Daily Clips for May 11, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Romney apologizes for 'hijinks and pranks' after report that he bullied student during high school
By Kasie Hunt
Associated Press
Mitt Romney apologized Thursday for "stupid" high school pranks that may have gone too far and moved quickly to stamp out any notion that he bullied schoolmates because they were gay.

The hunt for non-citizen Florida voters exposes partisan divide
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Amid an increasingly partisan dog fight, Florida elections officials say the number of potential non-citizens they’re examining on the state voter rolls is 180,000, a figure far higher than what was initially reported.

Gov. Rick Scott’s chief of staff made exception to travel rule for friend
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
When Gov. Rick Scott came to office, he adopted a policy for his agencies that required out of state travel to be “cost effective” and “have a direct and measurable benefit to getting Floridians back to work.”

Spring is in the air, and so are job changes for state workforce
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
In what has become a dismal rite of spring, the job-changing process is getting cranked up again for employees of Florida government.

Sen. Marco Rubio says his immigration plan is “humanitarian mission”
By Erika Bolstad
Miami Herald
Most Democrats are already on board with letting young people who came to this country illegally to stay in the United States, if they are going college or the military, and if they meet other strict requirements.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Official: "Bigger Fish To Fry" Than Actually Prosecuting In "Preventive" Florida Voter Purge
By Inkberries
Beach Peanuts
From the Department of Phantom Voter Fraud, Republicans in Florida have made sure that the Florida Division of Elections is hard at work enforcing their new election laws that restrict voters from getting to the polls.

The Great Destroyers let no economic crisis go to waste
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
The last five years have tested the hypothesis that the public doesn't care what government does, so long as its belly is full and cares even less when its belly is empty.

Mitt Romney Outed As Anti-Gay High School Bully
By Adam Peck
Think Progress
Last year’s string of heartbreaking suicides by young members of the LGBT community who had been bullied by their classmates led hundreds of celebrities, sports teams, politicians and ordinary citizens to record “It Gets Better” videos.

Who said this first? Gay group starts petition to force Dems to move convention out of NC
By Peter Schorsch
St. Petersblog 2.0
A gay advocacy group is trying to rally sympathizers to help shift the Democrats’ trouble-plagued convention from North Carolina to another state.

FLORIDA POLITICS

The world according to Vern Buchanan: Ethics, schmethics
By Daniel Ruth
Tampa Bay Times
From the day he arrived in Washington raising one hand to be sworn in as a member of Congress while extending his other outstretched palm, Rep. Vern Buchanan of Sarasota has consistently been considered one of the most ethically challenged figures on Capitol Hill.

Advocates demand meeting with Rep. Young; worried about budget for social service programs
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Tampa
A group of progressive advocates wants U.S. Representative Bill Young to meet with them to talk about provisions in that controversial budget.

POLITICAL RACES

Obama criticizes Romney as 'backwards on equality'
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
President Barack Obama wasted little time casting his historic embrace of same-sex marriage as a political wedge issue Thursday, telling a Hollywood fundraising crowd that it shows how his vision of the country differs from Republicans.

Rep. Connie Mack all clear in mailer violation, official says
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
The Republican head of the House Franking Commission says "no further action" will be taken against U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers, whose mailer this week violated House rules because it was widely distributed beyond his district.

Democrat Murphy’s poll shows him tied with Allen West
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Democrat Patrick Murphy‘s campaign today released its own poll that shows him tied with Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, in the new Palm Beach-Treasure Coast district where the two are running.

RNC chairman Reince Priebus to Florida GOP: There's room at Tampa Bay Times Forum
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Florida Republicans better not count on a lenient national GOP to give them prime floor seats to the Republican National Convention in Tampa after they broke the party's primary schedule rules.

In state attorney's race, both serious and suspicious choices
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
In 20 years of covering political debates, I witnessed one of the strangest this week. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Poll documents ongoing emotional harm from BP oil disaster
By Sue Sturgis
Facing South
Two years after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf Coast residents continue to suffer emotional fallout from the disaster.

Cuba embargo could threaten oil-drilling safety, expert says
By Erika Bolstad
Miami Herald
The 50-year-old U.S. embargo of Cuba is getting in the way of safety when it comes to deepwater drilling in Cuban waters, an expert on the communist country’s offshore drilling activity said Thursday.

Bill signed by Scott increases liability protection for landowners offering public recreation
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A bill signed last week by Gov. Rick Scott with near unanimous support in the Legislature would broaden liability protection for landowners who provide public outdoor recreation on their land.

Tampa Bay area residents restricted to once-a-week watering due to drought
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
As expected, the continuing drought prompted state water officials Thursday to limit lawn watering in Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties to one day a week.

LGBT

Florida Not Saying ‘I Do’ To Gay Marriage
By Howard Goodman
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
With Barack Obama making presidential history by declaring his support for same-sex marriages, it’s a good time to look where gay marriage rests in Florida.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson to receive SAVE Dade award; says gay marriage 'should be left to the states'
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
A day after President Barack Obama announced support for gay marriage and on the eve of his accepting an award from Miami-Dade County’s leading gay rights group, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has tip-toed out of the political closet.

Jacobs unveils plan for registry
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Mayor Teresa Jacobs unveiled a plan Thursday that would allow same-sex partners and others in Orange County to get end-of-life and notification protections that Orlando leaders adopted last year.

President Obama's momentous evolution on same-sex marriage
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
In a courageous act of moral leadership, President Barack Obama has made civil rights history by announcing his support for same-sex marriage.

EDUCATION

With new adjustment, school grades won't drop as far as expected in Florida
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
School grades likely will tumble this year but not as far or fast as once feared.

Florida's NAEP science scores improve but still lag nation
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Florida eighth graders continue to lag behind the national average on the NAEP national science exam, but their overall score rose.

Embattled longtime FAMU band director resigns amid turmoil at university
By Katie Sanders
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Aftershocks from the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion six months ago rocked Florida A&M University again Thursday, with the state’s top university official calling for the Marching 100 band to stay suspended.

Scott's task force a waste
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
If Gov. Rick Scott wants to remake Florida's higher education system to meet the demands of a knowledge-based economy, he should start from a personal knowledge base rather than appoint a "blue ribbon" task force.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Scott job czar claims 21,000 future new jobs
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Although most of the details are still shrouded from public view, Gov. Rick Scott's jobs czar said Thursday that the state's array of economic-incentive programs have helped "establish" more than 21,000 jobs since last July.

Fla. hurricane insurance fund may not cover needs
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
Florida may not have enough money to pay off hurricane insurance claims if a big storm hits this year.

As federal government touts tourism, Florida counties setting records
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
As the federal government is unveiling new plans for promoting tourism, Florida's travel industry is showing signs of recovery, with some parts of the state setting records.

South Florida’s private sector getting less help from the public
By Douglas Hanks
Miami Herald
South Florida’s private sector faces a growing handicap: South Florida’s public sector.

Proposal offers way to help pay SunRail's operating bill
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
A bipartisan bill circulating in Congress could help the SunRail commuter train in Central Florida pay for millions of dollars in annual operating deficits.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Medicaid doctors’ pay could soar
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Florida doctors who treat Medicaid patients are paid a pittance – less than it costs to cover their overhead.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Group objects to Florida DCF head using state email to send prayer to employees
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A group that advocates the separation of church and state is accusing Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins of violating the U.S. Constitution by using state e-mail to send a prayer to employees of his department asking God to help them "find their identity in You."

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

In foreclosure case arguments, justices wary of overturning dismissal
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
The Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a potential watershed case Thursday that could chasten the actions of banks and lenders seeking foreclosures.

A Mother's Day “Hangup” For Prisoners? Report Details "Price-Gouging"
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
This weekend, Florida prison inmates who call their moms on Mother's Day will pay at least $1.20 per minute for long distance calls.

Florida justices uphold term limits in Hillsborough, Polk
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
The Florida Supreme court says charter counties can have term limits for their elected officials.