Daily Clips for September 16, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

The Blu Vu September 12^th Weekly Show
By Ty Wold
The Blu Vu: Florida's Political Reality Show
Show Highlights: Rick Scott keeps turning away millions of federal dollars for political reasons causing Florida’s most vulnerable to suffer, Florida Democrats prepare to fill the leadership void, and Fair Districts wins a major victory for minority voters.

FEATURED STORIES

The Florida Conundrum
By Beth Reinhard
National Journal
For nearly three decades, the Republican presidential nomination process unfolded in a predictable pattern: One candidate won Iowa, another won New Hampshire, and one of the two captured South Carolina—and became the nominee.

Hiding the sausage: How a well-funded right-wing organization is grinding out state laws
By Billy Manes
Orlando Weekly
When Jeff Wright walked into the lobby of the New Orleans Marriott on Aug. 3, he wasn’t sure what to expect.

Obama reversal on Social Security draws split response from Florida pols
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
President Barack Obama, just days away from introducing a blueprint to reduce the nation's deficit, has taken off the table any cost-cutting changes in Social Security benefits.

The impact of the recession and inequality on U.S. and Florida workers
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
That 46.2 million people live in poverty in the U.S. is only one of the most important indicators of the the U.S. Census Bureau report released this week.

Florida university leaders hope to draw up their own accountability plan
By Denise-Marie Balona
Orlando Sentinel
Keenly aware that Gov. Rick Scott is eyeballing controversial reforms in Texas that seek to save money and boost professor productivity, Florida university-system leaders decided Thursday to come up with their own plan for increasing accountability.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Rick Scott, GOP: Party Over The Needs Of Floridians, No Matter What
By Inkberries
Beach Peanuts
What have the Republican Party Of Florida and Rick Scott done for you, or rather, what have they done TO you lately?

New Jobs Plan: Snakes On A Swamp
By Matthew Yglesias
Think Progress
Senator Bill Nelson of Florida has been pushing the Interior Department to enact regulatory curbs on the importation of Burmese pythons into the United States.

My nominees for the 2011 Netroots Awards
By Peter Schorsch
St. Petersblog 2.0
It’s that time of year again. Nominations are now open for the best of the blogs and online activism on the left in Florida.

Obama’s American Jobs Act vs. Rick Scott’s Florida Jobs Inaction
By Daniel Tilson
Daily Kos
The day before President Obama introduced and urgently appealed for passage of the American Jobs Act in a nationally televised speech to a joint session of Congress, Florida Governor Rick Scott expressed his advance disapproval.

The Coming Florida Electoral Disaster... and What Might Save Us
By Benjamin Kirby
The Spencerian
In the 2008 presidential election, I unwisely predicted an Obama loss here in Florida.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida Government Has Created Plenty of Jobs…For Lawyers
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
When Florida lawmakers decided to pass legislation that made ideological statements about things such as gun ownership, unions and welfare, groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union warned that there would be legal challenges.

The new normal: Fighting state laws that defy common sense
By Sue Carlton
St. Petersburg Times
Is anyone else starting to hate the phrase "the new normal" — as in, "Get used to this miserable state of affairs, because it's the new normal"?

Jeb Bush forms company to get into the disaster response business
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
Former Jeb BushFlorida Gov. Jeb Bush is getting into the for-profit disaster response business.

POLITICAL RACES

Fla Poll: Rick Perry leading Mitt Romney by 9
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
"Perry is clearly the ice cream of the month, and it does not surprise me that this wld take place because Florida as you know refects the coutnry as a whole and is probably the best microcosm of America,'' pollster Matt Towery told Buzz.

Committee to set Fla. presidential primary to meet
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A special committee charged with selecting Florida's presidential primary date will hold its first meeting next week.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Water district finds $70 million for pump to resume 10-year-old reservoir project
By Joel Engelhardt
Palm Beach Post
Ten years after the South Florida Water Management District sunk $217 million into rock pits for water storage west of Wellington, it has found $70 million to put the system to use for the first time.

New federal effort could help Everglades
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
There's a lot to like about a new federal plan that could help save the Everglades by preserving as many as 150,000 acres between Orlando and Lake Okeechobee — many of them wetlands that feed the River of Grass.

EDUCATION

Broward names new, Michelle Rhee-affiliated school superintendent
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
The Broward County School Board on Wednesday selected former businessman Robert Runcie as Broward’s next school superintendent.

Board calls for increased university funding, mulls strategic changes
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
The board that oversees the state university system approved a budget request on Thursday that calls for boosting university budgets by about 14.5 percent.

State university leaders open to idea of an independent USF Polytechnic
By Kim Wilmath
St. Petersburg Times
They said it could be like Walt Disney World — an economic powerhouse borne of a dream and a piece of rural Central Florida land.

Teachers law deserves to fail
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
It is not the greatest time to be a teacher in Florida.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

The Return of the Job-Killing Republicans
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Last month, it was Rep. John “Job Killer” Mica (R-FL) whose extreme anti-worker agenda shut down the Federal Aviation Administration.

TaxWatch report suggests more than $4 billion in government cost savings
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Florida TaxWatch, the nonpartisan tax watchdog, issued a report of its Government Cost Savings Task Force for the 2012-2013 fiscal year Thursday, detailing 135 recommendations for cutting or containing state spending that it says could generate $4.1 billion in savings.

Florida forgives millions in unpaid taxes, fines
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida is forgiving tens of millions in taxes and fines and other money owed to the state from businesses, polluters and even retailers selling Lottery tickets.

Experts: More toll roads likely as gas taxes drop off
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
Motorists across Florida and the nation should expect more toll roads ahead as gas-tax revenues dwindle and Congress struggles just to extend the levy for another six months.

Officials demonstrate ‘panic stop’ insurance fraud tactics, urge drivers to report scammers
By Danielle A. Alvarez and Julie Patel
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Officials call it the “panic stop.” A driver slams on the brakes and forces the car behind into a rear-end collision.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Federal funds...Scott’s adherence to politics is hurting his constituents
Editorial
Naples Daily News
We get the point. We get the point that Rick Scott, our governor, is a conservative Republican politician.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Stearns' gun bill progressing
By Bill Thompson
Ocala Star-Banner
A gun-rights bill long advocated by U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns and the National Rifle Association recently took a step forward.

Doctor gag law indefensible
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Florida's new law punishing doctors for questioning their patients about firearms is a prime example of the state's powerful gun lobby overstepping its bounds.

Pandering to the Gun Lobby
Editorial
New York Times
How low can the Florida Legislature go in pandering to the gun lobby?

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Judge orders ousted DOC secretary Buss to testify in prisons lawsuit
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A judge ordered former Department of Corrections Secretary Ed Buss to testify in a lawsuit about the state’s privatization of prisons in the southern part of Florida.

US Supreme Court gets Fla. interior design appeal
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A challenge to Florida's law requiring state licensing of nonresidential interior designers is going to the U.S. Supreme Court.