PROGRESS
FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
The BluVu: Week of May 10, 2013
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
All the Republican bragging about the success of the 2013 legislative session is premature. We have the scoop on the millions of Floridians left without healthcare that has been paid for in advance, and Damien Filer has the inside story on what really happened this session as political reality comes your way!
FEATURED
STORIES
Groups tell Florida high court that GOP skewed district lines for political edge
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
A lawsuit looking to throw out redrawn Senate districts because Republican leaders shared data and maps with political consultants should be allowed to continue, a lawyer for voters’ groups Thursday told the Florida Supreme Court.
Clock ticking for Fla. Gov. to act on budget
Associated Press
Miami Herald
Scott has until May 24 to act on a proposed $74.5 billion state budget. The Republican-led Legislature on Thursday officially put the budget on Scott's desk.
Gov. Scott's underwhelming leadership during legislative session
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
With the legislative session over and the dust of lawmakers departing Tallahassee barely settled, Gov. Rick Scott this week took to the campaign trail for a victory lap that was more a display of uninspired leadership than a cause for celebration.
David Rivera caught on tape, but what did he say?
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
A friend of former U.S. Rep. David Rivera who’s implicated in a federal corruption investigation made a recording of the Republican last year — and now prosecutors have the evidence, The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald have learned.
New poll: Floridians support pathway to citizenship in immigration reform
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
Two out of three Floridians support or strongly support the idea that immigration reform should include a pathway to citizenship for some undocumented residents, according to a new poll.
Rupert Murdoch: Journalism's Jack the Ripper
By Eric Alterman
The Nation
Related: Four Reasons to Worry About the Potential Koch Takeover of Tribune Co. Newspapers
Media observers horrified at the thought of a Koch takeover of the Tribune Company are more sanguine about Murdoch. What are they thinking?
BEST
OF THE BLOGS
Governor Rick Scott should veto HB 655
By Kartik Krishnaiyer
The Political Squeeze
Governor Scott made an effort publicly to expand Medicaid coverage in Florida but as we learned recently he made little effort to push the House to his position on this issue.
Florida Legislature Refuses To Extend Medicaid Coverage To One Million Low-Income People
By Tara Culp-Ressler
Think Progress
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), an ardent Obamacare opponent, surprised health care reform advocates earlier this year when he endorsed expanding his state’s Medicaid program.
Florida's Lawmakers Test the Null Hypothesis on Medicaid Expansion
By Gary Stein
Huffington Post
In science and statistical analysis it is called "Testing the Null Hypothesis."
Florida Legislature "Lets Liberty Ring" With More Gunshots
By Martha Jackovics
Beach Peanuts
The 2013 session of the Florida legislature dealt with 15 gun bills.
Florida Springs; Alexander and Silver Glen
By Dell-Roy
Phillip's Natural World 2.0
Separated by less than 20 miles along Highway 19 in Florida's Ocala National Forest are two of Florida's first magnitude (more than 100 cubic feet per second flow) springs.
FLORIDA
POLITICS
‘Veto gun bill’ please dominate Governor Scott’s inbox
By Jim Turner
News Service of Florida
When it comes to bills that have Floridians up in arms after the legislative session, nothing tops the responses being volleyed at a measure that halts gun sales to some mentally ill people who voluntarily commit themselves.
Two contrasting views of Florida's election law changes
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
State Rep. Katie Edwards, D-Plantation, issued a news release Thursday calling on legislative leaders to quickly send the new elections law to Gov. Rick Scott so he can sign it.
POLITICAL
RACES
Florida Republicans Seek the Next Marco Rubio Farm Team
By Abby Livingston
Roll Call
The Florida Republican Party is flourishing, with a deep bench available for the next competitive or open-seat race.
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Reckless measure
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
The Florida Legislature has sent anti-environmental legislation to Gov. Rick Scott that would not only harm our woods and water, but also would have negative long-term economic impact on the state.
Florida Supreme Court declines to hear case involving sanctions against environmental groups
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A case that a dissenting appeals court judge says could have a "chilling effect" on citizen participation in land-use disputes was dismissed Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court without a ruling on the merits of the case.
Sea turtle sickness may be caused by cold weather
Associated Press
Gainesville Sun
Staff members at Volusia County's Marine Science Center have treated almost as many sick sea turtles this year as they did all of last year.
LGBT
Charlie Crist listened to Miami activist Joseph Falk, returned to Tampa and posted gay marriage support
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
Charlie Crist, rumored to be running as a Democrat for Florida governor, has come out in favor of gay marriage.
Equality Fla doesn't begrudge Charlie Crist over gay rights shift
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Florida's leading gay rights group, Equality Florida, sounds pretty comfortable with potential gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist's evolution on the issue of gay marriage.
Minnesota House approves gay marriage; would be 12th state, plus Washington, D.C., to legalize nuptials
By Patrick Condon and Brian Bakst
Associated Press
A pivotal vote Thursday in the Minnesota House positioned that state to become the 12th in the country to allow gay marriages and the first in the Midwest to pass such a law out of its Legislature.
EDUCATION
University leaders expect Gov. Rick Scott to veto tuition increase
By Tia Mitchell
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Lawmakers included a 3 percent tuition increase in next year's budget, but state universities say they aren't counting on the extra money.
After six months, Rick Scott's office not done with FSCJ investigation
By Kate Howard Perry
Florida Times-Union
It has been six months since Florida State College at Jacksonville’s president announced his resignation and the governor ordered an investigation into its foundation’s spending, but the report has not yet been issued and nobody is speaking publicly about where it stands.
School safety funding left largely unchanged
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Despite the talk of increasing school safety after the Connecticut elementary school shooting last December, Florida lawmakers left safety funding largely unchanged when they finished their annual session last week.
Delay Florida’s teacher evaluation system until federal judge rules on union lawsuit
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
A Leon County Circuit Court judge has ruled that the teacher evaluations ordered up in 2011 by Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature do not violate the Florida Constitution. So now they’re legal, but they’re still absurd.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Citrus Disease With No Cure Is Ravaging Florida Groves
By Lizette Alvarez
New York Times
Florida’s citrus industry is grappling with the most serious threat in its history: a bacterial disease with no cure that has infected all 32 of the state’s citrus-growing counties.
2013 Session Summary: Economic Development
Lobby Tools
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott received his top priority of a manufacturing tax cut, legislative leaders have pork projects to take home and Major League Baseball teams can qualify for more tax breaks for spring training facilities.
2013 Session Summary: State and Local Administration
Lobby Tools
Florida Current
Legislators always tinker with the inner workings of state government, and pass things down to the city and county levels, but the 2013 session will probably be best remembered by government workers as the year that the six-year pay-raise drought finally broke.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
Finding Fun Facts in Data Deluge
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
It isn't exactly news that hospital bills bear no relation to what products and services actually cost, or the amount that is paid.
What's Next for FL Uninsured? (Audio)
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
The Florida Legislature ended its 2013 session without making a move on expanding health care in the state.
Almost 200 ALFs accused of cheating on property taxes
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
Already the focus of intense scrutiny by lawmakers and elder advocates, Florida’s troubled assisted-living industry has taken another hit: Miami-Dade’s new property appraiser has accused scores of the homes’ owners of gaining improper homestead exemptions that could cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
Detert testifies in Washington on foster care
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Efforts to protect children in foster care from abuse have resulted in too many rules for foster families, Florida officials testified at a congressional hearing on Thursday.
IMMIGRATION,
CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Many amendments, few changes to immigration overhaul
By McClatchy Tribune
Tampa Bay Times
Related editorial: House needs a primer on immigration bill
After eight hours of debate, the bipartisan Senate immigration bill emerged mostly intact Thursday, despite Republican-led efforts to make substantial alterations in the first of what is certain to be many long committee meetings to work through the 844-page proposal.
At Least 71 Kids Have Been Killed by Guns Since Newtown
By Mark Follman
Mother Jones
In the last five months there have been at least 71 of them. None older than 12, several as young as five or six months, all of their lives ended by a bullet.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
Speeding Up Execution Bill Gets Calls for Veto
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Florida has averaged three point two executions a year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1979.
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