Daily News Clips for March 13, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Big Medicaid Gamble Based on Letter
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Florida's Republican legislative leaders say they believe they can get full federal funding for Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, even though they propose to use it to buy subsidized private health insurance.

An indefensible decision
Editorial
Miami Herald
Unencumbered by arithmetic or concern for the welfare of Floridians without health insurance, lawmakers in Tallahassee are rushing headlong to reject the proposed Medicaid expansion that would cover some 900,000 state residents who don’t have healthcare protection today.

Follow the Money in Health Care Debate
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
State lawmakers have already said “no” to Governor Rick Scott’s plan to expand Medicaid to a million working poor, but that didn’t stop dozens of medical professionals from showing up at the State Capitol today to push for the program.

North Miami-Dade woman, 102, becomes a rallying point for voter rights
By Nadege Green
Miami Herald
Desiline Victor never in her 102 years saw herself as a hero.

Florida Legislature takes on debate over school security
By Kathleen McGrory
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Allow gun-toting teachers. Make lockdown drills as routine as fire drills. Boost local taxes to specifically pay for security at schools.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Lt. Gov. Carroll once represented internet cafe chain targeted by feds
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A national probe of of a Florida-based non-profit that operates a chain of internet cafes has led to the arrest of several of the organization's leaders and the heads of Jacksonville's police union.

$2.6-million grant to Tampa lawmaker's firm under fire
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Mike Deeson of WTSP-Ch. 10 in Tampa Bay this week scorched State Rep. Jamie Grant, R-Tampa, over a $2.6-million economic development grant his company received from Hardee County.

Gov. Scott gets fund-raising boost from hotel and restaurant lobby
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Members of the Florida Legislature are prohibited from soliciting or accepting campaign money during their annual 60-day session, but that ban doesn't apply to Gov. Rick Scott.

Lawmakers do about-face on foreign driver’s permit requirement
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
From election reform to tougher ethics laws to retooling the campaign finance system, the Florida Legislature will spend much of this legislative session undoing many of the problems it has helped cause in recent years.

Allen West sets up political action committee to battle Obama administration
By Jonathan Mattise
TC Palm
Allen West has set up a political action committee dedicated to fighting the Obama administration and supporting conservative minority and military candidates.

Florida, Texas governors to share stage in West Palm Beach
By Jeff Ostrowski
Palm Beach Post
Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Texas Gov. Rick Perry will share the stage April 8 during the Palm Beach Strategic Forum at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

POLITICAL RACES

How Marco Rubio could end Jeb Bush's electoral career
By Marin Cogan
The New Republic
It’s election night, November 2, 2010, and Jeb Bush is all alone on stage at Marco Rubio’s victory rally.

Manny Diaz looks like he's dropping out of Florida governor's race
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz is considering whether to leave Florida’s gubernatorial race, a decision that could make it easier for former Republican governor Charlie Crist to sew up the Democratic primary.

Election results from eight Pinellas cities are in
By Anne Lindberg
Tampa Bay Times
Voters went to the polls in eight cities Tuesday and delivered some decisive results, though question marks were left hanging in Treasure Island, where one referendum question resulted in a tie and one was very close.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Giant Mosquitoes Set to Plague Fla. Gov. Rick Scott
By Stephanie Mencimer
Mother Jones
Big news on the bug front this week from the state of Florida: Scientists are warning that conditions may be ripe for a swarm of monster mosquitoes to invade the state this summer.

Crisafulli says he's working on legislation to address controversial local fertilizer regulations
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Rep. Steve Crisafulli said Tuesday he is working with groups supporting and opposing a ban on local fertilizer ordinances to develop legislation creating a study group to explore the issue.

Consumer advocate says nuclear plant fiasco means financial 'armageddon'
By Ivan Penn
Tampa Bay Times
A warning to Progress Energy Florida customers about the financial impact of losing the Crystal River nuclear plant: Brace yourselves for "armageddon."

Gov. Scott appoints 3 to wildlife commission
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott has appointed three people to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, but the Florida Senate still needs to confirm the appointments.

LGBT

Vote on domestic partnership bill delayed again
By Rochelle Koff
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Janice Langbehn had taken the red-eye flight from Washington State to tell Florida senators her story, how she tried but failed to see her longtime partner before she died of a brain aneurysm at Jackson Memorial Hospital in 2007.

County commissioners sign off on domestic-partner registry
By Jeff Burlew
Tallahassee Democrat
Members of the LGBT community were celebrating tonight after Leon County commissioners voted unanimously to establish a domestic-partner registry granting rights to both gay and straight couples.

EDUCATION

Committee signs off on Scott's tuition freeze proposal
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Several higher education proposals were approved by the Senate's Education Committee today, including Gov. Rick Scott's "Finish in Four" initiative.

Legislature Looks At Penalty Changes For Class Size Amendment
By Lynn Hatter 
WFSU Tallahassee
The Florida legislature is back with its latest attempt to revise state laws dealing with the number of kids that can be in classrooms.

FAU should make GEO donation records available promptly
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
We might not learn everything about Florida Atlantic University’s $6 million football stadium naming rights deal from the university’s records.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

House and Senate to unveil budget allocations next week
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Budget allocations from both chambers of the Legislature will be unveiled next week, legislative leaders from both sides of the Capitol rotunda said Tuesday.

House grapples with sequestration cuts, incentives oversight
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
The defense sector generates $79 billion in total sales in Florida and indirectly supports 758,000 jobs, according to statistics from Enterprise Florida presented Tuesday to the House Veteran and Military Affairs Subcommittee.

My Word: Bills put employee benefits at risk
By Homer Hartage
Orlando Sentinel
Having served on the Orange County Commission, I understand how important it is for local officials — and more important, local voters — to have the ability to draft policies to best address local issues.

Bills pre-empting local regulation of agricultural tourism pass committees
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A bill that would ban local governments from regulating agricultural tourism passed a House committee on Tuesday despite opposition from cities and counties.

Collect online sales tax
Editorial
Miami Herald
After a decade of striking out in the Florida Legislature, in-state retailers think they might have a real shot at convincing lawmakers this year to approve a bill requiring out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Fasano calls Senate Medicaid move a “cop out”
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Florida hospitals and health care advocates rallied Tuesday at the state Capitol to urge lawmakers to endorse expanding Medicaid — only hours after a state Senate committee said the state should come up with its own program for insuring 1 million low-income residents.

Politics over health care
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
The Florida Senate has fallen prey to the same faulty thinking as the House on Medicaid expansion, and now 1 million poor and uninsured Floridians can only hope for the best from a Legislature that has ignored their plight for years but now claims it can find a solution in 50 days.

Leadership needed
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
University of Florida President Bernie Machen must be shaking his head as he watches lawmakers reject Gov. Rick Scott's proposal to expand Medicaid.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Lawmakers want drones grounded in Florida
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The backlash against the use of unmanned drones has found its way to Florida, where lawmakers are fast-tracking legislation to limit their use by local law enforcement.

Florida: Exhumations Sought at Reform School
By Lizette Alzarez
New York Times
State Attorney General Pam Bondi sought a court order on Tuesday to allow the exhumation of bodies thought to be buried at the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, which closed in 2011.

Bill to end permanent alimony OK'd by Senate panel
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
A sweeping reorganization of Florida's alimony laws is moving through the Legislature.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Bill Giving Judges More Leeway In Sentencing Drug Offenders Clears First House Stop
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
There’s now a bipartisan effort in the Florida Legislature to grant judges more flexibility when sentencing prescription drug offenders.

Thousands of student arrests alarm Florida justice leaders
By Leslie Postal and Lauren Roth
Orlando Sentinel
Thousands of Florida students are arrested in school each year and taken to jail for behavior that once warranted a trip to the principal's office — a trend that troubles juvenile-justice and civil-rights leaders who say children are being traumatized for noncriminal acts.

Bills would require criminal checks for summer camp workers in Florida
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Two Palm Beach County Democratic lawmakers are trying to close a loophole in state law that makes it possible for sexual predators and violent criminals to work at summer camps, by requiring the camps to register with the state.