Daily Clips for December 13, 2010

FEATURED STORIES Scott's schools shake-up seems certain By Ron Matus St. Petersburg Times Related: Public school advocates fear Scott's voucher-like proposal Related: What else Rick Scott had to say Related: So, what happens next? Related editorial: Rick Scott's universal voucher proposal would hurt schools When Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott stood in a church this week and dropped a policy bomb on the state's education establishment — a plan to essentially give vouchers to any family that wants one — 900 voucher kids in the audience cheered. Outsider comes inside: Scott makes debut at RPOF convention By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Republicans wore red, white and blue wrist bands emblazoned "2012 starts today" at their first post-election state convention Saturday. Scott may shrink tax money for public employees' pensions By Gary Fineout Ocala Star-Banner One of the big questions surrounding Gov.-elect Rick Scott's plan to cut billions of dollars in taxes is this: Where would he make up the difference? Civil liberties at risk By Howard Simon Miami Herald You don't need to be Max Mayfield to know that a Category 5 disaster is headed straight for our civil liberties. Florida fights for rights of polluters By Carl Hiaasen Miami Herald Farms, mills and municipalities that use Florida waterways as a latrine got more good news last week from their stooges in Tallahassee. EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK By Jeff Parker Florida Today FLORIDA POLITICS Florida Democrats ready to turn the page on bad decade of losing elections By Larry Hannan Florida Times-Union The 21st century has been a frustrating time to be a Democrat in Florida. As Republicans take U.S. House, Florida's clout surges By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times U.S. Rep. John Mica started to pull out his cell phone but was suddenly struck with modesty, pushing it back in his pocket. A second later, he could not contain himself. Donations top $1 million for Jan. 4 inauguration of Gov. Rick Scott By Jenna Buzzacco=Foerster Naples Daily News The money is rolling in and some political experts say Florida should be prepared for an inauguration like one they may not have seen before. Rick Scott's math problems By Gary Fineout The Fine Print During his campaign for governor Rick Scott sharply attacked Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink for some of her budget proposals and said that they would be too expensive. Gleaning lessons from Rick Scott's 5-day, 10-city jobs tour By Robert Trigaux St. Petersburg Times Gov.-elect Rick Scott's wasting no time meeting a broad sampling of Florida businesses. A new way of looking at state workers By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News There are two ways to look at the approach Gov. Rick Scott and the even-more-Republican Florida Legislature are taking to state employment in the 2011 legislative session. Rick Scott hires New York headhunters to fill state jobs By Mary Ellen Klas St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Gov.-elect Rick Scott is so committed to finding outsiders to staff his administration, he's reaching into his own pocket for more than $125,000 to pay the salaries and expenses of a New York head-hunting firm to recruit talent, according to an agreement obtained by the St. Petersburg Times and the Miami Herald. Scott interviews candidates for chair of RPOF By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Gov.-elect Rick Scott, who ran an insurgent campaign against the Republican establishment, interviewed candidates for the party chairmanship Friday but said he has not decided whether to publicly install a party chief for the next four years. State's Republican leaders wrestle with fiscal controls By Scott Powers Orlando Sentinel The Republican Party of Florida leadership arrived in Orlando full of excitement for its near sweep of November elections and its power to carry Gov.-elect Rick Scott's conservative agenda next year, yet still haunted by ghosts of its scandals past. Peterman case highlights ethics law flaws By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times If a public official does something irresponsible, is it also unethical? Counting Paper Clips to the End By Lloyd Dunkelberger Lakeland Ledger Although her political opponents ridiculed her zealous quest to crack down on the use of office supplies by state workers, Alex Sink is still counting paper clips in her final days as the state's chief financial officer – and proud of it. State Sen. Paula Dockery's challenges land her in GOP exile By Adam C. Smith St. Petersburg Times State Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, challenged the GOP establishment repeatedly this year by decrying a "culture of corruption" in Tallahassee, calling for the release of all party credit card records, challenging Bill McCollum for the gubernatorial nomination and then endorsing Rick Scott for governor. Rep. Allen West's new top aide opposite of radio talker Joyce Kaufman By George Bennett Palm Beach Post After his odd pick of conservative radio talker Joyce Kaufman as chief of staff blew up, incoming Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West went the opposite direction by selecting Washington insider Jonathan Blyth to be his top aide. POLITICAL RACES GOP field already building to challenge Bill Nelson By Alex Leary and Adam C. Smith St. Petersburg Times It's not even 2011, and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson already has a big target on his back for 2012. The GOP's Veep Favorite By Mark McKinnon Daily Beast Twenty-three months out, the Republican presidential nomination is up for grabs, but there’s already a favorite for running mate. Anonymous donors spent $132M on 2010 campaign ads By Beth Fouhy The Associated Press Independent groups that do not disclose the identity of their donors spent $132.5 million to influence elections nationwide this year, accounting for about a third of all spending by outside groups in the 2010 election cycle, a report released Friday found. BALLOT INITIATIVES House Speaker Cannon unfairly attacks Florida Supreme Court By Jeff Garvin Ft. Myers News-Press In his opening remarks to the legislature, incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon blasted the Florida Supreme Court claiming that the Court demolished the work of the Legislature by taking constitutional amendments off the ballot. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Florida Everglades Cleanup: A River of Morass By Michael Grunwald Time Magazine On December 11, 2000, with Governor Jeb Bush at his side, President Bill Clinton signed a landmark $7.8 billion bill to revive the dying Florida Everglades. Cold blamed for record number of manatees deaths this year By Craig Pittman St. Petersburg Times Manatees died in record-breaking numbers this year, but not from being hit by boats or poisoned by Red Tide. Instead, the largest group of the 699 manatees that were killed as of Dec. 5 were done in by bad weather. In rough year for sea turtles — cold, oil spill — biologists are surprised to find more nests By Craig Pittman St. Petersburg Times This has been a particularly rough year for sea turtles. Tourists and oil drills don't mix Editorial Miami Herald So far, British Petroleum's $20 billion oil-spill compensation fund has paid a whopping $44.1 million for 2,776 approved claims in the Florida Keys. Miami-Dade County claims total $4.1 million, Broward County's $2.9 million. The cost-benefit of restoring the unique 'River of Grass' Editorial Tampa Tribune Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott frequently emphasizes the importance of cost-benefit plans in judging state programs. LGBT Foes of 'don't ask, don't tell' say fight not over By Anne Flaherty The Associated Press Advocates of a bill that would overturn the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy say their fight for repeal this year is far from over despite failing to pass the Senate with only days left in the lame-duck session. EDUCATION Questions over bump in school grades By Christopher O'Donnell Sarasota Herald-Tribune Many Florida high schools held pep rallies and pizza parties this week to celebrate A and B state grades, even though standardized test scores statewide improved only marginally and still fewer than half of high schoolers read at grade level. Time ripe for education reform By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News With a results-oriented new governor and a Republican Legislature that dislikes teacher unions, the political climate is ripe for sweeping education reform in Florida. Longer school days contemplated By Kathleen Haughney St. Augustine Record A push for struggling schools to lengthen the school day may become a part of a larger education reform debate that lawmakers have hinted will be a major part of the spring 2011 legislative agenda. Federal stimulus money did little to help Florida colleges and universities By Scott Travis South Florida Sun-Sentinel The federal stimulus money was touted as a historic opportunity to improve higher education, create jobs and stop the bleeding from of state cuts. UF trustees approve block tuition for fall 2012 By Nathan Crabbe Gainesville Sun University of Florida trustees approved a delayed plan for block tuition Friday, but some students are still hoping it doesn't happen at all. State must ease up on levying class size penalties Editorial South Florida Sun-Sentinel Bad enough that almost half of Florida's school districts — including the state's three largest in South Florida — failed to meet state class-size mandates. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Florida bank recovery lagging By Jeff Harrington St. Petersburg Times Florida's banking industry faces another stressful year of problem loans and likely more failures as it lags behind recovery elsewhere in the country. Auditors: Too early to evaluate pension-backed fund that created 186 jobs with $73 million. By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune An effort to use Florida pension funds to help spur the creation of high-tech industries in the state has yielded 186 jobs so far, a new audit reports. Mica's influence already showing By Bob Koslow Daytona Beach News-Journal The same day an area congressman and Amtrak critic was picked to head the U.S. House Transportation Committee, Amtrak dropped its opposition to the state buying a track for a Central Florida commuter rail system. A note of skepticism about high-speed rail By Howard Troxler St. Petersburg Times Early last year, the president of the United States came to Florida and gave us $1.25 billion for a high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando. HEALTH AND SENIORS Long Road for Lawyer Defending the Health Care Law By Kevin Sack New York Times Memo to the third floor at Justice Department headquarters: Ian Gershengorn will soon be pacing the corridors again. Florida lawmakers face growing burden with Medicaid By Brandon Larrabee Florida Times-Union Florida lawmakers are gearing up for what could be an emotional battle over the future of Medicaid. Docs want to run Medicaid plans By Carol Gentry Health News Florida The Florida Medical Association, which has traditionally fought the notion of turning Medicaid into a statewide managed-care program with mandatory enrollment, now says it can live with that – as long as doctors are in charge. Will Scott privatize Florida hospitals? By Brandon Larrabee Florida Times-Union Despite fears that Gov.-elect Rick Scott might propose privatizing some state functions, several lawmakers said they haven't heard what will happen to the state-run Northeast Florida State Hospital in Macclenny. Some pain clinics find loophole in restrictive new state law By Sofia Santana Orlando Sentinel While a new state law is hitting some pain clinics hard, authorities worry a loophole in the legislation will be a boon for other seedy pharmacies. Crisis of care: Floridians should set a good example By Stephen Goldstein South Florida Sun-Sentinel America needs to become a nation of caregivers, not just gift-givers. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES With Dream Act shelved, immigrants look to 2012 By Laura Wides-Munoz The Associated Press The illegal immigrants who more than a decade ago were just teens hoping to forge a legal path to citizenship are vowing to make the Dream Act a campaign issue come 2012, even though they'll likely be too old to benefit if the law ever passes. State Sen. Detert files yet another immigration enforcement act By Marcos Restrepo Florida Independent Florida Sen. Nacy Detert, R-Venice, filed this week the “Florida Security and Immigration Compliance Act,” another bill that extends the push by Republican legislators to make enforcement through attrition a reality in Florida. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Finalists for statewide prosecutor selected By Brent Henzi Florida Tribune Attorney General-elect Pam Bondi has been given the names of three finalists for the post of statewide prosecutor after the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission conducted interviews in Tampa on Thursday. Is Florida holding sex offenders in legal limbo? By Todd Ruger Sarasota Herald-Tribune At a state sex-offender treatment center outside Arcadia, hundreds of inmates who completed their prison terms are held until they receive sufficient treatment to learn to control their criminal behavior.