Daily Clips for December 15, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Florida election law changes draw scrutiny by U.S. Attorney General Holder
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times
Related editorial: Floridians’ voting rights at risk
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has injected himself into a partisan controversy over Florida's new election laws that include changes in early voting and registering of new voters.

Judge tosses Amendment 7 off Florida ballot
By Tia Mitchell
St. Petersburg Times
Florida Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis has thrown off the 2012 ballot an amendment that would have ended the state's Blaine amendment, which bars "state aid" to religious organizations.

Academica cultivates links to lawmakers
By Scott Hiaasen and Kathleen McGrory
Miami Herald
On April 15, the board of Doral Academy selected state Sen. Anitere Flores to run a new college proposed by the charter school network.

Florida draws C in national survey on job incentive dollars
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Even as Gov. Rick Scott’s administration acknowledges it needs to improve oversight of job-creation money, a national report Wednesday graded the state’s incentive programs as average in terms of tracking the dollars and creating jobs which bring decent wages.

The Newest Reality Show: Florida Intolerance
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Irony has the power to elevate even something as artistically vulgar and culturally insignificant as reality TV into relevance, maybe even importance.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida not so friendly to NTSB-suggested ban on texting, phoning while driving
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
A federal safety board Tuesday pushed for a nationwide ban on motorists using cell-phones and other hand-held devices while driving, saying the combination too frequently proves a fatal distraction behind the wheel.

Dockery Says She’d Back Ban On Drivers’ Texting, Emailing
By Chase Purdy
Lakeland Ledger
Florida proponents of restricting cellphone use while driving scored a key ally this week in the National Transportation Safety Board.

Rubio vote on ambassador perturbs Puerto Ricans
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's opposition to confirming a U.S. ambassador to El Salvador could do further damage to his hoped-for role as a Republican bridge to Hispanic voters.

Effort to curtail U.S.-Cuba flights gaining traction
By Ted Jackovics
Tampa Tribune
U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart's effort to repeal advances for Cuban-American travel is gaining momentum, threatening to jeopardize charter flights between Tampa International Airport and Cuba.

POLITICAL RACES

For Obama, religion remains an issue
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Bundled in winter coats and holding hands, President Barack Obama and his family left the White House last Sunday and strolled through a park to St. John's Episcopal Church.

Poll: Republicans shrug at Romney’s business past
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Mitt Romney says his business background makes him a better presidential candidate than Newt Gingrich, who has spent decades in Washington.

Fervent followers lift Ron Paul to Pasco straw poll win
By Laura Kinsler
Tampa Tribune
Texas Congressman Ron Paul may be polling in the single digits nationally, but his Florida supporters were passionate enough to travel for hours to propel their candidate to a win in Pasco County's first-ever Republican Party straw poll.

Right, left size up the 2012 opposition
By Matt Reed
Florida Today
Central Florida soon will erupt as one of the biggest battlegrounds in U.S. politics.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Early grants for BP oil spill damage awarded to Florida, other Gulf states
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Representatives of the five Gulf states and two federal agencies on Wednesday announced $57 million in grant awards for environmental restoration and to offset the loss of human uses of the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 oil spill.

Report: BP drive for profit over safety led to oil spill
By Louis Cooper
Pensacola News Journal
A culture that valued corporate profit over individual safety and the environment led to the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a federal report released Wednesday concluded.

Miami-Dade could join Broward, Palm Beach water deal
By Andy Reid
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Miami-Dade County could get in on a proposed water-sharing deal involving Broward and Palm Beach counties that calls for building another costly reservoir west of Royal Palm Beach.

EDUCATION

Scott enlists aid of public school chiefs to get his budget passed
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
After slashing education spending by $1.3 billion earlier this year, Gov. Rick Scott is now asking school superintendents to help get his $1 billion budget boost for public schools passed.

Gov. Rick Scott’s Budget Leaves Education Funding Below Pre-Recession Levels
By Pat Garofalo
Think Progress
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) last week unveiled what he’s dubbed his “education and jobs budget.”

Fla. gets high marks for afterschool programs
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A national progress report gives Florida's afterschool programs high marks.

Hazing investigation reveals possible fraud, misconduct at FAMU
Associated Press
Florida Times-Union
Authorities looking into the death of a Florida A&M University drum major opened a new investigation after they uncovered possible employee fraud and misconduct at the school, according to documents released Wednesday.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Rosalee Green, 90-Year Old Miami-Dade Resident, Facing Foreclosure
By Janie Campbell
Huffington Post Miami
A 90-year-old woman in Southwest Miami-Dade is facing foreclosure on the modest home she's lived in for about 57 years, reports WSVN.

Southwest Florida foreclosures down 17 percent
By Michael Braga
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Foreclosure filings tumbled in Southwest Florida last month, a sign of both the approaching holiday season and new-found efforts among banks to reach more profitable arrangements with borrowers.

Attorney General Bondi's 'money laundering claim draws scrutiny
By Nick Sortal
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who last week spoke of “many money laundering cases” involving the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, now says her information came from a conversation she had with a detective at a party.

Billboard industry keeps eye out for regulation of digital signs
Staff Report
Florida Current
As Florida motorists glance at the 217 14-by-48-foot digital billboards vying for attention along the state's highways, the industry is keeping an eye for state or federal regulations that could enter the dealmaking process that has been the venue of local governments, according to a Florida Trend report.

No way to conduct people’s business
Editorial
Miami Herald
In the usual frenzy before the holidays, lawmakers in Washington have once again packed a variety of questionable proposals — including one affecting travel to Cuba — into a huge bundle of legislation that includes must-pass bills, seeing this as the only way to pass measures that can’t stand on their own merits.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Medicaid waiver coming soon, with patient-protection rules
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
This week, federal health officials are expected to give Florida an early Christmas present: an extension on a five-county Medicaid Pilot that requires patients to be enrolled in managed care.

Florida bill seeks to rein in liposuctions
By Bob LaMendola
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The deaths of four South Florida mothers in their 30s during liposuction procedures helped spark legislation to make the beauty procedure safer, officials said Monday.

Citizens to start changes to reduce policy count
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
The Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Board of Governors voted Wednesday to begin implementing changes in their operations aimed at reducing their policies.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

House passes bill requiring some unemployment benefit recipients to be drug tested
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The U.S. House of Representatives passed an unemployment insurance bill yesterday that included a provision requiring beneficiaries to take drug tests before receiving public assistance.