Daily News Clips for July 24, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Fed must save children from state apathy
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
The federal government took the only recourse available by finally asking the courts to end Florida’s shameful practice of warehousing disabled children in nursing homes

Cruel and unusual
Editorial
Miami Herald
If the federal government weren’t looking out for the welfare of Florida’s severely disabled children, who would?

Media blitz coming for online health exchange
By Kelli Kennedy
Tampa Tribune
In less than three months, uninsured Floridians will be able to purchase medical insurance online under a new federal health law. Making sure average citizens understand how it works will be a Herculean task accompanied by a massive marketing blitz promoting the biggest expansion of the social safety net since Medicare.

‘Stand your ground’ protesters to pressure governor with weekly mock legislative session
By George Bennett and John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Protesters in their second week sitting-in at Gov. Rick Scott’s office said Tuesday they plan to hold a mock special session to heighten attention on a range of issues affecting minority youth.

FLORIDA POLITICS

The Risen Crist
By Neal B. Freeman
National Review
The Honorable Charles Crist has just informed key supporters that he will run for governor next year as a Democrat

Rubio meeting with tea party today
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Sen. Marco Rubio later today will face some of his toughest critics: the tea party.

Rubio reconnects with tea party activists
Tampa Tribune
Sen. Marco Rubio is renewing his outreach to tea party supporters and his advocacy for GOP causes as he struggles to repair his image as a conservative standard-bearer.

State GOP should pull ad with teachers' comments
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
Most of us were taught to be polite when we're invited into someone's home. So it's no surprise that finalists in the annual Teacher of the Year competition said nice things about Gov. Rick Scott at a recent gathering in the governor's mansion in Tallahassee.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Environmental groups rip federal proposal on regulating water pollution from coal plants
By Bruce Ritchie
The Florida Current
A coalition of environmental groups says stronger federal regulations are needed to protect waterways and fish from discharges from coal-fired power plants including 14 with discharge permits in Florida.

GLBT

Equality Florida urges advocates to hold off on same-sex marriage legal challenges
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
A coalition of civil-rights groups led by Equality Florida, the ACLU, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and others is planning to eventually challenge the state's 2008 constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage.

Gay-rights coalition: Now is not the right time to put same-sex marriage on Florida ballot
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
Gay marriage will "be imposed" on Florida by the U.S. Supreme Court before state voters, judges or lawmakers would repeal a 2008 constitutional ban, predicts ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon.

EDUCATION

Florida may work on its own in creating 'common core' education tests
By Brandon Larrabee
Naples News
The decision by legislative leaders to call for Florida to withdraw from a group of states preparing new tests for student learning has set off a round of battles over the future of Florida’s involvement in the “common core” standards project.

Florida Republican Party Leaders Urge Support For New Education Standards
By John O'Connor
State Impact
Five former Republican Party of Florida leaders have sent out an email asking state GOP members to support new education standards adopted by Florida and 44 other states.

Teachers going to school to learn about Common Core
By Nancy Winckler-Zuniga
St. Augustine Record
Ilea Faircloth wanted a relaxed, energetic atmosphere, so for the moment she kicked off her shoes. It was summer after all.  But for 1,600 teachers gathered at Jacksonville’s Atlantic Coast High School, it was more like the first day of school.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Homelessness in Orlando continues to rise
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Last week, Florida officials celebrated news that the state's homeless population is shrinking.

Scott high on getting Colorado companies to move here
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott has reached out to another Democratic-led state with a pitch to business owners in Colorado that they move to Florida to bask in what he called the state’s “incredible economic turnaround.

UCF report says state economy to grow faster but won't take off
By Gray Rohrer
The Florida Current
A report released this week by Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness for the University of Central Florida, projects the state economy to grow more rapidly in the next three years, but a robust recovery will still elude the Sunshine State.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Better healthcare for less money, if you can find it
By Beth Pinsker
Orlando Sentinel
Consumers intrigued by the new model of accountable healthcare - which promises better-coordinated care that could save lots of money - are going to have to actively seek out participating providers.

Who Will Enroll FL Latinos?
Health News Florida
Finding uninsured people and helping them enroll in health plans through the new online marketplace -- set to open Oct. 1 -- will be hard. If they don't speak English, it will likely be harder still.

Deciphering The Health Law’s Subsidies For Premiums
By Julie Appleby
Kaiser Health News
Tax credits to help low- and moderate-income Americans buy health insurance will become available in January under the health law, when for the first time, most people will be required to have coverage or pay a fine.

Senior arcades come back to life in South Florida
By Nick Sortal
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
More than three months after a new state law forced senior arcades into retirement, the low-stakes, adults-only gaming venues are re-emerging across South Florida, with their owners and patrons playing by a new set of rules.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Protesters at Florida Capitol: ‘We stay until we win’
By Kathleen McGrory
Miami Herald
When the young activists known as the Dream Defenders marched into Gov. Rick Scott’s office last week, few observers expected the group to attract much attention.

400 miles from sit-in, Gov. Scott meets with mayors, commissioners in Palm Beach County
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Four hundred miles from sit-in protesters at his office in Tallahassee, Gov. Rick Scott met with some mayors and Palm Beach County commissioners here today and said he’s not planning to return to his office in the capitol this week.