Daily Clips for July 21, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

More than 4,000 sign petition asking Mike Haridopolos to return $152K for failed book
Letter to Senate President Mike Haridopolos from Progress Florida
Florida Progressive Coalition
Monday morning you announced the end of your US Senate campaign. It has been reported in the media that you have amassed a “war chest” of $3.5 million left over from your campaign. After receiving $152,000 from the taxpayers of Florida for writing a book which has sold only 70 copies as of June 21st (granting only $487.90 in royalties to Brevard Community College), we believe that the taxpayers deserve a refund.

FEATURED STORIES

Teachers union files lawsuit to stop expansion of school vouchers
By Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune
The state teachers union has filed a lawsuit challenging a proposed constitutional amendment that would repeal the state ban on spending public money on religious organizations.

Florida spurns $50 million for child-abuse prevention
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
Florida lawmakers have rejected more than $50 million in federal child-abuse prevention money.

While Scott was bashing it last year, SBA was posting banner investment earnings
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Republican Gov. Rick Scott last year made a major campaign issue out of Democrat Alex Sink’s oversight of the State Board of Administration, which in turn, oversees the Florida Retirement System.

Pro-drilling group wraps up closed-door energy meetings in Orlando
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The pro-oil drilling Consumer Energy Alliance on Wednesday wrapped up a series of closed-door meetings with energy stakeholders in Orlando at the invitation of Senate President Mike Haridopolos to develop policy recommendations for Florida leaders including possibly encouraging oil drilling off Florida's coast.

Wasserman Schultz and Allen West's feud is political and personal
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
In a sign of the hostile atmosphere in Congress, two of its most partisan figures, Broward representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Allen West, continued a personal feud Wednesday that overshadowed the serious debate over how to get the nation out of debt.

End of the shuttle: Titusville's uncertain future
By Gary W. Green
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Atlantis lands to end space shuttle era
As space shuttle Atlantis returns to earth tomorrow for its final descent of the 30-year shuttle program, Titusville, home to thousands of NASA employees and space coast workers, has the formidable task of redefining the town where millions of tourists have flocked to witness one of our nation's greatest accomplishments blasting man and machine from launch pads visible from their backyards and rooftops above the earth's orbit and into space.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Allen West, Debbie Wasserman Schultz feud emblematic of Washington these days
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Related editorial: Legislative food fight
She said it was "unbelievable" he could support a plan to raise costs for Medicare recipients.

Ex-business partner claims Buchanan ordered plan to violate election laws
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A former business partner has accused U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan in new court documents of ordering a plan to violate federal election laws and threatening “consequences” if the scheme became public.

Scott wants his name off election lawsuit
By Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune
Attorneys for Gov. Rick Scott are asking a federal court in South Florida to remove him from the short list of defendants named in the ACLU of Florida's court challenge to the state's new election law.

The Tea Party Governor Everybody Loves to Hate
By Michelle Hirsch
The Fiscal Times
Since Gov. Rick Scott took office in January, Florida’s unemployment rate has fallen from 11.9 percent to 10.6 percent while nationally unemployment has gone up.

Versus Rick Scott
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Two separate lawsuits announced this week challenge Governor Rick Scott and provisions he either signed into law or supported through the legislative process.

Scott’s Montana Vacay
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Governor Rick Scott is vacationing in Montana this week and Democrats are crying foul.

Lawsuit against repeal of religious funding ban also goes after controversial elections law
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A lawsuit recently filed against an amendment that would repeal language in Florida’s constitution banning outright taxpayer funding for religious institutions is also going after provisions in this year’s controversial new elections law.

Getting it right about Florida's redistricting
By Aaron Sharockman
St. Petersburg Times
Florida legislators hit the road beginning in June 2011 for a series of public hearings to collect input about redistricting.

Let's protect right to vote
By Lester C. Mitchell
Orlando Sentinel
America's political ideal has always been full, fair and equal participation in the political process by the governed. This principle was embedded in the Constitution, but in practice the right to vote was initially limited to a minority — white males.

POLITICAL RACES

Miami lawmaker launches bid to challenge freshman House Republican
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Seeing a chance for his party to pick up a seat in Congress, Democratic state Rep. Luis Garcia launched his campaign Wednesday to challenge U.S. Rep. David Rivera, a Republican.

Tea party announces U.S. Senate debate
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
The Tea Party Network says it has confirmed most of the Republican U.S. Senate candidates for a Nov. 5 debate in Daytona Beach.

GOP presidential candidates join Twitter debate
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
You think presidential debates are challenging? Try limiting your answers to 140 characters.

Homeland Security provides crowd-control training for 2012 Republican convention
By Richard Danielson
St. Petersburg Times
There are 402 days until next year's Republican National Convention in Tampa, but the Department of Homeland Security is already training police on crowd control.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Teachers sue to block voters from lifting ban on public funding of religious groups
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A constitutional amendment to lift the ban on public funding of religious groups should be ripped from the 2012 ballot because it's "misleading and insufficiently specific," according to a lawsuit filed by Florida's largest teachers union Wednesday in Leon County Circuit Court.

Voucher amendment sponsor confident proposal will withstand legal challenge
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
The sponsor of a constitutional amendment ending the 125-year-old ban on state tax money going to organizations associated with religions expressed confidence today that the proposal will withstand a legal challenge by the Florida Education Association and an inter-faith clergy group.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

BP spill needed local input, official testifies
By Bart Jansen
Pensacola News Journal
Federal agencies should follow local emergency procedures when responding to oil spills like last year's massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico, an Escambia County official told a Senate panel Wednesday.

Dirty air: Florida ranks third worst for power plant generated toxic air
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times
A new report out by the National Resources Defense Council lists Florida as the third worst states for toxic air pollution in the nation, making the list as one of the nation's Toxic 20.

LGBT

Hate crimes and intolerance inspire new support services for LGBT communities
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Florida LGBT advocates tell The Florida Independent that despite efforts to fill the lack of social services for their communities, problems like bullying, underreported hate crimes and homeless youth continue to rise.

Let the DOMA-Dumping Begin!
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a historic hearing to kick off the process of undoing the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1996 law that says states don’t have to recognize legal same-sex unions performed in other states and says the federal government can only define and recognize marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

EDUCATION

More struggling schools must offer students the chance to transfer
By Ron Matus and Jeffrey S. Solochek
St. Petersburg Times
After her daughter went through suspension-riddled Pinellas Park Middle School, Margaret Kennedy knew her son, a Boy Scout with braces who's bound for sixth grade, wouldn't do well.

Wacky world of school choice just got wackier
By Mike Thomas
Orlando Sentinel
Now that we have spent almost $83 million to overhaul Edgewater High School, students there will be allowed to transfer out, leaving behind a lot of brand-new empty space.

Teachers Forced To Resign Over FCAT?
By Ashley Townsend
News4Jax
Three former teachers at Andrew Jackson High School spoke out Wednesday, saying they were forced to resign because they failed to administer the FCAT properly.

Stop the blame game
Editorial
Miami Herald
As Congress debates budgets and debt ceilings, 10 million college students are holding their breath — 600,000 in Florida.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

State pension plan gains billions during banner year
By Gary Fineout
Florida Current
New numbers from the State Board of Administration show that the state pension fund just wrapped up one of its best performances in the last 25 years.

Future of spaceflight? NASA is outsourcing the job
By Seth Borenstein
Associated Press
How America gets people and stuff into orbit is about to be outsourced in an out-of-this-world way.

Atwater finally names new insurance consumer advocate
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
Six months after taking office Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater finally named a new insurance consumer advocate.

Jobs deal leaves taxpayers in the dark
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
As Florida lays off teachers, closes libraries and parks, and slashes an array of public services to deal with the recession, Hillsborough County is offering without public debate $1.2 million in tax money to an unnamed global financial services firm in return for staying put in the Tampa area.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Report: Medicaid a lifeline for Latino workers and families
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Latino workers and families in the U.S. are among the largest beneficiaries of federally funded health insurance, but depending on the outcome of the current budget debate, they could end up losing that access.

In teen’s death, lack of money is no excuse for lack of caring
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
No need to empanel a grand jury to investigate the last few hours of Eric Perez, who was left to die in a Palm Beach County juvenile lock-up; sick, vomiting, crying for help, unattended by the medical staff.

Infographic: Florida's Prescription Drug Overdose Death Rates
Staff Report
Florida Current
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for July 8 shows that Florida has been particularly affected by prescription pill abuse.

Patient blows whistle on clinic
By Marty Clear
Health News Florida
An ad promising a free exam and X-rays lured Evelyn Goff to Oceanside Dental in Tampa, accompanied by her daughter.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Former state senator arrested in corruption probe
Staff Report
Florida Current
Former state Sen. Mandy Dawson was arrested Wednesday on federal tax evasion charges as part of the fallout from a wide-ranging corruption probe, a newspaper reported.

Florida needs standardized policies, procedures to ensure accurate, impartial and consistent witness identifications
Editorial
TC Palm
It is "the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions" in the Sunshine State, according to the interim report released recently by the Florida Innocence Commission.