PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
August 15th Weekly Show (video story)
By Gayle Andrews
The Blu Vu
This week Rick Scott is bombarded with phone messages from angry Floridians…Pam Bondi accused of being too cozy with business and Bob McKnight analyses the political landscape…all this and more political reality coming your way.
FEATURED STORIES
Scott’s job creation efforts took a hit last month
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Florida Democrats teed-off on Republican Gov. Rick Scott on Friday over July unemployment numbers, which showed the state losing 22,100 jobs that month.
Yet another public records affront from Scott
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Gov. Rick Scott asks FDLE to investigate deleted e-mails
Honoring Florida's constitutional requirements for open meetings and public records has been one of Gov. Rick Scott's toughest adjustments from private business to public office.
Lawmaker demands charter rally investigation
By Dave Weber
Orlando Sentinel
A ranking Democratic member of the House Education Committee is demanding that the state Department of Education investigate the costs of a charter school rally held in Orlando this week.
Doctors officially join fight against Medicaid overhaul
Staff Report
Florida Tribune
The main organization which represents the state's physicians has formally sent a letter to federal authorities protesting the state's proposed overhaul of Medicaid.
Will Jeb Bush thwart Rick Perry's chances in Florida?
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Texas Gov. Rick Perry's entrance into the presidential primary is putting a spotlight on the most powerful Republican family in Florida and the nation, one with no great love for Rick Perry -- the Bush family.
Recklessness ends up costing money, not saving it
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
There is a natural tendency among politicians new to Tallahassee to assume that when they encounter resistance to change it is because of inertia rather than informed experience.
EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Jim Morin
Miami Herald
FLORIDA POLITICS
Senate Pres Will Have 2012 Impact
By Bill Rufty
Lakeland Ledger
President Mike Haridopolos, in Bartow last week, was emphatic that he will not run in 2012.
Haridopolos Slights Future for Now
By Glenn Marston
Lakeland Ledger
Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos told of his goals and outcomes for this year's legislative session in a speech Monday, and in the process foretold of priorities for the 2012 session.
Lawmakers Get Little Guidance on 'Key' Question For Keys
By Brandon Larrabee
News Service of Florida
Lawmakers who came to the Florida Keys hoping to get some instructions about where to place the island chain when they redraw the state's political maps over the last few years instead heard largely the same complaints they have in other parts of the state about the process.
Congresswoman’s reelection bid unfolds amid intense debate over gerrymandering
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
During a July redistricting hearing in Jacksonville, Fla., Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown called her district the “most popular” one in the country.
Lawmakers' hearings on redrawing district lines raise more doubts than hopes
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Talk about having a mandate. Last November, voters approved two state constitutional amendments requiring Florida lawmakers to redraw legislative and congressional districts in a balanced and competitive manner.
Tallahassee can't repeal law of unintended consequences
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott and Republican lawmakers keep getting reminders that the law of unintended consequences is one they can't repeal.
A Conservative Beachhead in the Sunshine
By Jeremy W. Peters
New York Times
The mid-’90s were rough on Democrats, especially here in this beachhead of fabulously wealthy political donors.
POLITICAL RACES
Differences few in Florida GOP Senate debate
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Finding a distinction between Republican Senate hopefuls on social and fiscal issues was difficult during a debate Saturday.
Vets raise questions about Senate candidate Mike McCalister's military record
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
For a U.S. Senate candidate campaigning against truth-stretching politicians, Republican Mike McCalister is facing questions about whether he padded his resume and misrepresented his military service.
Evidence builds of coordinated effort against Florida Speaker Adam Hasner
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
If you like politics and you like conspiracy theories, you'll enjoy this: speculation that the George LeMieux and Mike McCalister campaigns are working hand in hand to take down former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner.
Political newcomer from Florida has eye on U.S. Senate
By Bob Rathgeber
Ft. Myers News-Press
Could Craig Miller, a former dishwasher who wound up running one of the nation’s most well-known steakhouse chains, be the Rick Scott of the 2012 political campaign in Florida?
Is Michele Bachmann reconsidering P5 snub?
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Word in Florida Republican circles is that Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is reconsidering her decision to ignore the Republican Party of Florida's straw poll in September.
Charlie Crist briefly back on the campaign trail
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times
Floridians haven't seen the last of Charlie Crist.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
GOP attacks on EPA ignore the probem
By Carl Hiaasen
Miami Herald
Dutifully following their Tea Party scripts, most of the Republican presidential candidates have declared war on the Environmental Protection Agency.
Boards that represented local needs disbanded
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Local leaders say one of the most troubling changes mandated by Gov. Rick Scott and state lawmakers to the Southwest Florida Water Management District is the elimination of local advisory boards.
LGBT
Census: More same-sex households
By Gary Pinnell
Tampa Tribune
What's a non-traditional household? Look no further than Adam Ray, a downtown Sebring jewelry shop owner who lives with a male partner.
EDUCATION
Florida's teachers face tougher evaluations amid sweeping change
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
St. Petersburg Times
Tabatha Whaley is ready for it. "I encourage feedback," said the Pasco teacher.
Florida Charter Schools Spend Public Money Without Public Scrutiny
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
As public school students and educators throughout Florida prepared to return to schools that have fewer teachers, larger classes and smaller budgets, a for-profit charter school company, Charter Schools USA, paid for 2,000 employees to attend a pep rally.
Half of all students don't understand science
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
For the past several years Florida has focused on reading and math skills in its public schools.
Broward back to school with fewer teachers, bigger classes
By Laura Figueroa
Miami Herald
When students return to Broward County public schools today, they’ll find 1,100 fewer teachers, more students in some classrooms and dozens of elementary schools without art, music or physical education.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Scott lowers bar for jobs goal
By Beth Kassab
Orlando Sentinel
Remember the governor who set lofty goals, made no apologies and claimed taxes, regulation and lawsuits were the Kryptonite to his Superman-like ability to create jobs?
To serve as Florida financial regulation chief, attorney had to give up suit
By Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Tom Grady is a successful securities attorney, prominent Republican money-raiser and former state representative from Naples.
Deficit to surplus? Understanding Florida's budgeting process
By Amy Sherman
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald PolitiFact
In less than one year, Gov. Rick Scott says he's taken Florida from the red to the black.
More tolls to show up on state highways as part of building plan
By James Call
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
Governor Rick Scott says he knows how to build new roads and bridges in a sluggish economy: Add more tolls!
SunRail project finally starts to leave the station
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
A torrent of money has been flowing to SunRail since Gov. Rick Scott lifted the crossbars that blocked the Central Florida commuter train.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Shutdown of prisoner-heath agency may expose Florida to federal action, agency's chief says
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A watchdog agency responsible for overseeing health care to Florida's prisoners has been shut down for lack of state funding, despite concerns that the closing may put the state in violation of a federal court order.
Teachers pay four times as much for health care as state lawmakers — and we're subsidizing it
By Eve Samples
TC Palm
How much do you pay for your health insurance?
State cutbacks place caregivers for disabled at risk
By Ray Reyes
Tampa Tribune
He needs help with basic tasks, from combing his hair to drinking a glass of water.
Florida cracks down on troubled ALFs
By Michael Sallah and Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
After years of rampant abuse in some Florida assisted living facilities, state agents have launched a major crackdown by banning new residents from troubled homes and slashing state funds to the worst abusers — including one that forced frail residents to sleep on box springs covered with cardboard and shower with contaminated well water.
Pill mill 'strike force' more like political painkiller
By Randy Schultz
Palm Beach Post
Any year would produce thousands of candidates for Most Overhyped Political Press Release.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Gov Scott to push for Fla immigration law in 2012
By Laura Wides-Munoz
Associated Press
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Friday he believes the Legislature will pass a law next year that cracks down on illegal immigrants, despite lawmakers' failure to reach a consensus on the issue this year.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
Is Florida's drug law unconstitutional? Judges are being swamped by pleadingsBy Rene Stutzman
Orlando Sentinel
Kellie Ann Williams, a 42-year-old Sanford woman, was convicted last year of possession of a controlled substance.
Ruling is in: Florida's Constitution still matters
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
The Florida Supreme Court this week delivered a timely message to Gov. Rick Scott: You are a governor, not a CEO. There's a big difference.
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