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Progress Florida -- Progressive Solutions for Florida

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Daily Clips for January 19, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

New DCF chief's resumé mirrors Scott's
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
Florida's new social services chief will look a lot like the state's new governor: a corporate executive with conservative social roots.

Reporters say Fla. gov's media rules too tight
By Michelle Morgante
Associated Press
Journalists who cover Florida's capital complained to industry leaders Tuesday that the new administration of Gov. Rick Scott is skirting free-press traditions and attempting to control their work by limiting access to events and being slow to provide public records.

Florida's lawsuit over health care law swells to 26 states
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The political sea change marked by the November elections on Tuesday pulled six more states into Florida's lawsuit challenging the national health care legislation, making it one of the biggest tests of federal authority in the country's history with 26 states now in line.

Florida legislators have much at stake in vote to repeal health care law
By William E. Gibson
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
While a divided U.S. House prepares to vote on repealing the nation's health care law, Republicans as well as Democrats from Florida pledged on Tuesday to retain popular new protections for patients while trying to make insurance affordable.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Gov. Scott takes jobs message to struggling Panhandle
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott brought his jobs message to the Panhandle on Tuesday, telling local business leaders he will keep his promise to make Florida the best state for job creation.

Gov. Scott taps Accenture executive for head of DCF
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
Gov. Rick Scott reached outside state government for another department head Tuesday, naming a retired Accenture executive to head Florida's public-welfare agency.

Scott holding first meeting with Florida Cabinet
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott and Florida's three Cabinet members, all newly elected and all Republicans, are holding their first meeting.

Gov. Rick Scott discusses goals at annual AP event
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Many Florida newspaper editors and broadcasters are about to get their first close-up look at the state's new governor.

Jacksonville representative bows out of race to become state House speaker
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
After doing the math and determining that his run at becoming House speaker in 2016 was going to come up short, state Rep. Daniel Davis, R-Jacksonville, announced Tuesday he is no longer seeking the post.

POLITICAL RACES

Bill Nelson talks re-election, healthcare reform in Jacksonville visit
By Abel Harding
Florida Times-Union
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said Florida Democrats got caught in a "tidal wave" in 2010, something he doesn't see being repeated in 2012.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Bill would block DEP from implementing new federal water rules
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Tribune
A Florida lawmaker wants to escalate the growing feud between the federal government and the state over controversial water standards.

EDUCATION

Florida lawmaker pushes bill to end FCAT
By Carli Teproff
Miami Herald
Saying the FCAT creates more harm than good, a freshman state legislator said Tuesday she is championing a bill in the House that would do away with the annual state exams.

Going digital: State board pushes schools' conversion by 2014
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
The State Board of Education wants Florida lawmakers to toughen standards for A-to-F school grades and for the state's pre-kindergarten program.

It's time to grade parents, new bill proposes
By Leslie Postal and Denise-Marie Balona
Orlando Sentinel
Every year, Florida's students, schools and districts are graded based on their performance.

Class Size Penalties Headed to Legislature
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
The State Board of Education is recommending 30 million dollars in fines for school districts that broke the class size law.

New Plan Means New Way to Pay for Florida Colleges
By Glen Gardner
Public News Service Florida
Governor Rick Scott has declared war on Florida's unemployment with his "let's get to work" slogan, promising to create new jobs.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Mica supports billion-dollar high-speed rail in Florida, with a caveat
By Larry Hannan
Florida Times-Union
U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., supports constructing a high-speed rail system between Orlando and Tampa.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Repealing Progress
The Progress Report
Think Progress
This week, conservatives in the House and Senate plan to push to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health care reforms that President Obama signed into law last March.

Pain clinics feel the impact of a new state law — for now
By Letitia Stein
St. Petersburg Times
Florida's pain management industry is starting to feel the effects of a new law that limits who can own pain clinics, part of an effort to stop unscrupulous operators notorious for dispensing huge amounts of prescription narcotics.

Feds: Tampa pharmacy led U.S. in dispensing painkiller
By Elaine Silvestrini
Tampa Tribune
During the first three months of last year, a Tampa pharmacy dispensed more oxycodone than any other retail pharmacy in the nation, federal investigators say.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Florida legislator may dial back proposed Arizona-style law
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Concern about scaring tourists and potential high-tech workers away from the Sunshine State is threatening passage of the Arizona-style immigration measure backed by Gov. Rick Scott.

Uncertainty over Arizona-style immigration law in Florida leaves immigrant rights activists guessing
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Conflicting signals from Florida legislators about the possibility of an Arizona-style law are leaving Florida’s immigrant rights community confused about what to expect in 2011.

Little hope seen for state Dream Act
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
For years, former state Rep. Juan Carlos Zapata of Miami tried unsuccessfully to get his fellow Republicans in Tallahassee to pass a bill allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at Florida's public universities.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Odom won't be on trial alone
By Alex Leary and Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times
Ray Sansom, Jay Odom and Bob Richburg will go to trial together in March after a judge ruled in favor of a state motion to consolidate the cases.


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