Daily Clips for January 18, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Senate earns bi-partisan support for its redistricting maps as critics complain
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
Related: Fair Districts coalition slaps back: Senate criticism is a smoke screen
A majority of Democrats crossed party lines Tuesday as the state Senate gave overwhelming approval to two redistricting maps that critics say protects incumbents despite new standards intended to increase political competition.

Environment dramas play out in Tallahassee
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
An Everglades love-fest turned nasty Tuesday afternoon when Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Everglades Foundation Chairman Paul Tudor Jones sniped about whether the agriculture industry is meeting its obligation to pay for restoring the "River of Grass."

Protest groups nationwide target Republican National Convention in Tampa
By Richard Danielson
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Republican National Convention to disrupt civic life in downtown Tampa
More than seven months out, protest groups nationwide are being called to march on the Republican National Convention.

GOP closes in on Democrats in Florida voter registration
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Florida Republicans say the latest voter registration and absentee ballot figures point to a GOP enthusiasm advantage over Democrats heading into the 2012 presidential election.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida Senate bill would allow privatization to be secret
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A Senate committee will consider a bill that would allow lawmakers to secretly privatize or outsource state agency functions.

No secrets: Keep privatization in the public eye
Editorial
Tallahassee Democrat
Trust us. That's what Florida's legislators are saying with the introduction of the outrageous Senate Proposed Committee Bill 7170.

Fasano to SBA: Documents missing from my public records request
By Katie Sanders
Miami Herald
On the eve of a decision about Ash Williams' job status, Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, sent the State Board of Administration chief a letter asking for specific documents either withheld or redacted from his public records request about a $125 million pension fund investment.

Internet cafes ban clears hurdle in Fla. house
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Some Florida House Republicans are calling for a ban on Internet cafes, which have sprung up all around the state.

Seminoles' Billie comes out in praise of Bondi
By Nick Sortal
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Less than a month after criticizing her for false claims of money laundering at their Tampa casino, the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s top leaders are praising Attorney General Pam Bondi.

POLITICAL RACES

GOP presidential candidates seek Hispanic votes
By William E. Gibson
Orlando Sentinel
Suddenly, the presidential campaign has acquired a Spanish accent.

Mitt Romney, Tax Loophole Exploiter-in-Chief
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Way back in October, we called on Mitt Romney to release his tax returns and introduced you to the Romney Rule — the unfair tax loopholes that Romney both supports and which he personally exploits in order to pay a lower tax rate than millions of middle class Americans.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Gov. Rick Scott, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar point to Everglades cooperation
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott and U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday they were maintaining a dialogue on Everglades restoration.

Graham blasts water ‘privatization’
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham cautioned lawmakers and environmentalists this morning that “privatizing” state waters would cause “considerable damage” to the Everglades and cause Floridians to lose control of thousands of acres of wetlands.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn pushes water privatization proposal that has its critics
By Brittany Alana Davis
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, hope their water privatization legislation will help replenish Tampa's water supply by allowing the city, and other local governments, to hang on to the water they treat.

U.S. cracks down on python sales
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
The federal government branded the Burmese python, infamous for swallowing a smorgasbord of Everglades critters from rabbits to gators, a serpent non grata on Tuesday.

FPL wants to add $6.80 a month to typical bill
By Marcia Heroux Pounds
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Put this into next year's home budget: A typical electrical bill from Florida Power & Light Co. could near $100 a month in 2013, according to the utility's projections Tuesday.

EDUCATION

Tougher FCAT could hit Pinellas schools hard
By Ron Matus
Tampa Bay Times
Critics have been saying for weeks that the move to a tougher FCAT will be bad news for schools around the state.

Report finds potential fraud in Florida's school readiness programs
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Florida’s taxpayer-funded school readiness programs were slammed in an auditor general’s report presented to a House panel Tuesday.

Jeb Bush's 2012 legislative agenda
By Ron Matus
Tampa Bay Times
Jeb Bush's Foundation for Florida's Future recently released its 2012 legislative agenda, which is - no surprise - heavy on school choice, teacher accountability and performance pay.

Bennett seeks committee to study Florida’s higher education system
By Christine Hawes
Bradenton Herald
State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, is calling for a committee to explore creation of a three-tiered higher educational system that distinguishes among research universities, those focused on baccalaureate and master’s degrees, and junior colleges that offer technical degrees.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

President Obama will visit Disney on Thursday to talk about tourism
By Mark K. Matthews, Jason Garcia and Sara K. Clarke
Orlando Sentinel
President Barack Obama, set to unveil a new policy for boosting U.S. tourism, has chosen a fairy-tale setting for the Thursday announcement: Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, with its iconic Cinderella Castle as a backdrop.

Florida receives low score on job-creation incentive programs, in new report
By Marcia Heroux Pounds
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida received a "C" score in new report on economic development incentives, "Money-Back Guarantees for Taxpayers," released Wednesday.

House panel looks to shore up Cat Fund, ease assessments
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Florida’s insurance market has two sick children: the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, or Cat Fund, and Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

State losing out on federal funds for children’s health care
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The Tampa Bay Times reported Monday that Florida has lost out on millions of federal dollars intended to help states increase access to children’s health care for low-income families.

Kids hurt when state loses KidCare money
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Florida children bore the brunt in recent years as state lawmakers, claiming to be proactive, reined in spending by slashing education and juvenile safety-net programs.

Doctors do surgery on DOH’s drug-dealing bill
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
A bill aimed at giving the Surgeon General more power to stop doctors who over-prescribe narcotics passed its first House panel today, but only after a rewrite that took out the word "suspension."

Anti-shackling bill moves forward in state House
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Legislation that would create uniform and humane rules for the shackling of incarcerated pregnant women moved through one of its committee stops in the state House today.

Another top official leaves Department of Health
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
Another high-ranking official at the Florida Department of Health has resigned.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

In Tallahassee, a sizable shift in immigration priorities
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Florida legislators have filed bills that would allow undocumented immigrants access to kids’ health care and higher education and would allow them to obtain a restricted driver’s license — a marked change from their aggressive immigration enforcement priorities last year.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

High court drops case against "Taj Mahal" judge
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
The Florida Supreme Court has approved the state judicial ethics panel's dismissal of its case against a Tallahassee-based judge for his involvement in an expensive new courthouse.