Daily Clips for May 11, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Scores hit Fort Myers street, rip state policies, call for less strife
By Evangelina Ganosellis
Ft. Myers News-Press
Excerpt: The “Awake the State” rally, which began as a Facebook page, was organized by Progress Florida, Florida Watch Action and America Votes.

AWAKE THE STATE IN THE NEWS

Republican agenda victories stir Democratic protests across Florida
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Excerpt: The Palm Beach County rally, organized by unions and Democratic activists, was one of more than 20 "Awake the State" events scheduled around Florida.

Protesters blast Scott, legislators over cuts
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
Excerpt: "Never has Florida's middle class been more under siege than we were during the 2011 legislative session," said Barbara DeVane, a veteran labor organizer and retired teacher. She wore a loop of crime-scene tape around her neck and waved a big sign that said "CSI: Tallahassee" at passing drivers.

Florida Teachers Get Grassroots Support
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
Excerpt: Awake The State claims the recent legislative session went after a lot of programs that support the middle class, from public worker pensions to medical care for the disabled and elderly.

Protestors give Brandes failing grades at anti-Scott rally
By David DeCamp
St. Petersburg Times
Excerpt: More than 100 people lined a St. Petersburg block to protest at state Rep. Jeff Brandes' office Tuesday afternoon, part of the latest round of the "Awake The State" rallies in Florida.They attacked Gov. Rick Scott as much or more than Brandes, who is serving his first term in the Florida House.

Group protesting governor's budget in 10 cities
Staff Report
NBC 2 News Ft. Myer
Excerpt: Critics of the governor's nearly $70-billion budget are making their voices heard across Southwest Florida by holding simultaneous Awake the State rallies.

FEATURED STORIES

FSU defends grant-for-hire agreement with billionaire Koch
Associated Press
Gainesville Sun
Florida State University President Eric Barron said Tuesday that the school did not compromise its academic integrity when officials there agreed to create an economics program with professorships paid for and chosen in part by a billionaire libertarian.

Koch gift too costly for Florida State
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Florida State University's economics department needs to reconsider its relationship with billionaire Charles G. Koch, who pledged $1.5 million to the school as long as professors hired with the money hew to Koch's Libertarian philosophy.

Labor groups say session policies will lead to more layoffs
By James Call
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
State leaders said their top priority for the just concluded Legislative Session was to create more jobs.

For promises of saving us money, Florida Legislature's work is going to cost us
By Dan DeWitt
St. Petersburg Times
Maybe the $62 million for road improvements from the developers of the Quarry Preserve won't really cover the transportation costs of a new town 6 miles from Brooksville.

Voting Legislation: Veto Anti-Voter Bill
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has asked Gov. Rick Scott to veto the Legislature's 150-page voter-suppression bill, CS/CS/HB1355.

FLORIDA POLITICS

The real frauds are backers of bad election bill
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
I've never been a big fan of early voting.

Fla. lawmakers say business interests played major role in killing immigration control
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Immigration was one of the hot-button issues of the Florida campaign trail last year, contributing in large part to former Attorney General Bill McCollum's loss to Rick Scott in the GOP primary for governor.

No clear winners or losers in Florida on tort reform
By Lilly Rockwell
News Service of Florida
There were no clear winners or losers on lawsuit reform in this year's legislative session.

A Concise Guide to What Passed in the 2011 Florida Legislative Session
By Dennis Maley
Bradenton Times
This year's state legislative session was a frantic whirlwind of controversial legislation that reached a broad spectrum of policy area.

Democratic process suffers if groups end voter registration drives
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
As expected, Florida's GOP-controlled Legislature rammed through a not-so furtive ploy last week to tighten the party's hold on power.

POLITICAL RACES

Potential presidential candidate Jon Huntsman makes a stop in St. Petersburg
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Maybe what it takes to shake up the humdrum Republican presidential contest is a super-rich foreign policy ace who rides a Harley, cuts taxes and supported legislation to allow civil unions for gay couples.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

If passed, ‘Religious Freedom’ amendment would help state outsource services to faith groups
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Last week the Florida Senate passed the “Religious Freedom Act” — a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would repeal language that bans using public money to fund religious organizations.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Environmental groups seek long shot veto of growth management bill
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Tribune
Related: Appeals court overturns another lower court decision on growth management
Environmental groups are asking Gov. Rick Scott to veto a growth management overhaul bill while Audubon of Florida also is asking him to kill three additional bills that environmentalists opposed.

28 Florida species among 251 feds would consider for endangered species list under deal
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
A partial truce between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and two environmental groups requires the agency to decide within six years whether 251 imperiled species, including 28 plants and animals in Florida, belong on the endangered species list.

Florida business leader trashes EPA and invokes God and communists over water standards battle
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Tribune
Associated Industries of Florida CEO and President Barney Bishop said Tuesday that federal environmental chief Lisa Jackson "talks to God" and that the Earthjustice environmental law firm is a "liberal, left-leaning, communist-inspired environmental organization."

Governor names four to South Florida Water Management board, two from Palm Beach County
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott filled four seats on the board of the South Florida Water Management District on Tuesday, all Republicans, and two of them from Palm Beach County.

LGBT

DOMA: The Sinking Ship
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activists have resigned themselves to not seeing any substantial legislative progress toward equality while Republicans control the House of Representatives.

EDUCATION

Hillsborough sees rush of early teacher retirements
By Tom Marshall
St. Petersburg Times
Hillsborough County school district officials are bracing for a wave of teachers retiring early this spring following changes to Florida's pension system, a tougher evaluation system and political attacks on their profession.

Florida school districts get reprieve on co-enrollment funding
By Jeff Solochek
St. Petersburg Times
During the Florida legislative session, Pasco County school officials had a top priority of protecting the nearly $1.5 million the district gets to cover the costs of high school students making up credits in adult education courses.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Jobs and the New State Spending Plan
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
A spending plan full of spending cuts and tax breaks is awaiting the governor’s approval.

New Florida law would make airport business less transparent
By Steve Huettel
St. Petersburg Times
Dealing with public matters in private has led to several recent controversies at Tampa International Airport.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Bill to rein in pill mills has loopholes
By Bob LaMendola
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The pill mill bill passed by the Florida Legislature with great fanfare carries three sizable loopholes that may blunt the state's crackdown on rogue pain clinics.

Report: Up to 44M more uninsured under GOP budget
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
The House Republican budget would leave up to 44 million more low-income people uninsured as the federal government cuts states' Medicaid funding by about one-third over the next 10 years, nonpartisan groups said in a report issued Tuesday.

Miami lawmaker protests state Rep. Scott Randolph
By Mark Schlueb
Orlando Sentinel
Miami state Rep. Daphne Campbell joined anti-abortion demonstrators to again call for an apology from fellow Democratic Rep. Scott Randolph outside his Orlando office on Tuesday.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Failed Florida immigration bills spark national response
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Several state and national organizations have released statements about the immigration-enforcement bills that failed in the Florida legislature this session.

Dream Act supporters to try again -- Bill Nelson, Ros-Lehtinen vow support
By Lesley Clark
Miami Herald
In the wake of President Obama's push for immigration reform, Senate Democrats plan Wednesday to reintroduce legislation aimed at keeping some children of illegal immigrants in the country -- either to study or serve in the military.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

"Playing games?" Commissioners forced to leave after inaction by Scott and lawmakers
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Tribune
Two of the three members of the Florida Parole Commission will have to leave office by June 20 unless the governor and Cabinet recommend keeping them between now and then.

Daily Clips for May 10, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Billionaire's role in hiring decisions at Florida State University raises questions
By Kris Hundley
St. Petersburg Times
A conservative billionaire who opposes government meddling in business has bought a rare commodity: the right to interfere in faculty hiring at a publicly funded university.

Florida legislators load November 2012 ballot with long-sought amendment proposals
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The just-finished legislative session will be remembered for more than the $3.8 billion deficit or the political meltdown that marred its finish.

Amid ‘war on voters,’ League of Women Voters announces it will cease registration efforts
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
The League of Women Voters of Florida, which previously decried an elections bill passed this session as an attempt at voter suppression, announced today that it will halt its efforts to sign up new voters if the bill becomes law.

5 biggest questions of the session answered
By Gary Fineout
Florida Tribune
Florida lawmakers in the early morning hours on Saturday finally wrapped up a contentious yet enormously productive session.

Florida's high-speed rail money goes to 15 states
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Other states get Florida rail money
More than $2 billion in high-speed rail money that was rejected by Florida Gov. Rick Scott was redistributed Monday to 15 other states.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Gov. Scott says Florida has been turned around; Dems agree, for opposite reasons
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Rookie Gov. Rick Scott didn't get everything he wanted during the first legislative session of his administration, but he says Florida is headed in the right direction.

Capitol chaos exposes consequences of lawmaking behind closed doors
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
Any hopes for a picture-perfect ending to the 2011 legislative session were dashed some time around 11 p.m. on Friday, when Gov. Rick Scott’s communications directors told reporters the governor was headed home for the night.

Where is the Focus on Jobs We Were Promised?
By Dennis Maley
Bradenton Times
Governor Scott and the majority of 2010 candidates vowed to make 2011 about jobs for struggling Floridians and getting our state's economy back on track.

This Legislature's 'smashing success' story: House Speaker Dean Cannon
By Mike Thomas
Orlando Sentinel
I am amused by Rick Scott's claims of victory in this legislative session.

The Legislature: a straw man here, a straw man there
By Howard Troxler
St. Petersburg Times
There was a revealing episode early in this year's session of the Legislature.

Veteran lawmakers fight back against abuse of power
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
The Friday night meltdown of the Florida Legislature laid bare the immaturity of legislative leaders and their lack of respect for openness, fairness and their own colleagues.

The democratic process suffers if groups end voter registration drives
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
As expected, Florida's GOP-controlled Legislature rammed through a not-so furtive ploy last week to tighten the party's hold on power.

Anti-voter bill
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The Legislature made needlessly damaging changes to Florida's election law last week.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Greens push Obama to save Everglades
By Bob King
Politico
Florida environmentalists are launching a national ad campaign urging President Barack Obama to rescue the lagging multibillion-dollar Everglades restoration effort, with some activists arguing it could give him an edge in the swing state in 2012.

Lawmakers flush septic tank inspection repeal
By Regan McCarthy
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
A bill expected to repeal a rule requiring septic tank inspections failed in the Florida legislature.

Fort Lauderdale demonstration to oppose offshore oil drilling
By David Fleshler
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Opponents of offshore drilling will hold their second annual Hands Across the Sand event June 25 in Fort Lauderdale, as part of a national day of demonstrations against the expansion of oil exploration off U.S. shores.

LGBT

Newly bipartisan Civil Rights Commission to hold bullying briefing, with focus on LGBT testimony
By Sofia Resnick
Florida Independent
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is scheduled to hold a briefing Friday on bullying and “peer-to-peer” violence in K-12 public schools.

EDUCATION

Trying to get through to Generation Huh?
By Daniel Ruth
St. Petersburg Times
For a minute there I had a flashback to my time teaching college students in a beginning reporting class.

School uniforms gaining popularity in Florida
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
Put away the flouncy skirts, the baggy jeans and the Hello Kitty or Harry Potter t-shirts.

Gov. Scott names three to UF board of trustees
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
The University of Florida board of trustees is welcoming three new members with seven degrees from the university among them.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida still No. 1 in mortgage fraud, lenders say
By Jeff Ostrowski
Palm Beach Post
For the fifth year in a row, Florida owns the dubious distinction of mortgage fraud capital of the nation.

Online travel providers lose chance to settle tax dispute in Florida Legislature
By Steve Huettel
St. Petersburg Times
Online travel providers lost their bid to settle a hotel tax dispute with Florida counties in the state Legislature.

NASA: Next-to-last shuttle launch set for May 16
By Marcia Dunn
Daytona Beach News-Journal
NASA will try again next Monday to launch Endeavour on the next-to-last space shuttle flight, after replacing a switch box and plugging in new electrical wiring.

The Rejected Windfall
Editorial
New York Times
After Gov. Rick Scott of Florida thoughtlessly rejected $2.4 billion in federal aid for a high-speed rail line, he claimed last month that he was doing a huge favor for the national Treasury, which he expected would give away the money in tax cuts.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Moderate Republicans joined Democrats in fighting abortion-restricting legislation
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Related: Planned Parenthood hosting rallies against most ‘anti-women legislative session in Florida history’
On the last day of Florida’s legislative session, Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Daytona Beach, received the ACLU of Florida’s “Defender of Freedom” award for the week.

Florida bills burden women's health
By Christopher Estes
St. Petersburg Times
In medical school, we learn that the patient comes first.

Hearings on health-care overhaul begins march toward U.S. Supreme Court
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
Round 1 of appellate-level hearings on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act begins today in Richmond, Va., the next step on the health overhaul's highly anticipated walk to the U.S. Supreme Court.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Gov. Scott signs Florida probation violator bill
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott has signed a bill honoring a Fort Myers police officer slain by a domestic violence suspect wanted for a probation violation.

Daily Clips for May 9, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

GOP-led legislature passed wide range of bills this session
By Jerome R. Stockfisch and Lindsay Peterson
Tampa Tribune
Excerpt: "If making it harder to vote, gutting public schools, (imposing) salary cuts for first responders and paving paradise were what Floridians wanted, Gov. Scott and this Legislature deserve a standing ovation," said the liberal group Progress Florida.

Florida Legislature 2011 leaves mark — and scars
By Michael Mayo
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Excerpt: "Worst. Session. Ever," wrote Mark Ferrulo, head of Progress Florida, a liberal grassroots group.

Session over: Who were the winners and losers of 2011 legislative session?
By Ryan Mills
Naples Daily News
Excerpt: “This legislative session was the most unabashedly partisan, out of touch, feeding frenzy of folly that I’ve witnessed in my 20 years of public interest advocacy,” said Mark Ferrulo, executive director of the liberal nonprofit Progress Florida.

FEATURED STORIES

'Back-door' deals, 'silly games' mess up end of 2011 legislative session
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Related: Legislature ends a session of potentially historic measures
Related: Success of GOP's jobs focus unclear
Related: Countdown to a meltdown: 2011 legislative session timeline
The velvet ropes lined the fourth floor Capitol rotunda.

Conservative priorities win in GOP-controlled Florida Legislature's long final session
By Aaron Deslatte and Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Despite rocky start, Gov. Rick Scott got much of agenda passed
Related: Cannon, Haridopolos engineered a conservative revolution
Related: Business community won big in Florida Legislature — many others lost
Republican lawmakers forced a business-dominated session into overtime Saturday as they pushed through a vast array of conservative priorities, from repealing growth laws to handing over most of the state's Medicaid patients to health-maintenance organizations.

Florida Medicaid undergoes major rewrite, to shift 2.9 million people into managed care
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Lawmakers approved a sweeping rewrite Friday of the state's $22 billion Medicaid program, seeking federal approval to steer almost 3 million low-income, elderly and disabled Floridians into HMOs and other managed care coverage.

Florida lawmakers wipe out 30 years of growth management law
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Florida legislators hit environmental advocates with a one-two punch in the final two days of the session, wiping out 30 years of growth management law and passing measures to restrict the public from challenging controversial development projects in the name of economic development.

Immigration proposals die on final day of session
By Brent Kallestad and Laura Wides-Munoz
Associated Press
Florida legislators adjourned Saturday without an agreement on a tough immigration bill sought by the governor and attorney general.

Legislature reckless and wrong
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Legislature votes against the voters
The 2011 Legislature was one of the most conservative and reckless in modern history, as the veto-proof Republican majority ran roughshod over reasonable policy and treated compromise as a dirty word.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Jim Morin
Miami Herald

FLORIDA POLITICS

Democrats to protest Republican policies in Florida
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Democrats are taking their complaints about Republican policies to the streets for another round of "Awake the State" rallies on Tuesday.

Lawmakers fight deep into the night before passing $70 billion state budget
By Bill Cotterell and Jim Ash
Florida Capital News
Related: Scott's agenda largely met as session ends
Related: How the legislative session will impact you
Related: That's a wrap: Key issues as they stand at the end of session
Related: Who won and who lost in Fla.'s 60-day 2011 legislative session?
Florida legislators fought to a sloppy finish of the 60-day-plus session in the early hours of Saturday with a House and Senate brushfire of inter-chamber fighting before approval of a $70 billion budget.

Legislative session melts down, finally ends just before 4 a.m.
By Marc Caputo
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Florida Legislature's meltdown: How it happened
Sine Die on the 2011 legislative session came at 3:35 a.m. Saturday when the Florida Senate approved a tax package that became an odd point of contention in a day of odd points of contention.

Rancor, political games take toll on Mike Haridopolos in lawmaking session
By Marc Caputo and Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Senate President Haridopolos faces harsh criticism by Republican rivals
The end of the lawmaking session Saturday should have been Mike Haridopolos' triumph — a celebration of the Republican agenda that the Florida Senate president touts in his U.S. Senate race.

GOP-led legislature passed wide range of bills this session
By Jerome R. Stockfisch and Lindsay Peterson
Tampa Tribune
A state Legislature facing the biggest budget gap in decades used its overwhelming Republican majority to pass a broad slate of bills that will touch the lives of every Floridian who votes, buys insurance and receives public education, Medicaid and state retirement benefits.

Fla. Gov. Scott calls first session a success
By Brendan Farrington
Associated Press
Republican Gov. Rick Scott is calling his first legislative session a success, pointing at tax cuts, changes to the Medicaid program, education bills, a measure requiring state employees to pay into their pensions and more as victories that will make Florida more attractive for businesses.

Legislature’s zaniness pales next to Scott’s
By Carl Hiaasen
Miami Herald
Having a radical wingnut for governor has proven to be a blessing for other top Florida Republicans.

Bill Nelson warns Rick Scott: veto election bill or I’ll call in the feds
By Joy-Ann Reid
The Reid Report
Senator Bill Nelson doesn’t mince words in a letter to Florida governor Rick Scott: veto a controversial election bill, or prepare to answer to the Justice Department.

Mike Bennett sets a new standard for hypocrisy
By Mike Lafferty
Orlando Sentinel
This is too rich. State Sen. Mike Bennett has set a new standard for hypocrisy in the Florida Legislature, and that already was a pretty high bar.

They use our money to fight us
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
Don’t worry. Despite the most brutal budget cuts in state history, the taxpayers of Florida still have millions set aside for their epic battle against the taxpayers of Florida.

Putting a muzzle on the watchdogs at the Capitol?
By Gary Fineout
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida's Republican-led Legislature has greatly curtailed the independence of one of the watchdogs meant to keep tabs on taxpayer money and whether government programs work.

Florida refuses to compensate citizens severely hurt by governmental negligence, incompetence
News Service of Florida
Florida Courier
A $12 million award for a Broward man paralyzed when he was hit by a sheriff's deputy speeding to work died with the end of the legislative session Saturday morning.

Is Alan Grayson eyeing a comeback?
By Alex Insenstadt
Politico
Former Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson is no longer a member of Congress, but he’s just as ubiquitous and raucous as ever.

POLITICAL RACES

With session over, attention turns to Senate race
By Brendan Farrington
Associated Press
With the Florida legislative session over, attention is turning to the U.S. Senate race and the Republican primary to determine who will challenge Sen. Bill Nelson next year.

Early voting begins in Miami-Dade mayor election
Associated Press
Miami Herald
Early voting kicks off in the special election to pick a new Miami-Dade County mayor.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Legislature passes 7 ballot items for 2012
By Gary Fineout
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida lawmakers, who carried out an aggressive, conservative agenda during the 2011 session, did not stop with just passing hundreds of bills.

Lawmakers allow repeal of religious aid ban to go to 2012 ballot
By Patricia Mazzei
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Florida lawmakers sent the emotional debate over the separation of church and state to the ballot on the last day of the legislative session Friday, signing off on a constitutional amendment dealing with spending public money for religious groups.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Session could have been worse but it was still bad, environmentalists say
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
The Florida legislative session went off track early Saturday, taking several bills with it that were supported by business and industry groups and opposed by environmentalists.

Kick in the ribs to taxpayers: Impact fees don't cover road-building requirements from growth
By Lauren Ritchie
Orlando Sentinel
Think of a vicious fistfight on television: Two bloodied guys are slugging away at one another, and one goes down.

Sick fish in Gulf are alarming scientists
By Kimberly Blair
Pensacola News Journal
Scientists are alarmed by the discovery of unusual numbers of fish in the Gulf of Mexico and inland waterways with skin lesions, fin rot, spots, liver blood clots and other health problems.

EDUCATION

Bills allow larger school class sizes, end tenure, expand school choice
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
In their final week of work, Florida lawmakers passed bills that would allow public-school class sizes to get larger, give charter schools approval to expand and end tenure contracts for teachers who don't have them by July 1.

Lawmakers deepened hole for Florida's schools, but also passed major reforms
By Patricia Mazzei
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
For schools, the annual legislative session left in its wake a $1.1 billion funding cut — and, unlike in years past, a slew of new policy reforms to go with it.

School bullying widely underreported
By Rebecca Catalanello
St. Petersburg Times
It's been three years since Florida passed a groundbreaking law requiring schools to do a better job of identifying and reporting bullying.

Feds: All kids, legal or not, entitled to K-12 ed
By Christine Armario
Associated Press
The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to districts around the country Friday, reminding them that all students - legal or not - are entitled to a public education.

Buzz lacking in search for new commissioner of education
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
St. Petersburg Times
With a national reputation as a leader in education reform, and more aggressive changes on the way, Florida should be an easy sell for those seeking a new education commissioner.

Better yet, let's drop idioms as we pull up pants
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
Now that Florida is on the brink of having a "saggy pants" law - a state law that would compel public school principals to make sure their students pull up their pants - I think it's fair to wonder if this is just the beginning.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida Legislature passes austere $69.7B budget
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
Special education teacher Hal Krantz hasn't had a raise in two years, but he'll be among 650,000 public employees whose paychecks will be cut to help balance an annual state budget that also slashes spending by nearly $4 billion.

2011 session a tough one for state employees
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
It was a tough legislative session for state employees.

Deal struck to further cut Florida unemployment benefits
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Out-of-work Floridians would receive fewer state benefits while businesses pay less tax under a controversial proposal approved Friday by a divided Legislature.

After legislative session, state outlook on jobs still questionable
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
When state lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott talk about their priorities, creating jobs in Florida always ranks at the top.

Labor agency inks $5 million in deals with board members' companies
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
During the past six years, Workforce Central Florida has paid millions of dollars to companies and organizations controlled by or tied to agency board members, records show.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

On final day, Florida lawmakers approve bill to crack down on pill mills
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A deal struck in the early-morning hours of the session's final day saved lawmakers from the embarrassment of failing to pass legislation aimed at cracking down on pill mills that have earned Florida the nickname "OxyContin Express."

Scott should act to protect vulnerable
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Gov. Rick Scott has a legal and moral obligation to come to the rescue of the state's elderly and mentally ill who have suffered shocking neglect and abuse in the state's assisted living facilities.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Fight to crack down on illegal immigration in Florida is over
By Patricia Mazzei
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The fierce fight to crack down on illegal immigration ended — for this year — in the Florida Legislature on Friday when House and Senate lawmakers reached the end of the 60-day session without an agreement.

Florida Police: 'We're Not ICE Agents'
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
Who is going to enforce an 'Arizona Copycat' law in Florida to question and detain undocumented immigrants?

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Justice denied to Florida men after lawmakers quarrel
By Patricia Mazzei and Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Eric Brody and his parents arrived in the state Capitol at 10 a.m. Friday, waiting for lawmakers to sign off on a special act to compensate the 31-year-old man for a Broward Sheriff's Office crash that paralyzed him 13 years ago.

Standing Up for Florida’s Courts
Editorial
New York Times
A handful of Republican state senators in Florida bucked G.O.P. leaders last week to help Democrats block a brazenly partisan court-packing plan from gaining a place on next year’s ballot.

No good reason to squander $400,000 to study a Supreme Court makeover
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
House Speaker Dean Cannon's politically driven proposal to divide and pack the Florida Supreme Court is dead — for now.