FEATURED
STORIES
Video of Boca Raton fundraiser leaves Mitt Romney having to explain his views on the “47 percent” who don’t pay taxes
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Related: Politifact: Fact-checking Romney’s private fundraiser remarks
The last time a gathering at a Marc Leder’s home made news the headline read: ’’Nude Frolic in Tycoon’s Pool.
Obama to Romney: As president you represent entire country
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Related: Fla Dems leap on Romney’s 47 percent comments
President Barack Obama declared Tuesday night the occupant of the Oval Office must “work for everyone, not just for some,” jabbing back at Mitt Romney's jarring statement that as a candidate, he doesn't worry about the 47 percent of the country that pays no income taxes.
A Mood of Gloom Afflicts the Romney Campaign
By Michael Barbaro
New York Times
Related editorial: Mitt Romney, Class Warrior
Mitt Romney’s traveling press secretary walked to the back of the candidate’s plane midflight on Tuesday and teasingly asked a pair of journalists in an exit row if they were “willing and able to assist in case of an emergency.”
Challenged on Medicare, G.O.P. Loses Ground
By Jackie Calmes
New York Times
Maria Rubin is one of the coveted independent voters in this swing state — so independent that she will not say whether she is voting for President Obama or Mitt Romney.
Gov. Rick Scott annoyed at questions over state’s unemployment rate
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday cut off a journalist who tried to ask him about a report from a top state economist who said Florida’s fall in unemployment is almost exclusively due to people leaving the workforce.
FLORIDA
POLITICS
Scott campaign paid $5,000 to accused ballot broker
By Brittany Davis
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott's campaign records show he paid $5,000 in 2010 to an alleged boletera, who was accused in Hialeah--during the 2011 mayor's race--of going door-to-door collecting absentee ballots from the elderly, according to The Huffington Post and The Miami New-Times.
Parent locked out of governor’s meetings because of a security check
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
La'Tasha Reed Dullivan wanted to attend the governor's education listening tour when he arrived at her son's charter school last week.
Make prison privatization a three-time loser
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
The Legislature will not be in session until March, but already the signs point to another battle over whether to privatize South Florida’s state prisons.
POLITICAL
RACES
WATCH: Full Secret Video of Private Romney Fundraiser
By David Corn
Mother Jones
Related: Charts: You Might Be the 47 Percent If…
On Monday and Tuesday Mother Jones published exclusive video that captured Mitt Romney speaking to donors at a May 17 fundraiser, which was held at the home of private equity mogul Mark Leder.
Mitt Romney stumbles, but don't count him out
By Adam C. Smith and Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Mitt Romney should have at least as much money as Barack Obama for the closing 48 days of the presidential campaign. Polls show him neck and neck with the president in most of the key battleground states, including Florida.
In Orlando area, McCain, George P. Bush defend 'victims' video
By Jim Stratton and Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
With his campaign needing a lift, surrogates for Mitt Romney tried Tuesday to defuse the uproar over a video in which Romney suggests that almost half of all American voters are dependent on government handouts, "believe that they are victims" and refuse to take responsibility for their lives.
In political choices, minority firm owners weigh social leanings and business interests
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Pollsters say that almost all African-Americans and most Latinos will vote for President Obama in November.
Romney to hold rally in Sarasota
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Mitt Romney will hlld a rally in Sarasota Thursday afternoon following his fundraiser there—the same day President Barack Obama will attend a fundraiser in Tampa.
BALLOT
INITIATIVES
Court again denies sick time initiative
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Sick-time vote will haunt commissioners
An Orange Circuit judge denied an emergency request Tuesday night to force a sick-time initiative onto the Nov. 6 ballot.
Legislator Facing Tough Financial Times, But Could Be Saved By His Own Amendment
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
State Rep. Chris Dorworth, R- Lake Mary, has been making some big money from special interests for his political action committee, while simultaneously facing some personally tough financial times as a real estate agent in Florida.
School Board voices strong opposition to Amendment 8
By Joey Flechas
Gainesville Sun
The Alachua County School Board at its meeting Tuesday took a stance against an upcoming controversial amendment to the state constitution, rewarded several schools for keeping utility bills low and approved a contract for a solar panel array at another school.
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Former water board members urge Scott to restore funding
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Twenty former governing board members of Florida’s water management districts are urging Gov. Rick Scott to reverse another round of pending budget cuts.
Coastal counties meet to consider uses for oil spill compensation
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Representatives of 23 Gulf Coast counties in Florida are scheduled to meet Wednesday in St. Pete Beach to discuss 2010 oil spill compensation.
LGBT
Broward School Board expected to honor gay history
By Michael Vasquez
Miami Herald
Broward County School Board members on Wednesday are expected to approve a formal resolution in support of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month, which takes place every October.
EDUCATION
Scott wants to reduce schools' paperwork
By James Call
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday he wants to reduce the amount of paperwork and regulation so that teachers in public schools have more time to teach.
Teacher Strike Changed Labor in Florida
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Today was the seventh day of a teachers strike in Chicago.
Lee County superintendent: Schools' plate full
By Ashley A. Smith
Ft. Myers News-Press
Merit or performance pay. All school textbooks digitized. New teacher evaluations. Oh, and also implementation of Common Core standards and a new state assessment.
FGCU president fears 'mediocrity' with 107 jobs cut, $3.6 million budget shortfall
By Brittany Shammas
Naples Daily News
Florida Gulf Coast University administrators cut 107 positions this year to absorb a $3.6 million budget cut, prompting concerns from some about starting a slide toward mediocrity.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Scott very concerned about state pension fund's investment return
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday he remains "extremely concerned" that a 7.75 percent projected earning rate of the Florida Retirement System's massive investment portfolio is too high, and that meeting pension payments to hundreds of thousands of government retirees could become a big burden on future state budgets.
Lawsuits over worker pay soar as economy struggles
By Sandra Pedicini
Orlando Sentinel
A recent lawsuit accusing Orlando-based Darden Restaurants of underpaying servers is one of a growing number of legal actions by workers who say their employers have shortchanged them.
Workers grill Darden's CEO at shareholders meeting
By Sandra Pedicini
Orlando Sentinel
The Orlando shareholder's meeting of Darden Restaurants turned confrontational Tuesday when several workers and activists brought complaints directly to Chief Executive Officer Clarence Otis.
Atwater urges Citizens to take it slow on loan program
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater wants Citizens Property Insurance Corp. board members to take a slower approach to moving forward with a program that would use surplus funds to give low-interest loans to private companies that will take over large numbers of the state-run insurer’s policies for at least 10 years.
More Florida companies try to cancel mortgage debt with lawsuits
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post
More companies are jumping into the land trust business.
American Airlines laying off up to 1,400 in Florida; up to 11,000 nationwide
By Jeff Harrington
Tampa Bay Times
American Airlines on Tuesday warned it could lay off up to 1,414 employees across Florida this fall — and up to 11,000 nationwide — as the carrier's labor showdown intensified and flight cancellations continued.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
Florida's sick and disabled children deserve better
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Call it official neglect. Florida is accused by the Obama administration and the parents of sick and disabled children of warehousing hundreds of those children in large nursing homes rather than helping them stay home with their families.
Health care most shared issue in battleground states
By Eric Weisbrod
CNN
Of all the major issues our country is facing, stories relating to health care legislation are being shared online in key battleground states more than any other issue, according to data from social sharing company ShareThis.
U.S., state obesity rates expected to balloon by 2030
By Mary Shedden
Tampa Tribune
The battle of the bulge could become an unhealthy reality for a majority of Florida's adults, an analysis of national obesity data reveals.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
Independent high court protects people's rights
By Dick Batchelor
Orlando Sentinel
The saying "you can't fight city hall" was borne out of a common frustration with government being viewed as too powerful to beat.
Advocates: Few People Compensated Under Wrongful Conviction Law; Law Needs A Change
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
Only a few people convicted of crimes they did not commit have been compensated since a Florida law passed four years ago.
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