Daily Clips for May 30, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

World War II Bronze Star winner resents Fla. letter questioning citizenship, right to vote
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Bill Internicola, 91, American-born, winner of the Bronze Star for valor at the Battle of the Bulge and a lifelong voter, received a letter recently from the Broward Supervisor of Elections saying the state has doubts that he is a U.S. citizen and challenging his right to vote.

6 members of Congress ask Fla. to stop voter purge
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Six Democratic members of Congress are asking Florida Gov. Rick Scott to suspend a push to remove voters from the rolls.

Charlie Crist beating Rick Scott in poll about 2014 race for governor
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Check out this intriguing May 23-25 statewide poll of registered voters by Florida Opinion Research, asking about a Charlie Crist vs. Rick Scott gubernatorial matchup in 2014.

Sen. Marco Rubio's bill draws charges of hypocrisy from immigrant advocates
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio this month filed a bill aimed at making it harder for nonresident aliens to claim a child tax credit. The effort drew little attention for good reason: Rubio's office did not publicize it.

Failed stewardship puts Florida wetlands at risk
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Wetlands are fragile things, and in recent years Florida has done a horrible job of protecting them.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Meet Bill: The 91-Year-Old Decorated WWII Veteran Targeted By Florida Governor Rick Scott’s Voter Purge
By Judd Legum
Think Progress
Bill Internicola is a 91-year-old, Brooklyn-born, World War II veteran.

South Florida Democrats say Gov. Rick Scott leading "misguided" effort to purge voters from state rolls
By Amy Sherman
Miami Herald
The state’s controversial list of registered voters who may not be U.S. citizens includes a Brooklyn-born 90-something Broward Democrat who is, in fact, a citizen and World War II veteran, and has voted at least a dozen times in the past decade.

In Florida’s Voter Roll Scrub, Charges of Suppression
By Howard Goodman
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
One of the weird things about politics in Florida is that, although Republicans own commanding majorities in both houses of the legislature and have consistently won the governorship since 1998, Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 500,000 registered voters.

David Rivera investigation left behind $50,000 mystery
By Scott Hiaasen and Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Buried amid the records compiled in the recently concluded criminal probe of Republican Congressman David Rivera is a $50,000 mystery.

Eight-paragraph affidavit at center of Buchanan ethics inquiry
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s latest trouble with the federal government revolves around just eight paragraphs in a legal document.

Democrat Rep. Randolph announces bid for party chair; rivals say they're focused on 2012
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Democrat Rep. Scott Randolph of Orlando announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election as he mounts a bid to become chairman of the Florida Democratic Party.

Sen. Marco Rubio makes first visit to Cuba — tours Guantanamo camp
By Carol Rosenberg
Miami Herald
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio visited the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay — setting foot on Cuban soil for the first time in his life — in a solo fact-finding visit on Tuesday that the Cuban-American lawmaker cast as nothing more than typical congressional business as a novice member of the intelligence committee.

POLITICAL RACES

In-fighting May Be Costly for GOP in Florida, Elsewhere
By Donna Cassata
Associated Press
Mutual admiration was the rule for Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson's listening session at the University of South Florida.

Romney clinches GOP nomination with Texas win
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Mitt Romney clinched the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday with a win in the Texas primary, a triumph of endurance for a candidate who came up short four years ago and had to fight hard this year as voters flirted with a carousel of GOP rivals.

Trump overshadows Romney with 'birther' talk
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Mitt Romney's presidential campaign collided with Donald Trump's "birther" rhetoric on Tuesday as the reality television star hosted a fundraiser for the Republican while claiming again that President Barack Obama is foreign-born.

Journalists, police working out ground rules for GOP convention in Tampa
By Jessica Vander Velde and Eric Deggans
Tampa Bay Times
Protesters might not be the only people filling Hillsborough's jails during the Republican National Convention.

Fla. puts limits on what can appear on ballot
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Florida's elections office says voters should only see a candidate's name on the ballot and not any titles or degrees.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Gulf Coast cities, counties and business groups offer support for federal oil spill legislation
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
More than 100 leaders of Gulf Coast cities, counties, chambers of commerce and economic development groups on Tuesday announced they are urging Congress to pass federal legislation directing penalties paid for the 2010 oil spill to go to Gulf Coast states.

Beryl sets record for early storms
By Alexandra Seltzer
Palm Beach Post
Tropical Storm Beryl made landfall in Jacksonville as the strongest tropical storm to hit land before the beginning of the hurricane season.

U.S. and Cuban scientists work to save turtles and sharks
By William E. Gibson
Orlando Sentinel
Though Cuba and the United States have limited the flow of people and goods across the Florida Straits, sea turtles, sharks and other endangered species swim unimpeded from one country's waters to the other's, linking their rich but fragile environments.

LGBT

Supporters to deliver petition in Orlando for ousted lesbian Boy Scout leader
By Amy Pavuk
Orlando Sentinel
Supporters of an Ohio mother who says she was ousted as her son's Boy Scouts den leader because she is a lesbian will be in Orlando on Wednesday, where they will present the organization with a petition asking she be reinstated to the position.

EDUCATION

Florida teachers union opposing evaluation rule
Associated Press
Bradenton Herald
The Florida Education Association is challenging a proposed state rule on teacher evaluations that would be used in part to determine who gets merit pay.

Grad rate debated as standards get tougher
By Annie Martin
Daytona Beach News-Journal
When school started last summer, Yasmin Ramirez wasn't sure she would don a cap and gown with her classmates this spring.

Florida higher education panel holding 1st meeting
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott's task force on overhauling state colleges and universities is getting to work.

Ammons Speaks Out on Hazing
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Evidence released last week in the cases of 11 people charged with the hazing death of a Florida A&M University Drum Major details just how ingrained hazing is among band members.

Machen: Permanent cuts, not reserves, will balance budget
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
University of Florida President Bernie Machen said Tuesday that it was a mistake last year to tap reserves to address budget cuts and that he won't be dealing with this year's cuts in the same way.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Labor Department investigates Florida's tougher unemployment benefit system
By Marcia Heroux Pounds
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The U.S. Department of Labor said it is investigating Florida's new state processes to claim unemployment benefits.

Consumer confidence in Florida jumps in May
Staff Report
Florida Current
Florida's consumer confidence jumped three points in May, bucking its trend from last year.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Florida nursing homes stand to lose millions from Medicare
By Barbara Peters Smith
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A little-noticed change in how Medicare pays for nursing home patients will hit Florida harder than any other state over the next three years.

Health-care mandate attacks religious freedom, Protestant, Catholic leaders say
By Jeff Kunerth
Orlando Sentinel
Prominent Protestant pastors joined Catholic Bishop John Noonan on Tuesday to denounce a federal health-care mandate as an attack on religious freedom.

Allen West says that “ObamaCare Slush Fund” was being used to spay dogs and cats as part of an “anti-obesity campaign”: Mostly False
By Amy Sherman
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald PolitiFact
Put down your hot dogs and doughnuts and listen up: Americans have gotten fat. And we’ve heard advice from that fit First Lady about how to lighten up -- eat our veggies and get moving.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Florida’s Latino Voters More Worried About Education Than Immigration
By Gina Jordan
StateImpact
A new poll finds Latino voters are more concerned about education than immigration.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

State back in court, fighting to privatize inmate health care
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Gov. Rick Scott's administration was back in a familiar place Tuesday -- a Florida courtroom -- as it fights to privatize all medical care for the state's 100,000 prison inmates.

Daily Clips for May 29, 2012

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Controversy brewing over Gov. Scott's push to purge state's voter rolls
By Troy Kinsey
Tampa Bay News 9
Excerpt: (Progress Florida’s) Damien Filer thinks the Republican governor may be playing politics ahead of a major election. "What they're doing is out of compliance with the national Voting Rights Act," he said. "They're not allowed to be doing this kind of thing this close to an election.  They're not allowed to target particular subsets within the voting electorate, which this clearly appears to be doing."

FEATURED STORIES

Florida Telling Hundreds Of Eligible Citizens That They Are Ineligible To Vote
By Judd Legum
Think Progress
Related: Meet Maureen Russo: An Eligible Florida Voter Governor Rick Scott Just Purged From The Voting Rolls
Related: How Florida Governor Rick Scott Could Steal The Election For Mitt Romney
Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) has ordered the state to purge all “non-citizens” from the voting rolls prior to November’s election.

One woman's experience in Florida's targeting of noncitizen voters
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
She's the prototypical Tampa Bay resident in many ways.

Wetlands expert suspended by DEP after she refuses to approve permit
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Imagine, if you can, a state that actually protected the environment
Florida's top state wetlands expert has been suspended after she refused to issue a permit on a controversial project — one that she said her boss was willing to bend the rules to approve.

New Laws Challenge Constitution and Coffers
By Tristram Korten
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
When Maria Kayanan answered the door of the ACLU’s Miami headquarters one morning in October 2011, she saw a woman in jeans and a T-shirt standing outside.

State employees' unions eye ballot
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Labor unions in Wisconsin are facing a historic test next week in the recall election of Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

College loans are next debt crisis
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
Marlins Park, financed by bonds that will take four decades and $2.4 billion to pay off, makes a perfect setting for commencement exercises.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Monte Wolverton
Gainesville Sun

FLORIDA POLITICS

Congressional Black Caucus rallies preachers to tackle voter-ID laws
By William Douglas
Miami Herald
The Rev. Dr. Franklyn Richardson longs for the old days, when all it took was Sunday sermons by African-American ministers to fire up their flocks to get registered and vote in local, state and federal elections.

Hunting for elephants, unleashing political tsunamis
By Myriam Marquez
Miami Herald
The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain.

What's Spanish for 'Gov. Goofball'?
By Daniel Ruth
Tampa Bay Times
It's fair to say that should Mitt Romney win the presidency, the prospects of Gov. Rick Scott being named ambassador to Spain are somewhere between hapless duffer Charles Barkley winning the U.S. Open and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski being granted parole.

U.S. Rep. Allen West willing to 'talk about raising taxes' if government ever is 'right-sized'
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, raised eyebrows last week when he told constituents it might be OK to "talk about raising taxes" at some point in the future if Congress slashed spending and "right-sized the federal government" beforehand.

Earmarked funds amount to abuse of public trust
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Repairing a golf course in Orlando wasn't exactly what the U.S. Department of Education had in mind in 2010-11 when it sent $867,000 in federal stimulus money to Florida for a program run by Florida A&M University for "targeted student assistance."

POLITICAL RACES

Marco Rubio, Rob Portman offer splashy, safe options for Romney as VP candidates
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Marco Rubio isn't the only rookie Republican senator from a swing state to generate considerable vice presidential buzz as Mitt Romney looks for a running mate.

Polls Aside, Florida Vote Will Be Close
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Lakeland Ledger
Mitt Romney leads the presidential race in Florida.

Sen. Bill Nelson's cautious approach comes with heavy emphasis on populist issues
By Alex Leary
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
The world’s greatest deliberative body faces monumental decisions on issues ranging from crushing debt to nukes in Iran. But U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is more likely to be seen fighting monster snakes.

Changes create districts that look ripe for Democrats, Hispanic candidates
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Call it the curse of political gerrymandering: While Central Florida's urban core has shifted Democratic and Hispanic in the last decade, the region's representation in Tallahassee remained overwhelming Republican and white.

Amid redistricting, many former Florida lawmakers seek return to office
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A lot of former Florida lawmakers want their old jobs back.

Where are Kids on the Campaign Trail?
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
Advocates for children in Florida say the youngest Americans are being ignored so far in the presidential campaigns, and they're hoping that changes before November.

Apathy is the enemy of electorate
By Stephen Goldstein
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Apathy is the mother of all extremism. When good, well-intentioned people sit on the sidelines — watching politics as though it were a spectator sport or gullibly believing everything they hear — bad things happen to all of us, everywhere.

Washington lobbyists, trade groups scaling back on Tampa convention
By Anna Palmer
Politico
Republicans aren't living up to their moniker — the Grand Old Party — at this summer's national convention.

When Political Conventions Mattered
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Voices
Do you remember the suspense, the euphoria of victory and the loneliness of defeat that can be found only in a hard-fought floor fight at a presidential nominating convention?

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Green Slime Outbreak on Florida Waterway
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
This Memorial Day weekend, red, white and blue weren't the only colors visible on Florida waterways.

Second company plans to drill between Cuba and Keys after first test well was dry
By Eric Staats
Naples Daily News
A Spanish company's search for oil off the northern coast of Cuba has come up empty after raising concerns about the potential of an oil spill reaching Florida shores, but another exploratory well is in the works.

Progress Energy's Levy County nuclear project carries on despite setbacks
By Ivan Penn
Tampa Bay Times
Arguably, Progress Energy has a gambling problem.

Scott ignores value of proper planning
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott's planning decisions invariably show he is a relative newcomer to the state.

LGBT

Marriage issue looms in Florida vote for president
By Michael Peltier
News Service of Florida
With debate and votes taking place around the state and polls showing a growing acceptance, the issue of same-sex marriage and domestic partner rights will likely be among a host of second tier issues that could determine which presidential candidate takes the state.

Polls on gay marriage not yet reflected in votes
By David Crary
Associated Press
Poll after poll shows public support for same-sex marriage steadily increasing, to the point where it's now a majority viewpoint.

Gay students graduate openly at U.S. military academies after repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'
By Brian Witte
Associated Press
Gay students at America's military service academies are wrapping up the first year when they no longer had to hide their sexual orientation, benefiting from the end of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that used to bar them from seemingly ordinary activities like taking their partners openly to graduation events.

EDUCATION

Education commissioner addresses FCAT concerns in black community
By Jeff Kunerth
Orlando Sentinel
Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson addressed members of an Orlando black church, a gathering of black clergy, and an "emergency town hall" at Evans High School Sunday in response to a drastic drop in FCAT scores.

Give the FCAT an F
By Donna Koehn
Tampa Tribune
Kick the FCAT to the curb. Do it with malice, and break all the No. 2 pencils for good measure.

College-readiness test yet another challenge for Florida students
By Erica Rodriguez
Orlando Sentinel
Thousands of high-school students across Florida are having to take a new state-mandated test to gauge how ready they are for college classes regardless of whether they plan to pursue higher education.

Hail to our newest campus: Useless State
By Carl Hiaasen
Miami Herald
At a time when Florida’s 11 state universities are financially gasping, the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott are throwing $50 million away on a whimsical new school that might as well be called Useless State.

Plans to create 12th state university could be in trouble
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
A few wrenches have been thrown into the plan to create Florida’s 12th state university.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida grabs a chunk of foreclosure settlement money for state budget
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Out of $334 million in cash payments sent to Florida in a multibillion dollar mortgage settlement with major banks, more than $33 million will help bolster the state's budget.

Citizens has $19.5 billion after six storm-free seasons
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post
Supporters of uncapped rates for new Citizens insurance customers have complained about the "hyperventilating" media coverage the plan has received, but insist such moves are necessary to protect Floridians from something really bad – assessments.

Construction Projects in Jeopardy
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
A stalemate in Washington could bring construction in Florida grinding to a halt.

Still reckless after all these years
Editorial
Miami Herald
Last week brought some encouraging news about the nation’s banking industry: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said bank earnings in the first quarter rose to the highest level in nearly five years and the number of troubled banks fell for the fourth consecutive quarter.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Counties, state making progress over Medicaid billing problem; lawsuit still looms
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
County officials across Florida say they appreciate a new level of openness with the state regarding a long-running dispute about unpaid Medicaid bills.

Planned Parenthood's bold voice shifts fight for women
By Lona O'Connor
Palm Beach Post
Faced with what critics call a war on women, Planned Parenthood is launching its own tactical weapon.

State's new surgeon general still finds refuge in Ocala
By Vishal Persaud
Ocala Star-Banner
Florida's new surgeon general is a globe-trotting Army brat who spent time in exotic locales like Cambodia and Hawaii, has studied at Princeton and the University of Virginia and has practiced medicine from one end of Florida to the other.

More doctors avoid jury trials, require arbitration agreement
By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post
A couple of steroid injections to ease the pain of an aching shoulder nearly killed suburban Lake Worth resident Stuart Goldberg.

Fl State Hospital Workers Fired for Improper Care of Pregnant Woman
By Ryan Benk
WFSU Tallahassee
As the investigation continues into the alleged mishandling of a pregnant mental patient at the Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, at least two hospital employees have been fired, with more action expected. 

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Witnesses in Trayvon Martin case contradict, change their stories
By Frances Robles
Miami Herald
The fight between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin began with two people huffing and puffing in the dark, and then a brief exchange of bitter words.

Targeting America's "Stand Your Ground" Laws
By Adam Weinstein
Mother Jones
Nearly three months after the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin put the spotlight on "stand your ground," a new national organization is pressing thousands of lawmakers across the country to "reform or repeal" laws that sanction the controversial self-defense doctrine.

When the state kills the innocent
By Robyn E. Blumner
Tampa Bay Times
If you're reading this in a comfortable, middle-class home, what happened to
Carlos DeLuna almost certainly could never happen to you.

Daily Clips for May 25, 2012

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

The BluVu: Week of May 21^st
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
The Governor won't take no for an answer, they're checking Marco Rubio's baggage, it's bombs away for the FCAT, and Progress Florida’s Damien Filer brings us the story on sick leave in Orlando as political reality comes your way!

Exclusive Fla Insider Poll: Who's the best VP choice? Not Marco Rubio
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Note: Progress Florida’s Mark Ferrulo and Damien Filer were among those polled.
Mitt Romney's smartest vice presidential choice would come from Florida, say an overwhelming number of more than 100 of Florida’s smartest politicos.

FEATURED STORIES

Voting rights groups ask Scott to stop non-citizen voter purge
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A coalition of voting rights groups is asking Gov. Rick Scott to stop a statewide effort to purge thousands of potential non-citzens from the voting rolls, and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, also plans to ask the governor to stop the scrub.

Gov. Rick Scott’s ’I’ve never shot an elephant gaffe with Spanish king caught on video
By Marc Caputo and Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Related AP story: Fla gov talks about faux pas with Spain's King
Gov. Rick Scott became a punchline in Spain this week after a televised gaffe with the King of Spain, who’s reeling from an elephant-shooting scandal.

FCAT: Thousands of third-graders at risk of being held back
By Laura Isensee
Miami Herald
About 9,000 South Florida third-graders are at risk of being held back because they failed Florida’s reading exam, according to results released Thursday by the state Department of Education.

Groups claim thousands being denied jobless benefits in Florida
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
A national workers’ rights group has filed a federal complaint over Florida’s revamped unemployment compensation system, claiming that the Sunshine State has become the most difficult place in the nation for unemployed people seeking benefits.

Polls show U.S. Senate race a tie in Florida
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
In one of the most competitive Senate contests in the nation, Democrat Bill Nelson is in for the tightest race of his U.S. Senate career against Rep. Connie Mack, two new polls show.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Florida Congressman Demands Gov. Rick Scott ‘Immediately Suspend’ Voter Purge
By Judd Legum and Ian Millhiser
Think Progress
Related: How Governor Rick Scott Is Preventing Eligible U.S. Citizens From Voting In Florida
Florida Congressman Ted Deutch (D) told ThinkProgress today that Gov. Rick Scott was engaging in a “blatant attempt to suppress voter turnout.”

Quick Take on Florida Q Poll
By Steve Schale
Steve Schale
It didn't take long following the release of the Florida Q poll for my phone to blow up this morning.

NAACP's Evolution on Marriage Equality Began Decades ago
By Nadine Smith
Equality Florida
This isn't the first time the NAACP has stepped out on principle for an issue that affects the lives of LGBT people.

Romney’s education vision
By Valerie Strauss
The Answer Sheet
Anybody who thinks President Obama’s education policies have been unfriendly to public education should pay close attention to Mitt Romney’s newly announced school reform vision.

2012 Netroots Awards
By Kenneth Quinnell
Florida Progressive Coalition
It’s that time of year again, the 2012 Netroots Awards are about to begin.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Poll: Scott's ratings improving with Florida voters
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
A voter survey released Thursday suggests Gov. Rick Scott's efforts to improve his image may be swaying some voters who are not closely alligned with either major political party.

Temple Israel cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
By Erika Bolstad
Miami Herald
Miami's Temple Israel on Thursday cancelled a program featuring Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz after a high-profile Republican donor quit the congregation to protest the top Democratic congresswoman's speech.

Poll: Floridians disagree with Tampa's bid to ban guns at RNC
By Richard Danielson
Tampa Bay Times
Floridians disagree with Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn's proposal to ban guns outside the Republican National Convention, a Quinnipiac University poll shows.

Sen. Siplin to admit guilt, pay $3,000 in settlement of campaign violations
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, has reached a tentative agreement with the Florida Elections Commission over alleged campaign finance violations during his 2008 re-election campaign.

Florida Voter Polls: Purges And Politics
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
When it comes to fair voting, will Florida ever learn to do it right? Once again, the state is courting problems as it seeks to purge supposedly ineligible people from voter rolls.

POLITICAL RACES

Marco Rubio plans to sell books in swing states
Associated Press
Ft. Myers News-Press
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of West Miami is planning a swing-state summer bus tour that will also roll through South Carolina, the early presidential primary battleground.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Environmentalists battle DEP, industries on two fronts
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Environmentalists said Thursday they will ask the Florida Supreme Court to require the governor and Cabinet to decide on a plan for a pollution pipeline into the St. Johns River approved by the state.

Tropicana gets OK to connect new generator to FPL
By Susan Salisbury
Palm Beach Post
Tropicana's Fort Pierce citrus processing plant has received state approval for a plan to connect a 1.6-megawatt generating facility to Florida Power & Light Co.'s system.

Santa Fe green
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
This week a stretch of the Santa Fe River near Poe Springs began to run green with algae.

LGBT

Tampa domestic partnership registry opens June 25 to both gay and unmarried heterosexual couples
By Dustin Chase
WFTS Tampa
Unmarried couples will soon be able to register as domestic partners with the City of Tampa beginning next month.

ACLU sues Yancey, School Board
By Vishal Persaud
Ocala Star-Banner
On behalf of two Vanguard High School students, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida filed suit against School Superintendent Jim Yancey and the School Board on Thursday.

EDUCATION

FCAT reading, math scores released, but change in standards could lead to more confusion
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Florida students earned about the same results on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests for reading and math, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Education.

Fewer third-graders pass critical FCAT reading test
By Cara Fitzpatrick and Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Thursday was a rough day at San Jose Elementary School in Dunedin.

Too many answers missing
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
The Florida Department of Education has opened a new hotline to address confusion about the FCAT, and Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson is holding a series of "Conversations with the Commissioner" – including one tonight at 6 at Boca Raton High School - to explain the test.

Applicants Still Needed for Florida Polytechnic University's Board
By Mary Toothman
Lakeland Ledger
It's no lines, no waiting for those interested in serving on the board of the new Florida Polytechnic University, but applications need to be submitted by the end of the month.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Citizens considering rate hike on new policies, but director voted for cap
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Tom Grady, interim director of Citizens Property Insurance Corp., has said he thinks the state-owned company’s plan to raise rates for new policies above the 10 percent cap put in place by lawmakers in 2009 is legal.

Workforce board picks new CEO
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
Workforce Central Florida board members want a Connecticut workforce development administrator to become agency's new president and CEO.

Facebook, JPMorgan gaffs erode faith in Wall St.
By Christina Rexrode and Pallavi Gogoi
Associated Press
Wall Street appears bent on convincing Main Street that the game is rigged.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Lawsuit Alleges Toxic Exposure at Florida Prison
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
More than 160 current and former employees and family members are suing the federal prison agency over ailments they blame on exposure to toxins at an electronics recycling facility at a penitentiary in the Florida Panhandle.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Zimmerman wants evidence private in Martin case
By Mike Schneider
Associated Press
Both sides in the Trayvon Martin murder case want some evidence kept private until trial.