Daily Clips for December 12, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Florida GOP may gut programs, call it reform, foes say
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
It may be the most overused buzzword in the halls of the Florida Capitol: reform.

Scott’s proposed hospital cuts revive questions about his past
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott, who helped create the nation’s largest private health care provider, may find his past experience a double-edged sword in the upcoming state budget debate.

Florida charter schools: big money, little oversight
By Scott Hiaasen and Kathleen McGrory
Miami Herald
Preparing for her daughter’s graduation in the spring, Tuli Chediak received a blunt message from her daughter’s charter high school: Pay us $600 or your daughter won’t graduate.

Scott's epiphany
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Gov. Rick Scott has had an epiphany: Education is important to Florida's future.

The GOP's Crackpot Agenda
By Tim Dickinson
Rolling Stone
By all rights, 2012 ought to be a cakewalk for the GOP.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Jeff Parker
Florida Today
Artist's commentary: How low can you go?

FLORIDA POLITICS

Occupy movement crafts its message for Florida
By Mary Shanklin
Orlando Sentinel
It was the political-science students' day to shine Sunday at the finale of the weekend-long Occupy Wall Street event at Orlando City Hall.

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll looking for a bigger role next year
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The sparse crowd assembled on a Navy warship to honor three Pearl Harbor survivors awaits the arrival of Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll.

Turning the Legislature into a panic room
By Daniel Ruth
St. Petersburg Times
When the Legislature allowed folks armed to the teeth to roam about government buildings, its supporters acted as if the O.K. Corral Act of 2011 was as benign as permitting the free and open display of boutonnieres.

This session, social issues are low on Florida lawmakers' list
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Anti-immigration rhetoric flared up on Florida's 2010 campaign trail and became a winning wedge issue for Gov. Rick Scott, who used it to woo the tea party and help win election.

Argenziano sues state over election law
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Nancy Argenziano, a lifelong Republican and former state lawmaker who also served as chairwoman of the Public Service Commission, has sued the state over a sweeping election law now being challenged in court for different reasons.

New voting districts propose fewer representatives in Legislature, Congress
By Derek Catron
Daytona Beach News-Journal
When state lawmakers came to Daytona Beach in July to solicit voter views on the once-a-decade process of redrawing political boundaries, the message they heard repeated time and again was this: Create compact districts that give us a greater say over our representation.

Office of Congressional Ethics continues investigation into Buchanan
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
According to a source, the House Office of Congressional Ethics is continuing to investigate Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota.

A politician's lies
Editorial
Ocala Star-Banner
It's amazing how some politicians feel free to say whatever is convenient for them when they're talking to reporters or to the general public but make a 180-degree turn if they're first required to swear to tell the truth.

POLITICAL RACES

Despite Gingrich's surge, Romney's still favored among Florida political pros
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Related: How Gingrich got back into the GOP race
Newt Gingrich may be riding a wave of momentum three weeks before voting starts in Florida, but among the state's political pros, Mitt Romney remains the heavy favorite to win the Jan. 31 primary, according to our latest Florida Insider Poll.

When will GOP swing back for visits to sway voters along I-4?
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida lately is looking like the Rick Perry of presidential battlegrounds: very popular in August and September, fading in October and vanishing in November and December.

Specter of protests outside Tampa's Republican National Convention stirs concern
By Richard Danielson
St. Petersburg Times
For an idea of how rowdy the protests at next year's Republican National Convention could get, consider this: A pro-Israel advocacy group from Miami Beach is asking Tampa police to establish not one "free speech" zone for protesters, but two — one for its members, the other for its enemies.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Florida land-buying program on shaky ground
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida’s environmental land-buying program, once a national leader in conservation efforts, is at a crossroads, with a prolonged budget crunch and lukewarm support from the governor threatening the program with extinction.

Gulf oil spill: Still lots of work to do before BP's legacy becomes clear
By Robert Trigaux
St. Petersburg Times
Soon after the hideous April 2010 gulf oil spill, Geir Robinson donned the title at BP of "vice president of economic recovery."

BP fines should aid coasts, not congressional spending
By Matt Reed
Florida Today
The ocean and our livelihoods need your help.

Florida’s environmental treasures
Editorial
Miami Herald
Will the Everglades ever be restored to its natural splendor?

LGBT

Vote shows Orlando is growing more gay-friendly
By Mark Schlueb
Orlando Sentinel
The relatively easy passage of a new domestic-partnership registry in Orlando is the latest sign the city has grown more accepting, members of the gay community say.

EDUCATION

Scott Budget Does Schools No Favor
By Glenn Marston
Lakeland Ledger
Don't be fooled into thinking that the state budget Gov. Rick Scott proposed Wednesday will solve public school problems because he increased their budget by $1 billion.

Is Bright Futures going away?
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
In a recent presentation to trustees, University of Florida President Bernie Machen dropped a bombshell about the Bright Futures scholarship program.

Changing Florida schools' Winter Break to Christmas Break not a Wise move
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
It’s not all that surprising that the chairman of an education committee in the Florida Senate has filed a bill to make sure that the state’s public schools go on Christmas Break rather than Winter Break.

FAMU band hazing: A long culture of violence
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Robert Champion should be stepping with his cherished "Marching 100" band at Florida A&M University's fall commencement on Friday.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Scott trip to Israel may be about politics as much as jobs
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
In a trip that may be as much about politics as it is about jobs, Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday headed to Israel for a weeklong trade mission.

Florida emergency workers among those in line for lucrative pensions
By Thomas Frank
USA Today
State emergency workers in Florida and elsewhere throughout the country have long been eligible for special retirement benefits because of the inherent danger in their jobs.

Jobs-agency leaders question past spending priorities
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
As Central Florida unemployment climbed into double digits, the region's publicly funded jobs board gave $125,000 to the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce to sponsor two chamber-run business conventions during the past two years.

Homeowner insurance rate hikes continue despite lack of hurricanes
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post
For another year, no hurricane ravaged Bonnie Pearce or her neighbors.

Special interests collide in battle to overhaul Florida's no-fault auto insurance
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
We couldn't set the holiday table for an early Florida legislative session without a heaping helping of interest-group squabbling.

Legislators not on same payroll-tax page
By Ledyard King
Florida Today
Like the rest of Congress, Florida lawmakers are deeply divided on the best way to extend a payroll tax cut that expires at the end of this year.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

New Medicaid plan could undo Florida's gains, study says
By Marni Jameson
Orlando Sentinel
Proposed changes to the state's Medicaid plan, including one that would charge Florida's beneficiaries $10 a month per family member for coverage, could lead to 800,000 parents and children leaving the program, according to a report released Dec. 7 from the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University.

Report: Affordable Care Act Saves Florida Seniors Millions
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
When it comes to seniors and prescription medication, the Affordable Care Act is living up to its name, according to new data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Audits chill FL doctors
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
The Medicare contractor for Florida has announced that as of Jan. 1, it will hold up all hospital payments for joint replacements, pacemakers and a dozen other common procedures until audits show they were necessary.

Prison health care outsourcing stalled by bid protests
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
The Department of Corrections last week suspended its effort to outsource health care services for Florida prisons after receiving bid protests from three potential vendors.

Does your doctor get 'payola for prescriptions'?
Editorial
Florida Times-Union
When doctors prescribe a name-brand drug, would you like to know if they received thousands of dollars from the drug company for consulting or giving speeches?

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

New voting restrictions recall days of Jim Crow
By Bruce A. Smathers
Florida Times-Union
A critical tenet of our American democracy is every citizen’s right to vote.

Why some lawmakers are in panic
By Carl Hiaasen
Miami Herald
This is an open letter from concerned members of the Florida House of Representatives to the Sergeant of Arms: We couldn’t help but notice that our colleagues in the Senate were provided with enhanced security measures as a result of our controversial – but patriotic! – decision to allow licensed owners of concealed weapons to carry their loaded guns through the corridors of the Capitol.

Sponsor defends school prayer bill against charges that it’s ‘patently unconstitutional’
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A school prayer bill introduced by state Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, has caught the attention of national groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.