Daily Clips for December 29, 2010

FEATURED STORIES Scott names two state agency heads By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Gov.-elect Rick Scott chose two newcomers Tuesday as his first selections of state agency heads, hiring a prisons director away from Indiana and putting a Wal-Mart planner in charge of emergency preparations. Gov.-elect Rick Scott meets with Tampa Bay legislators By Lee Logan St. Petersburg Times A week before he will be sworn in as Florida's 45th governor, Rick Scott brought his boardroom brand of politics here Tuesday during a meeting with 16 lawmakers from the Tampa Bay area. FLORIDA POLITICS Scott hires outsiders to run prison system, emergency management By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Gov.-elect Rick Scott looked outside Florida to hire the first two agency heads in his new administration. Legislators share ideas with Scott in Tampa By Rachel Pleasant Tampa Tribune Gov.-elect Rick Scott was in Tampa on Tuesday on an information-gathering mission, listening as legislators talked about their goals for his upcoming term. Governor-elect to make Panhandle tour The Associated Press Tampa Tribune Governor-elect Rick Scott plans stops in Fort Walton Beach and Panama City as part of his inaugural appreciation tour. New Lt. Guv to be Sunshine State’s economic ambassador By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post Most lieutenant governor’s fade out of the spotlight once they’ve taken office, but expect Lt. Gov.-elect Jennifer Carroll to turn that tradition upside down. Big plans, but how doable? By Mark Lane Daytona Beach News-Journal Rick Scott's transition team is issuing stacks of proposals that are nothing if not bold. Sen. LeMieux plans to returns to law firm The Associated Press Tampa Tribune U.S. Sen. George LeMieux will return to Gunster law firm after leaving office. POLITICAL RACES Huckabee leads Florida in early 2012 poll By Patrick Caldwell Florida Independent Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has opened a lead in his current home state among 2012 Republican presidential candidates. Republicans want Jeb in 2012 -- for U.S. Senate By Doug Lyons South Florida Sun-Sentinel 72 Percent of Republicans in Florida want Jeb Bush to run against U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, Florida's senior senator and the last Democrat standing in a prominent statewide post. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Lawsuits piling up for EPA By Fred Hiers Ocala Star-Banner The lawsuits being filed against the Environmental Protection Agency are piling up, and more are likely to come following the agency’s decision to set nutrient pollution limits for Florida’s waters. Kelter again attacks EPA water quality rules By Virginia Chamlee Florida Independent After coming under fire for lobbying to block EPA water quality standards and fueling a war of words with the St. Johns Riverkeeper in The Florida Times-Union, Clay County Councilman Mike Kelter is again blasting a set of water pollution standards he says are the result of “capricious and arbitrary lawsuits filed by environmental lobbyists.” Feinberg announces firms chosen to help with oil spill claims By Travis Pillow Florida Independent Oil spill claims administrator Kenneth Feinberg today announced the appointment of several law firms and companies specializing in claims processing to assist oil spill claimants in the busiest offices run by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Record-setting freeze wallop Florida farmers By Kevin Bouffard Lakeland Ledger Florida's tropical fish farmers lost most of their stocks to the mid-December freeze -- the second devastating freeze in 2010 -- and they may have been wiped out by the latest freeze on Monday evening and Tuesday morning. Florida's consumer confidence level remains unchanged in December By Jeff Harrington St. Petersburg Times Florida's consumer confidence level was unchanged in December, but researchers noted a clear shift in some of the five components used to measure confidence. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Numerous states look to Arizona’s S.B. 1070 as a model for new immigration legislation By Luke Johnson Florida Independent The Saturday after the November elections that brought 680 Republican state legislators into office throughout the country, Texas Rep. Debbie Riddle started camping outside the Texas Capitol in Austin to be the first to file voter-I.D. legislation and an Arizona-style immigration bill for Texas. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Florida lawmakers send plea to parole board for dying HIV-positive woman By Todd A. Heywood Florida Independent View Comments Share7Florida lawmakers responding to reports on The Michigan Messenger, The Florida Independent and Bilerico have intervened in the case of Betsie Gallardo.