Daily News Clips for May 15, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Health Experts on Medicaid Rejection: 'Bad for Business'
By Bob LaMendola       
Health News Florida
The Florida Legislature’s decision against expanding Medicaid will saddle the state’s employers with higher health care costs and was “bad for business,” health care experts told business leaders on Tuesday.

Hypocrisy in the House
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Republican state lawmakers on Tuesday didn't want to talk about 1 million of the state's poor who don't have health insurance.

Pantoja defection may signal new GOP Hispanic outreach not going well
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
The Republican Party’s new initiatives to salvage and build upon what already had become dwindling Hispanic support is getting battered by undercurrents.

Bill Nelson: Not planning to run for governor; but not saying no if needed
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
For weeks Florida Democrats have been buzzing about the idea of getting U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson to run for governor in 2014 to challenge the re-election bid of Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

Scott gets last-minute sales pitches on spending plan
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
While not exactly rivaling Times Square on New Year’s Eve, anticipation is mounting across Florida over Gov. Rick Scott’s pending action on the state’s $74.5 billion budget.

FLORIDA POLITICS

After 'victory' lap around state, Scott to travel to Chile
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Fresh off two weeklong “victory tours” across the state touting his legislative priorities -- a manufacturing tax cut and teacher pay raise that were significantly modified by lawmakers -- Gov. Rick Scott will head to Chile on Monday for a four-day trade mission.

Mention of Allen West for lieutenant governor launches Dem fundraising appeal
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott has offered few clues about who he’ll name as his lieutenant governor or how soon he’ll fill the post, which has been vacant since Jennifer Carroll resigned in March.

South Florida outrage and fundraising after IRS admits singling out conservative groups
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Tea party activist Everett Wilkinson says he feels “a little vindicated” now that the Internal Revenue Service has admitted it singled out conservative groups for extra scrutiny going back at least to 2010.

Rubio moves quick to capitalize on IRS scandal
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Sen. Marco Rubio has moved swiftly on the IRS scandal, calling for the acting commissioner to be fired, introducing legislation and even seeking to raise money off the situation.

Tallahassee needs to be nicer to Republicans, county leader says
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
After nearly 20 years of Republican rule in state government, it's time that Democrat-dominated Tallahassee adjusts to having a conservative GOP governor and Legislature whose decisions have a huge impact on the local economy, Leon County Commissioner Bryan Desloge told Big Bend legislators and business leaders Tuesday.

POLITICAL RACES

Tea Party candidate Hill wins primary for vacant House seat
By Tia Mitchell
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Mike Hill, founder and president of the Northwest Florida Tea Party, won tonight's primary for the Florida House District 2 seat and is expected to win next month's general election.

Adam Putnam quietly launches re-election campaign
Associated Press
WFLX West Palm Beach
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam is running for re-election.

Sarasota businesswoman eyes race for governor in 2014
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Sarasota businesswoman Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder has filed fund-raising papers to seek the Republican Party nomination for governor against Rick Scott in 2014.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Closer to the brink
Editorial
Miami Herald
Milestones are usually to be cheered, but not the one the world reached at 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 9.

Foundation will direct $356 million from oil spill criminal cases to Florida for natural resource projects
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Natural resource projects in Florida will receive $356 million from plea agreements in criminal cases involving the 2010 Gulf oil spill.  

EDUCATION

Legislation further undermines Florida's public school system
Editorial
Bradenton Herald
Florida's relentless drive to privatize public education scored another victory on the final day of the Legislature's session when Republicans approved the expenditure of public school funds on classes offered by online learning companies.

Hernando schools consider 5 percent cuts to make up for budget deficit
By Danny Valentine
Tampa Bay Times
Hernando County schools have been slammed by budget cuts.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Welfare Recipients Targeted by Identity Thieves
By Matt Horn
Capitol News Service
Every year thieves target thousands of welfare recipients stealing their identities and depriving them of the benefits in which they desperately need.

Sen. Nelson slams regulators, credit bureaus for short-sale confusion
By Drew Harwell
Tampa Bay Times
Sen. Bill Nelson wants regulators to fix a "disturbing" credit-reporting quirk that is torching the credit of people who sold their homes in short sales.

Predicting 200,000 more jobs in state
Staff Report
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A report from the Florida Chamber Foundation is predicting that the Sunshine State will add almost 200,000 non-agricultural positions this year.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Florida Matters: Medicaid Expansion
By Lottie Watts
Health News Florida
Florida lawmakers were unable to agree on a plan to expand health care coverage for more low-income Floridians. 

Pinellas House members say they would pay more for health insurance
Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
Three Pinellas County legislators who voted against accepting federal Medicaid money defended their heavily subsidized state health plans Tuesday but said they were open to footing more of the bill.

Lawmakers get good coverage; Floridians, the shaft
By Douglas C. Lyons
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The next time you see your state representative or state senator, be sure to ask the health care question.

How Much Big Insurance Paid a Small-Business Group to Fight a Premium Tax
By Chris Frates
National Journal
The nation’s leading health insurance industry group gave $850,000 to a top small-business trade association as part of a campaign to repeal a key provision of President Obama’s health care law, National Journal Daily has learned.

Trauma center fight continues in appeals court
By News Service of Florida
Tampa Bay Times
In the latest round in a two-year legal battle, a state appeals court Tuesday heard arguments in a dispute that stems from the Florida Department of Health allowing three hospitals to operate trauma centers.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Attorney General Holder defends seizure of AP's phone records
Wire Report
Tampa Bay Times
Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday strongly defended the far-reaching inquiry in the disclosure of security information by the Associated Press and said American lives were jeopardized when the wire service revealed details of a foiled plot to detonate a bomb on a U.S.-bound airplane last year.

Grassroots campaign for immigration reform hits Florida with phone banks in Republicans' districts
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
The grassroots campaign to pass immigration reform is coming to Florida.

Rubio applauds immigration amendment on science workers
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida Tuesday applauded an amendment to the immigration overhaul bill he helped to write, a change that would increase the cost of green cards for foreign workers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

One dad’s deportation delayed — for now — by Rep. Frederica Wilson
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
There wasn’t much time. The hour was getting late at the North Miami immigration forum. The four members of Congress were hungry.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Fla. Appeals Court Hears Arguments In Prison Health Privatization Case
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
A three-judge panel heard arguments Tuesday in a legal dispute between the Florida Department of Corrections and its prison health care workers who fear losing their state jobs.

Plea Deals In FAMU Hazing Case Raise Questions About Whether Charges Will Stick
By Lynn Hatter 
WFSU Tallahassee
Four people have reached plea deals in the 2011 hazing death of a Florida A & M University Drum Major and all have settled for less than the maximum penalties of their charges.

Florida state rep says he’s more confident he can lower state DUI threshold after NTSB’s recommendation
By Ana M. Valdes
Palm Beach Post
The federal government’s push Tuesday to have states lower the threshold for when a driver is presumed to be drunk made things a little easier for Rep. Irv Slosberg, the ranking Democrat on the state House’s transportation committee.