Daily News Clips for July 31, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

The BluVu:  Week of July 28, 2013
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
Two and a half weeks later, the Trayvon Martin verdict is still motivating a movement for change in the Stand Your Ground law.  Progress Florida’s Damien Filer has the facts on the Affordable Care Act:  Obamacare is working, but Republican lawmakers are dead set against it.

FEATURED STORIES

Indiana school grades scandal casts doubt on Florida education commissioner
By Kathleen McGrory and Jeffrey S. Solochek
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Accountability expert: Bennett should step down
Nationally celebrated education reformer Tony Bennett was wooed to Florida in January to bring stability to the state Education Department. Months later, his tenure as education commissioner could be in trouble.

7 kids' deaths on DCF's watch demand reform
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Debacle at DCF
Related: Do not shift all child investigations in Florida to law enforcement
Two-year-old Jayden Antonio Villegas-Morales couldn't stop vomiting, so his overwhelmed father shook him until he died.

Protesters hold mock session with Rev. Jesse Jackson, pursue Plan B
By Kathleen McGrory and Rochelle Koff
Times/Herald Tallahasse Bureau
Related: Dream Defenders earning political credibility
The student activists known as the Dream Defenders held a mock session of the Florida Legislature on Tuesday — a well-orchestrated spectacle that drew a half-dozen news cameras and the Rev. Jesse Jackson to the Old Capitol.

FLORIDA POLITICS

GOP Gov. Scott endorses Obama tax plan…partly
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
He didn’t bestow a Charlie Crist-style man hug, but Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday applauded at least part of an economic proposal by President Barack Obama that drew jeers from other Republicans.

Rubio's line in sand over Obamacare making some Republicans uneasy
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Sens. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee went on the Senate floor this afternoon to continue their campaign to defund Obamacare – a stance that has opened divisions among the GOP.

POLITICAL RACES

John McCain says Charlie Crist would be 'very competitive' candidate for governor
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Sen. John McCain says Charlie Crist would be a tough candidate if he decides to challenge Gov. Rick Scott, as expected.

EDUCATION

School grading system gets an F
Editorial
Ocala Star-Banner
Maybe the best thing that can be said about the school grades released last week by the Florida Department of Education is, they could have been worse.

Bush's foundation backs Bennett
By Lisa Gartner
Tampa Bay Times
Embattled Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett received support Tuesday from Foundation for Florida's Future, the education organization helmed by former Gov. Jeb Bush.

Collier among counties to pay for school aid
By Kristine Gill
Naples News
Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature’s plan for more money in Florida’s classrooms means more money out of the hands of Collier County taxpayers.

Palm Beach County teacher raises likely to fall short of $2,500 average, district says, as new contract talks open
By Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post
While Palm Beach County teachers enter this school year knowing they will get a raise, just how much more money the district can put in their checks remains unclear.

Florida's back-to-school sales tax holiday goes 'techie'
By Linda Trimble
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Rick and Stephanie Grinstead plan to stock up on the usual school supplies for their five children during Florida's sales tax holiday this weekend, but the DeLand couple are adding something new to their shopping list this time around.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Obama and Rick Scott unite in Amazon adoration
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
On his national jobs tour, Pres. Barack Obama stopped Tuesday at an Amazon fulfillment center (née warehouse order center) in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Florida remains No. 1 in seizures
By John Hielscher
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida remains tops in the nation for the highest percentage of distressed homes and the number of completed foreclosures, a new report has found.

Internet-cafe law trips up Orange concert giveaways
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Orange County has given away Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and other hot tickets to the Amway Center, but officials now fear the online drawings might violate a new Florida law aimed at shutting down Internet cafes.

Consumer confidence falls after 4-month climb
Staff Report
The Florida Current
After four months of ratcheting upwards, Florida's consumer confidence dropped three points to 78 in July. Four of the five components in the report fell.

DOT won't change bid procedures despite judicial criticism
By Gray Rohrer
The Florida Current
The Department of Transportation won’t be altering its policies regarding bid procedures even though an administrative law judge criticized its lack of specific rules for delaying bid deadlines.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Florida advocate for elderly placed on leave
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
Florida’s top advocate for the elderly and nursing home residents was placed on “indefinite” leave last week amid an internal investigation into unspecified alleged wrongdoing, plunging the state’s Long-term Care Ombudsman Program once again into controversy.

Rubio's Obamacare defunding plan not going well
WTSP.com
Senator Marco Rubio's plan to shut down the government if Congress doesn't defund the Affordable Care Act is going up in smoke in the nation's capital.

Community Health Agrees to Buy H.M.A. for $3.6 Billion
By Michael J. De La Merced
New York Times
Related: Deal reached for sale of Bayfront Health System parent HMA to Tennessee company
Related: Merger of Hospital Companies Involves 3 Polk Hospitals
Related: $7.6 billion HMA deal includes Venice, Charlotte hospitals
Community Health Systems agreed on Tuesday to buy Health Management Associates for about $3.6 billion in cash and stock, in a long-expected union of two for-profit hospital systems.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Despite DCF contact, two more kids die
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
Summer Stiles had no idea her toddler son had been missing for much of an hour.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Speaker Weatherford open to 'stand your ground' change
By William March
Tampa Tribune
State House Speaker Will Weatherford said Tuesday he's willing to consider legislation changing the state's "stand your ground" law but first would have to see a consistent, unified message from law enforcement officials on what changes are needed.