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Progress Florida -- Progressive Solutions for Florida

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Progress Florida Daily Clips 11-3-10

FEATURED STORIES

No clear winner yet in Florida governor's race
By Michael C. Bender, Steve Bousquet and Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related:
One-stop state, local and federal election results
There was no clear winner between Republican Rick Scott and Democrat Alex Sink early this morning in the state's closest governor's race in 16 years.

Marco Rubio elected to U.S. Senate
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Related editorial:
Rubio has opportunity to shape agenda
Floridians overwhelmingly elected Marco Rubio, the 39-year-old son of a bartender and Kmart stock clerk, to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, capping a tumultuous election and historic downfall of Gov. Charlie Crist.

Florida redistricting standards pass while class-size changes, Hometown Democracy fail
By Becky Bowers and Ron Matus
St. Petersburg Times
Voters followed the money on citizen-led constitutional amendments Tuesday, narrowly passing two redistricting measures backed by a $9 million campaign and rejecting a dramatically outspent Hometown Democracy effort.

Republicans win all three state Cabinet races
By Lee Logan, Colleen Jenkins and Jay Weaver
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Republican candidates won all three state Cabinet posts Tuesday, continuing the party's dominance in statewide races over the past decade.

Decisive losses in Florida Congressional races match national wave
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Florida voters swept four Democratic members of Congress from office, part of a wave of victories that delivered the House of Representatives to Republicans, dramatically redrawing the lines of power in Washington.

What Yesterday's Election Means for Progressives
By Robert Creamer
The Huffington Post
Last week I argued that there was a path to victory for Democrats in the House. That turned out to be wrong.

POLITICAL RACES

Scott still ahead as GOP makes big gains in Florida; Sink lawyering up
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
It’s not as close or exciting as the presidential race 10 years ago, but the outcome of Florida’s race for governor is still too close to call.

Scott says 'We have won' but Sink refuses to concede governor's race
By Aaron Deslatte
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Republican Rick Scott proclaimed himself the next governor of Florida as he clung to a narrow lead this morning over Democrat Alex Sink in one of the closest, costliest and most politically significant gubernatorial slugfests in the country.

Governor's race waits: Palm Beach County late over worker error
By Andrew Marra, Dara Kam and Jeff Ostrowski
Palm Beach Post
The rest of the state had the bulk of its votes counted by late Tuesday.

Marco Rubio, ‘son of exiles,’ rises as U.S. senator
By Beth Reinhard
Miami Herald
Behold Republican Marco Rubio, political giant killer and one of the freshest faced lieutenants of the conservative insurrection in Washington, who finished off Florida's sitting governor on Tuesday to become the state's next U.S. senator.

After leading in the polls the past two months, Rubio prevails
By George Bennett, Jane Musgrave and Ana Valdes
Palm Beach Post
Before there was ever any talk of a Republican wave, there was Marco Rubio.

Voter anger helped Marco Rubio, Rick Scott exit polls show
By Curt Anderson
The Associated Press
Florida voters who elected Republican Marco Rubio to the Senate on Tuesday were overwhelmingly dissatisfied or angry about the federal government's performance, and Rubio drew support from both tea party backers and many who described themselves as neutral about the conservative movement.

Bondi becomes state's first female AG
By Laura Kinsler
Tampa Tribune
Republican Pam Bondi led a GOP sweep of the state's three Cabinet posts by edging her more experienced opponent in the race for attorney general.

Atwater beats Ausley; pledges transparency
The Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater will become Florida's next chief financial officer, a position many consider the state's second-most influential office.

Putnam wins agriculture commissioner's race
By Richard Burnett
Orlando Sentinel
Republican Adam Putnam breezed past Democrat Scott Maddox on Tuesday in the race to become Florida's next commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

4 Florida Dem. congressional incumbents unseated
By Bill Kaczor
The Associated Press
Republicans ousted four Florida Democratic incumbents Tuesday and lost none of their own congressional seats in the state to help the GOP take control of the U.S. House.

Florida sending 8 new members to US House
The Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
For all the talk about tea parties and fresh faces, only two of Florida's eight new U.S. House members can be considered "outsiders."

Dan Webster beats Alan Grayson in a landslide
By Mark Schlueb
Orlando Sentinel
Democrat U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson — at the same time loved and hated by partisans across the country — was ousted from Congress on Tuesday by Dan Webster, a quiet conservative known to Central Florida voters after nearly three decades in the Legislature.

Republicans reclaim Congressional District 24
By Ludmilla Lelis
Orlando Sentinel
Sandy Adams, a Republican state legislator, on Tuesday reclaimed the Congressional District 24 seat for the GOP, which succeeded in ousting Suzanne Kosmas, the Democratic incumbent.

Allen West defeats Ron Klein
By Anthony Man and David Fleshler
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The national wave of discontent with the Democratic-controlled Congress swept through South Florida on Tuesday, costing Ron Klein his congressional seat and sending Republican Allen West to Congress, where he's likely to get a quick place on the national stage.

Rivera victory caps contentious race
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Republican David Rivera decisively staved off a challenge to win a Miami congressional seat Tuesday, as a conservative current swept Florida GOP candidates into office.

Long-serving Dem. Allen Boyd loses to Rep. Southerland
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
Republican Steve Southerland Tuesday defeated seven-term incumbent Democrat Allen Boyd to represent the Big Bend in Congress.

John Thrasher survives challenge for Florida Senate seat
By Tia Mitchell
Florida Times-Union
State Sen. John Thrasher easily held onto his seat Tuesday, prevailing in what was considered the most closely watched legislative race this campaign season.

GOP has veto-proof majority in state Senate
By Matthew Doig
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Republicans in the state Senate picked up two seats on election night, giving them the 28 seats necessary to secure a coveted veto-proof majority.

GOP gains two-thirds majority in Fla. Legislature
By Brent Kallestad
The Associated Press
Republicans gained two additional seats Tuesday in the Florida Senate and possibly a half dozen more in the state House, putting the Legislature clearly in the driver's seat on making policy for at least the next two years.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Legislative, congressional redistricting amendments pass
The Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Voters approved two amendments setting new rules for how legislative and congressional districts in Florida are redrawn each decade.

Voters reject loosening of class-size rules
The Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Voters rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have loosened Florida's limits on the number of children who can be in public school classes.

Florida voters reject land-use amendment
By Tamara Lush
The Associated Press
Voters overwhelmingly rejected Tuesday a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have drastically changed the development approval process in Florida.

Repeal of public campaign finance system rejected
By Antonio Gonzalez
The Associated Press
An amendment to abandon Florida's public campaign financing system was rejected by voters Tuesday, keeping the provision in the state constitution.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Septic shock
By Dinah Voyles Pulver
Daytona Beach News-Journal
State health officials are putting the finishing touches on a new rule that will require septic tank owners to spend anywhere from $150 to $400 every five years to help protect Florida's water quality.

LGBT

Shift in balance of power will slow advancement of gay-rights legislation in Congress
By the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Miami Herald
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force responded to the projected shift in the balance of power on Capitol Hill, with Republicans poised to regain control of the U.S. House.

EDUCATION

Seminole worried about computer testing
By Dave Weber
Orlando Sentinel
The school year is zipping along and Seminole school officials are growing more and more concerned as they approach the spring, when they will for the first time be required to give some FCAT tests and other statewide exams by computer.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida exit polls show voters overwhelmingly worried about economy
By Angie Drobnic Holan
St. Petersburg Times
Voters are overwhelmingly worried about the economy and want elected officials to address it as their top concern, according to exit poll interviews conducted across the state of Florida on Tuesday.

Florida clears almost 66,000 foreclosure cases in three months
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post
Florida's courts cleared 65,830 foreclosure cases in the three-month period beginning July 1, with 71 percent being decided in quickie hearings before the judge sometimes called "rocket dockets."

HEALTH AND SENIORS

AMA Head Predicts 'Catastrophe' If Physician Medicare Pay Isn’t Fixed
By Andrew Villegas and Mary Agnes Carey
Kaiser Health News
While most people are focused on the midterm elections Tuesday, the American Medical Association is gearing up for the lame-duck congressional session scheduled to start Nov. 15.

Law closes pill mills but makes it harder for some patients to get pain meds
By Bob LaMendola
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Florida's month-old pain clinic law has succeeded in driving some pill mills out of business, but has also created complications for some doctors and pain-stricken patients.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Poll: Latinos favor GOP candidates in Florida
By Soledad O'Brien
CNN
An election eve poll of likely Latino voters in Florida shows they favored Republicans in the U.S. House, Senate and governor's races.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Fla. justices, judges retain seats despite general public discontent
By Paul Flemming
Florida Capital News
In the 38 years of Florida judicial merit-retention votes, no appellate judge or Supreme Court justice has ever been tossed off the bench by voters.

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