Daily Clips for December 10, 2010

FEATURED STORIES Crist, Cabinet pass resolution for civil rights-era activists By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau In a moving tribute tinged with sorrow, the state of Florida officially expressed regret Thursday to civil rights marchers who were beaten and jailed for protesting segregated beaches and lunch counters in St. Augustine in the 1960s. At St. Petersburg rally, Gov.-elect Rick Scott hints at school vouchers for all By Ron Matus St. Petersburg Times Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott told a cheering crowd of 900 voucher students today that he wants to continue expanding the program that allows them to attend private school at public expense and suggested the option should be available to all students. Merit pay: 2 plans on state lawmakers' radar By Leslie Postal Orlando Sentinel Florida is expected to adopt a merit-pay law next year that would tie teacher compensation to student performance on tests. Scott adamant: It’s jobs, jobs, jobs By Sara Kennedy Bradenton Herald Gov.-elect Rick Scott toured Tropicana Products Inc. on Thursday, saying afterward that everyone knows “what we need in this state now is jobs. It’s jobs, jobs, jobs.” Lawmakers ready to cut public employee retirement, health care By John Kennedy News Service of Florida With a $3 billion budget shortfall looming, Florida’s pension fund and employee health benefits are shaping up as piñatas that state lawmakers will whack next spring – hoping they will yield millions of dollars in cost savings. Senate blocks repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' By Anne Flaherty The Associated Press Related: Gay leaders denounce Senate block on 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal vote Senate Republicans have blocked legislation that would have repealed the military's policy of "don't ask, don't tell" and allowed gay troops to serve openly. BEST OF THE BLOGS The age of Ileana By Joy-Ann Reid The Reid Report When the 112th Congress convenes in January, it’s gonna be a whole new world in the House Foreign Relations committee…and that world is going to be short, feisty and belligerent toward commies who aren’t China. Gummint Ain’t No Bizniss, Ricky By Bruce Seaman Daily Marion Gov.-elect Rick Scott has approached his tenure as a foray into corporate restructuring, deeply focused on improving the bottom line. Florida State Senate Unleashes Dog Of War By Daniel Tilson The Examiner Senator Mike Bennett (R-Bradenton) is a leading figure in the new self-proclaimed “hard right-wing conservative” Florida State Legislature. George LeMieux Helps Kill DADT And National Defense Authorization Act By Inkberries Beach Peanuts Sen. “Stand In” George LeMieux joined his Republican colleagues today and voted to block consideration of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Are we choosing the right fights? By Kelly Twiss FLA Politics I was writing on my blog about how the Offshore Drilling issue is a microcosm of every issue right now. FLORIDA POLITICS Florida Gov.-elect Scott visits Port Everglades on 'Let's Get to Work' tour By Brittany Wallman South Florida Sun-Sentinel Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott visited Port Everglades on Thursday, telling a crowd of tourism business leaders on a cruise ship that he knows their importance to the state's economy. Departure of Crist leaves uncertain future for clemency board By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune Gov. Charlie Crist and members of the Florida Cabinet held their last-ever clemency board meeting on Thursday, holding a marathon session that lasted seven hours. Redistricting timeline stretches final deadline to June 2012 By Mary Ellen Klas St. Petersburg Times The Senate's redistricting guru, John Guthrie, told the Senate Reapportionment Committee on Thursday that the timeline for finishing its work will be compressed and difficult, based on the tentative schedule before them. Haridopolos does the U.S. Senate fundraise circuit in NY By Marc Caputo Miami Herald When Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos yesterday said he was "looking into" running for U.S. Senate, it was an understatement. Rep.-elect Allen West already on Cook’s 2012 vulnerable list By George Bennett Palm Beach Post Republican U.S. Rep.-elect Allen West hasn’t even been sworn in yet. And the makeup of his Palm Beach-Broward congressional district is likely to change when new boundaries are drawn to reflect 2010 census data. Elections chief explores ways to count votes faster By Adam Playford Palm Beach Post Responding to a decade of frustration with slow election-night vote counting, Palm Beach County's elections supervisor said Thursday her office is exploring several solutions. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY State regulators not echoing sharp criticism against federal water standards By Bruce Ritchie Florida Tribune A Florida Department of Environmental Protection official on Thursday for the first time sounded a note different from the sharp criticism leveled by state officials and industry representatives towards new federal water quality standards. Wildlife officials to announce "unprecedented number" of manatee deaths so far this year By Sonja Isger Palm Beach Post Farmers aren't the only ones taking a hit from the early cold weather. The frigid blasts are also contributing to an "unprecedented number" of manatee deaths this year, Florida wildlife officials report. Panel backing off bottom-fishing ban By Dinah Voyles Pulver Daytona Beach News-Journal Plans to close nearly 4,300 miles of the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida and Georgia coast to bottom fishing may be dropped completely if a federal fisheries panel gets its way. EDUCATION Lawmakers start work on teacher merit pay bill By Kim MacQueen Florida Tribune Florida legislators began their first work Thursday on a new teacher merit pay bill that will likely include differences from the controversial measure that was vetoed last spring by Gov. Charlie Crist. Florida's prekindergarten program lacks quality, Pew Center claims By Jeff Solochek St. Petersburg Times In the six years since Florida launched its Voluntary Pre-K program (VPK), the state has opened the early education doors to thousands of four-year-olds who didn't have access before. Fla. launches new school assessment web tool The Associated Press Miami Herald Florida has launched a new web-based tool on education assessment and standards with parents in mind. UF likely to delay start of block tuition By Nathan Crabbe Gainesville Sun University of Florida trustees moved forward Thursday with plans for a block tuition rate, but delayed the possible start until fall 2012 to allow time to answer questions about the measure. For-profit colleges say revised GAO report raises concerns By Scott Travis South Florida Sun-Sentinel The for-profit education industry was shaken this summer when a federal Government Accountability Office released a report detailing misleading or potentially fraudulent activities at 15 colleges. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY State frets over pension debts of St. Petersburg and other cities By Mary Ellen Klas St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau With a $1.1 billion deficit looming in the state's employee health and pension accounts, lawmakers are poised to blow up the benefit programs and impose tough new limits on local governments, the chairman of the Senate committee said on Thursday. With money turned down by others, Florida high speed rail could get $342 million boost By Richard Danielson and Bill Varian St. Petersburg Times Florida can get the rest of the money needed to build a Tampa-to-Orlando bullet train from federal stimulus funds turned down by other states. Banana Republic of America By Ralph De La Cruz Florida Center for Investigative Reporting All the fuss over extending the George W. Bush tax cuts is rooted in a sense that income inequality in America is out of control. Visualized: Florida’s Foreclosure Crisis By Ralph De La Cruz Florida Center for Investigative Reporting Journalist Barry L. Ritholtz used the foreclosure-listings function of Google Maps to show just how tragically Florida has been affected by the collapse of residential real estate. Farmers' new burden: next week's freezing forecast By Susan Salisbury Palm Beach Post As vegetable growers assessed freeze damage today, they said they are more worried about the forecast for even colder temperatures early next week. HEALTH AND SENIORS State panel slaps feds By Jim Saunders Health News Florida Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos has an unusual way of trying to make friends and influence the federal government. The other path to an exemption from health care reform By Travis Pillow Florida Independent A proposed constitutional amendment seeking to exempt Floridians from federal health insurance mandates became the first measure to pass a Senate committee Wednesday, and will likely be among the first bills to pass during this spring’s session. Hospital lien law before court By Jim Saunders Health News Florida The case started routinely enough: Almost five years ago, pedestrian Krystal Nicole Price was hit by a car and taken to Shands teaching hospital in Gainesville. Texas anti-abortion group targets Planned Parenthood, African-Americans in North Florida ad campaign By Virginia Chamlee Florida Independent Heroic Media, the Austin, Texas-based anti-abortion group that counts Sarah Palin among its endorsers, has been branching out from its Texas roots to create a presence in Florida. Rick Scott claims his company caused national health care inflation to nosedive: Pants on Fire! By Amy Sherman St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Politifact Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott touted himself as a businessman during his 2010 campaign. Now he says that steps he took at his former health care company caused national health care inflation to drop dramatically. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Senate delays vote on the DREAM Act By Marcos Restrepo Florida Independent The Senate tabled its own version of the DREAM Act on Thursday — a move that opens a way for a vote on the House version next week. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Florida officially forgives the late Doors singer Jim Morrison By Robert Farley St. Petersburg Times Forty-one years ago, the state sent a message about community standards, charging rock icon Jim Morrison of the Doors with exposing himself during a 1969 Miami concert. GOP fundraiser Alan Mendelsohn pleads guilty to scheme By Jay Weaver Miami Herald A prominent Broward County ophthalmologist who raised millions for Republicans and once advised Gov. Charlie Crist pleaded guilty Thursday to scheming to bilk the U.S. government -- including failing to report $82,000 in political donations secretly given to a former state senator.