Daily News Clips for June 18, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Rick Scott is back in the running for Worst Governor In America
All In With Chris Hayes
MSNBC
Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed two bills into law on Friday. One eliminated paid sick leave in the state and the other put a ticking clock on executions.

Is Florida in a long – and wrong – race to be cheapest for business?
By Robert Trigaux
Tampa Bay Times
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has embarked on a job poaching spree, sending letters aimed at luring companies from seven states with higher taxes.

Top Citizens official resigns after steady stream of scandals
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. chief financial officer Sharon Binnun resigned Monday, the company announced Monday in a press release.

Equality Florida blasts Rubio's 'bigoted' comments on gay issues
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Equality Florida issued a sharp rebuke of Sen. Marco Rubio for recent comments on gay issues.

Critic says nuclear law change depends on PSC not being 'captive' to utilities
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A leading critic of a state law that allows utilities to charge customers for nuclear plants that may never be built said Monday that a law change depends on more vigilant oversight by the Public Service Commission to be effective.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Fla. Gov. Scott's job approval up to 43 percent
By Brendan Farrington
Associated Press
Florida Gov. Rick Scott's approval rating is improving, a poll released Tuesday shows, though not to the point that it's likely to deter any potential challengers in 2014.

Rick Scott's latest veto is simply wild
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Florida's governor showed his true colors Friday when he vetoed what might have been the least controversial bill of the entire 2013 legislative session.

Rush to privatize is all about bucks
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
Our governor was deeply offended by a burst of unkind aspersions after an insurance company that didn’t exist 11 months ago finagled a $52 million deal out of the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Company.

State Supreme Court grants League's speed-up request
By James Call
Florida Current
The Florida Supreme Court Monday granted a request for an expedited review in a case seeking to shed light on how lawmakers redrew legislative districts for the 2012 election.

Gun bill, public speaking measure reach Gov. Scott
By Jim Turner
News Service of Florida
All of the bills approved by the state Legislature this year have now gone to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott.

POLITICAL RACES

Gov. Scott gains ground in new Florida poll, but still trails Crist
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott's poll numbers are showing signs of improvement, but he would still lose to former Gov. Charlie Crist by 10 points if the 2014 election were held today, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Rich gains from snub
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Nan Rich easily got more out of not speaking at the Florida Democrats’ annual fundraising dinner than she would have if she was given the five minutes she wanted to address party activists.

Poll: Absentee-ballot scandal makes Miami Congressman Joe Garcia vulnerable in potential matchup
By Patricia Mazzei and Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
A leading rival of U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia released a new poll Monday that shows the incumbent has a double-digit lead but a major vulnerability: the absentee-ballot fraud scandal haunting his campaign

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

End of BP cleaning crews leaves questions on Gulf
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Finding tar balls linked to the BP oil spill isn't difficult on some Gulf Coast beaches, but the company and the government say it isn't common enough to keep sending out the crews that patrolled the sand for three years in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.

LGBT

Equality Florida to Twitterbomb U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio 3 p.m. Tuesday with hashtag #outoftouch
By Steve Rotahus
Miami Herald
Equality Florida is planning to Twitterbomb U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio at 3 p.m. Tuesday after he said last week he's 'done' with immigration reform if gay and lesbian couples are included and that he's not for employment non-discrimination protections "based on orientation."

EDUCATION

Bennett weighs in on principals, charters and 'the magic of teaching'
By Lisa Gartner
Tampa Bay Times
Tony Bennett played with his hands and rocked in his seat and said he was just going to come out and say it: "In the toughest schools, you have to have a principal who almost has a Navy SEAL mentality."

Board of Education to discuss Common Core
By James Call
Florida Current
Education Commissioner Tony Bennett will provide an update on the implementation of Common Core Standards when the Florida Board of Education meets Tuesday in Tampa.

Florida teachers' lawsuit continues despite new evaluation law
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
"Common sense prevails in Florida." National Education Association president Dennis Van Roekel made that statement after Gov. Rick Scott on Friday signed into law a bill mandating that teacher evaluations be tied to the performance of the students they actually teach.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Amazon may bring 3,000 jobs, tough work conditions to Florida
By Susan Thurston
Tampa Bay Times
Amazon has a saying it teaches all its new employees: Work hard. Have fun. Make history.

Fight over Internet sales tax continues
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Although the details are still sketchy, Amazon’s decision to build facilities in Florida and begin paying the state sales tax on its Internet transactions is a significant development in the ongoing battle between Florida retailers and their online rivals.

US Rep. Kathy Castor blasts Republican colleagues for proposal to cut more than $20 billion from Food Stamp program
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Tampa
A House version of the federal Farm Bill would cut more than $20 billion from programs that provide food assistance to low-income families and some individuals.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Employers work to ease cost of health overhaul
By Bill Thompson
Ocala Star-Banner
The 49ers are not just the team that lost the most recent Super Bowl.

More patients in region signing up for Obamacare's accountable care groups
By Liz Freeman
Naples Daily News
Two Southwest Florida physician practices say new patient model is positive so far.

Florida hits lowest rate ever for infant mortality
Associated Press
Miami Herald
Florida's infant mortality rate is at an all-time low.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

With immigration, Marco Rubio risks D.C. insider label
By Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman
Politico
The biggest risk for Marco Rubio in the immigration debate was supposed to be the scarlet “A” of immigration politics: the toxic talk-radio buzzword “amnesty.

Police Chief in Florida Tries to Ease Old Tensions
By Cara Buckley
New York Times
Within days of becoming the police chief in this small city outside Orlando, Cecil E. Smith began to see clearly the scope of the challenges he faced.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Timely or Shameful Justice?
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Governor Rick Scott is executing inmates at a higher rate than any Governor of Florida since the death penalty was resumed in 1979.

Recklessly speeding to execute
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature are speeding up executions in an era when other states are slowing them down or repealing the death penalty.

Justices Block Law Requiring Voters to Prove Citizenship
By Adam Liptak
New York Times
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a 7-to-2 decision that Arizona may not require documentary proof of citizenship from people seeking to vote in federal elections there.