Daily Clips for January 24, 2011

FEATURED STORIES Nelson the biggest target for GOP in Florida in '12 By Jeremy Wallace Gainesville Sun After dominating the midterm elections, Republicans hold every statewide elected office in Florida — except one. Sen. Marco Rubio won't commit to join tea party caucus By Lesley Clark Miami Herald A tea party caucus of U.S. senators convenes Thursday for the first time, but one of the movement's biggest stars doesn't plan to be there. Scott names ninth agency head; 16 more to go By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Related: PolitiFact Florida: Three weeks in, a snapshot of Rick Scott's work in progress Gov. Rick Scott on Friday hired a fellow former health care executive, Jack Miles, to run the Florida department that oversees workers' benefits and the management and purchasing of state property. Scott changes ground rules with media By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News The minute Rick Scott became a candidate for governor, he wound up with his back to the wall — mobbed by Capitol reporters asking about things he had no desire to discuss. Gov. Rick Scott's school-voucher push faces legal hurdles By Leslie Postal Orlando Sentinel Stung by court defeats in Florida and Arizona earlier this decade, school-voucher advocates set out to create a new system that would give students choices beyond public schools but still pass constitutional muster. EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK By Jim Morin Miami Herald FLORIDA POLITICS The enforced shallowness of Twitter suits Gov. Rick Scott By Frank Cerabino Palm Beach Post The social media site Twitter is perfect for our new Gov. Rick Scott. Weighing the public's right to speak By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Believe it or not, taxpayers have no legal right to speak at public meetings in Florida. BALLOT INITIATIVES Amendment process scrutinized By Lloyd Dunkelberger Sarasota Herald-Tribune Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon remains irked about the state Supreme Court's decision to toss three constitutional amendments written by the Legislature off last fall's general election ballot. Personhood Florida enlists pastors to help promote amendment on Roe v. Wade anniversary weekend By Virginia Chamlee Florida Independent The group sponsoring a ballot initiative that seeks to ban abortion and some forms of birth control says it plans on enlisting the help of Florida pastors this weekend, in an effort at gathering “several thousand” signatures to coincide with the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Florida GOP Champions Freedom, Liberty, and Busted Poop Tanks By Adam Weinstein Mother Jones Newly anointed billionaire arch-conservative Florida governor Rick Scott—along with his all-GOP cabinet and tea-party-led state legislature—will get around to the state's budget crisis, its mortgage meltdown, its educational woes, its brain drain, its disaster-preparedness services, and its corruption problems eventually. Rick Scott's plan to kill 'jobs-killing' anti-sprawl agency could prove tricky By Aaron Deslatte Orlando Sentinel Gov. Rick Scott in his campaign blasted the state agency that is charged with preventing sprawl and protecting open spaces, accusing it of "killing jobs all over the state." Fasano targets nuclear charges with bill By Bruce Ritchie Florida Tribune With the Public Service Commission next week holding hearings on revised charges for Florida Power & Light Co. customers, a Senate bill would eliminate a 2006 state law that allows utilities to charge for new nuclear plants even if they are never built. EDUCATION Hot-button issues to dominate South Florida education summit By Cara Fitzpatrick South Florida Sun-Sentinel Get ready for bruising battles this year over such hot-button education issues as merit pay, vouchers and charter schools. Race to the Top grant puts Broward teacher pay on front burner By Rafael A. Olmeda South Florida Sun-Sentinel Less than a year after teachers beat back a plan to tie their raises to student performance, school officials across the state, including Broward, are being compelled to resurrect the policy by May 1 or risk losing millions in federal funding. Patriots United claims bias toward Islam in school textbooks By Ron Matus and Jeffrey S. Solochek St. Petersburg Times They say Florida's social studies textbooks are biased in favor of Islam. Florida's public universities shut out of move to loosen Cuba travel restrictions By Janet Zink St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Academics around the country hailed the move last week by President Barack Obama's administration to loosen travel restrictions to Cuba. Lots of empty seats in new Fla. school buildings Associated Press Miami Herald A state program to aid school districts with urgent construction needs spent $108 million to add seats that now are empty. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Florida's unemployment steady but labor force increases by 7,000 in December By Jeff Harrington St. Petersburg Times For proof that numbers can be deceptive, look no further than December's unemployment report. Will Scott get Florida back to work? By Carlton Proctor Pensacola News Journal Gov. Rick Scott's ambitious plan to put Florida to work is about to collide with some harsh fiscal realities. Florida’s financial reckoning appears imminent By Abel Harding Florida Times-Union Florida is open for business. That’s the natural conclusion drawn from a report that ranked the cheapest places to locate corporate headquarters. They're ready to cut — are we ready to be cut? By Howard Troxler St. Petersburg Times Any yahoo politician can promise not to raise taxes, and usually does. Proposed Republican law would override local wage protection efforts By Marcos Restrepo Florida Independent State Rep. Tom Goodson, R-Titusville, filed a bill Tuesday that would “preempt regulation of wage theft to state, except as otherwise provided by federal law, & supersedes any municipal or county ordinance or other local regulation on such subject.” Will GOP end high-speed rail's momentum? By Lloyd Dunkelberger Sarasota Herald-Tribune Florida's high-speed rail system may offer trains capable of running at 168 mph, but the project has yet to prove it can outrun the pull of state politics. Want to drive down the Geico or Disney Turnpike? By Brent Henzi Florida Tribune Floridians could be driving on the Walt Disney Turnpike as they drive by a large picture of Mickey Mouse after the upcoming legislative session. HEALTH AND SENIORS $65M pain-clinic rules pass By Carol Gentry Health News Florida Regulations on Florida pain-management clinics that will impose an estimated $65 million in costs on the private sector passed the Florida Board of Medicine unanimously on Friday, despite Gov. Rick Scott's edict to ban rule-making this year. Florida AG Bondi dodges Scott's roadblocks to take aim at pill mills By Kate Howard Florida Times-Union New Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi campaigned on making the fight against pill mills a priority. Two local lawmakers walk the walk in debate over health insurance By Bill Thompson Ocala Star-Banner Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill delighted in their vote last week to repeal the new federal health care law, serving it up as a campaign promise kept to the voters. Beyond the individual mandate By Travis Pillow Florida Independent Florida has two lines of argument in its legal challenge of the federal health reform law — one against the expansion of Medicaid, and one against the requirement that individuals purchase health insurance. The GOP's Health Care Plan: Blame the Lawyers By Stephanie Mencimer Mother Jones Do Republicans really have a plan for fixing the health care system? CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Don't copy Arizona immigration law, top Florida Republican warns By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post As a fifth-generation rancher and citrus farmer, Adam Putnam has a personal stake in an immigration overhaul, one of the most heated issues in Washington and Florida. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Whose fault is the Taj courthouse? By Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Related editorial: Conduct unworthy of court So whom do we blame? We now have a $50 million courthouse everyone calls the Taj Mahal, and lots of folks want to find someone to blame. Union warms to new chief of corrections By Jim Ash Florida Capital News When it comes to Florida's newest prison boss, it's tempting to think Barney Fife. Divided FL Supreme Court orders review of post-prison lock-up of child molesters By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post In a split ruling, the Florida Supreme Court has ordered a review of the Jimmy Ryce Act that allows the state to keep pedophiles and other hard-core sex molesters locked up until a judge rules they are fit to return to society. Drug shortage could delay executions in Florida By Adam H. Beasley Miami Herald The nearly 400 men and women sitting on Florida's Death Row may have received a stay of execution -- at least temporarily -- from an unexpected source.