Daily Clips for April 14, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Florida Republicans employ new tactics to push anti-union bill
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Labor leaders pan governor's first 100 days
A Senate committee Wednesday barely passed a bill to weaken the political power of Florida's public employee unions as Republican Party leaders continued the pressure on a handful of moderate Republican senators who could stand in the way of final passage.

Gov. Rick Scott finalizes deal to sell his holdings in urgent care chain Solantic
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Two weeks after insisting he was "not involved in that company," Gov. Rick Scott finalized a deal Wednesday to sell Solantic Inc., the Jacksonville chain of urgent care clinics he founded.

House, Senate delay tackling budget conflicts
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
The Florida House and Senate passed their conflicting versions of a state budget very early this year, but legislative money managers have not begun negotiating their differences and won't until after Easter.

Budget speak for dummies
By Gary Fineout
The Fine Print
The House and Senate have passed rival versions of the state budget and the negotiations between Republican leaders have already begun, although out of sight and quietly right now.

As deadline nears, Scott criticized for not suing BP
By Lindsay Peterson
Tampa Tribune
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is coming under increasing criticism for failing to join a lawsuit against the owner of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that blew up in the Gulf of Mexico a year ago next week.

Another Flori-duh moment?
Editorial
Miami Herald
A decade after the Sunshine State earned the moniker Flori-duh for those indiscernible hanging chads used in the old punch-card ballots during the 2000 presidential election, some legislators in Tallahassee seem to want to take us back to that confusing and divisive time.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Labor Battles Heat Up In Florida Against Gov. Rick Scott
By Amanda Terkel
Huffington Post
Garrett Lamp is a lifelong Republican. As a firefighter with the Orlando Fire Department, he voted for Jeb Bush for governor and even worked on a few political campaigns. He considers himself a social conservative, especially when it comes to the issue of abortion.

Legislative leaders got $1.4 million from interest groups
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Throughout this legislative session, cops, teachers and firefighters have flooded the Capitol to battle the business lobby over Republican plans to change their pensions and ban public employee unions from deducting dues from government paychecks.

Gov. Scott has deal to sell family's Solantic shares for less than $60 million
By Stacey Singer and John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Republican Gov. Rick Scott has reached a verbal agreement to sell his family's shares of Solantic for less than the $62 million he claimed they were worth during his campaign for governor, a spokesman said late Wednesday.

Jim Greer case: Motions will be heard in June
By Anthony Colarossi
Orlando Sentinel
Judge Marc Lubet has set a hearing for 1:30 pm June 22 to hear various motions filed in the James Greer case.

President Barack Obama cites letter from Florida man in speech
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
President Barack Obama's speech Wednesday on the gloomy state of the nation's financial affairs ended with an uplifting note from Florida — literally.

Today in Tallahassee: Judiciary, seaports, septic tanks
By Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The House is in session this afternoon and is poised to take up bills that would shake up the judiciary, seaports and septic tank restrictions.

POLITICAL RACES

House Speaker Dean Cannon wants committee to pick primary date
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Trying to straddle a desire for an early presidential primary with the controversy it has provoked nationally, Florida legislative leaders on Wednesday proposed creating a committee to pick a date.

2012 U.S. Senate race is on with Bill Nelson, Mike Haridopolos announced candidates
Staff Report
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos reported raising about $2.6 million in his debut fundraising quarter, compared to Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's nearly $2 million haul.

Part-time Palm Beacher Donald Trump leads 2012 GOP presidential field‎, plans tea party debut in Boca
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Politicians often claim they don't pay much attention to polls, especially ones taken several months before the first voters head to caucuses and primaries.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Bennett says he won't change sweeping growth bill to placate environmentalists
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Tribune
Sen. Mike Bennett said Tuesday he won't amend his sweeping growth management bill in response to opposition from environmentalists because he said they haven't asked him for changes.

Democrats criticize gov. for not joining BP lawsuit
By Jim Ash
Florida Capital News
House Democrats blasted Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday for failing to take rig operator BP to court for damages the state suffered from last year's Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Has BP really cleaned up the Gulf oil spill?
By Suzanne Goldenberg
The Guardian
There are few people who can claim direct knowledge of the ocean floor, at least before the invention of the spill-cam, last year's strangely compulsive live feed of the oil billowing out of BP's blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico.

EPA to see $1.6 billion funding cut, unsure how it will impact Florida programs
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
A six-month spending bill unveiled by House Republicans Monday night would see large cuts in environmental spending in the U.S. According to Politico, the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget would be come in “about $1.6 billion below 2010’s funding.”

Rhetorical overlap raises questions: Who is Free Market Florida?
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Free Market Florida wants to get rid of the EPA’s proposed numeric nutrient criteria, a set of water pollution standards that would govern waste in Florida waterways.

EDUCATION

FCAT season — complete with fear and loathing — has arrived
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
FCAT season kicks into high gear Monday.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Public Employees Feel The Heat In The Sunshine State
By Greg Allen
NPR
As in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states, Florida's public employees and their unions are on the defensive.

Public employees, officials denounce 'paycheck protection'
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
A "paycheck protection" bill ending union dues deduction for public employees barely survived a committee vote Wednesday and appears in serious trouble in the Senate.

State budget talks stalled until after Easter
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A fast-paced 2011 legislative session hit a major roadblock Wednesday as budget talks between the House and Senate broke down over a series of differences.

Report: Florida among states with tax loophole costing millions
By Abel Harding
Florida Times-Union
States and local governments are losing roughly $275 million to $400 million in revenue each year because of loopholes exploited by online travel companies, according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Housing trust fund slated for elimination
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
In addition to merging three state agencies into one economic development entity, the Florida legislature is also considering merging their corresponding trust funds as well.

Florida is best-positioned state for growing jobs long-term, Wells Fargo says
By Jeff Harrington
St. Petersburg Times
Few expect a dramatic bounceback in Florida's economy any time soon.

Florida Senate panel forces casino expansion plan to fold for session
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
An attempt by Las Vegas' largest casino operators to bring resort-style casinos to Florida appeared all but dead Wednesday as a Senate committee killed the bill, rejecting promises that the effort could bring new jobs and revenue.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Families, caretakers reel from disabled budget cuts
By Kate Santich
Orlando Sentinel
Before Melanie Weighill's adult son went to live in a group home, the police were regular visitors to their house in Oviedo.

What happened to DOH overhaul?
By Jim Saunders
Health News Florida
With time running short, a proposed merger of Florida health and human-services agencies appears dead this year --- and lawmakers also likely will not approve a major overhaul of the Department of Health.

Democrats like Kathy Castor rail against proposed Medicare privatization
By Kate Bradshaw
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Last week, US Representative Paul Ryan, the Republican chair of the budget committee, unveiled a budget plan that aims to cut trillions in federal spending over the long term.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Immigrant supporters decry Florida Senate bill
By Patricia Mazzei
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A praying mass of immigrants and their supporters brought a Florida Senate budget committee to a halt Wednesday to oppose a contentious bill they liken to an Arizona-style illegal immigration crackdown.

Senate immigration measure held up so Scott can weigh in
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
Related: Florida business, religious leaders denounce ‘harsh’ immigration policies
The Florida Senate’s immigration bill, which today drew scorn from business and religious leaders, has been tabled until after lawmakers break for Easter.

Welfare drug testing bill advances in Florida Legislature
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
New applicants for one form of welfare assistance would have to get drug tests at their own expense under a bill advancing in the Florida Legislature.

Gov. Rick Scott contradicts policy and logic with order on employee drug testing
Editorial
TC Palm
Gov. Rick Scott favors smaller and less intrusive government and less taxpayer spending, right?

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Report: Supreme Court split to cost millions
By James L. Rosica
Associated Press
State courts officials have determined that the proposed splitting of the Florida Supreme Court will cost taxpayers more than $14 million in remodeling and moving costs, not including the added personnel costs for a bigger court, according to reports.

Crime victims and their advocates speak out at the capitol
By Tom Flanigan
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
In most discussions about crime and criminal justice, the victims are often left out of the conversation.

Eyewitness Identification Reform; the high cost of doing nothing
By Lisa Marzilli
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Last week The Innocence Project of Florida celebrated another victory with the exoneration of Derrick Williams, a Manatee County man who had served 18 years of a life sentence for a rape that he did not commit.

Bill means political interference in Florida's courts
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
The Florida House today is expected to debate a devious constitutional amendment to restructure the Florida Supreme Court that would undermine the independence of the judiciary.