Daily Clips for January 28, 2011

FEATURED STORIES Governor proposes Dept. of Commerce By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Gov. Rick Scott proposed bringing back the Department of Commerce on Thursday as a hard-charging agency responsible for aggressively marketing Florida as "the place to do business." State's budget gap could be nearly $5 billion By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau The magnitude of Florida's fiscal crisis became clearer Thursday as the Senate's top budget writer called for larger cash reserves to pacify Wall Street bond rating firms. Planned personhood: The pro-life movement’s newest attack on reproductive rights raises its profile in Florida By Billy Manes Orlando Weekly It’s business as usual at Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando. BEST OF THE BLOGS A Disaster of Tallahassee's Choosing By Ray Seaman Progress Florida St. Petersburg Times columnist Howard Troxler discusses what will be the biggest issue of the 2011 Florida legislature: our budget...and how much of it will remain by May when the legislature will likely adjourn. Corruption, Florida, and the GOP By gimleteye Eye on Miami My ears perked up hearing House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) on President Obama's State of the Union speech, "Actions speak louder than words." Mr. Rubio And Mr. Rivera Go To Washington By Inkberries Beach Peanuts Marco Rubio and David Rivera are making their respective debuts as two of the newest members in the House and Senate in Washington. Public spaces, private interests, religion and schools version part 376 By Sherman Dorn Sherman Dorn On occasion, K-12 school systems can back into reasonable ways of negotiating church-state boundaries. Florida Bill Would Make It A Felony For Doctors To Ask Patients About Gun Ownership By Ian Millhiser Think Progress Florida State Rep. Jason Brodeur (R) recently introduced a bill which criminalizes any “verbal or written inquiry by a public or private physician, nurse, or other medical staff person regarding the ownership of a firearm by a patient or the family of a patient or the presence of a firearm in a private home or other domicile of a patient or the family of a patient,” and the penalty for violating this proposed law is steep. FLORIDA POLITICS Gov. Rick Scott wants state Department of Commerce brought back By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Gov. Rick Scott proposed a new level of bureaucracy Thursday that he said would streamline economic development in the state and help deliver new jobs. Scott fires Enterprise Florida chief ahead of proposed shakeup By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday fired the head of Enterprise Florida, the public-private outfit responsible for economic development efforts shortly after publicly announcing his plan to overhaul how the state attracts new businesses. Sen. Marco Rubio gets plum committee assignment By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times New Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will serve on four committees, including a spot on intelligence. Sen. Bill Nelson wants better equipment for officers By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times Reacting to the shooting deaths of four Florida police officers in a week, Sen. Bill Nelson is asking the Department of Justice to consider giving law enforcement high-tech devices that can "see" through walls. Fertilizer co. pays $10K for ag chief's kid's cake Associated Press Tampa Tribune A fertilizer company paid a record $10,000 for a cake at the Polk County Youth Fair Auction baked by the 9-year-old daughter of state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Oil spill recovery legislation OK'd in Senate hearing By Paul Flemming Florida Capital News The Senate's comprehensive oil spill recovery legislation moved through a second hearing Thursday with a ripple of discontent about spending $30 million over three years and restricting three-fourths of any fines and penalties ultimately collected go to Florida's seven westernmost Gulf Coast counties. Gulf spill showed problems are industry-wide, Graham says By Nathan Crabbe Gainesville Sun Former U.S. Sen. and Florida Gov. Bob Graham said Thursday that last year's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was both foreseeable and avoidable. Lawmakers told water conservation is needed to help state's economy By Bruce Ritchie Florida Tribune Conservation and development of new water supplies must be part of Florida's future to attract industry and create jobs, panelists on Thursday told the House Select Committee on Water Policy. Florida House members uneasy with proposal to close 53 state parks By Bruce Ritchie FloridaEnvironments.com A budget-exercise proposal to close 53 state parks drew concerns Wednesday from members of a House budget-writing committee. St. Johns Riverkeeper officially launches campaign against Georgia-Pacific By Virginia Chamlee Florida Independent Only weeks after announcing its intent to publish a study examining the science behind a controversial Georgia-Pacific pipeline, the St. Johns Riverkeeper has officially launched a campaign aimed at doing away with a waste-rerouting pipeline that could cause irreperable damage to Florida’s longest, and most commercially significant, river. EDUCATION At South Florida education conference, reforms don't pass the test By Cara Fitzpatrick South Florida Sun-Sentinel The goal was to learn more about such controversial school reforms as merit pay, vouchers and charter schools. But many of the 250 to 300 attending Wednesday's education summit at Lynn University Bachelor's, master's & online degrees in Boca Raton made it clear they want no part of it. Public should engage now By Pat Santeramo Miami Herald With state legislators already drafting legislation that will impact public schools, the time to discuss education reform is now, not the legislative session's first day. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Senate budget chief will push again for more control over contracts By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune The Senate's budget chief said on Thursday that he will push again this year with legislation designed to assert more control over state contracting and to increase oversight over the Department of Management Services. State to consider legal online poker By Nick Sortal South Florida Sun-Sentinel While some Florida legislators talk of setting up Las Vegas-style casinos in a few years, others suggest there's a way to immediately raise gambling revenues with a click of a mouse. HEALTH AND SENIORS Budget target: mental health? By Jim Saunders Health News Florida In the committee rooms and corridors of the state Capitol, lobbyists are looking for clues about which programs will get slashed. Hospital council wants to cut off additional money to primary care programs By Christine Jordan Sexton Florida Tribune A blue ribbon health care panel on Thursday recommended spending almost $1 billion in Medicaid payments to Florida's hospitals but it also recommended that the state cut-off enhanced funding to primary care programs meant to keep people out of the facilities. Florida should keep Department of Health independent By Ed Feaver, E. Charlton Prather and Bob Williams St. Petersburg Times Florida's $3.6 billion budget deficit for next year has the Legislature searching for ways to reduce government expenditures. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Scott reiterates support for tough immigration enforcement By Travis Pillow Florida Independent Related: Snyder inching away from imitating Arizona-style immigration law As Florida lawmakers begin backing away from an Arizona-style immigration law, Gov. Rick Scott has decided to stick by the measure (which was part of his campaign platform), according to the Palm Beach Post. Opposition likely to soften immigration bill By Lloyd Dunkelberger Sarasota Herald-Tribune Facing opposition from business groups, farmers and immigrant communities, a key House sponsor of an Arizona-style immigration bill signaled Thursday his willingness to back off some of the harsher provisions in his bill. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Legislators' sit-down on courthouse inquiry is sure to bring fallout By Daniel Ruth St. Petersburg Times Within Republican circles, Mike Fasano already was regarded as a cross between the bumptious brother-in-law from hell who burps at the dinner table and the puckered Cotton Mather. Court decision could cast DUI cases into limbo By Todd Ruger Sarasota Herald-Tribune Drunken driving cases across the state could be thrown into limbo now that the Florida Supreme Court has declined to review an argument over alcohol breath-test machines that originated in Sarasota County.