Daily Clips for May 2, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Rick Scott signs Cuba-crackdown bill, but it's a public relations fiasco
By Marc Caputo and Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Gov. Rick Scott began Tuesday morning as the darling of Miami's Cuban exile community, but by day's end he was being vilified for the way he handled a bill cracking down on companies that do business with Cuba and Syria.

Scott signs law bad for Florida business
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott might be the jobs governor, all right — for other gulf states.

Gov. Rick Scott talks about texting, Stand Your Ground and his latest boots
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Related: Lack of jobs, not banks, to blame for blighted homes, governor says
Gov. Rick Scott stopped at the Sun Sentinel's editorial board Tuesday afternoon, fielding questions on a variety of subjects – many of which he didn't offer an opinion on.

While Florida officials pan 'Obamacare,' the public covers many of their medical expenses
By Francis Gilpin
ABC Action News
While Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi leads the legal assault on the Obama administration's attempt to provide 49 million uninsured Americans with medical coverage, state workers like her needn't worry about their own taxpayer-subsidized health insurance.

$21 Million to Help FL Health Centers to Serve More Patients
By Mary Kuhlman
Public News Service Florida
More Floridians will be able to receive services through community health centers, thanks to new funding from the Affordable Care Act.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Unauthorized biography of Marco Rubio paints nuanced, largely flattering portrait
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Marco Rubio can breathe easier.

Redistricting — legal, but flawed
Editorial
Miami Herald
In a matter of days two hurdles to holding an orderly election in November in Florida disappeared, clearing the way for candidates for 27 congressional districts, 40 state Senate seats and 120 state House seats to fire up their campaigns.

POLITICAL RACES

Ex-GOP hopefuls back Senate rivals
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Two former Republican presidential candidates with tea party followings have weighed in on Florida's GOP Senate primary as some in the party fret about a lack of grass-roots enthusiasm for the race.

Needing earmark, Romney went to C.W. Bill Young
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Mitt Romney hates earmarks. But it wasn't always that way, and when he needed one — $60 million to provide security for the Salt Lake City Olympic Games — Romney went to Florida's earmark king.

Florida's RNC delegates may face dreary ride to the convention hall
By Lane DeGregory
Tampa Bay Times
For Florida's delegates, the road to the Republican National Convention starts here: behind a small white guardhouse rimmed by begonias.

RNC commute would make Scott support mass transit
By Joe Henderson
Tampa Tribune
I think there is a way to get Gov. Rick Scott's help bringing the Tampa Bay area's mass transit into the 20th century. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Progress Energy wants to nearly double monthly charges for nuclear projects
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Progress Energy announced Tuesday it is requesting an increase of nearly double the amount it now charges customers for planned nuclear energy projects.

Appeals court to consider Gulf oil spill plans
By Greg Bluestein
Associated Press
The federal appeals court in Atlanta is set to hear a challenge from environmental groups seeking to block Shell from drilling 10 new deepwater wells off the coast of Alabama, one of the first drilling approvals since the disastrous 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Feds seek summer trial date for Gulf spill claims
Associated Press
Florida Current
The Justice Department is urging a federal judge to set a new trial date for no later than this summer for government claims against BP over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

EDUCATION

100 Collier school district positions to be cut due to budget crunch
By Heather Carney
Naples Daily News
In an effort to help balance its budget, Collier County Public Schools will eliminate 100 positions districtwide this year, including music, physical education, and art teaching positions.

Budget committee recommends Lee schools cut support staff funding
By Chris Umpierre
Ft. Myers News-Press
Lee County schools might have fewer support employees assisting teachers in classrooms next year.

Deerfield school gives FCAT on wrong day
By Cara Fitzpatrick
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The point of taking FCATs is to ensure students are on track.

Board members being sought for Fla. Polytechnic
Associated Press
Miami Herald
The Board of Governors is seeking trustee applicants for Florida's newest public university.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Citizens closes $750 million reinsurance bond, setting record
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. borrowed $750 million in wind risk catastrophe bonds on Tuesday, the largest single tranche bond offering of that type to capital markets.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Terri Schiavo foundation leaves Florida
Associated Press
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Terri Schiavo's family members have moved the foundation they started after her death from St. Petersburg to Philadelphia.

Top-down mandate
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
"Alachua appears first on an alphabetical list of Florida counties," notes the suit.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Stand Your Ground task force to hold public hearings
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott’s public safety task force had its first meeting Tuesday, and the 19-member group decided its mission would be to review Florida’s self-defense laws, specifically the controversial Stand Your Ground statute.

Carroll defends makeup of 'Stand Your Ground' panel
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Ocala Star-Banner
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll on Tuesday defended the makeup of the panel that Gov. Rick Scott appointed to look into Florida's self-defense laws in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting death.

Lawyers: 'Stand your ground' law becoming more common defense
By John Woodrow Cox
Tampa Bay Times
On a sticky summer night in 2010, William Siskos tucked a .22-caliber Ruger in his waistband and walked to a home on Ligonier Road in Spring Hill.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

In Prison Nation, Gov. Scott Rejects Modest Reform
By Martin Dyckman
Florida Voices
Nothing could make less sense than Gov. Rick Scott's pretext for vetoing the bill designed to ease a few nonviolent offenders out of prison. It doesn't sound as if he even read it.

Charges expected in FAMU drum major's hazing death
By Mick Schneider
Associated Press
When prosecutors announce criminal charges Wednesday in the hazing death of a Florida A&M University band member, they will embark on a legal chess game involving multiple defendants who require different approaches for winning convictions, experts say.