Daily Clips for March 24, 2011

FEATURED STORIES Charlie Crist's testimony pans Ray Sansom's college deal By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times On the day former Gov. Charlie Crist took the stand as a star witness, prosecutors on Wednesday advanced the heart of their grand theft case against former House Speaker Ray Sansom, but the defense continued to land blows of its own. Florida could become first state in nation to let residents buy out of state health insurance policies By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune Republicans across the country have contended that one alternative to the controversial federal health care reform plan is to let Americans buy health insurance across state lines. Public hospital costs get scrutiny By Carol Gentry Health News Florida Saying he wants taxpayers to get their money’s worth in health care, Gov. Rick Scott issued an executive order late Wednesday appointing a commission to scrutinize the performance and costs of hospitals operated by local governments. Gov. Scott to sign bill overhauling teacher pay, tenure, evaluations By Ron Matus St. Petersburg Times Related: Busy morning for Florida education Gov. Rick Scott was scheduled to sign a bill into law early Thursday that will dramatically change how Florida teachers are hired, fired, paid and evaluated. Sen. Mike Haridopolos' bill would require review of ethics forms By Marc Caputo St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Related editorial: Haridopolos' ethics shuffle Senate President Mike Haridopolos plans to push a new law that would require the state's ethics commission to review each legislator's financial disclosure forms to spot troubles. Vice President Joe Biden chastises Gov. Rick Scott for rejecting high-speed rail By Adam C. Smith St. Petersburg Times Vice President Joe Biden chastised Gov. Rick Scott in Tampa on Wednesday, saying he cost Florida thousands of jobs and cutting-edge infrastructure improvements by rejecting $2.4 billion in federal funding for high-speed rail. FLORIDA POLITICS Today in Tallahassee: Erasing more of Charlie Crist's vetoes By Marc Caputo St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Former Gov. Charlie Crist's legacy will get tattered a little more in the Legislature today when the Senate joins the House in overriding two of his vetoes. Rick Scott: A governor and his boots By Janet Zink St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Cabinet meeting or church. Blue suit or black. There's one thing you can always count on from Gov. Rick Scott. Should it be easier to give money to Florida politicians? By Howard Troxler St. Petersburg Times If you're like me, you've been thinking: "What this state really needs is an easier way to give money to politicians." Haridopolos Stalls Ethics Legislation Editorial Florida Today A Statewide Grand Jury charged with investigating public corruption in Florida released a report of their findings on December 29, 2010. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Measure designed to streamline state permitting keeps getting larger By Bruce Ritchie Florida Tribune An evolving bill to streamline state permitting cleared another committee on Wednesday as environmental groups and state agencies continued to raise concerns. Fertilizer bill narrowly advances in Florida House By Janet Zink St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau A controversial bill that would ban cities and counties from regulating fertilizer use and sales faced surprising resistance from House Republicans on Wednesday. Report: Flaw led to preventer failure; BP not all to blame By Harry R. Weber and Michael Kunzelman Associated Press The blowout preventer that should have stopped the BP oil spill cold failed because of faulty design and a bent piece of pipe, a testing firm hired by the government said Wednesday in a report that appears to shift some blame for the disaster away from the oil giant and toward those who built and maintained the 300-ton safety device. EDUCATION Florida bill would expand school vouchers program By Patricia Mazzei St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau A school vouchers program created by former Gov. Jeb Bush is set to grow under a bill making its way through the state Legislature. Public schools facing the largest budget cuts in years By Lynn Hatter WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee Proposals to fund the state's public schools and universities are surfacing in the legislature this week. State Board of Education chairman quits over Scott’s handling of commissioner’s resignation By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post T. Willard Fair, chairman of the state Board of Education, has resigned over Gov. Rick Scott’s handling of the resignation of education commissioner Eric Smith, who announced he was stepping down on Monday. Florida lawmakers consider allowing advertising on school buses By Elaine Silvestrini Tampa Tribune Financially strapped school districts may soon have another source of revenue – advertising on school buses. Star students caught up in budget mess By Chris Umpierre Ft. Myers News-Press Knowing his family needed help to pay for his college education, Fort Myers High senior Griffin Plattner studied hard and excelled on standardized tests to qualify for a state scholarship program that would cover all of his college tuition costs. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Union Worker "Gag Bill" Could Come to House Floor By Eric Mack Public News Service Florida State legislation that would restrict how unions collect dues and spend money on political activities could reach the House floor today, but opponents say the bill looks a lot like a Wisconsin-style attack on workers' rights. SunRail costs up by almost $5 million because of Scott's delay By Aaron Deslatte, David Damron and Dan Tracy Orlando Sentinel The cost to build the SunRail commuter train in Central Florida could go up by at least $4.8 million because Gov. Rick Scott has frozen work on the project until the summer, state documents show. Community Action Agencies Look to Tallahassee for Backup By Eric Mack Public News Service Florida The agencies around the state that work to help Floridians climb out of poverty have taken a hit in the federal budget battle, so today they're heading to Tallahassee to ask state lawmakers to take up their cause. British ambassador visiting lawmakers, governor in Fla. By Jim Ash Florida Capital News Strengthening already significant ties with an old friend and trading partner could help Florida pick up the pace of a painfully slow economic recovery, British Ambassador Sir Nigel Sheinwald told the Florida Senate on Wednesday. Lawmakers overreach on deregulation Editorial South Florida Sun-Sentinel Florida's Realtors don't want it. Neither do the representatives of auto mechanics, geologists, mobile home owners, travel agents and scores of other professional groups. HEALTH AND SENIORS Feds may act if Florida stalls on health-reform law By William E. Gibson Orlando Sentinel If Florida leaders refuse to carry out the new national health-care law, Uncle Sam is prepared to take charge on behalf of the state's consumers. Health Reform's One-Year Anniversary The Progress Report Think Progress Today is the one-year anniversary of President Obama signing the Affordable Care Act into law, which when fully implemented, will cover 32 million Americans and begin to lower the rate of growth in health care spending. DCF head calls agency's abuse hot line 'low-cost call center'; wants overhaul By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post The Florida Department of Children and Families operates its abuse hot line like a "low-cost call center," which contributed to the death of 10-year-old Nubia Barahona, the agency's new secretary said Wednesday. Bill would help establish rules for sex in group homes By Justin George St. Petersburg Times State senators proposed reforms Wednesday to how developmentally disabled sex offenders are housed and want a task force of experts to recommend new guidelines for sex in group homes. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Drug-testing for welfare recipients advances despite program’s past failure By Travis Pillow Florida Independent Related: Welfare drug tests: Not just for prior convicts anymore On Wednesday, a Florida House panel cleared a modified version of a bill that would require the Department of Children and Families to drug-test people seeking cash assistance, despite staff research that shows a similar program tested between 1999 and 2001 was a failure. Immigration Policy Center: Unauthorized immigrant population remains stable By Marcos Restrepo Florida Independent As Republicans in the Florida legislature move forward with immigration-enforcement bills, new data shows that the number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States has remained stable. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Sen. J.D. Alexander suggests paying Florida judges bonuses to hear more cases By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau As Florida courts groan under the weight of heavy case backlogs, a powerful senator is suggesting a highly controversial remedy: paying judges more money to hear more cases. Dean Cannon’s judicial activism unpopular with his legal peers By Scott Maxwell Orlando Sentinel If House Speaker Dean Cannonis looking for support for his radical plans to change the way courts work in Florida, he’s not finding it among his own brethren (and sistren) in the Orange County Bar Association.