FEATURED STORIES
Ex-Solantic doctor tells of intense pressure on staff to reap revenue
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
When family practice physician Randy Prokes joined Solantic Urgent Care in 2004, he told state investigators, his Neptune Beach clinic brought in just $2,000 a day.
Enu Mainigi, Gov. Rick Scott's main confidante, keeps low profile
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The most influential person in Gov. Rick Scott's inner circle is unknown to most people in Florida, including Tallahassee's political elite who make it their job to know everything.
Polls look into why Scott is so unpopular
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Ocala Star-Banner
While pollsters generally agree that Florida's Rick Scott is among the most unpopular governors — if not the most unpopular — in America, the reasons behind his bad numbers are harder to pinpoint.
Smaller checks for government workers
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
State budget cuts will begin draining millions of dollars out of the local economy this month as government employees see their paychecks shrink.
Back at you, guv — a robocall to Florida's aggressive governor, Rick Scott
By Paul Janensch
TC Palm
Hi, Gov. Scott. I'm Paul Janensch. I am making this robocall to you in response to the robocalls you have been making to Florida residents since the legislative session ended in May.
Florida's bridge to nowhere is broke
By Craig Pittman
St. Petersburg Times
Even in a state known for political boondoggles like a Taj Mahal courthouse and an unneeded aircraft hangar, the Garcon Point Bridge stands out.
Stealth nursing home cuts
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Despite rhetoric to the contrary, Gov. Scott and the Legislature seem intent on putting Floridians out of work.
EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Jim Morin
Miami Herald
FLORIDA POLITICS
Public meetings on political redistricting won't include maps
By Derek Catron
Daytona Beach News-Journal
State lawmakers will be in Daytona Beach on Tuesday night to hold one in a series of public hearings to gather input on how to draw new lines for state and congressional voting districts.
Members of Congress told not to try to influence new districts
By Mark K. Matthews
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Members of Congress are the kind of people who like to be in charge.
Did hacker get 'inside details of Florida voting systems'?
By Becky Bowers
St. Petersburg Times
Florida was the joke of tech websites this week after a hacker boasted he tapped the "inside details of Florida voting systems."
Governor ID: The Rick edition
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times
Call it what you will, but Florida Gov. Rick Scott has a major case of Texas Gov. Rick Perry on the brain.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi files amended disclosure form
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday filed an amended 2010 financial disclosure form.
Bill Nelson, other Democrats reach out to Puerto Ricans in Orlando
By Eloisa Ruano Gonzalez
Orlando Sentinel
Democrat leaders, including U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, held a town hall meeting Saturday to listen to the concerns and garner the support of Puerto Ricans living in Central Floirda.
South Florida members of Congress disclose finances
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Freshman U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, is the wealthiest of the seven members of Congress who represent Broward and Palm Beach counties.
POLITICAL RACES
Scott attempts to rally GOP voter registration during dinner in Port St. Lucie
By Jim Turner
TC Palm
Gov. Rick Scott implored nearly 200 St. Lucie County Republicans on Friday that the party needs 500,000 more registered voters statewide.
Restaurateur enters U.S. Senate race
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Central Florida restaurateur Craig S. Miller plans to enter the Florida Republican U.S. Senate primary contest this week.
Bob Graham names one promising Democrat for Florida: Pam Iorio
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
We asked former Sen. Bob Graham who the future strong statewide Democratic candidates are, and, intriguingly, he tossed out just one name.
Huntsman visits Bay area, believes record will win GOP voters
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Jon Huntsman is focusing on Florida more than other GOP presidential candidates, but his past moderate stands on issues from gay rights to economic stimulus raise questions about how he'll perform among the state's conservative Republicans.
Florida No. 1 for campaign spending by party committees
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
Political party committees poured more than $594 million into campaigns in 2010, according to data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics, and Florida accounted for roughly a fifth of that total.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
No RV camping sites at Honeymoon Island State Park, state says
By Craig Pittman and Luis Perez
St. Petersburg Times
Gov. Rick Scott says he doesn't care about his low job approval rating, but in a rare concession Friday he scrapped a plan to allow camping on Honeymoon Island because of fierce public opposition.
Firms, environmentalists polarized on Everglades mining as moratorium expires
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
For years the Palm Beach County Commission has hosted summits, workshops and studies on rock mining in the Everglades Agricultural Area in the hope environmentalists and mining companies could reach some agreement on how, when and where mining should be allowed.
DEP holding water quality workshops despite EPA decision
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is holding more workshops on setting nutrient limits in Florida waterways but says it still hasn't decided whether to proceed with rule adoption.
Florida panther faces new danger: Its growing fearlessness
By Craig Pittman
St. Petersburg Times
Mark Poole walked the fence line at his house near Naples, trying to find the hole that he figured his missing goats must have used to escape.
Here comes growth victory lap
By Beth Kassab
Orlando Sentinel
A move expected today to resurrect two sprawling developments rejected last year by the Orange County Commission is akin to a victory lap by the growth-at-all-costs crowd.
Every precious drop
Editorial
Florida Today
Water shortages loom on the horizon, but state lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott are aggressively and wrongly undermining the very agencies that protect Florida’s increasingly inadequate water supplies.
LGBT
House votes to halt gay unions on military bases
By Donna Cassata
Associated Press
Intent on delaying a new policy allowing gays to serve openly in the armed forces, the House voted Friday to prohibit military chaplains from performing same-sex marriages on the nation's bases regardless of state law.
Feds won't fight bankruptcy by married gay couples
By Lisa Leff
Associated Press
Federal officials no longer plan to contest joint bankruptcy pleadings brought by legally married same-sex couples, a Department of Justice spokeswoman said Friday.
EDUCATION
Salary setbacks test teachers' love for the job
By Christopher O'Donnell
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
John Russo knew he would never make a fortune teaching, but he never expected to struggle.
Seminole, Broward cleared in FCAT cheating probe
By Leslie Postal and Scott Travis
Orlando Sentinel
Schools in Seminole and Broward counties, flagged for FCAT irregularities, have been cleared of widespread cheating problems, according to letters the Florida Department of Education sent the districts.
Layoffs no longer loom large over Palm Beach County schools
By Marc Freeman
South Florida Sun Sentinel
It's still unclear whether the Palm Beach County School District will lay off any workers this summer because of a budget shortfall, administrators say.
Florida universities float new dental schools, but are they needed?
By Kim Wilmath
St. Petersburg Times
At a time when securing state funding is much like pulling teeth, three Florida universities want to start their own expensive dental programs.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
State work-force agencies gave board members contracts worth millions
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
Florida's 24 regional work-force boards pride themselves on helping unemployed Floridians get back on the job.
Employees Not Always Safe in Model Workplaces
By David Gulliver
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
At Tropicana’s Bradenton plant, a banner on a fence near the company store reads “Orange you glad you worked safely today.”
Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on final mission
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
NASA sent its last shuttle skyward Friday with a magnificent roar that put Atlantis and its four astronauts into space and the agency's manned-spaceflight program closer to an end.
Grim unemployment rate worse for South Florida blacks
By Kathleen McGrory
Miami Herald
The U.S. economy grew by a measly 18,000 jobs in June, pushing overall unemployment to 9.2 percent, the highest it has been this year.
Florida consumers' funk hurts economy
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
Florida's consumers are financially queasy.
Inmate labor rankles
By Wayne T. Price
Florida Today
For seven years, the Canaveral Port Authority used an eight-man inmate work crew from the Florida Department of Corrections for basic lawn maintenance and other menial tasks around the popular port.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Managed care: the future of Medicaid?
By Tom Flanigan
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
The entire Medicaid issue is still a "moving target" in Florida.
Congress eyes cuts to Medicaid and Medicare; Florida braces for the fallout
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
The deadline for Congress to raise the federal debt limit or risk a default is drawing closer and programs that have been sacred in the past are on the chopping block.
Medicare anti-fraud system launched
By William E. Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Using South Florida as a trailblazer, federal officials launched a nationwide computer system this month to spot suspicious Medicare claims and try to prevent billions of dollars from flowing to criminal enterprises.
Florida League of Women Voters to Legislators: "What Were You Thinking"?
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
The Florida League of Women Voters is slamming the state Legislature for refusing to spend $2 million to help the elderly stay out of nursing homes.
Drug-treatment centers fear flood of patients as Florida's pill-mill law kicks in
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
With a new state law in place designed to root out pill-mill operations and make potent prescription drugs harder to get for dealers and addicts, Florida's drug-treatment centers are bracing for an influx of new patients and hoping they have the resources to accommodate them.
Florida treating Medicaid recipients poorly
Editorial
Bradenton Herald
Shame on Florida. The state has dealt Medicaid patients several mean-spirited blows of late.
GOP hurting most needy with war on health care
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Democrats were in charge last year when Congress passed President Obama's health care overhaul. Republican legislators in Florida have been waging a partisan war on it ever since, not caring about the collateral damage.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Arrests are worth it, ‘Food Not Bombs' founder says
By Cindy Swirko
Gainesville Sun
Keith McHenry recently spent 17 days in jail in Orlando, but it's not the first time a cell has been home to a founder of Food Not Bombs.
Anti-gay Westboro church to picket St. Lucie soldier's funeral
By Jeff Ostrowski
Palm Beach Post
An anti-gay religious group said Saturday that it plans to picket the memorial service of a Port St. Lucie man who died while serving in Afghanistan.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
Wrongly imprisoned for murder, Florida inmate found solace in musicBy Haley White
Miami Herald
William Michael Dillon's voice is reminiscent of Johnny Cash.
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