Daily News Clips for April 5, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Bill Nelson changes position, supports gay marriage
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Excerpt: Mark Ferrulo, executive director of the advocacy group Progress Florida, said: "Martin Luther King Jr. once said that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. In Florida that 'moral arc' can be a bit stiffer to bend, but Sen. Nelson certainly helped bend it towards justice, and equality, today."

FEATURED STORIES

Florida House bolsters charter school growth, over teacher, union objections
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
A “parent-trigger” bill pushed by former Gov. Jeb Bush was among several classroom measures Thursday that cleared the Florida House over opposition from Democrats who warned against the expanding role of for-profit schools and online companies.

House votes to block local sick-pay, wage protections
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Lone Democrat to vote for ban on local paid sick time is related to Orange Commissioner Ted Edwards
In a move inspired by Orange County's fight last year over paid sick-time, the Florida House voted mostly along party lines Thursday to block local governments from adopting their own stronger worker wage and sick-leave protections.

Bills rise, bills fall as Legislature passes session midpoint
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
A legislative session moves like a roller coaster -- chugging slowly to a peak in its first month and then crashing to a dizzying finish that leaves everyone glad it's over.

Ex-Florida lieutenant governor talks about resignation
Associated Press
Gainesville Sun
Former Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll said Thursday she had no idea law enforcement was investigating a veterans charity accused of running illegal slot machine-style casinos until two agents walked into her office last month.

Sugar daddy kisses for Scott
By Daniel Ruth
Tampa Bay Times
It was just a few days ago that Gov. Rick Scott worked himself into a full Cotton Mather lather over proposals sliming their way through the Florida Legislature that would raise caps on campaign contributions in legislative campaigns from $500 to between $3,000 and $5,000 — depending, of course, on just how shamelessly money-grubbing our elected men and women of the people want to be seen.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Smearing, Belittling and Besmirching the PTA in Florida
By Bob Sikes
Scathing Purple Musings
The presence of at least a half-dozen independent PTA members at Monday’s senate hearing on Parent Trigger was enough to demonstrate the clout of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA/PTSA) across Florida.

Florida's Medicaid Expansion Decision: A Clash of Politics, People and Perceptions
By Gary Stein
The Huffington Post
Some offers are easy to reject using just common sense, like trying to decide whether or not to buy a pregnancy test at a Dollar Store.

While Making Health Care Hard To Come By, Florida Lawmakers Would Provide Vaccinations
By Martha Jackovics
Beach Peanuts
No, it's not April Fools, it's just the Florida Legislature. Although many consider them to be a joke as a whole.

Private Prison Firm Pulls Funding For College Stadium Naming Rights
By Nicole Flatow
Think Progress
Florida Atlantic University’s football stadium will no longer be named after a notorious private prison corporation, after GEO Group announced Monday it would withdraw its $6 million pledge to the university, saying it has “surprisingly evolved into an ongoing distraction.”

Florida: The Sinkhole State
By Gimleteye
Eye On Miami
In "Lousy water, lousy press for business," (Tampa Bay Times, March 26, 2013), writer Jack Davis appeals to the Chamber of Commerce and business leaders with the argument that bad environmental stories from Florida undermine their self interest.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Game over for senior arcades, as Gov. Scott to sign ban on slots-like parlors
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A measure that would outlaw any electronic games that look like slot machines — and possibly shutter storefront gaming centers, including arcades that cater to seniors — is on its way to Gov. Rick Scott, who said he will sign it into law.

Is bipartisanship breaking down in the Legislature?
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Halfway through a legislative session that has seen a rebounding economy, replenished coffers and a spirit of cooperation between chambers and parties, the gravitational pull of politics is taking hold.

Florida on verge of a better voting system
By Deirdre Macnab
Tampa Bay Times
Let's hope we can finally close the book on long lines, long ballots and partisan manipulation of our voting laws in Florida.

Senate passes alimony bill
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
The Florida Senate approved new limits on alimony Thursday, sending to the House a bill that family law experts contend mostly will hurt women who stay home to raise children.

Rep. Kathy Castor arrives in Cuba for four-day trip
Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor embarked on a four-day trip to Cuba this week with her staff and the Center for Democracy in the Americas, her office said Thursday.

Gimme the right to vote the bums out!
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Anyone who has read this column for any length of time knows that I'm not exactly Buddy Dyer's biggest booster. 

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Environmental groups clear signature hurdle for 2014 amendment
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Environmental groups announced a major hurdle Thursday in their attempt to put on the 2014 ballot a constitutional amendment to set aside $10 billion over 20 years to purchase and maintain conservation lands without raising taxes.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Three years after BP oil spill, USF research finds massive die-off
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
The oil that spewed into the Gulf of Mexico during the Deepwater Horizon disaster three years ago killed off millions of amoeba-like creatures that form the basis of the gulf's aquatic food chain, according to scientists at the University of South Florida.

'Water parade' in House follows vetoes of water projects in past 2 years
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Some may call it pork, others call it process.

Wasting water
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
State environmental officials predict that by 2030, Florida will be consuming nearly 8 billion gallons of water a day.

Judge to hear BP's bid to block settlement payouts
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
A federal judge is set to hear arguments on BP's request for an order blocking what could be billions of dollars in settlement payouts to businesses who claim the company's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico cost them money.

LGBT

Nelson, Rubio Differ Somewhat on Gay Rights
By Rhonda Swan
Florida Voices
It doesn’t matter that Florida’s senators don’t believe in gay marriage.

What will the Supreme Court's gay-marriage decision mean to Florida?
By Joe Saunders
Florida Voices
In two cases argued last week, the U.S. Supreme Court could decide the future of same-sex marriage in the United States.

EDUCATION

Parent trigger bill passed by House
By Kathleen McGrory
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Several education bills win partial approval
The Florida House approved the controversial parent trigger proposal Thursday, setting the stage for a showdown in the Senate.

Misguided school-choice reform will backfire on kids
By Bill Sublette
Orlando Sentinel
Imagine you live in a neighborhood with a school your community has called its own for years.

House passes charter transparency bill
By James Call
Florida Current
A sweeping charter school bill Thursday passed the Florida House after its sponsor agreed to amend it so that traditional public schools do not have to give charter schools access to their unused space.

Troubled low-income tutoring program could see changes
By Kathleen McGrory
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, added an unexpected provision to her sweeping education accountability bill Thursday: a pitch to free Florida school districts from having to provide private tutoring services at low-income schools.

Bill advances that would revamp high school athletics overseer
By James Call
Florida Current
A House panel Thursday advanced a bill that would restructure the Florida High School Athletic Association after the sponsor, Rep.  Larry Metz, R-Yalaha, offered a 30-page strike-all amendment.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida House Targets Employees In New Bill
By Tim Kephart
CBS Miami
The Republican-led Florida House of Representatives has a message for workers hoping for higher pay and sick-time: don’t expect it in the Sunshine State.

Weatherford hits back at Dems not voting for House's budget: 'I hope they do the right thing'
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
One day after all 10 of the Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee voted against that chamber’s $74.4 billion spending plan, House Speaker Will Weatherford is turning up the heat.

Rep. Wilson rails against sequester, but voted for it
By Amy Sherman
Miami Herald
Appearing at a news conference Thursday in Pembroke Pines, U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson heaped blame on Republicans for the federal budget cuts — known as the sequester — saying it would cost “millions” of jobs and put the nation on the “brink of a depression.”

Proposed state-worker pay raises likely to boost local economy
By Arek Sarkissian II
Tallahassee Democrat
State worker pay raises included in both House and Senate budgets mean more money flowing through the capital city’s economy and that has Tallahassee business owners and advocates optimistic after six years without increases and years of layoffs.

Taxpayers deserve straight numbers on incentives
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
Florida taxpayers would never know it from an official report, but the state corporate subsidies intended to lure businesses and jobs here are falling far short of the target.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

1.7 million Floridians could get assistance to buy health insurance
By Laura Green
Palm Beach Post
More than 1.7 million Floridians will be eligible for a tax credit to help offset the cost of buying health insurance in 2014, according to a health care advocacy group.

Safety net hospitals criticize Florida Senate's Medicaid payment proposal
Staff Report
Bradenton Herald
Florida hospitals that treat the state's neediest patients say the Senate is taking the wrong approach in how it plans to pay for Medicaid services.

Weatherford: Scott hasn’t talked with him about Medicaid expansion
By Peter Schorsch
Saint Petersblog
House Speaker Will Weatherford said Thursday that Governor Rick Scott has not “reached out” to him about expanding Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act.

Second abortion-related measure headed to House floor
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Abortion providers would be required to provide emergency care to infants born alive or face criminal penalties under a measure unanimously approved by the House Health and Human Services Committee this morning.

Eyeball wars comes to an end
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
A decades-long battle between the optometrists and the ophthalmologists nicknamed the “eyeball wars” may be at an end.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Senate bill mandates warrants for drone use
By Bill Cotterell
Tampa Tribune
Reassured that tea party activists and other government critics will not have their rallies spied on by police using aerial drones, the Florida Senate gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill requiring search warrants for most law-enforcement use of the unmanned surveillance planes.

Miami Senator calls on Scott to stop flow of 'armor piercing' bullets
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald
Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, said armor-piercing bullets have become ubiquitous in his district and is asking Gov. Rick Scott to do something about it.

Path to Citizenship Divides Congress and, Polls Show, Confuses Country
By Julia Preston
New York Times
A path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally has become central to the debate on overhauling the immigration system, but recent polls have indicated that many Americans are still making up their minds on the issue, with doubts persisting about what such a path would mean in practice.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Bills Streamlining Florida's Death Penalty Process Pass Another Committee
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida lawmakers are looking to streamline the death penalty process to avoid the lengthy appeals they say are currently plaguing the system.

Tampa man still waiting to learn if he can practice law
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A Tampa man who wants to practice law in Florida despite a lack of American citizenship received another setback Thursday when the Florida Supreme Court denied his Bar petition on narrow technical grounds.