Daily Clips for June 14, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Florida Voices: How some of the state's political observers saw the debate's winners and losers
By Kenric Ward
Sunshine State News
Excerpt: Damien Filer (Progress Florida): "This debate was a showcase in the politics of fear: the fear of womens' choice, the fear of Muslim Americans, the fear of immigrants, the fear of civil rights for gays, the fear of an EPA that protects our air and water. The real winners are the American people who found out tonight just how out of step the entire Republican field is with mainstream values."

Fair Districts - Hold Them Accountable
By Vicki Impoco
Florida Today
Excerpt: Progress Florida reports "the House and Senate have set aside upwards of $30 million to fight Amendments 5 & 6 in court and promote their version of a redistricting plan." For a process that State Senator Haridopolos assured us would be "in the sunshine" why is Speaker Dean Cannon and the Florida House representatives proceeding with their lawsuit and why are they unable to tell us how much their lawsuit is costing taxpayers?

FEATURED STORIES

In debate, GOP presidential hopefuls turn wrath on Obama, not each other
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Mitt Romney, sometimes called the father of Barack Obama's health care overhaul, said he can't wait to repeal "Obamacare."

Obama fires up supporters at Arsht Center rally
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
President Obama hit the Miami fundraising circuit on Monday, picking up big campaign bucks and boasting of his record in running the country.

With focus still on 2012, Florida Democrats size up 2014 contenders
By Brandon Larrabee
News Service of Florida
Even as Democrats pledged at their annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner this past weekend to fight for President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson’s re-elections in 2012, some were already beginning to size up contenders for the party’s gubernatorial nod in 2014.

Amid bad publicity over job hype, don't count Scott out just yet
By Robert Trigaux
St. Petersburg Times
It's too easy to punch holes in Gov. Rick Scott's economic storytelling about creating jobs in Florida.

Argenziano: My GOP has sold you out
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Aregenziano's column: Things are worse than you may think
One of the harshest indictments of current GOP leadership in Florida comes from a member of the party itself: former State Sen. and PSC member Nancy Argenziano.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Elections matter: Report looks at one-party rule around the country
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
During this year’s legislative session, Florida lawmakers passed, and Gov. Rick Scott is in the process of signing, a raft of ambitious new laws, from a measure ending teacher tenure to a proposed overhaul of the state’s Medicaid system that will shift almost all its patients to HMOs and other forms of managed care.

Tea party group offers summer camp
By Marlene Sokol
St. Petersburg Times
Here's another option now that the kids are out of school: A week-long seminar about our nation's founding principles, courtesy of the Tampa 912 Project.

Marco Rubio to give first speech from Senate floor
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Sen. Marco Rubio is preparing to give his first speech from the floor of the U.S. Senate.

FEC closes its case against U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan
By Susan Taylor Martin
St. Petersburg Times
The Federal Election Commission has closed its case against U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan and will take no action against the Sarasota Republican over allegations he knowingly accepted illegal campaign contributions.

FBI subpoenas Sansom’s travel records
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
Former Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom won in state court on charges of slipping a $6 million airport project into a state budget, but the federal government is still investigating his travel expenses for the years he was one of the state’s most powerful lawmakers.

Scott reshuffles Enterprise Florida
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott erased some of the last vestiges of his predecessor on the board of Enterprise Florida, removing a pair of former Gov. Charlie Crist’s big fund-raisers and replacing them with two advisers of his own.

POLITICAL RACES

Obama rallies supporters, raises funds in South Florida
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
In a day that highlighted the strengths and vulnerabilities of his reelection effort, President Obama raised campaign cash at three events here late tonight after discussing job creation in North Carolina.

So far, no contenders commit to join Florida GOP's shindig
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
It's time to raise the possibility that "Presidency 5" — the Republican Party of Florida's Sept. 22-24 weekend featuring a nationally televised debate, every major Republican presidential contender and a nonbinding presidential preference vote by 3,500 Florida Republican activists — could be an embarrassing flop.

State Sen. Mike Bennett scraps congressional bid
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
State Sen. Mike Bennett says he will not run for Congress after all.

Putnam backs Haridopolos in GOP Senate field
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam did the eenie-meenie-miney thing Monday with the three Republican contenders for U.S. Senate — choosing Senate President Mike Haridopolos as his favorite for taking on Democrat Bill Nelson next year.

With eyes on U.S. Senate seat Hasner boldly bails out on clean energy
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
I'm enjoying the new Adam Hasner, the champion of conservative principles that have been so central to his political life for, oh, the better part of a year now.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Florida hopes to block new federal water-pollution rules by rewriting its own
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
The uproar over a federal effort to force Florida to clean up its rivers and lakes kicks up a notch this week as state officials air their strategy to avoid the controversial pollution regulations by writing a new set of their own.

Scott's Vetoes Add Responsibilities
By Charles Pattison
Lakeland Ledger
In keeping with his campaign promise, in signing House Bill 7207 Gov. Rick Scott may have unknowingly created millions of new jobs for Floridians, even for those who already have full-time positions.

DCA holding workshops on growth management legislation
By Bruce Ritchie
The Florida Current
The Florida Department of Community Affairs has scheduled a series of workshops around the state to discuss growth management legislation and its impact on the department.

Whose Minding Gulf Coast Beaches?
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
Gulf coast environmental watchdogs have filed a legal challenge in the 11th Federal Circuit Court in Atlanta, Georgia.

Scott declares wildfire, drought emergency
Associated Press
Pensacola News Journal
Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in Florida due to wildfires and drought conditions.

LGBT

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says end of military gay ban could come as early as this month
By Robert Burns and Lolita C. Baldor
Associated Press
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that he sees no roadblocks to ending the ban on openly gay military service, and if the top officers of each service recommend moving ahead on the repeal before the end of the month, he will endorse it.

West fires intern for ‘unauthorized’ pro-gay tweet
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Rep. Allen West, R-Fort Lauderdale, fired an intern this past Friday for re-tweeting a message supportive of gays on West’s Twitter account. West earlier this month called gay marriage an “oxymoron.”

EDUCATION

Florida's among the top ten nationally for college-educated legislators
By Kim MacQueen
The Florida Current
Florida has among the most college-educated legislature in the country, according to a report by the Chronicle of Higher Education issued this week.

Bush still has most Fla. Dems wearing dunce caps
Associated Press
Bradenton Herald
Former Gov. Jeb Bush's annual legislative "report card" still has most Democrats wearing dunce caps and Republicans getting gold stars.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Manpower survey: Fla. employment weakest in U.S.
By Anthony Clark
Gainesville Sun
Florida employers expect to hire at a steady pace in the next three months but the state's employment outlook is one of the weakest in the nation, according to a survey by the Manpower employment services firm.

Florida's growth rate has dropped sharply during Great Recession
Staff Report
Florida Tribune
The Great Recession and the burst of the housing bubble has caused a tremendous change in Florida the last few years.

Corporate tax cheats cost Florida millions
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Newly disclosed documents from a Georgia lawsuit show that major online hotel booking services have systemically schemed since at least 2004 to avoid paying full sales and bed taxes in Florida and across the country.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Scott and GOP governors push Congress to let them redesign Medicaid
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott and 28 other Republican governors added their names Monday to a letter urging congressional leaders to give states more authority to craft their own health insurance program for low-income, disabled and elderly residents.

Medicare actually saves a lot of money
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Every once in a while a politician comes up with an idea that's so bad, so wrongheaded, that you're almost grateful.

Prescription for healthcare shopping: Take two aspirins and call me in the morning
By John Dorschner
Miami Herald
When Shirley Abraham of Key Largo needed a nuclear stress test on her heart, she and husband Jim tried to be cautious consumers, since their insurance required they pay 20 percent out of pocket.

Judicial-bypass bill sponsor and wife of circuit court judge says law lightens ‘burdens on the courts’
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
State. Rep. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, spoke to The Lakeland Ledger this past week about a bill she sponsored this session that changed some of the current laws for minors seeking a judicial bypass for the parental notice of abortion mandated by state law.

Department of Health awards almost $2 million in abstinence education grants
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
This year, 13 groups will each receive a $150,000 grant from Florida’s Department of Health for the state’s abstinence education program.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Group issues demands as more activists arrested at Lake Eola
By Mark Schlueb
Orlando Sentinel
The activist group whose members are being arrested after feeding the homeless at Lake Eola Park issued a list of demands Monday to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.