FEATURED
STORIES
Florida Democrats have top-notch lodging, big numbers in Charlotte
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
Related: East of Charlotte, black voters illustrate Barack Obama's challenge
Related: Betty White at the DNC? Plus, did Romney get a bounce?
Related: Atmosphere in Charlotte more free, fun than Tampa
Florida Republicans may not want to read this story.
Obama’s 2nd-term agenda: Global warming, immigration, taxes
By Lesley Clark
Miami Herald
Related: Obama after four years – change or more of the same?
Related editorial: Beyond hope and change
President Barack Obama says his Republican challenger has the “wrong vision” for the country. So what’s his?
Democratic platform backs gay marriage, abortion rights
By Donna Cassata
Associated Press
Democrats unveiled a party platform at their national convention Monday that echoes President Barack Obama's call for higher taxes on wealthier Americans while backing same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
At GOP convention in Tampa, full truth is sometimes missing
By William Douglas
McClatchy Newspapers
Beyond the hoopla, politics and glitz, the Republican National Convention has been marked by speeches filled with half-truths, misleading statements, obfuscations and downright falsehoods.
Florida's early-vote 'expert' unconvincing
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
The state of Florida is having trouble convincing a federal court that its reduction in early voting days does not discriminate against African-Americans.
A Labor Day with little for unions to celebrate
Editorial
Naples Daily News
Some years ago, there was a popular bumper sticker that read: "The Weekend, Brought To You By The Labor Movement." And it was true.
EDITORIAL
CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Jim Morin
Miami Herald
FLORIDA
POLITICS
DNC begins Charlie Crist’s latest campaign
By Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman
Politico
To his friends and detractors alike, there’s little doubt about it: Charlie Crist’s next campaign has already begun.
Florida Democrats say Crist must ‘prove himself’
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Former Republican Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s speech at this week’s Democratic convention is a trophy for national Democrats, who say Crist’s appearance shows the GOP has been hijacked by conservatives who won’t allow bipartisan compromise.
Wasserman Schultz says she’s grown "alligator skin" as DNC chair
By Erika Bolstad
Miami Herald
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz stopped by Tampa last week while Republicans were holding their convention. How could she resist?
Changes to Florida voting rules still mired in controversy
By Greg Hamilton
Gainesville Sun
Changes to Florida's voting laws were passed in 2011, but the full force of HB 1355 is sweeping the state today as the election season enters its final phase.
Sen. Fasano calls for Cabinet hearing on Citizens' travel spending
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, sent letters to Gov. Rick Scott and three Cabinet members Friday, urging them to hold a public hearing to address excessive travel spending by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. officials.
That's Not Weird, That's a Florida Election
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Voices
I told a friend the goofy new Will Ferrell-Zach Galifianakis comedy, "The Campaign," is hilarious -- although it could never happen in real life.
Court saw through state’s fuzzy election math
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
It is not surprising that Florida’s Republican leaders moved to restrict early voting before November’s election.
POLITICAL
RACES
Looking back on presidential elections yields insight for 2012
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related: PolitiFact tallies Obama's campaign promises
Related editorial: Obama should point to accomplishments, point way ahead
Amid grim economic numbers, the incumbent president looks to many Americans like he is in over his head and ineffectual.
Democrats Say U.S. Is Better Off Than Four Years Ago
By Jim Rutenberg
New York Times
A day after fumbling a predictable and straightforward question posed by Mitt Romney last week — are Americans better off than they were four years ago — the Obama campaign provided a response on Monday that it said would be hammered home during the Democratic convention here this week: “Absolutely.”
After decades of fighting, Democrats show unified front
By Mark Z. Barabak
Los Angeles Times
There is something unusual about the gathering of Democrats in this steamy Southern city, something that may be more significant than just about anything said or done once the convention starts Tuesday.
Tampa’s Republican National Convention: Optics, Lies and Palmetto Bugs
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
The Republican National Convention has come to an end.
The battle is joined: Tampa is election's frontline
By William March
Tampa Tribune
The convention is over. Let the battle for Florida begin, because that may be what the next 64 days of the presidential campaign boils down to.
Obama to make post-convention visit to Florida next weekend
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
President Obama will campaign in Florida next weekend, the Obama campaign announced this afternoon.
BALLOT
INITIATIVES
All 11 amendments are a bad bet
By Stephen Goldstein
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Attention Florida voters: Just say "No" to all 11 constitutional amendments on the November ballot.
Bid to block law misleads families and businesses
By Greg Mellowe
Orlando Sentinel
Legislative leaders kicked off last session by placing Amendment 1 on the November ballot.
Amendment 4 is affront to tax fairness
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
If there is a silver lining in Florida's real estate bust, it may be this: Inequities created under the state's Save Our Homes property tax limit have been greatly diminished, meaning neighbors in identical homes are far more likely to be paying closer to the same tax bills.
This small-business owner welcomes earned sick time
By Julie Norris
Orlando Sentnel
Orange County voters will likely have the opportunity to enact an earned sick-time initiative this November. As a small-business owner, I'm eager to throw my support behind this cost-effective policy that benefits both workers and businesses.
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Rising sea comes at a cost for South Florida cities
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Climate change may be the subject of debate in some places but in South Florida it’s become a costly reality.
Dolphins at the mercy of the clueless and the cruel
By Carl Hiaasen
Miami Herald
Earlier this summer, in the Gulf waters near the Florida-Alabama border, somebody stabbed a screwdriver into the head of a bottlenose dolphin.
LGBT
Democrats' support for gay rights in Charlotte echos 1972 convention in Miami Beach
By Julio Capo Jr.
Miami Herald
When the Democrats hold their national convention in Charlotte, N.C., this week, the party platform is expected to endorse same-sex marriage.
HHS Says Health Plans Cannot Discriminate Against Transgender People
By Michelle Andrews
Kaiser Health News
In a recent letter hailed by advocates in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, the Department of Health and Human Services clarified that provisions in the Affordable Care Act prohibiting sex discrimination in health insurance apply to transgender people.
EDUCATION
Scott isn’t fooling parents on the FCAT
By Kathleen Oropeza
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Scott and his advisers really need to get out more.
FEA responds to Jeb union bashing
By James Call
Florida Current
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush used a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention to further his reputation as an advocate for reforming public education.
Florida Schools Rely More on Teach for America Teachers
By Arianna Prothero
StateImpact
The number of Teach for America teachers working in Florida schools is going up.
Federal government push to collect on student loans amid bad economy fuels growth in filings
By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post
Nearly 30 years after graduating from the University of South Florida, William Milner Jr. this year got an unwelcome memento from his college years: the bill.
FAMU's new chief plans 'deep internal' review of university
By Denise-Marie Ordway
Orlando Sentinel
FAMU Interim President Larry Robinson said Wednesday he will do a "deep internal dive" review of the university after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement completes its investigation into possible financial irregularities at the school.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Scott touts gains, but job growth slows this year
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
In the weeks before the Republican convention, some GOPers feared Gov. Rick Scott was hurting the party's message with his daily affirmations of Florida's rebounding job market.
In Florida’s employment recovery, minimum-wage jobs lead the way
By Douglas Hanks
Miami Herald
Florida’s employment recovery hasn’t brought back many well-paying jobs.
Minorities not recovering from recession, FIU report says
By Marcia Heroux Pounds
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida's slow job creation during the recovery has created growing inequalities among workers, according to the "State of Working Florida" report released Monday by Florida International University.
The fallacies of trickle-down economics
By Mike Williams
Florida Times-Union
This Labor Day falls in the midst of an historic election. We have an opportunity to reject an economic model that has proved to fail our nation.
90,000 Citizens reports for property-insurance discounts rejected
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post
More than 90,000 times, Florida’s last-resort insurer Citizens and its contractors rejected reports from inspectors they hired to determine whether customers qualified for property-insurance discounts, an analysis of more than 225,000 inspection records by The Palm Beach Post shows.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
States have power to shape federal health care law if governors want to take it
By Laura Green
Palm Beach Post
Though Florida lost its Supreme Court challenge to President Obama’s health care law, state politicians could still have a say in setting minimum health benefits for plans here under the federal Affordable Care Act.
In Florida, Medicare is not a senior-only issue
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
For Bruce Cargill, an 87-year-old retiree, Medicare is a “glorious program” that, along with Social Security, keeps millions of older Americans out of poverty.
Bus tours deliver messages for both sides in abortion debate
By Lona O'Connor
Palm Beach Post
In the political struggle over abortion, the techniques used to influence voters can be ultra-modern — websites, emails, tweets — and they can be old school, in the form of bus tours.
DOH tests 3,000 for TB
By James Call
Florida Current
Florida Surgeon General John Armstrong said Friday that state’s Department of Health has launched a three-pronged attack to control a tuberculosis outbreak.
On second thought
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Gov. Rick Scott's opposition to expanding Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act was already unfortunate from a humanitarian standpoint.
CIVIL
RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
State welfare recipients repaid after drug testing halted
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
The state paid back nearly $600,000 to welfare recipients who were denied benefits during a four-month period last year because they failed or refused to take a drug test after a federal judge temporarily halted the law, figures from state welfare officials show.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
Legal Challenges to Voter-ID Laws: Too Little Too Late?
By Adam Cohen
Time Magazine
In this year’s heated battle over voter-ID laws, the critics score a big victory: a federal court overturned Texas‘ tough new ID law last week.
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