Daily News Clips for July 12, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

The BluVu: Week of July 12^th
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
The suspension of the FAMU Marching 100 has been lifted, the Governor's problems keep bubbling over, the Speaker of the House says a special session on Medicaid is off the table and Damien of Progress Florida has the inside story on the dangers to our environment as political reality comes your way!

FEATURED STORIES

Rubio Prepared To Shut Down Gov’t And Default On Debt Over Obamacare
Staff Report
CBS Miami
Senator Marco Rubio is prepared to shut down the United States government if the Affordable Care Act isn’t completely defunded by any short-term budget agreement.

Florida Supreme Court: Lawsuit opposing Senate redistricting plan can proceed
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Florida's Supreme Court handed a legal setback to the Legislature Thursday by giving a green light to a trial that challenges the redrawing of Senate districts.

State GOP touts Pam Bondi's Fox and Friends interview, cuts out her criticism of Medicaid expansion
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
In an email blast Monday, the Republican Party of Florida sent out an interview Attorney General Pam Bondi did with Fox and Friends (watch below).

Old lawsuit with ties to Jeb Bush resurfaces
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Just as Jeb Bush increasingly generates speculation about running for president, a controversial business venture that has dogged him for years is popping back up in federal court.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Scott's Biggest Individual Donor Fined for Misleading Vets; Scott Silent
By FFA
Florida For All
Recent weeks brought the news that Rick Scott mega-donor Bill Edwards' mortgage company has been hit with a massive FTC fine for the way it has been marketing to Vets.

Scott and Legislators look the other way as Florida decays
By David Guest
SWFWMD Matters
Around the state, communities that have natural freshwater springs flowing in their back yards like Brooksville (Weeki Wachee Springs), Crystal River (Crystal Springs), Dunnellon (Rainbow Springs), Ocala (Silver Springs), Orlando (Wekiva Springs), are becoming alarmed at the continuing deterioration of these extraordinary natural features.

The latest news on 2014 candidates’ second-quarter fundraising hauls
By Peter Schorsch
Saint Petersblog
Here is a running compilation of the latest news about 2014 candidates’ second-quarter fundraising hauls.

Snyder’s Take: Recovery Is A Tale of Two Cities
By Justin Snyder
The Florida Squeeze
I hate to be the bearer of bad news to delusional Democrats and the puppet punditocracy they follow religiously but the United States is NOT in a better position than before the recession.

Florida, through the eyes of the White House
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
President Obama's public persona is calm, composed, even taciturn in the face of extraordinarily determined and wealthy adversaries.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Scott defends Internet cafe law
News Service of Florida
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott said a new law aimed at shutting down Internet cafes was simply targeted at illegal gambling, as he responded Thursday to questions about a lawsuit that claims the legislation was too broadly written.

Court rules against developer
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature went too far when they created a law on behalf of a developer in an effort to stop a lawsuit filed by a homeowners association, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

One-third of Florida senators in millionaire’s club
By Jim Turner
News Service of Florida
Florida senators pull in about $30,000 a year from the state but most don’t appear to be living paycheck to paycheck.

Hillsborough elections chief demands study retraction
By Bill Varian
Tampa Bay Times
Hillsborough County's elections chief is demanding a correction to a study of the 2012 presidential election that found none of his polling places closed on time.

Troubles persisted for years at Port of Tampa chairman's properties
By Jamal Thalji and Will Hobson
Tampa Bay Times
Related editorial: Slumlord port official should go
The dead body decomposed for two weeks inside an 84-square-foot apartment.  

BALLOT INITIATIVES

PAC supporting land-buying amendment has raised nearly $870,000
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A political action committee that is proposing a state constitutional amendment to dedicate funding for land conservation has raised nearly $870,000 since it was created a year ago, with more than 40 percent coming from The Trust for Public Land and two of its affiliates.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Dwight Dudley blasts Duke Energy's new CEO for alleged comments on cost recovery
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing Tampa
The new woman in charge of Duke Energy Corporation thinks Floridians aren't charged enough to pay for nuclear power plants that, based on recent events, may never be built.

LGBT

FL transgender student at odds over restroom use
By Peter Bernard
WFLA Tampa
Alex Wilson is a certified nursing assistant, hoping to become a licensed practical nurse, by attending classes at Pinellas Technical Education Center in Clearwater.

Palm Beach Town Council moves forward on domestic partnership benefits
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
At a special meeting this morning on budget issues, the Palm Beach Town Council set August 13 as the date to make a final decision on whether to offer domestic partnership benefits to employees with same-sex spouses or partners.

EDUCATION

School grade proposal could come from commissioner next week
By Cara Fitzpatrick
Tampa Bay Times
Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett might wait until next week's State Board of Education meeting to release his proposal about school grades, a department spokeswoman said Thursday.

Orange County educator named Florida's Teacher of the Year
By Lauren Roth
Orlando Sentinel
Dorina Sackman, an Orange County educator who teaches students who struggle with English, was named Florida’s Teacher of the Year at a ceremony tonight at Hard Rock Live at Universal CityWalk.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Sen. Marco Rubio’s red lines: defund Obamacare to pass temporary budget, no debt-limit hike without balanced budget
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told a conservative group Thursday morning that he won’t vote for a temporary federal budget unless it temporarily defunds Obamacare.

Federal government reports rare $116.5 billion surplus in June
By Martin Crutsinger
Associated Press
The federal government on Thursday reported a rare surplus of $116.5 billion in June, the largest for a single month in five years.

Florida retains top foreclosure status in first half of 2013
Staff Report
Florida Current
Florida once again led the nation in its foreclosure rate for the first six months the year, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac, a California-based company that tracks foreclosed properties.

Florida tourism leader: More visitors wanted
By Wayne T. Price
Florida Today
Will Seccombe, president and chief executive officer of Visit Florida, told Brevard County leaders Thursday he is on a mission to boost the number of tourists to Florida to 100 million in the not so distant future.

Rep. Brown fights closing of 2 HUD offices — 1 in Orlando
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
Rarely does U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown feud with the White House — the veteran Florida lawmaker is a loyal Democrat, after all.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

DOH Forgot to Invite Public
Staff Report
Health News Florida
Claude Shipley, who helped create the state's prescription drug database, always shows up when its future is being discussed.

Judge lashes DCF after infant suffers life-threatening abuse
By Carol Marbin Miller And Katia Savchuk
Miami Herald
The first time a Miami infant went to the hospital, he had suffered a broken leg his mother said was the result of a fall from a chair. Child protection workers did not act.

Publix, Disney aim to cut lawsuit awards for accident victims
By Jason Garcia
Orlando Sentinel
Two of Florida's largest businesses — Publix Super Markets and Walt Disney World — are spearheading an effort to cut the size of civil-lawsuit awards, which could lead to enormous savings for the frequently sued companies through smaller jury verdicts and pretrial settlements.

Study: Law curbing doctor-dispensed painkillers worked, but debate focuses on cost, not care
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
A study released Thursday by a workers’ compensation research group indicates a 2011 law prohibiting doctors from dispensing highly potent painkillers has been successful, but that policy discussions over physician-dispensed drugs focus too much on costs and not enough on patient health.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Who's really bipartisan? Immigration will show
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Immigration reform sailed through the U.S. Senate last month with 68 votes, but it faces choppier waters in the House.

Airtight borders a GOP fantasy
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
The battle over immigration reform, and the fates of 11 million people living illegally in the country today, has stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Jury could begin deliberations in Zimmerman trial
By Kyle Hightower
Associated Press
When jurors begin deliberating in the racially charged murder trial of George Zimmerman, they will also be able to consider a lesser charge of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman Verdict: Why Is the Right Worried About Race Riots?
By Lauren Williams
Mother Jones
As George Zimmerman's much-watched trial winds down, speculation has whipped up in the conservative media and elsewhere about how people—that is, black people—will react if the killer of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is acquitted.