Daily Clips for April 23, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Scott approves Florida Polytechnic University
By Kim Wilmath
Tampa Bay Times
Related editorial: Scott's hollow education commitment
Despite widespread opposition to the idea, and as the state's other universities are about to see their funding cut by hundreds of millions of dollars, Gov. Rick Scott on Friday signed a bill creating Florida Polytechnic.

Scott signs retirement bill, rejects creating new IT agency
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott acted on a long list of budget-related conforming bills late Friday, signing a measure reducing contributions to public employees' 401(k)-style retirement accounts and vetoing a bill that would have blocked the consolidation of state e-mail accounts.

GOP scrambles in bid to unseat Sen. Bill Nelson
By William March
Tampa Tribune
For years, Florida Republicans have called Sen. Bill Nelson "vulnerable," as the only Democrat holding a statewide elected office in Florida.

Supreme Court suggests it will take limited look at Senate redistricting map
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Within minutes of Friday’s opening arguments on redistricting, Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente lashed back at lawyers for suggesting the court completely rewrite the Legislature’s new plan.

Troubled Waters: Gulf communities still reeling two years into BP disaster
By Chris Kromm
Facing South
Related: Audit finds BP disaster fund underpaid $64M for losses
Related: BP 2-Year Anniversary: Fishers, Gulf residents struggle to protect a way of life
Related: Two Years Later: Visualizing the BP oil disaster
On April 20, 2010, BP's Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing 11 workers and injuring 17 others.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Chan Lowe
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Artist’s commentary: Scott's Stand Your Ground task force

FLORIDA POLITICS

At Florida International University, GOP rising star Sen. Marco Rubio is professor Rubio
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
The teacher entered the classroom at 11 a.m. sharp, took a determined swig of Starbucks and launched into a lesson on why political compromise is so elusive.

Unraveling Rep. David Rivera’s maze of campaign finances
By Scott Hiaasen and Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
On Jan. 3, 2011, days before taking his seat in Congress, Miami Republican David Rivera filed financial documents in Washington he said would “dispel any speculation” about his personal finances.

Meet Dennis Baxley, the lawmaker who always stands his ground
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Dennis Baxley has always stood his ground in Florida's political arena.

Crist: GOP moderation 'is practically non-existent'
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
Former Gov. Charlie Crist said Friday that moderation is "practically non-existent" in the Republican Party.

Vice President Joe Biden visiting Everglades today
Staff Report
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit the Everglades on Monday and tour a portion of Everglades National Park, according to the White House.

Good ol' days voting law undermines democracy
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Last year, after lawmakers crafted cynical legislation masquerading as election reform, critics predicted Gov. Rick Scott's pending signature would send Florida hurtling back to the age of poll taxes.

POLITICAL RACES

New curbs on voter registration could hurt Obama
By Deborah Charles
Reuters
New state laws designed to fight voter fraud could reduce the number of Americans signing up to vote in this year's presidential election by hundreds of thousands, a potential problem for President Barack Obama's re-election bid.

Bush: “I wasn’t clear enough,” won’t be VP nominee
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told Bloomberg News he won’t be Mitt Romney’s running mate, saying he “wasn’t clear enough” in a statement earlier that he’d consider the VP slot if it was offered.

Rubio: Let vice presidential process play out
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has heard all the talk about joining a ticket with likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

CFO Jeff Atwater announces he will not run for U.S. Senate
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Republican Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced on Facebook on Saturday that he will not jump into the U.S. Senate race.

Looking beyond Connie Mack and U.S. Senate race
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Jeff Atwater’s just-ended flirtation with a U.S. Senate bid speaks volumes about the nervousness of Florida Republicans these days.

Frankel no longer running for Congress against West, but her ads still target him
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Although U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, is no longer running in Palm Beach-Broward congressional District 22, he remains a big part of District 22 Democratic candidate Lois Frankel's campaign strategy.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Oil spill is prime suspect in hundreds of dolphin deaths
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Dying dolphins and whales in the northern Gulf of Mexico provide a grim reminder that the ecosystem there still has not recovered two years after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster.

The truth about Senate candidate Connie Mack's gas price claims
By Frank Jackalone
Tampa Tribune
It is not exactly breaking news that politicians resort to exaggerations and oversimplifications.

Two years after
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Oil and dispersants from the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig may cause environmental damage for years.

Dying coral's economic ripple in Florida
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
Topping the list of 56 corals expected to become extinct by the end of the century are five found off South Florida, according to a 581-page study released last week by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Reduced Florida Forever program moving forward
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Lakeland Ledger
Florida Forever — the state’s landmark environmental land-buying program — is moving forward.

LGBT

Obama supports acts targeting school bullying and discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
On Friday, President Barack Obama endorsed support for the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) and the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA), which would target discrimination and bullying against students based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Domestic partnerships simply reflect Florida realities
By Mark Lane
Daytona Beach News Journal
Sometimes it feels like a major step when government does nothing more than accept the way people actually live.

EDUCATION

Gov. Scott's Actions on Education Does Not Match Bold Claims
By Kathleen Oropeza
Lakeland Ledger
Gov. Rick Scott played a shell game in front of our kids last week.

Giant tuition hike for students isn't the answer
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Florida's retreat on investing in public higher education is now crystal clear: For the first time, students at the University of South Florida and other public universities are expected to pay more than half the cost of their education due to shrinking state support.

Governor pressures UF trustees chairman to step aside
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
Gov. Rick Scott is forcing out the chairman of the University of Florida board of trustees, a move that's happening as the governor considers whether to sign a bill allowing UF to seek higher tuition increases that would require board approval.

As FCAT stakes rise, state gears up to chase down cheaters
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
Every morning this past week, Jefferson County Superintendent Bill Brumfield unlocked the vault at his office in the presence of another employee, removed the day's FCAT exams, signed a time sheet and then drove them to his small county's only elementary school.

Passing FCAT, But Failing College Readiness
By Andrew J. Skerritt
Florida Voices
My daughter and thousands of other public school students are stressing over FCAT.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Unemployment drops to 9 percent in Florida
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Florida’s unemployment rate fell to 9 percent in March, according to numbers released Friday by the Department of Economic Opportunity.

Scott vetoes four budget-related bills, including hurricane catastrophe fund proposal
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott vetoed four budget-related measures Friday, including one designed to shore up the state hurricane catastrophe fund by selling tax credits to insurance companies.

Fla.’s trading partners warn of backlash if Gov. Scott signs new anti-Cuba legislation
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Florida’s top two foreign trading partners and the Florida Chamber of Commerce are sounding alarms about a new state law banning governments from hiring companies with business ties to Cuba.

SunRail, road work could create 100,000 jobs over time
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
Trevor Small drove his dusty triaxle truck full of limestone to the railroad track just south of town and dumped his load.

Fighting the excesses of executive pay
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
When CEO pay at major corporations tops 300 times that of average workers, it hurts investors, workers and the economy.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Labor union, lawmakers try to slow hospital layoffs
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
A labor union and several lawmakers are working together to delay a budgetary move by the Department of Children and Families.

Court hears closing arguements in children's Medicaid challenge
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Tallahassee
Friday marked closing arguments in a lawsuit over the state’s Medicaid program that’s being going on since 2005.

Budget would delay statewide Medicaid managed care for dentistry
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
The state budget and an implementing bill signed this week by Gov. Rick Scott would delay the phasing in of Medicaid managed care plans for dentistry, but Scott made clear he would support the plans in the future.

Medicare 'bills' will cost the county plenty
By C.T. Bowen
Tampa Bay Times
At 9:30 Tuesday morning, Rep. Jimmie T. Smith is scheduled to stand before the Hernando County Commission and tout the accomplishments of the 2012 Legislature.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Florida watches as Supreme Court set to hear state of Arizona argue immigration laws
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear the state of Arizona argue that it has a right to enforce its own immigration laws.

The Politicization Of Domestic Violence
By Annie-Rose Strasser
Think Progress
For the first time since its original passage in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is facing a fight.

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.

We're paying politicians to strip away our rights
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Politicians love to prattle on about their love for the U.S. Constitution. They think it makes them sound patriotic.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Lawyers for the needy decry Florida budget veto
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Two months ago, Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County Director Bob Bertisch had high hopes that Gov. Rick Scott would spend one of his workdays learning how Bertisch's lawyers help low-income domestic violence victims and poor homeowners fighting foreclosures.

Court clerks hit hard by state cuts
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Despite some of the highest fees in the nation for everything from adoptions to foreclosures, Florida’s court system faces another big budget cut that threatens to jeopardize timely access to vital government services.

George Zimmerman released on bond with GPS tracker early Monday
By David Damron and Bianca Prieto
Orlando Sentinel
George Zimmerman was released early Monday morning from the Seminole County jail, the Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Zimmerman charge will be hard to prove
By Carl Hiaasen
Miami Herald
It will be astonishing if George Zimmerman is convicted of second-degree murder for shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.