Daily Clips for November 30, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Eleven Florida lawmakers get subpoenas in election law case
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times
Eleven state legislators have been hit with subpoenas in a federal lawsuit involving four controversial provisions of Florida's new election law.

Ethics promises unkept
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
On the campaign trail, Rick Scott, a self-described outsider, claimed he would clean up Tallahassee's corrupt culture.

Dem chair Smith blasts redistricting plan
By Kathleen Haughney
South Florida Sun Sentinel
It didn’t take Florida Democratic Party chair Rod Smith to respond to the redistricting maps drawn up by the Republican-controlled Senate Reapportionment Committee.

Senator Marco Rubio’s healthy investment
By Miguel Sarmiento
Tucson Citizen
In matters of housing, 2005 was a great year for Senator Marco Rubio.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Senate maps help and hurt Republicans, pack Democrats into minority seats
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
Despite creating political maps using no political data, two redistricting proposals by Florida’s Republican-led Senate favor Republicans, consolidate voters in Democratic districts and compress minority seats, a Herald/Times analysis shows.

War of the maps begin
Editorial
Miami Herald
Drawing lines on a map may seem like child’s play, but once every 10 years it’s more like the war to end all wars.

Dreaming of a New Vegas in Miami
By Arian Campo-Flores and Alexandra Berzon
Wall Street Journal
A Malaysian gambling company wants to build what could be the world's largest casino on prime land along Miami's waterfront. It has spent about $450 million on real estate, pledged to help rebuild part of an interstate highway and hired 23 lobbyists to press for a new Florida law.

New political maps shore up Republican incumbents
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Maps for new congressional and legislative seats released this week don't just make it more likely that minority candidates – especially Hispanics -- will get elected. They also shore up the re-election chances of a host of Central Florida incumbents.

Rubio opposes diplomats; cites ‘appeasement’
By William Gibson
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Florida Senator Marco Rubio said on Tuesday he will oppose three diplomatic nominees to protest the Obama administration’s "appeasement" policy on Latin America.

POLITICAL RACES

Mitt Romney stumps in Florida with focus on President Barack Obama
By Adam C. Smith and Marc Caputo
St. Petersburg Times
Stagnant in the polls and under withering assault for flip-flopping, Republican Mitt Romney campaigned Tuesday in Tampa Bay and South Florida with a simple message: President Barack Obama has failed and he won't.

Mack comes out swinging at GOP rivals, Nelson
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack on Tuesday dismissed his Republican U.S. Senate primary rivals as too weak to defeat incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson.

Poll: Newy Gingrich soars in Florida
By Walter C. Jones
Florida Times-Union
Newt Gingrich is the current favorite in Florida’s Jan. 31 Republican presidential primary, picking up supporters who fled Herman Cain to claim 41 percent in a poll conducted Tuesday night for the Florida Times-Union.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Groups support bill that would brighten horizons for small solar energy providers
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A diverse coalition of groups is backing a bill that would exempt small solar power producers from being classified as utilities under state law.

Why We Need to Protect the Soul of South Florida
By Frank Mazzotti
Huffington Post
The Everglades are the economical and ecological soul of South Florida. Our lives, our health, well being and economic prosperity are all linked to restored and functioning Everglades's ecosystems.

Steube says Manatee jail needs $1M in fixes
By Richard Dymond
Bradenton Times
There’s moisture seeping into the 16-year-old Manatee County Central Jail building near Port Manatee due to failing stucco and the need for a total repaint.

EDUCATION

Lawmaker wants more oversight of disabled student scholarships
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
In response to an expose from the Miami New Times this summer detailing abuses of the John M. McKay Scholarship funds, Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg, is pushing for greater oversight of the program.

Proposal emerges to create adult charter schools
News Service of Florida
Ft. Myers News-Press
Nudged by a Tallahassee-based non-profit group, two lawmakers are poised to file bills that would allow charter schools and non-profits to offer adult education.

No accreditation by intimidation
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
A key step in the quest to make the University of South Florida's Lakeland Polytechnic campus an independent university is for it to achieve accreditation. It now is accredited only because of its tie to USF.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Poverty grips 1 in 4 Alachua County kids, Census reports
By Jackie Alexander
Gainesville Sun
One in four Alachua County children lives at or below the poverty line, an increase of 10 percentage points in as many years, according to data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Scott says he won’t raise taxes
Staff Report
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott told the editorial board of The Daytona Beach News-Journal on Monday that he's not going to raise taxes but left the door open to require collection of sales taxes on Internet commerce.

Why judge blocked Citigroup’s sweet deal
By Wayne Ezell
Florida Times-Union
Finally, a judge with the courage to say no -- no to a settlement designed to gloss over and obscure a big bank's misdeeds that contributed to the housing meltdown.

Florida relying on luck with hurricanes
Editorial
Florida Times-Union
Are you feeling lucky?

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Report: Florida has made the most progress in reducing number of uninsured children
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A new report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families found that Florida led the nation in reducing the number of uninsured children during a three-year period.

Quality Health Plans HMO to close doors Thursday
By Tish Osborne
Hernando Today
Quality Health Plans, once touted as the No. 1 Medicare Advantage health maintenance organization in Pasco and Hernando counties, will cease operations Thursday, according to the Florida Department of Financial Services.

Ex-Fla. nursing home ombudsman’s lawsuit expanded
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
Florida's ousted long-term care ombudsman on Monday added new accusations to his lawsuit alleging that Gov. Rick Scott forced his resignation at the urging of the nursing home industry.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Florida unemployment program faces federal complaint
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is facing a complaint filed against the state’s unemployment compensation program with the U.S. Department of Labor’s office of civil rights.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Judge refuses to halt Fla. barrel racing challenge
By Bill Kaczor
Tampa Tribune
A judge on Tuesday refused to halt an administrative challenge to a new form of betting - quarter horse barrel racing - in a complex case that could affect efforts to expand gaming at pari-mutuel facilities across Florida.