FEATURED STORIES

Greer trial may hang over Republican National Convention
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Florida Republicans eager to put their best foot forward for the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa in August may have to put up with an ugly side story: the trial of former state party chairman Jim Greer, who is accused of organized fraud, theft and money laundering.

Gov. Scott likely to have more modest approach to 2012 state budget
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
A month after being sworn in, Republican Rick Scott unveiled his first budget proposal as Florida's governor, a lean - and, some said, mean - blueprint that included wholesale layoffs and deep spending cuts.

An early redistricting deal: House to follow Senate approach on maps
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
House Redistricting Chairman Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, has reached an accord with Senate counterpart Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, on redrawing political boundaries for the Legislature.

Senate President's Lies: Haridopolos Should Resign
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
It's amazing how candid some politicians can become if they know they're risking perjury when they answer tough questions falsely.

Political lessons from Herman Cain's campaign
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Herman Cain’s campaign is gone, but the political takeaways live on.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Jim Morin
Miami Herald

FLORIDA POLITICS

League of Women Voters takes on ‘myths about voter impersonation’
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Related: Congressional candidate: ‘Senate Map Fails Equal Protection Test for 3rd District’
The League of Women Voters, a group that this year halted its long history of registering voters in Florida, has released a breakdown of what the group calls “myths” about voter fraud that have circulated in state legislatures in the past year.

For some lawmakers, new districts may not include their homes
By Mark K. Matthews and Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Several Florida lawmakers could find themselves out of a home next year — at least politically — if the state Senate gets its way in drawing new congressional boundaries for the 2012 elections.

Senate Democrats hound Bondi on foreclosure fraud
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Senate Democrats published a video Thursday heavily criticizing Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of foreclosure fraud cases in the state.

Emails show billboard group wrote bill, told senator what to say about cutting trees
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
State Sen. Greg Evers has admitted in the past that a lobbying group representing the billboard industry helped craft legislation he filed last legislative session.

POLITICAL RACES

Credit (or blame) Florida for Herman Cain
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing Tampa
One might think that Herman Cain's "suspension" of his presidential campaign would be the last we'd hear of the former Godfather's Pizza CEO.

Surviving valleys brings Newt Gingrich to a new peak
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
All bluster and brains, he was the messiah, leading his people away from a decadeslong power drought.

Playbook for Barack Obama versus Mitt Romney can be found in 1994 Kennedy-Romney race
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Even as Republicans ride a roller-coaster primary to pick their 2012 presidential nominee, they're preparing for a relentlessly negative general election campaign.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

In Fla., Cautious Hope For Everglades Protection
By Greg Allen
NPR
At the annual dinner of the Everglades Foundation recently, there was a surprise guest: Florida Gov. Rick Scott.

The Sunshine State's Dirty Secret?
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
Calling Florida's growing toxic algae pollution of rivers and streams "nauseating," Earthjustice, along with the Florida Wildlife Federation and the Sierra Club, recently filed a legal challenge against the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Bahamas oil wells may imperil Florida
By William E. Gibson
Orlando Sentinel
Just as South Florida braces for oil drilling set to begin next month off the shores of Cuba, a Bahamian company is pressing to dig exploratory wells as early as next year less than 200 miles from the state's delicate coastline.

Keeping Florida Forever at work during tough times
By Margaret McPherson
Tampa Tribune
After publishing the fourth edition of the "Florida Forever Conservation Photography Calendar," we were relieved to hear the constructive discussion at November's Florida Cabinet meeting.

LGBT

Orlando set to OK couples' registry
By Mark Schlueb
Orlando Sentinel
Orlando is poised to establish an official registry where couples can record their relationships, a measure that will bypass legal roadblocks that often prevent gays from participating in a partner's medical, funeral and other decisions.

EDUCATION

Perfect storm?
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Related column: Gov. Rick Scott: We must improve education in Florida
In his Speaking Out published elsewhere on these pages today, Gov. Rick Scott writes as though some natural disaster — some “perfect storm” — is responsible for Florida's education funding shortfall. That's nonsense.

Education: Big reforms haven't yet produced big results
By Kathleen Haughney and Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
After two years of hammering away on a K-12 education agenda designed by conservative think tanks, legislators have checked off a number of goals: merit pay, heightened graduation standards and an expanded voucher program.

Which degrees lead to most jobs in Florida?
By Scott Travis
South Florida Sun Sentinel
If you want a job in Florida, you may want to be a science teacher rather than a scientist, a nurse rather than a nuclear engineer.

Florida college students in budget crosshairs
Editorial
Daytona Beach News-Journal
With a $2 billion budget shortfall looming over the next session of the Florida Legislature, lawmakers are floating a number of possible targets for cuts.

Legacy is on the line for FAMU band
By Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times
It is a tradition shaped over five decades by the architect of modern marching performance.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

'Extra' jobless benefits may expire Dec. 31
By Marcia Heroux Pounds and William Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Nearly 82,000 Orlando-area residents are waiting to see whether Congress will extend extra unemployment benefits into 2012.

Are voters souring on GOP tax-cut, 'job creation' strategy?
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Some of the nation's most high-profile first-year GOP governors sat on a stage in Orlando at the Republican Governors Association conference last week and had an interesting discussion about job-creation.

The GOP Sides With Millionaires (Again)
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Last night, every single Republican senator except Susan Collins (ME) voted to protect the top 0.2 percent of taxpayers — just 345,532 millionaires– from paying a small surtax on their income over $ 1 MILLION in order to extend and expand the payroll tax cut for 160 MILLION working Americans.

Don't throw good money after bad
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Secret deals for jobs corrode public trust
Smart investors don't throw good money after bad.

Fla. economists struggle to predict casino impact
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
Florida state economists are struggling to figure how much money three new casinos could mean for the Sunshine State.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

State anticipates Medicaid waiver approval in January
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
January is the new target date for final approval of the state's Medicaid 1115 extension.

As pill mills are shut down in Florida, customers turn to Web
By Pat Beall
Palm Beach Post
Before Wellington pill-mill mogul Jeff George opened a chain of pain clinics, he sold steroids online.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

State legislators announce bipartisan effort to combat homelessness in Florida
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
State legislators have launched a bipartisan effort to combat Florida’s homelessness crisis, which garnered national attention this past weekend.

Florida farmers warn of impending crisis if undocumented workers taken away
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Florida farmers, worried that lawmakers could strip them of their largely undocumented workforce, are warning of an impending crisis in their fields.

Wasserman Schultz reiterates support for South Florida immigration detention center
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Pembroke Pines, said today that a proposed publicly funded, privately managed immigration detention center to be built in South Florida would have the least negative impact on residents and create short-term and long-term jobs.

Immigration amnesty issue slows Sen. Marco Rubio's push for sex-trafficking legislation
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is pushing for a tough anti-sex-trafficking law, but it's partly being held up due to concerns about abetting illegal immigration.

Feds Issue Condemning Report on Shuttered State Youth Facility
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday released its long-anticipated report on the North Florida Youth Detention Center, a facility for boys and young men ages 13 to 21 that was closed during the summer because of repeated problems.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Tampa firm wants foreclosure notices moved to the Web
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
In the midst of Florida's housing crisis, some state lawmakers want to move legal notices of foreclosures from newspapers to the Internet, sparking a debate over access to information and charges of favoritism.