PROGRESS
FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
Extend Medicaid for Economic and Humanitarian Benefits
By Mark Ferrulo
Florida Voices
Excerpt: "...if the governor and his allies could take off their ideological blinders long enough to look at the facts, they would have to embrace an extension of Medicaid as good for Florida families – and for the state’s economy."
FEATURED
STORIES
GOP's challenges in Florida
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Every two years, campaign professionals, political scientists and journalists gather in Gainesville for a valuable conference by the University of Florida's graduate program in political campaigning.
Scott’s plan raises hopes for health law changes
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Rick Scott’s first step into politics came when the former hospital executive battled President Barack Obama’s proposed health care overhaul – long before it ever passed Congress.
Governor's Proposed Budget: Act of Self-Preservation
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
Gov. Rick Scott laid out his proposed state budget Thursday in Tallahassee.
State, local government pension systems may face changes this year
Staff Report
Palm Beach Post
Local governments with underfunded pension plans would not be able to look to the state for a bail out, under a bill filed this week that is expected to become a template for legislation in the months ahead.
Jim Greer witness list a who's who of state politics: Crist, McCollum, Cannon, etc.
By Rene Stutzman
Orlando Sentinel
Former Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer, set for trial in less than two weeks, has filed a witness list that includes a great many political heavyweights: former Gov. Charlie Crist, former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, former Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon and former Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos.
DEP's part-time $83-an-hour employee helped oversee layoffs and agency shakeup
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
To hear him tell it, Brandon business executive Randall F. "Randy" Greene never wanted the job he has with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that pays $83 an hour.
EDITORIAL
CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Andy Marlette
Pensacola News Journal
FLORIDA
POLITICS
Legislative leaders draw up ambitious agenda
By Tim Nickens
Tampa Bay Times
Two Sundays ago, Will Weatherford was teaching his 4-year-old daughter how to ride a bicycle in their Wesley Chapel neighborhood when it started getting dark.
Scott's Budget 3.0 has something for everyone
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott didn't become a titan in the health-care industry by staying on the wrong slope of the learning curve.
Scott’s budget draws mixed reviews from child advocates
By Margie Menzel
News Service of Florida
Governor Rick Scott’s “Florida Families First” budget recommendations are drawing a mixed reaction from children’s advocates – high praise from some, but frustration from others.
Fla. Legislature puts salaries online
Associated Press
Tampa Bay Times
Floridians will finally get a chance on their own to find out how much people are getting paid to work for the Florida Legislature.
GOP slams Murphy for thanking PACs after criticizing them
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Campaigning as a fresh-faced outsider in 2012, Democratic congressional hopeful Patrick Murphy often slammed super PACs and the influence of big money in politics.
Texting — and 'textgate' — for dummies
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
By now, you're probably familiar with "textgate."
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Call this a sign of our sleazy times
By Carl Hiaasen
Miami Herald
Even in a state of perpetual sleaze, some dirty deals stink more than others.
House Speaker Will Weatherford and legislation target nuclear cost recovery
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
House Speaker Will Weatherford this week expressed support for possible legislation addressing nuclear cost recovery as a consultant's report and a House memorial took aim at nuclear power.
Bills intended to encourage construction of natural gas refueling stations are filed
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Bills that are intended to encourage the development of natural gas refueling stations were filed Thursday in the House and Senate.
Florida's twisted waterways policy
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
It is senseless to give the major polluters a green light to foul the very waterways that taxpayers are spending dearly to fix.
Don't drill in the Blackwater State Forest
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
We strongly oppose any attempt to drill for oil – or even search for it – in the Blackwater River State Forest.
LGBT
President Barack Obama tells CBS News that Boy Scouts should be open to gay members
By Nedra Pickler
Associated Press
President Barack Obama said Sunday that gays should be allowed in the Boy Scouts and women should be allowed in military combat roles, weighing in on two storied American institutions facing proposals to end long-held exclusions.
EDUCATION
Gov. Rick Scott pushes “Finish in Four” tuition plan to save college students money
By Brandon Larrabee
News Service of Florida
Gov. Rick Scott’s push to keep tuition low includes a new twist submitted with his budget for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.
Rick Scott circa 2013: It's about teachers, not tea party
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
For Gov. Rick Scott, it's now about teachers, not the tea party.
FCAT soon to be history but new testing taking its place
By Kelly Tyko
TC Palm
The FCAT soon will be history. But another round of standardized testing is taking its place, despite growing numbers of people criticizing high-stakes testing.
Construction fund for USF, other Florida universities hits a wall
By Jerome R. Stockfisch
Tampa Tribune
The seventh floor of the University of South Florida's Interdisciplinary Sciences building was supposed to be bustling with students and researchers by now.
How should Florida measure student achievement for teacher evaluations
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay TimesThe Florida Department of Education is seeking input on its proposed rules regarding how to incorporate student academic performance into teacher evalautions.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Universal Orlando claims millions in tax breaks via program meant to help struggling neighborhoods
By Jason Garcia
Orlando Sentinel
For Universal Orlando, the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in the summer of 2010 was like winning the lottery.
Boondoggle sinks $20M in Florida funds
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
The animation company behind Titanic, Digital Domain Media Group, has gone belly-up.
Regulators critical of procurement, travel policies in Citizens review
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
A review of state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s operations and finances was released Friday, criticizing its policies for vendor contracts and travel spending.
State workers' last raise for all 6 years ago
By Katie Sanders
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald PolitiFact
Unlike recent years, Florida leaders aren't talking about layoffs and pay cuts. This year, they're talking raises.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
Simmons says 'strong arguments' exist to expand Medicaid
By James Call
Florida Current
The budget recommendation Gov. Rick Scott sent to the Legislature earmarks $23.7 billion for Medicaid but no money for expanding the program as called for in the federal Affordable Care Act.
More people going to work ill because of no sick leave, experts say
By Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Naples Daily News
While conventional wisdom may tell people to stay home if they're ill, more people are heading to work when they're sick.
U.S. proposes health care rule to ease religious groups’ concern on birth control coverage
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
The Obama administration on Friday proposed another compromise that would exempt religious groups and universities from having to include contraception coverage while allowing workers and students to get birth control for free.
CIVIL
RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Florida should restore ex-felons’ rights when they complete their sentence
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
In trying to remake his image for re-election, Gov. Rick Scott has reversed himself on almost everything but his wardrobe.
Memory of immigration reform under Ronald Reagan haunts current debate
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
As the national debate over immigration reform began last week, a GOP-leaning advocacy group circulated talking points for Republicans.
Plenty of opinions on fixing the nation’s broken immigration system
By Sergio R. Bustos and Stefania Ferro
Miami Herald
Most agree that the nation’s immigration system is broken, but there’s no agreement on fixing it.
Docs challenge gun lobby to raise safety concerns
By William E. Gibson
Orlando Sentinel
Florida doctors, backed by the White House but opposed by state lawmakers and the powerful gun-owners' lobby, are fighting for the right to talk to patients and their families about the hazards of keeping guns in the home.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
Judge sides with Corrine Brown, tosses state's attempt to delay early voting trial
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
A judge has swatted Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner’s attempt to delay an early voting trial until after this spring’s legislative session, according to documents filed in Jacksonville federal court.
Fla. prison officials say repeat offenders decline
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida prison officials say taxpayers are saving millions of dollars because the number of repeat offenders is declining.
Lawmakers Like Idea Behind "Smart Justice" Reforms, But Not The Name
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida lawmakers are looking into a proposed initiative to rehabilitate non-violent inmates before they have a chance to reoffend.
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