Daily News Clips for September 6, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

President Bill Clinton heaps praise on President Barack Obama for 48 minutes
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related: 5 things to watch in President Barack Obama's speech
Bill Clinton, who rode economic anxiety into his first term as president then oversaw a roaring comeback, gave a speech before the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday that was sweeping, emotional and wildly received but carried a simple pitch: Stick with Barack Obama.

Bill Clinton could be key in helping Obama in Florida
By Jeremy Wallace
Ocala Star-Banner
If President Barack Obama is going to win Florida, he's could use a big assist from former President Bill Clinton.

State Democrats' mantra: Winner of I-4 corridor wins the White House
By Brent Batten
Naples Daily News
All week long, Florida Democrats have heard how important their state is in the coming election.

As former Fla. governor takes stage at DNC, Dems ponder 2014 possibility
By Ledyard King
Tallahassee Democrat
It all started with a symbolic hug in Florida two and a half years ago.

Exclusive: Paul Ryan Quietly Requested Obamacare Cash
By Lee Fang
The Nation
Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan is barnstorming the country, promising to repeal every provision of the Affordable Care Act if the Romney-Ryan ticket is elected.

Voting rights groups encouraged by court rulings against restrictions
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Speakers at the Democratic National Convention are using words and images to push minority, young and working-class voters to the polls.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Fair Districts groups challenge Senate seats
By Aaron Deslatte
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Voting-rights groups are launching a new legal challenge to Florida's newly minted state Senate maps, arguing the districts still intentionally favor Republicans despite the 2010 anti-gerrymandering mandates passed by voters.

Fla. Legislature Wants Lawmakers Exempt From Testifying About Redistricting
By Jessica Palombo    
WFSU Tallahassee
Lawyers for the Florida Legislature are asking a judge to exempt lawmakers from being called to testify about drawing legislative districts.

Feds OK early voting plan for Hillsborough, four other counties
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder agreed today to accept Florida’s revised early-voting plan for five counties covered by the federal Voting Rights Act.

FSU Students Protest Florida Voting Laws
Staff Report
WCTV Tallahassee
A group of students at FSU say they're angry about Governor Rick Scott's voting laws.

In Florida, 632 Public Officials Late in Filing Financial Disclosure Forms
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Integrity Florida, a state-based ethics watchdog, reports that as of September 5, 632 state and local elected officials are filing their financial disclosure forms late and owe $15,800 in fines, according to the Florida Commission on Ethics.

Court records in Hialeah voter-fraud case show more voters received absentee-ballot help
By Scott Hiaasen and Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Ramon Del Pino can’t say for sure whom he voted for last month.

Crist Speech Ruffles Feathers Among Democrats At DNC 2012
By Trimmel Gomes       
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida’s former Republican Governor Charlie Crist is getting a high profile speaking role at the Democratic National Convention Thursday, beating out those with deep roots in the Party.

Bob Buckhorn happy to be a guest, not the host, of Charlotte's DNC party
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
While acknowledging that the atmosphere surrounding the Democratic National Convention has a friendlier vibe than the one last week at the Republican National Convention, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn defended the fortress-like security plan he helped devise.

POLITICAL RACES

Look for Obama speech to keep ‘Forward’ theme while also addressing record
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Barack Obama has never had a problem with what George H.W. Bush famously called “the vision thing.”

Thousands line up for Obama appearance at St. Petersburg College
Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
Sweltering heat and long lines didn't deter thousands of people around the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday from picking up tickets to President Barack Obama's Saturday speech at St. Petersburg College's Seminole Campus.

Obama to bring re-election campaign through Melbourne, West Palm Beach on Sunday
By Dave Berman
Florida Today
President Barack Obama plans to bring his re-election campaign to Melbourne and West Palm Beach on Sunday with a speech that focuses on the economy as part of a two-day swing through Florida.

Political conventions highlight Hispanic split
By Suzanne Gamboa and Russell Contreras
Associated Press
The Hispanics with the highest profiles in this year's political conventions, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio, stand as opposites in a cultural and political split that has divided millions of U.S. Latinos for decades.

Planned Parenthood rally encourages support for Obama
By Joanne Spataro
Creative Loafing Charlotte
When Louise (name changed to preserve anonymity) found out she was pregnant, the 29-year-old single mom in Cincinnati, Ohio, knew she could not afford to have another child.

Democrats return mentions of God, Jerusalem to platform
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Bowing to Republican pressure, Democrats on Wednesday amended their platform to include a mention of God and a declaration that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.

Sen. Bill Nelson prefers campaign trail to convention
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Bill who? Nelson where? The embattled senior senator from the nation’s biggest battleground state has almost no profile at the Democratic National Convention.

Reported theft of Romney tax records being probed
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
The Secret Service said Wednesday it is investigating the reported theft of copies of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's federal tax records during a break-in at an accounting office in Franklin. Someone claiming responsibility demanded $1 million not to make them public.

PPP poll: Floridians like Rubio, Clinton in 2016
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Florida Democrats overwhelmingly prefer Hillary Clinton as their 2016 presidential candidate, and Republicans narrowly prefer Sen. Marco Rubio over former Gov. Jeb Bush as theirs if Mitt Romney loses the November election, according to a Public Policy Polling survey.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

PSC kicks off nuclear cost recovery hearing by deferring $9 million in Crystal River costs
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Florida Public Service Commission on Wednesday kicked off a hearing on nuclear power costs being requested by utilities by agreeing to a Progress Energy Florida motion to delay consideration of $9 million in costs associated with its Crystal River nuclear plant.

Wildlife officials prepare to smooth path for panther into Central Florida
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
Because scientists say the rebounding Florida panther has filled nearly all the available habitat in Southwest Florida, state wildlife officials Wednesday told their staff to start working on expanding its population into Central Florida.

LGBT

Should Tampa protect unwed Florida pairs?
By Kevin Wiatrowski
Tampa Tribune
Two months after granting limited legal protections to unmarried couples, Tampa's city council is weighing whether to extend the same protections to couples from elsewhere in Florida.

EDUCATION

St. Johns County School Board to call for end of FCAT
By Teresa Stepzinski    
St. Augustine Record
The board for the state’s best school district is poised to criticize Florida’s reliance on high-stakes testing to measure student achievement.

Florida School Teachers Helped Students Cheat On State Exams, Investigation Reveals
By Samreen Hooda
Huffington Post
The state Department of Education's investigation into the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) found potential cheating at four Florida schools and have since implicated one.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

USDA Report: More Hungry Households in Florida
By Chris Thomas
Public News Service Florida
Not enough money to keep food on the table.

Obama must act now to help homeowners with loan troubles
By Carmen Balasquide
Orlando Sentinel
It's been more than seven months since President Obama's State of the Union address, in which he promised to stand up to Wall Street and take strong action on the side of homeowners in Florida and other states.

Florida expected to avoid budget shortfall next year
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Florida's need to make deep budget cuts because of the recession may finally be over.

Audit of Citizens mimics board members' complaints over rates
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
An operational audit of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. released Wednesday by Auditor General David Martin reiterated what some Citizens board members have been saying for months – that its premiums are too low to entice private insurers to take over its policies.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Democrats finally step up to promote health care reform
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
It's been more than two years since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act and more than two months since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the guts of it are constitutional.

Palm Beach County woman will speak for Medicare at DNC
By Andrew Abramson
Palm Beach Post
About 15 years ago, Carol Berman exhausted virtually all of her assets to pay for long-term care for her Alzheimers-inflicted husband.

Health plans ready to vie for Medicaid contracts in Florida
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
With Florida gradually moving toward a statewide Medicaid managed-care system, 14 health plans are ready to compete for contracts to provide long-term care to seniors.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Regressive and illegal
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Florida's regressive policy of charging out-of-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants — even when those children were born in Florida and are, thus, American citizens — is harsh and counterproductive.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Scott signs death warrant for Miami man convicted of eight murders
By Brittany Davis
Miami Herald
Gov. Rick Scott signed the death warrant for John Errol Ferguson, who was convicted of eight murders in two separate incidents, according to a press release from the Governor's Office.