Daily Clips for February 28, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS Big Cuts For Us, Big Salaries For Them - AwakeTheState.com Dueling rallies By Adam C. Smith St. Petersburg Times Excerpt: The same day, a coalition of liberal groups such as Progress Florida, America Votes, Florida Watch Action and Florida Progressive Action is planning an "Awake the State" rally to protest the budget and benefit cuts Scott is recommending. Organizers hope to have rallies in Tallahassee and around the state that day. FEATURED STORIES Despite Scott's talk of faith, his budget targets our most vulnerable By Scott Maxwell Orlando Sentinel When he's politicking, Gov. Rick Scott spends a lot of time talking about his faith. Two lawmakers dominate Tallahassee By Mary Ellen Klas Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau When the Florida Legislature convenes in two weeks, two men will wield almost uncheckable power over a conservative agenda of lower taxes, budget cuts, evaluating teacher performance, and Medicaid and pension reform. GOP's reform push stirs rivals By John Kennedy Palm Beach Post Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature's ruling Republicans have kicked over a political hornet's nest by promoting budget cuts, pension overhauls and civil justice changes, which are now emerging as targets for statewide rallies by Democratic-allied organizations. Florida protesters show support for Wis. unions By Bill Cotterell USA Today Veteran labor organizer Barbara DeVane sang an old union anthem Saturday on the west plaza of Florida's Capitol, aiming an ad-lib barb at Gov. Rick Scott and Republican efforts to cut state employee benefits. Florida gets more time to vie for high-speed rail money By Alex Leary and Janet Zink St. Petersburg Times U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has given Florida one more week to work out a deal on high-speed rail, a dramatic development in the saga that gave backers of the Orlando-Tampa line a cautious burst of optimism. EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK By Jim Morin Miami Herald Pill mills thrive as Gov. Scott nixes database By Carl Hiaasen Miami Herald Last week, as drug agents secretly prepared to raid more than a dozen South Florida pill mills, Gov. Rick Scott reaffirmed his staunch opposition to a statewide computer database that would track prescriptions of Vicodin, Percocet and other dangerous narcotics. FLORIDA POLITICS Some conflicts of interest By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Related: Damaged by term limits Related: The dollars are hard to track Related: The Legislature has many ways to kill a bill Related: The language of the Legislature Related editorial: Fixing a broken government Florida has a part-time citizen Legislature, composed of people of varied backgrounds from teachers to real estate agents to funeral directors. Senate Republicans fast-track controversial bills By John Kennedy Palm Beach Post Senate Republicans say they are intent on making good on last fall's campaign. promises -- setting the stage for a highly partisan opening week of the 2011 Legislature. Unions in the crosshairs as session looms By Michael Peltier Naples Daily News With union busting votes drawing more than 70,000 union supporters to Wisconsin’s capital over the weekend, Florida lawmakers are not yet ready to abolish collective bargaining. Gov. Rick Scott now says he'd like collective bargaining removed from Constitution By Mary Ellen Klas St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Days after Gov. Rick Scott told a Tallahassee radio station that he was supportive of collective bargaining, he now says he wishes it weren't allowed in Florida. Waiting for Gov. Rick Scott to blink By Myriam Marquez Miami Herald Will Florida go the way of Wisconsin? Fight unions? Sure — but GOP plans go too far By Mike Thomas Orlando Sentinel Who would have guessed that Wisconsin and Ohio would trump Florida in union busting? Rick Scott’s goals are known, his strategy isn’t By Brendan Farrington Associated Press It hasn’t been hard to figure out Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s priorities as he heads into his first legislative session — his mantra has been jobs, jobs, jobs. Scott and lawmakers are divided over separation of powers By Aaron Deslatte Orlando Sentinel Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-led Legislature are at odds over the power of the purse, the future of public transportation and his proposed reconstructive surgery on government bureaucracy. Senate pres. Haridopolos got $152k to write book with 1 copy By Brendan Farrington Associated Press New Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos finished writing a book on politics for Brevard Community College four years ago, getting $152,000 in taxpayer money for the effort. Learning from professor Haridopolos By Katie Sanders St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Senate President Mike Haridopolos is last to appear for the 7:15 a.m. meeting, the only one who brought coffee, his blond hair still wet from a rinse in his office shower. Marco Rubio maintaining low-key approach to Senate By Lesley Clark and Patricia Mazzei Miami Herald After posing for photographs with top supporters for more than an hour, Marco Rubio strolled quietly into a ballroom at the Miami Airport Hilton on Saturday night, found his place at the honored guests' table at the front of the room and prepared to address the home crowd that so enthusiastically got him elected to the U.S. Senate. Lawsuits challenge Fla. redistricting changes By Mike Schneider Associated Press After a hard-fought political campaign, voters approved two measures last fall that would change how Florida's congressional and legislative districts are drawn every decade. POLITICAL RACES Haridopolos has big fundraising advantage – his office By Aaron Deslatte Orlando Sentinel Senate President Mike Haridopolos enjoys one big advantage over his Republican rivals in the 2012 U.S. Senate contest ahead: he can use the influence of his powerful office to command serious campaign cash. Florida faces fight over early primary By William March Tampa Tribune Florida may be headed for a showdown with the Republican Party and the early primary states over the date of its 2012 presidential primary. Election supercenters could replace South Florida polling places By Anthony Man South Florida Sun-Sentinel Broward County’s special election Feb. 8 cost about $75,000 — for 204 votes. BALLOT INITIATIVES Florida Catholic Conference, Family Policy Council do not endorse fetal personhood By Virginia Chamlee Florida Independent A proposed fetal personhood amendment, which would outlaw abortion and some forms of birth control, has been called radical and outrageous by pro-choice activists. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Budget cuts could kill environmental programs By William E. Gibson Orlando Sentinel Eager to slash taxes and restrain government spending, Gov. Rick Scott and Republican budget-cutters in Congress are seeking to chop big chunks of state and federal funding for programs designed to preserve the natural environment. Keep Florida Forever alive Editorial Pensacola News Journal It would be ironic — and bad for Florida — if Gov. Rick Scott succeeds in zeroing out funding for Florida Forever. Oil spill cleanup on beach scaling back By Kimberly Blair Pensacola News Journal Giant-sized, beeping and chugging oil-cleaning machines carved deep tracks in the sand as they lumbered eastward down the beach at Fort Pickens last week. LGBT After Obama announcement, conservatives vow to make gay marriage a 2012 election issue By David Crary and Lisa Leff Associated Press Angered conservatives are vowing to make same-sex marriage a front-burner election issue, nationally and in the states, following the Obama administration's announcement that it will no longer defend the federal law denying recognition to gay married couples. EDUCATION Study: Florida teacher pay dropping to 47th in U.S.; union raps Senate Bill 736 By Katherine Albers Naples Daily News Florida’s public school teachers are on their way to being among the worst-paid in the nation. Exams retooled for high schools By Keyonna Summers Florida Today Florida students begin taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test on Tuesday, but a new batch of standards has Brevard Public Schools officials doing their homework on how to best implement recent changes -- and parents scrambling to figure out what the revamp will mean for their children's grades. Parent group pans Florida Senate plan to ease class size restrictions By Jeff Solochek St. Petersburg Times A draft bill that would give Florida school districts some wiggle room in dealing with strict class size rules has won support from some reluctant lawmakers, but it's not gaining steam with one of the state's most vocal parent organizations. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY What next for Florida’s rail systems? By Travis Pillow Florida Independent In the wake of Gov. Rick Scott’s decision to stick to his guns on rejecting funds for high-speed rail, the Palm Beach Post reported that U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has extended the deadline, allowing the federal government more time to overcome Scott’s objection that the project would put Florida taxpayer dollars at risk. Broken-Record Rick May Not Matter By Glenn Marston Lakeland Ledger Every few days since Feb. 16, when Gov. Rick Scott rejected the Obama administration's $2.39 billion in high-speed-rail funding for Florida, Scott has been presented with a set of facts. Bill cutting unemployment benefits to 20 weeks advances By Marcia Heroux Pounds South Florida Sun-Sentinel Florida HB 7005 again won support, this time in the Economic Affairs Committee on Friday morning. Lawmakers eye advertising on state parks and assets By Mark Harper Daytona Beach News-Journal Thank you for riding SunTrustRail. Next stop: JetBlue Spring State Park. South Florida housing burden leads nation, study finds By Paul Owers South Florida Sun-Sentinel South Florida has the nation's biggest burden when it comes to monthly housing costs. HEALTH AND SENIORS Obama's 'risky move' in Florida By David Nather Politico U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson has already dealt the Obama administration a staggering blow on health reform, and this week the administration may get another one from the fiery Florida judge. Lawmakers poised to privatize Medicaid statewide By Kelli Kennedy Associated Press Jason Rosenstock typically waits six weeks to see a specialist to treat his pituitary disease, a side effect from a childhood brain tumor. A planned database to monitor Florida's infamous pill trade is being swallowed up by politics By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post After two years and more than 5,000 deaths from prescription drug overdoses, the tool that could be the key to helping reverse Florida's position as a center of illicit drug trade is on the brink of collapse. Key House chair targets database By Jim Saunders Health News Florida House Health and Human Services Chairman Rob Schenck does not like Florida's prescription-drug database. Ax poised to hack services for needy By Donna Koehn Tampa Tribune When Gov. Rick Scott announced his austere budget proposal this month, he likened the process to going through the attic of an old home, keeping the valuable items and tossing out the junk. State steps in less and more kids die By Carol Marbin Miller Miami Herald The details of Nubia Barahona’s death are grisly: Soaked in toxic chemicals, decomposed and stuffed in a garbage bag, she was found rotting on the shoulder of the interstate on Valentines Day. Scott broke law ousting state's long-term-care ombudsman, watchdogs say By Kate Santich Orlando Sentinel Watchdogs of the nation's nursing-home industry are calling for an investigation into Gov. Rick Scott's abrupt dismissal of the state's long-term-care ombudsman, claiming that the governor's "interference" was illegal. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Dispensing tough love at the Clemency Board By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times For the first time as governor, Rick Scott sat in judgment of his fellow man Thursday. Colleges become focus of nation's debate over guns By Marc Lacey New York Times Along with the meaning of life and the origin of the universe, college students across the country have another existential question to ponder: the wisdom of allowing guns in class. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Court system in peril amid budget crisis By David Ovalle Miami Herald As state lawmakers prepare to hammer out a balanced budget when the legislative session opens in Tallahassee next month, court personnel in South Florida say their already strained justice system will collapse if state employees are forced to shoulder significant cuts. Two judges leaving 1st District Court of Appeal By Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Two of the 15 judges on the long-troubled 1st District Court of Appeal are leaving the bench after more than 20 years on the court.