Daily News Clips for January 9, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Fla. Gov. under fire for health care cost estimate
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
Gov. Rick Scott is again facing criticism that he is overstating the potential cost to Florida taxpayers of the federal health care overhaul.

Politifact Florida: Gov. Rick Scott ignores flaws in study when he cites Medicaid costs
By Aaron Sharockman
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald PolitiFact
Scott and his staff are making assumptions about a study, even though they were notified that the assumptions were questionable.

Red states creating health insurance exchanges where Florida says no
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Where Florida Gov. Rick Scott is balking on a key element of health care reform, other Republican governors are not.

As Fla. Election Reform Bills Filed, Partisan War Of Words Continues
By Jessica Palombo    
WFSU Tallahassee
The Florida Republican lawmaker who sponsored last-year’s controversial election-law changes that shortened the early voting period has filed new legislation to expand it once again.

Florida's 'Obvious' Voting Problem, The Long Ballot, May Have No Easy Fix
By David Royse           
News Service of Florida
When Gov. Rick Scott recently listed ways he thinks Florida could reduce voting difficulties and long polling lines, he drew the most attention for a change of course in suggesting that more early voting might help.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Lawmakers shouldn't substitute lobbyists for brains
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
If my daughter walked into school and turned in a paper that had been written by someone else, she would flunk — and deservedly so.

Nelson backs Hagel for defense
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, strongly declared his support for President Barack Obama’s nomination for Secretary of Defense on Tuesday.

Labor splitting between rivals for Fla Dem chair
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
When was the last time Florida Democrats had a truly tough race for chairman of the state party?

Marco Rubio uses "manufactured crises" to raise PAC money
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Want to end Congress’ seemingly perpetual state of chaos? Well, there might just be a group for you.

Allen West's Crazy "Nuts" Letter Is Now on eBay
By Tim Murphy
Mother Jones
In November of 2011, the South Florida chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations wrote to Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) to ask him to denounce Pamela Geller, a blogger and friend of West's whose writing on Islam has been classified as "hate speech" by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

No more Mickey Mouse lines
Editorial
Miami Herald
The long lines of voters leading up to and on Election Day were an embarrassment that must not be repeated.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Bipartisan Florida team to revive Everglades Caucus in U.S. House
By Curtis Morgan and Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Staff Writers
For all the partisan bickering that cripples Congress these days, there is one thing Florida lawmakers have generally been able to agree on: the need to restore the Everglades.

John Romano: When it comes to Crystal River nuclear plant, where is the truth?
By John Romano
Tampa Bay Times
Quite some time ago, September of 2009 to be exact, the good folks at your local energy company had a bit of a nuclear mishap.

Mild temperatures cut Fla. manatee deaths in 2012
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
State researchers credit mild winter temperatures for a decline in manatee deaths last year.

EDUCATION

Scott, UF ask Machen to stay at helm
By Joey Flechas
Gainesville Sun
Consider the retirement party postponed.

Let the money follow the students, Bush foundation scholar proposes
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
The idea of education savings accounts, which Gov. Rick Scott proposed even before his inauguration, is getting a new airing courtesy of a senior policy advisor at Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education.

School districts to press legislature for safety money
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Florida school districts plan to press state lawmakers for an increase in school security money in the upcoming legislative session, following last year's school shooting in Connecticut.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Unemployment compensation changes spark problems
News Service of Florida
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Changes to Florida's unemployment system may be leaving some potential recipients without benefits as the state transitions to an online system for delivering unemployment compensation.

Public employees seeing first raises
By Brittany Wallman
South Florida Sun Sentinel
It may be too early to declare that happy days are here again, but public employees — school teachers, library and parks employees — are starting to see their first raises since the Great Recession.

House bill filed to solidify Citizens rate cap
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
When Citizens Property Insurance Corp. board members flirted with the idea of breaking the cap on annual rate increases for new customers last year, lawmakers from Miami vowed to push legislation cementing the cap in place for all policies.

Scott highlights medical jobs on South Florida visit as industry frets about taxes
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott travelled to Sunrise on Tuesday to tout a new economic incentive deal with Bolton Medical Solutions, a medical device manufacturer, that is designed to add 30 new jobs to the area.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Gov. Scott's fuzzy math
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
We keep hearing Gov. Rick Scott has softened his stance against Obamacare and is open to helping uninsured Floridians gain access to affordable health care, while keeping costs affordable for businesses, taxpayers and everyone else.

Scott to Look at Other Medicaid Cost Estimates
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Gov. Rick Scott is willing to look at estimates on the cost of Medicaid expansion other than the ones he has been using, according to a release Tuesday evening.

Report: Poor Access To Kids' Dental Care Costing Fla. Taxpayers
By Jessica Palombo
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida, along with most U.S. states, is failing to prevent tooth decay in children in a key way.

DRG plan moving forward
By James Call
Florida Current
The Agency for Health Care Administration is moving forward with a plan to change the way hospitals are paid for treating patients covered by Medicaid.

Bondi’s priority should be Florida, not GOP politics
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi had been on the job eight months before visiting the busiest office of her department’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in Miami.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

With public settings like gun shows in mind, Palm Beach County pushes for right to restrict guns
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
Somewhere in the clerk’s office of the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee is a Palm Beach County case that will likely determine whether cities and counties will enact their own gun control laws.

Scenes >From Life in the Shadow of the Gun
By Mary Jo Melone
Florida Voices
I no longer look forward to going to the movies.

The Toys We Americans Give Our Children
By Peter Schorsch
Florida Voices
At first glance, the bulky black box looks as if it is a product of Northrop Grumman or some other defense contractor.