Daily News Clips for June 13, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Rick Scott's office downplays report naming top educator as LG candidate
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott's office is downplaying speculation about the search for a new lieutenant governor as a published report says a leading candidate for the vacancy is one of his favorite educators: the superintendent of the Orange County Schools.

Scott's low road on higher ed
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott's obsession with stopping even small tuition increases at state universities is more about politics than building a higher education system that meets Florida's needs and ambitions.

Marco Rubio’s Rubik’s Cube on immigration
By Joy-Ann Reid
Miami Herald
If Marco Rubio were a toy, he’d be a Rubik’s Cube. The junior senator from Florida has been twisted and turned into such a multitude of combinations and near alignments, it can be as frustrating to get a handle on him as it is to finish the maddening 1980s nerd square.

Republicans spar with Democrats over party gatherings
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Florida Republican Party Chairman Lenny Curry says he's so eager to see Democratic candidate for governor Nan Rich get her message out that he'll check with his staff about renting a room where she can make a speech at a GOP meeting.

Mailer links mystery candidate to Rep. Joe Garcia camp
By Marc Caputo and Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
As rivals call on the FBI to examine a former mystery opponent of Congressman Joe Garcia, the Miami Herald has uncovered a new connection between them: Both used the same print shop for campaign mailers.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Gov. Rick Scott signs 4 bills, vetoes 3 others
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott signed four more bills into law Wednesday and vetoed three others.

With Scott's signature, red-light camera rules to change
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida drivers will no longer face tickets at intersections with red-light cameras if they come to a complete stop before making a right-hand turn.

Ethics panel finds probable cause that Maria Sachs erred on financial disclosures
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
The Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause to believe that Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, failed to properly disclose a Tallahassee condo along with her state legislative income on three years’ worth of financial disclosures.

Democrats try to get on the same page
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
As they contemplate some rules changes aimed at enforcing party discipline, House Democrats might find philosophical guidance in the lofty idealism of Edmund Burke, the gentle folk wisdom of Will Rogers and the bare-knuckle political pugnacity of the legendary Huey Long.

Obama's bipartisan election commission to hold Miami meeting.
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
The bipartisan election-reform commission established by President Obama will meet for a day in Miami -- the focal point for the state's most-recent election meltdown.

POLITICAL RACES

Not a stolen election in House race, but burglary of ballots still a mystery
By Michael Van Sickler
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
State officials must have breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday when Mike Hill easily won the special election for House District 1 by a healthy margin of more than 3,000 votes.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Environmental groups to perform huge non-violent demonstrations if Keystone XL Pipeline is approved
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing Tampa
If John Kerry's State Department gives the okay for the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline to be approved later this year, three activist groups said they are prepared to unleash the biggest non-violent civil disobedient acts ever in the U.S. as a means to persuade President Obama to reject the plan.

Time to Speak Up About Gulf Restoration
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
The civil trial against BP for the Deepwater Horizon disaster is in recess, but preparation and planning continues for how the funds awarded will be spent to restore the Gulf of Mexico.

Collier residents fight oil drilling
By George Solis
WBBH Ft. Myers
The fight against oil drilling in Collier County continues.

LGBT

Southern Baptists approve resolution opposing Boy Scouts' new policy allowing gay youngsters
By Juan Lozano and Travis Loller
Associated Press
The Southern Baptist Convention approved a resolution Wednesday expressing its opposition to and disappointment in the Boy Scouts of America's new policy allowing gay Scouts.

EDUCATION

Democrats stinging Scott for ‘shell game’ on tuition
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Florida Democrats are taking a swipe at Republican Rick Scott over the governor’s opposition to college and university tuition increases — coming after two years of tuition hikes and higher education budget cuts on his watch.

Florida Board of Education to consider budget priorities for 2014-15
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
With the 2013 legislative session in its rearview mirror, the Florida Board of Education is set to start preparations for its 2014 budget request.

State auction raises $1.16 million for schools
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
Florida is raising more than $1 million for schools by auctioning off unclaimed property.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida ranks top in foreclosures as more homes go to auction
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post
Florida bumped back into the top spot nationally for foreclosure activity in May, but the milestone isn’t based on a surge of new cases.

Florida prison system owes $600,000 in back pay or time off to hundreds of employees
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Florida's prison system, still grappling with a chronic deficit, must give $600,000 in money or extra time off to hundreds of employees who were not paid for part of the time they were on duty.

Governor heads to France to promote trade, economic development for Florida
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott will leave for France on Friday with a retinue of government and business leaders to lure businesses and investment in Florida as a way to create more jobs in the state.

Condo insurance controversy sparks threat of state hearings
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post
A legislator is threatening to call emergency hearings because he says a state insurance pool is unfairly shutting out condos where some units are rented out — meaning premiums can rise sharply, or even double.

Sequester battle over national guard intensifies: Koon calls out Nelson
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
In a sharply-worded letter to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the head of the Florida Division of Emergency Management calls into question his conclusion that the federal budget cuts to the Florida National Guard could be offset with the swipe of a pen by the governor.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Confidential Health Information Leaked
By Matt Horn
Capitol News Service
A statewide database used to end pill mills is now accused of leaking thousands of Floridians medical information to third parties.

Florida ranks third in country for health records payments
By Karen Cyphers
Saint Petersblog
Since 2011, the US government has been rewarding health care providers for the adoption of electronic health records, and according to data from the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services, Florida health care providers have received the third highest amount paid to any state.

Florida has highest rate of seniors
By Mike Schneider
Associated Press
Florida has the largest share of residents over age 65 of any state, and Sumter County has the highest rate of seniors of any county in the United States.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Gang of Eight seeks alternative to John Cornyn amendment
By Carrie Budoff Brown and Seung Min Kim
Politico
Sen. Marco Rubio initially praised a border security proposal from Sen. John Cornyn, helping to make it the leading choice of conservatives demanding tighter enforcement measures.

Sen. Marco Rubio pushes stronger English language requirement in immigration bill
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has talked a lot about adding more border security to the immigration bill, but his first proposed amendment seeks to toughen an English proficiency requirement.

Florida lawmakers split on NSA surveillance controversy
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
As questions continue to mount over the National Security Agency's surveillance programs, Florida lawmakers are splitting between those who defend the programs as necessary and those worried about an invasion of privacy.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

What happens if the Supreme Court cuts out the heart of the Voting Rights Act?
By Sue Sturgis
Facing South
Any day now, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hand down a ruling in an Alabama case challenging a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Zimmerman attorneys short of moving to next round
By Kyle Hightower
Associated Press
After three days of trying to seat a jury, prosecutors and attorneys for George Zimmerman have interviewed two dozen potential jurors but are still a half-dozen short of being able to go into the next round of questioning.

Van Poyck executed for role in Palm Beach County officer's death
By Ben Wolford
South Florida Sun Sentinel
William Van Poyck, whose botched jail break in 1987 left a prison guard dead, spent his last day with family, friends and a spiritual adviser.