FEATURED
STORIES
Firm hired by Florida GOP knew weeks ago of possibly fraudulent voter registrations
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Left-leaning Florida voter groups deny allegations of registration fraud
Related: Hiaasen: Absentee ballots: Easy to cast, open to fraud
Nathan Sproul was hardly unknown when his firm, Strategic Allied Consulting, was hired over the summer to register voters for the Republican Party.
As Election Day nears, voter ID laws still worry some, encourage others
By Halimah Abdullah
CNN
For LaVon Bracy, the pain of racial discrimination, of fighting for her rights as a U.S. citizen, still aches every time she thinks about Florida's new voter identification law.
Poll: Obama holds big lead over Romney among Hispanic voters nationwide; margin much smaller in Florida
By Marc Caputo and Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Related: In politics, polls are important but absentee votes are essential
Mitt Romney is closing the gap on President Barack Obama among likely Hispanic Florida voters, a majority of whom say they’re not better off than four years ago, according to a new Florida International University/Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald poll.
Former governors offer critique of Florida’s future
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Five of Florida’s former governors met at the University of Florida Friday and offered up a stern bi-partisan warning about the future direction of the state.
3 GOP senators endorse Supreme Court justices
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Three Republican state senators, "deeply concerned" about mixing politics into the judiciary, urged their party Friday to reconsider its "unprecedented" call for voters to reject three Florida Supreme Court justices who are up for a hotly contested retention vote on the Nov. 6 statewide ballot.
TB surge: CDC asked state to tell public
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
Florida’s TB outbreak, dubbed the worst in the nation in 20 years, flourished as state and federal health officials placed political concerns and protocols ahead of informing the general public, documents and interviews show.
EDITORIAL
CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Andy Marlette
Pensacola News Journal
Related editorial: Vote 'Yes' for justice
FLORIDA
POLITICS
David Rivera defends himself in TV interview
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
In his first sit down English-language television interview in weeks, U.S. Rep. David Rivera defended himself Sunday against a federal grand-jury investigation into his alleged involvement in a primary campaign against his Democratic opponent.
Florida GOP's Poll-Tax Nostalgia
By Pierre Tristam
Florida Voices
Florida may be a deciding state in a presidential election yet again.
Vote By Mail. It's Easy and Phone Will Stop Ringing
By Alison Berke Morano
Florida Voices
The 2012 election cycle seems to have come upon us faster than past campaigns.
A century ago, Orlando women's bid to vote caused shock and jokes
By Joy Wallace Dickinson
Orlando Sentinel
As election season reaches the home stretch, I'm reminded of an event in Orlando 100 years ago this month that shows how much has changed in our country's political process.
Florida's Historic Capitol Expected To Undergo Another Makeover
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida’s historic old Capitol is expected to get more repairs starting next year.
Orange County Needs to Fix Text Messaging Mess
By Susan Clary
Florida Voices
It started as a battle to ask voters next month to require businesses with 15 or more employees to provide their workers with paid sick leave.
POLITICAL
RACES
Poll: Romney gains 5 points in Florida in three weeks
Staff Report
Tampa Tribune
A Public Policy Polling survey shows Mitt Romney leading President Barack Obama by one point in Florida, a five-point gain for the GOP nominee over the past three weeks.
With registration over, ‘ground game’ gets fierce
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
With voter registration having closed on Tuesday, the final stages of the “ground game” for the Nov. 6 election for both the Republicans and Democrats in Florida is well under way.
Obama adviser David Plouffe says campaign in good shape in Florida
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
The latest Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9/Miami Herald Florida poll found Mitt Romney with a commanding 7-point lead over Barack Obama, and the RealClearPolitics average of recent Florida polls shows Romney 2 points ahead.
Not all Obama supporters dismayed by first debate performance
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
High-profile supporters of President Barack Obama like MSNBC’s Chris Matthews and The Daily Beast’s Andrew Sullivan went into meltdown mode after Mitt Romney bested Obama in the first presidential debate this month.
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times poll: Sen. Bill Nelson continues to lead Connie Mack, 47-42 percent
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Related editorial: Nelson for U.S. Senate
Independent voters and party switchers are providing the edge for Democrat Bill Nelson as he maintains his lead over Republican challenger Connie Mack in the U.S. Senate race, according to a new Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald/Tampa Bay Times poll.
Senate race in Sunshine State falls into the shadows
By William March
Tampa Tribune
The battle for Florida's U.S. Senate seat between incumbent Bill Nelson and challenger Rep. Connie Mack IV was expected to be one of 2012's hardest-fought campaigns.
Meet Florida's big-time donors to super PACs
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
In Florida's vast political orbit, Barbara Stiefel hardly registers.
Romney, Obama run aggressive Spanish-language campaigns
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
It could have been a scene in San Juan.
Candidates have few answers for housing crisis
By William E. Gibson
Orlando Sentinel
This election year, real-estate woes remain foremost on the minds of underwater homeowners such as Dominick Giampaolo, who struggled through two years of paperwork and endless phone calls before persuading a lender to reduce his mortgage this summer from $350,000 to $191,000.
What Role Are Celebrities Playing In This Presidential Race?
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
Should celebrities be using their fame to inject themselves into politics?
BALLOT
INITIATIVES
Amendment would let religious groups get public funds
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Florida voters must weigh far-ranging claims from both sides in deciding a proposed constitutional amendment lifting a 127-year-old ban on public money going to religious institutions.
Amendment 4 offers big tax break for some, big revenue drain for local governments
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald
It is the longest of the 11 amendments on Florida’s longest-ever ballot, and its multi-billion dollar impact could mean major tax relief for first-time homebuyers, owners of second homes, small businesses and, especially, large corporations.
Constitutional Amendments: No on 5, 6
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
Related: Constitutional Amendment: No on 8
Amendments 5 and 6 share a worrisome characteristic: They propose to add provisions weakening and muddling the Florida Constitution.
Intrusive government
Editorial
Ocala Star-Banner
Related: Just a power grab
Both federal and state laws already prohibit the use of public funds for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or when a woman's life is endangered.
Amendment 3? Vote No
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Florida lawmakers have slashed billions of dollars from state spending in the past five years, including $1.3 billion from public schools last year, and $350 million from hospitals and nursing homes this year.
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Federal agency accepting comments amid seafood fears at Apalachicola Bay
Staff Report
Florida Current
Amid a loss of seafood in Apalachicola Bay that Gov. Rick Scott has compared to an ecological crisis, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has reopened a public comment period on its operation of federal reservoirs upstream on the Chattahoochee River.
Concerns grow along with Florida panther range
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The battle to save the Florida panther from extinction is poised to shift from south to central Florida, where a clash between private landowners, developers and regulators could determine the future range of the unique cats.
In deep water
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Thousands of miles apart, in vastly disparate environments, the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska's Chukchi Sea have something in common: Both illustrate the increasing futility of an energy policy heavily dependent on oil.
EDUCATION
Higher education task force considers big changes, higher tuition
By Brittany Alana Davis
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
When Gov. Rick Scott brushed aside intense lobbying from state universities and vetoed a tuition increase earlier this year, he created a blue ribbon panel to identify ways to make the state's higher education system more efficient.
Florida teacher pay issue an uphill battle
By Ashley A. Smith
Ft. Myers News-Press
A system designed to hold teachers accountable and reward achievers could soon become a mess that hurts morale and drives teachers to quit.
Grading teachers' pluses and minuses with statistical formula
By Mackenzie Ryan
Florida Today
Brevard County teachers soon will learn how much impact they had — or, at least, how much impact a new state formula says they had — on the students they taught last school year.
Criticism follows Florida’s race-based student achievement goals
By Laura Isensee and Michael Vasquez
Miami Herald
When the state grades its teachers, there is no accounting for students’ race or economic status.
Education leaders want more than $400M to expand digital learning
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
Convinced that all students should have round-the-clock access to computers, the State Board of Education wants Florida to pay for more than 300,000 next year so schools can starting issuing them to youngsters who don't have their own.
Florida Families Can Prepare for College Costs
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
Starting today, families in Florida can enroll in the state's Prepaid College Plan, allowing them to lock in this year's plan prices to prepare for the rising cost of higher education at state schools.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Florida workers comp rates now 29th most expensive
Associated Press
Miami Herald
Florida's workers compensation insurance rates have climbed from 40th to 29th most expensive in the nation over the last two years.
Darden doesn't help image by cutting hours
By Beth Kassab
Orlando Sentinel
Darden Restaurants just became the poster child for the next worker-rights campaign in Orange County.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
Everyone has a different opinion on Medicare at forum
By Patti Ewald
Tampa Bay Times
There is only one thing everyone agrees on about Medicare: The other guy is wrong.
Florida's fungal meningitis outbreak so far is centered on Ocala area
By Jodie Tillman
Tampa Bay Times
In the nationwide outbreak of a rare fungal meningitis, this city of 56,315 people has been the epicenter of pain in Florida.
Scott’s hidden Medicaid tax hurts uninsured, providers
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Nearly 44 Floridians die each week because they do not have health coverage, according to Families USA, a consumer advocacy organization.
CIVIL
RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
‘Stand Your Ground’ self-defense raises more questions than answers
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Since 2005, at least 20 states have followed Florida’s lead and adopted Stand Your Ground self-defense laws, resulting in a heated debate nationwide over their value and to tragic, bitter disputes over individual cases in which people were killed.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
Florida Supreme Court retention race unusually stressful, costly this election
By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post
In a typical election year, Florida Supreme Court justices put $500 in their campaign accounts and after the votes are counted, they withdraw the money and settle in for another six years.
Petulant politicians wage war on Florida courts
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
We all know that Florida is a land of political madness.
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