PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
FSU faculty approves right-leaning Koch Foundation deal, with caveats
By Lilly Rockwell
News Service of Florida
Excerpt: The biggest source of criticism of the deal came from Progress Florida, a liberal advocacy group which helped gather nearly 9,000 petition signatures against the Koch deal. Over 1,000 of those signatures came from people with ties to FSU, such as faculty, students or alumni, said Damien Filer, political director of Progress Florida. "It's OK to accept a donation," Filer said. "It's not OK to allow their ideology to influence the work of the university and hiring decisions at the university…The fact that they don't intend to do this again in the future is clear that they heard the message."
FSU's review of Koch deal suggests future donors shouldn't have power over faculty decisions
By Kim Wilmath
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Read FSU's Koch deal review for yourself
Related editorial: FSU review salvages academic integrity
Florida State University today released its faculty review of a controversial contract with a conservative billionaire that came under fire after it made the news earlier this year.
FSU Faculty Senate Releases Review of Koch Deal
By Jill Chandler
WCTV News Tallahassee
Excerpt: A Progress Florida petition has gathered nearly 9,000 signatures opposing Florida State University’s agreement with the Koch Foundation. In a letter sent to FSU on Thursday, Progress Florida, a liberal advocacy group, urged the university to drop its agreement with the right-leaning Koch Foundation.
Mixed Verdict on Koch Grant
By Scott Jaschik
Inside Higher Ed
Excerpt: Officials at Florida Progress, a group that has been organizing a petition campaign to urge Florida State to end the Koch agreement, said that the report confirmed their concerns, but that the university wasn't going far enough to respond to the issues identified in the report. Damien Filer, political director for the group, said that "it doesn't make sense to say that 'We'd never sign a contract like this again, but we still don't see a need to change the current contract.'"
AWAKE THE STATE IN THE NEWS
In a Year of Local Labor Battles Nationwide, A Major Union Doubles Down Online
By Nick Judd
Tech President
Excerpt: In Florida in March, a coalition including labor unions organized 43 distributed protests against state budget cuts all on the same day, also primarily on Facebook. Called AWAKE the State, it was supposed to use a Salsa Labs software platform to create a website that would make it easy for people to organize events around the idea. But Ray Seaman, a staffer for Progress Florida and a lead organizer, says things didn't quite happen that way…"The organic energy of this thing was happening so fast we had people literally within that 48-hour period, 72-hour period even, we already had a handful of events set up on Facebook," Seaman explained.
FEATURED STORIES
BP Oil Still Washing Ashore One Year After Spill
By Jim Polson
Bloomberg
Crude oil continues to wash ashore along the Gulf of Mexico coast a year after BP Plc (BP/) stopped the flow from its damaged Macondo well, which caused the worst U.S. offshore spill, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
Fair districts: Will the GOP abide by voters' will?
By Curt Levine
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Republicans bitterly opposed the Fair Districts Amendments passed by Florida's voters last November.
Florida Gov. Scott may be changing tactics after low poll numbers
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Q and A with Gov. Rick Scott
Gov. Rick Scott hasn't been the most popular guy in Florida since taking office, but the novice politician may be turning over a new leaf after his first seven months on the job.
Scott's small-business agency less effective than one he axed, critics say
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott for months has touted his push to grow jobs by taking a machete to thousands of government regulations that limit environmental pollution, safeguard people and police businesses.
Farm Share Facing Cuts
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
The cost of food is expected to rise as much as four percent this year, but after a budget veto, a non profit organization that gets produce from the field that would otherwise rot, into the hands of needy Floridians is facing tough times.
Barack Obama's re-election campaign revs up massive Florida network
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Who's worth a bundle to Obama 2012
A massive army is rumbling to life in Florida, though it sometimes looks deceptively like a ragtag band of recruits.
Haridopolos’ U.S. Senate campaign stalling stalls amid staff shakeup
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
High-level staff departures. A drop-off in fundraising. A stinging tea-party loss in his own backyard.
EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Jim Morin
Miami Herald
FLORIDA POLITICS
Tony Fabrizio: Gov. Rick Scott's unrelenting engineer of strategy
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
If you love or hate Rick Scott as governor, there's one man who deserves a lion's share of the credit or blame: Tony Fabrizio.
For Gov. Rick Scott, enforcing the death penalty is a tough part of the job
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times
When Rick Scott was running for governor last year, he never fully contemplated one of the gravest responsibilities he would face if elected.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz uses her resolve to fight cancer, lead DNC
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Nine days after undergoing a double mastectomy, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz flew home to South Florida to host a fundraiser for Democrats with special guest Nancy Pelosi.
League of Women Voters, others urge Justice Dept. reject new Florida elections law
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
The League of Women Voters and other voter-advocacy organizations urged Justice Department officials Friday to reject the state’s new elections law, arguing that it creates hurdles for minorities and low-income voters.
Maps crafted by political insiders affect all Floridians
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
It's little-known outside the world of political insiders — but it has an effect on everyone in Florida.
Memo to Washington: We need help
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Looking to Washington for help is not popular.
POLITICAL RACES
Despite economy, cash rolls in to Florida's GOP
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Florida's utilities, developers, trial lawyers, health-care companies and assorted power brokers appear to show no pocketbook weariness when it comes to writing large checks to the state's politicians.
Mike Haridopolos' Tough Summer
By Sean Sullivan
Roll Call
On June 27, Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla., endorsed Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos' U.S. Senate candidacy -- an undisputed boost for the Republican's campaign.
Democrats talk to Welch about Young's seat in Congress
By David DeCamp
St. Petersburg Times
With questions swirling about U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young's health, national Democrats have talked with Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch about running for Young's long-held seat in 2012.
Rubio crafting a higher profile
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
As U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has begun to assert himself into the debt-ceiling debate in Washington and ramp up his criticism of the president, talk of him as a potential Republican vice presidential candidate in 2012 has followed.
RNC Host Committee chair steers clear of party politics
By Kate Bradshaw
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Tampa Bay is more than a year out from the Republican National Convention, but it’s on the minds of many locals in a big way these days.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Despite public controversy, some state parks operations are quietly going private
By Craig Pittman
St. Petersburg Times
For months, fans of Florida's award-winning park system have been in an uproar.
Former DCA Secretary Pelham seeks ethics clearance to testify in department case
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Former Department of Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham is asking state ethics officials to determine whether he can testify in a legal challenge involving his former department.
Florida should have sued for BP documents, too
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
Related column: Civil suits against BP still alive
We have just two questions regarding a lawsuit filed by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, a lawsuit to get documents regarding BP oil claims.
LGBT
Video: Nadine Smith of Equality Florida speaks of marriage equality and RefuseToLie campaign
By Nadine Smith
Miami Herald
They just released the video of a TEDx Talk I did in Tampa Bay on marriage equality and the RefuseToLie campaign.
Court: 'Don't ask, don't tell' will stay in place, but U.S. not allowed to discharge anyone who is gay
By Shaya Tayefe Mohajer
Associated Press
The military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is back in place for the time being, with one major caveat: the government is not allowed to investigate, penalize or discharge anyone who is openly gay.
EDUCATION
Florida charter schools' many F's give ammunition to critics
By Dave Weber
Orlando Sentinel
Related column: Many F's prove charter schools are no sure solution
Charter schools, which account for only a fraction of the state's public schools, received half of all the F's when the state handed out its annual letter grades two weeks ago.
New Lesson for Florida School Districts: Cut, Cut, Cut
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
When state legislators earlier this year approved an eight percent cut in school funding — more than $500 per student — everyone knew there would be repercussions.
Panel looks for ways to help Hispanic students succeed
By Georgia East
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Although Florida has made gains in narrowing the achievement gap for Hispanic students, the nation's education system overall lacks accountability and needs significant changes, said Michelle Rhee, the controversial former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor.
More than half of Palm Beach County students get reduced-cost lunches
By Allison Ross
Palm Beach Post
Nearly 18,000 more Palm Beach County students participated in the free or reduced lunch programs this past year than they did three years ago, a sign of the effect of the economy on parents and families.
Jacksonville convention sheds light on growth, acceptance of home school movement
By Jeff Brumley
Florida Times-Union
Cindy Schake's thinking on home schooling has come a long way in 10 years.
Bright Futures aid sees new rules set
By Christopher O’Donnell
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
For students smart enough to qualify for Bright Futures scholarships, one extra form should not be too daunting.
Obstacles litter the way to earning a college degree
By Michael Vasquez
Miami Herald
Two years ago, President Barack Obama launched what he called a “historic” campaign to bolster the nation’s community colleges.
Financial crunch hits state colleges and universities
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Higher education in Florida is in trouble — thanks to a string of tuition hikes, new restrictions on Bright Futures scholarships and overcrowded classes, to name a few reasons.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
State's upgraded credit rating may be hard to impress the public
By Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature received a thumbs-up last week from rating agency Standard & Poor's for the tough budget decisions they made this spring.
State refuses to pay citrus canker awards
By David Fleshler
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Five years after the chain saws went silent, the state is refusing to pay thousands of South Florida homeowners for fruit trees destroyed in the fight against citrus canker.
Upcoming jobs report will set the pace for South Florida’s recovery
By Douglas Hanks
Miami Herald
The bad news: There is a long road ahead for South Florida’s recovering jobs market. And it could get longer this week.
Florida Workers Over 40 Will Depend On Social Security
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
A majority of Florida's workers age 40 and older claim they will depend on Social Security when they retire, according to a recent survey.
SunRail Q&A: Groundbreaking is today near downtown Orlando
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
After years of debate and delay, construction on Central Florida's SunRail commuter train is finally ready to start.
Don’t put burden of budget cuts on poor, middle class
By Daniella Levine
Miami Herald
Save lives or save money for the rich? Feed hungry children or subsidize the oil and gas industry? Stop buying ineffective military equipment or stop paying for job training?
Is new federal watchdog's leash too short?
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
After the financial meltdown of 2008 and the billions of dollars in losses to average Americans, politicians far and wide espoused the need for greater consumer protection for investors.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Florida House Democrats assail Medicaid privatization plan
By Jeremy Cox
Florida Times-Union
Opponents of state Republicans' efforts to privatize Florida's Medicaid program are taking their arguments to a higher level: the federal government.
Florida's HMO Medicaid Bodes Ill
By Glenn Marston
Lakeland Ledger
Solving a problem is like a doctor diagnosing and curing a sick patient: Determine the illness' cause.
Changes will badly hurt poor
By Dan Woodward
Florida Today
HMOs were conceived as a way to eliminate barriers to health care so patients could maintain their health and reduce the need for expensive treatment.
APD moves to streamline medicaid services
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
The Florida Agency that helps people with disabilities is rolling out a new system aimed at controlling costs and granting more spending flexibility.
The Right-Wing War On Women’s Rights
By Marie Diamond
Think Progress
As states around the country wrap up their legislative sessions, it’s a good time to assess what their priorities have been.
Survey finds 'epidemic' of addicted inmates
By Ray Reyes
Tampa Tribune
The inmates shiver at the medical screening station, sweat coating clammy skin. Then the dizziness and nausea hit.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Parramore residents start campaign to restore ex-felons' voting rights
By Lauren Roth
Orlando Sentinel
Pastor Eddie Walker got on his knees in a baby-blue suit to sign his name to a very personal promise. It called on residents of Parramore to campaign to restore voting rights to ex-felons.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
Florida sets its own death row paceBy John A. Torres
Florida Today
Florida falls somewhere in the middle between California and Texas when it comes to the speed of executing its death row inmates.
Appeals court judge in Taj Mahal case seeks dismissal of charges
By Lucy Morgan
St. Petersburg Times
Lawyers for 1st District Court of Appeal Judge Paul M. Hawkes urged the Judicial Qualifications Commission Friday to throw out charges filed against him this year in connection with the Taj Mahal scandal.
Florida law barring release of videos of deaths faces first test
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
Two weeks after a controversial state law took effect making it illegal for government agencies to make photos or recordings of a death public, the statute will face its first test: state juvenile justice administrators have a videotape that depicts the final moments of an 18-year-old who died at a West Palm Beach lockup hours after he became ill and psychotic.
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