Daily Clips for September 30, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Cannon to appeal ruling upholding Fair Districts amendment
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Excerpt: Cannon’s “self-serving, tax-payer funded crusade to defy the will of Florida voters is a case study in why Floridians are cynical about politics,” said Mark Ferrulo of Progress Florida. “Florida taxpayer money is being used to defeat a taxpayer-approved constitutional amendment in a lawsuit defended with taxpayer money. You can’t make this stuff up.”

The Blu Vu September 26th Weekly Show
By Gayle Andrews
The Blu Vu: Florida's Political Reality Show
Show highlights: Ion Sancho steps up as an expert in the voter suppression lawsuit, Jennifer Carroll has a lot of weirdness going on in her office, the governor can’t resist that delete button when it comes to those emails and Damien Filer lays out the meltdown in the Republican Party.

FEATURED STORIES

Cannon: House to appeal Amendment 6 ruling
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
The state House plans to join a pair of Florida members of Congress in appealing a federal judge’s ruling that upheld a new, voter-approved standard for lawmakers when they draw congressional and legislative boundaries next year, House Speaker Dean Cannon said Thursday.

Fla. GOP leaders back away from plans for immigration reform
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Can Florida legislators turn their backs on immigration reform?

State Sen. Mike Fasano's request for public records draws $10,000 invoice
By Sydney P. Freedberg
St. Petersburg Times
When state Sen. Mike Fasano requested records about a $125 million pension fund investment, the head of the State Board of Administration sent him a three-page invoice for $10,750.13.

Chief Justice Canady asks for $46 million as court system continues struggle with budget
By Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times
Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady has asked Gov. Rick Scott and legislative budget leaders to provide a temporary transfer of $45.6 million into the trust fund that pays for the court system's operations.

As GOP presidential candidates bash President Barack Obama, voters clamor for specifics
By Alex Leary and Marc Caputo
St. Petersburg Times
For three days last week Republican activists in Orlando heard an unrelenting stream of taunts, slams and jokes against President Barack Obama, a feast served by the candidates who want to replace him.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Claude Kirk: A Republican Environmentalist
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
It has been a long time since Republican Claude Kirk was governor of Florida, and the current generation of anti-science Republicans would do well to reflect on what he accomplished.

UF Panel with GOP Reps: Government is bad; Next question
By Bruce Seaman
Daily Marion
When Republicans meet on a panel with normal business people, it really shows how wacky and clueless our elected representatives are.

Florida County Republican Party Appeases Islamophobia And Denies Muslim Republican A Spot On Executive Committee
By Zaid Jilani
Think Progress
Nezar Hamze is both a Muslim American who is the executive director of the South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and a self-identified Republican.

What To Make of Cain
By Jake
Rantings from Florida
I have been trying last night to figure what the Herman Cain win in Florida means, since I feel like I really should say something about it.

Morning essay: One Democrat’s perspective of ‘Presidency 5′
By Daniel Tilson
St. Petersblog 2.0
Today marks the beginning of three fun-filled days – well, three full days anyway – of Republican-Tea Party posturing, pontificating and politicking, Sunshine State style.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Scott discuses budget cuts, drug testing during two-hour CNBC appearance
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
While making a two-hour appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Gov. Rick Scott spoke about a host of issues — most notably job creation and drug testing state welfare applicants.

Lawyers fought corruption, then lost their jobs
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
When last we checked on Attorney General Pam Bondi, she was being investigated for forcing out two of her top-producing investigators, and legislators had asked her to produce records to justify her actions.

Host of new Florida laws take effect Saturday
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
More than two dozen laws passed this year, from medical malpractice reform to new penalties for bestiality and sexting by minors, will take effect this weekend.

With expressway authority consolidation on table, lawmakers want to add old one
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Call it the once and – possibly – future expressway authority.

Legislators Will Consider Caylee Anthony Child Protection Law
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
In the wake of the high-profile Casey Anthony case, several state lawmakers already have filed legislation that would put safeguards in place to protect Florida's children.

Kirk to lie in state Friday at Old Capitol
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Former Gov. Claude Kirk, who died at home in West Palm Beach on Wednesday, will lie in state Friday at the Old Capitol in Tallahassee.

Sen. Marco Rubio in Libya to meet with opposition movement leaders
By Alex Leary and Becky Bowers
St. Petersburg Times
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio arrived in Libya on Thursday, joining a small group of lawmakers for meetings with the former rebels who have ended the rule of Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

POLITICAL RACES

Early primary could hurt Florida, some Republicans say
By William March and Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune
The plan by Florida Republican leaders to move up the state's presidential primary date to Jan. 31 is drawing dissent from unexpected quarters: Republicans who argue the change would actually decrease Florida's impact on the nomination process.

Insiders: Florida the New Presidential Kingmaker
By Taylor West and Peter Bell
National Journal
Move over, Iowa. Make room, New Hampshire.

Florida's early primary plan draws criticism from South Carolina GOP
By Seanna Adcox
Associated Press
South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Chad Connelly said Thursday he'll wait to see what Florida does before announcing a date for the Palmetto State's presidential primary, but he vowed to retain the state's first-in-the-South status no matter what.

Huntsman to close Orlando office
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman is shutting down his national campaign headquarters in Orlando so he can pour more resources into New Hampshire.

Florida jumps near front of primary line
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Florida leaders are meeting today to set the state's 2012 presidential primary for Jan. 31.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Conservatives don't care about conserving
By Eric Ernst
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
They may call themselves conservatives, but they have little interest in conserving.

Florida gets federal grants to support habitat conservation for endangered species including scrub jay
By Olivia Kabat
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Last month the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced $53 million in grants given to 17 states for habitat conservation planning for endangered species.

Jefferson County approves landmark ordinance protecting Wacissa River from water bottlers
By Brett Ader
Florida Independent
Citizens in North Florida marked a pivotal victory earlier this month with the adoption of a first-of-its-kind law that will ensure the Wacissa River and surrounding public waters are protected from private water bottling interests for generations to come.

EDUCATION

In Latino education, challenges remain formidable
By Eduardo J. Padron Gaston Caperton
Miami Herald
One-hundred and twenty-five years ago next month, President Grover Cleveland presided over the dedication of what would become one of New York’s most iconic images: the Statue of Liberty.

Miami-Dade schools debut merit pay in Florida
By Sarah Butrymowicz and Laura Isensee
Miami Herald
In their latest paychecks, thousands of Miami-Dade teachers got an extra bump based on their students’ or schools’ FCAT scores.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

No Florida recession, Fed index says
By Douglas Hanks
Miami Herald
Florida should avoid a recession through the start of 2012, even as some state economies show signs of shrinking, according to a Federal Reserve index.

Report: Florida lost about 114,000 jobs due to U.S.-China trade deficit
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
According to new research from the Economic Policy Institute, about 2.8 million U.S. jobs were “eliminated or displaced” since 2001 because of the growing U.S.-China trade deficit.

Every job counts toward Workforce Central Florida's numbers
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
As state and local officials began overhauling Workforce Central Florida on Thursday, the region's labor agency acknowledged that it takes credit for virtually anyone who comes in contact with the organization and then later lands a job.

Gov. Scott won't intervene in Glades utility $2M shortfall; leaving county to work on bailout
By Jennifer Sorentrue
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott does not plan to intervene in the financial travails of the Glades Utility Authority, leaving the utility and county to find a way out of its impending collapse.

Coming Soon: The Tea Party Recession of 2011?
By Kevin Drum
Mother Jones
Back in 2008, during the worst of the financial crisis, I remember that many of us were shaking our heads a bit over Europe.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Florida CHIP Program ‘Treading Water’
By Phil Galewitz
Kaiser Health News
Despite the tough economy, Florida’s Children’s Health Insurance Program added just 2,000 children in the year ended June 30, for a growth rate of less than 1 percent.

Medical board protest planned
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Usually, prescription drug-abuse picketing is aimed at “pill mills.”

Huge grant will attack chronic disease
Staff Report
Health News Florida
By pulling in all the community health players, Broward Regional Health Planning Council has won a real plum -- a $1.76 million federal grant that aims to prevent chronic disease.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Rick Scott's Odd Defense Of Much Maligned Welfare Drug Testing Program
By David Taintor
Talking Points Memo
If Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) wants to defend the merit of his state's welfare drug testing law, this might not be the best way to do it.

Report highlights high number of Latino children living in poverty
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Latino children ages 17 and younger represent the highest number of children living poverty in the U.S., according to a Pew Hispanic Center report released Wednesday.

Among young, a troubling ignorance of civil rights era
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
As Washington prepares for the delayed formal dedication events surrounding the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall on Oct. 16, it is troubling that growing numbers of young people know little about the murdered civil rights leader, or the cause for which he died.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Judge says she's prepared to rule on prison privatization case
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
A Leon County circuit judge said today she expects to rule before the end of the week on a case challenging proviso language calling for the privatization of South Florida prisons.

Death penalty's high price
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
There is no real doubt that Manuel Valle, executed at the Florida State Prison on Wednesday, committed first-degree murder.

Daily Clips for September 29, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Dean Cannon on returning money for redistricting lawsuit
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Note: This effort is a joint project of Progress Florida and Florida Watch Action.
Progress Florida and its allies are launching a petition urging House Speaker Dean Cannon to scrub his lawsuit challenging the Fair Districts redistricting system approved by voters in 2010. They got Cannon on video dismissing the suggestion.

Progress Florida petition calls on House speaker to ‘drop’ legal action against Fair Districts
By Cooper Levey-Baker
Florida Independent
Progress Florida has launched a new petition calling for Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon to “drop” his chamber’s participation in legal action targeting Amendment 6, one of the two popular Fair Districts measures passed by Florida voters last fall.

FEATURED STORIES

E-mails deleted from Gov. Rick Scott’s iPad as more records requests go unfulfilled
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times
For a second time, e-mails to and from Florida Gov. Rick Scott have been deleted in possible violation of state law.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott changes arithmetic on jobs pledge
By Sally Kestin
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Related editorial: Do you believe Gov. Scott's promise on creating jobs?
Gov. Rick Scott said this week that Florida is making progress attracting new business but changed his arithmetic on how many jobs the state must create to meet his No. 1 campaign pledge.

Former Florida Gov. Claude Kirk dies at age 85
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Claude Kirk, a flamboyant self-promoter who became Florida's first Republican governor of the 20th century even though he never held prior public office, died today.

Members of Congress condemn Stearns’ Planned Parenthood investigation
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., have joined a handful of members of Congress in condemning Rep. Cliff Stearn’s recently launched investigation into Planned Parenthood’s finances and policies.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Allen West’s smallest town hall ever
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
It’s sort of a throwback to the pre-tea party days when congressional town hall meetings were subdued affairs that attracted mainly the C-SPAN demographic.

Legislators Will Consider Caylee Anthony Child Protection Law
By Les Coleman
Public News Service
In the wake of the high-profile Casey Anthony case, several state lawmakers already have filed legislation that would put safeguards in place to protect Florida's children.

Rod Smith: court will decide redistricting maps, legislature will create the record
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith told a redistricting forum Tuesday night that reapportionment "is all I think about these days" and predicts the once-a-decade redrawing of political boundaries will veer off along an unprecedented path next year as lawmakers apply new guidelines imposed by voters.

Rigid State Leadership: Open Up Florida Legislature
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
More than 40 years ago, the Florida Legislature was still adjusting to the big changes wrought by court-ordered reapportionment based solely on population.

POLITICAL RACES

Florida calendar blowback
By Maggie Haberman
Politico
The three traditional early states are not exactly thrilled with Florida this morning, and here is a sampling of reactions to their effort to push their primary up to Jan. 31.

Poll: Romney Leads Republican Field in Florida
By Caitlin Huey-Burns
Real Clear Politics
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads his Republican rivals in the critical battleground of Florida, a state that is expected to move its primary election up to Jan. 31, 2012.

PPP: U.S. Senate race still up in the air – which is bad news for LeMieux
By Bob Shaw
Orlando Sentinel
PPP, the Democratic-affiliated polling firm out of North Carolina, has produced a new poll of the Republican U.S. Senate race in Florida that doesn’t differ substantially from other recent polls.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Lawmakers warn against oil drilling off Cuba
By Erika Bolstad
Miami Herald
Thirty-four U.S. lawmakers, led by Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, on Wednesday asked the Spanish oil company Repsol to keep out of Cuban waters, saying the company’s pending offshore drilling plans would support the Castro regime and "bankroll the apparatus that violently crushes dissent."

Gulf of Mexico oil spill response should address overall ecosystem needs, scientists say
By Mark Schleifstein
New Orleans Times-Picayune
A panel of nationally recognized scientists and engineers recommended today that officials abandon their traditional methods of mitigating the impact of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and instead recognize that the spill is only one of a number of threats to the gulf ecosystem.

Oil spill isn't over
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
The finding of deformed fish in Louisiana by scientists bolsters the fear that the lasting impact of last year's oil spill remains to be discovered.

Senate chairman says Legislature should address growth bill legal challenge
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Legislature in 2012 may only want to make minor changes to growth management laws after the sweeping overhaul this year but should address an issue raised in a legal challenge, according to a key Senate committee chairman.

Free Market Florida unveils new clip it says ‘unmasks Sierra Club as enemy of American prosperity’
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Free Market Florida, the group that has long decried a set of federally mandated water pollution standards, has unveiled its latest video, this one aimed at two environmental groups: the Sierra Club and Earthjustice.

What will water management’s mission be?
By Tom Palmer
Lakeland Ledger
Water management districts have been under fire lately.

LGBT

Florida Together Conference: Inspirational Event Leading the Way
By Norm Kent
South Florida Gay News
Last weekend, the Florida Together organization hosted an all day seminar at Florida International University. The theme of the conference was “Different Paths, Same Directions.”

National Organization for Marriage attacks Ros-Lehtinen over same-sex marriage
By Sofia Resnick
Florida Independent
In its latest appeal for donations, the National Organization for Marriage is calling on supporters to fund a new campaign that targets U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, for her recent decision to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

EDUCATION

From Minnesota to Miami: The History of Florida Charter Schools
By John O'Connor
State Impact
Related: The Three Types of Florida Charter Schools
Charter schools are an idea dreamed up by an obscure education professor in the 1970s that are now the primary alternative among public schools.

Florida scores an A in civil rights education
Associated Press
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida has received an A for education about the civil rights movement — one of only three states given the top grade in a nationwide study.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Obama Jobs Plan Prevents 2012 Recession in Survey of Economists
By Timothy R. Homan
Bloomberg Business
President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs plan would help avoid a return to recession by maintaining growth and pushing down the unemployment rate next year, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

State retirement system remains well-funded
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
Changes made during the 2011 legislative session helped shore up the state's retirement system, and will also affect the retirement decisions made by employees who participate in the state retirement system, according to a preliminary report on the state of the system issued this week.”

To the bottom
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Florida appears to be in a rather bizarre "race to the bottom" with Nevada and Virginia to see which state can recapture the lowest return on their federal tax dollars.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Wasserman Schultz lashes back at Planned Parenthood probe
By William Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
South Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz accused Republican colleagues on Wednesday of launching a “burdensome and politically motivated, big-government investigation” of Planned Parenthood.

26 states, Obama ask U.S. Supreme Court to settle health-care law debate
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Twenty-six states led by Florida, a business group and President Obama's administration on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to settle a landmark case on the federal health care law, including resolving opposing decisions by two federal appellate courts.

Studies: Medicaid vital to kids, seniors
By David Gulliver
Bradenton Herald
More than a half-million Floridians rely on Medicaid to pay for cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses, and that federal safety net may be crucial as private health insurance costs rise far faster than wages.

Budget cuts threaten long-term care
By Emmett Reed
Sarasota Herald Tribune
As economic conditions remain unstable for Florida and the nation, both Congress' deficit-reduction supercommittee and the White House have proposed yet another round of cuts to skilled nursing Medicare/Medicaid benefits for Florida's seniors.

UCF students vote for medical amnesty policy
Associated Press
Miami Herald
Students at the University of Central Florida are overwhelmingly in favor of the school creating a policy to encourage them to report alcohol-related emergencies.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Three out of four Floridians on food stamps did not have earned income in 2010
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 1.4 million Floridians relied on food stamps in 2010, and 76.2 percent of those recipients did not have an earned income.

An offer state lawmakers can’t refuse?
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott's crusade to drug-test cash welfare applicants is turning out to be another thickheaded scheme that's backfiring on Florida taxpayers.

The fallout of failure
Editorial
Miami Herald
The longer America delays fixing its broken immigration system, the harder it becomes to deal with the fallout.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Manuel Valle executed for 1978 killing of Coral Gables police officer
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Manuel Valle was executed by lethal injection Wednesday at Florida State Prison for fatally shooting a Coral Gables police officer and wounding another one 33 years ago during a traffic stop.

ICE detains nearly 3,000 with criminal records
By Alfonso Chardy
Miami Herald
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Wednesday detentions nationwide of nearly 3,000 foreign nationals with criminal convictions in the largest operation of its kind since the agency was created in 2003.

Doing before Knowing: Easy Steps to Privatizing Prisons in Florida!
By Aaron Deslatte
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida's former prisons chief, Edwin Buss, was asked to sign off on a "business case" for privatizing 29 South Florida prisons more than two months after the Legislature had already mandated the move, according to a deposition of the ousted corrections secretary.

Daily Clips for September 28, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Florida will likely hold Jan. primary, threatening presidential calendar
By Peter Hamby
CNN
Florida is now expected to hold its presidential primary on the last day in January 2012, a move likely to throw the carefully arranged Republican nominating calendar into disarray and jumpstart the nominating process a month earlier than party leaders had hoped.

Former employee wants to impeach Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll
By Michael C. Bender
Miami Herald
Carletha Cole, who lost her job after going public about squabbles inside Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll's office and is now involved in an FDLE investigation over an possibly illegal audio recording, sent a press release this morning calling for the impeachment of her former boss.

Scott grilled on auto and home insurance
By Julie Patel
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott was grilled at a Sun Sentinel editorial board meeting today on a range of issues, including home and automobile insurance.

Revised state economic forecasts cloud local government revenue expectations
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
State forecasters issued revised estimates this week that show the recovery in property tax revenue for local governments could be slower than they had expected.

Postal workers deliver message: Don’t downsize us
By Wayne K. Roustan
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Organizers estimated thousands of postal workers gathered at more than 440 congressional offices across the country on Tuesday to send a message to Washington D.C.: Don't downsize the U.S. Postal Service.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Gov. Rick Scott’s office revives scrutiny of state contracts
By Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times
Gov. Rick Scott's office has resumed its review of state agency contracts of $1 million after a months-long break, according to an internal memo obtained by the Times/Herald.

Florida’s political climate cool to in-state college fees for immigrants, as issue becomes hot
By John Lantiuga
Palm Beach Post
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has created a hornet's nest of controversy in conservative circles by defending his Texas policy of offering in-state tuition to undocumented students.

Florida blasts away at local gun rules
By Dave Berman
Florida Today
Kate Latorre’s law firm, which represents a dozen Central Florida cities and towns, has been scrambling in recent weeks.

More laws than we need
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
When the Florida Legislature passed its infamous gag law preventing doctors from talking to patients about the risks posed by firearms in the home, it was generally taken for granted that the vote was a bow to the gun lobby.

POLITICAL RACES

Orlando state Rep. Scott Randolph says Democrats shouldn’t put Crist on 2014 ballot for Governor
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
State Representative Scott Randolph gave some insight into what it’s like being a Democrat in a Republican-heavy legislature.

Romney announces Florida staff
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney‘s campaign announced its Florida staffers this morning with Molly Donlin, a veteran Republican operative who worked on Rudy Giuliani‘s 2008 Florida campaign, serving as Romney’s state director.

GOP insiders: Tom Lee, Rick Baker could perk up Senate race
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Not satisfied with their current U.S. Senate primary candidates, some Republican insiders are seeking to recruit new ones, possibly including popular Tampa Bay area political figures Tom Lee and Rick Baker.

Christie says he’s still not running for president
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie hasn't changed his mind: He reaffirmed in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Tuesday that he's not running for president.

Perry immigration strategy may help woo Hispanics
By Kasie Hunt and Laura Wides-Munoz
Associated Press
Rick Perry is calling his Republican rivals "heartless" and using ethnically charged language to defend moderate parts of his immigration record.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Lawmakers envision advertising along state trails, on school buses
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Depressed tax collections resulting from a deep recession and sputtering recovery, combined with pledges from Republicans not to raise taxes or fees has sent lawmakers scrambling to find revenue for favored projects in more unorthodox areas.

State agency back to basics with new, old name – Florida Forest Service
By Dan Scanlan
Florida Times-Union
Florida's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Division of Forestry went back to its roots Tuesday, reviving its original name as the Florida Forest Service.

LGBT

A Misguided Lesson on Student Bullying and Teachers’ Boundaries
By Nadine Smith
Huffington Post
Many years ago I had a teacher who assigned our class the task of answering the question: "How has slavery benefited black people by bringing them to the New World?"

LGBT students lack protection
By Jorge Rodriguez-Jimenez
The Famuan
I was shocked and disgusted when I heard that Florida A&M does not provide students protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Census: Florida home to nearly 6,800 wedded same-sex couples
By Andres Viglucci
Miami Herald
The U.S. Census Bureau for the first time put a number on married same-sex couples in the United States -- 131,729 -- even as it corrected previously issued figures for the overall number of same-sex couples that revised the totals significantly downward.

EDUCATION

More Orange County teachers will get low ratings under new evaluation plan
By Lauren Roth
Orlando Sentinel
A new evaluation system mandated by state law and negotiated with the teachers union will result in a slight increase in the number of Orange County teachers who will get "unsatisfactory" ratings this school year.

Palm Beach County School District hurries to hire teachers, obey class-size limits law
By Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach County School District is spending millions more to staff 132 new positions, including moving up to 34 teachers to fill some of those posts, in a race to meet state-mandated class-size limits by next month.

Florida needs to do more to curb student loan default rates
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott and state legislators are pondering big changes in higher education, including limits on tenure for professors at public universities. But there's another issue that's begging for attention: the rising rate of student loan defaults at universities and colleges in Florida.

Bringing common sense to school accountability
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
When a school can earn an A from the state and yet be given failing marks by the federal government, there should be no doubt that school accountability has gone awry.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Census report: Florida received third least amount of federal aid in 2010
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
According to a recently released report by the U.S. Census Bureau, Florida received the third least amount of aid per capita from the federal government in 2010.

Congress dodges shutdown after disaster aid fight
By Andrew Taylor
Associated Press
In agreeing to an emergency spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, Congress achieved a limited goal while postponing a fight over whether emergency disaster aid ought to be paid for with cuts elsewhere in the budget.

Construction job losses mount in South Florida
Staff Report
South Florida Business Journal
Some parts of the country are starting to add construction jobs, but Florida is not among them.

Consumer confidence in Florida improves
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
Florida consumers are more confident than last month and feel better about their personal financial situations than the economy as a whole, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Our take on: Connie Mack’s “penny plan”
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Give Connie Mack credit. The Republican congressman from Fort Myers, not content just to bicker over the federal budget, has proposed a plan to balance it.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Report points out large role Medicaid plays in care for chronically ill
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
A report released today by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Diabetes Association, the American Lung Association and the health care consumer group Families USA shows that Medicaid plays a vital role in providing health care to Floridians with chronic illnesses.

Florida Health Care Administration trying to recoup $4 million from firm managing Medicaid mental-health services
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
Contending that not enough money was spent on patient care, the state Agency for Health Care Administration is trying to recoup $4 million from a firm that manages Medicaid mental-health services.

Florida congressman moves forward with Planned Parenthood investigation
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Ocala, is moving forward with his plans to launch an investigation of Planned Parenthood, a national chain of women’s health clinics.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Dead foster children are a preventable tragedy
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
When talk turned to protecting children last week in Tallahassee, there was a lot of righteous indignation.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Execution set for man convicted of killing officer
Associated Press
Miami Herald
A Florida man convicted of shooting a police officer to death during a traffic stop in 1978 is scheduled to be executed Wednesday.