Daily Clips for November 9, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Wasserman Schultz exults after results in Ohio, Mississippi – and what it could mean in Florida
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Florida's Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the DNC, exulted tonight after voters in Ohio and Mississippi overturned a law affecting collective bargaining rights and rejected a sweeping anti-abortion measure.

Unions see Ohio victory as springboard for resurgence, boost for 2012 election
Associated Press
Washington Post
Labor unions are celebrating one of their biggest victories in decades after turning back an Ohio law that curbed collective bargaining rights for the state’s public workers. The vote showed unions are still a potent political force that can’t be ignored.

Town hall participants warn that Florida is falling behind in creating health insurance exchange
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
During a town hall hosted by Florida health advocates today, policy experts warned that the state is falling woefully behind on plans for a state health insurance exchange program.

Social Security Cuts: Greatest Impact On FL Small Towns
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
America's small towns will be hit hardest by any cuts in Social Security, according to a new analysis by the rural news website the Daily Yonder.

If Cain flames out, who will rise among GOP?
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Herman Cain’s candidacy is under deadly fire. Rick Perry fell apart. Michele Bachmann flamed out.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Corrine Brown, secret interests fight your vote
By Scott Maxell
Orlando Sentinel
By now, you're probably painfully aware that House Speaker Dean Cannon and the Florida Legislature are trying to overturn your vote for Fair Districts.

GOP state senator files bill to prohibit local ordinances that crack down on wage theft
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
State Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, today filed a bill to prohibit Florida municipalities from “adopting or maintaining” local ordinances that crack down on wage theft, the practice of stiffing workers out of money they are owed.

Bill would restrict local governments’ ability to charge impact fees or collect for new schools, roads
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Cities and counties would be restricted from forcing developers to pay local impact fees or paying for new roads and schools under a House bill filed Tuesday.

Gov. Scott mum on allegations against Cain
By Josh Poltilove and Julio Ochoa
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott isn't quite ready to back a presidential candidate.

Shalom! Gov. Scott heading to Israel
By Florida News Service
Pensacola News Journal
Gov. Rick Scott said today he'll go to Israel next month on a trade mission, saying the journeys abroad to drum up business for Florida "really work."

Scott talks dance, but is silent on TV blackout bill
Staff Report
St. Petersburg Times
Gov. Rick Scott punted a question about Sen. Mike Fasano's bill (SB 836) that would ban television blackouts for sports teams that take public money during a wide-ranging radio interview Monday.

POLITICAL RACES

Newton, Gerdes win big in St. Petersburg City Council races
By Michael Van Sickler and Danny Valentine
St. Petersburg Times
Related: St. Petersburg voters approve all referendum questions but one
Mayor Bill Foster returns from a five-day city trip to Japan on Thursday to find a more independent and perhaps more aggressive City Council.

Check out election results from Central Florida races
Staff Report
Orlando Sentinel
Below are available election results from 22 races from four counties holding municipal elections around Central Florida -- Lake, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia from Nov. 8, 2011.

Florida politicos weigh impact of accusations on presidential contender Cain
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
A top Florida supporter of Herman Cain says the Republican presidential candidate deserves the benefit of the doubt after a woman today publicly accused Cain of reaching under her skirt and pulling her head toward his crotch 14 years ago, when she was seeking employment help.

Could this become an issue in Mack vs. Hasner vs. LeMieux race?
By Gary Fineout
The Fine Print
Put this in "Will this become an issue in the U.S. Senate race?" file.

Alvin Peters to Challenge Southerland
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
A Panama City lawyer is challenging Steve Southerland for his congressional seat.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Mississippi 'Personhood' Amendment Vote Fails
Associated Press
Huffington Post
Related: 'Personhood' Anti-Abortion Movement Gains National Momentum
Mississippi voters Tuesday defeated a ballot initiative that would've declared life begins at fertilization, a proposal that supporters sought in the Bible Belt state as a way to prompt a legal challenge to abortion rights nationwide.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

7 Florida facilities run afoul of EPA air quality standards
Staff Report
Florida Current
Florida is home to seven air polluters that have been included in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Facility Watch List, according to the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.

Evidence shows Gulf oil spill caused widespread ecological damage
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Evidence is mounting that the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster caused wide-ranging ecological damage in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Oil drilling to expand – but not near Florida
By William Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Offshore oil and gas drilling will remain off limits near Florida’s shores under a five-year plan released on Tuesday by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Water management districts shut out of mitigation projects in new bill
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
A bill filed Tuesday by Rep. Ray Pilon, R-Sarasota, would take environmental mitigation efforts related to transportation projects out of the hands of Florida’s water management districts and place them exclusively in the hands of private mitigation banks.

Don’t ignore science
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
It will be interesting to see how Republican presidential contenders respond to an exhaustive study by a prominent skeptic of global warming that found the planet is indeed rapidly getting hotter.

LGBT

Broward County expands equal benefits law for both same-sex and opposite-sex partners
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
Large companies that do big business with Broward County were told Tuesday they must now provide equal benefits to employees' domestic partners.

EDUCATION

Sides square off for vote today on USF Poly split
By Lindsay Peterson
Tampa Tribune
Working in relative obscurity for years, the state university Board of Governors will face a crowd today in Boca Raton when its 17 members vote on a proposal to make USF Polytechnic an independent university.

Florida release its No Child Left Behind waiver request
By Jeff Solochek
St. Petersburg Times
With the submission deadline fast approaching, the Florida Department of Education has released a draft of its waiver proposal for the No Child Left Behind Act.

Advocates push for millions for child development
By Adam H. Beasley
Miami Herald
The Children’s Movement unveiled a five-point agenda for the upcoming legislative session, seeking $28.5 million in funding for child-developmental programs.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Occupy protesters plan march from NY to Washington
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in New York City went old school on Tuesday as activist musicians David Crosby and Graham Nash delivered a touch of Woodstock, plans for a march to Washington were announced and some participants practiced another kind of democracy — voting.

Big banks hear from the little guy
Editorial
Miami Herald
Shielded by being too big to fail, America’s big banks can be as tone deaf as they are opaque.

Would IRS rule prompt foreigners to yank billions from Florida banks?
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
In a rare show of solidarity, all 27 members of Congress from Florida — 20 Republicans and seven Democrats — have united against a plan proposed by the Internal Revenue Service to collect details about foreigners who secretly deposit money in U.S banks.

Florida jobs at stake in defense cutback
By William Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida would lose 39,246 jobs if Congress fails to fend off $1 trillion of potential cuts to the defense budget, according to a study released on Monday by a defense industry group.

Taxpayers deserve a look at business incentives
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
If Tallahassee is ready to be more accountable to taxpayers on economic development deals, the proof will be in the details.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Florida works out deal to preserve $1 billion for health care
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
The lone obstacle between the state and federal government in Medicaid 1115 waiver negotiations appears to have been settled as state officials announced on Tuesday that Florida will continue to receive $1 billion to fund health care for the poor, uninsured and underinsured.

Task force pushes some ALF reforms, delays others
By Carol Marbin Miller and Michael Sallah
Miami Herald
After years of miserable deaths in assisted-living facilities, a governor’s task force is pushing Florida’s elected leaders to give the state more powerful tools to fight the worst abusers, saying more drastic action is needed to protect frail residents.

Privatizing of Florida prisons’ health care hits snag
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times
As Florida faces legal obstacles in its plan to turn dozens of state prisons over to a private firm, a second privatization venture faces harsh criticism.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

State draws round of lawsuits over gambling permits
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
The Scott administration’s decision to issue a jai alai permit in Miami and a barrel racing permit in the tiny North Florida town of Gretna has unleashed a mad dash across the state for the rare pari-mutuel permits but, opponents said Tuesday, they will fight the decisions in court.