Daily Clips for June 18, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Scott's voter roll purge wins fans, energizes opponents
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott's effort to purge the state's voter rolls of noncitizens has bogged down in the quicksand of dueling court battles, generated intense blowback from Democrats, and proven once again — if we needed a reminder — that Florida is the most contested state in the presidential election.

Voter rolls and Scott’s ‘bumblefest’
By Carl Hiaasen
Miami Herald
First of all, it’s not really a purge. Purges are organized, thorough and ruthlessly efficient.

When Mitt Romney campaigns in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott's absence is evident
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
Whatever strategy Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has for winning Florida, it doesn't include campaigning with Gov. Rick Scott.

Ethics group wants more teeth to crack down on Florida Legislature's rule breakers
By Brittany Alana Davis
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The Florida Commission on Ethics will ask the Legislature for the authority to impose higher fines on public officials who flout the rules and the teeth to go after those that don't pay up.

The Rest of the Marco Rubio Story
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Lakeland Ledger
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's political memoir "An American Son" will be offered to the public Tuesday with a compelling story of a son of Cuban immigrants who has risen to the highest levels of American government.

Florida has a lot riding on Supreme Court ruling on Affordable Care Act
By Ledyard King
Ft. Myers News-Press
No matter what the court decides, the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the 2010 health care reform law will set off a scramble in Florida.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Andy Marlette
Pensacola News Journal

FLORIDA POLITICS

Why the Feds Are Suing Florida for Allegedly Purging Voters
By Suevon Lee
ProPublica
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Florida over its voter purge program aimed at removing non-citizens from voter rolls.

Voter purge issue grows increasingly contentious in the battleground state of Florida
By Lynn Hatter 
WFSU Tallahassee
Longtime Floridian Eileen Selis knows what it’s like to get a purge letter from the state: “I was frightened. I’ve no reason to be, but you know, you get that, and you get a little scared.”

Supervisors won’t purge voters without more proof
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Area election officials are not happy about being caught in the middle of a political war between Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the U.S. Justice Department over purging potential noncitizens from Florida’s voter rolls.

One too many voter-roll purges?
By Waldo Proffitt
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
You can tell this is an election year because Florida is going through its traditional every-four-year voter purge.

Connected company muscled state agency out of Internet contract
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
In 2009, with more than a quarter of all Floridians without broadband access to the Internet at home, state officials lined up to get some of the $7 billion in federal stimulus money to finance state-based programs to increase access.

‘American Son’ tells tale of 2 Marco Rubios
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
On the cusp of being sworn in as Florida’s newest senator in 2011, the Miami-born son of Cuban exiles had wandered away from his family during a tour of George Washington’s Mount Vernon home.

It’s a king thing: Thrasher drops out of Senate prez race, backs Negron
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Uniting to shape the Florida Senate, John Thrasher has dropped out of a race for president in 2016 and is now backing Stuart Republican Joe Negron.

Oelrich questions Stearns on CF earmarks as wife rose at school
By Bill Thompson
Ocala Star-Banner
In December 2000, Central Florida Community College administrators learned that the federal government would kick in almost $1 million toward the Ewers Century Center, the elegant 60,000-square-foot glass edifice that now greets visitors at the State Road 200 entrance to the campus.

Scott gets okay to record airport welcome
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott was given the go-ahead Friday to record visitor greetings on shuttles at Tampa International Airport by the Florida Commission on Ethics, which dismissed the idea that the messages amounted to a prohibited gift.

POLITICAL RACES

Obama to block deportations, urge work permits for young illegal immigrants
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
The Obama administration's decision Friday to block the deportation of young illegal immigrants and allow them to obtain work permits thrust a sensitive issue into an election already thick with tension over the economy, while highlighting the growing political clout of Hispanics.

Romney won't say he will overturn immigration order
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Mitt Romney is refusing to say that he would overturn President Barack Obama's new policy allowing some young illegal immigrants to stay in the United States.

Romney’s what-Rubio-says immigration stance
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Mitt Romney has a more nuanced immigration stance these days. Call it WWRD, an abbreviation for What Would Rubio Do?

North Carolina poses uphill battle for Obama, though Charlotte is DNC host city
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Preparations for the Democratic National Convention are humming along in this model city of the New South.

Is the GOP Senate primary over? Connie Mack says so
By Katie Sanders
Tampa Bay Times
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV's strategy to win the Republican primary for U.S. Senate is simple: ignore it.

Gov. Rick Scott Receives $250,000 From Sheldon Adelson
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Gov. Rick Scott recently received a big check for his re-election campaign.

How Rick Scott Can Get Away With Raking In Millions in Unlimited Contributions
By Rich Abdill
Broward New Times
Gov. Rick Scott spent $73 million of his own money in the 2010 governor's race. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Lighthouse among thousands of historic structures facing threat of sea level rise, state says
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse, the González-Alvarez House in St. Augustine and Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas are just a few of the more than 12,000 historical structures that could be affected by modest sea level rise, a state council was told Friday.

Two years after the BP Oil Spill, gulf businesses still waiting on settlement
By Jessica Palombo    
WFSU Tallahassee
It’s peak tourism season in the Gulf Coast, and in Destin, the Harbor is bustling with people sipping rum drinks, taking pirate cruises and lounging on the decks of a giant waterfront restaurant, A-J’s Seafood and Oyster House.

Don't sell off natural treasures
By Clay Henderson
Daytona Beach News-Journal
What part of the word "forever" don't they understand?

LGBT

Obama at LGBT pride reception: 'Together, we’ve stood resolute; unwavering in our commitment to advance this movement'
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
This is the official White House transcript of President Barack Obama's speech at Friday's LGBT Pride Month Reception.

Domestic partner registries quietly signal progress
By Sue Carlton
Tampa Bay Times
Sometimes when we are busy paying attention to the assorted scandals and outrages of the day, there are signs our world might be quietly evolving.

EDUCATION

Possible doubling of college loan cost a political hot potato
By Michael Vasquez
Miami Herald
At Florida International University — where, like other state schools, tuition costs more than double what it did a decade ago — senior Stephani Galindo is frustrated.

It's a brave new world for rural students
By Erica Brough and Karen Voyles
Gainesville Sun
The lockers have been emptied, buses parked and classrooms closed for the summer in public schools across North Central Florida.

FCAT impasse
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
School boards and the state Department of Education are not having a healthy conversation about Florida's student-testing regime.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Unemployment rate dips to 8.6 percent in May
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Florida added 5,300 nonagricultural jobs in May as the unemployment rate dropped by 0.1 percent to 8.6 percent, according to numbers released Friday by the Department of Economic Opportunity.

State cutbacks lead to closing of finance investigations
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Budget cutbacks and staff reductions at the Office of Financial Regulation mean the state agency will end three of its 14 ongoing finance-related investigations as of June 30.

Can Florida's biotech projects be weaned off subsidies?
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Dr. Stephen Gardell looks over Orlando's slowly materializing $2 billion Medical City and says his team hasn't lost sight of the "grand plan": a cluster of labs, hospitals and classrooms that will allow new technologies to advance from "the bench to the bedside."

Defense spending dropped $800M in Fla. last year
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
A contractors group says defense spending dropped by $800 million in Florida last year.

Workers lose either way on pension ruling
By Jac Versteeg
Palm Beach Post
A state judge ruled in March that the law requiring Florida workers to pay 3 percent of their salary into their pension plan is illegal.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Healthcare reform for sick children: a big step for Florida families
By Sarah Boseley
Guardian UK
Florida has yet to see many of the benefits of President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms – and that is the way Governor Rick Scott wants to keep it.

Florida’s health consumers deserve protection
By Laura Goodhue
Miami Herald
It was disappointing to read Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty’s May 28 Other Views article, Whoa — Don’t cash those rebate checks yet.

New federal health-care tax on medical devices concerns Florida manufacturers
By Liz Freeman
Naples Daily News
Greg Riemer didn't back out of a deal to acquire a small Florida business to expand his company that makes components for medical devices, even though he knew his profit margin soon may drop.

Lawmakers Could OK Prison Privatization Plan
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
With a judge still deciding whether the plan is constitutional, a legislative budget panel this month is expected to consider moving forward with the privatization of prison health services.

Medical City is coming, slowly
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Dr. Stephen Gardell looks over Orlando's slowly materializing $2 billion Medical City and says his team has not lost sight of the "grand plan:" a cluster of labs, hospitals and classrooms that will allow new technologies to advance from "the bench to the bedside."

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

NRA goes after Florida sheriffs candidates with survey
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
It isn’t often that Florida sheriffs back down from a fight.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Florida's penchant for knee-jerk legislation hurts in the long run
By John Romano
Tampa Bay Times
The old man is fading. Those who know him say he looks far older than his 65 years.

A double crime
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Circuit Court Judge John Skinner was right two years ago, when he said that sentencing Ronald Thompson — an elderly, ailing veteran — to 20 years in prison was "a crime in itself."