Daily Clips for November 10, 2010

FEATURED STORIES Scott mingles with the Tallahassee insiders By John Kennedy News Service of Florida Related AP story: Rick Scott reveals little about strategy as governor during visit to Tallahassee Gov.-elect Rick Scott made his first post-election trip Tuesday to the Florida Capitol, taking part in a pair of brief, closed-door meetings with outgoing Gov. Charlie Crist and incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon. In the Capitol basement, political dreams fade By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau A platform in the basement of the Capitol has been the stage for some of the state's brightest political stars twice a month for the past four years. Pelham lashes out at critics of state planning agency By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune Tom Pelham, the secretary of the state's land planning agency, lashed back at critics on Tuesday, saying that it was unfair to fault state planners when they have no role in writing laws or rules that guide Florida's growth. FLORIDA POLITICS Florida Gov. Crist's final days may be in vain By Jim Ash Ft. Myers News-Press With only eight weeks left in office, Gov. Charlie Crist finds himself at odds with his former party, an ultra-conservative Legislature poised to override 10 of his vetoes and the possibility that his successor will cancel scores of his appointments. Outgoing Sen. LeMieux mulls 2012 Senate bid By Brendan Farrington The Associated Press U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, appointed to his job in mid-2009, said Tuesday he is alarmed by soaring federal spending and that it might prompt him to run in his own right for the Senate seat held by Democrat Bill Nelson in 2012. Village Square reunites players in 2000 recount By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News With the whole world watching, a judge in the eye of Florida's 2000 presidential whirlwind worried that his borrowed courtroom looked a bit too tropical to be taken seriously. Incoming Senate President Haridopolos announces lieutenants By Brett Ader Florida Indpendent Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos, R-Merrit Island, held a press conference in Tallahassee today announcing his leadership team will include Sen. Andy Gardiner of Orlando serving as Senate Majority Leader, and Sen. Mike Bennet of Bradenton as pro tempore. Congressional Black Caucus to allow West to join By Luke Johnson Florida Independent Related: West taps South Florida right-wing talk show host as chief of staff The Congressional Black Caucus will allow two black Republicans, Allen West of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina, to join, according to a statement made by the CBC’s chair, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif. Navy Veterans charity may have been front for pumping money to politicians By Jeff Testerman and John Martin St. Petersburg Times Was the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, which operated as a tax-exempt charity from a Tampa duplex, really a front that siphoned cash donated by the public and pumped it into the campaigns of politicians? For the Carroll family, competition in politics and sports By Michelle Kaufman Miami Herald It's the summer of 1999 and 12-year-old Nolan Carroll II, a talented little soccer player and track star, is skating around his Jacksonville neighborhood with a stack of political fliers, going door to door to campaign for his mother. Haridopolos, soon-to-be leader of the Florida Senate, should set ethical standard for colleagues Editorial TC Palm Florida Senate President-elect Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, will ascend to his new — and powerful — position Nov. 16 under less-than-ideal circumstances. BALLOT INITIATIVES Respect will of the people Editorial Ft. Myers News-Press Attempts by politicians to thwart the express will of the people of Florida is bad enough. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Extravagant cost estimates for water quality standards written by industry, and disputed by state By Virginia Chamlee Florida Independent Dozens of politicians, lobbyists and industry heads have written to both the EPA and Congress to argue against new water quality standards that would force many big utilities and agricultural companies to reduce the amount of waste they dump in Florida’s waterbodies. Gulf oil spill: Experts slam BP on safety The Associated Press Pensacola News Journal BP too often operated on the fly in the closing days of work on its doomed Gulf oil well, adding needless risk of a blowout, investigators, experts and panel members said at the presidential oil spill commission Tuesday. Bait fish hold key to monitoring gulf oil spill effects, conference concludes By Craig Pittman St. Petersburg Times One way to keep tabs on the real impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster on the Gulf of Mexico, a scientific conference decided Tuesday, is to watch what happens to the lowly bait fish: the menhaden, the mullet, the sardines. South Florida water managers weigh costly consequences of sea level rise By Andy Reid South Florida Sun-Sentinel For millions of South Floridians, life on a peninsula means melting icecaps in Greenland aren't just something for polar bears to worry about. LGBT 2 lawsuits challenge U.S. Defense of Marriage Act The Associated Press Miami Herald Gay civil rights groups trying to build momentum for a possible Supreme Court showdown filed two lawsuits Tuesday that seek to strike down portions of a 1996 law that denies married same-sex couples federal benefits. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Insurance claims for Florida sinkhole damage spike By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Florida homeowners are filing damage claims from sinkholes at a rapidly growing rate with claims this year totaling one-third more than the previous four years combined. Extra funds for NASA in doubt By Bart Jansen Ft. Myers News-Press The Republican takeover of the House may threaten the additional funding for NASA requested by President Barack Obama. HEALTH AND SENIORS Cannon defends veto override of bill opposed by doctors By Christine Jordan Sexton Florida Tribune Incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon on Tuesday defended a decision by lawmakers to override the veto of HB 5603, a measure that was hotly opposed by many in the medical community and may have sparked campaign contributions for Republicans. State GOP leaders look at way to trim Medicaid costs By Stacey Singer Palm Beach Post Until last week, the idea of any state pulling out of the federal-state Medicaid health insurance program was inconceivable. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Florida's Clemency Board open to posthumous pardon for Jim Morrison By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau One of the final acts for Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet could be to clear the record of former Doors frontman Jim Morrison, who was convicted of indecent exposure after a 1969 concert in Miami. He died two years later.