Daily News Clips for January 31, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Rick Scott wants $1.2 billion more for schools, bonuses for state workers
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday will send the Florida Legislature a $74 billion budget that he says would boost spending in schools by $1.25 billion, but some of that money will not reach students.

E-mails link Bush foundation, corporations and education officials
By Valerie Strauss
Washington Post
A nonprofit group released thousands of e-mails today and said they show how a foundation begun by Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and national education reform leader, is working with public officials in states to write education laws that could benefit some of its corporate funders.

House proposes closing slush funds, raising contribution limits
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Florida House leaders unveiled what they hope will be behavior-changing campaign finance reform Wednesday, phasing out candidate-controlled political committees and ushering in stricter reporting deadlines, more contribution accountability and campaign contribution caps of $10,000 per election.

Fla. GOP, Democratic leaders divided over Obamacare decisions
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
Despite criticism from top Democrats that the state has been "dragging its feet," House and Senate Republican leaders said Wednesday they would be deliberate in deciding how to handle key parts of the federal Affordable Care Act.

Immigration reform advocates pushing lawmakers for action
By Laura C. Morel
Tampa Bay Times
In a major push for immigration reform, several advocacy groups throughout west-central Florida are uniting in an effort to pressure federal lawmakers for change.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Lawmakers prepare to repair elections but differ on extent of problem, on party lines
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Florida’s 2012 presidential election was either a statewide success or an unmitigated disaster, depending on the party of the person doing the analysis.

Fla. House, Senate leaders outline 5-point agenda
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
Strengthening ethics and campaign-finance laws and improving Florida's universities are among the goals that Florida House and Senate leaders said Wednesday they've agreed to jointly pursue in the coming legislative session.

Ashton: FDLE to probe 'textgate'
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Related editorial: Text probe welcome, but get serious about sunshine
Orange-Osceola State Attorney Jeff Ashton said Tuesday he has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate possible criminal violations in the textgate scandal that has engulfed Orange County officials.

Fla. Open-Government Group Blasts Bill That Would Hide Financial Records
By Jessica Palombo    
WFSU Tallahassee
A nonprofit organization that tries to keep Florida government transparent and accountable is releasing its watch list of the “best” and “worst” bills filed so far for this legislative session.

Integrity Florida Makes Waves
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
State legislative leaders are vowing to pass the first comprehensive ethics reform bill in Florida in more than three decades.

Senator seeks to ban texting while driving
By Robert Nolin
South Florida Sun Sentinel
You're hurtling down the interstate at 70 mph, or 103 feet per second. Sending or receiving that irresistible text averages more than four seconds, which means you've traveled farther than the length of a football field — blind.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

GOP leaders talk about more money for land buying but offer no commitments
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders expressed support for conservation land-buying on Wednesday but stopped short of committing more money towards those programs.

We Must Protect Our Coveted Wild Florida
By Susan Clary
Florida Voices
Bob Graham, Florida’s former governor and U.S. senator, stood before hundreds of people at Silver River State Park in Ocala last summer and reminisced about his childhood memories of peering through a glass-bottomed boat at the crystal-clear springs below.

Weatherford suggest change could be coming for controversial on nuclear cost recovery law
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
House Speaker Will Weatherford told reporters on Wednesday that he is open to revising the the 2006 law that allowed Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy of Florida to collect money for nuclear power plants before building them.

LGBT

Scouts move slowly toward tolerance
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
In the face of serious progress from the Oval Office to the Pentagon, the half-measure proposed this week by the Boy Scouts of America to allow local chapters to determine if they allow openly gay Scouts and scoutmasters is imperfect.

EDUCATION

Concerns mounting over Florida teacher evaluations
By Brandon Larrabee
News Service of Florida
Questions are continuing to mount about the future of Florida's new teacher evaluation system, with Senate President Don Gaetz becoming the latest state official to wonder if the system needs to be overhauled.

School districts take issue with Florida's testing item bank
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Several Florida school districts, led by Volusia County, are raising concerns about the Department of Education's plans to provide shared test items this spring for assessments tied to teacher evaluations.

If lawmakers really care about education, prove it
By John Romano
Tampa Bay Times
They love to talk about education in Tallahassee.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Major pension change coming, legislative leaders promise
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Legislative presiding officers told journalists Wednesday a fundamental shift in the Florida Retirement System -- making new public employees join 401(k)-style investment plans rather than the traditional "defined benefit" pension system -- is the only way to avoid obligating future lawmakers to impose massive tax increases on state residents.

Scott repeats vow to end manufacturing sales tax
By Bill Cotterell,
Florida Current
In addition to increased education spending, Gov. Rick Scott told newspaper editors and broadcasters Wednesday that his 2013-14 budget will eliminate the sales tax on manufacturing equipment.

Sen. Smith: Senate Dems to take hard line on property insurance overhaul
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
While not declaring a solid caucus opposition, Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith said Wednesday that Democrats in the upper chamber will take a strong stand against plans to raise the cap on Citizens Property Insurance Corp. rates.

State scrambles to get NASA's OK for land to build launchpad
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
NASA is balking at plans by Space Florida to build a new commercial launchpad near Kennedy Space Center, and now state officials — in both Tallahassee and Washington -- are racing to persuade the space agency to change its mind.

Enterprise Florida to unveil first-ever Florida business brand
By Peter Schorsch
Saint PetersBlog
Enterprise Florida, the state’s lead economic development entity will unveil Florida’s first-ever business brand following its board of directors meeting today.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Weatherford and Gaetz say legislature will take lead on Medicaid expansion decision
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford told a gathering of reporters and editors Wednesday that they aren’t waiting on Gov. Rick Scott to steer them on the controversial issue of whether to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Real Medicaid Issue Is Too Many Working Poor
By Rick Outzen
Florida Voices
The James Madison Institute, a conservative think-tank based in Tallahassee, recently released a policy brief on Medicaid expansion in Florida under the federal Affordable Care Act.

950 FL Pharmacies Called High-Risk Compounders
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Almost 950 Florida-licensed pharmacies engage in “sterile compounding,” the type of high-risk drug-making that led to a deadly fungal meningitis epidemic last year, according to a Department of Health survey released last week.

Feds targeting Medicare fraud, political corruption in probes of eye doctor, Sen. Bob Menendez
By Marc Caputo and Jay Weaver
Miami Herald
The high-profile federal raid on a South Florida ophthalmologist’s office was more about potential Medicare fraud than about U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, a longtime friend of Dr. Salomon Melgen.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Florida's Voting Ban Questioned for Human Rights Violations
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
Florida is one of three states in the country that takes away the right to vote of a person convicted of a felony.

An Emotional Call to Action on Gun Violence
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot in the head two years ago this month in a shooting that also left six of her constituents dead, including a nine year-old girl.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Voters Overrule Assault on Florida Courts
By Paula Dockery
Florida Voices
The last few years have been tough on Florida’s court system.

Zimmerman wants to delay trial for Martin shooting
By Mike Schneider
Associated Press
Attorneys for the former neighborhood watch volunteer charged with shooting Trayvon Martin to death on Wednesday asked for more time to prepare his case, saying prosecutors had been slow to turn over evidence.

Daily News Clips for January 30, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Jim Greer: Racism and Dead Bodies Ahead
By Terrence McCoy
Miami New Times
Hidden among the shadows in a cavernous banquet hall, Florida's most notorious backroom politician sips his third cup of complimentary coffee and begins to cry.

Spokesman leaves state GOP after dodging questions about Rick Scott's dog
By Lucy Morgan
Tampa Bay Times
Brian Burgess, the combative communications director for the Republican Party of Florida, is returning to the private sector less than five months after taking over as the party's top communicator.

Study: Medicaid expansion may save state money
By John Dorschner
Miami Herald
Florida would save money over the next decade — not lose billions as Gov. Rick Scott has argued — by accepting Medicaid expansion under federal healthcare reforms, according to a detailed economic study.

Budget hopes, expectations set for collision with reality, uncertainty
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
After three straight years of budget shortfalls, state economists have predicted a budget surplus for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

Obama outlines his immigration overhaul
Associated Press
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Rubio critical of Obama's immigration outline
Declaring "now is the time" to fix the nation's broken immigration system, President Barack Obama on Tuesday outlined broad proposals for tightening security at the borders and for putting millions of illegal immigrants on a clear path to citizenship while cracking down on businesses that employ people illegally.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Clemens files resolution that would create full-time legislature
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
For many Capitol insiders, the 60-day legislative sessions are more than long enough.

Senate committee to workshop Clemens’s elections bills on Tuesday
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee will workshop two voting-related bills sponsored by Lake Worth Democrat Jeff Clemens on Tuesday.

In Florida and Washington, put people over politics
By Charlie Crist
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Last Monday, Carole and I were honored to be guests of President Obama on the occasion of his inauguration to a second term as President of the United States. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Bad policies pose historic threats to Fla. environment
By Bob Graham and Nathaniel Reed
Orlando Sentinel
Recent investigative reporting by Kevin Spear in the Orlando Sentinel reveals the dramatic and widespread pollution and flow problems facing so many of Florida's rivers and springs.

NWF Report: FL Wildlife Impacted by Climate Change
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
Sea turtles and coral are among the Florida species already feeling the impact of climate change, according to a new report by the National Wildlife Federation.

Bill returns that would extend permitting lengths for alternative water supply projects
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A bill dealing with water supply permitting that in 2012 sailed through the House without opposition before dying in the Senate is back.

BP's Guilty Plea For 2010 Gulf Spill Approved By Federal Judge
By Michael Kunzelman
Associated Press
BP PLC closed the book on the Justice Department's criminal probe of its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and Gulf oil spill Tuesday, when a federal judge agreed to let the London-based oil giant plead guilty to manslaughter charges for the deaths of 11 rig workers and pay a record $4 billion in penalties.

LGBT

Will Boy Scouts ease no-gays policy?
Associated Press
Florida Today
Facing diverse and ceaseless protests, the Boy Scouts of America is signaling its readiness to end the nationwide exclusion of gays as scouts or leaders and give the sponsors of local troops the freedom to decide the matter for themselves.

EDUCATION

Gaetz says Fla. teacher evaluation not working
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
Florida's new teacher evaluation system isn't working, and lawmakers should stop making major changes in the state's schools until that plan and other key initiatives are fixed and implemented, Florida Senate President Don Gaetz said.

Questions about 'sensible' merit pay
By David Lee Finkle
Orlando Sentinel
After reading the Sentinel's editorial "Teacher pay proposal smacks of political bribe" on Friday, about Gov. Rick Scott's plan to give teachers raises, I found myself agreeing — and disagreeing.

Weatherford aims to change higher education
By James Call
Florida Current
The Speaker of the Florida House says technology is producing a tsunami of change in how people learn.

Charter school group gives Florida high marks for its charter school laws
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, an organization dedicated to the expansion of charter schools, has rated Florida as fifth best in the country for its laws relating to the creation of charters -- schools that receive public funding but are run privately without the burden of many mandates and restrictions placed on traditional public schools.

Testing doesn't scare off private schools accepting vouchers, report says
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times         
Tony Bennett, Florida's new education commissioner, has taken the FCAT by the tail when it comes to the issue of requiring private schools that accept state voucher funds administer state tests and be graded as any public school.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Religious Leaders Back State Employee Raises Because It’s What King Would Do
By Regan McCarthy      
WFSU Tallahassee
A group of Tallahassee religious leaders are pushing the legislature to give state employees across the board pay raises.

State consumer confidence drops a point
Staff Report
Florida Current
Florida's consumer confidence dodged an expected drop in January when negotiations in Washington averted the "fiscal cliff," according to the University of Florida’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

Group Calls for the Wealthy and Corporations to Pay Their Fair Share of Taxes
By Robert Lorei
WMNF Tampa
Coming up today we'll talk about calls by a group called Americans for Tax Fairness to get wealthy Americans and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes- as part of any new budget agreement.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Officials Rethink Medicaid Expansion
By Sammy Mack          
Health News Florida
When Florida sued to overturn the Affordable Care Act, lawmakers targeted a piece of the law that would have forced Florida to make Medicaid available to more than a million uninsured Floridians.

Influential Republican Supports Appointee
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Alan Levine, an influential voice in Florida and national health policy, is calling on his fellow Republicans to support the confirmation of Marilyn Tavenner as director of the federal agency that runs Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

Nursing home executives investigated by The Palm Beach Post charged in $2.75 million
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post
Two nursing home executives spotlighted in an investigative series by The Palm Beach Post have been arrested on charges of using more than $2.75 million of Medicaid dollars for excessive salaries and personal expenses, state officials said Monday.

Florida lawmakers will face a billion-dollar generic drug fight
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The billion-dollar “biosimilar” fight, which is being pushed by some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the nation, is coming to the 2013 Florida Legislature.

Anti-Castro proposal would ban medical licenses for American doctors trained in Cuba
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald
Two South Florida lawmakers are pushing for a law that would stop American doctors who studied in Cuba from receiving medical licenses in Florida.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Obama wants immigration reform quickly; promises counter proposal if Congress stalls
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
One day after a bipartisan group of U.S. senators proposed an overhaul of immigration law, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he expects Congress to move promptly on that legislation or he will put his own plan on the table.

Daily News Clips for January 29, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Florida leaders who will decide Medicaid expansion get bargain on insurance
Associated Press
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott and state legislators will soon decide whether Florida should extend health insurance coverage to nearly 1 million residents, and those officials all get their plans from the state, many paying less than state workers.

Senators, including Marco Rubio, outline immigration reform plan
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related editorial: A chance for immigration reform
Saying the political climate may never be better, a bipartisan group of senators, including Florida's Marco Rubio, announced on Monday the framework for the most sweeping attempt at immigration reform in years, including a "tough but fair" path to citizenship for millions of people in the United States illegally.

Budget unveiling offers Rick Scott chance to use bully pulpit
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
The last time Gov. Rick Scott rolled out his budget plans, the video went viral, with almost 283,000 page views and counting.

How can Rick Scott regain momentum in 2013?
By Gary Fineout
The Fine Print
Scott in Franklin CountyAmid the last round of lackluster poll numbers for Gov. Rick Scott political consultant Tony Fabrizio in mid-December wrote a one-page memo where he argued that it was way too early for people to write off Scott's chances for a second term.

FLORIDA POLITICS

House follows Senate, announces Select Committee on Gaming
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
The House has decided to double down on the Senate’s plan to take a year to review Florida’s quixotic gambling laws before developing a comprehensive bill ahead of the 2014 legislative session.

FEC raps Buchanan campaign on finance report
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan has not fully disclosed more than $80,000 in impermissible campaign donation refunds, the Federal Election Commission said in a notice to the Longboat Key Republican.

Complaint to seek probe of Orange texting
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Public text messages should be no-brainer
Former state House candidate Sean Ashby said he's going to file a complaint with the state attorney Tuesday seeking an investigation into the Orange County leaders involved in the textgate scandal.

POLITICAL RACES

New Democratic Party Chair: Grassroots Key To Trouncing Scott In 2014
By Regan McCarthy      
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida’s new Democratic Party chair says grassroots organization is how the party will unseat Governor Rick Scott in the 2014 gubernatorial election. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

New push on for legislation dealing with how developers must pay for roads
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
When the Legislature passed growth management law changes in 2011, it repealed a state requirement that local governments charge new developments for the cost of needed roadway improvements.

Flawed model puts aquifer at risk
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
The first step in protecting the state's environment is getting the science right.

Judge to rule on BP's plea deal over Gulf spill
By Michael Kunzelman
Associated Press
A federal judge will decide whether to approve an agreement for BP PLC to plead guilty to manslaughter and other charges and pay a record $4 billion in criminal penalties for the company's role in the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Crist heads to India to talk about climate change
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Former Gov. Charlie Crist will appear at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in India.

LGBT

Boy Scouts close to ending ban on gay members, leaders
By Pete Williams
NBC News
The Boy Scouts of America, one of the nation’s largest private youth organizations, is actively considering an end to its decades-long policy of banning gay scouts or scout leaders, according to scouting officials and outsiders familiar with internal discussions.

EDUCATION

Scott gets all of Florida’s four-year colleges to embrace $10K challenge
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
After catching heat from even a member of the state’s Board of Education, Gov. Rick Scott announced Monday that all 23 of Florida’s colleges that offer bachelor’s degrees have embraced his call for making available a $10,000 degree program.

Bills: Pay Florida teachers $10,000 more a year
By Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post
After years of feeling neglected and underpaid by their state Legislature, a classroom of local teachers was shown some love Monday by two Palm Beach County legislators in the form of twin bills that would give the average Florida teacher a $10,000 raise starting in two years.

Florida’s high education rank is grade inflation
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
We know from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” that the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything is: 42.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Montford wants raises for state employees
By Matthew Beaton
Panama City News Herald
State Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, is spearheading an effort to get state employees their first raise in six years.

With wages, only a handful getting richer
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
A while ago, I heard an economist say something startling about wages in America.

Florida trying to recoup money from corporations that failed to meet jobs goals
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
There are 18 companies that have received $21.3 million in up-front taxpayer incentives since 1996 for projects to expand or move to Florida that have failed to meet job or wage goals.

Florida Sens. Nelson, Rubio split votes on disaster aid
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times         
The U.S. Senate tonight approved a $50.5 billion disaster aid package for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Gov. Scott heading to Chile on trade mission
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott is heading back to South America on another trade mission.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Dean Cannon's Letter Put FL Way Behind
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Pity Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation.

What the new health care market means for Florida
Associated Press
Naples Daily News
Florida's Republican lawmakers are reluctantly acknowledging that the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and are taking steps to determine exactly what that will look like.

Reporting Child Abuse a Legal Obligation
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Calls to Florida’s child abuse hotline are up 16 percent, not because there’s more abuse but because of a new law requiring people to report.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Immigration proposal brings doubts, concerns
By Laura C. Morel
Tampa Bay Times
At age 6, Juan Rodriguez and his Colombian family came to America.

Concealed Carry Arrest
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
A video showing a motorist being arrested for legally carrying a gun is lighting the internet on fire.

Daily News Clips for January 28, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Allison Tant elected chairwoman of Florida Democratic Party
By Adam C. Smith and Marc Caputo
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Staff Writers
In the most bitter and closely fought party election in decades, Florida Democratic leaders elected former Tallahassee lobbyist Allison Tant as their new state chairwoman Saturday.

More money, but still problems for Florida's budget
By Steve Bousquet and Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott this week will send the Legislature a proposed budget that's a blueprint for spending and a road map to his re-election campaign — complete with potholes.

Reeling GOP seeks connection with voters in Florida
By William March
Tampa Tribune
After a lost election and weeks of futile budget wrangling, the public image of the Republican Party nationally has sunk to what pollsters are calling unprecedented lows.

Despite Gov. Rick Scott’s low poll number, Democrats say he’ll be tough to beat
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Rick Scott’s poll numbers look dismal. His finances don’t.

Conquering voices on the right, Sen. Marco Rubio moves to bridge GOP's immigration gap
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Conservative radio host Mark Levin was ranting about Republicans suddenly talking about immigration reform, voice dripping with disgust as he wondered, "How did this become the big issue after the election?"

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Jim Morin
Miami Herald

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida needs an election overhaul
By Howard Simon        
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott has announced that he now supports reforms to address problems voters faced during the November elections.

Scott campaigns for the votes he once tried to suppress
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
It is satisfying to see Gov. Rick Scott and state lawmakers so enthusiastically eating crow.

'Satanists' stage mock rally for Gov. Rick Scott over school prayer bill
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
There were death metal music and devil worshipers, but the only thing sacrificed was time.

Florida legislative leaders want to leave legacy of ethics reforms
By Matt Dixon  
Florida Times-Union
After rounds of failed legislation, lawmakers are poised this year to pass what they are calling Florida’s most significant ethics overhaul in decades.

In Florida, the real economic stimulus influence
By Randy Schultz
Palm Beach Post
Floridians got revealing examples last week of how their state works.

Officials from across Central Florida delete texts, review finds
By Jason Garcia and David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Leaders of some of Central Florida's largest governments have been deleting text messages that likely would be considered public records under Florida law, an Orlando Sentinel review of records has found.

POLITICAL RACES

The GOP Plan to Steal Elections
By Michael Tomasky
The Daily Beast
I’m optimistic about the Republican Party. Does that surprise you? Well, let me qualify that.

Former Miami mayor among Democrats eyeing Gov. Scott's job
By Adam C. Smith and Marc Caputo
Tampa Bay Times
Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz looks ready to run for governor and has spent the past three weeks lining up support from strategists, financiers and elected officials. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Florida's aquifer models full of holes, allowing more water permits and pollution
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
During a dry day in April 2010, scientists trying to trace the source of pollution in Silver Springs dropped 30 pounds of fluorescent dye into several wells and sinkholes a few miles away.

'All-or-nothing' provision in state water rules causing heartburn for feds
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A provision in state water quality rules supported by industry and utility groups may require the Legislature to take up the rules again this year, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said this week.

State seeks to sell off some protected parcels
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
Only government can wheel and deal on the scale of the real-estate extravaganza unfolding now in Florida over public lands.

Environmental group’s idea: Lease parts of reefs for caretaking, let owners charge user fees
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
Private companies and nonprofits could lease plots on Florida’s reefs and charge fees to dive boats, fishing charters and others to use them under a proposal raised for discussion by an environmental group of influential conservatives and libertarians.

Time to act on climate change
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
With record high temperatures in the United States last year and a nation still reeling from Superstorm Sandy, President Barack Obama seized the moment by underscoring in his inauguration speech last week that he intends to make dealing with climate change a national priority.

EDUCATION

Sen. Gaetz says teacher eval system doesn't make sense
By James Call
Florida Current
The Florida Legislature requires school districts this year to use a complicated formula to evaluate a teacher’s performance in the classroom.

Teachers deserve the respect of a salary raise
By Dan DeWitt
Tampa Bay Times
Having been lucky enough to help choose the new Hernando County Teacher of the Year, I can offer this informed, thoughtful opinion about whether educators in this state and county deserve more money: Of COURSE they flippin' do!

Teacher pay raise pitched by Gov. Scott likely to come with strings attached
By Eve Samples
TC Palm
It didn't take long for the balking to start.

For Rick Scott and students, school tours not always comfortable
By Lisa Gartner
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott arrived at a St. Petersburg high school on Friday morning wearing a round white pin which aimed to explain, at least in part, why he was there: "I (Heart) Books."

Price increase, other changes coming to GED tests
By Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post
The clock is ticking for potentially thousands of Palm Beach County residents who dropped out of school and want to go back and finish.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Scott budget proposal aims to boost school spending, cut company taxes
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott said he plans to “double-down” on the state’s investment in education — proposing teacher pay hikes as a central part of the 2013 budget he intends to roll out this week.

Free-market conservative leads Gov. Rick Scott’s jobs agency
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
The Department of Economic Opportunity is one of the most critical agencies in Gov. Rick Scott’s administration, and it has run through four directors — two permanent, two interim — since it launched 16 months ago.

Could Another Change To Florida's Pension System Result In Another Court Battle?
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
A legal battle between the state and employee unions has come to an end, after a Florida Supreme Court decision validated changes to Florida’s Retirement System.

Workers deserve better treatment in the Sunshine State
By Pierre Tristam
Florida Voices
It’s not been a good couple of weeks for unions.

Rep. Passidomo to try again with bill to speed up foreclosure process
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Last year, when the average foreclosure took 676 days to move through Florida’s court system, Rep. Kathleen Passidomo’s bill to speed up the foreclosure process failed to get through the Legislature.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

FL Voters Back Medicaid Expansion
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Florida voters by a wide margin support expanding Medicaid to cover more of the state's uninsured, according to a poll sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

Should Florida expand health coverage for a million uninsured citizens?
By Dave Heller
WTSP Tampa Bay
State lawmakers are trying to decide if Florida should expand its Medicaid program as part of the federal health care law so an extra one million uninsured Floridians can get health coverage.

Obamacare implementation vexing Florida regulators
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
Florida insurance regulators are grappling with how to carry out the federal Affordable Care Act, as they face conflicting legal requirements and what one described as a “torrential rain” of filings by health insurers.

Thurston: Cannon's letter stopped PPACA prep
By James Call
Florida Current
A House committee meeting on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act showed how difficult it can be when going up against the establishment.

Reaction vs. identification: Lawmakers will look at how state treats mentally ill
By Matt Dixon  
Florida Times-Union
Faced with increasing number of cases, shrinking state funding and the transition to a new system that has irked providers, Florida lawmakers will use this year’s session to assess the priorities of how the state deals with its mentally ill.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Senators reach agreement on immigration reform
By Erica Werner
Associated Press
A bipartisan group of leading senators has reached agreement on the principles of sweeping legislation to rewrite the nation's immigration laws.

Florida lawmakers’ kissing up to gun industry is real scandal
By Fabiola Santiago
Miami Herald
I propose a new nickname for Florida: State of the Absurd.