Daily News Clips for September 28, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Scott's shameless voter suppression effort
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Related: New noncitizen voter purge has its own problems, county elections officials say
Less than a week before general election ballots are mailed to voters, Gov. Rick Scott's administration has sent another error-riddled list of potentially ineligible voters to county elections supervisors.

GOP fires vendor over possible voter fraud in Florida
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Republicans on Thursday fired a vendor suspected of submitting 108 questionable new voter registrations in Florida’s Palm Beach County, ground zero for disputed ballots in 2000′s presidential race.

Jobs Revision Show That Obama Has Created Jobs Overall
By Matthew Zeitlin
Daily Beast
News flash! In 2012, there were 386,000 more people at work on payroll jobs in March 2012 than originally reported, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Medicare working to boost Obama in swing states, poll finds
By N.C. Aizenman, Jon Cohen and Peyton M. Craighill
Washington Post
Related: Brutal new Obama ad features Mitt Romney and the 47 percenters
Voters in three critical swing states broadly oppose the far-reaching changes to Medicare ­ associated with the Republican presidential ticket and, by big margins, prefer President Obama to handle the issue, according to new state polls by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Friend of U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan pleads guilty to campaign violations
By Susan Taylor Martin
Tampa Bay Times
In a stunning development just weeks before the November election, one of U.S. Rep Vern Buchanan's longtime friends and another man pleaded guilty Thursday to making illegal campaign contributions.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Poisoning The Judiciary
By Jake
Rantings From Florida
The new inexplicable Republican fever today is the push to repeal three members of the Florida Supreme Court: R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince.

Culture of Cronyism, Entitlement and Corruption on Full Display This Cycle
By Kartik Krishnaiyer
The Political Hurricane
The Daytona News-Journal reported this weekend that Dorothy Hukill’s Campaign has paid her son’s company upwards of 100k in “consulting fees” in the most competitive legislative race in Florida.

Charlie Crist = Florida’s Mitt Romney… Just Without the Hundreds of Millions of Dollars
By Justin Snyder
Florida Wonk
Two years ago this month, I wrote an Op-Ed for the Palm Beach Post criticizing many high profile Palm Beach County Democrats for abandoning Congressman Kendrick Meek’s Senate Campaign in favor of newly reincarnated  “Independent” Charlie Crist.

Honestly, is this the Florida GOP you want?
By Peter Schorsch
Saint Petersblog
Monday’s headlines presented a cross-current of headlines that, despite the GOP’s absolute lock on the levers of power in Tallahassee, have some conscientious Republicans shaking their heads.

Florida Officially Restarts Voter Purge, Revised List Still Appears To Be Inaccurate
By Judd Legum
Think Progress
Florida has officially restarted it’s controversial purge of registered voters less than 6 weeks before election day. Governor Scott’s intention to resume the effort, detailed in a PowerPoint presentation, was first reported by ThinkProgress.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Disney World 'flexing its bicep' in Florida elections
By Jason Garcia and David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Walt Disney World has spent nearly $2.5 million on political candidates and causes in Florida so far this election cycle, according to an Orlando Sentinel review of state records, as the giant resort attempts to influence elections from the Keys to the Panhandle.

Fake Candidate Tells FBI Congressman David Rivera Secretly Ran Campaign
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Lamar Sternad, who ran in the Democratic primary against Joe Garcia for a South Florida congressional seat, admitted to the FBI that he was a stooge for incumbent Republican David Rivera.

POLITICAL RACES

Biden here again? Surrogates come to pitch presidential messages
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
If it seems there's something attractive about South Florida besides sun and sand, there is: votes.

Economists prefer former Romney
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
The number of uninsured would soar and the health-care safety net would unravel under Republican candidate Mitt Romney's health proposals, according to a report by three economists.

George Soros "Panicked…That Romney Could Win This"
By Andy Kroll
Mother Jones
A few months ago, George Soros, the billionaire financier and prolific donor to Democratic causes, picked up the phone and called an old friend.

Call from Clay County GOP: Obama is a Muslim who'll take away Medicare
By Matt Dixon  
Florida Times-Union
In audio picked up by an answering machine, a volunteer for the Republican Party of Clay County can be heard calling President Barack Obama “a Muslim” and saying he wants to “get rid of your Medicare” while reaching out to voters in support of Mitt Romney’s campaign.

Sarasota group protests anti-Obama ad in Herald-Tribune
By Robert Eckhart
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A community activist is leading a protest of the Herald-Tribune’s decision to run a quarter-page ad slamming President Barack Obama at 1 p.m. at the newspaper’s offices downtown.

On campaign bus tour in Panhandle, Mack seeks to stir support for Senate bid
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Rep. Connie Mack IV ended a six-day bus tour Thursday by campaigning across the Florida Panhandle, taunting rival Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in one of the state’s most conservative regions.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

League, GOP mostly agree: Vote no on amendments
By William March
Tampa Tribune
When Floridians enter the voting booth Nov. 6 and find themselves confronting four pages of fine-print legalese describing 11 proposed constitutional amendments, the League of Women Voters has some simple advice: Just vote "no" on all 11.

Constitutionally confused? Let me help
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Many of you say you need guidance on this year's constitutional amendments.

Amendment 8 is not about religious freedoms
By George Williams
Tallahassee Democrat
As the pastor of a church and a public school employee, I want to warn Florida voters about a constitutional amendment that threatens both freedom of religion and public education.

Amendment Four Debate Pits Realtors Against Local Government
By Jessica Palombo
WFSU Tallahassee
A property tax amendment on the upcoming Florida ballot is drawing opposition from local government leaders in Leon County.

Texts show lawyer advised Jacobs on sick time
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs on Thursday released previously deleted cellphone texts that show she received advice and coaching from a longtime political ally on the day commissioners voted to delay a sick-time initiative from the ballot.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Environmental groups say DEP permitting initiative threatens future water supplies
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A Florida Department of Environmental Protection initiative that is intended to create more consistent water-use permitting statewide threatens future water supplies, several environmental groups contend in letters to the department this month.

Florida PSC refuses to dismiss FPL rate settlement
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
Utility regulators turned aside consumer advocates' objections Wednesday and agreed to hold formal hearings on Florida Power & Light Co.'s proposed rate increase settlement endorsed by large commercial and government customers.

Nova Southeastern opens $50 million reef research center
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Every time Richard Dodge looks out his window, he can see how far Nova Southeastern University’s oceanography program has come.

LGBT

UNF now part of same sex marriage Chick-fil-A debate
By Ken Amaro
First Coast News Jacksonville
The politics of same sex marriage and the expressed position of the CEO of Chick-fil-A have now reached the campus of UNF and it is stirring a debate.

EDUCATION

Task force looks at capital funding for charter schools, work that worries traditional public schools
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
A Legislature-created task force has begun chewing over a proposal that aims to provide construction money to Florida’s charter schools — but looks likely to also generate lots of controversy.

Millions come to Florida school districts for evaluation improvements
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Several Florida school districts including Hillsborough County today won millions of dollars in a federal Teacher Incentive Fund grant aimed at improving teacher pay and improve professional opportunities in high-poverty schools.

“Won’t Back Down” Is Not Winning Over Movie Critics
By John O'Connor
StateImpact
The big education movie “Won’t Back Down” is opening this week.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Referee Fiasco Highlights Disdain for American Workers
By Steven Kurlander
Florida Voices
With our nation in the middle of a contentious presidential campaign and our economy stuck in the doldrums, what is the sudden piece of good news that has Americans cheering?

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Florida senator: Duval health chief was 'fall guy' for broader issues with governor's office
By Sen. Audrey Gibson
Florida Times-Union
I read with continued interest and frankly no surprise of the immediate “retirement” of Duval County Health Department Director, Robert Harmon.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

More massage licenses suspended in probe of links to prostitution, human trafficking
By James Call
Florida Curret
Florida Secretary of Health John Armstrong has suspended the licenses of 161 massage therapist in a transcript-buying scandal that investigators think may be tied to a human trafficking.

Zimmerman attorney to speak at national gun-rights convention
By Henry Pierson Curtis
Orlando Sentinel
In a session billed as "Protecting the Right to Protect," George Zimmerman's lawyer will speak to hundreds of gun-rights activists about self-protection at their national convention in Orlando this weekend.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Republican Party wrong to target Florida Supreme Court justices
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Not only has the Republican Party of Florida joined the lynch mob going after three Florida Supreme Court justices, the GOP is being dishonest about its motives.

Fla. justices side with state in property dispute
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
The Florida Supreme Court says the buyers must turn over financial records sought by the state in a lawsuit over the sale of a hospital building and adjoining property.

Daily News Clips for September 27, 2012

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Opponents to anti-abortion amendment release ads linking campaign to Gov. Scott
By Tia Mitchell
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times
Progress Florida is circulating the first round of ads linked to the  "Vote No on 6" campaign that urges voters to reject a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate privacy rights that protect a woman's right to chose to abort a fetus.

FEATURED STORIES

Florida sends election departments list of 198 potential non-citizens -- some may may have illegally voted
By Marc Caputo, Patricia Mazzei and Anna Edgerton
Miami Herald
Florida’s noncitizen voter-purge program roared back to life Wednesday, when Gov. Rick Scott’s elections department produced a new list of 198 potentially ineligible voters — including some who might have cast ballots illegally.

Florida GOP fires firm linked to Romney after suspicious voter forms reported
By Brad Friedman
Salon
The Republican Party of Florida’s top recipient of 2012 expenditures, a firm by the name of Strategic Allied Consulting, was just fired on Tuesday night, after more than 100 apparently fraudulent voter registration forms were discovered to have been turned in by the group to the Palm Beach County, FL Supervisor of Elections.

Provisional ballots could be hanging chads of 2012
Associated Press
Gainesville Sun
New voting laws in key states could force a lot more voters to cast provisional ballots this election, delaying results in close races for days while election officials scrutinize ballots and campaigns wage legal battles over which ones should get counted.

NEW ROMNEY VIDEO: In 1985, He Said Bain Would "Harvest" Companies for Profits
By David Corn
Mother Jones
Campaigning for the presidency, Mitt Romney has pointed to his stint as the founder and manager of Bain Capital, a private equity firm, as proof he can rev up the US economy and create jobs at a faster clip than President Barack Obama.

GOP's campaign against justices walks a fine legal line
By Matt Dixon  
Florida Times-Union
The Republican Party of Florida made waves last week when it formally opposed three sitting Florida Supreme Court justices’ attempts to keep their jobs.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Why no concern about the real place there might be voter fraud?
By John Romano
Tampa Bay Times         
Let's talk about voter fraud. You have to admit, it's been a pretty popular topic around here lately.

Despite judge’s ruling, intent of early-voting change is obvious
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
State elections officials wasted no time in celebrating a federal judge’s decision this week not to block Florida’s repressive new law that reduces the number of early voting days.

Cannon lashes out at GOP critics and Florida Bar in merit retention fight
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
Outgoing House Speaker Dean Cannon, a vigorous critic of the Florida Supreme Court , chastised critics of the Republican Party of Florida, which has come out in opposition to the three justices up for merit retention.

Scott's job favorability rating takes a fall
Staff Report
Florida Current
In spite of his recent efforts to mend fences with Florida educators and other constituents, Gov. Rick Scott's favorability rating has fallen among state residents in a new poll about his job performance.

Governor's office wants judge to shield Lt. Gov. Carroll
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Saying it wants to end a “public campaign of harassment,” the administration of Gov. Rick Scott is asking a judge to shield Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll from a criminal case involving one of her former aides.

POLITICAL RACES

Polls under fire as Obama's Florida lead grows
By William March
Tampa Tribune
A new poll showing President Barack Obama with substantial leads over Mitt Romney in Florida and two other swing states is likely to intensify a national debate over the accuracy of political polls.

PolitiFact: PAC's newspaper ad filled with falsehoods
By Angie Drobnic Holan
Tampa Bay Times
A full-page newspaper ad running in swing states purports to reveal "the true agenda of Barack Hussein Obama."

Mack stops in Brandon, links Nelson to Obama
By William March
Tampa Tribune
U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Connie Mack IV brought his "Freedom Bus Tour" to Tampa on Wednesday, repeating his accusation that his opponent, Sen. Bill Nelson, is a "lockstep liberal" who acts differently in Washington than in Florida.

Senate race is tightening, Mack says
By Bob Rathgeber
Ft. Myers News-Press
A pair of polls released this week show incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson with a double-digit lead over Republican Connie Mack IV, but Mack and his campaign officials Wednesday disputed the numbers.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Voters asked to settle Legislature's fight with high court
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Florida voters this fall are being drawn into a multi-year grudge match between Republican political leaders in Tallahassee and the state's traditionally independent Supreme Court.

League of Women Voters against all Fla. amendments
Associated Press
St. Augustine Record
The League of Women Voters of Florida opposes all 11 proposed state constitutional amendments on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Jacobs: I will recover deleted sick-time text records
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Teresa Jacobs deleted texts from her personal cellphone that dealt with the sick-time debate on the day it was voted down, but the Orange County mayor who has championed open government said Wednesday that she would figure out a way to recover them.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Attorney argues that Cabinet violates Sunshine Law, "rubber-stamps" agency recommendations on land buys
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Circuit Court Judge John C. Cooper on Tuesday opened a hearing in Tallahassee on a lawsuit filed against Cabinet members by pulling out a clear plastic ruler and measuring it against the stack of emails offered as evidence of a conspiracy and violations of the state Sunshine Law.

A Diamond in the Rough
By Paula Dockery
Florida Voices
Floridians are truly blessed with a state park system twice named the best in the nation. Our 160 state parks offer 18 million residents and 80 million tourists the opportunity to enjoy the “real Florida.”

Florida's utility regulators 'most dysfunctional' in the South, watchdog chief says
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
The executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a non-profit, nonpartisan energy watchdog group based in the Southeastern U.S., spoke out about Gov. Rick Scott's recent reappointment of Public Service Commissioner Lisa Edgar today at a meeting with The Miami Herald editorial board. He had some harsh criticism.

Solar company now sees 2-year delay for Gadsden County project
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The CEO of a company that announced a year ago today that it picked Gadsden County for a massive solar energy project said Wednesday construction may not begin until early 2014, two years later than previously announced.

EDUCATION

 
Rick Scott, union leader praise interim education commissioner
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The Florida Board of Education may have given itself two more months to recruit candidates for the education commissioner post, but the head of the state's teachers union and Gov. Rick Scott signaled Wednesday that the right person could be under their noses.

AG opinion: Teachers count in deciding how to spend recognition funds
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
The time is drawing near when Florida schools that scored well on the FCAT get to fight over how to spend their recognition funds from the state.

Pasco school district officials recommend approval of K12 charter school
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
K12 Florida, a charter school outfit that wants to create the Florida Virtual Academy of Pasco County, is under state investigation for allegedly hiring uncertified teachers in another county.

How Prepared Are Florida's College-Bound Seniors For College?
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida high school seniors may have raised their SAT scores, but they still lag behind the national average.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Study shows pension woes here to stay in Florida
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Municipal pension plans are stretching thinner in Florida as a smaller workforce supports a growing number of retirees — with prospects bleak that funds will recover, a report released Wednesday concludes.

Jobs agency spends $750,000 on overhaul of websites
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Since 2010, the state agency that is the main portal for unemployment benefits claims has worked on overhauling the former Agency for Workforce Innovation's website, on creating a content management system to manage jobless claims, and to incorporate the newly formed Department of Economic Opportunity with two former agencies.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Pediatricians: Florida state officials refuse to meet to talk about implementing Obamacare
By Margie Menzel
News Service of Florida
With the clock ticking on Florida’s ability to control how it applies the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, pediatricians say they’ve been trying to meet with the agency that oversees the state’s Medicaid program --- to no avail.

Drug premiums could go up for many Florida Medicare beneficiaries
By Laura Green
Palm Beach Post
Florida seniors who do not shop carefully for a Medicare prescription drug plan could end up needlessly facing big cost increases in 2013. 

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

When activists cry 'activism'
By Joe Henderson
Tampa Tribune
The judicial branch of government is designed to be a body of sober deliberation, free of politics, but we know it doesn't always work that way.

DMS goes to court over 'Taj Mahal' photos
Staff Report
Florida Current
The Department of Management Services filed suit against Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and the Department of Financial Services this week over the historical photographs that hang in the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee.

South Florida mass murderer granted temporary execution stay
Associated Press
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is asking a panel of psychiatrists to determine whether a convicted murderer is insane.

Daily News Clips for September 26, 2012

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

The BluVu: Week of September 24, 2012
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
Guess who's winning the message war, Michelle Obama wows the college crowd, and Damien of Progress Florida comments on the firestorm surrounding Gov. Scott’s education tour…plus much more as political reality comes your way.

FEATURED STORIES

Obama widening lead over Romney in key states
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A new poll shows President Barack Obama opening a double-digit lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in two of the nation's three largest swing states.

Romney in Final Push to Alienate Remaining Voters (satire)
By Andy Borowitz
The New Yorker
With just forty-three days to go until the election, Mitt Romney is in a race against time to offend the few voters he has not already alienated, his campaign manager said today.

Rick Scott's education road show was nice, but advocates want specifics
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
It will take more than a listening tour to convince education advocates across Florida that Gov. Rick Scott is on their side.

Florida GOP's opposition to justices plays ugly politics
By Sue Carlton
Tampa Bay Times
So the Republican Party of Florida is taking aim at our state Supreme Court, specifically at three sitting justices who have apparently displeased the GOP.

Rivera ran secret campaign, Sternad tells FBI
By Manny Garcia and Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Related: A Miami Bonnie without a Clyde
Justin Lamar Sternad, whose failed congressional campaign became the subject of a federal grand-jury investigation, has told the FBI that U.S. Rep. David Rivera was secretly behind his run for office, The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald have learned.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Senate president scolds lobbyists who opposed his candidates
By Mary Ellen Klas
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
It is the talk of Tallahassee: Incoming Senate President Don Gaetz arrived in Orlando to accept an award from a business lobbying group and then banned two lobbyists from his office for orchestrating attacks on his candidates in the Republican primary.

Former Republican leader Greer criticizes campaign against Florida Supreme Court justices
By Lucy Morgan
Tampa Bay Times
At least one Republican doesn't like the GOP's decision to oppose the merit retention of three Florida Supreme Court judges.

"Questionable” Palm Beach County voter registration forms forwarded to state attorney for review
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
The Republican Party of Florida is dumping a firm it paid more than $1.3 million to register new voters, after Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher flagged 106 “questionable” registration applications turned in by the contractor this month.

State, LWV Launch Voter Campaign
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
There is almost no path to victory for presidential challenger Mitt Romney that doesn’t include winning Florida

Tampa releases St. Petersburg's estimated RNC costs
By Mark Puente
Tampa Bay Times
The city's police expenses for the Republican National Convention's welcome party at Tropicana Field have been declared so secret that a top-security clearance is needed to know the details.

POLITICAL RACES

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan double-down in Ohio with joint appearance
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Thin Lizzy's hit The Boys Are Back in Town blared as Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan bounded onto stage together Tuesday.

Mack pushes ideological differences in U.S. Senate race
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
In front of crowds of a few dozen people, Republican U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV is using his U.S. Senate campaign bus tour to establish his image as a conservative and paint Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson as a liberal.

WaPo, PPP polls give Nelson substantial lead
By William March
Tampa Tribune
New polls by the Washington Post and Public Policy Polling show Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson with a substantial lead over Republican challenger Rep. Connie Mack IV—14 points in the Post poll and 9 in the PPP survey.

Buchanan-Fitzgerald battle heats up
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The battle to represent Sarasota and Manatee counties in Congress is ramping up.

Voting absentee
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
In a few weeks, Florida voters will face a long, crowded, wordy ballot.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Reject FL amendment proposals that put politics into unwarranted places
Editorial
Bradenton Herald
Florida voters face the daunting test of understanding sometimes vague and complicated language in the 11 constitutional amendments on the November ballot -- all composed by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Commissioner, Disney lobbyist exchanged messages before sick pay vote
Staff Report
WESH Orlando
Fifty-thousand supporters of a sick pay referendum took their best shot Sept. 11 to have the initiative put on the Nov. ballot, but seven Orange County commissioners kept it off.

Lessons from Orange County’s Sick-Leave Petition Drive
By Susan Clary
Florida Voices
It sounded like a good idea. In 1988, the authors of the Orange County Charter created a provision that gives voters a tool to petition for change.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Water districts respond to former board members who wrote Gov. Scott
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The chairs of the state's five water management districts say their agencies are focused on the "prudent use of taxpayer dollars" rather than on raising taxes.

Putnam says planned network of natural gas refueling stations is a model for communities
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said Tuesday a planned network of natural gas refueling stations could help overcome the "chicken-or-the-egg" dilemma for alternative-fueled vehicles.

LGBT

Federal judge recuses herself in Lt. Dan Choi case protesting old 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' gay ban
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
News release from Lt. Dan Choi, who two years ago chained himself to a White House fence to protest Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

EDUCATION

Search for Florida education chief is extended to find better candidates
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Citing a lack of qualified candidates, the Florida Board of Education on Tuesday extended its search for a new education commissioner by two months.

Florida seeking school scapegoat, not school reformer
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
The Florida Board of Education is experiencing deja vu. Members held an emergency meeting Tuesday morning to extend for two months the deadline for applicants hoping to be the state’s next education commissioner.

Brevard teachers go red in support of raise proposal
By Mackenzie Ryan
Florida Today
Teachers filled the Brevard School Board chambers Tuesday night, many dressed in red, in support of a union proposal that calls for raises this school year.

School Board denies application for charter school
By Joe Callahan
Ocala Star-Banner
A nonprofit group’s application to launch a Marion County online charter school was denied by the School Board on Tuesday.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Home prices, confidence, incomes all rise in Florida and nationally
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post
Economic optimism overflowed Tuesday as at least three measures of recovery in Florida and nationally showed gains.

More take outs announced as Citizens moves toward loan program
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
The Office of Insurance Regulation announced Monday it approved 60,000 more policies to be taken out of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. by private companies.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Duval health chief quits 2 days after Times-Union report on TB outbreak response
By Tracy Jones
Florida Times-Union
The director of the Duval County Health Department “retired” two days after a Times-Union story detailed the agency’s pattern of concealing information about a years-long tuberculosis outbreak.

Questions raised about future funding of Florida drug database
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Money for a state program aimed at combating prescription drug abuse is running out, raising questions about how long the program will stay afloat and whether the state should pay for it.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

U.S. extends temporary status for Haitians
By Mike Clary
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Tens of thousands of Haitians who came to South Florida following the 2010 earthquake will get extra time to live and work here while the struggle to rebuild their shattered Caribbean nation continues.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Conservatives Launch Campaign Against Florida Supreme Court Justices (Again)
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
The executive board of the Republican Party of Florida on Sept. 21 voted to oppose the merit retention of Florida Supreme Court Justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince, picking up a fight that conservatives have already lost once.

Retention vote on state supreme court justices chance to put in ‘lapdogs’
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
Having an independent judicial branch of government has become too inconvenient in Florida.