Daily Clips for March 18, 2011

FEATURED STORIES Florida's 2012 election season will be a wild ride By Adam C. Smith St. Petersburg Times Election seasons are always unpredictable in Florida, but 2012 is shaping up to be downright crazy. Census data informs Florida redistricting plans By Marc Caputo St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Congressman Jeff Kottkamp? How about Congresswoman Paula Dockery? Florida House bill would raise retirement age for state workers By Mary Ellen Klas and Jodie Tillman St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau A House committee rewrote Gov. Rick Scott's pension reform plan Thursday by raising the retirement age of all workers, including police officers and firefighters, and rejecting his call for ending defined pensions for new workers. House unveils plan to gut growth management By Aaron Deslatte Orlando Sentinel The Florida House wants to gut state growth-management requirements for cities and counties, unshackle developers and make it harder for citizens to go to court to stop local growth decisions. Panel votes to add three justices to high court By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News The Florida Supreme Court would get three new justices and be split into civil and criminal divisions in an effort to speed up death-sentence appeals under a constitutional amendment approved Thursday by the House Justice Subcommittee. BEST OF THE BLOGS Florida Vice: Will Rick Scott and the GOP turn Florida into the fraud capitol of the U.S.? By Joy-Ann Reid The Reid Report Rick Scott and his tea party pals in Tallahassee have got deregulation fever! Clubbed to Death: Golf on Your State Parks By Benjamin Kirby The Spencerian You already know that I'm not real big on sports. Miami Dade County ... now what? By Gimleteye Eye on Miami With so much focus at the top of county management and politics, it is easy to ignore staff demoralized by paralyzed government. Awaking the State - Tallahassee (Video) By Leaflet Leaflet Descending A video *montage* of Tallahassee's budget protests at the Capitol. GOP Finding Ways to Oust Rivera. We Should Too! By Jake Rantings From Florida Truly, without doubt, the most shameful election result to come out of the Sunshine State last year was the election of Rep. David Rivera, R-Underworld. FLORIDA POLITICS Census figures offer tools for congressional, legislative redistricting By Jim Ash Florida Capital News The U.S. Census Bureau released detailed population figures today, giving the conservative Republicans who rule the Legislature the tools they need to start redrawing congressional and legislative districts. Fla. gains clout: Picks up 2 House seats with 17.6 percent growth in past decade By George Bennett Palm Beach Post Florida will gain two congressional seats and become an even more coveted presidential prize with two more electoral votes as a result of new census figures released today. Florida Gov. Rick Scott launches public records website By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau During a week dedicated to celebrating the freedom of public information, Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday launched a website devoted to records that push his agenda. Gov. Rick Scott's team struggles to put social media in the sunshine By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau As Gov. Rick Scott's team increasingly relies on social media to drive debate on his legislative agenda and deliver an unfiltered message to supporters, the 21st century technology is colliding with state public records laws. Ray Sansom's felony trial begins today By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News The long and complex case of former House Speaker Ray Sansom finally goes to trial today with lawyers arguing whether fair jurors can be found in the state capital. Ethics investigation of Norman under way, complainant says Staff Report St. Petersburg Times Sen. Jim Norman is being investigated by the state ethics commission, according to the man who filed a complaint. POLITICAL RACES Haridopolos, "the law," and fundraising during session By Gary Fineout The Fine Print Senate President Mike Haridopolos has had a series of evolving answers when he keeps getting asked about fundraising for his U.S. Senate race. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY State may have nearly 25,000 acres of land it doesn't need By Bruce Ritchie Florida Tribune An initial review of state-owned lands has identified more than 24,000 acres that possibly could be exchanged or sold, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. South Florida utilities could get reprieve on when they have to stop piping sewage into ocean By Bruce Ritchie Florida Tribune A Senate committee on Thursday passed a bill to extend deadlines and relax requirements for South Florida utilities who must stop piping treated sewage into the ocean. Polluter Profits Vs. Public Health The Progress Report Think Progress The rise of the Tea Party in Congress has inspired an all-out assault on public health and a clean environment. Rooney and Rubio join forces to fight EPA over clean water regulations for Florida Editorial TC Palm Treasure Coast representatives in Washington, D.C., have joined forces to fight regulations designed to improve the quality of waterways in the state. EDUCATION Florida Senate budget leaders designate more money for education than Gov. Scott By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post Public schools next year would receive roughly the same funding as this year under a preliminary proposal floated in the Florida Senate this morning, a sharp departure from Gov. Rick Scott's suggested 10 percent cut and the House's initial 7.7 percent decrease. Bill to loosen Florida's school class size cap advances Associated Press Ft. Myers News-Press A new proposal to loosen Florida's class size caps sailed through a Senate committee on a unanimous vote without debate or objection today, although the statewide teachers union later said it opposes the legislation. Florida ranks at bottom for graduation rate of black men: Half True By Aaron Sharockman St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald PolitiFact "Seven of the 10" school districts with the lowest graduation rate for African-American boys are in Florida. Test results will be late again, state tells schools By Dave Weber Orlando Sentinel Scores on statewide tests for thousands of Florida public school students may be late again this year, with the Department of Education unable to provide test results to many districts in time for teachers to figure grades on year-end report cards. Senate plan would suspend Florida Prepaid College program By Jodie Tillman St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau A Senate draft spending plan for higher education would suspend new enrollment in the Florida Prepaid College program. B students face tough admissions at Florida universities By Scott Travis South Florida Sun Sentinel Suddenly, doing above average work in high school may not be enough to get you into Florida's public universities. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY State workers, teachers to pay 5 percent to pension fund under House proposal By John Kennedy Palm Beach Post Some 655,000 public employees would contribute 5 percent of their pay to the state's pension plan, while a lucrative early retirement program would end, under legislation approved Thursday by a House panel. Gov. Rick Scott talks free trade on first trade mission, to Panama By Steve Huettel St. Petersburg Times On his first trade mission Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott talked with Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli about prospects for increased commerce though a free trade agreement and expansion of the Panama Canal. Playing politics with transportation By Patrick Gittard Gainesville Sun Governor Rick Scott’s death sentence on high-speed rail lost Florida billions of dollars in economic opportunity, thousands of jobs, and important intercity connections. A punishing policy on jobless Editorial St. Petersburg Times Jobless benefits have been a lifeline to Floridians during this recession, injecting an estimated $9 billion into the state economy. Women bear brunt of union-busting By Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Heidi Hartmann Politico Across America, hardworking teachers, police officers, firefighters, nurses and other public employees are being squeezed from two directions. State could take over expressway system By Dan Tracy Orlando Sentinel Orlando's main road-building agency and the $250 million in tolls it collects each year could be taken over by the state if a powerful senator can transform his idea into law. Bills to change gambling advance By Brandon Larrabee Florida News Service Two measures changing the rules for gambling interests in the state passed the Senate Regulated Industries Committee this week, potentially kicking off a new round of gambling fights. HEALTH AND SENIORS Medicaid HMOs say no thanks to Medically Needy patients By Christine Jordan Sexton Florida Tribune Florida’s largest Medicaid HMO organization wants the House of Representatives to alter its plan to rewrite Medicaid so it exempts some of the most expensive patients from the managed care requirements. House and Senate Medicaid reform plans differ By Kathleen Haughney Orlando Sentinel Florida lawmakers are considering a massive overhaul of the federal/state program that provides health care to low-income and disabled persons that would shuttle a majority of the state's 2.9 million Medicaid clients to HMO-style plans. Taxpayer-funded abortions in the federal health care bill? False By Aaron Sharockman St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald PolitiFact State Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, has brought back a provision of a bill vetoed by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2010 that would prohibit the use of federal or state funding to provide abortion coverage. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Immigration bill opponents say GOP lawmakers are pushing it for “political reasons.” By Brent Henzi Florida Tribune A handful of lawmakers on Thursday joined with a couple of hundred people opposed to immigration bills now under consideration. Battle for heart of the Republican party on display at immigration rally By Travis Pillow Florida Independent Nine days ago, Florida Senate President (and U.S. Senate Candidate) Mike Haridopolos appeared before a cheering tea party crowd chanting, “E-Verify, E-Verify!” on the steps of the historic capitol. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Plan to overhaul Florida Supreme Court clears a committee By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau House Speaker Dean Cannon's bold plan to overhaul the Florida Supreme Court gathered steam Thursday, as a Republican-controlled House committee endorsed the proposed changes and Democrats opposed them, as did the Florida Bar and some judges. Supremes may move to the 'Taj Mahal' under propsal By James Call WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee A Senate panel is preparing to cut the budget for prisons and courts by 275 million dollars. James Call reports more than half of the savings will come out of the Department of Corrections budget. No Benefit to Further Politicizing Florida's Judicial Branch By Dennis Maley Bradenton Times Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon rolled out a plan this week to completely revamp the state's supreme court.