FEATURED
STORIES
Tony Bennett resigns as Florida education commissioner
By Kathleen McGrory and Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Scott, Bush praise outgoing education chief
Related editorial: Florida education leadership in disarray
State Education Commissioner Tony Bennett resigned Thursday, fueling controversy over the school grading system and delivering a blow to Gov. Rick Scott and the leaders working to overhaul Florida's system of school accountability.
Rick Scott deals with another embarrassing resignation
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott’s effort to re-invent himself as the education governor took another hit on Thursday.
Five Florida counties listed among the worst 30 in the country for health care coverage
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing
There are just two months left before the exchanges that will allow millions of uninsured Americans to obtain health care coverage go live. To mark the countdown, a progressive think-tank released a new report today listing the worst counties in the country for health care services.
Battle over Obamacare coming to Florida, Tampa
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Advocacy groups allied with President Barack Obama who favor his Affordable Care Act -- the health care reform plan known as "Obamacare" -- are organizing a grass-roots offensive to boost support for the plan and attack Republican opponents.
Thank you, Tallahassee, for making us pay so much for nothing
By Robert Trigaux
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Duke Energy to cancel proposed Levy County nuclear plant
Related editorial: Nuclear plant deal late, limited
This is the day I wish this column had audio. That would force our pathetic legislators in Tallahassee to listen to the longest Bronx cheer in Florida history.
FLORIDA
POLITICS
DNC chair looks to leverage money into power
By Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman
Politico
Debbie Wasserman Schultz spent 18 months slogging through 885 events in 31 states to boost President Barack Obama’s chances for reelection.
Rubio: Defunding ObamaCare more vital than immigration reform
By Mario Trujillo
The Hill
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who led the Republican charge for comprehensive immigration reform in the Senate, said his new fight to defund ObamaCare takes priority.
POLITICAL
RACES
Rick Scott's fundraising committee at $9.3 million for 2013
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
After collecting $3.2 million in June, fundraising slowed a bit in July for the political committee backing Gov. Rick Scott's re-election bid.
Rep. Artiles might run for Congress in "full-contact" campaign involving Genting, Miami Dolphins
By Marc A. Caputo
Miami Herald
State Rep. Frank Artiles is examining a run for Florida’s most-scandalous Congressional seat in a bid that could spell a bloody GOP primary in the shadow of big-dollar outside interests from the Genting Group casino company to the Miami Dolphins.
BALLOT
INITIATIVES
Morgan to spend 'a lot of money' on medical marijuana campaign
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Orlando trial lawyer and uber-fundraiser John Morgan said Thursday he will likely spend "a lot of money" financing a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana use in Florida.
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Miccosukees urge Congress to stop Everglades pollution
By William E. Gibson
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“The Everglades is dying,” partly because of water pollution that runs from agricultural areas through Miccosukee lands, tribal leaders told members of Congress from Florida on Thursday.
EDUCATION
Florida could have tough time snagging a new education commissioner
By Cara Fitzpatrick and Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Florida Board of Education to appoint interim commissioner Friday
Related: Should Florida return to an elected education commissioner?
Here we go again.
Commissioner Tony Bennett resigns. School grades drop. Welcome to Florida's version of 'reform'
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Florida's education system is a hot mess.
State out of do-overs
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
The state Board of Education needs to find a new commissioner who is free of the ideological baggage that dogged Tony Bennett from the time of his arrival in Florida earlier this year.
Florida hired Tony Bennett because of the policies that forced him to quit
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Florida long has allowed political donations to influence education policy, the very allegation that forced Education Commissioner Tony Bennett to quit Thursday.
Brevard schools budget plan cuts teachers, taxes
By Mackenzie Ryan
Florida Today
The Brevard School Board approved a proposed tax rate and budget Thursday evening that is expected to reduce property taxes on most homes and cut more than 300 teaching positions.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Forecast: Orlando home prices to soften after sharp run-up
By Mary Shanklin and Paul Owers
Orlando Sentinel
Orlando is unlikely to see its recent home-price gains continue in the months ahead, according to a new national forecast.
Don't run from Internet sales tax
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
Nobody likes taxes, but sometimes Florida’s proudly revenue-phobic political mindset doesn’t make sense.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
On the offense for Obamacare in Fla
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Representataves of the Democratic groups Protect Your Care and Americans United for Change held a conference call today adding a little more detailed about their planned offensive in Florida and elsewhere to promote Obamacare and go after its critics.
State health reform plans include Medicaid managed care
By Daniel Chang
Miami Herald
Some of Florida’s most vulnerable residents — the frail elderly and poor or disabled adults — will be ushered into a new era of healthcare over the next five months that will change the way they receive their taxpayer funded long-term care from Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor and disabled.
Premiums Rising 5-6% for Most Floridians
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Florida's average increase in health-insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act for 2014 will be in the range of just 5 to 6 percent, Office of Insurance Regulation officials said Tuesday.
Univision healthcare deal could put Florida Blue at advantage with Hispanics
By Jenny Gold
Miami Herald
Some 10 million Hispanics stand to gain health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and the Spanish-language media network Univision is positioning itself as a direct path to this potentially lucrative market.
How the child safety net failed Ezra Raphael
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
When state child welfare administrators first spoke with Cierrah Raphael in early 2013, they reported she was a 21-year-old prostitute and drug user who had abandoned her baby son with a virtual stranger.
AARP: Confidence shaken in state’s elder oversight
Staff Report
Palm Beach Post
The advocacy group AARP questioned the state’s efforts to ensure seniors receive adequate care, as Florida’s long-term care ombudsman appears headed toward losing his job.
IMMIGRATION,
CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Some lawmakers call for session, civility as the rhetoric heats up
By Karl Etters
Tallahassee Democrat
With the possibility of a special session slight following the ongoing protests at the Florida Capitol, lawmakers are starting to use Florida statutes to try and make that happen.
Ana Lee Case: Trayvon Martin protester flanked by 2 officers at Gov. Rick Scott appearance in Delray
By Kelli Kennedy
WPTV Palm Beach
During a charity event Thursday, a member of Gov. Rick Scott's security team forcefully stood and blocked a silent protester who said she was there to demand justice for Trayvon Martin's death.
Trayvon Martin’s parents meet with federal authorities in Miami
By Jay Weaver
Miami Herald
The parents of Trayvon Martin and their lawyer met with Justice Department prosecutors and FBI agents at the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami Wednesday to discuss the status of a criminal civil-rights investigation into the fatal shooting of their teen-age son last year.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
Claims bill would compensate FAMU drum major's family in hazing death
By Stephen Hudak
Orlando Sentinel
Proposed legislation was filed Thursday in the Florida Senate that would compensate the parents of FAMU drum major Robert Champion for pain and suffering they endured in the hazing death of their son.
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