PROGRESS
FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
Rick Scott refuses federal demand to stop hunting for potential noncitizen voters
By Marc Caputo and Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald
Excerpt: Said Mark Ferrulo of Progress Florida: "Rick Scott will stop at nothing to continue the GOP's disgraceful legacy of disenfranchising voters in Florida."
State defends voter purge, accuses feds of breaking law
By David Royse
News Service of Florida
Excerpt: "The fact that Gov. Scott is using the nearly nonexistent threat of voter fraud as an excuse to continue his dragnet voter purge reveals his true intention to rig the 2012 election," said Mark Ferrulo, executive director of the liberal advocacy group Progress Florida.
Rick Scott doubles down on voter purge
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing Tampa
Excerpt: Mark Ferrulo with the group Progress Florida, is blasting Scott for his decision…”We call on the Department of Justice to launch an immediate investigation into Gov. Scott’s disgraceful attempt to purge eligible Florida voters, particularly Hispanic and African American U.S. citizens, from the voting rolls.”
FEATURED
STORIES
League of Women Voters to restart registration drive after judge tosses Legislature's restrictions
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Veteran League of Women Voters volunteer Mary Berglund had been registering voters since 1986, until the civic group a year ago abruptly halted its 72-year practice in the face of a new Florida law restricting voter registration campaigns.
Florida Defends Search for Ineligible Voters
By Lizette Alvarez
New York Times
Saying the state would not stop trying to scrub the rolls of ineligible voters, Florida’s election chief told the Department of Justice on Wednesday that Florida was not violating any laws.
Florida tops in public corruption, changes needed, watchdog says
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
With Florida leading the nation in federal public corruption convictions over the past decade, a watchdog group Wednesday urged the state Legislature to give more investigative power to the state’s Commission on Ethics.
Task force faces big hurdles to save state billions of dollars
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
If Florida government truly were efficient, universities would offer a full complement of classes all summer.
Florida recession even worse than before
By Douglas Hanks
Miami Herald
Even though it’s officially over, Florida’s recession keeps getting worse.
FLORIDA
POLITICS
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi won't rule out suing feds over stonewalling noncitizen voter hunt
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's office won't rule out suing the Department of Homeland Security for refusing to share its citizenship database with Florida's elections division in its hunt for noncitizen voters.
A Better Way To Ensure Accurate Voter Rolls
By Paula Dockery
Florida Voices
Over the past few weeks, I've been asked to comment on the state's efforts to purge the voter rolls, the methodology by which it came up with the initial and revised lists, and the propriety of the U.S. Department of Justice’s intervention.
Returns shaky for state
By Andrew Marra
Palm Beach Post
If Florida truly wants to rid the voter rolls of noncitizens, the state is doing so in the worst way.
Florida Election Laws: Feds Talk Straight
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
The Republican strategy to retain majority-party control of Florida is simple and straightforward: to prevent as many people as possible from voting.
Orange voters react angrily to request for new signatures
By Scott Powers and Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Some voters are showing signs of getting fed up with efforts to question their right to vote in Florida, reacting angrily to 214,000 letters sent by Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles this week to longtime and absentee voters in Orange County.
Five Months Shy of Presidential Election, Groups Again Registering Voters in Florida
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
In big news this week was an announcement by the League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote that they will resume voter registration in Florida.
YOU CALL THIS FAIR? New districts are still gerrymandered
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
As most Floridians know, the fight for Fair Districts wasn't easy.
Former Congressman Alan Grayson: the time has passed for Democrats to play nice
By Liz McKibbon
WMNF Tampa
Florida officials appear to be continuing the fight to purge non-citizens from voter rolls this election cycle. Democratic and human rights activists gathered at the Marriott in St. Petersburg last night where former Congressman Alan Grayson blamed Republicans for a lack of solutions.
Business coalition hopes to be incubator for political leaders
By Anthony Clark
Gainesville Sun
To get more business people involved with local government, a coalition of business groups has been preparing 12 people to run for public office or help with political campaigns through the Public Leadership Institute.
POLITICAL
RACES
Mack wins coveted Jeb Bush endorsement for U.S. Senate run
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Delivering perhaps the most coveted endorsement in Florida Republican politics, former Gov. Jeb Bush today announced his support for Rep. Connie Mack over former appointed Sen. George LeMieux in the GOP's bruising Senate primary.
Jeb Bush on run for presidency: 'This was probably my time'
Staff Report
Orlando Sentinel
In an interview that will air this morning, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush rejects any notion of being Mitt Romney's running mate on the GOP ticket — "under no circumstances," he says — but when asked about his own presidential aspirations says this year "was probably my time."
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Florida manatees: Do not disturb
By Katie Tripp
Gainesville Sun
We've all heard the stories, seen the online videos, or perhaps done it ourselves; thrown a head of lettuce to a manatee, stuck a running hose over the side of the dock, or approached a group of manatees in shallow water.
Politics, greed drive wetlands issue
Editorial
Winter Haven News Chief
Imagine Florida Gov. Rick Scott as Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513 landing on the pristine La Florida ("place of flowers") shore in the vicinity of the Caloosahatchee River.
LGBT
Scouts to review ban on gays; no change imminent
By David Crary
Associated Press
The Boy Scouts of America will review a resolution that would allow individual units to accept gays as adult leaders, but a spokesman says there's no expectation that the ban on gay leaders will in fact be lifted any time soon.
EDUCATION
Hernando School Board rejects high-stakes testing resolution, but supports concept
By Danny Valentine
Tampa Bay Times
The Hernando County School Board likes the message against high-stakes standardized testing.
What is Plan B?
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
The Alachua County School Board isn't alone in calling for a retreat from Florida's increasingly brutal high-stakes testing regime.
Hazing death leading to wide changes at FAMU
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
Florida A&M University is planning to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of efforts to revamp the school after the hazing death of a school drum major.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Scott’s chief operating officer finds areas to squeeze in state government
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
A Florida panel reviewing how state government spends taxpayer money heard Wednesday a list of cost-saving recommendations from David Wilkins, who Gov. Rick Scott has named his chief operating officer.
Scott talks jobs on Daytona visit
By Derek Catron
Daytona Beach News-Journal
The message was jobs and Gov. Rick Scott would not be distracted from it -- not even by the woman with a walker and oxygen tank wearing a "Purge Rick Scott" T-shirt.
Citizens interim president touts uncapping rates as he tours state
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post
As the state's insurer of last resort prepares to name a new president next week, one of five candidates, interim president Tom Grady, continued a barnstorming tour today to keep alive the idea of uncapping rates for new customers.
Only 30 Florida banks ranked 'weakest' in new quarterly rankings
Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
The winnowing of Florida's most troubled banks continues, suggesting the worst of the state's bank failures is over.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
On hospital report cards, FL does well
By Cristina Rabaza
Health News Florida
Florida hospitals rated significantly better than the national average on the first "report card" published today by a non-profit group dedicated to patient safety.
Efficiency panel urges health insurance parity
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
All state employees -- from the governor and chief justice to the janitor and newest clerk -- would pay the same for their health insurance, under a recommendation approved Wednesday by a special commission on cutting operating costs of Florida government.
Friday rally to protest birth-control mandate in health insurance
By Jon Shumake
Florida Times-Union
As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to issue its verdict on the constitutionality of the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act, people across the country will participate in the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally Friday to oppose the bill.
CIVIL
RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
How the NRA and Its Allies Helped Spread a Radical Gun Law Nationwide
By Adam Weinstein
Mother Jones
Related: See How Quickly "Stand Your Ground" Spread Nationwide
The Florida law made infamous this spring by the killing of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin was conceived during the epic hurricane season of 2004.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
Teamsters, Department of Corrections clash over probation policy
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
The labor union that represents the state's corrections officers is trying to block cost-saving measures at the Department of Corrections that limit officers’ ability to check up on parolees and probationers in their homes.
Florida defense attorneys overloaded
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
How many clients is too many for a public defender?
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