Daily Clips for June 16, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

‘Granny dumping’ in Medicaid?
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Around the state, lawyers for the elderly are coming out in force to denounce Florida’s Medicaid overhaul as “Granny-dumping.”

Fourteen school districts asked to investigate possible FCAT cheating
By Gary Fineout
The Florida Current
Fourteen school districts across Florida have been asked by the Department of Education to investigate whether or not cheating went on during this year’s high-stakes testing.

Law streamlines economic efforts
By Paul Flemming
Florida Capital News
A day after signing a massive bill that creates a new state economic-development agency and shreds an existing growth-management agency, Gov. Rick Scott recounted efforts to attract Canadian companies to expand or relocate in Florida.

Florida Loses 636 Private-Sector Jobs During Rick Scott's Vacation to Canada
By Matthew Hendley
Broward New Times
While we were busy adding up all of those jobs Gov. Rick Scott brought from Canada to Florida during his "trade mission" last week -- zero -- big layoffs were taking place across the state.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Gov. Rick Scott talks jobs, immigration reform during visit
By Allie Garza and Leslie Williams Hale
Naples Daily News
In a duo of Southwest Florida stops Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott addressed representatives from what he called Florida’s two most recognizable industries: tourism and citrus.

In Florida, the 'R' stands for fractured
By Nancy Argenziano
Tampa Tribune
Make no mistake: This is not about liberals vs. conservatives — or Republicans vs. Democrats; it's about what is right and what is wrong.

Financial disclosure forms released for Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
The U.S. Senate made public Wednesday financial disclosures for 2010, including for Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio.

See how much your lawmakers are worth
By Mark Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
As required annually by law, members of Congress today made public their personal finances for 2010 — providing voters with unique insight into the ruling class.

Federal investigators circling Ray Sansom
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Federal authorities are closing in on their investigation of former Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom, requiring the House to provide by Thursday records related to his travel and that of several aides.

Conservative group wants probe of Lois Frankel's congressional campaign spending
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
A conservative group wants the Federal Election Commission to look into how former West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel's Democratic congressional campaign raised $254,605 in March while reporting only $706 in start-up expenditures.

Grand jury subpoenas employment records of state Sen. Jim Norman's aide
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A federal grand jury in Tampa last month issued a subpoena for employment records of the legislative aide to state Sen. Jim Norman.

POLITICAL RACES

McCalister tries to be tea party alternative to ‘Tallahassee Triplets’ in GOP Senate primary
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Florida’s 2012 Republican U.S. Senate primary so far has been a three-way contest between state Senate President Mike Haridopolos, former appointed Sen. George LeMieux and former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner.

LeMieux proposes P5 Senate primary debate
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Republican U.S. Senate candidate George LeMieux has proposed that the party hold a debate for Senate candidates at the Presidency 5 state convention in September.

Romney talking economy in Tampa on Thursday
Staff Report
Tampa Tribune
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will make a stop in downtown Tampa Thursday morning during his fundraising tour of Florida.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

DEP says it's reconsidering action on water standards
By Bruce Ritchie
The Florida Current
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday it is reconsidering whether it should adopt new specific water quality standards after a federal agency refused to withdraw its own standards.

Everglades restoration takes big budget hit
By William E. Gibson
Orlando Sentinel
Everglades restoration fell victim to the budget ax on Wednesday when the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would slice $32.7 million from President Barack Obama's spending request for next fiscal year.

Congress living in denial in wake of oil spill, nuclear disasters
By Anthony W. Orlando
South Florida Sun Sentinel
How quickly we forget. Fourteen months have passed since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded 49 miles off the coast of Louisiana, gushing 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

If Crystal River nuclear power plant never comes back online, what happens to your electric bill?
By Ivan Penn
St. Petersburg Times
Progress Energy customers can expect higher electric bills if the utility's sole nuclear power plant in Florida shuts down permanently.

EDUCATION

Jeb Bush: Michigan governor on right education track
By Staff Report
Tampa Tribune
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush encouraged Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder today to "paint in bold colors, throw away the pastels" and stick to his plan to improve the state's education system.

UF trustees, Alligator made the wrong call on tuition hike
By Dave Schneider
Independent Alligator
Our tuition is about to increase - again. Our university is facing a budget crisis - again. And the Board of Trustees has approved yet another policy that will make UF less accessible to working students.

The high cost of scrimping on pre-K
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
A recent study in the journal Science is a reminder of the long-term costs Florida inflicts on itself by starving its voluntary prekindergarten program.

First, sort out the race issue
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
The state's how-to guide lists multiple legitimate reasons for creating charter schools.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Citizens’ Low Rates Costing Every Policyholder in Florida
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Every car, boat, and homeowner in Florida is still paying for the hurricanes of 2004-2005 and will be for at least the next five years.

Department of Corrections cuts 111 Tallahassee jobs
By Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The Department of Corrections has cut 111 positions in its Tallahassee central office, resulting in 48 layoffs.

Scott defends actions to state's citrus growers
Staff Report
The Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday defended recent actions that have angered the state’s citrus growers.

Anti-union Southern companies tolerate -- and undermine -- labor abroad
By Joe Atkins
Facing South
The latest Labor South Roundup shows that Southern companies remain at the forefront of anti-labor activity in the United States even when at least one is willing -- if forced -- to tolerate unions abroad.

John Mica, Corrine Brown split over privatizing Amtrak in Northeast
By Larry Hannan
Florida Times-Union
Two senior members of Florida's congressional delegation are fighting over a plan to privatize rail service in the Northeast.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Medicaid hearings reveal flaws, potential pitfalls
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
The Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration is conducting public meetings this week and taking input on the state's plan to steer more than 2.9-million Floridians into managed-care plans.

State senator encourages Tea Party participation at Medicaid overhaul hearings
By Christine Jordan Sexton
The Florida Current
To balance the testimony that is being given at a series of public meetings around the state on an aggressive Medicaid overhaul Sen. Joe Negron is encouraging the Tea Party to show up at the meetings.

Troubled Tampa Bay assisted living facility chain to lose state Medicaid funding
By Carol Marbin Miller, Rob Barry and Michael Sallah
Miami Herald
Florida health administrators are slashing hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars to a troubled Tampa Bay assisted living facility chain in a move that could jeopardize the homes' ability to keep their doors open.

Florida one of 13 states to enact law prohibiting insurance coverage of abortion in state exchanges
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The National Women’s Law Center recently released a report that lists all statewide measures prohibiting abortion coverage in state health care exchanges.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Pope fires back: Motion for dismissal is inappropriate
By Paul Flemming
Florida Capital News
With a dash of Shakespeare and sharp rebukes on procedure, Wally Pope, the Judicial Qualifications Commission's prosecutor against 1st District Court of Appeal Judge Paul Hawkes, responded in kind to motions to dismiss the charges and disqualify him from the case.

Fla Bar leadership changes are coming
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
West Palm Beach lawyer Scott G. Hawkins will be sworn in as the next president of the Florida Bar June 24 at the lawyer’s annual convention in Orlando.