Daily Clips for January 31, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Florida's GOP campaign ends in frenzy
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The polls opened across South Florida at 7 a.m. and now it's up to the voters.

Florida's voting fairness problem
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
As Republican primary voters go to the polls today, there is a cloud over the state's voting process.

Educators criticize latest Florida school rankings
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
Florida's more than 3,000 public schools have been ranked from best to worst in a new database released this morning by the state.

Campaign finance watchdog highlights money behind Florida prison privatization move
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The National Institute on Money in State Politics released a report yesterday that highlights the money behind the state’s renewed plans to privatize state prisons.

The great Florida public land giveaway
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
What better way to sneak through a bill than to give it a title like "Ordinary High-Water Mark for Navigable, Nontidal Waterbodies."

FLORIDA POLITICS

Expert warns that elections law already affecting voter registration numbers
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Daniel Smith, an elections expert and professor at the University of Florida, warned during a U.S. Senate hearing last Friday that the state is witnessing a decrease in voter registration numbers due to a new law passed by the state’s GOP-led Legislature.

Senate panel kills change to Florida election law
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A Senate committee failed to pass a change to state elections law that would have prohibited electronic terminals that some voting officials use to swipe driver's licenses to verify voter eligibility.

Breaking recent trend, Rick Scott registers to vote in Tallahassee
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
When Gov. Rick Scott casts his ballot in Tuesday's Republican presidential preference primary, he'll do it in Tallahassee for the first time — and he'll be the first governor to do that in the capital city in years.

No plot against Allen West
By Tim Mak
Politico
The politician at the center of a blog-generated conspiracy theory that alleges Mitt Romney’s involvement in a redistricting scheme that marginalizes Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) told POLITICO he is “a huge Allen West fan” and insists there is no intention to harm the tea party favorite.

Senators scale back on local term limits
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
A Senate panel pared back part of a measure that would have proved contentious when applying term limits to local officials.

POLITICAL RACES

Mitt Romney pads advantage in Florida with aggressive early voting effort
By Alex Leary and Patty Ryan
Tampa Bay Times
Related: It's Florida primary day: Polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Related: Five counties key to Florida's presidential primary results
"With a turnout like this, I'm beginning to feel we might win tomorrow, what do you think?"

Expert: This GOP primary 'like ultimate fighting'; Will it leave general election wounds?
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Related: On eve of primary, it's Freddie Mac attack vs. Reagan's right jab
Related: Scott votes. For whom? Won’t say
The Florida primary battle between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich has been bloody.

Romney Confronted Over Extreme Anti-Immigrant Position
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Undocumented immigrant students who would benefit from the DREAM Act, which Mitt Romney has repeatedly promised to veto, have repeatedly confronted Romney in recent weeks.

Latino group in Hillsborough sues, saying GOP primary schedule hurts Hispanic Republicans
By Richard Danielson
Tampa Bay Times
A Hillsborough County Latino group Monday sued Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, contending that the GOP’s primary schedule unconstitutionally dilutes the electoral clout of Hispanic Republican voters.

Miller pulls out of Senate race to run for Congress
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
Craig Miller has pulled out of the U.S. Senate race in Florida and announced he will run instead for Congress in the district newly drawn to center on Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Putnam counties – a race that could pit him against veteran Republican U.S. Rep. John Mica.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Study: Everglades pythons wiping out other animals
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
According to a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ever-proliferating pythons in the Florida Everglades appear to be wiping out large numbers of small mammals.

Homeowners and businesses who invest in renewable energy could get a tax break under plan
Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
A Senate committee revived the stalled debate over renewable energy in Florida on Monday and moved forward with a bill to give $16 million a year in tax incentives to businesses and homeowners, beginning next year.

Southerland announces he'll file bill to delay federal pollution limits
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland said Monday he will file legislation in Congress prohibiting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from implementing federal water quality rules until it reviews Florida's proposed rules.

EDUCATION

Florida issues ranking for every school in the state
By Ron Matus and Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
First school districts. Now individual schools.

Union to sponsor panel on the dangers of for-profit colleges
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
The Service Employees International Union will be sponsoring a panel discussion and nationwide webcast on “the dangers of for-profit colleges” this Thursday.

Bright Futures scholarships may get tougher to keep
By Scott Travis
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Recipients of Florida's Bright Futures scholarships may be in for a much dimmer future if their grades slip in college.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Economy weighs heavily on Florida working class
By Tamara Lush
Associated Press
Clarito Macalalad knows what it's like to support a family of four on a $12.08-an-hour wage.

Workers' comp exempt from excess profits law
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
Workers' compensation carriers would no longer be required to return “excess profits” to policyholders under a bill approved by the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee Monday afternoon.

A year later, state pension chief finally fills watchdog job
By Katie Sanders
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Facing pressure to fill a vacant watchdog position, state pension chief Ash Williams announced the hiring of a new inspector general Monday.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

House bill would revamp medical malpractice litigation process
By Marcello Iaia
Florida Independent
A Florida House judiciary committee passed a bill Friday to grant greater protections for health care providers in medical malpractice cases.

Sugar police lack any grain of integrity
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
It's fascinating to see Florida's lawmakers take a stand against sugar.

When records go digital, it's win-win for patients, doctors
By Anne Geggis
Ocala Star-Banner
A number of taps on his iPad and Dr. Donald Novak can get up-to-the-minute views of every test, imaging study and prescription his patient has encountered — at least at Shands HealthCare.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Prison privatization plan goes to Senate floor
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Senators are expected to start debating a version of a South Florida prison privatization plan.

Barbs Fly in FL Private Prison Conflict
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
Florida correctional officers say a proposal to privatize some prisons amounts to the government picking winners and losers.

Daily Clips for January 30, 2012

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

U.S. Senate field hearing in Tampa exposes flaws in Florida's new voting law
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Tampa Bay
Excerpt: One provision in the law reduces the amount of time organizations and other outside parties have to assist people with voter registration…Mark Ferrulo, executive director of Progress Florida said the hefty fines levied for breaking that law have caused some groups to stop voter drives.

Progress Florida collects 11,289 signatures condemning ‘voter suppression’ bill
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The day before a U.S. Senate judiciary committee will hold a public hearing on Florida’s controversial new elections law in Tampa, a progressive group announced that it had collected 11,289 signatures for a petition denouncing what the group calls the “Voter Suppression Act of 2011.”

FEATURED STORIES

At Tampa hearing, hundreds protest Florida election law changes
By Andrew Abramson
Palm Beach Post
Democratic U.S. Senators Bill Nelson of Florida and Dick Durbin of Illinois left Tampa Friday more convinced than ever that a bill passed by the Republican-dominated Florida legislature last year to counter potential voter fraud was but a "voter suppression act," meant to hurt blacks, Hispanics and young voters at the polls.

House counters critics, passes redistricting maps
By Mary Ellen Klas and David DeCamp
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
A House committee gave the final tweaks to the state’s redistricting maps Friday and set them up for a final vote this week despite strong criticism from the Fair Districts coalition, which helped bring the new standards into law.

Conservative Florida lawmakers consider abortion waiting period, other restrictions
By Katie Sanders
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Conservative Florida lawmakers who last year passed a landmark bill that requires women seeking an abortion to first have an ultrasound performed are pushing to go further in 2012.

Florida's calendar crashing pays off
By Alexander Burns and Emily Schultheis
Politico
Most of the ballots are still uncast in Florida’s presidential primary, but already Republicans here are declaring: mission accomplished.

A Governor Still Trying to Become a Politician
By Lizette Alvarez
As the Republican presidential candidates darted from city to city in Florida last week stitching up votes for Tuesday’s primary, Gov. Rick Scott stayed largely ensconced in the State Capitol, far from the fray, filling his days with business meetings, receptions and talk of his legislative agenda.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Scott still unpopular, but approval inches up in new Times/Herald/Bay News 9 poll
By Aaron Sharockman
Tampa Bay Times
While Gov. Rick Scott remains generally unpopular, his months-long charm offensive and singular focus on jobs creation may be slowly winning Floridians over, according to a new Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald/Bay News 9 poll.

Rush to Privatization a Danger to Fla.
By Paula Dockery
Lakeland Ledger
In their quest to privatize state prisons, leaders of the Florida Senate, knowing they lacked the support of their members, last year pulled a sneaky move.

POLITICAL RACES

Mitt Romney holds solid lead in Florida, Times/Herald/Bay News 9 poll shows
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Republicans increasingly worry volatile primary will hurt them in general election
Related: Newt Gingrich sets up battle between conservative activists, Republican establishment
Mitt Romney needed Florida to resuscitate his campaign after a South Carolina routing, and on Tuesday, Florida is poised to deliver big.

In Miami, Gingrich and Romney court Hispanic vote
By Patricia Mazzei and Scott Hiaasen
Miami Herald
After bashing each other in the final debate before the crucial Florida primary, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich traveled south to Miami on Friday to woo Hispanic power brokers.

Undecided voters may hold key in Tuesday's primary
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
They're committed Republicans — just not committed yet to any of their party's presidential hopefuls. And with less than 48 hours remaining until Florida's polls open on Tuesday, these voters — let's call them "swing Republicans" — could hold the outcome in their hands.

Poll: Sen. Nelson holds slim lead in Senate race
By Erika Bolstad
Miami Herald
Sen. Bill Nelson faces a tough re-election campaign in a year when Florida voters are dissatisfied with the economy, Congress and President Barack Obama, according to a new Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald/Times/Bay News 9 poll.

Freddie Mac attack boomerangs on Connie Mack
By Marc Caputo and Scott Hiaasen
Miami Herald
Rep. Connie Mack hit the campaign trail this week to bash Gingrich for saying little about his profitable ties to mortgage giant Freddie Mac – a potent issue in foreclosure-racked Florida.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Stop Legislature's land grab
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
It would be foolish to deny the public access to hundreds of thousands of acres of waterfront property in a misguided attempt to clarify where state waterways end and private property begins.

Conservation land-buying cut out of House's proposed budget
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The $69.1-billion proposed 2012-13 budget released by the House of Representatives on Friday includes no money for conservation land-buying and it cuts the governor's request for Everglades restoration.

Oil drilling set to begin off Cuba
By William E. Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
A giant oil rig floating off the north shores of Cuba is expected to begin drilling an exploratory well as early as this weekend about 56 miles south of Key West.

Environmentalists speak out against Obama’s plan for offshore drilling
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced yesterday morning that it will begin selling leases to allow offshore oil drilling in 38 million acres in the central Gulf of Mexico.

LGBT

Called 'self loathing,' Log Cabin Republicans struggle for respect in the LGBT community
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
Miami-Dade political activist Miriam “Mimi” Planas says it’s easier to tell her Republican friends she’s gay than to tell gay friends she’s a Republican.

EDUCATION

Lawmaker Proposes Grading Florida’s Parents
By John O'Connor
StateImpact
Florida law requires grades for students, teachers, schools and districts. So why not parents as well?

Florida Prepaid deadline is Tuesday
By Scott Travis
South Florida Sun Sentinel
If you want to prepay for college, you have only until Tuesday to lock in this year’s prices.

Behind the FCAT numbers, a need to improve
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Rising FCAT scores show a larger portion of Florida public school students have mastered reading and math at grade level than just a decade ago.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

House budget spreads cuts across agencies
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
The Florida House of Representatives on Friday released a $69.2 billion budget that frees up money for schools and avoids the deep cuts to hospitals proposed by Gov. Rick Scott.

Florida jobs chief quits own job
By Toluse Olorrunipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Doug Darling, executive director of the state’s main agency for job creation, resigned abruptly from his own job this week, six months after Gov. Rick Scott appointed him.

Advocacy groups say Bondi going too soft on big banks
By Tia Mitchell
Miami Herald
A coalition of clergy and community leaders plans to pay Attorney General Pam Bondi an unfriendly visit on Monday.

Maybe Florida’s governor needs glasses
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
Normally the grand opening of an eyeglass store at a suburban mall on Kendall Drive would not be so very grand.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Republicans plan alternate health care law
By Laura Green
Palm Beach Post
Less than two months before the Supreme Court begins hearing arguments in the landmark health care overhaul case, Republicans are formulating a new law to replace the Affordable Care Act.

Caring about life shouldn't end at birth
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
I don't spend much time writing about abortion for two reasons.

Nursing homes affected by salary bill
Staff Report
Health News Florida
The Florida Health Care Association says non-profit nursing homes may be unintentionally hurt by a bill intended to cap salaries in child-protection agencies that receive funding from the state.

Will FMA defeat its former chief?
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
When doctors are arrested or indicted for “pill-mill” violations, the public expects the state health agency to restrict their licenses.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Escaping Jim Crow in Florida
By Desmond Meade
Huffington Post
As I landed in South Carolina last night, I couldn't help but to think that I am in a state where I will be able to practice law.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Costs of running private prisons hard to quantify
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Florida's Republican-dominated Legislature is fast-tracking the most sweeping prison privatization plan in the country. Lawmakers had to respond after a circuit judge last summer dared to declare their last attempt had unconstitutionally used the state's budget as a vehicle for implementing policy.

Fla. prison closings are legacy of wrong guess
By James L. Rosica
Associated Press
When Florida's prison system announced it was closing 11 facilities, it flew in the face of conventional wisdom that the state's prison population was high and rising.

Daily Clips for January 27, 2012

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

FSU students challenge school’s Koch agreement
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Excerpt: The FSU Student Senate is now introducing a resolution against the Kochs’ “undue influence on academics as established by the current agreement between the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and the FSU Economics department.”…The campaign against the FSU-Koch agreement is organized in part by Progress Florida and Florida Watch Action.

FEATURED STORIES

Legislators don't want to talk about election-law changes
By Mark K. Matthews and Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Four Florida lawmakers don't want to talk about their role last year in changing the state's election law and are fighting a legal effort to make them do so, according to newly revealed court documents.

New report documents the scourge of wage theft in Florida
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
A study released Thursday shows that wage theft — employers stiffing workers out of money they are owed — remains a widespread problem that affects millions of Floridians, while this week the GOP-sponsored bill that would ban local anti-wage theft ordinances moved forward in a state Senate committee.

Florida's Missing Governor
By Alex Roarty
National Journal
Florida's Republican governor has been almost invisible this week even as the GOP presidential race consumes his state, shunning the spotlight at a time he could wield influence and raise his own profile.

In final Florida debate, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney brawl, Romney lands punches
By Alex Leary and Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Newt Gingrich renews his fight in Florida
Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney took their brawl to a debate stage here Thursday night, clashing over illegal immigration, whether they profited off the housing crisis — even whether putting a colony on the moon is a valid idea.

Locking out the public
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Since last year, the move to privatize South Florida's state prisons has been rife with furtive attempts to push through the overhaul with as little debate, scrutiny or analysis as possible.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Reduced and Uneven Hours for Early Voting in Florida’s Presidential Preference Primary
By Dr. Daniel A. Smith
Election Smith
As I’ve written before, under Florida law the state must provide uniform standards for the proper and equitable implementation of voting laws.

HB1103 / SB1362 – Public Ripoff...In Perpetuity
By Sandspur
SWFWMD Matters
Ever heard of the phrase “Ordinary High Water Line?”

Four health care stories to watch for in 2012
By Darden Rice
Saint Petersblog 2.0
What will the big stories be for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2012?

Are the Koch brothers teaching you? [VIDEO]
By Robert Greenwald
Daily Kos
What's happening to academia in Florida demands national attention.

Rick Scott Shifts Medicaid Funding To His Former Company: HCA
By Inkberries
Beach Peanuts
In an effort to bolster his image, Florida Gov. Rick Scott this year is holding himself out as a sort of "champion" for education and said in his State Of The State address how important it was to put more funding into education, funding which he slashed from last year's budget.

FLORIDA POLITICS

U.S. Senate panel holds Tampa hearing on Florida election law
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Two Democratic U.S. senators will hold a hearing in Tampa Friday to focus on what they say are problems with Florida election laws, and the timing and location are no coincidence.

Democrats Plan Rally Against Voter Suppression Laws
By Robert Lorei
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Tomorrow the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings in Tampa to review Florida's new voting laws. the laws which shortened early voting and put strict requirements on third-party voter registration groups have been called by some an effort to reduce voting by non-Republicans.

House panel voting on Fla. redistricting plans
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A Florida House committee is taking final action on redistricting plans for legislative and congressional seats.

Florida Senate advances ban on texting while driving, but it could hit dead end in House
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
A push to ban texting-while-driving cleared a Senate budget panel Thursday, but it's looking likely headed toward a dead end in the Florida House.

Senate panel approves gambling at tracks without dogs
News Service of Florida
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A divided Senate panel on Thursday narrowly approved a bill to let greyhound tracks keep their licenses without having to offer live racing, opening the door for them to become card rooms or other types of gambling venues.

Senator: Legislature ‘rushing’ bill so ‘two major private prison companies can add to their profits’
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, says that Florida legislators are “rushing” their prison privatization plans so that “private prison companies can add to their profits.”

POLITICAL RACES

Super PACs reshaping 2012 presidential campaign
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Florida insiders divided on who will win Florida presidential primary
By now, you've probably seen the political ad several times. "Think you know Mitt?" a narrator asks. "Think again."

Latest Quinnipiac poll detects bounce for Obama in Florida
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
President Barack Obama's popularity among Florida voters appears on the upswing as Republican candidates fight it out in hopes of a primary victory Tuesday that would propel them closer to their party's nomination.

Newt Attacks Romney for Profiting Off Florida Foreclosures
The Progress Report
Think Progress
This morning, Newt launched a new broadside against Mitt Romney, attacking him for personally profiting, via a Goldman Sachs investment, off mortgage lenders responsible for thousands of foreclosures in Florida.

Candidates unloved in Southwest Florida town hit by foreclosures
By Tamara Lush
Associated Press
At Our Daily Bread Food Pantry, the conversation often centers on real estate.

Fighting uphill battle, Santorum set to move on from Florida before the primary
By Andrew Abramson
Palm Beach Post
>From a small gym in Okeechobee to a mega-church in Naples, Rick Santorum has spent the last five days stumping across Florida with the same message to undecided GOP voters: Don't believe the pundits, it's a tied race between himself, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Restoring Everglades should help cleanup Treasure Coast rivers
By Cynthia Washam
TC Palm
While local environmentalists are calling for cleaner St. Lucie and Indian rivers, officials restoring the Everglades are working to reduce the source of the rivers' pollution.

Volusia development decision exposes growth law changes, opponents say
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
An administrative law judge's decision this week backing a proposed Volusia County development shows the reach of growth management law changes approved by the Legislature in 2011, those involved on both sides of the case said.

Florida parks log record turnout in December
By Jim Waymer
Florida Today
A record-breaking 1,494,874 people turned up at Florida’s 160 state parks in December, an increase of 439,937 visitors from December 2010, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

LGBT

Gay rights groups: ‘positive’ meeting with Mayor Jacobs on DPR
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs met with gay rights groups this morning about adopting a domestic partner registry and the activists emerged saying “positive progress” was made, and the two sides plan to meet again soon.

EDUCATION

Fla. university students oppose tuition increase
Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
State university students rallied in front of the old Florida Capitol on Thursday to say it's time to stop annual tuition increases.

US education chief to visit Pembroke Pines school today
Associated Press
South Florida Sun Sentinel
U.S. Education Commissioner Arne Duncan is visiting Florida this week to talk about job creation and making college more affordable.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Senate panel warms to Gov. Scott's tax plans
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Members of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Finance and Tax were enthused Thursday to hear Gov. Rick Scott’s plans to cut taxes on businesses.

Senate Panel OK's Work Force Bill
Staff Report
Lakland Ledger
A bill giving Gov. Rick Scott and future governors more control over regional work force boards passed its first Senate stop on Thursday in response to a series of embarrassing incidents regarding mismanagement at the local jobs boards.

Florida Gov. Scott to visit fast-growing optical retailer
By Bob LaMendola
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott on Friday will visit a new South Florida location of optical retailer America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses, which plans to open 20 stores and hire for 200 new jobs in Florida this year.

Stand up for state retailers, not Amazon
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
If Florida were a state that put a priority on leveling the playing field for its businesses, Amazon.com's proposal to continue to avoid collecting sales taxes here for another two years by building distribution warehouses wouldn't have any traction.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Nurses association sues to block prison health-care outsourcing
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
A union representing health-care workers has sued to block the outsourcing of health-care services in Florida's prisons.

First lady visits Tampa to promote healthy eating plan to Hispanic Americans
By Patty Ryan
Tampa Bay Times
Abelardo Arteaga, nearly 90, was raised in Cuba. A doctor once told him: Eat only what you can hold in two hands.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

ACLU challenges Fla. law limiting minor donations
Associated Press
Miami Herald
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a state law that limits how much minors may contribute to state and local political campaigns.

Florida Legislature wasting time on social issues
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
It was late last year when the Florida Legislature served notice that this year's 60-day session was going to be all business.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Gainesville Correctional closure delayed until March
By Cindy Swirko
Gainesville Sun
The closing of the Gainesville Correctional Institution, set for Wednesday as part of a statewide overhaul of the prison system, has been delayed until March to give the employees more time to request transfers and find work.