Daily News Clips for February 13, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

President Barack Obama focuses on gun control, middle class in State of the Union
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Fact-checking the State of the Union address
Related: Florida reaction to State of the Union
President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address Tuesday night to renew focus on the economy and reigniting a "rising, thriving middle class," calling for public spending on infrastructure and education while making an emotional demand that Congress act on gun control.

Obama, Nelson join push to rein in long voting lines
By Scott Powers, David Damron and Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
Long lines on Election Day in Florida and elsewhere spurred a call from President Barack Obama Tuesday for a bipartisan commission "to improve the voting experience" and drew new support for federal legislation aimed at cutting wait times.

Thirst for power? Or just thirst? Sen. Marco Rubio’s weird, viral dry-mouth moment
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Sen. Marco Rubio was cruising along in his rebuttal to the president’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night when he couldn’t take it any longer.

Gov. Rick Scott needs Democrats to pass business tax cut
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
For the first time in his brief and turbulent political career, Gov. Rick Scott needs a little help from Florida’s Democrats to turn one of his wishes into law.

Enterprise Florida tries to fight off incentive critics
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Florida's public-private job development agency is struggling to fend off pressure from the public, lawmakers and advocacy groups questioning why Gov. Rick Scott should get more tax money spent for corporate breaks.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Rubio’s Rebuttal
By Andrew Rosenthal
New York Times
Related: The Rap on Rubio
Andy Borowitz’s humor column on how Fox News aired a scathing rebuttal to the State of the Union hours before its delivery was — in a case of politics imitating political satire — not too far off the mark.

Florida – the state to watch over the next four years
By Mark Murray
NBC News
Here’s one of the eternal truths of American politics: The stories never stop, even after a presidential election.

Q and A with: Allison Tant
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Chairing the Florida Democratic Party is going to be a "busy and interesting" job for Allison Tant.

Panhandle developer pleads guilty over Mike Huckabee's false campaign reports
By Lucy Morgan
Tampa Bay Times
Panhandle developer Jay Odom pleaded guilty Tuesday to causing presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to file false campaign reports in 2007.

Governor needs no added power to remove elections supervisors
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Florida’s county elections supervisors are far from perfect.

Lessons from Greer's guilty plea
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
The guilty plea by the former head of the Republican Party of Florida has saved some of the state's political elite the embarrassment of a trial.

POLITICAL RACES

Alex Sink Weighs Another Fla. Gov Run Against Rick Scott
By Jordain Carney
National Journal
Former Florida CFO Alex Sink hasn't decided whether to run for governor again in 2014.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Brownfield loophole won't get tightened this year
By Sandra Pedicini
Orlando Sentinel
It looks like Florida businesses will still be able to get pollution-related tax breaks for building on land even where there is no proof of contamination.

Southeast Florida delegations to hold workshop on climate change
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Climate change is an issue that has rarely been acknowledged or discussed in the Florida Legislature in the past four years.

LGBT

Obama: Equal benefits for gay military families; You can get ahead 'no matter ... who you love
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
Two highlights from President Barack Obama's 2013 State of the Union address.

EDUCATION

Marco Rubio’s school voucher plan shows strong Jeb Bush ties
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio immediately followed his rebuttal to the president’s State of the Union address Tuesday night by releasing a “school-choice” bill to allow taxpayers to subsidize private-school education for poor kids.

State Of The Union Proposes Major Preschool Expansion
By Joy Resmovits
Huffington Post
President Barack Obama proposes a major initiative to expand preschool opportunities for 4-year-olds in Tuesday's State of the Union address.

State to crack down on private tutors
By Michael LaForgia
Tampa Bay Times
Florida will crack down on tutoring contractors that defraud school districts and — for the first time — require criminal background checks for people who head tutoring firms under changes announced Tuesday by the state's top education official.

More Fl schools would get grades (or ratings) under House plan
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
Last year, 392 of Florida’s public schools didn’t get a grade or an “improvement rating” as part of the state’s annual school report card, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Higher Education School Choice
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Representatives from Florida’s 28 private colleges and universities are asking state lawmakers to protect higher education options.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

The impact of a $9 minimum wage
By Tami Luhby
CNN
After promising five years ago to raise the federal minimum wage, President Obama finally unveiled a plan to do so on Tuesday.

Fla. Gov. jobs package coming under fire
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott, who has made job creation his top priority since taking office, is encountering growing resistance to his efforts to use additional tax dollars in his efforts to jumpstart Florida's economy.

Enterprise Florida calls for rural jobs and business strategy
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Florida's rural regions and smaller counties need a state strategy for attracting jobs and commercial activity, without sacrificing their small-town flavor, says a new report by the state's economic-development agency.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Scott owes Washington a decision on covering the uninsured
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott learned last week that the Obama administration has given Florida permission to transfer 87,000 elderly and disabled Medicaid recipients into a new managed care program the state claims will save money.

Nurse Practitioners Want More Authority
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Florida is one of only two states banning nurse practitioners from writing prescriptions for powerful drugs.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Concealed Carry Permits to Out of State Residents
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Pennsylvania recently decided it would not honor concealed weapons permits issued to anyone other than a Florida resident.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Florida homeowners triumph once again in citrus canker lawsuit
By Susan Salisbury
Palm Beach Post
For the third time, homeowners whose healthy citrus trees were taken during the state’s controversial and failed battle with citrus canker have won their court fight.