Daily Clips for 11-24-10

FEATURED STORIES Generational challenge brewing in vote for state Democratic party chair By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times The November election is over but another is heating up in the Florida Democratic Party. Democrats to Scott: Show us the jobs By Kelli Kennedy The Associated Press Show us the jobs. That is what Republican and Democratic legislators said Tuesday during informal meetings with Gov.-elect Rick Scott as he followed through on a campaign promise to sit down with state leaders before taking office in January. Const. amendment, round 2? By Jim Saunders Health News Florida Florida Republican lawmakers are reviving a proposed constitutional amendment that takes aim at a major part of the federal health overhaul --- with Senate President Mike Haridopolos planning the unusual step of sponsoring the proposal himself. Pelham makes it official: He's stepping down as agency chief By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune The embattled head of Florida's growth management agency has made it official that he will have no role in the administration of Governor-elect Rick Scott. Hungry For Help The Progress Report Think Progress As the holidays approach, more American kitchen tables will be empty than at any time in recent memory. FLORIDA POLITICS The New Regime Takes Power By James Call WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee Related: New Faces in Florida Legislature May Bring Change The Republican Party has controlled the legislative branch of Florida government for a dozen years. Gillum seeks to lead Florida Dem. Party By Jim Ash Florida Capital News Another Tallahassee city commissioner and political wunderkind wants to seize the reins of the Florida Democratic Party. Ousted GOP chairman Jim Greer's lawsuit against party tossed out By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the Florida Republican Party by its ousted chairman. FSU grad next director of Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee By Jim Ash Florida Capital News The musical chairs at the upper echelons of state government continued Tuesday with the news that interim Secretary of State Dawn Roberts is about to return to her old home in the Legislature. Bucher changes mind: Now willing to fix voting system instead of buying new one By Adam Playford Palm Beach Post Just days after saying Palm Beach County would need to scrap its existing voting equipment for faster results, Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher said today she now wants to consider buying add-ons to the machines she has. POLITICAL RACES Sen. Bill Nelson gets his first official Republican challenger for 2012 By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times Mike McCalister, a Republican who ran for Florida governor, said today that he'll challenge Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Feinberg to lay out details on BP spill claims The Associated Press Palm Beach Post The deadline to make an emergency Gulf of Mexico oil spill claim is over and the administrator of the $20 billion fund is laying out more details about what happens next. Environment Florida: 60 mpg standard would save Floridians millions over holiday weekend By Kate Bradshaw WMNF Community Radio Tampa An estimated one million cars will be taking to Florida’s highways for the upcoming holiday weekend. LGBT Orange approves anti-discrimination rules for gays By David Damron Orlando Sentinel Orange County leaders joined the ranks of most other urban areas in Florida on Tuesday by voting 6-1 to expand anti-discrimination protections for gay people in the private sector. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY IRS looking to give back almost $20 million in undelivered refunds Florida By Jeff Harrington St. Petersburg Times Payback time: the Internal Revenue Service is on the hunt for 11,278 Florida taxpayers who are due refund checks worth a combined $19.7 million. HEALTH AND SENIORS State Rep. Plakon resurrects health care amendment By Marcos Restrepo Florida Independent State Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, last Tuesday filed House Joint Resolution 1, which proposes that the legislature place an amendment on Florida ballots that, if passed, would “prohibit laws or rules from compelling any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system,” a challenge to President Obama’s health care reform legislation. Listen up, GOP: new poll says majority of Americans want to keep or expand health care law By Mitch Perry Creative Loafing Although Congressional Republicans know they won’t be able to repeal the entirety of the landmark federal health care bill signed into law earlier this year, many of them insist that they’ll be able to kill it ever so softly, by starving provisions of the bill individually when they come up for a vote in the GOP controlled House, and hopefully then have a Republican president kill it outright in 2013. As drug deaths mount, new law stalls tighter state regulation By Lee Logan St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau In their zeal to slow down government regulations, Florida lawmakers have inadvertently halted an effort to regulate so-called "pill mills" that fuel an epidemic of prescription drug abuse. Contract fight pushes drug database start to 2011 By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune A new prescription drug database that was supposed to start on Dec. 1 won’t be up and running until sometime in 2011. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Counting votes for the DREAM Act: LeMieux says he ‘cannot support’ it By Elise Foley Florida Independent The DREAM Act, a bill that would allow some undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to stay in the country legally, will come up for a vote as a standalone bill sometime before the end of the year, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Don't let Hawkes off the hook Editorial St. Petersburg Times Paul Hawkes’ abrupt resignation as chief judge of the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee is a positive development, but it should not silence questions about his abuse of his position to win approval for an opulent new courthouse.