Daily News Clips for February 6, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Embattled Scott plans $100M campaign vs. Crist
By Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman
Politico
Rick Scott is preparing to defend his Florida governorship with the most expensive reelection campaign in state history, drawing up plans for a battleship-sized political operation aimed at overcoming the Republican’s deep personal unpopularity.

Other GOP governor's recommending to expand Medicaid not impacting Rick Scott's decision
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Gov. Rick Scott’s top budget-writer says that a growing number of Republican governors opting to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, are not impacting the administration’s decisions.

Florida Hospitals Push For Medicaid Expansion
By Lynn Hatter 
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida hospitals are closely watching how the state goes about implanting the federal healthcare law.

House gets first look at Scott budget; McKeel scrutinizes state worker pay
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott’s budget director, Jerry McDaniel presented the governor’s $74.2 billion budget to the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, receiving tepid criticisms on state worker pay.

GOP proposal: Give Gov. Scott power to remove county election supervisors if problems arise
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Targeting five counties that saw the worst problems during the 2012 elections, Florida legislators are considering giving Gov. Rick Scott and his administration broader power to remove elections supervisors or put them on probation.

Report calls Florida business incentives “corporate welfare’’
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Koch brothers sponsorship of Integrity Florida report forces board member resignation
A government watchdog group and a conservative advocacy group blasted Florida’s government Tuesday for the hundreds of millions of dollars it gives to corporations, blaming the state’s public-private jobs agency for “pay-to-play” cronyism and “corporate welfare.”

FLORIDA POLITICS

Senators go to ethics school
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
For a little more than an hour on Tuesday, two dozen state senators listened attentively to a lecture on how to stay on the safe side of Florida's constantly evolving political ethics standards.

Rubio questions climate change, talks football, gay rights, Tupac
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
It was billed as BuzzFeed Brews with Sen. Marco Rubio, but the beer glass next to the Florida Republican went untouched.

Charlie Crist on rumors of an Obama appointment: “Not so”
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
Florida Democrats have been abuzz the past few days over a rumor that former Republican governor and (still undeclared) Democratic gubernatorial prospect Charlie Crist might be headed to Washington.

From Lt. Gov. Carroll, a real-life lesson in breaking barriers
By Maria LaMagna
Miami Herald
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll recalls facing discrimination of every kind: as a Navy officer, as a woman, as a black American.

One-time aide to Sen. Bob Menendez could benefit from contract tied to donor under FBI scrutiny
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
A former aide to Sen. Bob Menendez might benefit from a major overseas port deal that’s supported by the powerful Democrat and is tied to a South Florida donor whose offices were raided last week by the FBI. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

DEP moving on adopting water quality rules implementation document
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is preparing to possibly adopt a rule that would clarify how new water quality standards would be implemented.

Duke Energy announces closing of Crystal River nuclear power plant
By Ivan Penn
Tampa Bay Times
Related editorial: What Duke Energy, Legislature should do next
Seldom, if ever, has an attempt to save $15 million cost so many, so much.

Former water district director defends record on Wakulla Springs
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The former executive director of the Northwest Florida Water Management District on Tuesday said his agency didn't have the financial resources to conduct water flow studies, and he questioned the usefulness of doing them in the region.

LGBT

AP sources: Pentagon extending benefits for gays
By Lolita C. Baldor
Associated Press
U.S. officials say Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is poised to extend some benefits to the same-sex partners of military members.

EDUCATION

School districts may have to share space with charters
By Scott Travis
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The relationship between charter schools and traditional schools could soon get a lot cozier under a legislative proposal that could require them to share space.

Legislature should not give charter schools a construction subsidy
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott says he wants to provide an additional $1.2 billion next year for public schools.

Broward parents demand more rigor for special-needs students
By Michael Vasquez
Miami Herald
In testimony that was at once angry and tearful, a group of Broward mothers told School Board members Tuesday that their special-needs children are being forced into less rigorous classes that don’t result in a standard high school diploma.

USF allows credits to apply for associate degrees
By Jerome R. Stockfisch
Tampa Tribune
Typically, a Florida student with bachelor's degree aspirations might start at a state or community college and later transfer those credits to a major university such as the University of South Florida.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Gov. Scott rallies manufacturers to push sales tax cut
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott met Tuesday with manufacturing company executives to push his proposal to eliminate the sales tax on industrial equipment purchases.

Sales-tax bill for online shopping moves in Senate
By Michael Peltier
News Service of Florida
An annual legislative effort to collect taxes on all Internet sales began again Tuesday in the state capital when a Senate committee agreed to offset any new revenue with other tax breaks, in a bid to appease anti-tax lawmakers.

'High-crime' theme parks? A costly joke
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
A few weeks ago, I took my family to Universal Orlando for an overnight stay.

Dolphins get unanimous support for stadium tax deal in first Senate hearing
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
The Miami Dolphins started off the legislative season 1-and-0 in their quest to get lawmakers’ approval for a multi-million dollar tax deal to upgrade its 25-year-old stadium.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

ALF reform bill moves forward
By Margie Menzel
News Service of Florida
A proposal to police assisted living facilities and punish those that that abuse or neglect their residents was approved unanimously Tuesday by the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee Tuesday.

Senate panel puts medical-malpractice laws under microscope
News Service of Florida
St. Petersblog
A Senate committee Tuesday began considering whether to make changes in Florida’s medical-malpractice laws, reviving a debate that has flared repeatedly during the past decade.

Hold off on new state trauma centers, panel warns
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A committee of national experts conducting a review of Florida's trauma system has recommended a statewide moratorium on new trauma centers.

Florida refuses aid to molested foster child, judge says
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
The 16-year-old girl is being raised by the state because she was repeatedly molested, first by her father and, later, by her grandfather.

Bondi's Push To Ban New Synthetic Drugs Gains Traction In Florida Senate
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
A bill banning newly identified synthetic substances used to make drugs, like bath salts, is gaining traction in the Florida Senate. Lawmakers took the matter up in the measure’s first Committee stop Tuesday.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Fla. justices hears breath testing machine case
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
State Supreme Court justices were in a quandary during oral argument Tuesday on a request from three defendants for access to software that runs the only breath testing machines certified for use in Florida.