Daily Clips for March 16, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

The Senate's multi-dimensional redistricting quandary
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Reform group urges senators to re-draw district maps in public
It helps to visualize Florida's redistricting process as one of those multi-level board games from 'Star Trek' where some android or Vulcan is sitting in a bar and trying to strategize at different levels simultaneously.

Florida Legislature shifts power to Gov. Rick Scott's office
By Katie Sanders
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Thanks to the Legislature, Gov. Rick Scott has a little more power.

Attorney General Pam Bondi removes two top Medicaid fraud investigators
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Attorney General Pam Bondi demoted the head of her Medicaid fraud investigative unit and fired another top staffer this week, citing reports of poor leadership and employee discontent.

Fla. justices will hear university tuition dispute
Associated Press
Ocala Star-Banner
The Florida Supreme Court will decide who can set tuition and fees at state universities.

Florida economy a casualty of Republicans' war on middle class
By Stephen Goldstein
South Florida Sun Sentinel
For going on 14 years, the Florida Republican Party has fiddled and belittled the middle class.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

VIDEO: Rep. Cliff Stearns Wants To Sell Off Our National Parks
By Jessica Goad and Scott Keyes
Think Progress
Rep. Cliff Steans (R-FL), a birther, one of the leaders of the Solyndra witch hunt and defender of subsidies to Big Oil companies, told constituents at a town hall meeting Belleview, Florida, on February 25 that “we don’t need any more national parks in this country” and that we need to “actually sell off some of our national parks”.

Still shaking my head at that $100K donation to Rick Scott right before major PIP vote
By Peter Schorsch
St. Petersblog 2.0
By accepting a $100,000 donation and lobbying so hard for the Florida House’s version of an overhaul to the state’s Personal Injury Protection laws, Rick Scott may have all but guaranteed a challenge from former governor Charlie Crist in 2014.

Florida Evangelical Leader Calls on Romney to Renounce ‘Racist’ Mormon Religion
By Jon Ponder
Pensito Review
It was not surprising that Rev. O’Neal Dozier, the spiritual leader at the WorldWide Christian Center in Pompano Beach, Fla., endorsed Rick Santorum in the Florida primary campaign earlier this year.

What's Good for the Goose: Brand Redux
By Benjamin J. Kirby
The Spencerian
I had thoughts of Florida as I wrote about the collapse of the national GOP brand the other day.

Why Democrats Should Oppose Parent Trigger Laws
By Jeff Bryant
Daily Kos
Last week in Florida there was an important victory for progressive Democrats that not many Democrats know about.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida political committees among nation's top spenders, report shows
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Political committees that helped drive the election of Florida Gov. Rick Scott two years ago were among the biggest independent spenders in the nation, according to a report Thursday by the nonpartisan National Institute on Money in State Politics.

With Cabinet grounded, Scott grabs spotlight
By Lucy Morgan
Tampa Bay Times
There is an interesting side effect to our governor's decision to jettison the state's airplanes and rely on his own plane to travel around the state.

Special Session Price Tag
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Taxpayers will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for lawmakers to redraw the senate district map.

Justice Department steps in to ensure voting rights
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
The effort by states controlled by Republicans to make it harder for minorities to vote is hitting some appropriate speed bumps.

POLITICAL RACES

Court rules Argenziano cannot run for state House as a Democrat
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A Tallahassee Circuit Court judge ruled against former state Sen. Nancy Argenziano on Thursday, saying the Department of State is not violating her rights by barring her from running for Congress as a Democrat.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Environmental issues moved under radar during session
News Service of Florida
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Septic tank legislation, state permitting changes and millions of dollars for Everglades restoration and land-buying capped off a relatively under-the-radar session for environmental issues.

South Florida gets federal deadline to fix failing levee
By Andy Reid
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The clock is officially ticking on repairs needed to upgrade the levee that keeps the Everglades from flooding Broward and Palm Beach counties.

"No-brainer" water permitting bill dies in Senate despite backing, leaving House chairman "speechless"
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A House committee chairwoman said Thursday that her committee's bill to extend the length of water-use permits seemed like a "no-brainer" and she was surprised it died without a vote in the Senate.

Federal Officials Step Back on Kings Bay Manatee Rules
By Craig Pittman and Barbara Behrendt
Tampa Bay Times
Federal officials bowed to pressure from Citrus County businesses and state legislators Thursday, setting up new manatee protection rules in Kings Bay that will still allow boaters to go 25 mph in part of the bay during 10 weeks in the summer.

State staff recommend $1.2 billion FPL project move forward
By Susan Salisbury
Palm Beach Post
Florida Power & Light Co.'s proposed $1.18 billion modernization of its Port Everglades plant is needed, the Florida Public Service Commission staff said Thursday.

LGBT

Domestic partnership registry one step closer to passing in Tampa
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Tampa
Tampa City Council members are considering a domestic partnership registry ordinance that would give unmarried couples some of the same protections as those that are married.

EDUCATION

2012 session summary: Education
By Gray Rohrer and Travis Pillow
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott set the tone early for the state's budget talks when he said he would not sign any budget that didn’t boost PreK-12 school funding by $1 billion.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Tampa, Miami lead Florida's February foreclosure increases
Staff Report
Florida Current
Tampa and Miami led the nation’s largest metro areas in foreclosure rate increases last month, as home defaults climbed 64 percent and 53 percent in the two metro areas, respectively, compared to February 2011.

Fueling a New Future for the Gulf Coast
By Kiley Kroh and Kate Gordon
Center for American Progress
Drill, drill, and then drill some more. As gas prices rise, the chorus of pro-drilling voices continues to grow louder.

Bill cuts Tri-Rail's state funding by 2019 but protects South Florida counties' power on board
By Ana M. Valdes
Palm Beach Post
After a last-minute compromise between state transportation officials and members of Tri-Rail's board, Florida legislators approved a bill last week that will give Gov. Rick Scott slightly more control over the tri-county commuter rail service.

Workforce draft audit finds agency lacked financial controls
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
A draft audit of Workforce Central Florida has found that the agency — under its previous management — lacked required financial controls and systems to ensure the agency followed state and federal rules.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Gov. Scott Veto Urged for Medicaid Bill
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Lakeland Ledger
Calling it “a backdoor tax hike,” Florida's counties are urging the governor to veto a bill that could cost the local governments nearly $300 million during the next five years.

Report: Number of states hostile to abortion rights growing
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A new report from the Guttmacher Institute shows that, in the past decade, a substantial number of states (including Florida) have shifted from having only a moderate number of abortion restrictions to becoming “overtly hostile” to abortion rights.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Sponsor of anti-Sharia law bill says it’s coming back next year
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
State Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, the sponsor of a controversial bill aimed at restricting the “application of foreign law” (specifically Sharia law) in courts in Florida, says he will bring the bill back next year.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Clerk of courts offices face major budget cuts
By Samara Sodos
Tampa Tribune
If you have to report for jury duty, file for foreclosure, or are in the middle of a divorce, brace yourself: it's going to be a long ride.

2012 session summary: Justice and Courts
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
Compared with a 2011 session that saw contentious debate over a proposed restructuring of the state court system, the 2012 session was relatively low-key for legal and criminal justice issues aside from a high-profile showdown over SB 2038, an attempt to privatize more than two dozen prisons.