PROGRESS
FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
CEO's Rate Florida Second Best In The U.S. For Business (audio story)
By Gina Jordan
WLRN Miami
Excerpt: Damien Filer, political director of the advocacy group Progress Florida, says the jobs being created are low wage, service industry jobs. “Many of the states that are high on this list have, and Florida’s a perfect example, the lowest percentage of people who have health insurance, they have some of the most lax environmental regulations, and they actually have some of the lowest ages of death.
The BluVu: Week of May 14th
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
Rick Scott's administrative meltdown continues as his controversial chief of staff is forced out, the FAMU Marching 100 will remain suspended through the 2012- 2013 school year, Bill Nelson wants misleading ads pulled, Damien Filer has the word from Progress Florida and Amy's back with Accion Latina!
FEATURED
STORIES
Florida non-citizen voter list will be vetted against Homeland Security database
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
State highway officials soon will begin vetting a list of 180,000 potential non-citizens who are registered to vote against a U.S. Department of Homeland Security database, The Palm Beach Post has learned.
Voter fraud effort smacks of voter suppression campaign
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Only citizens can vote in Florida elections, and the state has an obligation to reasonably attempt to ensure the voter rolls are accurate.
The Florida GOP's looming nightmare
By Charles Mahtesian
Politico
The Jim Greer trial is going to be a doozy. The former Florida GOP chair goes to trial on fraud charges July 30 in Orlando – just a month before the Republican National Convention comes to Tampa. And there’s every sign it will be a messy affair.
Party's lawmakers have hit rights, health, pay, safety
By Susannah Randolph
Orlando Sentinel
Let there be no doubt that the Republican war on women is coordinated, intentional and dangerous.
G.O.P. ‘Super PAC’ Weighs Hard-Line Attack on Obama
By Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg
New York Times
Related: Magnate Steps Into 2012 Fray on Wild Pitch
A group of high-profile Republican strategists is working with a conservative billionaire on a proposal to mount one of the most provocative campaigns of the “super PAC” era and attack President Obama in ways that Republicans have so far shied away from.
BEST
OF THE BLOGS
Student video: How high-stakes tests affect kids
By Valerie Strauss
The Answer Sheet
There is one voice rarely heard in the screaming debate about the role of high-stakes tests in education: that of students.
Southwest Florida: Could The Tide Turn?
By Kartik Krishnaiyer
The Political Hurricane
Christine Jennings learned the hard way what has been ongoing since the early 1970s in southwest Florida.
Can Government Do Anything Right?
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
This question, "can government do anything right", is at the heart of polarization between the GOP and Democrats.
Campaign Diaries — Before You Run
By Kenneth Quinnell
Florida Progressive Coalition
It’s kind of important that a candidate for office being thinking about and preparing for a campaign long before they actually jump into a race.
House GOP Votes to Kill Census' American Community Survey
By AnnieJo
Daily Kos
Last Wednesday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives took the budget axe to the American Community Survey (ACS), the Census Bureau's up-to-date annual counterpart to the decennial population counts.
FLORIDA
POLITICS
MacNamara, More Political Consultant Than Public Servant
By Paula Dockery
Florida Voices
When newly elected governor and political outsider Rick Scott realized his inner circle’s inability to navigate the murky waters of Florida government, he turned to the ultimate Tallahassee political insider, Steve MacNamara.
Starting over at the Capitol
Editorial
Miami Herald
When Rick Scott ran for governor, he waged a classic outsider’s campaign, vowing to clean up state government as only a no-nonsense businessman could.
ALEC undermines representative government
By Kelly Iwansky
Panama City News Herald
Democracy is an egalitarian form of government in which all the citizens of a nation together determine public policy, the laws and the actions of their state, requiring that all citizens (meeting certain qualifications) have an equal opportunity to express their opinion. In this country, we have a representative form of democracy.
Rubio blasts visa for Castro daughter to come to U.S.
By William Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and fellow Cuban-Americans from Florida chided U.S. officials on Thursday for issuing a travel visa to Cuban President Raul Castro’s daughter, saying it would allow her to “spread the propaganda of her father’s regime.”
POLITICAL
RACES
Don't believe chamber's TV attack ads
By Alan Grayson
Orlando Sentinel
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has begun running ads in Orlando attacking Sen. Bill Nelson and me.
Rev. Wright not an issue, Romney says; candidate stops in Boca
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
After repudiating a conservative group's plans to attack President Obama's ties to his fiery former pastor, Mitt Romney on Thursday accused the Obama campaign of being "focused on character assassination" for its attacks on Romney's business background.
Mitt Romney continues his Florida campaign in Jacksonville
By Adam Kealoha Causey
Florida Times-Union
Mitt Romney used campaign stops in Jacksonville on Thursday to criticize President Barack Obama's attempts at "character assassination" amid reports Republicans had been readying an attack ad aimed at the Democratic incumbent.
Meet the Rubios
By Lois Romano
Politico
Marco and Jeanette Rubio, sitting side by side on their brown sofa in their sunny house, could be any young couple musing about life: juggling four kids, a job that separates them, aging parents, their faith and whether or not to move.
Crowded field fights to face Florida Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz
By Brandon Larrabee
News Service of Florida
There is already a scrum of candidates fighting to take on one of the most visible national Democrats in Florida: Democratic National Committee Chairwoman and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schulz.
Tampa passes temporary "Event Zone" ordinance for Republican convention; protesters infuriated
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Tampa
Tampa City Council passed an ordinance Thursday that will prohibit certain items and actions in downtown Tampa during the Republican National Convention this August; protesters say it violates their free speech rights and city officials are still working on finding a way to skirt a Florida law that allows guns in the so-called Event Zone.
BALLOT
INITIATIVES
Orlando earned sick time initiative
By Billy Manes
WMFE Orlando
This week Billy Manes talks about the newly formed group Citizens for a Greater Orlando and the push for 18,000 signatures to bring the issue of paid sick time to the ballot box.
Amendment 4 backers show their ‘assets’ in Central Florida
By Bob Shaw
Orlando Sentinel
The Florida Association of Realtors has begun its Central Florida campaign for adoption of the Amendment 4 restrictions on property taxes in a big way — with a $350,000 burst of TV, radio and direct-mail ads as well as robo-calls.
LGBT
Volusia passes domestic partner registry, boosting rights for unmarried couples
By Andrew Gant
Daytona Beach News Journal
Volusia County passed its domestic partnership registry today in a 6-1 vote that puts Volusia near the top of a growing list of cities and counties with similar measures on the way.
Changes to Jacobs' registry plan please gay activists
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Gay-rights activists said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs' original plan for a countywide domestic-partner registry was "seriously flawed" and needed changes before it's voted on Tuesday.
Happytown
By Billy Manes
Orlando Weekly
OK, it's official: We are sick of writing about this.
Anti-discrimination bill puts Aaron Bean in a politically tricky spot
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Chalk this up as another person put in a politically awkward spot by Jacksonville's anti-discrimination bill.
Domestic partner registry is a fine way for Hernando County to atone for bigotry
By Dan DeWitt
Tampa Bay Times
I have a suggestion for how Hernando County can atone for one of the more stunning affronts to civil rights in its history.
EDUCATION
Obama ed chief criticizes Florida’s GOP-led Legislature on tutoring standard
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan teed off Thursday on Florida’s Republican-ruled Legislature for effectively sidestepping spending flexibility the federal government had granted the state under No Child Left Behind.
FCAT Fracas Revives Old Question: Are Florida Students Learning?
By Howard Goodman
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
The state’s first round of standardized test scores are in, and the answer is: Consternation!
FCAT results due Friday
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Brace for it. The Florida Department of Education is scheduled to deliver FCAT writing scores to districts and schools early Friday, followed by a public release later in the day.
FCAT writing fiasco
Editorial
Miami Herald
We warned back in February that Florida was pushing through FCAT reforms at warp speed without the appropriate time to train educators on the new requirements, and ignoring each student’s year to year improvement.
Proposed administrative cuts at UF: 50 positions lost, a delay in services
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
Budget cuts to the University of Florida's administrative departments would result in more than 50 positions being eliminated and delay services including building repairs, the disbursement of student aid and the detection of data security breaches, under proposals for those cuts released Thursday.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Florida foreclosures jump again while nation continues decline in April
Staff Report
Florida Current
Foreclosure activity nationwide fell nearly 14 percent in April, but Florida’s foreclosure epidemic remains strong, posting a 26 percent increase over the same month last year, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac, a California-based company that tracks distressed properties.
SBA report says it may be time for government employers to put more in pension fund
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
For three straight years, Florida legislators have not made government employers -- including themselves -- chip in enough money to continue closing the gap between assets and liabilities in the Florida Retirement System, according to a State Board of Administration report.
Scott, business execs and lobbyists head to Spain next week
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott will head for Spain on Sunday evening for a five-day trip designed to promote Florida as a destination for Spanish businesses, as well as the Viva Florida 500 celebrations for the quincentennial of Ponce de Leon’s landing on Florida’s east coast.
Under pressure, Citizens panel considers phase-in of rate hike on new policies
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
A panel of Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s board of governors looked at taking a slower approach to a proposed 30 percent statewide rate increase for new policies during a meeting Thursday.
A rocket launch at Cape Canaveral could ignite Florida's commercial space industry
By Curtis Krueger
Tampa Bay Times
If a sleek new rocket launches Saturday from Cape Canaveral, it will count as a milestone — the first privately built capsule to journey to the International Space Station.
Stop hedging on regulation
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Don't feel dumb if you can't grasp how JPMorgan Chase lost $3 billion-plus.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
Fate of 'uninsurables' hinges on Supreme Court
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Associated Press
Cancer patient Kathy Watson voted Republican in 2008 and believes the government has no right telling Americans to get health insurance.
Task force gets caught up in battle over drug repackaging
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
A committee looking to cut the costs of government weighed in on an issue that has fueled a multi-year lobbying battle, endorsing limits on payments to doctors who distribute medicine paid for by workers' compensation insurance.
Fraud cases end with legal opinion
By Carol Gentry and Christine Jordan Sexton
Health News Florida
Professional boards have always held doctors and dentists responsible for filing accurate claims and honest bills.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
Federal court rejects challenge to Florida law regulating outside political groups
News Service of Florida
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A federal appeals court Thursday quickly rejected a constitutional challenge to a 2010 Florida election law regulating some outside groups that run political ads or send mailers.
Evidence mixed for Zimmerman's self-defense claim
By Mike Schneider
Associated Press
When George Zimmerman tries to convince a judge or a jury that he shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense, the evidence in the case appears to be a mixed bag.
Scary silence on threat to Palm Beach County justice system
By Randy Schultz
Palm Beach Post
Bob Butterworth was Florida's attorney general for 16 years. Pam Bondi is Florida's current attorney general.
No comments:
Post a Comment