Daily Clips for April 10, 2012

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

April 2^nd Weekly Show
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu: Florida's Political Reality News
The Governor is moving too slowly on the evaluation of Stand Your Ground, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is elected to a third term, and Damien talks about the governor’s assault on education while giving tax breaks to corporations…all this and more as political reality comes your way!

FEATURED STORIES

President Barack Obama visiting Florida to talk about 'Buffett Rule'
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
President Barack Obama will travel to Tampa on Friday before heading to Colombia for the Summit of the Americas, the White House announced Monday.

Florida laws erect barriers to voter participation
By Charlie Crist
Tampa Bay Times
Much is being said about Florida's controversial new voter registration laws, which make it more difficult for people to register and reduce the availability of early-voting opportunities.

Prosecutor: No grand jury for Trayvon case
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
The special prosecutor assigned to investigate the Trayvon Martin case will not be using a grand jury to determine whether to arrest George Zimmerman in the shooting death of the Miami Gardens teen, her office confirmed Monday.

Corporations drop membership in group that promotes 'Stand Your Ground' laws
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A conservative advocacy group that promotes ready-made bills for like-minded lawmakers around the country -- a version of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, among them -- has come under fire since the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford.

David Rivera friendship risky for Marco Rubio
By Manu Raju
Politico
Sen. Marco Rubio has every excuse to stay away from his old South Florida friend Rep. David Rivera.

FLORIDA POLITICS

13 CF lawmakers named ‘Pink Slip Puppets’ by progressive group
By Bob Shaw
Orlando Sentinel
Florida Watch Action, the self-styled progressive group that’s led the “PinkSlipRick” campaign against Gov. Rick Scott – has released a list of what it terms “Pink Slip Puppets” — 56 lawmakers who the group says voted for “Rick Scott’s agenda” 100 percent of the time during the 2011 and 2012 sessions.

Report: Florida sponsor of telecom bill received over $50K from industry
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Maplight, a group that describes itself as “a nonprofit, nonpartisan, research organization that reveals money’s influence on politics,” released a report Friday that highlights the role of Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Ocala, as one of the nine sponsors of a telecommunications bill in Congress who has received significant amounts of money from industry stakeholders.

In flap over Jewish slur, Debbie Wasserman Schultz stands by aide
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
The head of the Democratic National Committee, Broward Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, is sticking by a Jewish-outreach aide who was embarrassed last week by an old Facebook posting where she joked about “Jewbags.”

POLITICAL RACES

GOP superdelegates: It's over; Romney is nominee
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
It's over, and Mitt Romney is going to be the GOP nominee for president.

Obama pretends not to be wooing women voters
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Barack Obama stares earnestly into the camera.

GOP sees chance to win over Hispanic voters
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Just beneath the surface of President Barack Obama’s strong approval ratings, Republicans see signs of a chance to woo Hispanic voters and turn this influential bloc of voters to their side.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Two Republicans, two Democrats file brief challenging advance nuclear cost recovery law
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Two Republican senators and two Democratic representatives argued in a Florida Supreme Court filing that the state law allowing utilities to charge in advance for nuclear projects that may never be built is unconstitutional and should be thrown out.

Veto of zoo animals bill provides clarity for moving ahead, bill supporter says
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Florida Association of Zoos and Aquariums says it can now begin developing plans for placing zoo animals on state lands despite the veto of a bill the group supported.

EDUCATION

Florida's pre-K program may be big, but poor quality, report says
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
Florida enrolls more children in state-funded pre-K programs than any other state but does little to ensure those youngsters receive a quality preschool education, according to a new national report.

Scott barnstorms schools touting $1 billion boost that will go fast
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
As a prelude to signing the state budget, possibly later this week, Gov. Rick Scott spent Monday barnstorming the state — visiting three schools to tout a proposed $1 billion boost in classroom spending.

Zephyrhills Christian Academy refuses to address concerns over how it collects, spends tax dollars
By Noah Pransky
News 10 Tampa Bay
The allegations don't just include abuse of taxpayer funds, but also of children with disabilities.

Consider the students before deciding on independence for USF Poly
By John Romano
Tampa Bay Times
The fight is almost over, and the grownups seem happy.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida’s economy still on recovery track
By Douglas Hanks
Miami Herald
The Federal Reserve still has Florida’s recovery on track.

Florida businesses post best January ever
By Doug Sword
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida businesses reported their best January ever, posting a 12.5 percent jump in sales, the biggest single monthly increase since August 2006.

Analyses: Top 1 percent typically pay bigger percentage of income in taxes
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
When President Obama speaks at Florida Atlantic University on Tuesday, he's expected to renew his call for higher taxes on the wealthy and to invoke Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who famously complains that he pays a smaller percentage of his income in taxes than his secretary.

FEMA says Florida communities risk losing flood insurance because of legislation
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is raising concerns with Gov. Rick Scott that an environmental streamlined-permitting bill that passed the Legislature could cause Florida communities to lose their federal flood insurance.

Scott tries to sidetrack Pinellas transit upgrades
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Tampa Bay will have to run over Gov. Rick Scott to join the 21st century and build a modern transit system.

Banks' foreclosure deceptions go deep
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
First the financial services sector nearly drove the economy off a cliff by selling "liar loans" to unqualified homebuyers, bundling them into securities and selling the toxic investments to unsuspecting buyers.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Group asks feds to 'decisively reject' caps to Medicaid program
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
A statewide advocacy group is asking the federal government to “decisively reject” the Legislature’s move to cap the number of times Medicaid patients can see a doctor, go to the emergency room or have a home health nurse come to their door.

Sen. Bill Nelson speaks to Hispanic seniors about concerns
By Justin George
Tampa Bay Times
Jacklynn Hurst's questions about her future grow.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Marco Rubio's DREAM Act: The new 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'?
By Elena Shore
New America Media
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday dismissed speculation that he could be the vice presidential nominee, but he is preparing to make another political play: He is about to release his version of the DREAM Act -- one that would offer legal status without a pathway to citizenship for undocumented students.

Voters shouldn't fall for veiled attack on Muslims
By Ahmed Bedier
Orlando Sentinel
President Abraham Lincoln, the founder of the Republican Party, said, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Rick Scott's veto of prison bill misses point
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
It took six long years for Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff to pass a law intended to help a few people deal with their drug addiction in state prison.

Tables Turn in Rhetoric about Activist Judges
By Martin Dyckman
Florida Voices
If the underlying issue weren't so serious it would be great fun watching the Republicans spin on a dime to become passionate defenders of an independent judiciary.

Hearing begins in barrel race case
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A Florida administrative law judge began hearing a dispute Monday over a new form of pari-mutuel wagering: quarter horse barrel racing.