Daily Clips for April 27, 201

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Rick Scott's plan to 'rank' county election bosses infuriates supervisors
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott has infuriated elections officials across Florida by rating their effectiveness based on requests for routine information from the presidential preference primary in January.

Governor vows appeal of judge's rejection of his state employee drug-testing order
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A federal judge has ruled that Gov. Rick Scott's random drug testing of state workers is unconstitutional, raising doubts about a new state law allowing Scott's agency heads to require the urine tests without reason to believe that employees have a problem.

Scott honors director of rape crisis center after cutting her funding
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Timing has not been on Gov. Rick Scott’s side lately.

Florida senators split votes on Violence Against Women Act
By Erika Bolstad
Miami Herald
Florida's senators split their votes on the Violence Against Women Act, with Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson voting to extend it, and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio voting against it.

Don't let politicians erode women's health coverage
By Jenna Tosh
Orlando Sentinel
It seems like a week doesn't go by without another attack on women's health.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Drug Testing Welfare Recipients Shows One Group Was Right — the Welfare Recipients
By Trish Ponder
Pensito Review
What do you do when the facts don’t support your actions, which were based on extremist rhetoric and false notions?

ALEC leader admits last week's announcement was a PR stunt
By Campaign Staff
ColorOfChange.org
Last week, ALEC acknowledged that it was reeling after its corporate sponsors -- some of which pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for membership in the right-wing group -- started dropping like flies.

The Stupidity Equation: The Rick Scott UF-USF Disaster
By Benjamin J. Kirby
The Spencerian
Maybe now we can stop pretending Florida Governor Rick Scott is anything but a back-stabbing grifter who only cares about making his rich friends richer.

Half The Lawmakers On Florida ‘Stand Your Ground’ Task Force Are ALEC Members, All Supported Stand Your Ground
By Adam Peck
Think Progress
Yesterday, Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) unveiled the members of his task force assigned to investigate the effects of the state’s “Stand Your Ground” laws that have come under intense scrutiny and criticism in recent weeks after the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin.

Standardized test security questioned
By Valerie Strauss
The Answer Sheet
Tenth-graders in Florida took the state’s standardized test in reading on a staggered schedule because there weren’t enough computers available for them all to take it at the same time, raising concerns that security of test questions could be compromised, the Miami Herald reported.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Tampa to ask governor: Let us ban concealed weapons outside RNC
By Richard Danielson
Tampa Bay Times
The Tampa City Council voted Thursday to add its voice to an appeal asking Gov. Rick Scott for help clearing the way for Tampa to ban concealed weapons outside the Republican National Convention.

Haridopolos departs Senate with head held high
By Dave Berman
Florida Today
Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos says he’s leaving elected office satisfied that he delivered on his promises to the voters and that he accomplished most of what he aimed to do during his 12 years in the state legislature.

Doesn’t pass smell test
Editorial
Miami Herald
After an 18-month investigation of U.S. Rep. David Rivera’s political finances, frustrated prosecutors have concluded that they can’t justify charging him despite uncovering a dizzying maze of questionable practices.

POLITICAL RACES

President Obama’s campaign launches aggressive Florida voter registration drive to defeat Mitt Romney
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
In a nondescript store front next to a Pembroke Pines gym, Florida Democrats launched a major offensive this week to boost their ranks despite a Republican law that makes the voter-registration push harder than ever.

Will Rubio become Romney’s Palin?
By John Dickersn
Slate
Marco Rubio is this year’s Sarah Palin.

Herman Cain spreads conservative message at USF: 'Focus on the mission'
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Herman Cain has a message for conservatives disappointed to have Mitt Romney as their presidential nominee.

Republicans debate in race to challenge Democratic incumbent Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
By Diana Moskovitz
Miami Herald
Several Republican primary congressional candidates squared off in a debate Thursday night in downtown Miami for the right to face a formidable foe: Democratic incumbent Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Environmental group tells Supreme Court that PSC ignored energy conservation law
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Public Service Commission ignored 2008 law changes when it approved energy conservation plans in 2011 for the state's two largest utilities, an environmental group said in a Florida Supreme Court brief filed Thursday.

Talk of Marine Reserve for Biscayne National Park Hits Capitol Hill
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
Representatives from the Florida fishing community are among those on Capitol Hill today (Friday) at a hearing to ask lawmakers to create a marine reserve in Biscayne National Park.

Better Than Earth Day, Arbor Day Gets Your Hands Dirty
By Steven Kurlander
Florida Voices
Bet you didn’t know that today is Arbor Day.

EDUCATION

Fallout from USF Poly investigation: resignations, a call for former leader's firing
By Kim Wilmath
Tampa Bay Times
Related editorial: USF Poly: boondoggle and baggage
A full financial review of all spending at the University of South Florida Polytechnic under former chancellor Marshall Goodman — much like what was done by USF and made public Wednesday, asserting that Goodman facilitated financial mismanagement under a hostile working environment.

Scott to sign or veto bill allowing FSU, UF to raise tuition
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Florida Gov. Rick Scott must decide whether he wants to let two major universities raise tuition higher than what is currently allowed.

Florida teachers to discuss dropout prevention
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Public broadcasters are inviting Florida's teachers to participate in a dropout prevention "town hall" on Saturday in Jacksonville.

Hillsborough School Board questions volume of student tests
By Marlene Sokol
Tampa Bay Times
Advanced placement tests, FCAT tests, end-of-course exams — the schedule can be overwhelming.

High School Transfers: Controversial Athletics Bill Awaits Action by Governor
By Solange Reyner
Lakeland Ledger
On Jan. 3, Polk County Athletic Director Don Bridges held a meeting at the School District office in Bartow with state Rep. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, and about a half-dozen athletic directors from neighboring counties.

Invest in Science and Tech, Where the Jobs Are
By Heather Kenyon
Florida Voices
Recently I visited the University of Florida and had the opportunity to tour the Computer Science Department as well as the Innovation Center where they have great plans to foster entrepreneurship.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

More bad news for out-of-work Floridians: Unemployment benefits will run out sooner
By Katie Sanders
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The state's 836,000 unemployed workers are in for more bad news: Their unemployment benefits are going to start running out sooner.

Robo-signing fallout continues as Florida metros post foreclosure increases
Staff Report
Florida Current
While housing markets across the nation are gradually recovering from the burst of the housing bubble four years ago, Florida’s markets continue to suffer.

Citizens Property tables plan for big rate hikes for new customers
By Jeff Harrington
Tampa Bay Times
Citizens Property Insurance, for now, has backed off a controversial plan that would have allowed huge rate increases for new policyholders who are forced into the state-run insurer.

No-fault auto insurance bill has major gap
By Charles Elmore and John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
In their haste to meet one of Gov. Rick Scott's top priorities, Florida lawmakers left a glaring, potentially multimillion-dollar pothole in legislation revamping the state's no-fault auto insurance.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Floridians to get $148.5 million in refunds, study says
By John Dorschner
Miami Herald
Thanks to the healthcare reform law, 325,000 Florida purchasers of healthcare insurance are likely to get rebates of $152 each later this year, according to a study released Thursday by the Washington-based Kaiser Family Foundation.

Counties file suit to block Medicaid billings
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
The Florida Association of Counties filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a new state law intended to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid Medicaid bills.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

With G.O.P.’s Ear, Rubio Pushes Dream Act Proposal
By Lizette Alvarez
New York Times
When Senator Marco Rubio first floated his compromise version of the Dream Act — the bill, now stalled, that would grant some students in the United States illegally a path to citizenship — the chances of reviving the politically charged issue in Congress seemed as dim as the chances of snuffing out attack ads on the campaign trail.

Scott's penchant for invading privacy
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
It's bad enough that Gov. Rick Scott insists on infringing on Floridians' personal liberty.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Gov. Rick Scott weighs investigation of Supreme Court justices for misdemeanors
By Mary Ellen Klas
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott is considering calling for an investigation into whether three Supreme Court justices are guilty of a misdemeanor in their scramble to get papers filed last week in their merit retention races.