PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
February 20th Weekly Show
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu: Florida’s Political Reality Show
Political espionage causes a power shift in the Florida Senate, a Florida court sends a clear message about political influence in redistricting, the House passes another drug testing bill targeting state employees, and Damien has the final word on fat cat lobbyists.
FEATURED STORIES
Court to decide: Did Florida GOP stack deck in redrawing political lines, or is it just geography?
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
The state Supreme Court this week will be the first battleground in a courtroom fight over Florida's future political map, which Democrats say has contours drawn to favor Republicans.
State worker drug test bill heads to House floor
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
A key legislative priority of Gov. Rick Scott’s which would let state agencies randomly drug test 10 percent of their employees is heading to the House floor after clearing its last committee Friday.
Bondi's needless contraception crusade
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Attorney General Pam Bondi is dragging Florida into an unnecessary moral crusade.
For GOP, anti-abortion focus has benefits now, risks in November
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Abortion opponents admit they're doing everything they can to make the procedure more difficult for women in Florida to obtain.
With GOP nomination undecided, did Florida mess up by holding its primary early?
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Michigan? Arizona? All those Super Tuesday states?
EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Jim Morin
Miami Herald
FLORIDA POLITICS
What Florida's top power broker is planning next
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Mark Wilson gets a report on his desk every morning at the Florida Chamber of Commerce headquarters on expected vote counts and opposition to the 60 bills his team of three dozen lobbyists tracks in the Legislature.
Haridopolos learns the hard way about running the state Senate
By Mary Ellen Klas and Tia Mitchell
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
When Mike Haridopolos was elected Senate president, he vowed to make the traditionally moderate chamber more conservative — in his own image.
Senate presidency fight could have lasting effects
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Legislative leadership fights -- fueled by personal ambitions, conflicting corporate-versus-populist agendas and shifting allegiances -- always make for interesting palace intrigue, if not much popular relevance.
Gov. Rick Scott drops Florida's membership in governors group
By Erika Bolstad
Miami Herald
Governors attending an annual meeting this weekend will take up the theme of "Growing State Economies," an initiative they hope will boost hiring and create jobs in their home states.
It's the fourth quarter in Tallahassee
By Michael Peltier
Naples Daily News
When lawmakers gathered six weeks ago, there was much talk about the difficulties of passing any controversial legislation during an election-year session that also was notable for the once-a-decade redrawing of political boundaries.
Legislators Referee Among Competing Business Interests
By Lloyd Brown
Florida Voices
Much of the legislation that passes through the sausage factory in the state Capitol is related to internecine warfare between various business interests.
Bad bills still lurking at Capitol
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Doctors take an oath to do no harm. The same should be required of Florida legislators.
Norman signs admission of guilt for not reporting $500,000 loan
By Mike Salinero
Tampa Tribune
State Sen. Jim Norman has signed a consent order with the Florida Commission on Ethics admitting he violated the law when he did not disclose a $500,000 loan from a political supporter to his wife.
POLITICAL RACES
A brokered GOP convention in Tampa? Prospect no longer looks inconceivable
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Among Florida politicos, skepticism for Marco Rubio as VP
Jeb Bush calls it an unbelievable scenario. Karl Rove says life on Pluto is more likely.
Reports: Jeb Bush says 2012ers are 'appealing to people's fears'
By Tim Mak
Politico
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Thursday that he found it “troubling” that the 2012 presidential candidates are “appealing to people’s fears and emotion” on the campaign trail, according to reports.
West's millions rank him No. 2 in U.S. House
By William E. Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Boosted by conservative fans across the country, South Florida U.S. Rep. Allen West has raised more money for his re-election campaign than any other House candidate this year except for Speaker John Boehner.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
BP oil spill trial delayed for settlement talks
By Tom Bergin and Jonathan Stempel
Reuters
The trial to decide who should pay for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been delayed by a week, to allow BP Plc to try to cut a deal with tens of thousands of businesses and individuals affected by the disaster.
Energy bill passes final House committee stop with substantial changes
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The "modest" House energy bill containing recommendations from Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam passed its final committee stop on Friday with several changes.
Permitting bill as passed by House would expedite hearings on challenges to port dredging projects
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Environmentalists who may want to challenge Gov. Rick Scott's proposals to improve Florida's seaports could face a higher hurdle under a bill passed by the House this week.
Wood Stork Nesting Season Appears to Be a Bust
By Kevin Lollar
Associated Press
"Some simply don't nest. Other birds will occasionally move to another colony.
LGBT
Gay, transgender candidates wade into Central Florida politics
By Mark Schlueb and David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
When Randy Ross was running for Orange County School Board in 2000, he had a secret.
Same-sex couples excluded from benefits of filing taxes jointly
By Donna Gehrke-White
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Each tax season long-time partners David Bloom and Damian McNamara come face-to-face with a double standard.
Parents worry over gay Florida A&M University drum major's hazing death probe
By Mike Schneider
Associated Press
In the three months since a gay Florida A&M University drum major was beaten to death, his parents have waited as authorities arrested seven people in a pair of other hazing cases tied to the school's renowned Marching 100.
EDUCATION
Charter schools could gain power to take over public schools
By Zac Anderson
Gainesville Sun
Charter schools would receive more construction money, greater freedom to expand and the ability to take over struggling public schools at the request of parents under two bills still in play as the legislative session winds down.
Florida schools brace for tougher new grading system
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
Like students assigned to a tough new teacher, Florida's public-schools administrators are jittery and looking for a schedule change as the state gets ready to revamp its A-to-F school-grading system.
UF, FSU students could face big tuition increases
By Scott Travis
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida's top public universities could become a lot more expensive under a legislative plan that could also erode the value of Bright Futures scholarships and potentially end the state's prepaid tuition program.
South Florida’s colleges provide an economic jolt to the region
By Michael Vasquez
Miami Herald
Construction has long been a staple industry in South Florida, but the Great Recession and its associated housing crash made building cranes a rare sight in recent years.
State Sen. Jim Norman: USF's unlikely hero in Tallahassee
By Kim Wilmath
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
State Sen. Jim Norman sat hunched at his desk, reviewing spreadsheets and crunching numbers, trying to save the University of South Florida from outsized budget cuts.
Short-sighted approach to excellence
Editorial
Miami Herald
Legislators need to do more homework before tackling the latest legislative version of a special tuition increase narrowly tailored to apply to the University of Florida and Florida State University.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
End of the line for pension changes this session?
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
The House sponsor on Friday tabled a pension measure that already has stalled in the Senate, likely closing the door on any controversial changes being made this session to public employee retirement benefits this session.
Florida taxpayers would pay tab for damages caused by train crashes
By Michael Van Sickler
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
A 2008 train crash in California’s San Fernando valley drew national headlines for its grim toll: 25 killed, more than 100 injured.
Among state cuts, one thing survives — budget turkeys
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
It's turkey season in Florida's Capitol.
No storms, but insurers keep socking it away
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post
To Florida homeowners, it seems like there is only one thing worse than a bad storm to make them dread opening their insurance bills: Years of calm.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Florida Officials Throw Elbows in Contraception Clash
By Howard Goodman
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Jumping on the issue that sprung to the forefront of Republican attacks on the Obama administration, Florida Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi has joined a federal lawsuit to oppose the administration’s mandate that health insurance policies cover contraception.
Florida legislators passing ceremonial bills denouncing health care reform
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Despite a continuing public legal challenge waged by the state of Florida, state lawmakers are still dedicating a significant amount of time to passing memorials (mostly ceremonial bills) urging the federal government to repeal its health care reform bill.
Brevard's NOW chapter protests pro-life bills
By Don Walker
Florida Today
Anger fueled by an onslaught of pro-life legislation in Tallahassee prompted a demonstration by more than three dozen sign-toting protesters Thursday in front of state Senate President Mike Haridopolos’ Suntree office.
House offers concessions to doctors in no-fault auto insurance fix
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
Florida's medical doctors won concessions on Friday in the latest fix offered for the state's no-fault auto insurance law.
WellCare: Free at last?
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
After holding out for years, the chief whistleblower in the long-running case against WellCare Health Plans has removed his objection to a settlement of civil fraud charges with the federal government and nine states.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Blacks' voting-rights issues echo 60 years later
By Jeff Kunerth
Orlando Sentinel
Throughout the 1940s, Clifton Tobias Williams sat amid the avalanche of paper on his roll-top desk inside Williams Dry Cleaning & Shoe Repair Service and typed letters to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, NAACP special counsel Thurgood Marshall, Orlando Mayor William Beardall and Charles Stuckie, head of the White Voters Primary Committee.
Closing the gap
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
February, African American History Month, is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the people of extraordinary grace and bravery who pushed the nation toward racial equality.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
House bill would give Rick Scott more power to pick judgesBy Katie Sanders
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The Florida House approved a proposal Friday that gives Gov. Rick Scott the power to fire many of the people who help select the state's judges, a move Democrats say will lead to a more politicized judiciary.
Private vs. public prisons: Where's savings?
By Roberto Hugh Potter
Orlando Sentinel
There's a magical belief that corporations can run prisons more efficiently and more cheaply than the state.
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