PROGRESS
FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
The BluVu: Week of September 10, 2012
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
The President rocks his bounce, Florida Democrats are lining up in the Governor’s race, and Damien of Progress Florida talks Amendment 6 with Staci Fox of Planned Parenthood as political reality comes your way!
FEATURED
STORIES
State 'surplus' not enough to offset previous budget cuts
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
For budget-writers tasked with fashioning a $70 billion-plus spending plan each year, the Great Recession has made them diligent students in the art of saying no.
Florida jobs picture may be worse than it appears
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Gainesville Sun
Gov. Rick Scott likes to point out that Florida has led the nation in reducing its unemployment rate more than 2 percentage points — from 11.1 percent — since December 2010, the month before he became governor.
Results show lack of credibility in voter purge
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
180,506. 2,625. 207. The difference in those three numbers reflects how recklessly Gov. Rick Scott's administration went about purging the voter rolls and suppressing the vote of minorities and the poor.
Families grapple with shrinking state services offered to "medically fragile" kids
By Stephen Nohlgren
Tampa Bay Times
We call them "medically fragile'' children, but labels don't begin to convey the help they need to survive.
In Orange County, injustice, hypocrisy rule in sick-time decision
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Judges deny sick time petition, but backers will refile request
Related: Commissioners broke faith with voters
Last week was a shameful one in Orange County. Democracy was denied. The people's will was thwarted.
Who will listen?
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
It was with much fanfare that Gov. Rick Scott embarked on his “listening tour” of public schools this week.
EDITORIAL
CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Andy Marlette
Pensacola News Journal
FLORIDA
POLITICS
Rick Scott Paid $5,000 To An Alleged Boletera For His 2010 Campaign
By Francisco Alvarado
Miami New Times
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has been dead serious about cleaning up Florida's elections.
Democrats outnumber GOP in voter registration drive, but NPA beats all
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
The Florida Democratic Party announced Friday that, for the seventh consecutive month, they have out-registered Republicans, including a 10-point advantage among Hispanics.
Pinecrest mayor says state senator backs FPL against his constituents
By Ashley Lopez
Miami Herald
Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner said that state Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Coral Gables, and Florida Power & Light, are behind a series of nasty automated telephone calls to her constituents.
Halifax Media properties end political endorsements
By William March
Tampa Tribune
A company that owns 16 Florida newspapers has announced it will cease the traditional practice of endorsing political candidates.
POLITICAL
RACES
First lady Michelle Obama is back in Florida
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
First lady Michelle Obama is back in Florida.
Mitt Romney’s missed shot at President Barack Obama
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
President Barack Obama got a hug and a lift. Mitt Romney had a swing and a miss.
Why Mitt Romney and the Republican Party don't have support from black Americans
By Darryl E. Owens
Orlando Sentinel
The more you watch America's quadrennial political caucuses, the more it seems we're watching two distinct nations.
Volusia County may predict the future for Obama and Romney
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
What do Rick Scott and Barack Obama have in common?
Nelson, Mack disagree on U.S. Senate debates
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Related: Rasmussen: Nelson 47, Mack 40
Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and his challenger for re-election, Rep. Connie Mack IV, will have at least one and possibly two televised debates before Election Day.
Coattail factor looms in Mack-Nelson Senate race with heavy presidential stumping in Florida
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
A generation ago, a candidate named Connie Mack was elected U.S. senator in Florida after Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis withdrew his campaign from the state, hurting Democrats up and down the ballot.
Either side could win critical South Florida elections
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Two South Florida contests are attracting national attention and money.
Mystery group accuses Democrat Sachs of supporting President George W. Bush
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
A mystery group with a liberal-sounding name and a GOP-connected address is taking aim at Democratic state Sen. Maria Sachs in Florida’s biggest state Senate race.
BALLOT
INITIATIVES
'Religious freedom' amendment opposition grows
By Linda Trimble
Daytona Beach News-Journal
A proposal to remove the Florida constitution's ban on spending taxpayer money on churches and religious institutions is drawing increased local opposition as a Nov. 6 vote to decide its fate nears.
Could Amendment 8 endanger schools' funding?
By Erin Kourkounis
Pensacola News Journal
One of the 11 constitutional amendments on the Florida ballot this year could affect Florida schools.
Florida's Amendment One Asks Voters To Decide How Far State Can Go In Deciding Healthcare Policy
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Tallahassee
This November, Florida voters will have to decide more than just who they want to be the next President of the United States.
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Coalition asks Scott to put money toward conservation after debt is retired
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Environmental groups want Gov. Rick Scott to keep spending money on conservation programs after debt for a former land-buying program is paid off this fiscal year.
Mike Long leaves DEP ahead of Division Director Clay Smallwood
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Mike Long, assistant director of the Division of State Lands at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, is leaving the department for retirement just ahead of division director Clay Smallwood.
Audit faults water district for loose management of its vast land holdings
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
The South Florida Water Management District — the largest public landowner in Florida — has no detailed inventory of the 1.4 million acres it owns and no formal process to sell or lease land it no longer needs, according to an audit by the district’s inspector general.
Counties looking to revamp growth management rules
By Carrie Wells
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The day of reckoning for local development regulations has finally arrived.
LGBT
Furor fades a year after military's gay ban lifted
By David Crary
Associated Press
They are images Americans had never seen before. Jubilant young men and women in military uniforms marching beneath a rainbow flag in a gay-pride parade.
Pro sports more gay-friendly as athletes including Vikings punter Chris Kluwe speak out
By Patrick Condon
Associated Press
NFL punters are only seen on fourth down and heard from less than that.
EDUCATION
Plan for improving teaching founders
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Reforms that provoked Chicago teachers' strike already under way in Florida
Reforms that provoked Chicago teachers' strike already under way in Florida
Related: When it comes to teacher accountability, the numbers don't tell the whole story
The goals sound good: Pay teachers based on whether their students actually learn anything, and pay the best teachers more.
In K12 Courses, 275 Students to a Single Teacher
By Trevor Aaronson and John O’Connor
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting/StateImpact Florida
Related: Read K12′s Confidential Student-Teacher Ratio Document
Student-teacher ratios at K12, the nation’s largest online educator, are nearly twice as high as Florida’s state-run virtual school, according to internal company documents obtained by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting and StateImpact Florida.
Scott and teachers union meet over grouper dinner — with a little history on the side
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
History was the garnish to plates of grouper served Friday night at the Governor’s Mansion, when Republican Gov. Rick Scott had dinner with a half-dozen representatives of the state’s largest teachers’ union.
Scott Sends Letters to High School Seniors, Teachers, and College Freshmen
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who has been shifting his attention to education during his second year in office, is reaching out to tens of thousands of teachers, high school seniors and incoming college students across the state.
Florida’s Board of Governors questions Digital Domain partnership and FSU’s future in West Palm Beach
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post
The multimillion-dollar partnership between Florida State University and Digital Domain sped by the school’s two governing boards without a formal vote or debate on the merits of a marriage between FSU and the private animation company.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Dispute on how many jobs Obama created begins with where to begin
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
How many jobs have been created during the administration of President Obama?
Pressure grows to police economic-incentive grants
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
On the heels of another major economic incentive deal gone bust, two top Florida senators are blocking an attempt by Gov. Rick Scott's job-creation agency to take over monitoring of the millions paid out to companies for creating jobs.
Rep. Artiles lashes out at Citizens, calls for audit of companies involved in loan program
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Rep. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, sent a letter Friday to Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, calling on him to conduct an audit of companies that wish to take policies out of state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. through a prospective loan incentive program.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
Union Sues State After Panel Okays Funds For Private Prison Health Care
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
About three-thousand employees could soon be out of a job, after the Florida Department of Corrections recently received the funds to privatize its inmate health care services.
DCF scuttles change that could have halted benefits
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
The Florida Department of Children and Families on Friday scrapped a controversial change that would have halted public-assistance benefits for people whose mail is returned to the agency as undeliverable.
8 more in Florida turn up with TB
By James Call
Florida Current
Florida health officials say eight more individuals have tested positive for tuberculosis in the past week.
As hospitals take over doctors' practices, fees rise
By Marni Jameson
Orlando Sentinel
Hospitals throughout Florida are taking over doctors' practices at a rapid — and some say worrisome — rate.
Judge imprisons Miami-Dade couple convicted in $45 million Medicare scam
By Jay Weaver
Miami Herald
Angel Castillo Jr., a high school dropout and convicted drug dealer, acquired 11 medical equipment companies in the mid-2000s. He used Cuban migrants as straw owners for three of those businesses to disguise his ownership role.
CIVIL
RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
150 years later, human slavery persists
By Bill Maxwell
Tampa Bay Times
This year is the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. President Abraham Lincoln announced on Sept. 22, 1862, in a preliminary proclamation that slaves in any regions still in rebellion on Jan. 1, 1863, would be freed.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
The political war against our courts
By Carl R. Ramey
Gainesville Sun
Gov. Rick Scott and a reenergized Republican majority stormed into office two years ago brandishing their conservative credentials.
DJJ probe of Miami group bungled, state says
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
An investigation by state juvenile justice administrators into a Miami group that was paid hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars to mentor girls in detention centers was sloppy, incomplete and drew conclusions without sufficient evidence, a state report says.
Florida court records are going on computers — but not online
By Curtis Krueger
Tampa Bay Times
Florida's court system is breaking into the digital age.
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