Daily Clips for November 1, 2011

AWAKE THE STATE IN THE NEWS

Planned Parenthood to join Awake the State at rallies tomorrow
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Note: Awake The State rallies are being held in numerous cities today - click here to find one near you.
Excerpt: Awake describes itself as a movement created in response to Scott’s policies, involving “Floridians from every walk of life including educators, healthcare workers, police and firefighters, advocates for consumers, middle class families and more.” It is also a coalition of activist groups in Florida, such as Progress Florida, Florida Watch Action and America Votes.

FEATURED STORIES

Florida lawmakers to fight court ruling about way they tried to privatize prisons
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
After Gov. Rick Scott decided to let it stand, lawmakers have instead appealed a Tallahassee judge's ruling that the way they ordered the privatization of prisons in the southern portion of the state was unconstitutional.

The early states: Florida
By Adam C. Smith
Politico
Florida is so massive, diverse and ever-changing, it’s always risky to make assumptions and generalizations about politics in America’s biggest battleground.

LeMieux's wit and wisdom rings up at $150,000
By Daniel Ruth
St. Petersburg Times
Who knew George LeMieux was such a sage, such an oracle, such a diviner of wisdom?

Advocates accuse state lawmakers of blocking health reforms
By Marni Jameson
Orlando Sentinel
Advocates of President Obama's health reforms expressed concern Friday about the state's lack of action at a town hall meeting in Orlando.

Punishing Poverty
Editorial
New York Times
Being poor and needing public assistance is not a crime.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Teacher says no way to comply with Florida's voting law
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A Florida Panhandle teacher who may be fined $1,000 for turning in student voter registration applications late says she was unaware of a new 48-hour deadline.

What States Are Doing To Restrict Voting Rights
By Scott Keyes
Think Progress
Perhaps the most nefarious legislation to pop up in states over the past year have been new laws intended to make it more difficult for people to vote.

Florida senator wants to end secrecy on tax incentives for businesses
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A Republican state senator wants to end secrecy surrounding deals that use tax dollars to lure companies to Florida or that keep existing businesses from leaving.

Make NASCAR the official sport of Florida? State senator wants to
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times
Florida has an official state beverage (orange juice), bird (mockingbird), pie (key lime) and reptile (alligator).

Children's Movement unveils agenda for upcoming 2012 session
By James Call
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
The Children's Movement of Florida Monday announced a five-point Legislative agenda for the 2012 session.

Scott, Rubio not attending this weekend’s Florida Tea Party Convention
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Representatives from the offices of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Gov. Rick Scott report that neither will be attending the Florida Tea Party Convention scheduled for this weekend, despite their inclusion on the event’s agenda.

POLITICAL RACES

Conservatives rush to defend Cain
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Conservative Palm Beach celebrities Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are among those leading a furious push-back from the right against an anonymously sourced Politico.com report that Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain was accused of sexual harassment in the 1990s.

The more Cain speaks, the more he stumbles
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
During the Republican presidential debates, candidate Herman Cain seemed at ease before the cameras dishing out his simplistic 9-9-9 tax plan to friendly audiences.

Lynn University will host presidential debate Oct. 22
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
One of the biggest single events of the 2012 presidential campaign will take place in Boca Raton — just 15 days before Election Day.

Fla. puts 9 GOP contenders on Jan. 31 ballot
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Florida Republican voters will get to choose between nine presidential contenders during next year's primary.

Even if Republican C.W. Bill Young is vulnerable, no Democrat is opposing him for reelection
By David DeCamp
St. Petersburg Times
U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young's district could tilt more Democratic after redistricting in 2012. His health has declined and he walks with a cane.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Energy Policy Could Mean Jobs
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Out of date twentieth-century regulations are hampering job creation in the renewable energy market according top participants at last week’s energy summit in Orlando.

Koch Funding Climate Change Deniers: Mixed Success
By Kathleen Ryan/Dallas Heltzell
Public News Service Florida
The Koch family has funneled tens of millions of dollars into causes which support the oil and gas industry in an attempt to undermine the science of climate change, a new investigation finds.

Die-off reported in Pensacola's oyster beds
Associated Press
Miami Herald
State scientists will head to the Florida Panhandle this week to check on East Bay oyster beds where oystermen are reporting a die-off.

Environmental group publishes ‘Ten Scariest Facts About the Everglades’
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Environment Florida released its “Ten Scariest Facts About the Everglades” at a press conference coinciding with Halloween.

Support Florida Forever, despite budget woes
Editorial
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Florida Forever is facing tough times.

EDUCATION

Scott's tactics carry the stench of fear-mongering
By Andrew Starling
Gainesville Sun
While much of Florida's fiscal debate has been focused on Gov. Rick Scott's consistent refusals of federal stimulus money, another vital investment has been placed on Tallahassee's chopping block.

Merit pay era arrives for teachers
By Chris Umpierre
Ft. Myers News-Press
Part of Sara Kohlhauff’s evaluation will be on the line when her fourth-grade students take the reading Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test this spring.

UF proposes faculty raise, no sick leave payouts
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
University of Florida faculty would get a 3 percent raise in January but lose payouts for unused sick leave, under the university’s latest proposal to offset a requirement that state workers pay more toward their retirement plans.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Boeing to build spacecraft in Space Coast, bring jobs to Florida
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
The Boeing Co. will build its commercial spacecraft, the Crew Space Transportation-100, in the former home of the old space shuttle, the company announced Monday.

Wage gap for Florida women lower than national average
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
The wage gap median between full-time female and male workers in Florida is lower than in the U.S. as a whole, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Rick Scott, Cabinet to be briefed on PIP insurance coverage
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet are receiving a briefing on the controversial personal injury protection insurance frequently called PIP.

Racetrack gets license for another Miami casino
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Miami could be home to South Florida’s ninth slots-and-poker casino, long before any destination gambling resort breaks ground, under a permit quietly sought by the owners of Flagler Dog Track and Magic City Casino and approved by state regulators.

State set to buy SunRail tracks for $150 million
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
The much-delayed SunRail project could reach another milestone this week when the state buys 61 miles of track from the CSX railroad company for $150 million.

Tolls are the future for new roads and bridges
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
Repeat after me: Tolls are our friends. Tolls are our friends.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Doctors join forces to help poor patients
By William E. Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Amid hard times and big gaps in the health-care system, Dr. Emmanuel Isaac is seeing a growing stream of patients who were never treated or have long delayed the care they need for diabetes, cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Florida AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting list gets shorter, still longest in U.S.
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
With almost 3,300 names, Florida’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting list is still the longest in the United States, by far.

Family members plead guilty to U.S. pill-mill charges
By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post
The infamous George brothers, their mother and one of the Wellington twins’ wives now share something more than family ties.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Bias against true Floridians
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
If you want to hear another tale of how stupid government rules can ruin lives, consider the case of 18-year-old Kassandra Romero.

Daily Clips for October 31, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

October 24th Weekly Show
By Gayle Andrews
The Blu Vu: Florida’s Political Reality Show
A federal judge blocks the drug testing of welfare applicants, an aide to Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carol is arrested, Sen. Nan Rich reminds us that Republicans have turned away $150 million in federal revenues hurting the elderly, children and working Floridians and Progress Florida’s Damien Filer discusses some scary people lurking in the Florida capitol…all this and more coming your way.

AWAKE THE STATE IN THE NEWS

Awake the State gears up for 2012 (audio story)
By Lisa Marzilli and Beth Bell
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Excerpt: Our guests today are Tim Heberlein, a community organizer with the Florida Consumer Action Network and Ray Seaman, online director with Progress Florida, two main players in the Awake the State movement. They're with us to talk about the Awake the State Summit held last weekend in Orlando and about the call to actions taking place across the state, including Tampa, St. Pete, Sarasota and Orlando on Tuesday, November 1.

FEATURED STORIES

Florida Democrats point fingers at Gov. Scott, GOP lawmakers
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Related: Vice President Biden scolds GOP as 'obstructionist' in two Central Florida speeches
Regardless of who wins the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, Florida voters can expect to hear a lot from Democrats about Rick Scott, George W. Bush and the tea party next year.

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson in unfamiliar political territory
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
If you're Sen. Bill Nelson, you must feel good about the campaign year ahead: flush with $7.5 million in your campaign account; President Barack Obama preparing a massive get-out-the-vote campaign for Florida Democrats; a crowded Republican primary lacking any titans and promising to be bloody.

Obama is counting on one-on-one 2012 campaign strategy
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Barack Obama’s re-election hopes are a numbers nightmare: 9.1 percent unemployment, increasingly negative job-approval ratings and a gap in enthusiasm between Republican and Democratic voters.

Fla. teacher may be fined under new election law
Associated Press
St. Petersburg Times
A Florida Panhandle teacher who registered students to vote but turned in their applications late may be fined for violating the state's new election law, which has drawn fire from critics who say it will suppress voting.

In Florida Battle, Casino Cash vs. Disney Image
By Lizette Alvarez
New York Times
The battle for Florida’s tourism soul has been joined.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Jim Morin
Miami Herald

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida Democrats: Rick Scott the poster boy for GOP extremism
By William March
Tampa Tribune
At the state Democratic Party's convention this weekend in Orlando, one of the political figures most talked about, maybe more than any other, is a Republican -- Gov. Rick Scott.

How Florida’s new elections law may impact the youth vote
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
This week, reports surfaced of a New Smyrna Beach high school teacher becoming embroiled in possible legal problems because she preregistered high school students to vote.

Federal court refuses to speed review of election law
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
A three-judge federal panel on Friday denied a motion by Florida to speed up a review of controversial changes to the state's voting laws -- a decision that all but guarantees Florida will hold its Jan. 31 presidential primary under two sets of election rules.

Opponents line up against new casino bill
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
An array of opponents, from South Florida to the state capital, has lined up swiftly in response to proposed legislation to bring gigantic “destination resort” casinos to South Florida, despite promises of economic development and an infusion of jobs.

POLITICAL RACES

Sen. Bill Nelson resolute in face of opposition
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Gainesville Sun
When a sore throat stopped Jill Biden from introducing her husband, Vice President Joe Biden, to a partisan crowd of Florida Democrats attending their state convention, Bill Nelson eagerly took up the task.

Sen. Nelson takes low-key path to race
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has five Republicans firing shots at him, and he'll be just below the low-polling President Barack Obama on the 2012 ballot, and yet he's acting like he doesn't have a re-election coming up.

Why Rubio won't help GOP get Latino vote
By Maria Cardona
CNN
Repeat after me, GOP: "Marco Rubio will not be our savior with Latinos in the 2012 election."

Despite contracts, Republican National Convention officials tell hotels they want cheaper rooms, higher fees
By Steve Huettel and Richard Danielson
St. Petersburg Times
A crowd of hotel managers gathered in the ballroom of the Wyndam Tampa Westshore on Wednesday expecting a routine update on plans for the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

State, union clash in court over "no-aid" repeal
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
A lawsuit led by the Florida Education Association is aimed at getting Amendment 7 kicked off the 2012 ballot.

How an anti-abortion push to redefine ‘person’ could hurt women’s rights
By Jessica Valenti
Washington Post
A common message from anti-abortion activists is that “women deserve better than abortion.”

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

St. Johns water district eases permitting to tap aquifer
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
Daytona Beach and the region's main water authority went to war last year over whether the city was pumping the life out of a state forest.

Soon-to-be-introduced bill would give utilities more power over reclaimed water
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
GOP state lawmakers will soon introduce a bill to eliminate regulations on the reclaimed water often used by Florida utilities — treating it as an alternative water supply owned by utilities, and not by the state.

USF receives $11 million grant to fund BP spill research
By Valerie Quintana
Tampa Tribune
Eighteen months after one of the worst oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, researchers at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg are studying the effects of the deep water blowout with the help of an $11 million grant.

Fighting against Florida's alien invaders
By Craig Pittman
St. Petersburg Times
One day this summer, Susan Arehart noticed her cat, Luna-tick, acting strangely.

Protect Florida's wild places
By Bill Maxwell
St. Petersburg Times
One of the benefits of living in Florida is being within easy driving distance of beautiful, wild places.

LGBT

For some, equality is an offensive idea
By Gary Stein
South Florida Sun Sentinel
It is hardly unusual for a columnist to get accused of offending people.

EDUCATION

Miami-Dade school district makes midterms, finals optional for students
By Laura Isensee
Miami Herald
A long line of tests stand between students and summer — baseline exams, interim tests, FCAT and end-of-course state exams, to name a few.

Florida shortchanges its universities
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
At least credit former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux for being half-right: Tuition at Florida's public universities is too low.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Gov. Rick Scott's jobs czar defends Florida's economic incentive programs
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott's jobs czar defended the state's economic incentive programs on Friday, saying Florida would go after companies that failed to perform.

Work-force oversight boards do little overseeing
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
Elected officials overseeing Jacksonville's publicly funded jobs agency took just 20 minutes in June to approve the organization's $21.6 million budget.

Foreclosure prevention program struggles to help homeowners in Florida
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Florida’s foreclosure epidemic continues to haunt the state, but federal programs designed to keep people in their homes are having a hard time trickling down to distressed homeowners.

When Voting Against Job Creation Just Isn’t Enough
The Progress Report
Think Progress
As we’ve been documenting, Republicans keep voting against millions of American jobs. But it doesn’t stop there!

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Finding more filth, abuse, state moves to shut ALFs
By Michael Sallah and Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
At a Vero Beach assisted-living facility, a 300-pound caretaker was accused of yanking a frail, 89-year-old woman from a wheelchair, shaking her in the air and then throwing her on a bed, shattering the woman’s hip.

How much are you worth to HMOs?
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Medicare health plan members are worth more than any other category of enrollee in a merger or acquisition deal, Wall Street analysts say.

Florida CHAIN asks feds to reject request by state to ‘phase in’ medical loss ratio
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A patient advocacy group is asking the feds to not grant insurance companies in Florida exemption from profit caps mandated by federal law.

Pill mills prove tough to stop
By Andrew Knapp
Florida Today
In early August, a woman walked into Dr. John Gayden Jr.’s pain clinic and walked out 60 seconds later with prescriptions for painkillers and anxiety medication.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Sen. Marco Rubio: "I Got Mine, So Long Suckers"
By Gabe Gonzalez
Huffington Post
It is fascinating to see the Republican Party tie itself into knots over the issue of Florida Senator Marco Rubio's citizenship.

State Sen. Alan Hays misguided on remarks about Hispanics
By Lauren Ritchie
Orlando Sentinel
Leave it to Alan Hays to light up a firestorm.

In Lake County, Whizzing Bullets From New State Law
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
About a month ago, Sandy Dziak and her husband were riding horses on their 20-acre property in Lake County when they were jolted by an explosion.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Recommendations are in for fixing courts' finances
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
A work group looking at ways to shore up state courts' finances amid dwindling revenue from foreclosure filings recommends creating a new stabilization fund and redirecting revenues from Florida's higher courts.

Lawmaker Promotes Early Release for Inmates
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
Clearing Florida's bulging prison population is the topic of the state House Criminal Justice Subcommittee.

Daily Clips for July 7, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Rick Scott’s plutocratic Florida
By Joy-Ann Reid
Miami Herald
There’s a reason no amount of robocalls and prefab letters to the editor will save Rick Scott from his dismal poll numbers: the nagging suspicion, including among a growing number of Republicans, that whatever his motivations, Mr. “777” isn’t in this for the Sunshine State.

Gov. Rick Scott says Florida economy headed in the 'right direction'
By David Bauerlein
Florida Times-Union
Gov. Rick Scott said today in Jacksonville that Florida's economy is "headed in the right direction" based on five straight months of job growth this year.

Butt out on redistricting, Florida legislators tell Congress
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
Members of Congress are the kind of people who like to be in charge.

Has Adam Hasner gone off the deep end?
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
We'd started to grow accustomed to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hasner railing against the imminent threat to America from Sharia law.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Bill Clinton calls out Rick Scott on ex felon voting rights
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Politico covered Bill Clinton's address to a conference of young liberal activists in Washington.

Surprise! As CEO, Rick Scott Also Had "Fatal Flaws"
By Lisa Rab
Broward New Times
"People close to Mr. Scott characterized his downfall in terms suitable for a Greek tragedy, portraying him as a brilliant and incisive businessman who was undone by his fatal flaws.

Gov. Rick Scott pledges to spend more time with Florida media organizations
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott said he'd make himself more available to Florida's media corps during a luncheon appearance last week at the Florida Publishers Association and Florida Society of News Editors joint annual meeting.

POLITICAL RACES

Readers think Rick Scott will draw Republican challenger in 2014 election
Staff Report
Florida Current
If Gov. Rick Scott sticks with his plan on running for a second term in 2014, he may have a challenger from his own party.

Progressive Youth Frustrated by President They Helped Elect
By Amy Bingham
ABC News
After four years as the leader of the establishment, President Obama may have a hard time convincing Americans, especially young voters, in the 2012 election that he still stands for hope and change.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

State-appointed advisory group criticizes Honeymoon Island camping plan
By Drew Harwell
St. Petersburg Times
Related editorial: Heed the public's voice on campgrounds
Less than 10 hours after a crowd jammed a public hearing to slam a plan for campsites at Florida's most popular state park, a newly appointed park advisory group met on Honeymoon Island and mirrored that disapproval.

Hundreds pack into DEP public hearings on proposals for campgrounds in state parks
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Hundreds jammed into public hearings on Tuesday to protest a Department of Environmental Protection proposal allow companies to build campgrounds in four state parks.

Florida environmental commission is a shell of its former self
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Gov. Rick Scott last month reappointed Cari Roth to the state Environmental Regulation Commission.

Glades Utility in financial trouble; who will pay to keep drinking water plant running?
By Jennifer Sorentrue
Palm Beach Post
The problems facing the fledgling Glades Utility Authority are mounting, and some officials now say it will be impossible to keep afloat the agency that provides drinking water to the county's hardscrabble western communities.

Big Oil Welfare
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Oil from a ruptured ExxonMobil pipeline is coursing through the picturesque Yellowstone River as we speak, but Big Oil’s real gusher is located on Capitol Hill.

LGBT

Are Florida schools doing enough to protect gay students from bullying?
By Ron Matus
St. Petersburg Times
It's no surprise that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students in middle and high schools are bullied as much if not more than other students.

Court orders immediate halt to gay military ban
By Lisa Leff
Associated Press
A federal appeals court ordered the U.S. government on Wednesday to immediately cease enforcing the longstanding ban on openly gay members of the military.

EDUCATION

87 Duval teachers lose their jobs
By Topher Sanders
Florida Times-Union
Eighty-seven Duval County Public Schools teachers were laid off recently as part of the district’s plan to make up a $91 million budget shortfall.

New Manatee schools budget plan calls for salary cuts
By Angeline Taylor
Bradenton Daily Herald
A new budget proposal by School Superintendent Tim McGonegal slashes some employee salaries by as much as 5 percent, establishes furlough days for others and calls for a spring-break shutdown to help create overall cuts for the district worth about $14.04 million.

Saving future of education
Editorial
Florida Times-Union
It's the gap that can swallow America's future. Recently, the U.S. Department of Education released data that found the educational opportunity gap persists.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

House action casts shadow on SunRail funding from feds
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
It's been only days since Gov. Rick Scott gave his blessing for SunRail to move forward and already there are concerns about whether a slice of federal funding for the $1.2 billion project will materialize.

Is Selling Off America's Infrastructure Something to Worry About?
By Dennis Maley
Bradenton Times
Cash-strapped governments are increasingly turning toward privatization as a way to balance budgets.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Rubio and Ros-Lehtinen’s ‘hopelessly complicated’ abortion bill
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Florida GOP lawmakers recently introduced federal legislation requiring each state to uphold other states’ parental notification before abortion laws in both chambers of Congress.

PPPoll: Ryan Medicare plan is a loser for GOP, winner for Dems (Haridopolos?)
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
"If Democrats want to take back the House next year they're going to have to pick up some seats in Florida and there's good news for them on that front: right now Florida voters prefer the party by a 45-40 margin on the generic Congressional ballot over the Republicans.

Managed Care Enters The Exam Room As Insurers Buy Doctor Groups
By Christopher Weaver
Kaiser Health News
Even if UnitedHealth Group isn't your insurance company, there’s a good chance it touches you in some way.

Section of pill mill law temporarily suspended
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Florida's surgeon general has temporarily suspended part of the state's new "pill mill" legislation.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Police say hackers targeted Orlando mayor
By Mark Schlueb
Orlando Sentinel
Orlando police said Wednesday they are treating a photo taken by computer hackers outside the mayor's house as a threat.

Rooney files funeral protest bill in reaction to Supreme Court free speech decision
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
In response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in March that appears to threaten a Florida law making it illegal to disturb military funerals, state Rep. Pat Rooney, R-Palm Beach Gardens, has proposed a bill that would create a 500-foot buffer around military funerals.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

After Casey Anthony found not guilty of murder, defense attorney speaks out against death penalty
By Sean Kinane
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
This afternoon in an Orlando courtroom a Pinellas County jury found Casey Anthony not guilty of murdering her 2-year old daughter.

Florida death penalty procedures need review
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Florida's death penalty is costly to administer, fraught with legal pitfalls and, according to at least one federal district judge, unconstitutional.