Daily Clips for September 15, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Florida merit-pay law challenge is part of bigger fight by unions against GOP legislatures
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
The Florida Education Association sued Wednesday to overturn a new state law ending teacher tenure and introducing merit pay based in large part on how students perform on standardized tests.

Teamsters file ethics complaint against Gov. Rick Scott over prisons
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The Teamsters Union has filed an ethics complaint against Gov. Rick Scott in an attempt to block a state plan to privatize prison operations in 18 South Florida counties.

John Thrasher backs away from secret agreement with indicted former GOP state leader
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
State Sen. John Thrasher says he was unaware that a contract he signed in early 2010 was the last step in finalizing a secret severance agreement with the now indicted former head of the Republican Party of Florida.

State revenue outlook is bleak
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
With the economy sputtering, state analysts will gather Oct. 11 and dish out bad budget news.

Gulf spill blamed on poor management decisions
By Dina Cappiello and Harry R. Weber
Associated Press
Related: Mayor: Tests link tar balls on Ala beaches to BP
A key federal report laid much of the blame on BP for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history and the deaths of 11 rig workers, particularly with regard to the cement seal that was put in place the day before the explosion that triggered the spill.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Fair District backers want Cannon to call off the lawyers
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Days after a Miami judge ruled against a pair of Florida members of Congress, leaders of the so-called Fair Districts campaign Wednesday called on House Speaker Dean Cannon to abandon financing any further challenges to the voter-approved standard for drawing congressional district lines.

Scott wants Florida to be ‘the model for the country’
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Gov. Rick Scott stopped by MSNBC’s Morning Joe to talk about the GOP presidential race and Florida today.

Florida Commission on Ethics dismisses Ray Sansom's complaint against Willie Meggs
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
The Florida Commission on Ethics has dropped former House Speaker Ray Sansom's complaint against Leon County State Attorney Willie Meggs.

POLITICAL RACES

GOP win in Weiner's old N.Y. district a concern for Obama in Florida?
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Republicans are hailing their victory in a heavily Democratic New York congressional district with a large Jewish population as a rebuke of President Obama that will reverberate nationally and in South Florida.

As Marco Rubio embraces national spotlight, he draws tougher scrutiny
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
As he thrusts himself into the national spotlight, inviting speculation about vice presidential ambitions, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is also drawing tougher scrutiny over his words and actions.

Florida GOP elite flock to meet Rick Perry
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Sure, the February primary is far away, but the scene yesterday morning in the Intercontinental hotel in downtown Tampa sure suggests Rick Perry could increase his lead and buzz in the Republican race for president in Florida.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

DEP draft water quality rule faces criticism on both sides
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Environmental groups and some industry representatives alike are criticizing a draft state water quality rule that may be adopted as a replacement for controversial new federal water quality standards.

EPA retreats in Florida clean water fight
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Floridians who banked on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect the state's waters have a right to be disappointed.

Tar balls, dead marine life raise more questions about oil in the gulf
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Though BP has continued to deny that any of its gulf wells are leaking oil, a large-scale oil slick reported in the area is worrying Gulf Coast watchdogs.

Senator wants a 10-year ban on water bottling permits
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A Republican senator from Ormond Beach is raising the controversy over water bottling to another level with a bill filed Wednesday.

LGBT

Poll: Near-split in U.S. over legal gay marriage
By Laurie Kellman and Jennifer Agiesta
Associated Press
Barbara Von Aspern loves her daughter, "thinks the world" of the person her daughter intends to marry and believes the pair should have the same legal rights as anyone else. It pains her, but Von Aspern is going to skip their wedding.

EDUCATION

Teachers union sues state over "unconstitutional" merit pay law
By Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Carolyn Lofton, a Pinellas County teacher, lobbied Florida lawmakers to kill the controversial teacher tenure bill that many say will transform her profession.

Florida's SAT scores drop
Associated Press
Miami Herald
Florida's graduating seniors are posting lower scores on the SAT college entrance exam according to test results released by the test administrator.

Brogan says state universities "bleeding" and desperately need building dollars
By Kim MacQueen
Florida Current
Florida’s system of public universities is larger than any of the state’s other agencies combined, making up more than half of all state buildings and boasting a $150 million annual electric bill.

An Investment that Isn't Risky? Your Kids' Education
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
As Florida families face the start of another school year, proponents of the Florida College Investment Plan say it's the ideal time to think about building tax-free savings for college.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Obama prods Congress to move quickly on jobs bill
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Imploring Congress to follow his lead, President Barack Obama on Tuesday lobbied lawmakers to adopt his nearly $450 billion jobs plan, promising it would help workers in the construction industry and rebuild schools in crumbling condition.

NASA unveils next rocket: Hybrid shuttle to fly in 2017
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
NASA made official on Wednesday its next vision for space travel by unveiling plans for a massive rocket it hopes could blast astronauts to an asteroid by 2025 while laying the foundation for a future trip to Mars.

Privatize for whose benefit?
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
The quest for a better passenger-rail system in South Florida has taken a puzzling turn, with secretive talks coming to light about privatizing Tri-Rail in the name of cutting costs and creating new service through South Florida's coastal downtowns.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

State backs off plan to limit HMOs for state workers
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
State officials have scrapped a move to limit to the number of HMO choices for state employees in an attempt to settle legal challenges.

Feds Laying Out What They Want in Medicaid
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
As Florida seeks to continue a controversial Medicaid pilot program, federal officials want changes to improve patient care and increase requirements on HMOs.

Kaiser Health News: States moving toward more Medicaid managed care
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Kaiser Health News reports that states all over the country, including Florida, are moving toward Medicaid managed care and are looking “to private health plans for help closing budget gaps.”

Which FL hospitals scored best?
By Brittany Davis
Health News Florida
More than 50 Florida hospitals were recognized as “top performers” Wednesday by the country’s leading health-care accreditation agency.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

National day of protest against mandatory E-Verify announced
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) called Wednesday for a national day to protest the Legal Workforce Act of 2011 filed by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, which would make the E-Verify system mandatory for all employers within three years.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Judge blocks Florida law restricting doctor gun talk
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
A federal judge Wednesday blocked a Florida gun law that restricted doctors from asking patients about firearms.

Teamsters accuse Gov. Scott of conflict of interest in privatization of Florida prisons
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
The Teamsters have filed an ethics complaint accusing Gov. Rick Scott of having a conflict of interest in Florida's prison privatization -- the largest effort of its kind anywhere in the country.

Judges and mediators included in possible list of reductions
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
Administrative law judges and workers compensation mediators have been targeted for reductions under a list of options to reduce spending by 10 percent that was submitted by the Division of Administrative Hearings Tuesday as part of this year's budget exercise.