Daily News Clips for October 17, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Barack Obama Seizes the Upper Hand Over Mitt Romney at Second Debate
By Howard Kurtz
The Daily Beast
Barack Obama came to play in the second presidential debate Tuesday night, unleashing a series of attacks against Mitt Romney that accused him of favoring the rich and “extreme” social policies.

Obama campaign touts gains in Florida absentee voting
Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
President Barack Obama's Florida campaign argued Tuesday that it has a ground game advantage over Republican Mitt Romney, who seems to be benefiting from a shift in polls in this crucial state in the race for the White House.

Tricksters Trying To Suppress Vote With Deceptive Phone Calls
By Dan Froomkin
Huffington Post
Some African American, Spanish-speaking and elderly voters in Florida and Virginia are apparently being targeted by anonymous voter-suppression groups trying to trick them or intimidate them into not voting in the November presidential election, according to election officials and voter protection organizations.

Nelson and Mack to debate at Nova Southeastern for U.S. Senate race in Florida
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Florida voters get their only chance to see Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican Rep. Connie Mack IV square off against each other in a debate on Wednesday at Nova Southeastern University in Davie.

I-4 Corridor, Rife with Legislative Battles, Is Florida’s Electoral Ground Zero Again
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
The I-4 corridor is almost a mythical place in presidential politics, with Republicans and Democrats seeing it as a ticket to the White House.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Legislature's new leaders back tough ethics reform
By Steve Bousquet
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
The new leaders of the Florida Legislature called Tuesday for sweeping and stronger ethics laws, including a crackdown on lawmakers who collect a second public paycheck while holding office.

There will be NOT be a purge of Florida non-citizens before the November election
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing Tampa
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has stopped an attempt by the state of Florida to purge non-citizens from the voting rolls before next month's election.

Gaetz wants substantive changes on education, ethics, but with softer style
By Gray Rohrer and Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Sen. Don Gaetz, poised to take the reins of the upper chamber of the Florida Legislature as Senate President next month, said Tuesday he will push for reforms to education to meet the state’s economic needs and higher ethical standards for lawmakers.

State Rep. Rouson joins the race for leadership post
By Steve Bousquet and Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
State Rep. Darryl Rouson, a St. Petersburg Democrat, has filed a notice of intent to seek the speakership of the Florida House in the 2014-2016 term.

Mia Jones intends to run for minority leader in 2014
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
State Rep. Mia Jones, a Jacksonville Democrat, says she plans on running for her chamber's top spot in the 2014-2016 term.

Voter suppression is partisan warfare: USF St. Pete professor
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Tampa
Republican led State legislatures across the country have passed numerous laws they say will ensure only legitimate voters are casting ballots.

Judge wants police to find ‘Queen of Absentee Ballots’
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
The self-described “Queen of Absentee Ballots,” has gone missing in the middle of a civil trial that could determine the ultimate victor in a race for District 107 in the Florida House.

POLITICAL RACES

Second debate brings out assertive Obama, tough Romney
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Breaking down the second presidential debate
Related: Politifact: Fact-checking the town hall debate
President Barack Obama barely looked like he cared about winning another term when he listlessly debated Mitt Romney two weeks ago.

Face to face: Obama, Romney in crackling debate
By David Espo
Associated Press
An aggressive President Barack Obama accused challenger Mitt Romney of peddling a "sketchy deal" to fix the U.S. economy and playing politics with the deadly terrorist attack in Libya in a Tuesday night debate crackling with energy and emotion just three weeks before the election.

Medicare messaging wars target Florida seniors
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
The attack ads arrive in the mailboxes of Florida voters and pierce the television airwaves with the rapidity of tracer bullets.

Four Pinocchios: Mitt Romney’s ‘new math’ for jobs plan doesn’t add up
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post
Romney’s 12-million-jobs promise has garnered a lot of attention.

Ryan, Biden schedule Florida campaign stops
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan on Thursday will attend a daytime campaign rally in Ocala and an evening rally in Fort Myers, Mitt Romney‘s campaign announced today.

Congressional contenders Frankel, Hasner to square off at Palm Beach Post debate
By Andrew Abramson
Palm Beach Post
Just 12 hours after the presidential debate, District 22 congressional candidates Lois Frankel and Adam Hasner will square off for their first debate, at The Palm Beach Post, and wrangle over many of the same national issues — the national debt, Medicare and jobs.

Demings outraises, outspends Webster
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
In most congressional races, it's rare if a challenger raises more money than the incumbent.

Drug exec donates $1 million to PAC that supports West
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
A super PAC that supports U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Palm Beach Gardens, got $1 million from a New Jersey pharmaceutical executive, new Federal Election Commission reports show.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Amendment Campaign Spending Falls Short Of Past Election Cycles
By Lynn Hatter 
WFSU Tallahassee
Interest groups are dropping big bucks in this year’s election cycle, spending millions on campaigns to support or defeat several of the 11 amendments on the November ballot.

Amendment 1 lacks any legal authority
Staff Report
Florida Current
Florida’s Republican-led Legislature voted in 2011 to put Amendment 1 on the ballot to exempt Floridians from the federal Affordable Care Act.

Amendment 3 Would Restrain State Spending But Likely Result in Reduced Services
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
This year, Floridians will vote on a constitutional amendment that will change how the state figures out how much money it can collect in taxes.

Respecting the real-life decisions of women and their families
By Jenna Tosh
Orlando Sentinel
There has been a lot of discussion about the 11 constitutional amendments on the Florida ballot this November.

Religious Freedom Amendment May be Much More
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Amendment Eight on Novembers ballot seeks to change more than 125 years of Constitutional law in Florida.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

DEP asks to sell so it can buy more conservation land in the coming fiscal year
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says it wants to sell up to $50 million worth of state land in the coming fiscal year to buy more conservation land. 

EDUCATION

Gov. Scott criticizes state Board of Ed strategic plan
By Tia Mitchell
Miami Herald
Add Gov. Rick Scott to the list of people unhappy with the state Board of Education's five-year strategic plan and it's varied race-based achievement goals.

Charter schools: The real, mixed truth
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
There are those who argue that charter schools are among the biggest failures in Florida's education system — botched ventures that waste taxpayer money and fail the children who attend them.

Broward teachers may get salary increase
By Karen Yi
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The Broward Teachers Union and the district have reached a tentative agreement to increase teacher pay after almost four years of frozen wages.

$2M Grant For University Of Florida Will Bolster STEM Teaching
By Gina Jordan
StateImpact Florida
Young students who have their eyes on a future in STEM-related careers are getting a boost from the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

UCF economist: Expect a long pull out of 'economic ennui'
By Jeff Harrington
Tampa Bay Times
University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith won't wager whom he expects to win the presidential election.

Citizens Property Insurance eliminates 'corporate integrity' office
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has disbanded its Office of Corporate Integrity, a curious move for a state-run company that has seen a 52-percent increase in internal complaints and is being investigated for lavish executive spending and other corporate improprieties.

STEM Jobs On The Rise But Potential Employees Are Scarce
By Lynn Hatter 
WFSU Tallahassee
The number of available jobs in science, technology, engineering and math is on the rise in Florida, and state officials say, that’s good news for the economy.

Fla. Attorney General not budging on settlement
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is refusing to back down in her feud with the GOP-controlled Legislature when it comes to $300 million intended to help homeowners.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Study: Privatized Medicare would hike premiums for most; rise in Florida could exceed $200
Associated Press
Washington Post
Nearly six in 10 Medicare recipients would pay higher premiums under a hypothetical privatized system along the lines of what Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has proposed, according to a study released Monday.
.
Senior Alert: Medicare Open Enrollment is Under Way
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
Medicare open enrollment started this week, and seniors are being urged to review their current plans carefully to make sure they're getting the most out of their coverage.

Steriod-related meningitis cases rise to 12 in Florida
By James Call
Florida Current
Florida health officials have tracked down 1,026 people who may have received contaminated steroid shots in a growing nationwide meningitis outbreak.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Close To 50 Unmarked Graves Found, Linked To Abuse Claims At Infamous Dozier School
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
Several University of South Florida researchers discovered what could be as many as 49 graves belonging to boys connected to the infamous Dozier School for Boys.

2nd amendment groups talk to 'stand your ground' task force in Jacksonville
By Jeff Weiner
Orlando Sentinel
The task force reviewing Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law met for the sixth time on Tuesday and heard presentations in defense of the law from representatives of several second-amendment organizations.