PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
Group calls for investigation into dismissal of two state foreclosure fraud lawyers
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Excerpt: Progress Florida, a St. Petersburg advocacy group, says Bondi is protecting Gov. Rick Scott's "biggest corporate pals — the banks — instead of hard working Floridians." It is asking for an investigation into Bondi's actions. "We think the big banks and the financial industry have leveraged their enormous political power to have these attorneys removed," said Mark Ferrulo, executive director for Progress Florida.
Calls for Answers to Why AG Fired Attorneys Probing Mortgage Fraud
By David Royse
News Service of Florida
Excerpt: Soto's call came as liberal interest group Progress Florida this week began circulating a petition trying to get the attorney general's inspector general's office to investigate the firings.
FEATURED STORIES
Leaders call for new local congressional seat for Hispanics
By Aaron Deslatte and Jeannette Rivera-Lyles
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Orlando redistricting hearing packs the house — with the House
Related: Gaetz: Legislature will vote early on new maps
Central Florida's growth means greater congressional clout next year, and Hispanic and black leaders told lawmakers Wednesday they expect the region to be rewarded with at least one new U.S. House district likely to elect a minority candidate.
Redistricting timeline throws voters under the bus
By Deirdre MacNab and Pam Goodman
Ft. Myers News-Press
Florida voters should keep close watch on the redistricting process taking place this summer and make sure they are not caught under the wheels of the Legislature's "listening tour" bus as it rushes toward probable chaos and confusion in the 2012 election.
Amid a surge of retiring teachers, some cite Fla.'s political climate
By Allison Ross
Palm Beach Post
Margot Collins says she will always love teaching.
WellCare, United, other insurers cheat Florida kids program
The Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Four private health insurers who wrongly claimed they spent millions on patient care in the state's children's health care program also provided coverage to patients in Florida's controversial Medicaid privatization program.
The GOP’s state-by-state crusade to disenfranchise voters
By Katrina vanden Heuvel
Washington Post
With only a week left before the United States of America could default on its debt, it’s easy to look at the federal government and wonder how we ever made it this far.
Watch Rick Scott's CNN Implosion (Video)
By Adam Weinstein
Mother Jones
When not looking for national security news, I like to check in on Florida politics, which are a great bellwether for the nation at large.
FLORIDA POLITICS
Suit targets campaign disclosure requirements for issue groups
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A lawsuit that could wipe out state law requiring issue campaigns to disclose their contributors inched forward in federal court on Wednesday with both sides asking the judge to dismiss the case.
Scott’s PERC appointments include wife of a former RPOF chair
By Bob Shaw
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott today announced the appointment of Donna Poole, the labor-lawyer wife of a former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, to the Public Employee Relations Commission.
Haridopolos discusses his past and future during Palm City chamber breakfast
By Jonathan Mattise
TC Palm
At his first public event since withdrawing from the 2012 U.S. Senate race last week, Senate President Mike Haridopolos recapped his first legislative session as Florida's top senator during a Palm City Chamber of Commerce breakfast Wednesday.
The art of the political insult
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
The art of the political insult is long lost in Washington, but maybe U.S. Rep. Allen West can revive it.
Rep. Soto wants answers on Bondi’s fired investigators
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Related editorial: Dubious dismissals
Orlando state Rep. Darren Soto has made a public records request of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office, seeking answers for why she fired two prominent foreclosure fraud investigators last month.
POLITICAL RACES
Buchanan Senate run would cause chain reaction in 2012 elections
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
With speculation growing that U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan will run for the U.S. Senate in 2012, area political leaders are bracing for a whirlwind of change that stands to remake the region’s political structure.
RNC: Scott won't be factor in 2012, Rubio will
The Associated Press
Miami Herald
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus says neither Gov. Rick Scott's low approval rating nor the immigration debate will hurt the GOP as it tries to carry crucial Florida in next year's presidential election.
Early Arizona primary date could upset Florida's hopes
By William March
Tampa Tribune
It didn't take long for Florida's plans for a premier presidential primary spot to hit a snag.
RNC targets Florida Hispanics with new ad
The Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
The Republican National Committee will begin airing TV and radio ads in Florida they hope will inspire Hispanic voters in advance of the 2012 election.
BALLOT INITIATIVES
Amendment sets stage for sectarian strife, discrimination
By Hans Johnson and David K. Johnson
St. Petersburg Times
Religious conservatives who dominate the Florida Legislature are taking chutzpah to biblical proportions.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Knocking on Doors for a Clean Gulf Coast
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
A year after the BP oil-spill disaster, the Gulf Restoration Network is working to engage community members in thousands of one-on-one conversations.
Nestle drops idea of water pumping near Wacissa River
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Nestle Waters North America on Wednesday told state officials the company no longer is considering a water-pumping operation along the Wacissa River in Jefferson County.
Swiftmud to discuss opening land to hunters
By Craig Pittman
St. Petersburg Times
Florida's hunters are hunting for new places to track wild game and their attention has turned to the state's water districts.
LGBT
Gay leader calls for business boycott over planned appearance by Congressman Allen West
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
A business group’s plan to host U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, at a public meeting in Wilton Manors is drawing fire from the state Democratic Party’s gay caucus.
EDUCATION
Florida Stiffs School Districts Sending all $55 Million in PECO Funds to Charter Schools
By John Rehill
Bradenton Times
It might take a great deal of explaining to understand why all of the $55 million in PECO (Public Educational Capital Outlay) program funds are going to Florida's 350 charter schools while not one dollar goes to the 3,000 traditional public schools for construction and repairs.
School PTA turns back to its advocacy roots
By Marlene Sokol
St. Petersburg Times
It's not for nothing that a Tampa Bay area parents' council has adopted the slogan, "Not Your Momma's PTA."
Charter schools aren’t measuring up
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
The new governor made it clear on just his third day in office that the fix to Florida’s education woes could be found on the campus of an Opa-locka charter school.
First graduates of Broward College's teacher school face vanishing market
By Scott Travis
South Florida Sun Sentinel
When Broward College decided to offer four-year education degrees, it hoped to fill what seemed like a dire need for teachers in the county.
States brace for grad rate dips as formula changes
By Heather Hollingsworth and Dorie Turner
The Associated Press
States are bracing for plummeting high school graduation rates as districts nationwide dump flawed measurement formulas that often undercounted dropouts and produced inflated results.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Violent Film Motivates House GOP As They Push Us Toward Default
The Progress Report
Think Progress
As we reported yesterday, Speaker Boehner is having some trouble rounding up the votes for his disastrous default bill.
In debt debate, why compromise is a dirty word
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
President Barack Obama was right: In Washington, compromise is a dirty word.
Citizens' board okays massive sinkhole rate increases
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The board that oversees Citizens Property Insurance unanimously approved massive increases to sinkhole premiums Wednesday, saying the rate hikes — which could cost policyholders thousands of extra dollars — are necessary to cover the cost of sinkhole claims.
Feds' shortcut to closing wealth gap backfired on minority homeowners
By Mike Thomas
Orlando Sentinel
Did you see the devastating numbers about the wealth of minority families?
Insurance Rate Website Re-Launch
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
The state is helping people save on their home insurance.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
An advisory group starts to help state agency overseeing Medicaid
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
An advisory panel came together to lend their expertise on how to help the Agency for Health Care Administration, or AHCA, implement the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Program.
Conservatives slam Obama’s Medicaid and Medicare Services appointee
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Donald Berwick, the administrator for the federal government’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), was recently singled out in a policy memo drafted by a conservative policy leader for being “too radical.”
The Cost of Political “Consistency”
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Last week, Florida politicians lost $50 million for a child abuse prevention program, and very possibly another $100 million connected to the Race to the Top educational program.
A step toward safety for elderly, disabled
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Gov. Rick Scott's administration has taken another positive step to ensure the safety of the elderly and disabled in Florida's assisted living facilities.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
Judge to hold hearing on new use of drug in state’s lethal injectionBy Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
A Miami judge will hear arguments Thursday morning for and against the new use of an anesthetic drug in Florida’s lethal injections.
Florida: Drug Laws Ruled Unconstitutional
By John Schwartz
New York Times
A federal judge in Orlando on Wednesday declared the state’s controlled-substances laws unconstitutional.
Appeals court reverses fired state worker's $1 million jury award
By Ana M. Valdes
Palm Beach Post
A former Department of Children and Families investigator awarded $1 million by a jury in 2009 saw that award overturned Wednesday.
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