PROGRESS
FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
The BluVu: Week of August 27th
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
The Republican National Convention had its highlights and low points but appeared to be an audition for the 2016 Presidential contest, Damien Filer of Progress Florida gives us an honest perspective on the GOP quest for the white house and more as political reality comes your way!
FEATURED
STORIES
Michelle Obama's speech stresses president's values, record
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related: President Obama to appear Saturday at St. Petersburg College in Seminole
Arguing her husband "brought our economy from the brink of collapse," first lady Michelle Obama used a boisterous opening day of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday to make the case for a second term, touting accomplishments of the past four years while appealing to a nation's determination.
With Charlie Crist set to address DNC on Thursday, most Democrats ambivalent
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related editorial: Practical governing, not party ideology
Charlie Crist's Democratic coming-out party kicks off Thursday night at Bank of America Stadium.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker excites Florida delegation with breakfast speech
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Meet the Florida DNC delegation
Cory Booker, the reform-minded Newark, N.J., mayor and potential future presidential contender, was injured this morning stepping out of his SUV en route to talk to the Florida delegation at the Marriott Charlotte City Center.
Nelson, Mack Florida Senate Race Critical To President Obama
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
Related: Poll Shows Nelson Not Doing So Well, Mack Doing Even Worse
As the U.S. Senate Race between incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson and Republican U.S. Congressman Connie Mack IV heats up, political experts say it’s really a battle about which party controls the Senate chamber.
Voter Suppression: The Confederacy Rises Again
By Ari Berman
The Nation
On Sunday I attended a fascinating panel of Southern politics experts convened by UNC–Chapel Hill.
FLORIDA
POLITICS
3 Floridians scheduled for main-stage time at Democratic convention
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
South Florida’s own Debbie Wasserman Schultz is a ubiquitous presence at this week’s Democratic National Convention, and former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is generating as much buzz as anyone scheduled to appear at the three-day gathering of Democrats this week.
Light rail helps Charlotte avoid Tampa's bus woes
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
Artellia Burch isn't so sure she would have braved the traffic to attend Monday's street festival that helped launch the Democratic National Convention.
Activists think Republican convention security was overkill
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Tampa
The Tampa Police Department hired thousands of extra officers to help with security for the Republican National Convention last week; some activists who were protesting the event including Occupy Tampa’s Andrew Speirs think it was overkill.
Former Florida Senate leader Phil Lewis, 82, dies
By Ana M. Vades
Palm Beach Post
Related editorial: Phil Lewis: one of Florida’s great public servants
As a longtime legislator and president of the Florida Senate from 1978 to 1980, Phil Lewis said one of his proudest achievements was helping create the South Florida Water Management District, the agency charged with restoring the Everglades.
Early voting schedule hinges on court case
By Jerome R. Stockfisch
Tampa Tribune
If you're planning to cast an early ballot, you'll have to wait awhile to pencil in a time and date on your calendar.
Scott’s lobbyist returns to old firm
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Rick Scott’s top lobbyist, who shepherded the governor’s policies through a frequently wary Legislature the past two years, is rejoining his old Tallahassee lobbying firm.
POLITICAL
RACES
Democratic poll: Crist unpopular but edges Scott; Nelson leads Mack
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, one of the featured speakers at this week’s Democratic National Convention, has a net unfavorable ranking among Florida voters, according to a new survey by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.
Nelson’s convention stop short
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Fighting to retain the last statewide seat held by a Democrat in Florida, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson made a brief appearance on the Democratic National Convention floor Tuesday, mingling with state’s 365-member delegation.
Empty-chair jokes making the day of Democrats at their convention
By Brent Batten
Naples Daily News
Florida Democrats 570 strong on Tuesday heard the outline of a game plan they hope to use to re-elect President Barack Obama come November.
Reading the Polls: The Weight of Race
By Martin Dyckman
Florida Voices
The polls don't appear to make sense.
Lawmaker’s suit alleges absentee-ballot fraud at North Miami assisted living facilities, nursing homes
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Charges of absentee-ballot fraud at assisted-living facilities and nursing homes are at the center of Rep. John Patrick Julien’s legal challenge to the results of the District 107 primary race for the Florida House.
BALLOT
INITIATIVES
Your guide to Fla's Constitutional amendment ballot questions
By Amy Keller
Tampa Bay Times
Florida Trend breaks them down.
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Some legislators balk at new water legislation despite summer of water worries
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Some key legislators say they're not interested in coming up with new legislation to address environmentalists' concerns after a summer of water controversy and recommendations last week in an Ichetucknee Springs restoration plan.
Sen. Fasano wants Lisa Edgar ousted from Public Service Commission
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Sen. Mike Fasano, who opposed Public Service Commissioner Lisa Edgar's reappointment to the commission four years ago, is asking Gov. Rick Scott not to reappoint her this time.
U.S. lays out examples of "gross negligence" by BP
By David Ingram
Reuters
The U.S. Justice Department is ramping up its rhetoric against BP PLC for the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, describing in new court papers examples of what it calls "gross negligence and willful misconduct."
LGBT
Record presence - more than 8 percent - for LGBT people at Democratic National Convention
By David Crary
Associated Press
The Democratic National Convention is a watershed event for America's gay rights movement, which never before has been embraced so warmly by a major political party.
EDUCATION
Florida Schools In Session, But Teachers Absent
By Sarah Gonzalez
NPR
Schools have been open for a couple of weeks across much of Florida, but not all of the students know who their teachers are yet.
Hollywood Dramatizes Parent Trigger Legislation At Tampa And Charlotte Political Conventions
By Gina Jordan
StateImpact
A Hollywood drama focused on education made its way to Tampa and Charlotte in the last week.
Federal judge rules state cannot treat some Florida students as non-residents and charge higher tuition
By Jay Weaver
Miami Herald
A federal judge has ruled the state is discriminating against potentially thousands of U.S. citizens who live in Florida, by charging them higher out-of-state tuition as non-resident students simply because their parents may lack legal U.S. residency.
FAMU suspends dance team after hazing reports
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
Florida A&M University, still reeling from the hazing-related death of a marching band drum major 10 months ago, on Tuesday suspended its Torque Dance Team following allegations of an off-campus hazing incident.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Pension Case Primed for Action
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
The state and more than a half million employees and retirees will soon be one step closer to knowing if employees will continue to pay three percent of their salaries into the pension fund.
What North Carolina Can Teach Florida About Jobs
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
North Carolina has spent the past several years creating jobs in high-skilled sectors, while Florida has thrived only in low-skilled work.
National Debt 16 Trillion
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
While the national debt continues to grow, as Whitney Ray tells us, Florida has a balanced budget and is paying off its debt.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
Obama: With health care, Romney just 'doesn't care'
By David Espo
Associated Press
Campaigning his way toward the Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama slapped a “Romney doesn’t care” label on his rival’s health-care views Sunday and said Republicans want to repeal new protections for millions without offering a plan of their own.
Rod Smith: My son has cancer, and we Democrats need to spread the word about ObamaCare
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Florida Democratic party chairman Rod Smith this morning told hundreds of Florida Democrats in Charlotte that three weeks ago today his 25-year-old son, Dillon, was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a form of cancer that usually strikes children.
5 more sign on to a statewide health exchange
By James Call
Florida Current
The Harris Corp. continues to build a Florida Health Information Exchange as the Agency for Health Care Administration announced Tuesday that five more organizations will join the network, which enables health care providers to access patient information via the Internet.
Democrats try to reframe abortion debate by focusing on reproductive rights
By Edward-Isaac Dovere
Politico
Democrats think they've figured out how to win the abortion debate: Don't make it about abortion
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
Group aiming to oust 3 justices starts state tour
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
An organization working to deny three Florida Supreme Court justices new terms on the high bench began barnstorming through nine cities Tuesday, touting a "report card" that flunked all three members on some major issues.
Florida judges objecting to some new court rules
Associated Press
Miami Herald
Florida's judges aren't happy about some new rules on how the state's judicial system is governed that were adopted by the Florida Supreme Court.
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