PROGRESS
FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
The BluVu: Week of April 16th
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
The Republicans stall in an effort to keep their Congressional seats, the Governor's mood swing is reflected in the $70 billion budget signing, and Progress Florida’s Damien Filer talks about the Titanic in a new way…all this and more as political reality comes your way!
FEATURED
STORIES
Gov. Rick Scott won't dump his fortune into re-election
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday that not only will he seek a second term in 2014 — as most everyone expected — but he predicted that he won't have to reach into his own pocket to pay for a re-election campaign like he did the first time.
Why did Gov. Rick Scott cut funding for rape victims?
By Melanie Michael
WTSP 10 Tampa Bay
Put simply, Michele Wykes is heartbroken.
What's in a name? Tampa hopes new moniker gets protest zone OK'd
By Kevin Wiatrowski
Tampa Tribune
Bending to critics, Mayor Bob Buckhorn released on Tuesday a fine-tuned version of his Republican National Convention "clean zone" ordinance.
With university boondoggle, GOP gets 'A' in hypocrisy
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
I'm glad those big-spending, government-expanding Democrats in Florida didn't dream up the state's 12th public university.
FLORIDA
POLITICS
Gov. Scott signs 4 new bills into law
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott signed into law four bills today, including a measure that would change who gets benefits after a divorced spouse dies.
Pinellas clerk, lawmaker's son left off Gov. Rick Scott's reappointment list
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott has sacked two people from state boards with close ties to a Pinellas County senator who antagonized Scott and his top aide on a key issue in the recent legislative session.
Threat against Sen. Marco Rubio under investigation, his office says
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is the target of a threat deemed credible enough to merit police protection in Washington, D.C., and at his home in West Miami, his office said late Tuesday.
POLITICAL
RACES
Romney sweeps five primaries. promises 'better America'
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Mitt Romney laid claim to the fiercely contested Republican presidential nomination Tuesday night with a fistful of primary triumphs, then urged all who struggle in a shaky U.S. economy to “hold on a little longer, a better America begins tonight.”
Obama woos students, pushes low rate student loans
By Ben Feller
Associated Press
Courting college voters, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that Congress needs to keep the cost of college loans from skyrocketing for millions of students, taking an election-year pitch to three states crucial to his bid to hold onto the White House.
What Newt Gingrich taught us: He is who he is
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Newt Gingrich has compared himself over the years to Abraham Lincoln, Margaret Thatcher, William Wallace, Moses, Pericles and Ronald Reagan. Rodney Dangerfield seems more apt these days.
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Government Files First Criminal Charges In BP Oil Spill
By Eyder Peralta
NPR
"The first criminal charges in connection with the BP oil spill have been filed against a former BP engineer named Kurt Mix," NPR's Carrie Johnson reports exclusively.
Cabinet approves work plan for purchasing state lands, hears about wildfire risk
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The governor and Cabinet on Tuesday approved an interim land-buying work plan that targets 14 conservation projects, some of which would buffers around military bases.
'Reclaimed water' bill signed by Gov. Scott
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Once controversial, HB 639 promoting the use of treated wastewater was among four bills signed into law on Tuesday by Gov. Rick Scott.
Former Crist aide lands Glades job
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Eric Eikenberg, chief of staff to former Gov. Charlie Crist and a seasoned Republican strategist, has landed one of the state’s most influential environmental advocacy jobs.
EDUCATION
National groups call for testing rollback: Florida commissioner not planning to join the effort
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
A national coalition of education and civic groups today joined the growing effort, started in Texas, to see public schools scale back their reliance on high-stakes tests.
Fla. legislators at odds over school funding case
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
State House and Senate leaders disagree on whether the Florida Supreme Court should answer what an appellate court has called a question of "great public importance" in a school funding case.
Scott raises bar on tuition hikes
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
As Florida Atlantic University and other schools proposed dramatic cuts, Gov. Rick Scott laid out strict guidelines Tuesday for any state university seeking a tuition hike this year.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
State employees to see more retirement cuts on July 1
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
The retirement plans of about 100,000 Florida employees are about to change, after Governor Rick Scott signed a bill into law that allows employers to reduce the amount they pay into a 401-K type retirement plan.
Florida consumer confidence continues slide
Staff Report
Florida Current
Floridians' consumer confidence fell again in April, marking three straight months of decline, according to a monthly University of Florida survey.
Homeowners want Scott to veto bill that forces them — not developer — to pay neighborhood repairs
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
By passing a bill that could hit some consumers’ pocketbooks and potentially run afoul of the state’s Constitution, the Florida Legislature has aroused a sleeping giant: Florida’s fed-up homeowners associations.
State: Workforce Central Florida lags on placing jobless workers
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
Workforce Central Florida has helped more than 9,300 people find work in the first three months of 2012, but its overall performance has lagged behind similar job agencies across Florida.
For taxpayers' sake keep eye on business breaks
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Give Gov. Rick Scott credit for trying to convince businesses to relocate to Florida.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
Scott spokesperson calls vetoed rape crisis center funding ‘duplicative’
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Related: Lawmaker says Scott’s rape crisis center funding veto highlights his ‘lack of understanding’
Gov. Rick Scott’s office is claiming that the funding he vetoed for rape crisis centers was “duplicative” and that “nobody was able to make it clear to [the governor] why rape crisis centers needed the new funding.”
Analysis: If Obamacare falls, employers would be in charge
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Associated Press
If the Supreme Court strikes down President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, don't look to government for what comes next.
Health plans line up for new Florida Medicaid system
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
Preparing for Florida's shift to a statewide Medicaid managed-care system, 20 health companies and organizations are interested in competing for contracts to serve seniors who need long-term care.
Task force for drug-addicted babies convenes
By Brittany Davis
Tampa Bay Times
Attorney General Pam Bondi and health leaders from around the state met in Tallahassee today to address the flood of babies born to drug-addicted mothers.
Sarasota joins counties suing over unpaid Medicaid bills
By Carrie Wells
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The state has racked up $325 million in unpaid Medicaid bills after 10 years of computer errors and deception by patients, and the dispute over who should pick up the tab is raising concern in this region.
CIVIL
RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Rick Scott's tough talk on immigration has vanished
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Rick Scott was sitting inside the Orlando Sentinel's editorial boardroom last week sounding particularly pensive.
Sarasota GOP launches petition to pass Arizona-style immigration law in Florida
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
The Republican Party of Sarasota County has launched a petition supporting the passage of an Arizona-style immigration enforcement law for Florida.
Fla. AG backs Arizona in immigration battle
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is supporting Arizona in its battle with the federal government over immigration.
Fla. 'stand your ground' panel sets first meeting
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott's task force on Florida's self-defense laws, including what's known as the "stand your ground" law, has set its first meeting for May 1.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
State cuts court funding but provides money to handle foreclosures
By Tom Knox
Daytona Beach News-Journal
When it comes to the foreclosure crisis, the Legislature giveth and the Legislature taketh away.
Libel suit against Tampa Bay Times, Miami Herald dismissed by judge
By Jamal Thalji
Miami Herald
Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene’s libel suit against Times Publishing Co., publisher of the Tampa Bay Times, was dismissed by a judge on Monday.
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