Daily Clips for November 22, 2010

FEATURED STORIES Scott’s team coming into focus By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Palace intrigue surrounds Rick Scott as he prepares to take control of the governor’s office. Fla. GOP aims for smaller budget By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News With conservative campaign promises still fresh in the minds of voters, Florida's newly elected leaders have some hard choices of balancing a budget and maintaining essential services. Florida's failed tax policies have our economy in the tank By Scott Maxwell Orlando Sentinel If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, then Florida politicians are downright deranged. The tragedy of how the richer made us poorer By Robyn E. Blumner St. Petersburg Times Why do you think John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are so intent on renewing the Bush tax cuts for the richest 2 percent of Americans when they know it will bust another $700 billion hole in our national treasury over 10 years and prove their hypocrisy on fiscal responsibility? Grass roots and hedge funds lined Marco Rubio's path to the Senate By Alex Leary and Lesley Clark St. Petersburg Times Related Politifact article: Steve Schale's claim about Marco Rubio's 2002 earmark requests is true On the same day in June that the U.S. House of Representatives passed expansive Wall Street reforms, an influential hedge fund manager who strongly opposed the legislation was holding a fundraiser in his Manhattan apartment for Marco Rubio. EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK By Jim Morin Miami Herald FLORIDA POLITICS Crist administration begins to move to the exits By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune Gov. Charlie Crist on Friday jumpstarted the transition for Governor-elect Rick Scott by demanding letters of resignation from all agency heads, their management teams, and employees in the governor’s office. Sen. Bill Nelson lashes out at White House staff By Nathan Crabbe Gainesville Sun U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson criticized President Barack Obama's staff in a speech at the University of Florida on Friday, saying they failed him on issues such as the Gulf oil spill, the housing crisis and the space program. ‘On to 2007!’ By George F. Will Newsweek Come January, the faces of 34 U.S. senators will be wreathed with “six-year smiles”—the carefree look of those whose next election is agreeably distant. Lobbying income continues to slide downward By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune Lobbyist income for the third quarter of the year dipped slightly from 2009. Rules for government? The Legislature will be the judge of that By Aaron Deslatte Orlando Sentinel Florida politicians are pros at making bogey men out of their own employees: in particular, the bureaucrats tasked with making sense out of the often vague, sometimes contradictory and occasionally unconstitutional laws that get passed in Tallahassee. Charlie Crist considering job with the 'people's' law firm By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times Charlie Crist, the self-styled "people's governor," is in talks to join the "people's" law firm. Lizard King to Gov. Crist: “Dude, you rock!” By Carl Hiaasen Miami Herald An absolutely true news item: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will seek a pardon for the late Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors, who was convicted of exposing himself and using profanity during a chaotic Miami concert in 1969. My Florida Recount Memory By various op-ed contributors New York Times Ten years ago this month, all eyes were on Florida as lawyers, election officials and campaign workers bickered over the hanging chads and dimpled ballots, the suits and countersuits, that would determine whether the next president would be Al Gore or George W. Bush. Let's (not) get this party started Editorial Pensacola News Journal Gov.-elect Rick Scott promised to "hit the ground running" on inauguration day, but his pledge will have to wait at least until the party's over. POLITICAL RACES Immigration may ding GOP in 2012 election By Myriam Marquez Miami Herald The GOP got its mojo back among Hispanic voters this year, which for Cubans and Puerto Ricans is a culinary delight: the mojo is the garlicky stuff you put on just about every food, as in mojo chicken. Rep. Connie Mack laying groundwork to run against Bill Nelson in 2012 By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times Rep. Connie Mack IV is making a play for the U.S. Senate, where his father once served. GOP won more than seats in Congress By Kingsley Guy South Florida Sun-Sentinel The following are a few data-driven observations concerning the Nov. 2 election. BALLOT INITIATIVES If You Think the Fight for Fair Districts in Florida is Over, Think Again By Dennis Maley Bradenton Times State Senator Don Gaetz is opposed to the Fair Districting Amendment that was passed with overwhelming support in the mid-term election earlier this month. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Oil spill funds flow past tainted shores By Louis Cooper Pensacola News Journal Excerpt: No BP pain, lots of BP gain More than half of the compensation the Gulf Coast Claims Facility has awarded in Florida for damages caused by last spring's BP oil spill has gone to areas outside of the five counties that reported oil on their beaches. In wake of oil spill, damage in the deep By Renee Schoof Miami Herald The search for what the BP oil well blowout did to the Gulf of Mexico already has gone to extraordinary lengths: more than 125 research cruises covering hundreds of square miles and taking thousands of water and sediment samples. Phosphate lawsuit: In hard-hit Hardee County, it's wetlands vs. jobs By Steve Huettel and Craig Pittman St. Petersburg Times After a hitch in the Navy and work handling psychiatric patients in lockdown, Billy Griffis held a prized job in this corner of rural Central Florida. Critics of FPL's Turkey Point expansion plan voice concerns By Curtis Morgan Miami Herald Federal regulators got an earful on Friday from activists fighting Florida Power & Light's plans to add two more nuclear reactors to its Turkey Point plant. Florida officials team up to protect water polluters Editorial St. Petersburg Times Rick Scott, Pam Bondi and the rest of Florida's newly elected Republican leadership teamed up the other day for a shameful cause — dirtier streams, lakes and drinking water. LGBT Pentagon trying to get ban lifted this year By Anne Gearan The Associated Press The Pentagon's top leaders warned Sunday that if Congress fails to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military, the courts may order changes that military leaders consider too fast or poorly thought-out. Florida's Gay Adoption Ban Crumbles: The Dad Behind the Case Celebrates By Bonnie Rochman Time Magazine Saturday is National Adoption Day. This year, Martin Gill is free to mark the day as the official father to two foster children he's been raising since a caseworker dropped the boys. EDUCATION Schools in funding trouble By Marcia Lane Florida Times-Union Don't expect any new schools being built here next year, and do expect cuts to educational programs and teaching positions in St. Johns County. Incoming Florida college students face readiness test By Leslie Williams Hale Naples Daily News Sixty percent of first-year American college students are academically unprepared for college. For college cheaters, a Bright Futures loophole By Richard Danielson St. Petersburg Times To win Florida's top Bright Futures scholarship, high school students must have good grades, high test scores, no felony record and 75 hours of community service. Not a panacea Editorial Florida Today Only time will tell if the Brevard County School Board’s decision Tuesday to allow Palm Bay Academy Charter to stay open, despite problems with its books and record-keeping, was a wise move. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Fla. Transit Plan Could Be Derailed By Jeremy Wallace Sarasota Herald-Tribune Just as it looked liked a nationwide high-speed rail system was taking off, a backlash by conservatives who now control many state governments is threatening to knock it off the tracks. Florida leads U.S. in serious mortgage delinquencies By Jeff Ostrowski Palm Beach Post Florida still leads the nation in the percentage of homeowners who are "seriously delinquent" on their loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday. Florida's unemployment rate remains at 11.9% By Douglas Hanks Miami Herald Florida's battered labor market stabilized last month as the unemployment rated stayed flat at 11.9 percent. Charities and jobless brace for benefits to expire By Zac Anderson Sarasota Herald-Tribune Alan Slate has avoided the food lines so far. HEALTH AND SENIORS Fla. GOP lawmakers' plan to cut Medicaid costs: Shield doctors from malpractice suits By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post One proposal by Republican lawmakers to help reduce the $20 billion that Florida expects to pay for health care for the poor in the coming year hinges on an age-old battle between doctors and lawyers: whether doctors should be protected from medical malpractice lawsuits. Lack of distracted driving laws hurts state in ranking By Cindy Swirko Gainesville Sun Related editorial: A deadly repeal Florida's lack of regulations that ban distracted driving and require the use of motorcycle helmets led to a middling score among states in a road safety law survey conducted by the national Emergency Nurses Association. Michelle Obama visits Miami school Monday for health campaign Staff Report South Florida Sun-Sentinel Michelle Obama's campaign to reduce childhood obesity is making a stop in Miami. Lexapro Land: The Questionable Science and Obscene Profitability of Antidepressants in America By Dennis Maley Bradenton Times When Kathy got divorced her world seemed to come unglued. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Scott not backing off social network investment that Christian group urges him to drop By Ana M. Valdes Palm Beach Post Republican Gov.-elect Rick Scott is giving no indication he intends to bow to Christian protesters' demands that he give up his investment in a Spanish-language social networking site they consider immoral because it partners with Playboy Mexico and allows users to share provocative photos and messages. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Judge in ‘Taj Mahal’ scandal stepping down By Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Chief Judge Paul M. Hawkes resigned Friday from the top job at the 1st District Court of Appeal, just a few weeks before moving into a new courthouse that critics dubbed the “Taj Mahal” and “Taj MaHawkes.” Plaintiffs: Judge, 1st DCA had conflict of interest By Paul Flemming Florida Capital News Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the St. Joe Company have asked the Florida Supreme Court to vacate a 1st District Court of opinion, saying Judge Paul Hawkes and the entire court had a conflict of interest related to its new courthouse in southeast Tallahassee. Juvenile offenders still get near-life terms By Lloyd Dunkelberger Sarasota Herald-Tribune More than six months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Florida's practice of sending juveniles to prison for the rest of their lives for non-murder crimes was unconstitutional, not a single former juvenile sentenced in such cases has found much relief.