Daily News Clips for June 14, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Poll: 71 percent of Fla. voters back immigration reform
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Related: Scott stays mum about his position on Congressional immigration reform
More than 7 in 10 Florida voters favor the concept of the bipartisan immigration reform plans proposed in Congress, according to a new survey that indicates the issue might not be as politically polarizing as many say.

Rubio: If same-sex marriage provision is in Senate immigration bill, 'I'm gone'
By Daniel Strauss
The Hill
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he would walk away from pushing a bipartisan immigration reform bill if a provision covering same-sex couples is added.

EXCLUSIVE: Rubio Says It Should Be Legal To Fire Someone For Being Gay
By Adam Peck and Scott
Think Progress
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who is touted as a top GOP presidential prospect in 2016, thinks it should be legal to fire someone for their sexual orientation.

Prepare for Launch of 'Get Covered' Campaign
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
On June 22, consumer-health groups across the nation will launch what they hope will be a massive education and enrollment campaign to find uninsured people and get them ready to sign up for health coverage.

High hopes for Democratic Chairwoman Allison Tant
By Amy Keller
Florida Trend
When popular Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker made a swing through south Florida last March to raise money for his presumed 2014 Senate bid, Allison Tant made sure to snag him for a few hours to help out local Democrats.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Gov. Rick Scott plumbs the depths of insider dealing at the water management district
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
What Rick Scott, the health care business tycoon, knew about Florida's environment before buying his way to the governor's mansion boiled down to what he could see from the window of his private jet.

Countering Terrence McCoy’s 5 reasons why Charlie Crist will not run for governor
By Peter Schorsch
Saint Petersblog
If you were given license to rummage through the desk of a reporter working the Florida politics beat, inevitably you would find an already-in-the-can column offering “Five Reasons…” why Charlie Crist should run for governor, why he shouldn’t run for governor, why he won’t run for governor, why he prefers grouper sandwiches to hamburgers, etc., etc.

Ideology and Partisanship define Bondi’s thinking
By Kartik Krishnaiyer
The Political Squeeze
This week Attorney General Pam Bondi furthered her right-wing credentials by becoming one of the few Attorney’s General in either political party who failed to back comprehensive immigration reform.

Allen West Blames The Military’s Sexual Assault Crisis On Women Serving In Combat Roles
By Kumar Ramanathan
Think Progress
On Michael Savage’s radio show Savage Nation on Thursday, Fox News host and former Florida congressman Allen West blamed women being allowed in combat roles in the military for the ongoing controversy over sexual assault in the force, and alleged that “an assault against the United States military” is underway.

Run For the Border
By Mustang Bobby
Bark Bark Woof Woof
I have always thought that immigration reform in the present Congress didn’t have much of a chance of passing, and this story pretty much confirms that.

FLORIDA POLITICS

5 reasons Democrats struggle to win Florida elections
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
With new party leadership, an advantage in voter registration, and a vulnerable Republican governor seeking re-election, Florida Democrats should be in a strong position, but the outlook isn't all that dazzling.

Gov. Scott's proliferation of Great Floridians puzzles watchdog boss
By James L. Rosica
Tampa Tribune
Dan Krassner has an idea for some of the 23 people receiving the Great Floridian honor this year.  

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Deadline on key Everglades project looms
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
With a deadline to secure congressional authorization fast running out, environmentalists on Thursday pressed water managers to endorse a $2.2 billion suite of projects that is a key to finally restoring natural water flow through the heart of the River of Grass.

Petition to stop plans for oil drilling near Golden Gate Estates gains support
By Mary Wozniak
Ft. Myers News-Press
A petition opposing proposed oil drilling near Golden Gate Estates and the Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge is gaining ground on Change.org, with signatures jumping from 250 to nearly 2,500 in one week.

Why Is the Sunshine State Slow to Adopt Solar Power?
By Robert Lorei
WMNF Tampa
With all that sunlight- what are we doing here in Florida to turn that into useable energy?

LGBT

LGBT Americans Feel More Accepted, But Still Claim Discrimination
By Mackenzie Yang
Time
In its first-ever survey of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, the Pew Research Center found that while respondents to its online survey feel more accepted by society than they did a decade ago, much more progress is needed before they will be fully accepted by the mainstream or even by those who are close to them.

EDUCATION

Scott not changing mind on tuition
By James Call
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott stood firm Thursday in his opposition to a tuition increase for state universities.

Proposed national science standards no better than Florida's current set, group says
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Florida Citizens for Science lately have promoted adoption of the national Next Generation Science Standards in place of Florida's existing standards.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Fla. reverses course and reaches deal with Amazon
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
Floridians will have to start paying sales taxes sometime next year on anything they purchase through Internet retailer Amazon.com.

Gov. Rick Scott going to Paris, looking for jobs to bring back to Fla.
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott heads overseas again today, this time to Paris as the leader of a trade mission aimed at bringing more aerospace jobs to Florida.

Foreclosure Law Creates Controversy
By Matt Horn
Capitol News Service
May numbers show Florida is first the nation in foreclosures.

Intricate family connections bind several of America's worst charities
By Kris Hundley and Kendall Taggart
Times/CIR Special Report
Carol Smith still gets angry when she remembers the box that arrived by mail for her dying husband.

Tax scrutiny douses Village people's party
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Up in The Villages, the natives are restless.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Industry is the Big Loser in Florida’s Rejection of Medicaid Expansion
By Dennis Maley
Bradenton Times
It’s very hard to find a silver lining in Florida lawmakers' inability to pass a state solution to the expansion of Medicaid.

Medicaid mulligan
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
The Florida Legislature might take a mulligan on Medicaid expansion.

PBSC cuts staff and faculty hours to avoid paying for health coverage
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Palm Beach State College is cutting the hours of more than 100 part-time employees and hundreds more adjunct faculty to avoid having to provide health care coverage required for workers under the federal health care law.

Governor Rick Scott Vetoes Mental Health Bill
By Nick Evans
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida Governor Rick Scott vetoed a bill Wednesday aimed at improving mental health care in the judicial system.

Release of prescription drug database records raises privacy concerns
By Tia Mitchell
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Criticism is mounting over Florida's fledgling prescription drug database since the medication history for 3,300 people was released as part of a prescription fraud investigation in Volusia County.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Jeb Bush highlights immigration battle of GOP establishment vs. newcomers
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Former Govs. Haley Barbour and Jeb Bush, the folksy pol from Mississippi and the policy wonk from Florida, sat next to each other Thursday pitching immigration reform as vital for the economic future of an aging country.

Immigration Becomes A Political Tight Rope For Scott And Rubio
By Lynn Hatter 
WFSU Tallahassee
The immigration reform debate is front and center in Florida as the U.S. Senate discusses an immigration overhaul.

New Florida law will help Holocaust survivors seeking lost money
By Rochelle Koff
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Rene Hammond was 18 when the Nazis hauled her family off to Auschwitz, where her parents perished.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Death Penatly Opponents Remember Latest Person to Die By Lethal Injection
By Matt Horn
Capitol News Service
Opponents of the death penalty met at the Florida Capitol to remember the latest person to die by lethal injection.

Zimmerman Jury Will Be Sequestered
By Lance Speere
New York Times
Jurors in the murder trial of George Zimmerman will be sequestered, Judge Debra S. Nelson ruled Thursday as jury selection continued for a fourth day.