Daily Clips for June 2, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

ACLU sues Scott over state employee drug-test order; Scott vows to take to Supreme Court
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Saying Gov. Rick Scott's executive order requiring drug testing of state employees is an unconstitutional invasion of privacy, the ACLU has sued Scott in the first of what is expected to be a string of lawsuits against Florida over civil liberties.

Alan Mendelsohn sentenced to four years in prison for political corruption
By Jay Weaver
Miami Herald
U.S. District Judge William Zloch slammed a respected Broward County physician with a four-year prison sentence on Wednesday, sending a strong message against the corrupting influence of special-interest lobbyists who raise millions for politicians in Tallahassee — in exchange for favors.

Listen: Haridopolos kicked off radio show for dodging Ryan budget question
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
Related: Haridopolos clarifies position on Medicare
Florida Senate President and U.S. Senate Candidate Mike Haridopolos was kicked off a conservative Central Florida radio show after declining to answer questions about Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget plan.

FRS rules are about to change; get prepared now
By Paul Flemming
Florida Capital News
For more than 655,000 public employees in the massive Florida Retirement System, the rules are about to change.

Enough roadblocks: Do the voters' will
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Perhaps now House Speaker Dean Cannon and Senate President Mike Haridopolos will hear the message that 63 percent of voters delivered unequivocally in November: Florida has new rules for drawing political districts to make them more competitive.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida cracks down on everybody (except Decent People)
By Howard Troxler
St. Petersburg Times
Public employees, as we all know, are parasites who should be punished.

For Rick Scott, Reputation Has Consequences
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
As we like to tell adolescents, there are repercussions to having a bad rep.

State Sen. Mike Fasano most vocal voice of Republican opposition
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
The most vocal and effective critic of the Republican agenda in Tallahassee stood before a TV camera to assess the 2011 legislative session.

Collier elections chief won't implement Gov. Scott's new voter law until OK'd by Justice Dept.
By Eric Staats
Naples Daily News
Florida’s roll out of a controversial new elections law hit a speed bump in Collier County in the days after Gov. Rick Scott signed it.

Donation charges dog Buchanan
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, still has not shaken allegations that he benefitted from illegal campaign donations to win election to Congress in 2006 and 2008.

Florida Democrats demand that Buchanan resign as National Republican Congressional Committee vice chair
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
The Florida Democratic Party is demanding that Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, resign from his role as vice chair for finance with the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Smith stops short of booting Ausman from party post
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith suspended Leon County State Committeeman Jon Ausman through next year’s presidential contest, but stopped short Wednesday of following a party panel’s recommendation that he be tossed off the executive committee.

McCollum joins Washington D.C. based firm
Staff Report
The Florida Current
Former Attorney General Bill McCollum is headed back to Washington D.C. after SNR Denton announced on Wednesday that he will oversee the law firm’s state attorneys general practice out of their D.C. offices.

POLITICAL RACES

Jeb Bush won't run for president, so his backers turn to Tim Pawlenty
By Mike Thomas
Orlando Sentinel
The Cult of Jeb held out hope until almost the very end that he would run for president.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Scott's $2.5 million veto kneecaps regional planning councils
By Bruce Ritchie
The Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott's veto last week of $2.5 million for regional planning councils is raising concerns about the future role of those 11 councils.

Nesting turtles give clues on oil spill's impact
By Ramit Plushnick-Masti
Associated Press
Nearly hidden by brownish sand, the Kemps ridley sea turtle digging furiously with her back flippers as she carved out a flask-shaped hole to lay her eggs wasn't aware of the excitement she was generating among the scientists, volunteers and beach-goers watching from a distance.

More pumping planned from Lake Okeechobee despite Audubon report of failing kite nests
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
Water managers intend to install more pumps on the southern edge of Lake Okeechobee to move more water from the shallow lake to thirsty sugar and vegetable farms.

Gov. Scott pushes hurricane prep measures
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Florida Gov. Rick Scott opened Florida's hurricane season Wednesday in Orlando with an appeal to families to make a clear plan heading into what's expected to be a busy summer.

A short-sighted veto
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
People routinely call for government to be run like a business, which is a mistake because it isn't one.

Veto this anti-jobs bill
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
If Gov. Scott signs the bill to abolish growth management, as everyone expects him to do, he probably will claim that it's all about helping Florida's economy by removing barriers to development. But that would be a lie.

A big chemistry experiment
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
Questions about the ultimate impact of the BP oil spill continue to pile up.

LGBT

Ros-Lehtinen becomes first GOP co-sponsor of act to ban discrimination against gay adoptive parents
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami, the nation's leading GOP lawmaker on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues, has signed on to support the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would prevent local laws against gay parents adopting.

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz recognizes LGBT Pride Month
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston, the new chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, has joined President Barack Obama in recognizing LGBT Pride Month.

EDUCATION

The battle over belt loops, saggy pants gets literal
By Tom Flanigan
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
This year, Florida lawmakers finally passed a bill giving public school districts the power to ban droopy pants worn by students.

Palm Beach County school board starts work on $2.5 billion budget that cuts 745 positions, creates one upaid furlough day
By Allison Ross and Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post
Palm Beach County School Board members got their first look tonight at next year's proposed budget, which would cut about $35.2 million, eliminate 745 positions and give all employees a one-day unpaid furlough.

Tuition hikes, cuts in aid pinch Florida college students
By Denise-Marie Balona
Orlando Sentinel
College students across Florida will return to classes this fall facing steep tuition increases and a variety of other cost hikes — all at a time when they'll be seeing less financial aid from the state.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Hundreds of state employees rush to beat retirement program changes
By Lucy Morgan
St. Petersburg Times
Hundreds of state and local employees are rushing to enter a popular retirement program to beat a July 1 deadline that will substantially reduce lump-sum payments some receive when they retire.

Can Florida bear the financial costs of a hurricane? Maybe, maybe not
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
This week marks the start of hurricane season and as Floridians make the dash to the nearest store to stock up on essentials like canned foods, water and tarps, the state has been prepping too.

Foreclosures expected to take longer as 'rocket docket' ends
By Mary Shanklin
Orlando Sentinel
Florida's foreclosure pipeline is expected to clog again, further delaying the state's real-estate recovery, when a special judicial program sometimes called the "rocket docket" comes to end June 30.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Biological Effects of Other Wireless Technologies Also Raise Concern
By Stephanie Carroll Carson and Chris Thomas
Public News Service Florida
After years of speculation, there is confirmation from the world's leading health body that minimizing cell phone use is a good idea, and scientists outside the World Health Organization (WHO) say other biological effects, beyond cancer, also are cause for caution.

Cell phone cancer risks: Can you fear me now?
By Robert Trigaux
St. Petersburg Times
There's something distinctly uncomfortable about a product that might cause cancer being used, often avidly, by 5 billion people worldwide.

Lawmakers: Get tough on ALF watchdogs
By Carol Marbin Miller, Michael Sallah and Rob Barry
Miami Herald
One of the state’s most powerful lawmakers has proposed punishing agency heads and inspectors who fail to police assisted-living facilities that violate state law.

Report: Cuts to Healthy Start could mean over 14,000 fewer at-risk women and children served
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Related: Scott cuts vaccinations for postpartum women on Medicaid
According to the “End of Session” report from the Florida House of Representatives released this week, Florida’s Healthy Start Coalitions lost $5.2 million dollars in state funding this year.

What federal decision to shoot down Indiana Medicaid plan could mean for Florida
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department has shot down Indiana’s plan to defund Planned Parenthood in its Medicaid plan.

Desperately seeking drug co-pays
By Brittany Davis
Health News Florida
Each time Judith Postol swallowed a pill in May, she’d anxiously count down how many were left.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

State worker suing Gov. Rick Scott over drug tests wouldn't be tested
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Thousands of state employees could be subjected to random drug tests under an order from Gov. Rick Scott.

ACLU sues over drug tests
By Jim Ash
Florida Capital News
The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit Wednesday in a Miami federal court challenging Gov. Rick Scott's executive order forcing state employees to undergo random drug tests.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Gainesville businessmen admit paying bribes to Florida prison officials
By Lucy Morgan
St. Petersburg Times
Two Gainesville businessmen have admitted paying bribes to state prison officials and officers of Keefe Commissary, the St. Louis company that provides snacks and other items to Florida's prison inmates.