Daily News Clips for June 27, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

New Report Shows ALEC’s Effects On Florida Education Policy
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Excerpt: The report by Progress Florida, ALEC v Kids, “documents the growing footprint that ALEC has in Florida, and across the country including its unprecedented access to elected officials and the drafting of ‘model’ education policy designed to benefit ALEC’s corporate funders which compliant lawmakers then push into law,” the group wrote in a press release this week.

The BluVu: Week of June 28^th
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
A deal’s a deal, right governor? The Heritage Insurance scandal heats up. The Lt. Gov fix is in, Charlie Crist is making Rick crazy "up in here!", and Progress Florida’s Damien Filer tells us who the real Middle Class Champs are as political reality comes your way!

FEATURED STORIES

Court ruling leaves Florida same-sex couples in limbo
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
Related: Supreme Court strikes down key part of Defense of Marriage Act, dismisses Prop 8
Related editorial: Bittersweet victory
Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision striking a portion of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act leaves many uncertainties for same-sex couples in Florida, where marriage is constitutionally defined as between one man and one woman.

U.S. high court rulings encourage Florida same-sex marriage advocates
By James Call
Florida Current
Two U.S. Supreme Court rulings Wednesday boosted the hopes of Florida advocates who want to repeal a 2008 state ban on same-sex marriage.

Group asks for health care special session
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Related: Nelson keeping pressure on Scott to call special session on Medicaid
House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston and a delegation of Broward County Democrats voted Tuesday night to pen another letter to Gov. Rick Scott demanding he call a special session to discuss expanding Medicaid coverage to 1.1 million residents, promising constituents they would not just let the issue quietly die.

Forced to Work Sick? That's Fine With Disney, Red Lobster, and Their Friends at ALEC
By Stephanie Mencimer
Mother Jones
Related: Will Your State's Waiters Give You the Flu?
Before jetting off last week for a trade mission at the Paris Air Show, Florida's Republican Gov. Rick Scott took a moment to sign into law a bill that banned local governments from requiring employers to offer paid sick leave.

Florida Voting Laws No Longer Require Federal Oversight
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
In a 5-4 ruling Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that requires some states and individual counties — including five in Florida — to have their respective voting laws approved by the federal government.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Supreme Court’s voting rights ruling throws fuel on a new fire
By Joy-Ann Reid
Miami Herald
Fifty years ago this month, Medgar Evers arrived at his home near Jackson, Miss., in the early morning hours of June 12.

Rubio to conservatives: I'm right on immigration -- and remain right on spending, Obamacare, same-sex marriage
Staff Report
Orlando Sentinel
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has been taking a hammering lately from tea party folks who supported his insurgent 2010 Senate campaign but are appalled at his support for an immigration reform bill that many consider -- wrongly, says Rubio -- an amnesty for 11 million people who are living here illegally.

Sen. Garcia warns Dolphins owner
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
The chairman of the legislative Hispanic caucus Wednesday warned Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross that he's hurting his team's future dealings with state lawmakers by "recklessly attacking" members who didn't support his $350 million plan for renovating the team's stadium.

Should Dolphins owner's new PAC have registered in Florida?
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Florida Jobs First, the political action committee that sent fliers last week attacking three Miami lawmakers, registered as an organization under the IRS.

5 questions for the Florida GOP’s Lenny Curry
News Service of Florida
Saint Petersblog
Lenny Curry was unanimously elected chairman of the Republican Party of Florida in 2011.  

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Obama climate plan pleases environmentalists, worries Central Florida utilities
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
President Barack Obama unveiled his plan Tuesday to clamp down on utilities and the heat-trapping pollution emitted by their power plants, which could lead to higher electric bills in Central Florida and other parts of the U.S. that depend on plants that burn coal.

Water managers weigh putting South Florida lands up for sale
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
The South Florida Water Management District, one of the state’s largest landowners with some 1.5 million acres ranging from wild banks of the restored Kissimmee River to bird-covered marshes at the southern end of Miami-Dade County, is pondering unloading some of its vast holdings.

Federal funding cut-off threat looms over Florida's beach water testing program
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Environmental groups are raising concerns about the continued threat to federal funding provided to states for beach water quality testing.

BP mounts offensive in spill settlement dispute
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
With an ad blitz and a tersely worded letter, BP is mounting an increasingly aggressive campaign to challenge what could be billions of dollars in settlement payouts to businesses following its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

LGBT

Scott says he'll uphold state law that bans same-sex marriage
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related column: Supreme Court ruling affirms American principles
Related editorial: Victory for marriage equality
Reacting to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision Wednesday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said he will uphold the voter-approved amendment to the state Constitution in 2008 that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman.

Rubio: 'The Supreme Court made a serious mistake today'
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Protest at Marco Rubio's Tampa office leads to 3 arrests
Sen. Marco Rubio statement after Supreme Court decisions on gay marriage:

Gay rights ruling a victory for equality
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Related editorial: Clock ticking on Florida’s discrimination against gays
Twelve states recognize the right of same-sex couples to marry, but since 1996 the federal government has ensured that those couples were treated as second-class citizens, ineligible for the same federal benefits and rights that other married couples received as a matter of course.

EDUCATION

District expects dip in school grades
By Joe Callahan
Ocala Star-Banner
There's a growing fear around the state there will be far more “F” schools this year because of higher achievement levels being implemented for the first time on many FCAT and end-of-course exams.

Lake charter will still get money despite $986,378 attendance dispute
By Erica Rodriguez
Orlando Sentinel
A Lake County charter school for troubled teens will still be getting money to keep its doors open in August despite a $986,378 dispute over faulty attendance keeping.

Florida community college system gets U.S. honors
By Jerome R. Stockfisch
Tampa Tribune
Jordan Lewis is zipping through an associate degree in liberal arts at Hillsborough Community College, where he'll finish at the end of the summer so he can transfer to Florida A&M to play baseball.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Citizens Property Insurance approves 7 percent average rate hike
Wire Reports
Tampa Bay Times
Florida's largest property insurer has approved another round of rate hikes that could affect more than a million policyholders.

Orlando-Miami train needs just 1 more deal before it can roll
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
A $1.5 billion passenger train that would link Orlando with Miami is just one deal from becoming reality.

Scott, Bondi hail new retail theft law
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday a new law increasing retail theft penalties will help protect Florida families from higher store prices.

Union study shows Florida ranks high in workplace safety, Jacksonville had 19 job deaths
By Drew Dixon 
Florida Times-Union
From the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, in April, to the factory collapse in Bangladesh in early June, workplace safety has come under increased scrutiny in recent months, with some pushing for increased regulation or more enforcement of existing laws.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

How The End Of DOMA Will Affect Obamacare, Federal Employees
By Joe Neel     
Health News Florida
The Supreme Court's ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional will not only make a big difference in health benefits for some federal employees, it could also affect people who will be newly eligible for Obamacare beginning next year.

Lawyer for doctor fires back at pill-mill operator, calling her a victim who denied prescriptions to out-of-staters
By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post
Working to counteract claims that the money stashed in garbage cans, the drug addicts shooting up in the parking lot and the regular visits from police should have tipped off Dr. Cynthia Cadet that she wasn’t working in a normal medical office, her attorney Wednesday went on the attack against pill-mill kingpin Chris George.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Senate amends immigration bill to bolster border security
Wire Reports
Tampa Bay Times
Senators on Wednesday approved a plan to double the number of officers along the U.S.-Mexico border, a key concession to Republicans who plan to join with Democrats in supporting a comprehensive immigration measure this week.

Immigration activists gather at Rubio's office
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Neatly illustrating the political tightrope Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is walking on immigration reform, pro- and anti-immigration reform advocates both held demonstrations outside his office Wednesday.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Lawyer group files suit to stop new law that would speed executions
By Michael Van Sickler
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Lawyers representing death row inmates filed suit with the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday in an attempt to invalidate parts of a law that Gov. Rick Scott signed two weeks ago that would speed executions.

Law school grad, seeking to practice, gets civil rights restored
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A law school graduate and single mother of three, Jessica Chiappone of Boca Raton wants to practice law in Florida.

George Zimmerman trial: Testimony of key witness continues today
By Rene Stutzman and Jeff Weiner
Orlando Sentinel
Jurors this morning will hear more testimony from a crucial state witness in the George Zimmerman murder trial: A young South Florida woman who was on the phone with 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in the moments before his shooting.

Daily News Clips for June 25, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Goodbye, Miami
By Jeff Goodell
Rolling Stone
Related: Rising Seas: A City-by-City Forecast
When the water receded after Hurricane Milo of 2030, there was a foot of sand covering the famous bow-tie floor in the lobby of the Fontaine­bleau hotel in Miami Beach.

Scott team harvests reelection funds from Big Sugar
By Jim Turner
News Service of Florida
While Gov. Rick Scott was in Paris last week, his re-election team pulled in nearly $700,000, with a large part of the harvest coming from U.S. Sugar Corp.

Grandma vs junior? Senior arcade owners file suit, fire first salvo in battle over state gambling law
By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post
If grandma and grandpa can’t gamble, neither should junior.

Florida's prisoners get little help once released
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Every single day all over Florida, the heavy steel doors of a prison swing open and an inmate walks free after completing a sentence.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Rubio’s favorable ratings slide with GOP voters nationally in Rasmussen poll
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
A new Rasmussen poll shows 58 percent of Republicans nationwide have a favorable view of Florida Republican Sen. and potential 2016 presidential candidate Marco Rubio — down from a 68 percent favorable rating in May and 73 percent in February.

Comparing Scott's poll numbers
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is no longer on the bottom.

Dolphins owner forms super PAC, blasts Miami lawmakers
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has begun exacting his political revenge against state lawmakers who stood in the way of his proposed renovation to Sun Life Stadium.

Pensacola Chamber, Facing Problems, Keeps Public at Distance
By Steve Miller
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
We love spending time in the so-called “Redneck Riviera,” with its white sand beaches, fresh seafood and reasonable hotel rates.

Sentencing delayed for Democratic candidate linked to feds’ probe of ex-GOP Rep. David Rivera
By Jay Weaver
Miami Herald
If the feds are going to pursue an election conspiracy case against former U.S. Rep. David Rivera, a courtroom drama that played out Monday could hasten their timetable.

Orange leaders adopt text-tracking system
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Months after "textgate" broke, many Orange County officials who lost or deleted text messages have switched over to county-issued phones with a tracking program that archives the records. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

DEP says it has saved $8.8 million through staff reductions and improved efficiency
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says it has reduced operating expenses in its regulatory program by $8.8 million this fiscal year and it's asking to keep some of it for employee bonuses.

Our water treasures are in danger
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
In a public forum in Jacksonville last week, environmental advocates sent another distress signal on the endangered health of two of Florida's most valuable natural assets: Silver Springs and the St. Johns River.

EDUCATION

High court insists on tough scrutiny when school uses affirmative action in admissions
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
U.S. Supreme Court watchers expecting a definitive thumbs up or thumbs down Monday on affirmative action in university admissions instead heard a narrow ruling that may not affect how such admissions work in the future.

FLDOE offers help to teachers whose data became exposed
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
The Florida Department of Education will have staff on hand Monday afternoon to assist any of the 47,000 participants in the state's teacher preparation programs whose personal computerized information may have been compromised in recent weeks.

Is FAMU's Marching Band Coming Back? 'We'll Make A Decision Shortly'
By Lynn Hatter 
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida A & M University’s Marching 100 band is still under an indefinite suspension due to the hazing death of a drum major in 2011.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Abandoned foreclosures mar Florida real estate
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Tens of thousands of Florida homes in foreclosure have been abandoned by
their owners, ranking the state first in the nation for the number of properties sitting empty while waiting for the bank to take possession.

Orlando: Tops in tourism, near bottom in income
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
Quick, name two things that Atlantic City, N.J., Detroit, Mich., and Youngstown, Ohio have in common. OK, time's up.

Administrative court judge notes lack of DOT bid policies in contract dispute worth millions
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
A dispute over a $5 million contract for electrical work on a Jacksonville highway has highlighted what an administrative court judge termed the Florida Department of Transportation’s “absence of regulations, policies, or even guidelines” governing when and under what circumstances to postpone deadlines for contract bids.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Medicaid expansion the subject of South Florida town halls
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Broward County legislators Tuesday will gather health care providers, business groups and a few Democrats still stinging from the Legislature’s rejection of a push to expand Medicaid to 1.1 million low-income Floridians under the Affordable Care Act.

Florida at bottom in providing dental care for poor children, Pew report finds
By Kate Santich
Orlando Sentinel
More than three-fourths of Florida's children covered by Medicaid do not get regular dental care — the worst rate of any state, according to a report released today by the Pew Children's Dental Campaign.

Scott extends safety net for foster children
By James Call
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott held a ceremonial bill signing Monday for the "Nancy C. Detert Common Sense and Compassion Independent Living Act."

Jackson Health System board seeks $830-million bond referendum for hospital upgrades
By Daniel Chang
Miami Herald
The board that runs Jackson Health System on Monday voted to ask Miami-Dade commissioners to call a special election in November asking voters to approve an $830 million bond to pay for renovations and equipment upgrades at the taxpayer-owned hospital system.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

ACLU wants prescription database release investigated
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida is urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate the release of 3,300 people’s private drug histories from Florida’s prescription database to lawyers in a narcotics sting last month.

Cost-benefit analysis makes case for immigration reform
By Andrew Marra
Palm Beach Post
For weeks, anti-immigration critics have complained about what they call the extraordinary cost of a Senate proposal to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws.

A Long, Slow Drift From Racial Justice
By Lee C. Bollinger
New York Times
The Supreme Court has again upheld the principles behind race-conscious affirmative action, no small feat for the cause of diversity in higher education.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Anti-death penalty groups outraged over law speeding up executions in Florida
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Tampa
Florida Governor Rick Scott is poised to execute more people in one term than any of his recent predecessors based on a new law that goes into effect July 1 that speeds up the death penalty process.

Federal court halts execution of Miami killer Marshall Lee Gore
By David Ovalle
Miami Herald
A federal appeals court on Monday temporarily halted the execution of Miami killer Marshall Lee Gore, about an hour before he was set to die by lethal injection.

Supreme Court chooses new clerk
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
A Tallahassee lawyer with experience defending Death Row prisoners and expertise in court technology will become clerk of the Florida Supreme Court next November.

Daily News Clips for June 24, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Liberal activists warm to Hillary Clinton for president
By Domenico Montanaro
NBC News
Excerpt: “We’re long past due to have a woman president,” Ray Seaman, online director for Progress Florida and a 2008 Obama supporter said, “and Hillary would be a great example.”

FEATURED STORIES

Florida waits on SCOTUS decision that may impact gay marriage
By Jackie Winchester
Ft. Myers News-Press
Southwest Florida’s same-sex marriage activists are awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could nullify the state’s gay marriage ban.

With election looming, governor faces potential impact with every bill he signs
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
As the heap of bills awaiting Gov. Rick Scott’s signature diminishes, each one he approves or vetoes puts his mark on the state as chief executive but also carries potential impact on his re-election campaign.

The clock is Gov. Scott's ally in search for lieutenant governor
By Steve Bousquet
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
As Gov. Rick Scott ponders who to pick as Florida's next lieutenant governor, one factor on his side is the clock.

The real Charlie Crist
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Every day the Florida Republican Party blasts out "This Day in CRISTory" emails, reminding people how its former standard-bearer, who is expected to run for governor as a Democrat, used to hail Jeb Bush's expansion of vouchers, once supported offshore drilling, bashed former Sen. Bob Graham as a tax-raiser, campaigned as a prolifer, and so forth.

As Congress Weighs Immigration Overhaul, Different Perspectives On What It Means For Florida
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Tallahassee
Recent polls show most Floridians in favor of an immigration overhaul bill pending in Congress.

Can Democrats Win Back the Deep South?
By Molly Ball
The Atlantic
A few weeks ago, municipal elections were held in Mississippi.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Jim Morin
Miami Herald
Related column: Rising seas? Geezer pols will be dead by then

FLORIDA POLITICS

Governor Rick Scott's Wildflower Tag Veto: Its Impact And Moving Forward
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
Governor Rick Scott’s recent veto of a bill that would have provided more funds for Florida’s native wildflowers and other plants has left several people stunned.

Legislature asks high court not to review an opinion shielding lawmakers from testifying in redistricting case
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Attorneys for the Legislature are asking the Florida Supreme Court to not review an appeals court opinion that lawmakers don’t have to give depositions as part of a redistricting lawsuit, according to briefs filed Friday afternoon.

Obama's elections panel not expected to back major reforms
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
A commission named by President Barack Obama to address the problem of long lines on Election Day had its first meeting last week — but few observers held out hope for major reform.

Nelson calls for Senate probe into contractor security clearances
By Howard Altman
Tampa Tribune
In the wake of security concerns about two contractors hired by Booz Allen Hamilton, including one in Tampa, Sen. Bill Nelson is calling for an Intelligence Committee investigation into who gets high level security clearance.

POLITICAL RACES

Rich says she's confident she can win governor's race
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Former state Sen. Nan Rich, the only prominent Democrat who has declared as a candidate for governor in 2014, told a Tampa audience Friday she thinks she can win the governor's race despite being a lesser-known, dark horse candidate.

Crist charms gathering of Democrats in Pasco
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Former Gov. Charlie Crist continued playing coy about his potential candidacy for governor despite a rock-star welcome at a Pasco County Democratic Party lunch Saturday.

Port commissioner aiming at primary run for Hastings’ House seat
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Since winning a bare-knuckle Democratic primary runoff against Lois Frankel in 1992, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings hasn’t faced serious opposition while getting elected to Congress 11 times.

For C.W. Bill Young, Jack Latvala it's like father, like son
By Anna M. Phillips
Tampa Bay Times
Ever since he turned 16, people have been asking Bill Young II the same question: When are you going to run for office?  

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

DEP's failure to serve and protect
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
It's a sad reflection on the state of environmental protection in Florida when a state agency's lawyer fears for his job merely for enforcing the law.

NWF: Climate Change Threatens Florida Birds
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
Tourists aren't the only ones flocking to Florida. So do birds, but according to a report from the National Wildlife Federation, migratory birds of all kinds are being threatened by a number of factors.

LGBT

Brito files to begin statewide petition drive, hoping to end Florida's gay-marriage ban in 2014
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
Miami political consultant Vanessa Brito, who successfully ran the 2011 campaign to recall longtime Miami-Dade Commissioner Natacha Seijas, on Friday filed paperwork to put gay marriage back on the Florida ballot in 2014.

On gay marriage, arc of history will show gay rights are merely human rights
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
This week will be a big one in the world of equal rights.

EDUCATION

Fighting to fix the FCAT
By Michael Vasquez
Miami Herald
Robert Krampf’s first e-mail to Florida’s Department of Education was cordial, even as he raised troubling allegations that poorly written FCAT Science exam questions could be grading students as wrong even when they chose right answers.

Charter school management companies flex political muscle on education issues
By Matt Dixon  
Florida Times-Union
Jim Horne stood at a lectern addressing the House Education Committee.

Teacher prep info exposed online in data transfer
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Florida's education commissioner has ordered a review of data security procedures after personal information for thousands of teachers-in-training was exposed on the Internet.

School districts balk at paying for students' college classes
By Danny Valentine and Lisa Gartner
Tampa Bay Times
Pinellas school superintendent Mike Grego stood before state educators this week with a simple message: You can't spend money you don't have.

Big dreams, big hurdles for new Florida Polytechnic University
By Tia Mitchell
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The new Florida Polytechnic University has grand plans, starting with the main classroom building scheduled to open next year.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Social service programs feeling sequestration cuts
By Sara Drumm
Tampa Tribune
Automatic federal spending cuts have been taking effect since March 1, and social service programs are among those being hit.

State loses jobs, but unemployment rate dips to 7.1 percent in May
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Florida’s unemployment rate ticked down 0.1 percent to 7.1 percent in May, despite losing 6,200 nonagricultural jobs, according to numbers released Friday by the Department of Economic Opportunity.

Arrival of Amazon in Florida could renew push for online sales tax
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott’s deal with online retail giant Amazon is breathing new life into an issue almost as old as the Internet.

FEMA seeks millions in repaid aid from Florida
By Jennifer Sorentrue
Palm Beach Post
Lake Worth collected $12 million in federal disaster aid after Hurricane Wilma tore through the city, destroying electric lines, downing trees and damaging government buildings.

Craft brewers clash with Big Beer lobby
By James L. Rosica
Tampa Tribune
A battle is brewing between Florida's craft beermakers, including Tampa's popular Cigar City, and the Big Beer lobby, representing the state's distributors.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Expanded Medicaid makes economic sense
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Related editorial: Health care act improves coverage, at lower cost
Leadership matters. In Arizona, Republican Gov. Jan Brewer set aside her opposition to health care reform, called the legislature into special session and forced it to approve Medicaid expansion.

Millions to be Sent to Florida Families
By Matt Horn
Capitol News Service
You may be one of 614-thousand Floridians receiving a check in the mail later this summer.

Fla. struggles with shortage of primary care docs
By Kelli Kennedy
Associated Press
Darlene O'Neil just saw a doctor at a mobile health clinic for the first time in months after dropping her health coverage six months ago because she could no longer afford it.

Medical marijuana battle coming to Florida
By Stephen Nohlgren
Tampa Bay Times
Sitting at the kitchen table in her wheelchair, arms useless at her sides, Cathy Jordan begins another day with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Rubio’s steadfast immigration reform foe: Sen. Jeff Sessions
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio stepped off the trolley that takes lawmakers from their offices to the Capitol, and as he brushed past Sen. Jeff Sessions, he suggested his colleague get lost in Hawaii for the week.

Bill on Gov. Rick Scott's desk divides gun rights activists
By Rochelle Koff
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The former president of the National Rifle Association and Florida's most powerful gun rights lobbyist is urging Gov. Rick Scott to sign a bill restricting gun purchases.

Caught on camera: Rally against the NSA
By Chip Weiner
Creative Loafing Tampa
Dozens of people gathered across the street from the Federal Building in downtown Tampa on Friday afternoon to rally against the allegations that the National Security Agency is using the Internet and other technology to spy on U.S. citizens.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Opening statements coming up in George Zimmerman trial
By Evan Benn and Audra D.S. Burch
Miami Herald
After weeks of jury selection and pretrial motions, the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman is set to begin in earnest Monday with opening statements from prosecutors and defense attorneys.