Daily Clips for October 19, 2010

FEATURED STORIES Under oath, Rick Scott displays poor memory, penchant for parsing words By Marc Caputo St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Excerpt: Excerpts from Rick Scott under oath Rick Scott the candidate promises voters "the unvarnished truth." Crist allure plagues Democrats By William March Tampa Tribune Charlie Crist's no-party U.S. Senate candidacy is entangling Florida Democrats in a difficult racial knot of a kind they've experienced before, to their regret. The G.O.P. Petri Dish By Adam Smith New York Times Conservative government is nothing new in Florida, but Nov. 2 could shift the direction of America’s biggest battleground state significantly further to the right. Midterm mystery: Will Latinos vote? By John Lantigua Palm Beach Post When it comes to voting on Nov. 2, Wendy Francisco, an Indiantown resident of Guatemalan descent, is still trying to make up her mind. Fiscal Duplicity By Thomas Francis Florida Center for Investigative Reporting Related: Map: Lettermarking in Florida On the same morning in February 2009 that President Barack Obama promoted the federal economic stimulus plan in Fort Myers, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, a Republican from Lee County, appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to criticize that same legislation. FLORIDA POLITICS Jim Greer case: No Dean Cannon deposition Monday By Rene Stutzman Orlando Sentinel Incoming-Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon did not sit down this morning in a law office in Orlando, take an oath to tell the truth then answer hard questions about his role in firing deposed Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer. Judge skeptical of campaign finance laws challenge By Jim Ash Florida Capital News A skeptical U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle on Monday questioned a conservative group's motives for challenging Florida's campaign finance laws so close to the Nov. 2 election. Fla. voter registration down slightly, but more independents seen Staff Report Orlando Sentinel Florida voter registration is down slightly from two years ago, but the ranks of independent voters have grown since then. POLITICAL RACES Popular early voting gets under way in Fla. By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Prodded by both political parties and dozens of anxious candidates, Florida voters began casting ballots Monday in a history-making election. Early voting kicks off smoothly in South Florida By Luisa Yanez and John Dorschner Miami Herald The 9,959 South Florida voters who showed up to cast early ballots for next month's election had to wait no longer than seven minutes to vote in several crucial races, including those of Florida's next senator and governor. Florida's long-distance campaign for governor enters the home stretch By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune And now the election really starts. Florida’s souped-up, long-distance, and largely impersonal campaign for governor enters the final countdown with the start of early voting on Monday. Debates could be winning edge for Florida gubernatorial candidates Scott, Sink By Brandon Larrabee Florida Times-Union With polls showing a dead heat in the governor’s race, Republican candidate Rick Scott and Democratic nominee Alex Sink are preparing to take the stage in what could be a crucial pair of debates. Scott spends $1.7 million more of his own cash on campaign; Sink raises $420,000 By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post As he did in the primary, Republican candidate Rick Scott is pumping millions of his personal wealth into his campaign account in an effort to keep the Florida governor's mansion in GOP hands for the next four years. Scott gets more national, Sink more personal as gubernatorial election nears By Ryan Mills Naples Daily News On Aug. 23, one day before Florida’s primary election, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott posted a short video to his YouTube website painting a “clear choice” between him and his rival in the race, Attorney General Bill McCollum. Wealthy outsider in close race for Fla. governor By Matt Sedensky The Associated Press Rick Scott is the lanky, lackluster high school athlete who wooed one of the pep squad girls. Tort reform an under-the-table issue in governor's race By Aaron Deslatte Orlando Sentinel Democratic gubernatorial nominee Alex Sink is a big fan of lawyers. Her husband, former gubernatorial nominee Bill McBride, is a partner in a Tampa law firm. Her running mate – former legislator Rod Smith -- is a former prosecutor and plaintiff's attorney, as is his son. In tight race, both camps underline area's key role By Jeremy Wallace Sarasota Herald-Tribune Florida's closest gubernatorial race in 16 years officially hit the home stretch on Monday, and Sarasota was at the center of it. Clinton campaigns with Meek in St. Pete The Associated Press Tampa Tribune Trailing badly in a three-way race for U.S. Senate, Democrat Kendrick Meek gets some star power from former President Bill Clinton in St. Petersburg. Suffolk University Poll of Florida: Republican Marco Rubio Leads by 8 Points By David Paleologos Suffolk University With a little over two weeks left in the 2010 election cycle, Republican Marco Rubio (39 percent) leads Independent candidate Charlie Crist (31 percent) by 8 points and Democrat Kendrick Meek (22 percent) by 17 points in the race for U.S. Senate, according to the latest Suffolk University/WSVN poll. Gov. Charlie Crist's campaign differs from four years ago By Becky Bowers St. Petersburg Times Four years ago, Charlie Crist's smile beamed from a 70-foot-tall banner on the side of a Tampa office building. Republican CFO candidate Atwater downplays role in failed bank By Lee Logan St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Jeff Atwater says nearly 30 years of community banking experience gives him a "unique insight" into the duties he would face if elected as Florida's chief financial officer. Agency disappears from David Rivera's forms By Scott Hiaasen and Patricia Mazzei Miami Herald Republican congressional candidate David Rivera has amended his state financial disclosure forms to erase any mention of consulting work for the U.S. Agency for International Development -- days after USAID officials said they had no records showing Rivera worked for the agency. Subject of debate: West's biker ties, Klein's ties to Lewis By John Lantigua Palm Beach Post It's the company you keep, at least if you're running for Congress in District 22. Grayson has big lead over Webster in money race By Mark K. Matthews Orlando Sentinel If U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson loses next month to Republican challenger Dan Webster, it won't be because the Orlando Democrat hasn't raised enough money. Of all Democrats, U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd should be safe, but he's not By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times Each morning as he heads out on the campaign trail, an increasingly bleak and hostile landscape, U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd must ask himself, "Why me?" Race gets money infusion By Dave Berman Florida Today Incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas has spent nearly $1.8 million so far in her campaign to win re-election. What the Voters Want By Susan MacManus New York Times Since the early 2000s, Florida’s economy has gone from boom to bust. The Republicans Are Dominant By Carol S. Weissert New York Times In the five statewide races (one United States Senate seat, a governor's race and three cabinet officials), I expect Democrats to pick up only one seat -- the governorship. BALLOT INITIATIVES Legislative and Congressional Redistricting By Aubrey Jewett New York Times While Florida is a battleground for statewide elections like president and governor, it has not been very competitive for Congressional House and State Legislature races for the past decade. Distrust of elected officials led to local version of Amendment 4 in Yankeetown By Travis Pillow Florida Independent Early voting begins today in Florida elections, and in addition to choosing candidates in statewide and congressional elections, voters will decide a series of ballot initiatives, among them Amendment 4, which would give them a say in local land-use decisions. Supermajority requirement coming back to haunt GOP By Ron Littlepage Florida Times-Union In 2006, the Republican-controlled Legislature placed a constitutional amendment on the ballot that required all future amendments be approved by 60 percent of the voters before going into effect instead of a simple majority. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Scientists lower Gulf health grade By Seth Borenstein The Associated Press Six months after the rig explosion that led to the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, damage to the Gulf of Mexico can be measured more in increments than extinctions, say scientists polled by The Associated Press. Less Support for Off-Shore Drilling By Robert W. McKnight New York Times The biggest policy shift over the next few years in Florida will be on energy. LGBT Despite anti-bullying law, many schools lack LGBT protections By Bianca Fortis Florida Independent The recent string of suicides across the nation because of anti-gay bullying has elevated discussions of school bullying, especially in regard to LGBT students, to the national level. Uncertainty Around DADT The Progress Report Think Progress Last week, the Justice Department asked Judge Virginia Phillips to stay her broad injunction barring the military from enforcing the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy until it has an opportunity to appeal the decision to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. McCollum should stop defending Florida's ban on gay adoption Editorial Orlando Sentinel Florida's cruel and discriminatory law banning gays from adopting children is hanging by a thread. After 33 years, Florida finally gets it right on gay adoption Editorial South Florida Sun-Sentinel It would have been a fitting funeral for Florida's archaic, bigoted gay adoption law if it had gone all the way to the state Supreme Court before finally being shot down. EDUCATION Broward School Board ends teacher negotiations without giving raises By Akilah Johnson South Florida Sun-Sentinel Contentious contract negotiations between the Broward School Board and the teachers union finally ended Monday night — without teachers getting pay raises. Prepaid 101: What to know about college plans By Nirvi Shah and John Dorschner Miami Herald As enrollment started Monday in this year's Florida Prepaid College Plans, certified financial planner Meg Green said people with limited resources might find prepaying for college “a safer bet” but other types of plans could save parents more money in the long run, though they involve more risk. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Global bullet train makers gird for Tampa-Orlando high-speed rail bidding war By Robert Trigaux St. Petersburg Times Like bees to honey, the world's major makers of bullet trains are converging on the planned Tampa-to-Orlando high-speed rail project to pitch their version of a really fast train service. Light Rail Gets Thumbs-Up from Transit Agency By Steve Newborn WUSF Public Radio Tampa The agency that would operate Hillsborough County's light rail line - if it gets OK'd by voters in two weeks - took another step toward getting their final plans in place. HEALTH AND SENIORS Insurance agents worry health-care overhaul may shrink their profits By Linda Shrieves Orlando Sentinel Doctors aren't the only ones concerned about health-care overhaul. Across the country, insurance agents are worried that the new federal mandates may shut them out of the health-care market. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Farmworkers and their supporters march in Tampa By Kelly Benjamin WMNF Community Radio Tampa Last Friday during rush hour, A group called Tampa Bay Fair Food organized a march from downtown Tampa to the Publix Greenwise Market in Hyde Park to protest Publix Super Market's policies regarding fair food practices and farmworker rights.