Daily Clips for July 5, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Rick Scott overstates cost of health care overhaul
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
When Florida Gov. Rick Scott took to the airwaves this past weekend to criticize President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, he said that it would cost Florida taxpayers $1.9 billion a year.

Scott questioned about accuracy of assertions about Affordable Care Act
By Margie Menzel
News Service of Florida
Continuing a national media blitz Tuesday against last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, Gov. Rick Scott fielded some penetrating questions from radio hosts about statements he’s made since the high court ruled.

Scott's pointless war on health law hurts Florida
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Floridians are paying dearly for Gov. Rick Scott's obsessive opposition to "Obamacare."

Two political insiders to survey Florida's big landowners about toll road routes
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
Two developers who played a role in dismantling growth management laws in Florida are getting paid by the Department of Transportation to consult on what could be the largest state road project in history.

As Florida jobless rate drops, so do benefits for unemployed
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
The next three months will determine just how long thousands of unemployed people will receive state jobless benefits next year.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Liberal activists stalk Rubio as book signings
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Several days into his book tour, Sen. Marco Rubio has been greeted with big, enthusiastic crowds across Florida.

Fox in the Henhouse
By Paula Dockery
Florida Voices
Last week I spent almost four hours gathering personal information to properly fill out my financial disclosure form.

POLITICAL RACES

Tampa could learn lessons from 2008 RNC mistakes
By Ted Jackovics
Tampa Tribune
From the beginning, the 2008 Republican National Convention was supposed to be different.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Sick of it
By Billy Manes
Orlando Weekly
On June 28, while all eyes were on the Supreme Court decision on President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act – most notably its effects on small businesses, states' rights and the individual mandate – a ragtag coalition of local activists was keeping its focus on a different side of the health-care discussion: the almost silent majority of low-wage earners, many of whom aren't allowed to take sick time off from work, whether they have health coverage or not.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Bald eagles make impressive recovery in Florida
By David Fleshler
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Bald eagles in Florida continue to expand their range, establishing new nests and securing the future of species that once appeared close to extinction.

LGBT

Obama administration asks Supreme Court for quick review of gay marriage law
Associated Press
Miami Herald
The Obama administration is asking the Supreme Court to settle the legal fight over a law that denies federal benefits to married gay couples.

EDUCATION

State seeks to boost student knowledge about government
By Cara Fitzpatrick
Tampa Bay Times
A third of Americans can't name any of the three branches of government. Fewer than half understand what separation of powers is, and twice as many can name a judge on American Idol than the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Every student's results count
By Mackenzie Ryan
Florida Today
With a learning disability and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Robert Thomas fell further and further behind at Cambridge Elementary School in Cocoa.

School districts gamble with limited hurricane-insurance coverage
By Dave Weber
Orlando Sentinel
School districts across Central Florida are betting that a hurricane won't hit here and cause more damage than their meager insurance policies cover.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Obama declares 5 Florida counties eligible for aid after Debby
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
President Barack Obama on Tuesday declared that a major disaster exists in Florida after Tropical Storm Debby and ordered financial aid for individuals in five counties, including Pasco.

Veterans face tough obstacles to employment
By Emily Roach
Palm Beach Post
Hector Rivas has been deployed twice since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and one of the top things on his mind during his recent 10 months in Afghanistan was finding a job when he got home.

Fix mortgage flaw that enabled robo-signing in Florida
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Florida counties are missing out on millions of dollars and homeowners are being kept in the dark about who owns their loans because the state does not require that mortgage assignments be recorded.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Why Rick Scott and other GOP governors are likely to buckle on Medicaid
By Perry Bacon Jr.
The Grio
Florida Republican Rick Scott and other Republican governors and state legislators are threatening to refuse federal Medicaid funds under the Affordable Care Act, as they now have the right to do after last week’s ruling by the Supreme Court on “Obamacare.”

Anti-Medicaid dogma
Editorial
Ocala Star-Banner
If you were governor of a state where almost one-fourth of your residents have no health insurance, compassion might cause you to give thoughtful consideration to a federal program designed to help those residents.

Scott stops using misleading talking points in criticizing 'Obamacare'
By Tia Mitchell
Miami Herald
Gov. Rick Scott is continuing his media blitz, appearing on at least one national radio program Tuesday to criticize the health care law.

Breaking down the debate over the health care law
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The U.S. Supreme Court may have ended its debate over the Affordable Care Act, but the rhetoric over the historic decision is just heating up in Florida.

New law could spur employers to drop role as health-care buyer for workers
By Chad Terhune
Los Angeles Times
The Supreme Court’s endorsement of the federal health care law last week could spur more employers across the nation to relinquish their long-standing role as chief health care buyer for their workers.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Advocates calls for federal action to restore ex-felons' voting rights
News Service of Florida
Tampa Bay Times
Hundreds of thousands of Florida ex-felons who have completed their sentences still can't vote, a prohibition that is hindering their re-entry into society, a group of voting rights advocates said Tuesday as they urged Congress to step in.

New Fight Begins for Immigrant
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
On Wednesday, thousands of immigrants across the state and county will be sworn in to become US citizens.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Judge refuses to rule in Florida prison health care dispute
By Brittany Alana Davis
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A state circuit court will not rule on whether legislators broke the law in their push to privatize the state's prison health care system, leaving the yearlong dispute unresolved.

Justice denied in cash-strapped courts
Editorial
Miami Herald
Florida’s court system is overburdened with too many cases and too few dollars.