Daily News Clips for November 13, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Voting made hard: Frustrated Floridians search for answers, call for investigation
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Related: Depositions: A backstory of Florida voting law
Civic groups, civil rights organizations, labor unions and Democratic Party office holders are demanding changes in Florida’s electoral system after many voters in the the state experienced chaos and frustration at polling places during the recent early voting period and on Election Day.

Gov. Rick Scott, fix this voting problem now, not later
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
Four days before the start of early voting and the six-hour lines that made Florida a target of national outrage, Gov. Rick Scott got a heads-up.

Let’s amend the state Constitution to ensure voter access
By Dan Gelber
Florida Voices
Why were the lines so obscenely long? Because the state legislature wanted them long, and there was little anyone could do to stop them.

10 Florida Republicans Who Helped Make Voting More Difficult (PHOTOS)
By Janie Campbell and Joey Francilus
Huffington Post
Who is responsible for Florida's second infamous elections debacle since 2000?

With Dorworth defeated, Meritt Island’s Crisafulli named Florida House Speaker-designate
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
In the wake of the surprising upset of a future leader, House Republicans on Monday chose Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island as speaker-designate for 2014.

FLORIDA POLITICS

West, Murphy both head to Washington Tuesday
By George Bennett and Laura Green
Palm Beach Post
Related editorial: West will need evidence for successful challenge
Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West and his apparent Democratic successor, Patrick Murphy, are both heading to Capitol Hill Tuesday.

Democrats, Republicans cheer gains in Legislature
By Jerome R. Stockfisch
Tampa Tribune
Democrats will have a slightly stronger presence in the state Capitol this spring, but Republicans still dominate the Legislature, and one GOP leader says he can't stifle a smile over Tuesday's election results.

Groups call for sweeping election changes in Florida
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Democratic lawmakers, liberal activists and labor unions on Monday called for sweeping changes in Florida’s voting laws, warning that if Gov. Rick Scott and lawmakers do not act the issues could end up in court.

Florida's election season chaos no joking matter
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Florida became a punch line after the 2000 presidential election when pregnant and hanging chad and butterfly ballots became household words.

More ballots turn up in Broward
By Brittany Wallman
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Seven days after the election ended, and two days after the results were unofficially certified, Broward elections workers Monday said they had found 963 unaccounted-for ballots in a warehouse.

Kudos to the woman behind Florida's new fair legislative districts
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Voices
The game changer in Florida's 2012 elections is a woman who wasn't running, who did her campaigning more than two years ago and whose name is little remembered in the ebb and flow of political events.

Lenny Curry to seek second term as chair of the Florida GOP
By Peter Schorsch
Saint Petersblog
Lenny Curry, the media-savvy chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, is telling colleagues he intends to seek a second term (his first full-term) as head of the state GOP and will publicly announce his intentions sometime before Thanksgiving.

POLITICAL RACES

Did Obama or Romney win the Cuban-American vote?
By Juan O. Tamayo
Miami Herald
A claim that nearly half of Cuban-American voters favored President Barack Obama continued under dispute Monday, with one side claiming it had new evidence that it was true and the other insisting it was false.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Why Florida voters rejected amendments this year when they usually don’t
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
If GOP lawmakers put 11 proposed changes to the state constitution on Tuesday’s ballot to drive voters to the polls, some might say their plan was a success.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Florida nutrient pollution battle wanes, Tampa Bay still a focus
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Tampa
The EPA has set new standards for nutrient pollution in Florida waterways after years of head butting and legal battles.

The biggest loser
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Arguably the biggest loser in last week's election was the fossil fuel lobby, which spent upwards of $200 million on negative ads with very little to show for it.

LGBT

Florida's first openly gay lawmakers appear together at Equality Florida Broward gala
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
Florida's first two openly gay state legislators made their first joint appearance after the November 2012 election on Sunday at Equality Florida's annual Broward awards gala.

EDUCATION

Florida charter school group leader calls it quits
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
For some reason, Florida has not one but two charter school associations, each led by well-known and influential movers in school choice circles.

Governor's higher ed math doesn't add up
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott has said repeatedly that Florida needs more high-tech college graduates, including more math majors.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida Increase Veteran’s Benefits
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
One point six million veterans call Florida home, and more are being added to their ranks as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan slowly wind down.

Nelson, Growers Feeling Better
By Kevin Bouffard
Lakeland Ledger
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson took a victory lap Monday in Lake Wales, and executives at Florida's Natural Growers ran right alongside.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Getting beyond ‘no’
Editorial
Miami Herald
At long last, the state’s Republican leaders appear to have done the math and seem ready to hold what Sen. Don Gaetz, the Senate’s incoming president, called an “adult debate” with Democrats to bring Florida into compliance with the new federal health reform law.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Stand Your Ground group wrapping up
By Bill Thompson
Gainesville Sun
The task force formed by Gov. Rick Scott to review Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law holds its last hearing Tuesday, with recommendations about possible changes, if any, to shortly follow.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

State courts struggle with Supreme Court ruling on young killers
By David Ovalle
Miami Herald
Five months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court banned mandatory sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole for juveniles convicted of murder.