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.