Daily News Clips for July 25, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Bob Graham Supports A New Environmental Conservation Amendment
By Alexa Davies
WUFT-FM
Bob Graham wants to make sure there’s an amendment placed on the November 2014 ballot that ensures Florida spends money on land and water conservation, management and restoration.  He and Progress Florida are working with Florida’s Water and Land Legacy Campaign on the amendment to the state constitution.
...
“Critically important in Florida is that our whole economy here is based on tourism,” said Damien Filer, political director for Progress Florida. “So if we don’t have clean beaches for people to come to and have parks and natural spaces, then we don’t have an economy here in our state, either.”

FEATURED STORIES

Feds to Florida: Not too late for Medicaid expansion
By Daniel Chang and Kathleen McGrory
Miami Herald
Federal officials on Wednesday renewed calls for Florida lawmakers to accept an estimated $50 billion over the next 10 years to expand Medicaid, the joint state and federal health insurance program for the poor, to cover an additional one million Floridians who would otherwise remain uninsured even after Jan. 1 when healthcare reform begins in earnest.

Standoff at Fla. Capitol shows no sign of ending
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The protest gripping the Florida Capitol is showing no signs of ending.

Lawmakers need to fix 'stand your ground' law
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
The focus of those outraged by the George Zimmerman trial has now shifted squarely onto "stand your ground" laws in Florida and the two dozen other states with similar statutes.

Can Sen. Marco Rubio recover with tea party? 'Absolutely,' leader says
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Sen. Marco Rubio did not avoid the obvious in a meeting with the tea party Tuesday, addressing his high-profile work on immigration reform.  For 30 seconds.

Marco Rubio wants to be lead sponsor on anti-abortion bill
By Burgess Everett
Politico
Sen. Marco Rubio said unequivocally Wednesday that he hopes to be the lead sponsor of a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida delegation divided on failed effort to limit NSA data collection
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
The U.S. House on Wednesday narrowly defeated a measure to curtail data collection by the National Security Agency, and Florida's delegation showed the odd alliances.

Residency of all legislators under review
By Rochelle Koff
Tampa Bay Times
Legislative leadership wants to know where House and Senate members are when they say they're at home.

POLITICAL RACES

Gov. Scott heads to Aspen for RGA summer meet
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott will be in Aspen, Colorado on Wednesday and Thursday attending the summer meeting of the Republican Governors Association.

President’s speech in Jacksonville underscores battle over economy
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
The tweet from Florida Republican Party Chairman Lenny Curry summed up the GOP challenge as President Obama travels to the port of Jacksonville on Thursday to tout the economy and underscore the plight of the middle class.

EDUCATION

Broward School Board renews deal with K12
By Michael Vasquez
Miami Herald
With little discussion, the Broward School Board on Tuesday unanimously approved a one-year contract renewal with K12, a for-profit virtual learning company that has been dogged by complaints from other districts.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Housing Market Rebounding; Buyers Still Struggling
By Matt Horn
Capitol News Service
Florida’s economy continues to improve after the ‘Great Recession; and the housing market is on the way up, too.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND SOCIAL ISSUES

More fallout from voting rights act ruling: court dismisses challenge to FL's voter purge
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
A federal court in Tampa dismissed the claim by civil rights activists Wednesday challenging the controversial 2012 voter purge enacted by Gov. Rick Scott and the state's Division of Elections to rid the rolls of what they believed were scores of fraudulent voter registrations.

Protesters demand pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
By Kathleen McGrory
Miami Herald
The Dream Defenders weren't the only activists at the Florida Capitol on Wednesday.

Advocates line road to back immigration bill
By Jessie Van Berkel
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Ailyn Cervantes stood along U.S. 41, waving at traffic and chanting. The 15-year-old from Bradenton wanted to send Congress a message: Pass comprehensive immigration reform. Now.

Joe Garcia blasts Steve King's drug smuggler-DREAMer comments, then campaigns on it
By Marc A. Caputo
Miami Herald
Miami Rep. Joe Garcia gave an impassioned speech yesterday in the U.S. House Judiciary's Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security where he tore into Iowa Rep. Steve King for saying illegal immigrant kids are more likely to be drug runners than valedictorians.

Judge wants DCF to transfer child-protective investigations
By Margie Menzel
Tallahassee Democrat
In the wake of a fifth child death in little more than two months, a circuit judge Tuesday called for the Florida Department of Children and Families to stop doing child-welfare investigations and transfer that responsibility elsewhere.

Interim DCF Chief Calls On Staff To Refocus; Child Advocates Say It's A Start
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU
The new interim head of Florida’s child welfare agency is calling on her staff to refocus in the wake of the recent spate of child deaths associated with the agency. But, some child welfare advocates say there’s more work to do.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Sharpton vows to make Florida central in fight against racial profiling, voter suppression and ‘stand your ground’
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton told a packed Baptist cathedral here Wednesday night that he plans to make Florida “ground zero” in the fight to repeal “stand your ground” laws around the nation between now and the 2014 elections.

Residents, senators sound off at FAMU forum on stand your ground law
WFTV
Some think George Zimmerman's acquittal of killing unarmed teen Trayvon Martin left Floridians with a bad impression of the state's justice system and laws.