Daily Clips for February 22, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS Top State Legislators Promise Cuts, But Staff Salaries Remain High (includes video) By Eric Rasmussen WFTV 9 News Orlando Excerpt: "Really, the model here is to starve the people who really do the work and to pay inflated salaries to people at the top," Damien Filer of Progress Florida said. Floridians plan protests around the state By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Excerpt: Damien Filer of Progress Florida in Tallahassee said a Facebook page called "Awake the State" was "liked" by 2,665 people in a few days. "Draconian budget cuts proposed by Gov. Scott along with equally destructive proposals from the Legislature are threatening Floridians from every walk of life," he said. "Our goal with Awake the State is to give a platform to Floridians who want to speak out on the opening day of session and make sure their voices are heard, in addition to the message put forth by Gov. Scott in his State of the State address." FEATURED STORIES With eye on Wisconsin, Florida teachers gear up for rallies By Tom Marshall and Ron Matus St. Petersburg Times Florida teachers statewide began gearing up for rallies and protests as state lawmakers close in on monumental changes to how teachers are hired, fired, paid and evaluated. High-speed rail advocates say they can save project, but Scott doesn't budge By Richard Danielson, Michael C. Bender and Tia Mitchell St. Petersburg Times Related: Scott being pushed to kill SunRail, too As high-speed rail advocates on Monday outlined a plan to save the Tampa to Orlando project through a partnership of local governments, Gov. Rick Scott brushed off the very idea. Scott hopes to slash agency others say has minimized sprawl By Mike Salinero Tampa Tribune “Job killer,” is how Gov. Rick Scott described the Florida Department of Community Affairs. FLORIDA POLITICS Is It Time to Recall Rick Scott? By Ralph De La Cruz Florida Center for Investigative Reporting Rick Scott came into the governor’s office without having ever governed. Scott dismisses new high-speed rail assurances By Dan Tracy and Mark K. Matthews Orlando Sentinel Gov. Rick Scott Monday waved off efforts by high-speed rail supporters to assure him that the $2.7-billion project would not cost Florida taxpayers any money, dismissing them as “all these hypotheticals.” In These Times: Marco Rubio’s prison problem By Joy-Ann Reid The Reid Report There is a stench growing around the Miami claque that spawned from Jeb Bush’s political machine (a machine that has only begun to flex its national muscle, with his top fixer Al Cardenas now atop the American Conservative Union, Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate, David Rivera in the House, and Bush’s cronies in veto-proof charge in Tallahassee. Two lawmakers hope to loosen Florida's gift ban law By Mary Ellen Klas St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau After six years of being able to accept unlimited amounts of campaign cash but not a cup of coffee from lobbyists, two legislators are hoping to loosen the state law that bars lawmakers from receiving gifts from the public. Southerland on national stage By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News As a candidate last year, U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland promised voters that if they sent him to Washington, he'd get the attention of the big-shot bosses in Congress. Serving ideology, not voters Editorial St. Petersburg Times U.S. House Republicans brought their narrow agenda into sharper focus early Saturday by voting to slash domestic spending by $61 billion for the remaining seven months of the fiscal year. POLITICAL RACES Early voting underway in special state Senate race Associated Press Ocala Star Banner Voting is underway in the race to fill U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson's seat in the state Senate. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Cuba’s plans to drill for oil south of Florida Keys has lawmakers scrambling By Eric Staats Naples Daily News Florida was on edge last summer as oil spewed from the blown out Deepwater Horizon well in the northern Gulf of Mexico. State's growth agency flips its position on 5,000 acre development after secretary is replaced By Bruce Ritchie Florida Tribune The Florida Department of Community Affairs is working to reverse a determination in December by then-DCA Secretary Tom Pelham that a proposed land use change for a development on more than 5,000 acres in Volusia County is illegal. Home-builders are concerned draft septic tank legislation could go too far By Bruce Ritchie Florida Tribune A Senate committee is considering a draft bill that would replace the state's septic tank inspection requirement with a state model ordinance that would allow local governments to implement their own programs. LGBT Family presses school on policy By Eileen Zaffiro-Kean Daytona Beach News-Journal A Deltona 8-year-old has been yanking out his eyelashes and hair lately, sort of a stress reflex like nail biting. EDUCATION Jacksonville rally galvanizes opposition to education funding cuts By Topher Sanders Florida Times-Union About 300 parents, educators and students told Gov. Rick Scott and anyone else proposing cuts to public education that Florida's children should come first. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Corrections workers applaud question to Scott about pay cuts By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times A Florida Department of Corrections worker received an ovation from her colleagues Monday after she asked a pointed question to Gov. Rick Scott about state employees taking it on the chin again this year. HEALTH AND SENIORS Parents at Dania rally urge Scott to keep pain pill database By Bob LaMendola Orlando Sentinel Call them "oxy moms." They're like soccer moms, except their common interest is not their children's sports, it's their children's addiction to pain pills like oxycodone. Agriculture Commissioner moves to take over school nutrition programs By Kim MacQueen Florida Tribune Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam has made a bid to bring all school nutrition programs under his department's umbrella. DCF appoints panel of 3 to review twins’ abuse case By Carol Marbin Miller Miami Herald Florida’s top social service administrator has appointed a panel of child welfare experts to determine what went wrong in the state’s efforts to protect 10-year-old Nubia and Victor Barahona — and two of the three panelists are veterans of high-profile child death cases. Scott's pick for agency could have a tough time winning confirmation By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune Carl Littlefield, the man chosen by Gov. Rick Scott to take over the agency that deals with the state's disabled population, could have a tough time winning confirmation from the Florida Senate. Jackson seeks $1 billion in capital improvements By John Dorschner Miami Herald Seeking long-term solutions to stem Jackson Health System’s continuing losses, the chairman of the Public Health Trust is starting a major effort to raise $1 billion for capital improvements, perhaps from private investors in what he describes as a "public-private partnership."