Daily Clips for May 1, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

U.S. Justice Department approves redrawn Florida redistricting maps
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
State officials on Monday cleared the final two hurdles needed to put their new redistricting maps into effect, setting the stage for candidates to qualify for office using the state's new political boundaries.

$8,000 fine for Marco Rubio was not his first from FEC
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related: In Fox interview, Rubio explains use of GOP credit card, friendship with David Rivera
The widespread attention paid to an $8,000 election fine levied against U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's campaign underscores heightened scrutiny the star politician is receiving and renewed past issues that could hang over him as he's considered as a vice presidential candidate.

Sen. Rubio's vote on Violence Against Women Act draws controversy
By Margie Menzel
News Service of Florida
Sen. Marco Rubio – a strong contender for the GOP vice-presidential nomination – is finding his vote against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act to be a source of controversy.

Independent task force wants changes to 'stand your ground' law
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The statewide task force to review Florida's "stand your ground" law will begin its work today, but a state senator who formed his own task force is recommending the law be rewritten to make it more difficult for defendants to claim self-defense.

Bar launches awareness drive on judicial retention votes
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
The Florida Bar launched a $300,000 campaign Monday to educate voters about what role they play in determining whether state Supreme Court Justices and appellate judges stay in office.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Gov. Rick Scott to sign bill banning governments from hiring companies tied to Cuba
Staff Report
Miami Herald
Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday will sign a contentious bill into law that would ban state and local governments from hiring companies with business ties to Cuba and Syria.

POLITICAL RACES

RNC hotel assignments out — Florida gets Innisbrook Resort
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related column: For Florida Republicans, a humid Siberia
The coveted hotel assignments for the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa are out, and Florida will be sent to the convention's version of Siberia.

Michelle Obama campaign stop rakes in $300,000, shows Democrat support in Collier
By Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Naples Daily News
A visit from first lady Michelle Obama last week raised about $300,000 for her husband's reelection, according to a source close to the campaign. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Turtle nesting off to early start
By Kelly Farrell
Naples Daily News
Sea turtles have a head start on nesting season in Collier and Lee counties.

LGBT

Jax City Council to talk gay rights
Staff Report
WJXT Jacksonville
Jacksonville's City Council will soon be discussing gay rights in the River City.

EDUCATION

Florida's pre-K programs need improvement
By Bill Maxwell
Tampa Bay Times
If it is true that our children are our future, I am convinced that Florida's future is bleak.

Florida Poly Will Take Time to Set Up, Brogan Says
By Mary Toothman
Lakeland Ledger
Frank Brogan, chancellor of the State University System of Florida, said Monday there is no way the new Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland can open for classes this fall.

Genshaft: No layoffs for USF Poly employees until at least July 2013
By Kim Wilmath
Tampa Bay Times
After saying last week that she wasn't sure the University of South Florida would be able to keep all the employees from USF Polytechnic past July, president Judy Genshaft now vows there will be no layoffs for at least a year beyond that point.

Sen. Nelson hears student loan laments
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
Not only does University of Florida undergraduate Keira Thompson have student loans, but so does her mother.

Retrenchment
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Given recent events it is difficult to be optimistic about the future of public higher education in general and the University of Florida in particular.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

State housing agency wants to loosen requirements for federal mortgage help program
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
The Florida Housing Finance Corp. board of directors voted Friday to ease restrictions on qualifying and to boost payments for a federal mortgage assistance program designed to help unemployed or underemployed workers struggling to make monthly payments.

Extended unemployment benefits set to expire in Florida
By Marcia Heroux Pounds
South Florida Sun Sentinel
A Floridian who loses his job this year will be eligible for 74 weeks of unemployment benefits, instead of the 99 weeks available during the recession.

Citizens seeks fewer customers, higher premiums
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Citizens Property Insurance has some new ambitious goals: Move as many as 678,000 policyholders out of state-run insurance and once again become the “insurer of last resort.”

Fla. AG asks public how to spend $300 million
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is asking the public for advice on how to spend $300 million.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Mental-health plan, state reach settlement
By News Service of Florida
Ft. Myers News-Press
After months of legal battling about whether it spent enough money on patient care, a Medicaid mental-health plan will not have to pay back about $4 million to the state, according to a settlement agreement.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

FDLE: Florida's crime rate continues to drop
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
Florida's crime rate has fallen to a four-decade low, according to statistics released Monday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Johnnie Byrd plots comeback, this time as a judge
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
When Johnnie Byrd left Tallahassee after serving as House speaker eight years ago, the judgments were not kind — from his peers or the public.

Florida Supreme Court Justices Goofed, But Not A Criminal Offense
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Voices
When the legendary state Sen. Dempsey Barron bossed the Florida Senate, he would dismiss a silly argument by reciting a ribald limerick ending with the Latin legal dictum "de minimus non curate lex" -- the law does not concern itself with trifles.

Florida’s Innocence Commission Deserves Life
By Susan Clary
Florida Voices
With the stroke of a pen, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy abolished the death penalty last week making that state the 17th in the country to abandon capital punishment.