Daily Clips fior 5-21-12

FEATURED STORIES

Fictional program created at FAMU to funnel millions for two senators' non-profits
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Over the past three years, Florida A&M has been used as what the university has called a “pass through” to send millions in taxpayer dollars to nonprofit groups with close ties to two term-limited state senators.

State moves to defend against FCAT outrage
By Cara Fitzpatrick and Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Related column: Time to ring the bell on FCAT
Battered by a public outcry over plummeting student test scores — and bracing for more poor results to come — the state's top education officials went on the defensive Friday, creating a call center, websites and a designated email address for frustrated parents.

Florida’s voter purge: A drive for accuracy but lots of wild cards
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Related column: State left untouched real source of voter fraud
Call 10 people on Miami-Dade’s potential noncitizen voter list and, it seems, one is bound to be under indictment.

Florida's election chiefs stung by state moves
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
With August primaries and November elections looming, state and local elections officials last week appeared to be trying to repair their strained relationship .

Governor appoints contracts czar to fight wasteful spending; skeptics doubt it’ll help
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
In Florida’s high-stakes world of government contracting, Connected Nation learned how to play the game.

Scott looking past '12 election to '14 re-election
By Brendan Farrington
Associated Press
Republican Gov. Rick Scott is already getting ready for the 2014 election.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Jim Morin
Miami Herald

FLORIDA POLITICS

Big spenders on lobbyists often work for government
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
It's once again time to go gaga over the amount of cash Florida lobbyists are able to extract from corporations, interest groups and local governments seeking Capitol influence.

To get a voice in Tallahassee, local governments pay lobbyists
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
When Pinellas County's tiny Lealman Fire District needed help navigating the state Capitol this year, it used its limited public funds to hire a lobbyist.

Odd time to purge voter rolls
By Robyn E. Blumner
Tampa Bay Times
Here we go again. Another tight presidential election, another Florida voter purge.

Did LeMieux pressure Crist to get Senate seat?
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp — not George LeMieux — was Gov. Charlie Crist's first choice for a U.S. Senate appointment in 2009.

MacNamara's resignation: a look forward and a look back
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
Governor Rick Scott will soon say good bye to his second chief of staff, and welcome his third one since his 16-month term began.

POLITICAL RACES

Democratic leader Debbie Wasserman Schultz targeted by Republican hopefuls
By Erika Bolstad
Miami Herald
One of her potential Republican rivals recently depicted U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in a spiked collar, calling her "Obama’s attack dog."

Two-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson has rarely had to break a sweat amid GOP fray
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson showed some signs of being a candidate for re-election last week - but he was prodded by President Obama's evolution on gay marriage and an outside group's TV ad rather than by the feuding Republicans who are seeking his seat.

With 100 days to go, key tasks remain for RNC
By Richard Danielson
Tampa Bay Times
Related: When it's time to speak at the Tampa RNC, who will get to grab a mic?
Related: Key facts about the Republican National Convention in Tampa
With the Republican National Convention 100 days away, the Tampa Bay Host Committee celebrates tonight with an invitation-only party at the Harborview Center in Clearwater.

City council still pushing for RNC gun ban
By Kevin Wiatrowski
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott may have rebuffed Tampa's call to regulate guns during the Republican National Convention, but city council members aren't done with the issue yet.

Media call him 'presumptive' or 'likely' nominee, but Mitt Romney is the nominee
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Romney says banking reform hurting housing market in Florida
The prospect of a volatile, contested 2012 convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum would have been thrilling.

Marco Rubio's past includes political vulnerabilities
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
For freshman Sen. Marco Rubio, a rising GOP figure seen as a possible Mitt Romney running mate, there are questions about whether potential vulnerabilities in his personal and political background might hold him back.

Fat cat urged to bankroll anti-Obama hatefest
By Carl Hiaasen
Miami Herald
Joe Ricketts has decided not to spend $10 million on hate. Good call.

Former Rep. Dave Weldon joins crowded GOP Senate field
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Former U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, who represented the Space Coast from 1994 to 2008, announced Friday that he will join a crowded field of Republicans seeking to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Oil well in Cuba comes up dry, raises questions about future exploration
By Juan O. Tamayo
Miami Herald
Cuba’s dreams of an oil bonanza suffered a tough but possibly temporary setback Friday when the Spanish Repsol company confirmed it hit a dry hole when it drilled a well off the island’s northwest coast.

Hunter pleads guilty to killing endangered Florida panther
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
From atop his tree stand, Todd "Scuttlebutt" Benfield could see the tawny fur of a Florida panther prowling through the underbrush. Benfield, a bow hunter looking for deer, knew that panthers eat deer.

Time running out for Florida's springs
By Ron Littlepage
Florida Times-Union
Many of you probably have fond memories of visits to Silver Springs and the Silver River.

LGBT

NAACP backs same-sex marriage as civil right during national board meeting in Miami
Associated Press
Miami Herald
The NAACP passed a resolution Saturday endorsing same-sex marriage as a civil right and opposing any efforts "to codify discrimination or hatred into the law."

Obama stance adds fuel in marriage battlegrounds
Associated Press
Gainesville Sun
President Barack Obama's support for gay marriage has emboldened activists and politicians on both sides of the issue, setting off a flurry of political activity in a number of states and serving as a rallying point in others where gay marriage votes are being held this fall.

Blacks are not a bloc in same-sex marriage debate
By Marisa Kendall
Ft. Myers News-Press
After the NAACP announced its support of gay marriage Saturday, some in Southwest Florida are questioning whether race has anything to do with a community’s stance on the issue.

Discrimination is not a family value
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Last week was a significant one for equal rights in Central Florida.

EDUCATION

Hold politicians accountable for education
By Myriam Marquez
Miami Herald
The FCAT writing fiasco is not a failure — it’s an opportunity to slow down and get things right.

It's time to get rid of the FCAT
By Jackie Pons
Tallahassee Democrat
I appreciate the predicament that state Board of Education members found themselves in Tuesday.

FCAT Grading Change: Capital Test Failure
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
When Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson is forced to make the defensive declaration that the FCAT is a "valid exam," you can be sure that it is anything but.

Why I’m Relieved My Daughter Won’t Be Attending UF
By Pierre Tristam
Florida Voices
As many parents know, April can be the cruelest month, breeding college rejection letters from across the land.

Earth to Legislature: Stop ignoring student-debt threat
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Student-loan debts can dog graduates for decades.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Unemployment rate drops to 8.7 percent, but state loses jobs in April
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Florida’s unemployment rate fell to 8.7 percent in April, down from 9 percent in March, according to numbers released Friday by the Department of Economic Opportunity.

Fla. Revenue Growth Holds Steady
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Lakeland Ledger
Florida government's revenue growth seems to be holding steady, despite continued uncertainty over the economy.

After decades of ranching Florida's cattlemen feeling squeeze
By Jeff Houck
Tampa Tribune
Florida is the third-largest beef-producing state east of the Mississippi River and ranks 10th in the nation.

Blame Legislature, Scott when property taxes rise
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Florida legislators shouldn't get away with saying they didn't raise taxes in this election season.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Scott's pro-child gestures lack follow-up, advocates say
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
In the past year and a half, Gov. Rick Scott named his wife, Ann, the state's chief child advocate.

Despite criticism, reform of health care is working
By Jeanette D. Wynn
Tallahassee Democrat
We recently celebrated National Nurses Week.

Chamber Medicare claims twist the truth
By Aaron Sharockman and Angie Drobnic Holan
Tampa Bay Times
You can officially abandon any hope of a respite from political ads this spring and summer.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

College spares a young man from modern-day slavery
By Bill Maxwell
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Growers, state, feds must stop abuse of farmworkers
On a Saturday morning in the spring of 1963, my life changed forever.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Mom's 20-year term for firing warning shot fuels controversy over Florida's 'stand your ground' law
By Mitch Stacy
Associated Press
Marissa Alexander had never been arrested before she fired a bullet at a wall one day in 2010 to scare off her husband when she felt he was threatening her.

Tragedy can lead to action
Editorial
Ft. Myers News-Press
It’s a travesty that Tracey Kleinpell’s death essentially goes unpunished.