Daily News Clips for June 28, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Senate passes immigration bill, but at what cost to Sen. Marco Rubio?
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Major provisions of the Senate immigration bill
Related editorial: Keep up momentum on immigration reform
The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved the most sweeping changes to immigration law in nearly three decades, offering up to 11 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship while spending tens of billions on a massive security buildup along the southern border with Mexico.

Fla. NAACP vows decisive action in wake of voting rights decision
By Steve Bousquet
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
Related editorial: A defeat for voting rights
Florida NAACP leaders voiced disappointment Thursday with the Supreme Court decision striking down the heart of the Voting Rights Act, and they promised to hold Gov. Rick Scott, state legislators and members of Congress accountable for any new changes in state voting laws.

Sick-time vote may still pack punch on 2014 ballot
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott signed a law this month that blocks cities and counties from mandating paid sick time for workers, yet the politically volatile issue could still end up in front of Orange County voters next year.

Scott to teachers: Pressure is going to get worse
By James Call
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott and Education Commissioner Tony Bennett engaged Florida's teachers of the year Thursday in a roundtable discussion of education philosophies.

Forty-four years after Stonewall, 'it's a whole different world'
By Rob Hotakainen
McClatchy Washington Bureau
When the cops arrived to raid the Stonewall Inn on the night of June 27, 1969, David Velasco Bermudez headed for the exits, but he couldn’t make his way through the crowded bar before getting hit in the neck by a policewoman swinging a billy club.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

The Voting Rights Act and Florida: Historical challenges in light of the Supreme Court decision
By Kartik Krishnaiyer
The Florida Squeeze
Tuesday’s ill-advised and unfortunate Supreme Court decision regarding the voting rights act recalls the shameful specter of potential voter purges and racially motivated disenfranchisement that characterized Florida and the American South prior to 1965.

Straights for Marriage Equality - An Ally's Story
By Mary Frances Love
Equality Florida
About 18 months ago, I was riding my bicycle through my neighborhood in SW Florida when a woman in a beat up old car made an illegal left turn, while speeding and talking on her cell phone, and almost hit me.

ALEC, Jeb Bush’s Foundation and McCay Scholarship Fraud
By Bob Sikes
Scathing Purple Musings
A consortium of progressive organizations released yesterday titled ALEC v. Kids: ALEC’s Assault On Public Education.

The New Face of Florida Democratic Coalition
By Steve Schale
Steve Schale
In the grand scheme of things, the November 2006 Governor's Election in Florida was not too long ago and for most of the last six plus years, our state has been living in a protracted and non-stop political battle.

Rick Scott Dances On The Grave Of The Voting Rights Act
By Martha Jackovics
Beach Peanuts
The most unpopular governor perhaps in the history of governors, Florida's Rick Scott, has spoken up in regard to the Supreme Court's decision yesterday striking down the provisions that count in the Voting Rights Act.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Presidential commission to discuss voting in Miami
Associated Press
Miami Herald
A presidential commission dedicated to fixing voting problems is set to host its first public meeting in Miami.

Obama poll numbers on par with George W.?
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Since late December, President Barack Obama’s approval numbers have been in a tailspin, dropping 12 percentage points according to the latest Gallup tracking polls.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Medical marijuana amendment petition to be filed
By Carl Mario Nudi
Bradenton Herald
A statewide organization lobbying to legalize medical marijuana plans to petition the Florida Secretary of State seeking to change the state Constitution.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

DEP bonuses based on permitting speed raise concerns with Democratic lawmaker
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says it is awarding bonuses to employees based on factors including "customer" feedback and their ability to process permits faster.

This governor's record is beyond reproach
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
It's not every day a Florida politician trashes former Gov. Bob Graham's environmental record while defending a bill that guts environmental protections.

LGBT

Will Florida Ever Pass Same-Sex Marriage? 60 Percent Amendment Threshold Means It Could Take Awhile
By Kyle Munzenrieder
Miami New Times
If Floridians went to the polls today, literally this very day, there's a pretty good chance at least 50 percent of voters in the state would support gay marriage.

Supreme Court ruling means Florida can take the lead in gay weddings, promote job creation
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
Gay marriage is all about job creation. At least that’s the way our jobs-obsessed governor should see it.

EDUCATION

Scott signs digital learning bill
By James Call
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott Thursday signed into a law a bill opening the Florida market of on-line classes to out-of-state digital learning companies.

Florida beats feds on healthy foods for schools
By James L. Rosica
Tampa Tribune
Florida has beaten the feds to the punch - sugary fruit punch, that is.

Orange offers transfer option to students at crowded schools
By Lauren Roth
Orlando Sentinel
Parents at 70 overcrowded Orange County Public Schools will have the option to transfer their children to one of 47 less crowded school this fall under a School Board policy finalized this week.

FAMU's Marching 100 will return from hazing suspension
By Tia Mitchell
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Florida A&M University's acclaimed Marching 100 band will return from a 19-month suspension following the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Lawmakers want review of Citizens' rate hike request close to home
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Two legislators who have been critical of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. say they will ask regulators to conduct a hearing to consider the state-run company’s 7.5 percent statewide average rate hike proposal near their districts.

Former shuttle runway to launch 'space plane'
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
A new breed of vacationers — space tourists — could launch from Central Florida as early as 2015 thanks to a new agreement that would put Florida officials in charge of the 3-mile runway at Kennedy Space Center that once was used by the space shuttle.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Health administrator Homer Rice retirement forced
By Jennifer Portman
Tallahassee Democrat
After 36 years with the Florida Department of Health — the last eight as Leon County Health Department administrator — Homer Rice has been ousted from his job.

Woman Living with HIV Explains Why She's 'Thankful' for the Diagnosis
By Lottie Watts
Health News Florida
Kamaria Laffrey believes she is living proof that contracting HIV can happen to anyone.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

An immigration victory for Rubio, but at a price
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Three months after U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio put his star power behind the move to overhaul the nation’s immigration system, the bill he helped craft passed the Senate on Thursday.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

The Roberts Corporate Court Strikes Again
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Yesterday, we celebrated two landmark Supreme Court rulings advancing LGBT rights, but a closer look at the rest of the Supreme Court term reveals a wide variety of troubling rulings.

Rick Scott picks former county Republican chairman for coveted appeals court spot
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott skipped over five more experienced judges and picked Mark Klingensmith, a relative judicial newcomer, on Thursday to fill a vacancy on the Fourth District Court of Appeal, which includes Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Troubled Largo work release center closed, all inmates removed
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Florida prison officials, at the direction of Gov. Rick Scott, evacuated all inmates from a troubled work release center in Largo early Friday morning and terminated a contract with the center's operator.

Appeals court lifts stay of execution for Miami killer Marshall Lee Gore
By Benjamin S. Brasch
Miami Herald
A federal appeals court on Thursday lifted the stay of execution for Miami killer Marshall Lee Gore, whose execution had been scheduled for Monday.

Both sides claim victory from Miami teen’s testimony in George Zimmerman murder trial
By Evan S. Benn
Miami Herald
A Miami teen’s often-contentious testimony concluded Thursday in the George Zimmerman murder trial, with both sides expressing confidence that Rachel Jeantel’s seven hours on the witness stand had helped bolster their case.

Daily News Clips for June 27, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

New Report Shows ALEC’s Effects On Florida Education Policy
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Excerpt: The report by Progress Florida, ALEC v Kids, “documents the growing footprint that ALEC has in Florida, and across the country including its unprecedented access to elected officials and the drafting of ‘model’ education policy designed to benefit ALEC’s corporate funders which compliant lawmakers then push into law,” the group wrote in a press release this week.

The BluVu: Week of June 28^th
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
A deal’s a deal, right governor? The Heritage Insurance scandal heats up. The Lt. Gov fix is in, Charlie Crist is making Rick crazy "up in here!", and Progress Florida’s Damien Filer tells us who the real Middle Class Champs are as political reality comes your way!

FEATURED STORIES

Court ruling leaves Florida same-sex couples in limbo
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
Related: Supreme Court strikes down key part of Defense of Marriage Act, dismisses Prop 8
Related editorial: Bittersweet victory
Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision striking a portion of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act leaves many uncertainties for same-sex couples in Florida, where marriage is constitutionally defined as between one man and one woman.

U.S. high court rulings encourage Florida same-sex marriage advocates
By James Call
Florida Current
Two U.S. Supreme Court rulings Wednesday boosted the hopes of Florida advocates who want to repeal a 2008 state ban on same-sex marriage.

Group asks for health care special session
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Related: Nelson keeping pressure on Scott to call special session on Medicaid
House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston and a delegation of Broward County Democrats voted Tuesday night to pen another letter to Gov. Rick Scott demanding he call a special session to discuss expanding Medicaid coverage to 1.1 million residents, promising constituents they would not just let the issue quietly die.

Forced to Work Sick? That's Fine With Disney, Red Lobster, and Their Friends at ALEC
By Stephanie Mencimer
Mother Jones
Related: Will Your State's Waiters Give You the Flu?
Before jetting off last week for a trade mission at the Paris Air Show, Florida's Republican Gov. Rick Scott took a moment to sign into law a bill that banned local governments from requiring employers to offer paid sick leave.

Florida Voting Laws No Longer Require Federal Oversight
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
In a 5-4 ruling Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that requires some states and individual counties — including five in Florida — to have their respective voting laws approved by the federal government.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Supreme Court’s voting rights ruling throws fuel on a new fire
By Joy-Ann Reid
Miami Herald
Fifty years ago this month, Medgar Evers arrived at his home near Jackson, Miss., in the early morning hours of June 12.

Rubio to conservatives: I'm right on immigration -- and remain right on spending, Obamacare, same-sex marriage
Staff Report
Orlando Sentinel
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has been taking a hammering lately from tea party folks who supported his insurgent 2010 Senate campaign but are appalled at his support for an immigration reform bill that many consider -- wrongly, says Rubio -- an amnesty for 11 million people who are living here illegally.

Sen. Garcia warns Dolphins owner
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
The chairman of the legislative Hispanic caucus Wednesday warned Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross that he's hurting his team's future dealings with state lawmakers by "recklessly attacking" members who didn't support his $350 million plan for renovating the team's stadium.

Should Dolphins owner's new PAC have registered in Florida?
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Florida Jobs First, the political action committee that sent fliers last week attacking three Miami lawmakers, registered as an organization under the IRS.

5 questions for the Florida GOP’s Lenny Curry
News Service of Florida
Saint Petersblog
Lenny Curry was unanimously elected chairman of the Republican Party of Florida in 2011.  

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Obama climate plan pleases environmentalists, worries Central Florida utilities
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
President Barack Obama unveiled his plan Tuesday to clamp down on utilities and the heat-trapping pollution emitted by their power plants, which could lead to higher electric bills in Central Florida and other parts of the U.S. that depend on plants that burn coal.

Water managers weigh putting South Florida lands up for sale
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
The South Florida Water Management District, one of the state’s largest landowners with some 1.5 million acres ranging from wild banks of the restored Kissimmee River to bird-covered marshes at the southern end of Miami-Dade County, is pondering unloading some of its vast holdings.

Federal funding cut-off threat looms over Florida's beach water testing program
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Environmental groups are raising concerns about the continued threat to federal funding provided to states for beach water quality testing.

BP mounts offensive in spill settlement dispute
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
With an ad blitz and a tersely worded letter, BP is mounting an increasingly aggressive campaign to challenge what could be billions of dollars in settlement payouts to businesses following its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

LGBT

Scott says he'll uphold state law that bans same-sex marriage
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related column: Supreme Court ruling affirms American principles
Related editorial: Victory for marriage equality
Reacting to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision Wednesday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said he will uphold the voter-approved amendment to the state Constitution in 2008 that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman.

Rubio: 'The Supreme Court made a serious mistake today'
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Protest at Marco Rubio's Tampa office leads to 3 arrests
Sen. Marco Rubio statement after Supreme Court decisions on gay marriage:

Gay rights ruling a victory for equality
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Related editorial: Clock ticking on Florida’s discrimination against gays
Twelve states recognize the right of same-sex couples to marry, but since 1996 the federal government has ensured that those couples were treated as second-class citizens, ineligible for the same federal benefits and rights that other married couples received as a matter of course.

EDUCATION

District expects dip in school grades
By Joe Callahan
Ocala Star-Banner
There's a growing fear around the state there will be far more “F” schools this year because of higher achievement levels being implemented for the first time on many FCAT and end-of-course exams.

Lake charter will still get money despite $986,378 attendance dispute
By Erica Rodriguez
Orlando Sentinel
A Lake County charter school for troubled teens will still be getting money to keep its doors open in August despite a $986,378 dispute over faulty attendance keeping.

Florida community college system gets U.S. honors
By Jerome R. Stockfisch
Tampa Tribune
Jordan Lewis is zipping through an associate degree in liberal arts at Hillsborough Community College, where he'll finish at the end of the summer so he can transfer to Florida A&M to play baseball.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Citizens Property Insurance approves 7 percent average rate hike
Wire Reports
Tampa Bay Times
Florida's largest property insurer has approved another round of rate hikes that could affect more than a million policyholders.

Orlando-Miami train needs just 1 more deal before it can roll
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
A $1.5 billion passenger train that would link Orlando with Miami is just one deal from becoming reality.

Scott, Bondi hail new retail theft law
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday a new law increasing retail theft penalties will help protect Florida families from higher store prices.

Union study shows Florida ranks high in workplace safety, Jacksonville had 19 job deaths
By Drew Dixon 
Florida Times-Union
From the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, in April, to the factory collapse in Bangladesh in early June, workplace safety has come under increased scrutiny in recent months, with some pushing for increased regulation or more enforcement of existing laws.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

How The End Of DOMA Will Affect Obamacare, Federal Employees
By Joe Neel     
Health News Florida
The Supreme Court's ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional will not only make a big difference in health benefits for some federal employees, it could also affect people who will be newly eligible for Obamacare beginning next year.

Lawyer for doctor fires back at pill-mill operator, calling her a victim who denied prescriptions to out-of-staters
By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post
Working to counteract claims that the money stashed in garbage cans, the drug addicts shooting up in the parking lot and the regular visits from police should have tipped off Dr. Cynthia Cadet that she wasn’t working in a normal medical office, her attorney Wednesday went on the attack against pill-mill kingpin Chris George.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Senate amends immigration bill to bolster border security
Wire Reports
Tampa Bay Times
Senators on Wednesday approved a plan to double the number of officers along the U.S.-Mexico border, a key concession to Republicans who plan to join with Democrats in supporting a comprehensive immigration measure this week.

Immigration activists gather at Rubio's office
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Neatly illustrating the political tightrope Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is walking on immigration reform, pro- and anti-immigration reform advocates both held demonstrations outside his office Wednesday.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Lawyer group files suit to stop new law that would speed executions
By Michael Van Sickler
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Lawyers representing death row inmates filed suit with the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday in an attempt to invalidate parts of a law that Gov. Rick Scott signed two weeks ago that would speed executions.

Law school grad, seeking to practice, gets civil rights restored
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A law school graduate and single mother of three, Jessica Chiappone of Boca Raton wants to practice law in Florida.

George Zimmerman trial: Testimony of key witness continues today
By Rene Stutzman and Jeff Weiner
Orlando Sentinel
Jurors this morning will hear more testimony from a crucial state witness in the George Zimmerman murder trial: A young South Florida woman who was on the phone with 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in the moments before his shooting.

Daily News Clips for June 26, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Progressive Groups Target ALEC For “Damaging Influence” On Education
By Gina Jordan
National Public Radio, StateImpact Florida
Excerpt: “Floridians need to know who is representing, and how cozy their lawmakers are with, the for-profit education industrial complex,” said Mark Ferrulo, executive director of Progress Florida. “We will continue to shine a bright light on ALEC and the lawmakers doing their dirty work for as long as their assault on our neighborhood public schools continues.”

Progress Florida examines ALEC’s role in education
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Progress Florida, the liberal advocacy organization, released a report Tuesday examining the wide-ranging influence the American Legislative Exchange Council has on public education in Florida and across the nation.

Progress Florida’s Damien Filer discusses ALEC in Florida
By Robert Lorei
WMNF Tampa
Today on Radioactivity, guest Damien Filer talks about Progress Florida's newly released report on the negative impact of the corporate front group ALEC on public education policy and it's growing presence in the Florida school system.

FEATURED STORIES

Supreme Court Voting Rights Act ruling affects five Florida counties, including Hillsborough
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related editorial: Court turns back clock on voting rights
Related: Scott cheers SCOTUS ruling on Voting Rights Act
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday gutted a key part of the landmark Voting Rights Act that for decades sought to protect voters against racially discriminatory laws, including in Florida and Hillsborough County.

Once gung-ho on fighting voter fraud, Scott now sounding ho-hum
By Michael Van Sickler
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
Related editorial: Don't let real vote fraudsters off the hook
Gov. Rick Scott is showing zero interest in following up on the state’s efforts to investigate voter registration fraud.

Obama opens 2nd-term drive against climate change
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Appealing for courageous action "before it's too late," President Barack Obama launched a major second-term drive Tuesday to combat climate change and secure a safer planet, bypassing Congress as he sought to set a cornerstone of his legacy.

Supreme Court gives landowners big win in Florida case
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
The U.S. Supreme Court gave the family of a Central Florida landowner – as well as property owners and developers across the state and country – a significant victory on Tuesday with a ruling that stands to make it tougher and more expensive for government agencies to protect the nation’s dwindling wetlands.

Grayson Announces Bill to Let Workers Personally Sue Bosses Who Retaliate
By Josh Eidelson
The Nation
In a Tuesday interview, Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) announced the introduction of a bill to dramatically expand the legal remedies available to non-union workers who are punished for workplace activism.

FLORIDA POLITICS

New study: Florida 2012 long lines most affected blacks, Hispanics
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
A new study from the think tank Advancement Project, drawing partly on Orlando Sentinel research, reports to a presidential commission that long voter lines in Florida most affected black and Hispanic voters.

Democrats use new Kids Count data against Scott
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Florida Democrats are using the newly released 2013 Kids Count report as a weapon against Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

Democrats Blaming Southerland For Farm Bill Fail
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Tallahassee
Democrats are blaming Florida Congressman Steve Southerland for the failure of a bill renewing subsidies to farmers and food vouchers for the poor.

POLITICAL RACES

Foster to face four opponents in St. Pete mayoral race
By Christopher O'Donnell
Tampa Tribune
The race to be the city's next mayor will officially be a five-way race.  

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

President Obama Lays Out Climate Change Strategy
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Republicans (and a few Democrats) may have killed the president’s plan for a comprehensive climate change bill in 2010, but he made clear during his second inaugural speech that we have a moral obligation to deal with climate change.

Could Obama's Plan Reduce Climate Change Impact on FL?
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
President Obama's proposal for sweeping changes to carbon emission regulations and more funding for green-energy technologies, announced on Tuesday, could improve air quality and reduce sea level rise in Florida.

PSC moving forward with nuclear cost law changes but questions arise
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Public Service Commission on Tuesday approved moving forward with rulemaking in response to legislation dealing with nuclear power projects but some commissioners challenged staff about additional factors that can be considered to determine the feasibility of proposed new plants.

LGBT

Supreme Court gay marriage decisions due 10 a.m. Wednesday
By Mark Sherman
Associated Press
The Supreme Court is meeting to deliver opinions in two cases that could dramatically alter the rights of gay people across the United States.

Gay rights activists stage sit-in at Rubio's Tampa office
Staff Report
WTSP Tampa Bay
LGBT activists staged a sit-in at Senator Marco Rubio's office in Tampa on Tuesday afternoon.

Hundreds sign up for Tampa's domestic registry
By Kevin Wiatrowski
Tampa Tribune
More than 450 unmarried couples have signed up as domestic partners in the year since the Tampa City Council created a registry for them.

EDUCATION

Court denies rehearing of teacher merit pay case
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
A Tallahassee judge denied a request by the statewide teachers' union to reconsider his decision to throw out a lawsuit trying to strike down the controversial merit pay law that passed two years ago.

Members picked for school grades advisory task force
By James Call
Florida Current
Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett Tuesday announced the members of an advisory task force to review this year’s school grading formula.

Pasco pushes its own eSchool to retain student funding lost to Florida Virtual
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Despite anticipated budget shortfalls, the Pasco School Board agreed to spend $896,400 this spring to establish a summer program for Pasco eSchool.

Latest School Board budget cuts 525 jobs
By Joe Callahan
Ocala Star-Banner
The School Board on Tuesday passed Superintendent of Schools George Tomyn's revised 2013-14 staffing plan, setting in motion a series of budget workshops leading to a final vote on Sept. 10.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Gov. Rick Scott said state offered nothing special to lure Deutsche Bank jobs: Pants On Fire
By Katie Sanders
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald PolitiFact
Companies are practically tripping over each other to relocate to Florida because of its alluring beaches and business-friendly approach. At least that's the picture Gov. Rick Scott painted Monday while speaking on Fox News.

Weatherford's pension overhaul faces obstacle: Good news
By Michael Van Sickler
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott and the rest of the Florida Cabinet were given news Tuesday that poses a challenge for critics of public pensions.

Citizens investigation raises new questions about ethics lapses
By Mary Ellen Klas
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
Two former Citizens Property executives, who left the state-run insurance company for violating conflict of interest rules, were developing an online software company with their supervisor and receiving hefty pay raises, documents show.

Higher rates loom for Citizens policyholders
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida's largest property insurance company plans to increase rates for the fifth straight year, a move that would cost customers $178 million.

Home prices soar in South Florida, nationwide
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post
Unprecedented home price gains nationwide in April were also reflected in South Florida, where a double-digit surge marked the sixth consecutive month of increases, according to the nation’s leading home price measure.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Florida children's instability worsens, report says
By Kristine Crane
Gainesville Sun
Florida children fare worse in measures of economic well-being compared with their peers throughout the nation, according to a national report released Monday.

DCF roiled by another child’s death
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
For the fourth time in six weeks, the state Department of Children & Families is investigating the death of a Florida child who, only weeks or months earlier, had drawn the attention of agency administrators.

Latino Enrollment Key To Success Of Health Law Marketplaces
By Jenny Gold
Kaiser Health News/National Public Radio
Andrea Velandia, 29, is just the sort of person health law regulators are seeking to draw into the new online insurance marketplaces– young, healthy, uninsured and Latino.

More drug-mixing done in Southwest Florida, thanks to scare
By Frank Gluck
Ft. Myers News-Press
The device vaguely resembles a high-tech vending machine, though the robotic arm and syringes behind its display glass are clear giveaways that it doesn’t dispense soft drinks.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Sen. Marco Rubio says he wants to re-examine Cubans' fast-track status but immigration bill doesn't
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Sen. Marco Rubio told a gathering of newspaper editors Tuesday that he thinks a 47-year-old law that gives Cubans fast-track status to permanent U.S. residence should be "re-examined."

Attorney general pushing to continue Dozier investigation
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office is working with the state’s top archaeologists to get approval to investigate additional gravesites found at a North Florida reform school shuttered in 2011.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

On Voting Rights, A Decision As Lamentable as Plessy or Dred Scott
By Andrew Cohen
The Atlantic
Let's be clear about what has just happened. Five unelected, life-tenured men this morning declared that overt racial discrimination in the nation's voting practices is over and no longer needs all of the special federal protections it once did.

Florida shows why Supreme Court wrong on Voting Rights Act
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Related: SCOTUS ruling overturning Florida justices carries echo of ballot fight
The five members of the Roberts Court know much about the law but little about the world.

Man Walks to End Capital Punishment
By Matt Horn
Capitol News Service
One protester against death row hopes to make an impact in Florida by walking across the state to end capital punishment.