Daily Clips for March 29, 2011

FEATURED STORIES Scott vows to stop ‘Oxy express’ By Jim Saunders Health News Florida As lawmakers remain divided about how to fight pill mills, Gov. Rick Scott on Monday announced a statewide law-enforcement effort to stop what he described as the “Oxycontin express.” Florida Senate proposes less steep budget cuts than House, but nearly 1,600 would lose state jobs By John Kennedy Palm Beach Post The Senate unveiled its budget proposal late Monday, spending $3.2 billion more than the House, while cutting far fewer state jobs and taking less out of Florida's classrooms. Florida Senate budget plan would privatize prisons in 18 counties By Marc Caputo St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau In a massive private takeover of public prisons, the Florida Senate quietly slipped language into its newly proposed budget Monday that seeks to give corporations the chance to run correctional facilities and probation services in 18 counties. Bills gutting growth management sailing through Legislature By Mike Salinero Tampa Tribune Florida's growth management protections, enshrined in a ground-breaking 1985 law, are being swept away by lawmakers who see them as roadblocks to economic development. Florida GOP legislators singling out unions (includes reader poll) Editorial Orlando Sentinel Republicans hold overwhelming majorities in the Florida House and Senate as well as every statewide elected office except one. FLORIDA POLITICS Let's say it again: Florida's legislators are for sale By Howard Troxler St. Petersburg Times There is no state, no nation, no planet, and no universe where it should be legal to pay off a Legislature directly. Big field off and running in dopiest idea race By Daniel Ruth St. Petersburg Times To paraphrase Mark Twain's famous line, no scintilla of common sense, reality or functioning brain synapses are safe while the Florida Legislature, that parallel universe of addled delusion, is in session. With census done, eyes turn to legislative map By Bill Thompson Ocala Star-Banner Once state lawmakers redraw Florida's political map to match recently released census data, major changes could be in store for Marion County voters, some observers say. Emails offer window into Scott's thinking as candidate for governor Staff Report Sarasota Herald-Tribune When Rick Scott was on the campaign trail, the hard-charging Republican outsider could be seen constantly checking his iPad and using email. Sansom, community reflect on ordeal By Tom McLaughlin Northwest Florida Daily News Ray Sansom and his family arrived home from Tallahassee on Friday to find their Destin yard full of people waiting to welcome them. State government stained Editorial St. Petersburg Times The unsatisfying end to the criminal trial of former House Speaker Ray Sansom should not be misread as an endorsement of his abuse of public office. Gov. Scott's drug testing order makes little fiscal or policy sense Editorial South Florida Sun-Sentinel It never bodes well when a new boss comes in and immediately institutes a sweeping, potentially costly initiative that at its heart speaks of an underlying distrust of the employees he is now leading. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Florida ready to put growth control into local hands By Zac Anderson Sarasota Herald-Tribune Florida is poised to end a 26-year experiment in growth management, as economic concern and a free market philosophy have finally trumped longstanding worries about traffic congestion, environmental protection and overdevelopment. Senate plan lets utilities raise rates for renewable energy efforts By Mary Ellen Klas St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau The Florida Senate unveiled its plan Monday to allow Florida's electric companies to raise average customer bills $1.40 to $2.60 a month to build solar and biomass energy plants for the next five years. PSC nominees move toward confirmation as chairman is warned By Mary Ellen Klas St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Four newly-appointed Public Service Commission members were given the green light for confirmation by a Senate committee Monday, as the commission chairman was warned that he has more explaining to do after he socialized with the head of a water company he was regulating. Florida utility reports radiation from Japan Associated Press Sarasota Herald-Tribune Utilities in Florida and the Carolinas are adding to the list of states in the U.S. reporting trace amounts of radiation from a nuclear reactor in Japan that was damaged by an earthquake and tsunami. LGBT Immediate end to 'don't ask, don't tell' urged Associated Press Miami Herald Gay rights advocates on Monday filed a challenge to a request by the Obama administration to keep the repealed "don't ask, don't tell" policy in place while the Pentagon prepares for an end to the ban on allowing gays to serve openly in the military. EDUCATION Report: Florida public teachers’ salaries keep dropping By Marcos Restrepo Florida Independent The Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy today issued its State of the State of Florida report, which compares Florida’s education, health and human services, and tax fairness with other states. Are Rick Scott’s Education Cuts Unconstitutional? By Ralph De La Cruz Florida Center for Investigative Reporting Article IX, section 1 of the Florida Constitution states: The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. Lawmakers mull ending college faculty tenure By Lilly Rockwell News Service of Florida With the ink barely dry on the new teacher merit pay law that eliminates multi-year contracts for public school teachers, Florida lawmakers have surprised many stakeholders by swiftly moving toward a similar reform of community colleges. Liberty University one of the largest recipients of federal aid for students By Kyle Daly Florida Independent Evangelical college Liberty University is the largest recipient of federal aid to a student body in Virginia, and the eighth largest recipient in the country overall, reports Lynchburg, Va.’s News & Advance. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Death by a Thousand Cuts By Whitney Ray Capitol News Service Educators, seniors and state workers are offering a warning tonight. They say budget cuts proposed by the legislature and the governor would leave the state’s most vulnerable with no where to turn. Scott gives agency heads a big bump in their pay By Bruce Ritchie Florida Tribune State employees haven't received a raise in more than four years, but most agency heads that Gov. Rick Scott has appointed are making $20,000 a year more than their predecessors. HEALTH AND SENIORS Bills would restrict state's nursing-home watchdogs By Kate Santich Orlando Sentinel In the weeks since Gov. Rick Scott called for the ouster of Florida's top nursing-home watchdog, Republican lawmakers have introduced more than a dozen bills that critics claim would further "neuter" the ombudsman program. Gov. Rick Scott announces plan to combat pill mills By Janet Zink St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Facing criticism for not supporting a database that many believe would help combat the state's prescription drug epidemic, Gov. Rick Scott on Monday launched his own initiative to fight the problem. Florida Senate bill would allow doctors to ask about guns Staff Report St. Petersburg Times Doctors would still be able to ask patients questions about whether they have guns under a measure approved by a Senate committee Monday, a result of a compromise between gun rights groups and the medical establishment. Fla. House beginning debate on privatizing Medicaid Associated Press Palm Beach Post The Florida House is beginning floor action on legislation that would shift delivery of Medicaid services largely to private companies. Disabled sue FL in federal court By Jim Saunders Health News Florida Gov. Rick Scott and two state agencies have been hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging Florida has failed to provide needed services to 19,000 disabled people who are stuck on a waiting list. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Hasner jumps on anti-Sharia bandwagon By Cooper Levey-Baker Florida Independent In a YouTube clip posted on March 20 by the conservative blog Shark Tank, former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, currently exploring a run for the U.S. Senate, can be heard warning about the dangers of Islamic law entering the American court system. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Senate panel OKs tougher standards for photo lineups By Jim Ash Florida Capital News Ignoring the pleas of the state's most powerful law-enforcement groups, the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Monday approved a bill that would force police to adopt tough new standards for conducting photo lineups. Effort to decriminalize sexting as a first offense advances By Patricia Mazzei and Katie Sanders St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Should children who snap racy photos on their cell phones and send them out to their friends be punished as child-pornography distributors or sex offenders? Suit: Florida drivers 'detained' if tolls paid with big bills By William R. Levesque St. Petersburg Times Whenever Joel Chandler tried to pay a $1 toll with a $20 bill in Polk County, he was asked by toll collectors to provide personal information.