Daily Clips for March 15, 2012

AWAKE THE STATE IN THE NEWS

Pinellas activists plan protest at Jeff Brandes' office
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing
In 2010, Florida Democrats, already a minority in the state House and Senate, lost even more seats in the tsunami that demolished the party nationwide.

FEATURED STORIES

Expect more new laws to be contested in court
By Zac Anderson
Ocala Star-Banner
Florida’s burst of politically charged litigation shows no sign of abating as a variety of groups consider challenging two controversial laws passed by the Legislature last week.

Special session comes with special costs
By Steve Bousquet and Toluse Olorunnipa
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
It might have been the most expensive quorum call in the history of the Florida Legislature.

As legislators fix one redistricting map, trouble brews on congressional plan
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
As lawmakers meet in the Capitol to reshape state Senate districts thrown out in court, a bitter fight is brewing in a courthouse across the street that could change the shape of new districts for Congress all over Florida.

Feds release state health exchanges guidelines as Florida continues to stall implementation
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Yesterday, the federal government released guidelines that would allow states the flexibility to create a blueprint for their mandated health insurance exchanges.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Scott Still Thinking On School Prayer, Drug Testing Bills
Staff Report
CBS Miami
Two bills likely to end up in court if they are signed into law are still getting the once over, Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday, and he declined to say definitively that he will sign them, even though he agrees with them in principal.

Incumbents beware: Revised Senate districts coming over the weekend
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
The senator leading the redistricting process said he intends to release a revised redistricting plan on Saturday, and that the new map could threaten sitting senators.

Report: Florida still ‘lagging’ behind other states in budget transparency
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A public policy group released research today that finds the state of Florida is still falling behind other states in terms of budget transparency, despite recent improvements to the state’s transparency website.

VIDEO: Rep. Cliff Stearns questions legitimacy of Obama’s birth certificate
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A video surfaced this week of Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Ocala, questioning the legitimacy of President Obama’s birth certificate during a town hall meeting last month in Florida.

A Look Inside Session’s Last Day
By Paula Dockery
Florida Voices
To help chronicle my final year in the Florida Legislature, I kept a journal of the session’s last day, both in my notes and live on Twitter.

Governor's principles dictate a list of vetoes
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
The fate of scores of bills passed by the Florida Legislature in this year's session now rests with Gov. Rick Scott. We hope he stops at least seven from becoming law.

POLITICAL RACES

LeMieux attack ad targets Mack
By William March
Tampa Tribune
George LeMieux fired the first broadcast shot in the U.S. Senate race Wednesday, a blistering radio ad attacking his opponent in the Republican primary, Connie Mack IV.

Seven out of ten Americans think Super PACs should be illegal
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll has found that 70 percent of registered voters believe that Super PACs should be illegal.

5 things we learned about the presidential race this week
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Few people expected Mitt Romney to win Tuesday's primaries in Alabama and Mississippi — until the polls showed neck-and-neck races and Romney started predicting victory.

RNC is Tampa's chance to shine
By Joe Henderson
Tampa Tribune
It's easy to dismiss the Republican National Convention as four days of disruption and inconvenience, particularly in downtown Tampa.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

2012 session summary: Energy and Utilities
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said soon after the start of the legislative session that when it came to energy issues, he planned to "under-promise and over-deliver."

Beach replenishment a tough issue in Florida
By Tamara Lush
Associated Press
The St. Joseph Peninsula is picture-perfect Florida: 17 miles of sugar sand beach interrupted by a few clusters of homes, each with a million-dollar view of the Gulf of Mexico.

EDUCATION

Students aren't giving up in fight against tuition hikes
By Kim Wilmath
Tampa Bay Times
The student group that's been protesting tuition hikes is now calling for a meeting with Gov. Rick Scott to lobby him to veto a bill that would allow universities to raise tuition above a 15 percent cap.

Machen: UF would delay higher tuition, create four-year ‘flat rate’
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
If given permission to raise tuition to market rates, the University of Florida would increase tuition to the national average just for incoming freshmen and wait until fall 2013 to do so, UF President Bernie Machen said today.

Florida a "temporary setback" for parent trigger, chief proponent says
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Debate over Florida's parent trigger legislation, which failed in the state Senate, stirred up debate that centered largely on the role of charter schools in the state.

Parent and business organizations work to raise money for underfunded public schools
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
As state-wide budget cuts impact public schools, Parent Teacher Associations and education foundations in school districts across Florida and the U.S. are raising money to help meet the deficits.

Joe Biden to address Cypress Bay grads
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Graduating seniors at Cypress Bay High School are in line for a big lesson in politics along with the advice for their futures at their commencement.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida, other states saw spike in foreclosures in February
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Foreclosure activity surged last month across about half of the nation's states, as banks tackled a backlog of homes with mortgages that had gone unpaid yet remained in limbo due to delays stemming from foreclosure-abuse claims.

Fla. citrus growers upset over change in tax
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida citrus growers are upset about a trade commission's vote to end a tax on the import of Brazilian juice into the United States.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Clock ticking for governor to sign controversial Medicaid legislation
By Tia Mitchell
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
A controversial measure that would shift $300 million in disputed Medicaid bills to counties has been received by Gov. Rick Scott's office, triggering the 15-day window for him to either sign or veto the legislation.

2012 session summary: Health Care
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
With tremendous changes already in the pipeline, it may not have been surprising that Florida lawmakers this year showed restraint when it came to health care.

Officials trumpet state as model for pill mill crackdown
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A year after creating a prescription drug "strike force," Florida is moving from the "Oxy express" to a role model for the nation in cracking down on pill mills and illicit pain pill distribution, according to Gov. Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey.

Lawsuit claims state traps sick, disabled kids in nursing homes
By Bob LaMendola
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida needlessly and illegally warehouses about 250 severely sick and disabled children in nursing homes rather than pay to help them live at home or in the community, families said in a lawsuit this week.

Florida to pay $20K for attorney in federal health care lawsuit
By Brittany Davis
Tampa Bay Times
The attorney hired to challenge the federal health care overhaul is one of the country's most experienced, expensive Supreme Court lawyers, routinely charging $1,000 per hour, the Washington Post reported Sunday.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Muslim advocacy leader reacts to state Senator's vow to revive anti-Sharia bill
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Tampa
A bill that died in the Florida legislature this year would have outlawed the use of foreign laws in courtrooms.

Abusing Animals for Right to Walk Pink Poodle
By Susan Clary
Florida Voices
Among the images from the aftermath of the Midwestern tornados was a picture of a man in pure agony and joy reunited with his beloved dog, Coco.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Florida legislature keeps victims of government wrongdoing waiting for compensation
By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post
David Abbott has been waiting for years to get his 71-year-old father the medical care he needs to cope with the catastrophic injuries he sustained when he was struck by a Palm Beach County school bus in 2008.