 in four days of contributions. Rick Scott mining GOP vein in Southwest Florida By Jeremy Wallace Sarasota Herald-Tribune Republican Rick Scott is trying to build a pathway to the governor's mansion that relies heavily on winning big in Sarasota, Manatee and other counties in Southwest Florida. Agribusiness money powers Putnam's Ag Commissioner campaign By Richard Burnett Orlando Sentinel Fueled by massive support from agriculture and other business interests, Republican U.S. Rep. Adam H. Putnam's campaign coffers have overflowed in his bid to become the state's next commissioner of agriculture. Kosmas, Adams clash in rowdy congressional campaign debate By Ludmilla Lelis Orlando Sentinel U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas and state Rep. Sandy Adams argued face to face about health-care reform and NASA funding Wednesday night during a raucous congressional campaign debate in which they called each other naive and attacked each other's ads. Congressional candidate West challenges incumbent Klein's shift on union issue By George Bennett Palm Beach Post U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, voted for organized labor's top priority in 2007 - a "card check" bill that would allow unions to bypass secret-ballot elections if a majority of employees sign cards requesting a union. Maybe Rivera's past is really top secret By Fred Grimm Miami Herald Intrigue fairly drips off David Rivera. Like sweat off a double-agent's forehead. Gianoulis' 'Deb!' too close to 'Jeb!' for Bush By Tia Mitchell Florida Times-Union The colors are the same. As are the last two letters. And the exclamation point. Central Florida Democrats gather at house parties to hear Obama's get-out-the-vote message By Christine Show Orlando Sentinel As President Barack Obama urged voters to head to the polls in November, Central Florida Democrats huddled around computers at house parties Tuesday night and tuned in his live webcast. We get the politicians we deserve By Joy-Ann Reid Miami Herald This past weekend, I tried a Twitter thought experiment, asking Florida Republicans to tweet back if they were proud -- not supportive, or intending to vote for, but proud -- of Rick Scott as their gubernatorial nominee. Computer glitch in Tallahassee could delay distribution of some absentee ballots By Marc Caputo St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau If you changed your mailing address recently and just requested an absentee ballot, there's a small chance you might not get it quickly because of a glitch in the state's voter database. BALLOT INITIATIVES Fla. class-size debate over flexibility, funding By Christine Armario and Bill Kaczor The Associate Press “Flexibility” and “funding” are the buzzwords of the debate over a Nov. 2 ballot proposal that would loosen Florida's class-size limits. Why PTA advocates voting No on Amendment 8 By Karin Brown and Latha Krishnaiyer Miami Herald As the oldest and largest child-advocacy association in this state and nation, every position we take needs to satisfactorily answer the question, “Is this good for all children?” Amendment 4: Question could change South Florida landscape By Andres Viglucci Miami Herald Pop quiz: What is a comprehensive development plan? Why retirees should support Amendments 5 and 6 By Tony Fransetta Gainesville Sun On November 2 voters will have an historic opportunity to vote for meaningful political reform by voting "Yes" on the "Fair Districts" Amendments 5 and 6. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Nearly six months after Deepwater Horizon explosion, cleanup continues By Kate Bradshaw WMNF Community Radio Tampa Next week marks six months since the blowout at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. State growth management agency unfairly attacked By Charles Pattison Gainesville Sun According to recent news reports, gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott would support eliminating the state’s land planning agency, the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA). LGBT DCF won't appeal overturn of gay adoption ban The Associated Press Miami Herald Related: ACLU applauds DCF decision not to appeal adoption ruling 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. Lesbian couple file to adopt in Florida, where ban was overturned By John Couwels CNN A lesbian couple have applied to adopt a child after Florida's child advocacy agency announced it won't fight a court ruling that found the state's ban on such adoptions unconstitutional. EDUCATION U.S. education secretary pays visit to Jacksonville school By Topher Sanders Florida Times-Union Jacksonville’s KIPP Impact Middle School will receive $500,000 from the federal government to support its music program, the school’s national foundation announced Wednesday during a visit by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Federal money coming to boost Dade schools By Kathleen McGrory Miami Herald The Miami-Dade school district will soon be able to receive about $70 million in education funding from the federal government. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY States launch an inquiry into home foreclosure crisis By Toluse Olorunnipa and Ina Paiva Cordle Miami Herald In a new foreclosure crisis that has gone national, all 50 states plus the District of Columbia have launched a sweeping probe of the country's lenders, even as new figures showed banks repossessed a record number of homes in September. Foreclosure 'robo-signers' appear to be widespread By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Florida foreclosure law firms were using the same "robo-signer"-type practices to repossess homes that tripped up the nation's major lenders, a signal, defense attorneys argue, that should lead to a larger foreclosure moratorium. Symposium: Why Aren't Florida Candidates Talking About Poverty? By Gina Presson Public News Service Florida Nearly 3 million Floridians are living in poverty, according to U.S. Census Bureau 2009 numbers. HEALTH AND SENIORS Nurses, doctors at odds on politics By Jim Saunders and Carol Gentry Health News Florida Anyone who hasn't noticed the big difference between the world views of doctors and nurses could catch on just by looking at their endorsements in the Florida governor's race. Feds urge states: Push insurers to offer child-only health policies By Linda Shrieves Orlando Sentinel In what appears to be an early skirmish in implementing the health-care overhaul, federal officials Wednesday urged states to push insurance companies to sell health policies for children — about a month after many insurers stopped selling child-only policies. Finances better, but Jackson Health still in trouble By John Dorschner Miami Herald Although numbers are preliminary and auditors want more money to study them, Treasurer Marcos Lapciuc has praised executives of the Jackson Health System for a “remarkable turnaround” in finishing their fiscal year with an estimated loss of $90 million -- far lower than the $244 million deficit in fiscal 2009. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Tomato grower, harvesters strike historic accord By Amy Bennett Williams Ft. Myers News-Press After years of impasse, one of the nation's largest tomato growers has made peace with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Modern-Day Slavery Museum makes a visit By Bill Daley Miami Herald When we hear the word “slavery” nowadays, most of us probably think of the plantations in the South back in the days of the Civil War.