FEATURED
STORIES
Florida House blows past facts to pass parent trigger bill
By John Romano
Tampa Bay Times
It's all about the children. (Except the bit about turning a profit.)
Black caucus, labor, NAACP join Medicaid push
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Related: Gaetz, trying to bridge the gap
Members of the Legislative Black Caucus teamed up with the NAACP and organized labor leaders Friday to begin a late campaign for expansion of Florida's Medicaid program, hoping to extend coverage to about 1.2 million poor people.
No time to wait for Medicaid, or alternative
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
The legislative session is half over, and lawmakers have yet to decide if and how they will expand health care to uninsured Floridians of modest means under the Affordable Care Act.
Harmony tested in Tallahassee
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
One Republican state senator became so incensed when Democrats opposed his elections bill he claimed personal insult.
Cultural shift underway in Florida
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida is a diverse state with a generally conservative political leadership.
EDITORIAL
CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Jeff Parker
Florida Today
FLORIDA
POLITICS
At midpoint of session, political divides are emerging
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Winners, losers so far in the legislative session
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 Governor Scott mum on Carroll departure
By Mary Wozniak
Ft. Myers News-Press
Gov. Rick Scott said Friday he will wait until the legislative session ends to choose a replacement for former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll.
Full disclosure? Jennifer Carroll amends 2010 financial disclosure to claim $16k from Allied Veterans
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
When I read an Associated Press story about an interview with Jennifer Carroll last week, one detail jumped out.
Pssst! Here’s why people move to Florida, Speaker Weatherford
By Katie Sanders and Amy Sherman
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times PolitiFact
Americans are relocating to Florida in droves, House Speaker Will Weatherford told a group of liberty-loving activists at the Capitol.
Proposal To Start Legislative Session In January Advances
By Jessica Palombo
WFSU Tallahassee
The Florida legislative session starts in March. But what if it started in January instead?
POLITICAL
RACES
Could Crist employer’s medical marijuana initiative help Crist candidacy?
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Trial lawyer John Morgan, one of President Barack Obama’s top Florida fundraisers, has thrown his clout behind a medical marijuana initiative whose proponents have struggled for more than three years to get the question before Florida voters.
Rich takes page from Rubio playbook in opposing Crist for Democratic nomination for governor
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
A wide ideological and partisan gulf separates Democrat Nan Rich and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.
Fundraiser: Scott on track to raise $100 million
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, after raising an eye-popping $4.6 million for his re-election campaign in the first three months of this year, can likely raise $100 million for his 2014 re-election race without spending heavily from his own fortune, says one of his top fundraisers.
Democrats fire early salvo at Rep. C.W. Bill Young
By Adam C. Smith and Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Democrats are breaking new ground in a long-fought — and long-failed — attempt to defeat Rep. C.W. Bill Young.
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Gulf coast counties agree to proposed arrangement with governor on oil spill money
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Twenty-three Gulf Coast counties have agreed to a proposed arrangement with Gov. Rick Scott for administering possibly millions of dollars from BP PLC for economic and environmental restoration from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Could spending cuts fan wildfire flames in Florida?
By Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post
The endangered Florida panther and so-called controlled burns, which decrease the threat of wildfires to homes and wildlife, could be the biggest losers from federal budget cuts hitting national parks and preserves in South Florida, rangers and environmentalists say.
LGBT
On gay marriage, Rubio should follow Nelson
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Florida U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's remarkable announcement this week that his beliefs have evolved to embrace the cause of gay marriage is a welcome one.
Sens. Heitkamp, Donnelly join Florida's Bill Nelson, now say they support gay marriage
By Henry C. Jackson
Associated Press
Two freshman Democratic senators, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, have joined the growing chorus of lawmakers who say they support gay marriage.
Buchanan and Rooney firmly against same-sex marriage
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The growing ranks of Republicans and Democrats in Congress switching their positions on same sex marriage is having no affect on the two men who represent Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties in Congress.
EDUCATION
Parent trigger bill on failing schools a national trend
By Rob Shaw
Tampa Tribune
State Rep. Mike Fasano calls it “corporate welfare.”
Bill to Arm Teachers: Leave Guns to Police
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
Some state lawmakers don't want to pay for police officers or sheriff's deputies at schools, so they want to arm teachers and other school employees instead.
Virtual learning bills gain momentum in Legislature
By Kathleen McGrory
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Florida schoolchildren and college students will soon have greater access to online learning programs, if Republican lawmakers have their way.
Early Learning Overhaul Starts Moving Late In Session
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida lawmakers have been working for two years to overhaul the state’s early childhood education programs, including Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten and the School Readiness system.
Push is on to expand gifted education to more minorities, poor
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
As principal of Millennia Elementary, Anne Lynaugh surveyed her campus several years ago and saw more than 700 students, but so few "gifted" youngsters that she could count them on her hands.
Bright Futures changes could ‘devastate' minority students
By Jeff Schweers
Gainesville Sun
More than two-thirds of black and Hispanic freshmen and sophomores at the University of Florida who now receive Bright Futures scholarships would not have gotten them under new guidelines that take effect on July 1, an analysis by the University of South Florida shows.
FAU summons 7 ‘Stop Owlcatraz’ protesters to dean’s office
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Florida Atlantic University students who participated in a March 22 protest against the school’s agreement with the private prison company Geo Group were summoned Friday to meet with a top school official investigating possible misconduct on their parts, but one of the students said afterward she believed no charges would be filed against them.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Florida House Passes ALEC-Linked Anti-Sick Leave, Anti-Living Wage Bill
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
The GOP-led Florida House of Representatives passed a bill last night that would prohibit local governments in the state from implementing laws that extend paid sick leave benefits to workers.
House takes on state pensions
By Kevin Wiatrowski
Tampa Tribune
As Hillsborough Community College’s human resource chief, Donna Keener hires everyone from professors to janitors.
Tax cuts on table in Tallahassee, but as leverage so far, not yet reality
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
After battling with the Legislature over tax cuts each of his first two years, Gov. Rick Scott has adjusted his sights in hopes of returning tax dollars to industries he cherishes as job creators.
Scott's budget looks different after lawmakers unveil spending-plans
News Service of Florida
Florida Times-Union
When Gov. Rick Scott unveiled his $74.2 billion proposed spending plan — the biggest in state history — he was hit by many with one term: Flip-flopper.
Bilirakis pushes new law restricting jobless benefits
By William March
Tampa Tribune
U.S. Rep. Gus Bilrakis, R-Palm Harbor, is pushing legislation to set a national standard that people fired for alcohol or drug abuse are ineligible for unemployment compensation.
Orlando jobs machine cranks out low pay
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
The most interesting — and unsettling — numbers to emerge from February's unemployment report are tucked inside the annual job growth figures for Metro Orlando.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
Against official recommendation, DCF swaps vendors for Medicaid contract worth millions
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
A Department of Children and Families senior manager awarded a multimillion dollar contract to track Medicaid eligibility to the behemoth auditing and financial consulting firm Deloitte, against the official recommendation of the negotiating team, even though the competing bid was $5 million less.
Known for fun in sun, Villages now wants to build nursing homes
By Ludmilla Lelis
Orlando Sentinel
Age may be finally catching up with The Villages, the sprawling retirement haven for the over-55 that promises recreational activities "beyond imagination."
Region's medical research could slow due to sequester cuts
By Marcia Heroux Pounds
Orlando Sentinel
With hopes of finding out why older people get diseases like osteoporosis, dementia and arthritis, scientist Laura Niedernhofer came to Scripps Florida in Jupiter last year to do research on aging and degenerative diseases.
IMMIGRATION,
CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Marco Rubio's balancing act: image vs. roots
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Sen. Marco Rubio's skittishness on immigration reform in recent days is calculated to send a resounding message to conservatives: I've got your back.
Misunderstanding Marco Rubio: immigration politics and DC spin
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
The request from the liberal Campaign to Reform Immigration for America was simple — but strange.
Evangelical pastors push immigration overhaul
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
When Pentecostal pastor Mark Boykin looks out at his congregation at the Church of All Nations in Boca Raton, he says he sees a model the Republican Party can learn from as it debates immigration reform.
Gun-show loophole laws on the books in Florida, but ignored
By Peter Jamison
Tampa Bay Times
It was a rare moment in American public life: A killer's shooting rampage had claimed lives young and old, giving rise to a burst of political will to strengthen gun laws.
At remembrance, Rick Scott tours Florida Holocaust Museum
Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Sunday toured the Florida Holocaust Museum to mark the beginning of the national Days of Remembrance annual commemoration.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
Death Sped Up
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Legislation to speed up executions in Florida is now speeding through the process.
Budget for clerks of court is big dilemma for state of Florida
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Legislative budget-writers this year are determined to strike a deal to end an annual funding quagmire that has forced clerks of court to “beg” lawmakers for additional cash.
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