Daily Clips for December 1, 2011

Former Gov. Graham laments loss of environmental progress in Florida
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Surrounded by environmental officials who served under previous governors, former Gov. Bob Graham forcefully urged Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday to reverse the environmental damage done by lawmakers in the last legislative session and “now lead.”

Facing heated criticism, Rubio explains stance on Defense Authorization Act
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Sen. Marco Rubio was forced Wednesday to defend of his support of controversial provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Payroll tax break for 9 million Floridians at stake
By William Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The White House, as part of its campaign to pressure Congress, predicted on Wednesday that 9.1 million Floridians would save $9.3 billion if the House and Senate approve President Obama’s proposed 3.1 percentage point cut in the payroll tax.

Lawmakers propose tougher unemployment compensation rules
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
After lawmakers added new job search and skills test requirements to receive unemployment compensation benefits and cut the maximum weeks of state benefits, more changes could be on the way.

State GOP economic record abysmal
By Nan Rich
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Earlier this year, as Florida's number of unemployed continued to soar above the national average and Tallahassee Republicans maintained a deaf ear to their plight, one GOP lawmaker rose above the conservative rhetoric, castigating her party members for deference to dogma over responsibility.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Rick Scott to release his budget next week
By News Service of Florida
Florida Times-Union
Gov. Rick Scott will release his 2012-13 budget recommendations Dec. 7, as lawmakers get ready to grapple with a shortfall of up to $2 billion --- and state programs brace for another round of spending cuts.

State Senate Maps Path Toward Court Action
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
After months of silently hearing testimony from constituents who spoke without benefit of having seen a single proposed map, the state Senate finally rolled out on Monday its version of what Florida’s political boundaries should look like.

Haridopolos has lots of priorities — but can you guess which one is missing?
By Eve Samples
TC Palm
When the most powerful man in the state Senate visited our offices this week, he left us with a tidy list of goals for the legislative session that begins in January.

POLITICAL RACES

Redistricting proposal by Florida’s GOP-run Senate doesn’t look good for U.S. Rep. West
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
U.S. Rep. Allen West, a political lightning rod since his election last fall, was catching some static Wednesday as Democrats predicted his political days may be numbered under his own Republican Party's plan for redrawing congressional boundaries.

PPP: Mack way ahead in GOP Senate primary
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
In the Florida Senate primary Connie Mack IV is stronger now than he was before he decided not to run before he decided to run.

Sink sees Florida slog for Obama
By Alexander Burns
Politico
Former Florida gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink says it will be "hard" for President Barack Obama to win the Sunshine State in 2012, though she predicts Obama will ultimately be reelected.

Herman Cain’s presidential campaign: A legacy of ineptitude
By Jonathan Martin
Politico
Herman Cain is in the midst of "reassessing" whether to continue his 2012 run, but its legacy is already settled: His campaign will go down as one of the most hapless and bumbling operations in modern presidential politics, setting a new standard for how to turn damaging press coverage into something far worse.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Florida’s got biggest share of unwanted reptiles, amphibians
By Jim Waymer
Florida Today
Meet the African clawed frog, the red-footed tortoise and the false map turtle, new alien arrivals to the Space Coast with unknown appetites for ecological destruction.

Invasive fish resurface off Florida coast
By Jim Waymer
Florida Today
The lionfish now has some familiar company invading Florida.

Fisheries bill introduced in Senate
Staff Report
TC Palm
With a Dec. 31 deadline looming, support is mounting for legislation to ensure that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service uses sound science to set catch limits for the nation’s fisheries.

LGBT

Class makes film about LGBT witch-hunt group
By Alexandra Schulze
Central Florida Future
Imagine yourself in a society where even just associating with the "wrong" crowd could lead to serious consequences.

EDUCATION

Put lawmakers record on education to test
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
When the people of Florida adopted a constitutional amendment in 1998 directing lawmakers to make "high quality" free public education a "paramount duty" of the state, the expectation was that legislators would raise educational excellence and funding to a top priority.

Florida Districts Get Mixed Results in School Choice Index
By Gina Jordan
StateImpact
The Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings has released its inaugural Education Choice and Competition Index.

Gov. Scott's responsibility for tuition increases and pushing the envelope of communications
By Michael C. Bender
Miami Herald
Gov. Rick Scott's office is attempting to distance itself from the higher-ed protests around the state, particularly the fingers pointing blame at him for this year's tuition increase.

Five schools, including UCF, may vie for new STEM teacher prep program
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
Colleges and universities interested in taking part in “UTeach,” a program that aims to better train math and science teachers, can apply for some of Florida’s Race to the Top winnings to get them started.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Rick Scott to release his budget next week
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Gov. Rick Scott will release his 2012-13 budget recommendations Dec. 7, as lawmakers get ready to grapple with a shortfall of up to $2 billion --- and state programs brace for another round of spending cuts.

Will the GOP Really Block Extended Unemployment Benefits?
The Progress Report
Think Progress
This week, we’ve been talking about the extension of the payroll tax cut that the GOP is likely to block tomorrow — which would have disastrous economic consequences and raise taxes on 160 MILLION Americans.

GOP: Offsetting cuts must cover payroll tax relief
By Alan Fram
Associated Press
Republican congressional leaders stressed a willingness Wednesday to extend a Social Security payroll tax cut due to expire Dec. 31, setting up a year-end clash with Democrats over how to pay for a provision at the heart of President Barack Obama's jobs program.

Citizens insurance prepares to drop or reduce coverage, raise premiums
By Julie Patel
South Florida Sun Sentinel
A Citizens Property Insurance panel approved 30 recommendations Wednesday to help the state-backed insurer downsize and lower its financial risk to Floridians.

Our take on: Hands off housing
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Almost 20 years ago, Florida legislators increased a tax on real-estate transactions to create a trust fund that would finance state and local affordable-housing initiatives.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Group warns ‘challenges will compound’ if Florida continues to stall health care reform
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy (FCFEP) released a report this month warning state officials that delaying implementation of federally mandated health policy changes in the state could “compound” the challenges they might already face.

Report: Fla. ranks 13^th in anti-smoking spending
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida ranks 13th nationally in anti-smoking funding, although the state uses just 3.7 percent of its tobacco settlement for that purpose.

Hospital commission moves ahead despite governor’s skepticism
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
A blue-ribbon panel examining the role of government hospitals in the state's health care delivery system will continue its work including completing a final report despite Gov. Rick Scott's assertions that he doesn't expect the Legislature to tackle the issue this upcoming session.

Good news: Florida is aging much more slowly
By Jeff Harrington
St. Petersburg Times
Maybe it's time for Florida to shed the "God's waiting room" image and revive its slogan as the Fountain of Youth.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

DCF, Labor Department Continue Talks About Unpaid Overtime Violations
By Matthew Pleasant
Lakeland Ledger
The Florida Department of Children and Families continues to draft an agreement with federal officials that's designed to keep the state from violating federal labor laws.

Labor officials keeping eye on Fla. growers
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Associated Press
Federal labor officials have a warning for growers in central Florida: pay farmworkers fair wages.