FEATURED
STORIES
Gov. Rick Scott not likely to extend early voting hours
By Patricia Mazzei and Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
Citing long lines, a former Miami Beach state senator, the Florida Democratic Party and the League of Women Voters of Florida urged Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday to extend early voting.
First lady stumps for President Obama in Miami
By Diana Moskovitz
Miami Herald
With her husband tied up much of the week managing the response to Superstorm Sandy, first lady Michelle Obama arrived in Florida on Thursday to speak to his supporters in Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, and Miami.
With tight presidential race down to the wire, ground-gamers prod potential voters
By Dara Kam and John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
A frenzy of phone calls, social media posts and house-to-house door-knocking is consuming the presidential race’s final days, as the data-rich campaigns of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney lock into a desperate fight to push voters to the polls in swing state Florida.
Romney Closing Youth Vote Gap
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Record turnout among youth voters in 2008 was one of several factors helping Barack Obama win the White House. President Obama is expected to win the youth vote again, but as Whitney Ray tells us, Mitt Romney is closing the gap.
Campaigns lawyered up for election overtime chance
By Curt Anderson and Stephen Braun
Associated Press
Legions of lawyers are ready to enter the fray in case Election Day turns on a legal challenge.
Proposed Medicaid cuts sends shudder through nursing home industry
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Medicaid rate cuts of $429 million are being floated as part of a budget cutting exercise required by Gov. Rick Scott.
BEST
OF THE BLOGS
OFA Has Turned the Tables on the GOP Historical Absentee Advantage
By Kartik Krishnaiyer
The Political Hurricane
”Absentee Ballots are like a late reporting Republican Precinct” said one prominent Democratic Party official to me in 2002.
The Staged Events & You Can Help Sandy Victims
By Benjamin J. Kirby
The Spencerian
I've been in the communications business a long time. I have been involved in campaigns and elections for a long time, too.
Broward Is Second Florida County to Address Wage Theft
By Kenneth Quinnell
AFL-CIO Now
This week, Broward County—one of the most populous counties in South Florida—became the second county in the state to pass a local wage theft ordinance, joining Miami-Dade County.
Biden thrills big Ocala crowd
By Bruce Seaman
Daily Marion
Reflecting the theme of the Obama/Biden re-election campaign, the Vice President rocked an estimated 2,500 fired-up supporters at Tuscawilla Park in Ocala on a postcard perfect weather day.
Fran's Story - NO On 6
By Jon Rector
SOG City Oracle
A Florida woman named Fran recounts the tragedy she experienced involving her pregnancy, and how Amendment 6 could impact women like her if passed.
FLORIDA
POLITICS
Long lines at the polls? Blame your lawmakers
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Monster storm Sandy has created epic traffic jams in New York City, where mass transit systems that normally carry millions of people a day have been crippled or closed.
Across Florida, state candidates sidestep fundraising limits
By Jason Garcia
Orlando Sentinel
For two decades, Florida has barred candidates for local or state office from accepting more than $500 from a single donor per election.
Scott's approval rating steps up 1 point
Staff Report
Florida Current
With the state's jobless rate improving and the release of a new education plan, Gov. Rick Scott notched a 1-point gain in his favorability rating among Floridians in a new poll that asked about his job performance.
Black tie, blue jeans; Gov. Rick Scott, Republican hopefuls attend BBQ fundraiser
By Morgan Watkins
Gainesville Sun
Gov. Rick Scott, U.S. Senate candidate Connie Mack and other politicians rolled into Alachua County Thursday evening for a night of barbecue, blue jeans and Budweiser with local Republicans.
St. Petersburg taxpayers only on the hook for $29,000 in RNC expenses, mayor says
By Mark Puente
Tampa Bay Times
Taxpayers will not be stuck paying $580,000 in expenses for the Republican National Convention, Mayor Bill Foster said Thursday.
Ethics panel dismisses complaint against Gary Siplin
By Jason Garcia
Orlando Sentinel
The Florida Commission on Ethics has dismissed a complaint against outgoing state Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, prompted by a taxpayer-funded newsletter Siplin sent out this summer promoting his wife — and then-Senate candidate — Victoria Siplin.
Small-business group triggers counter-demonstration
By Bob Shaw
Orlando Sentinel
They’ll be greeted by folks from Organize Now and the Community Business Association of Central Florida, who’ll counter that NFIB is a Republican front that it says got $3.7 million from Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS and endorses almost exclusively Republican candidates.
POLITICAL
RACES
Bloomberg Endorses Obama, Citing Climate Change
By Raymond Hernandez
New York Times
In a surprise announcement, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Thursday that Hurricane Sandy had reshaped his thinking about the presidential campaign and that as a result he was endorsing President Obama.
Disaster politics: Benghazi, Hurricane Sandy and the battle between Obama and Romney
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Blown away by Hurricane Sandy: News of the Sept. 11 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.
Bill Clinton hits the campaign trail for Obama Friday in Lake Worth
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
For the second time in a week, President Bill Clinton on Friday drums up Florida support for President Obama, kicking off a five-city sweep with an appearance at Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth, part of a last push to get voters to the polls before early voting ends Saturday.
Hillsborough County: Florida's true presidential bellwether
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
America's biggest battleground state has 67 counties but only one with an uncanny knack for picking presidents.
2 Swing States That Swing on Felon Disenfranchisement
By James Ridgeway
Mother Jones
A new infographic from the Prison Policy Initiative (cropped version below) does a nice job of illustrating the massive vote-suppression tactic we wrote about previously—one that could hand two crucial states to Mitt Romney.
The audacity of mendacity
By Daniel Ruth
Tampa Bay Times
From the mouth of a political apparatchik a smidgen of truth was actually uttered.
Nelson defends federal government's role in helping people
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
When it comes to considering the federal government's role in American's lives, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson suggested Thursday that people just ask New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
From road signs to TV ads, West-Murphy race unmatched in its vigor
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
From seven-figure TV ad buys to cheap roadside signs, the attacks have been unrelenting in the nationally watched congressional race between Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West and Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy.
Women voters may be deciding factor in Southerland, Lawson race
By Arek Sarkissian II
Tallahassee Democrat
Democratic 2nd Congressional District candidate Al Lawson said during a Wednesday morning roundtable that votes from women will be one of the deciding factors in the race against GOP incumbent Steve Southerland.
Webster vs. Demings: Close, sane … refreshing
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
One of my favorite races this election season is the one between Republican Dan Webster and Democrat Val Demings.
BALLOT
INITIATIVES
Amendments on social policy, tax breaks stir opposition
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
There are 11 amendments on the ballot for Florida voters this year, most of them a variety-pack of tax breaks for different groups: veterans, first responders, snow birds, low-income seniors.
Real Estate Agents Give Big to Amendment 4 Sponsor
Staff Report
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Florida real estate agents are not only shelling out big money for a campaign pushing Amendment 4 — they are also giving big money to its sponsor, state Rep. Chris Dorworth.
Say no to amendments that don't belong on ballot anyway
By Sue Carlton
Tampa Bay Times
It is fair to call Mark Sharpe a political wonk, a Tweeter, Facebooker and talker of politics local, state and national.
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Some say Hurricane Sandy should refocus nation, Florida on climate change
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Hurricane Sandy delivered only a glancing blow to Florida before walloping the mid-Atlantic states and New England.
Facing Thursday deadline, attorneys are telling clients to opt out of oil spill settlement
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
In advance of a Thursday deadline, Lawyers said they were assisting hundreds of seafood workers and coastal property owners to opt out of a federal court settlement involving the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
LGBT
'Stunning transformation'
By Ruth Marcus
Florida Today
Sometimes in politics, you have to listen for what’s not being said to understand where things really stand. In the 2012 presidential campaign, the telling — and comforting — silence involves same-sex marriage and gay rights.
EDUCATION
Schools task force looking at tax increases
By James Call
Florida Current
A task force looking at construction needs of public schools is finalizing a proposal for a half mill property tax increase with the money split between traditional schools and charter schools.
'Hold the line on tuition,' Florida Gov. Scott tells community colleges
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times
Repeating what has become one of his mantras, Gov. Rick Scott told state community college leaders that he continues to oppose tuition increases.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
October jobs report likely to show modest hiring in U.S.
Staff Report
Naples Daily News
The October employment report the government will release Friday will likely solidify the picture of the U.S. job market that's emerged this year: Companies are hiring steadily but cautiously.
More South Floridians file for bankruptcy
By Donna Gehrke-White
South Florida Sun Sentinel
South Florida experienced a sharp increase in personal bankruptcies in October, a sign that banks are resuming efforts to foreclose on delinquent mortgages, local attorneys say.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
Number of Uninsured Kids Down But Florida Still Falls Short For Coverage
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Tallahassee
A new report from Georgetown University says when it comes to reducing the number of children without health insurance, Florida has a long way to go.
Humana leads in ratings race
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Twenty years ago, Humana’s Gold Plus Plan was a mess.
CIVIL
RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Crime down statewide in first half of 2012, FDLE stats show
By Howard Altman
Tampa Tribune
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement today unveiled its statewide crime statistics for the first half of this year, showing crime rates dropping locally and throughout Florida.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
Campaign for justices is on track to spend $5.5 million
By Mary Ellen Klas
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Protect judicial independence, vote 'yes' on justices
When the Republican Party of Florida launched its "grass roots" offensive against the three justices of the Florida Supreme Court, it unleashed a sleeping giant.
Former lawmaker says take election out of judge selection
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
For ethical, legal and tactical reasons, running for the Florida Supreme Court is unlike trying to get any other statewide elected office.
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