Daily Clips for May 13, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Progress Florida calls on FSU President to cancel Koch deal
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
In response to news that the billionaire Koch brothers now have a hand in hiring certain FSU professors, the liberal-leaning activist group Progress Florida has unveiled a campaign aimed at stopping what they say is “an unprecedented assault on academic freedom.”

Petition drive underway to undo FSU/Koch deal
By Ron Matus
St. Petersburg Times
The left-leaning Progress Florida has launched a petition drive to get Florida State University to undo this deal involving libertarian businessman and FSU donor Charles G. Koch and the school's economics department.

FEATURED STORIES

ACLU, unions, others may challenge new Fla. laws
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida has hired two more lawyers and is planning to add another to help handle an expected workload increase resulting from the Republican-led Legislature's recently ended session.

Gov. Rick Scott's attorneys assert his "supreme executive power" over agency rules
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The "supreme executive power" granted the governor by the state Constitution is among the reasons Gov. Rick Scott has the final say over rules developed by state agencies, according to documents filed Thursday in the Florida Supreme Court.

Rick Scott for president? Absurd, but possible
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Absurd as it sounds, people who have talked to Florida's tea party governor about the Republican presidential field are convinced Scott has a bid lurking in the back of his mind.

Colleges brace for cuts, fee hikes
By Lilly Rockwell
News Service Of Florida
State universities are once again having to comb their budgets and looking for ways to slash millions to close shortfalls by early June.

FSU's bad deal
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Public universities in Florida have felt the sting of the Great Recession and its aftermath.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Florida Confidential: Daphne Campbell, rollin’ with the GOP?
By Joy-Ann Reid
The Reid Report
When I heard word that State Rep. Daphne Campbell of Miami was planning a press conference last week to demand an apology for a supposed paper stack attack by a fellow Dem over her vote for an anti-abortion bill, my first thought was, well there’s a bad idea.

Florida Legislature's Voter Supression Bill Claims First Victim
By Inkberries
Beach Peanuts
The League Of Women Voters of Florida appears to be the first victim of the harsh voter suppression bills passed by the Florida legislature this past session.

We need more Deputies
By Daniel Tilson
Florida Progressive Coalition
So why should the uninvolved general public join in active demonstrations of opposition to the Republican-dominated Florida government?

To Fuel The Wealth of Speculators: What does the burning Everglades remind you of?
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
The last few days the acrid taste of burning Everglades has filled my mouth.

FSU Accepts Funds From Charles Koch In Return For Control Over Its Academic Freedom
By Travis Waldron
Think Progress
Charles Koch, the billionaire libertarian who has funded front-groups and lobbying efforts to expand his anti-tax, anti-regulatory agenda under the guise of “free enterprise,” has now widened his reach into another key public policy area: academics.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Rick Scott's jobs agenda runs into political realities in Legislature
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
>From the start of his administration, Gov. Rick Scott has been clear about how he planned to keep his campaign pledge to create 700,000 jobs in seven years: a direct line of accountability to the governor's office.

Scott’s blind trust plan goes before ethics panel
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Rick Scott’s vast financial holdings have continued to draw heat but today, Florida’ s chief executive is likely to draw support from the state’s Commission on Ethics for steps he’s taken to create some separation from his multi-million dollars investments.

Florida's Biggest Lobbyists: Turning Up the Heat
By Amy Keller
Florida Trend
While Washington lobbyists reported record revenue in 2010, Florida's influence industry registered a dip in activity last year.

Roll Call: Mario Diaz-Balart is ‘most influential’ on redistricting
By Peter Schorsch
Inside the Lines
The Roll Call website has put together a list (h/t to the Orlando Sentinel) of the 10 congressmen the publication believe carry the most influence on redistricting in their home states.

Legislature saves state with new laws like no more saggy pants and no lovin’ animals
By James H. Burnett III
Miami Herald
I had to check-in with my long-unemployed neighbor, a skilled auto mechanic, before I wrote this column to make sure his life has not changed for the better in the past week or so.

POLITICAL RACES

Special interests fill Mike Haridopolos' Senate campaign coffers
By Marc Caputo
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Whether it's trial lawyers vs. the business community or workers comp doctors weighing in on pill mills, some of the biggest battles of the lawmaking session left their mark — and money — on the U.S. Senate campaign of Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos.

Candidates for higher office should resign first
By Ernest Hooper
St. Petersburg Times
Mike Haridopolos' bid for the U.S. Senate weakened his effectiveness as Senate president, but it's not the first time we've seen that result.

Lesser-known candidates could be wild cards in Miami-Dade mayor’s race
By David Smiley
Miami Herald
If personal determination were the only barometer for a viable campaign, then perhaps all 11 candidates running to become Miami-Dade County’s next mayor would hold equal footing in the days leading up to the May 24 elections.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Legislature greased skids for developers
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
The measure of the lie about how growth management has stifled Florida’s economy comes to a stark three billion — three billion square feet of stores, malls, offices, approved for construction. Most of them yet to be built.

Florida Congressional delegation votes for drilling on party lines
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the second of its three-part package of bills aimed at encouraging offshore drilling on Wednesday.

JEA receives controversial water use permit
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
The St. Johns River Water Management District Tuesday night approved a permit that would allow Jacksonville utility JEA to withdraw up to 163 million gallons of groundwater daily in the next 20 years.

South Florida agriculture faces tougher watering cutbacks as drought continues
By Andy Reid
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Sugar cane growers and other farmers soon will face tougher irrigation restrictions amid a lingering drought straining water supplies.

Fears that Wakulla Springs State Park lodge will close are diminished by offers
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Seven companies have submitted proposals to run concessions at Wakulla Springs State Park, reducing fears among park supporters that the historic lodge could be closed.

LGBT

House panel OKs defense bill, delays gay service
By Donna Cassata
Associated Press
A House panel approved a defense bill early Thursday that would delay President Barack Obama's new policy allowing gays to serve openly in the military and limit the commander in chief's authority on slashing the nation's nuclear arsenal.

EDUCATION

Fla. schools still facing class size penalties
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
Florida's school districts still are facing $7.7 million in penalties for violating current class size limits although lawmakers loosened them for the future.

Thousands of high school seniors fall short on FCAT
By Kathleen McGrory and Carli Teproff
Miami Herald
At least 3,833 high school seniors in Miami-Dade County and 2,026 in Broward failed portions of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test on their final try this year — and now run the risk of not graduating.

Scores show FCAT re-takers likely to fail again
By Regan McCarthy
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
Generally across the board, a student re-taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test is more likely to fail the second time around than pass.

Covering UF's budget gap with one-time funds
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
University of Florida President Bernie Machen outlined a budget plan Thursday that avoids short-term pain — but might require long-term sacrifice.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Pew: End "Too-Big-To-Fail"
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
Many Florida investors and property owners are frustrated with the Wall Street reforms signed into law last year because they do little to stop "too big to fail" - the problem of large banks being so dominant in the nation's economy that taxpayers must bail them out when they get into trouble.

Some Florida home insurance premiums could double in 5 years under bill
By Julie Patel
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Homeowners, some already hit with double-digit property insurance rate hikes in recent years, could see premiums more than double in five years.

Pension changes applauded
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
Economists and policy analysts representing a business-backed group of public-pension critics agreed Thursday that the 2011 Legislature made some significant progress toward cutting the costs of state government retirement plans.

Glades Correctional may get at least a few months reprieve, Benacquisto says
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Florida Corrections Secretary Edwin Buss has pledged to keep Glades Correctional Institution operational for at least four months and is looking for ways to possibly keep the facility open indefinitely, Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto said Thursday.

Florida lawmakers tell Internet cafes: "You're a winner"
By Brent Henzi
Florida Tribune
State lawmakers spent hours this past session debating everything from whether to bring full-blown Las Vegas casinos to the state or whether greyhound tracks should be allowed to drop racing.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Feds say Medicare changes under health reform law could save billions
By Kate Bradshaw
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Today the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services released a study suggesting improvements to Medicare over the last year will save the government billions of dollars.

The GOP's Health Care Flip-Flop
The Progress Report
Think Progress
In Oct. 2009, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) urged Congress to use the insurance program he created in Massachusetts as a model for nationwide health reform.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

State immigration laws may never be constitutional
Associated Press
Naples Daily News
Utah legislators passed an immigration law that they were confident wouldn't end up the same way Arizona's version did last year: tangled up in the courts.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Assistant attorney general tied to foreclosure mill fired
By Shannon Behnken
Tampa Tribune
The attorney general's office has fired Erin Cullaro, an assistant Florida attorney general reprimanded last year for moonlighting for a "foreclosure mill."