Daily Clips for July 25, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Confusion about perpetrator of Norway attack ensnares Florida congressman
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
Excerpt: As those reports spread across social networks and the global media (including reliable outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post), U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, offered this reaction from his Twitter account: Our thoughts and prayers go out to a steadfast ally and friend – the Norwegian people. We stand with you against Islamic terror. That post has since been deleted, but has been captured — and broadcast repeatedly — by activists at Progress Florida.

FEATURED STORIES

Jesse Jackson coming to Florida to rally against new voter law
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
In another sign of the national implications of Florida's new voting laws, the Rev. Jesse Jackson is holding rallies in Tampa and Orlando next week to criticize changes approved by the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott.

In 2012 election, expect more attack ads with rise of Super PACs
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Hard-hitting political ads against President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and U.S. Rep. Allen West are popping up across Florida in a scramble to define the message of the 2012 elections, still 16 months away.

What Gov. Scott could learn from Lawton Chiles
By John Coggin
Miami Herald
Lawton Chiles, future Florida U.S. senator and governor, knew how little he knew of the 1970 Florida that lay beyond his small and secluded hometown of Lakeland.

Charters get $55 million for upkeep, other schools get zero
By Dave Weber
Orlando Sentinel
Traditional public schools in Florida will get no money from the state this year for additions or needed repairs to thousands of aging buildings, but charter schools will score big.

Protections for Florida's city workers are 'unacceptable,' federal agency says
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
It has been more than five years since the explosion of a methanol tank nearly killed Michael Martin, but the memories still haunt the former Daytona Beach city employee.

New consumer advocate worked closely with insurers
By Paige St. John
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater last week named someone he deemed a “watchdog” to champion consumers on insurance issues.

Blocking needed funds
Editorial
Tallahassee Democrat
Healthy Families Florida, which is one of the most successful prevention programs in the state, is at risk of losing portions of a $50 million grant because Republican legislative leaders are of a mind to reject all things federal.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Jeff Parker
Florida Today
Artist's commentary: Bad Hair Day

FLORIDA POLITICS

Think you have a tough job? Try being Rick Scott's lawyer
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Charles Trippe had been on the job as Gov. Rick Scott's top attorney less than a day when two state senators walked into his office and handed him a lawsuit filed in the Florida Supreme Court.

Lax Regulation Not a Good Lure
By John Rehill
Bradenton Times
It was just over a year ago the global oil and gas company, BP, managed to cap a catastrophic oil well leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

How to draw minority seats is crux of redistricting controversy
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Democratic U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown was being facetious when she described her meandering congressional district stretching from Jacksonville to Gainesville, Sanford and the outskirts of Orlando as the "most popular" in America.

Redistricting meetings come to Tampa Bay, Polk County
By Ashley Porter
WTSP 10 News Tampa Bay
This week is your chance to speak out about Florida's redistricting process, with state lawmakers holding public meetings in our area on Monday and Tuesday.

Voting Rights Groups Fight Voter Suppression In Florida
By Robert Lorei
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
The changes passed by the state legislature to Florida’s voting laws have proved quite controversial.

West wows local GOP, doesn't mention Wasserman Schultz exchange
By William March
Tampa Tribune
U.S. Rep. Allen West stirred up a friendly, conservative crowd with a partisan speech Saturday night, making no reference to his flap this week with fellow Fort Lauderdale-area Congress member Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Florida first lady Ann Scott relishes role as advocate for children
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Former first lady Carole Crist rarely attended official functions or took on public causes during the two years she was married to former Gov. Charlie Crist.

Former state Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla faces arrest over dogs in divorce dispute
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Former Miami state Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla is now a wanted man in Florida because he failed to obey a judge's order that he turn over a Weimaraner dog to his ex-wife in a messy divorce case.

Lawmaker faces question about living in district
By Nadege Green and Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
State Rep. John Patrick Julien — a married father of five — owns a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house in a secluded street in North Miami Beach.

POLITICAL RACES

Hasner, LeMieux battle over roles in Senate race
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Mike Haridopolos' exit from the Florida Republican U.S. Senate primary is putting the focus on two men who aren't even in the race – Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist.

Ex-Florida House Speaker Allan Bense won't rule out U.S. Senate run
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Former Florida House Speaker Allan Bense is considering entering the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, after "very high-profile" Republicans urged him to in the wake of Mike Haridopolos quitting the race.

Challenge for Scott?: S. Florida senator has chance
By Antonio Fins
South Florida Sun Sentinel
All eyes are on the 2012 presidential race.

Rep. Allen West's rant prompts Lois Frankel to register pithily named website
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Four months into her high-profile Democratic congressional bid, former West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel's campaign is still working on a website to outline her positions on issues.

Why did Haridpolos drops out of Senate race?
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
Why did Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos drop out of the U-S Senate race?

The challenge of a tough incumbent and bad judgment helped torpedo Haridopolos' bid for U.S. Senate
Editorial
TC Palm
Politics rarely is what it appears to be on the surface.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Rep. Scott Randolph Applauds Legal Challenge of HJR 1471
By Merab-Michal Favorite
Bradenton Times
The Florida Education Association, the largest teachers' union in Florida, joined the American Civil Liberties Union and several rabbis and ministers seeking to halt a 2012 ballot measure they say falsely pushes to allow school vouchers in the name of religious freedom.

Amendment Ballot Language: No Tricks For Voters
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
The Florida Legislature can't resist the temptation to stack the deck on amendments it proposes to the state constitution.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

EPA triggers fierce backlash over attempt to force Florida to clean up waterways
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's attempt to force Florida to clean up its ailing streams, lakes and coastal estuaries has triggered fierce backlash, and the biggest controversy is over how much it would cost to implement new pollution limits.

Florida bicyclists object to plan that would stop funding sidewalks and bike lanes
By Larry Hannan
Florida Times-Union
Ken Bryan remembers a time when senior citizens rode bikes along U.S. 17 in Clay County.

Leave our state parks alone
Editorial
TC Palm
First came the idea to construct a golf course in several state parks, including Jonathan Dickinson State Park in south Martin County.

RESTORE the Gulf
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Eventually, BP will be required to pay heavy fines — likely in the billions of dollars — for the damage caused by last year's Gulf oil spill.

LGBT

Boys have 2 moms: Now it's official
By Rene Stutzman
Orlando Sentinel
Lori Bott and Georgette LeMieux met at an Orlando Walmart 12 years ago and fell in love.

EDUCATION

Tilt toward charters deprives public schools
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
For two decades, the Florida Legislature has claimed the expansion of charter schools does not steal resources from public schools that serve most students.

Deep school cuts will not mean lower tax bills
By Christopher O’Donnell
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Some of the deepest cuts to Florida schools in history will likely mean only moderate or no savings in school property tax bills for area homeowners.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Aware of default's risks, U.S. Reps. Deutch, Rooney say they're prepared to act on debt
By Laura Green
Palm Beach Post
Even as they remained deeply divided about how to reach a deal on the debt ceiling, Democrats and Republicans joined together Sunday to try to assure the American people - and the financial markets - that this nation will not default on its debts for the first time in history.

Florida unemployment rate unchanged at 10.6 percent
By Jeff Harrington
St. Petersburg Times
Judging by the latest unemployment numbers, Florida's jobs market appears stuck in neutral.

Post investigation: Did stimulus money create jobs in Palm Beach County?
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post
The largest stimulus-fueled road projects in Palm Beach County have created less than 20 percent of the jobs once promised, a Palm Beach Post analysis based on federal job-creation standards shows.

Corporate America has a chokehold on wages
By Harold Meyerson
Miami Herald
If you’re wondering why American consumers are still flat on their backs, rendering the economy similarly supine, the answer is both fundamental and simple: It’s not just that so many of them are unemployed.

Poor Shouldn't Bear the Burden
By Daniella Levine
Lakeland Ledger
Save lives, or save money for the rich?

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Florida politicians reject $52 million in Federal grants which could have helped prevent child abuse
By Chase Cain
WTSP Tampa Bays 10 News
The Federal government offered Florida more than $52 million. The money could've been used to prevent child abuse and assist the elderly, but state leaders rejected the money.

Jackson union decries “conspiracy” as it gets ready for bargaining
By John Dorschner
Miami Herald
Combative SEIU Local 1991 has launched an aggressive offensive, with newspaper and radio ads warning of a “conspiracy to rip apart Jackson,” as the union starts what its leader describes as “probably the fight of our lives.”

Balancing the budget on seniors’ backs
By Jeff Johnson
Ocala Star-Banner
In February 2011, an AARP survey showed that 44 percent of Floridians age 50 and up were so concerned about the state's struggling economy that they planned to delay retirement.

Proposed Medicare cuts make Florida medical schools worry about doctor training
By Kim Wilmath
St. Petersburg Times
One part of the national debt debate has medical schools in rapt attention.

Planned Parenthood will petition AHCA, feds to remove family planning opt-out from Medicaid reform
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Planned Parenthood is scaling a full-fledged attack on a provision in Florida’s Medicaid bill that allows providers to opt out of providing family planning services.

Medicaid's promise of care erodes
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
In a case the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to hear this fall, the Obama administration has taken a wrong turn by claiming that Medicaid beneficiaries are without legal recourse if states cut Medicaid payments to providers.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Orange Park boy’s death serves as grim reminder of Florida's 'gun gag rule’
By Wayne Ezell
Florida Times-Union
The so-called accidental shooting of 11-year-old Seth Lasater came only a few days after a federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of 11,000 of Florida’s physicians who might have disturbing insight into why the Orange Park youth was killed.

Legal battle pits part of medical profession against gun-rights advocates
By Andres Viglucci
Miami Herald
Four years ago, an experienced gun owner in Pembroke Pines named Reynaldo Gonzalez made an exception he will forever regret.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Judge's effort to dismiss 'Taj Mahal courthouse' charges rejected
By Lucy Morgan
St. Petersburg Times
The Judicial Qualifications Commission Friday refused to dismiss charges pending against 1st District Court of Appeal Judge Paul M. Hawkes in connection with the "Taj Mahal" courthouse scandal.

As privatization of state prisons expands, questions rise on who's watching the door
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
When state corrections investigators showed up at South Bay Correctional Institution in the middle of the night last month to conduct a drug sweep of the prison, they couldn't get in.

Tallahassee, the Litigation Capital
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Lakeland Ledger
The state capital has become a lollapalooza of litigation.

Daily Clips for July 22, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Haridopolos deal the only Brevard Community College book contract in last 10 years
By Cooper Levey-Baker
Florida Independent
Excerpt: Although Haridopolos abandoned his campaign for the U.S. Senate this Monday, opponents are continuing to dog the lawmaker for the Brevard arrangement. Mark Ferrulo, executive director of the liberal advocacy group Progress Florida, wrote to Haridopolos on Wednesday, calling on the state senator to return the $152,000 he earned writing Florida Legislative History and Processes for the college, where he worked as an assistant professor.

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Rick Scott's office rethinks fee schedule for public records
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times
Related editorial: A welcome dose of sunshine
Gov. Rick Scott will charge less for public records, according to a memo circulating within his office and executive agencies since Tuesday and released to the media this morning.

Governor is no reformer
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Post reporter Stacey Singer's July 10 story about how Rick Scott ran the Solantic Urgent Care chain should not have surprised anyone, given how Rick Scott ran the Columbia/HCA hospital chain.

Consumer health advocates say Florida lawmakers made a mistake in turning away federal health care dollars
By Kate Bradshaw
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
State lawmakers turned away tens of millions in federal money for health care by refusing to apply for grants, giving money back, or saying thanks, but no thanks. Among those hardest hit were low income seniors and families.

Florida attorney general's office fires back at its former foreclosure investigators
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post
The Florida Attorney general's office released a cutting statement Thursday criticizing the work of two former state foreclosure fraud investigators after a week of national attention paid to the duo's forced resignations.

Feds investigate Congressman David Rivera on casino contract
By Scott Hiaasen and Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Federal investigators have opened a second criminal probe of U.S. Rep. David Rivera, examining undisclosed payments from a Miami gambling enterprise to a company tied to the Republican congressman, The Miami Herald has learned.

West-Wasserman Schultz duel continues as West cites double standard for black conservatives
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
In the aftermath of his scathing email to Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Rep. Allen West told conservative radio talker Mark Levin Wednesday that, as a black conservative, he's subjected to a double standard in the politics of victimization.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

The coming Haridopocalypse
By Peter Schorsch
St. Petersblog 2.0
If there is one lesson to have been learned from Florida politics these past two years, it’s that it sucks to be an establishment Republican.

Florida GOP Rejects Money To Fight Child Abuse And Neglect
By Guest Blogger
Think Progress
In a partisan stand against the Affordable Care Act, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) and GOP lawmakers are turning away much-needed federal funds aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect.

GOP Should Sacrifice Rivera
By Jake
Rantings From Florida
I know. Why should they care what I have to say. But with the entry of Luis Garcia into the race, the writing on the wall is getting more clear.

Why does the Tea Party and The Bible hate Manatees?
By CatJab
Daily Kos
Are they gay? Are they too fat? Are they just too adorable?

FLORIDA POLITICS

A new question in the West-Wasserman Schultz feud: Where does West live?
By Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald PolitiFact
Most of the she-said, he-said, back-and-forth between South Florida Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Allen West has been good for political theater but bad for fact checkers.

Florida's redistricting meetings move to I-4 corridor next week
By David Royse
News Service of Florida
Lawmakers next week take the discussion of how to redesign the state's political map to one of the areas most in need of updating to account for demographic change - and the area probably most closely watched because of its current political competitiveness.

Brown again raising bucks to fight Fair Districts
By Mark Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
Don’t like the Fair Districts amendments that passed last year?

Attacking democracy, underpants, & Pam Bondi strikes back
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
In today's Friday Files, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi strikes back against the former investigators who say Bondi's office ousted them for too aggressively going after fraudulent — and deep-pocketed — foreclosure firms in this state.

Jesse Jackson coming to Tampa to protest new election law
By William March
Tampa Tribune
The Rev. Jesse Jackson will headline a rally in Tampa Tuesday to protest a new Florida election law Republicans say is intended to cut costs and prevent fraud, but that Democrats and civil rights organizations say is aimed at suppressing voter turnout to improve Republican 2012 election chances.

Rick Scott's Office Unveils a Slightly Less Ridiculous Plan for Records Requests
By Matthew Hendley
Broward New Times
Since Gov. Rick Scott's office decided that the public and reporters had to pay a price for open government in early March, it's been a huge complaint.

POLITICAL RACES

Florida's Republican contenders for U.S. Senate to debate Aug. 20
By Amy Hollyfield
St. Petersburg Times
The Florida Family Policy Council and Central Florida Tea Party have announced a GOP U.S. Senate debate next month in Orlando.

Allan Bense considering entering U.S. Senate race
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Former Florida House Speaker Allan Bense is considering entering the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, after numerous "very high-profile" Republicans urged him to in the wake of Mike Haridopolos quitting the race.

Barack Obama's re-election campaign missing big bundlers from 2008
By Ben Smith, Maggie Haberman and Byron Tau
Politico
When Sen. Barack Obama began running for president in 2007, a small handful of determined, inspired supporters found a new political calling.

Susie Wiles leaves Huntsman campaign, denies a shakeup
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Susie Wiles, campaign manager for Republican Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, said she's leaving the campaign.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Federal legislation would direct 80 percent of oil spill fines to Gulf states
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
U.S Sen. Bill Nelson and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio joined Thursday to co-sponsor a bill in Congress that would direct 80 percent of federal oil spill penalties collected from BP to Gulf Coast states.

Activists protest Mica's plan to weaken EPA water rules
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
A diverse group of environmental advocates on Thursday protested U.S. Rep. John Mica's sponsorship of legislation that would rein in federal authority to establish water-pollution rules in Florida and other states.

Friends of the Everglades calls on Scott to make polluters pay
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Earlier this week, a U.S. appeals court rejected an attempt by the state of Florida, sugarcane growers and the South Florida Water Management District to block a federal EPA plan to protect the Everglades from cane farming pollution.

Another fish kill, this time in Collier County
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Yet another widespread fish kill materialized in Florida this week — this time in Collier County.

Feinberg agrees to audit of oil spill claims operation
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
The Mobile Press-Register is reporting that oil spill claims administrator Kenneth Feinberg has agreed to an audit of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

LGBT

Nation's fourth-largest school district adds gender identity protections
From Equality Florida
Miami Herald
Miami-Dade School District, the fourth largest in the nation, has added gender identity to their harassment and anti-bullying policy.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to certify that gays can serve openly in the armed services
By Lolita C. Baldor
Associated Press
Defense officials say Pentagon chief Leon Panetta will certify that gays may serve openly in the armed services. News of his decision comes two weeks after top military leaders agreed that repealing the 17-year-old ban will not hurt military readiness.

EDUCATION

More money on the way for Florida charter schools
By Jeff Solochek
St. Petersburg Times
Florida already has more than 400 charter schools serving more than 135,000 children.

Parents implore Hillsborough County to spare after-school programs from cuts
By Bill Varian
St. Petersburg Times
Flanked by her three children, ages 6 to 16, Kim Herman had a straight-forward message for Hillsborough County commissioners Thursday night: "Leave the kids alone."

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida taxpayers pick up the tab for security when other governors visit
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
When Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana visited Jacksonville to campaign for Rick Scott last fall, state law enforcement agents provided extra security — and Florida taxpayers picked up the tab.

Unemployment itself can be biggest obstacle to getting a job
By Jeff Harrington
St. Petersburg Times
Robert Spidella, an accountant in Pinellas Park who has been unemployed nearly three years, thought he'd be a perfect fit for an opening advertised by staffing agency Aerotek.

Fla. economists skip summer revenue estimate
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
State economists are skipping their summer estimate of Florida's general revenue.

CFPB Open For Business
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
A new financial regulation bureau is promising better protection for borrowers.

Deutch urges probe of guest worker visa program, saying it costs U.S. workers jobs
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Boca Raton Congressman Ted Deutch is calling for the U.S. Labor secretary to investigate a work visa program that he says allows hundreds of foreigners to take hospitality jobs at the expense of qualified Americans.

After state aid ends, how to pay for SunRail?
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
Now that the SunRail commuter train is a go in Central Florida, area politicians have to decide how to pay for the service and the extra buses that will be needed to get passengers to and from their destinations.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

State fights $60M in public rebates
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Floridians could miss out on an estimated $60 million in health-insurance rebates next year if state officials successfully block enforcement of spending rules in the year-old reform law.

Groups upset state won't take federal funds for health care
By Andrew Ford
Tampa Tribune
Jennifer Trujillo is expecting twins. Though she makes decent money, her zip code and her high-risk pregnancy qualified her for home visits by the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting program, which is funded by federal grants.

State regulators asked to sign off on medical malpractice deal
By Gary Fineout
Florida Current
The nation’s largest medical malpractice carrier on Thursday defended its proposed acquisition of Jacksonville-based FPIC Insurance Group in a more than two-hour hearing before state regulators.

AIDS Institute wants Obama administration to reverse decision on AIDS drug funds
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Carl Schmid, deputy executive director of The AIDS Institute, tells The Florida Independent he had to wait over a week to confirm that the Obama administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration’s HIV/AIDS Programs are limiting how much money each state can receive from recently approved AIDS Drug Assistance Program “emergency relief funding.”

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

DCF still trying to find sites for welfare drug testing
By Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune
Three weeks after the law took effect, Florida's social service agency is still rushing to get the state's new drug-testing program for welfare applicants up and running statewide.

New Florida study tracks ex-felons after they won back voting rights
By Gary Fineout
Florida Current
A new state report shows that roughly 11 percent of ex-felons who won back the right to vote in the last two years committed new crimes or were placed back under state supervision.

Daily Clips for July 21, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

More than 4,000 sign petition asking Mike Haridopolos to return $152K for failed book
Letter to Senate President Mike Haridopolos from Progress Florida
Florida Progressive Coalition
Monday morning you announced the end of your US Senate campaign. It has been reported in the media that you have amassed a “war chest” of $3.5 million left over from your campaign. After receiving $152,000 from the taxpayers of Florida for writing a book which has sold only 70 copies as of June 21st (granting only $487.90 in royalties to Brevard Community College), we believe that the taxpayers deserve a refund.

FEATURED STORIES

Teachers union files lawsuit to stop expansion of school vouchers
By Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune
The state teachers union has filed a lawsuit challenging a proposed constitutional amendment that would repeal the state ban on spending public money on religious organizations.

Florida spurns $50 million for child-abuse prevention
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
Florida lawmakers have rejected more than $50 million in federal child-abuse prevention money.

While Scott was bashing it last year, SBA was posting banner investment earnings
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Republican Gov. Rick Scott last year made a major campaign issue out of Democrat Alex Sink’s oversight of the State Board of Administration, which in turn, oversees the Florida Retirement System.

Pro-drilling group wraps up closed-door energy meetings in Orlando
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The pro-oil drilling Consumer Energy Alliance on Wednesday wrapped up a series of closed-door meetings with energy stakeholders in Orlando at the invitation of Senate President Mike Haridopolos to develop policy recommendations for Florida leaders including possibly encouraging oil drilling off Florida's coast.

Wasserman Schultz and Allen West's feud is political and personal
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
In a sign of the hostile atmosphere in Congress, two of its most partisan figures, Broward representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Allen West, continued a personal feud Wednesday that overshadowed the serious debate over how to get the nation out of debt.

End of the shuttle: Titusville's uncertain future
By Gary W. Green
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Atlantis lands to end space shuttle era
As space shuttle Atlantis returns to earth tomorrow for its final descent of the 30-year shuttle program, Titusville, home to thousands of NASA employees and space coast workers, has the formidable task of redefining the town where millions of tourists have flocked to witness one of our nation's greatest accomplishments blasting man and machine from launch pads visible from their backyards and rooftops above the earth's orbit and into space.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Allen West, Debbie Wasserman Schultz feud emblematic of Washington these days
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Related editorial: Legislative food fight
She said it was "unbelievable" he could support a plan to raise costs for Medicare recipients.

Ex-business partner claims Buchanan ordered plan to violate election laws
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A former business partner has accused U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan in new court documents of ordering a plan to violate federal election laws and threatening “consequences” if the scheme became public.

Scott wants his name off election lawsuit
By Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune
Attorneys for Gov. Rick Scott are asking a federal court in South Florida to remove him from the short list of defendants named in the ACLU of Florida's court challenge to the state's new election law.

The Tea Party Governor Everybody Loves to Hate
By Michelle Hirsch
The Fiscal Times
Since Gov. Rick Scott took office in January, Florida’s unemployment rate has fallen from 11.9 percent to 10.6 percent while nationally unemployment has gone up.

Versus Rick Scott
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Two separate lawsuits announced this week challenge Governor Rick Scott and provisions he either signed into law or supported through the legislative process.

Scott’s Montana Vacay
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Governor Rick Scott is vacationing in Montana this week and Democrats are crying foul.

Lawsuit against repeal of religious funding ban also goes after controversial elections law
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A lawsuit recently filed against an amendment that would repeal language in Florida’s constitution banning outright taxpayer funding for religious institutions is also going after provisions in this year’s controversial new elections law.

Getting it right about Florida's redistricting
By Aaron Sharockman
St. Petersburg Times
Florida legislators hit the road beginning in June 2011 for a series of public hearings to collect input about redistricting.

Let's protect right to vote
By Lester C. Mitchell
Orlando Sentinel
America's political ideal has always been full, fair and equal participation in the political process by the governed. This principle was embedded in the Constitution, but in practice the right to vote was initially limited to a minority — white males.

POLITICAL RACES

Miami lawmaker launches bid to challenge freshman House Republican
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Seeing a chance for his party to pick up a seat in Congress, Democratic state Rep. Luis Garcia launched his campaign Wednesday to challenge U.S. Rep. David Rivera, a Republican.

Tea party announces U.S. Senate debate
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
The Tea Party Network says it has confirmed most of the Republican U.S. Senate candidates for a Nov. 5 debate in Daytona Beach.

GOP presidential candidates join Twitter debate
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
You think presidential debates are challenging? Try limiting your answers to 140 characters.

Homeland Security provides crowd-control training for 2012 Republican convention
By Richard Danielson
St. Petersburg Times
There are 402 days until next year's Republican National Convention in Tampa, but the Department of Homeland Security is already training police on crowd control.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Teachers sue to block voters from lifting ban on public funding of religious groups
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A constitutional amendment to lift the ban on public funding of religious groups should be ripped from the 2012 ballot because it's "misleading and insufficiently specific," according to a lawsuit filed by Florida's largest teachers union Wednesday in Leon County Circuit Court.

Voucher amendment sponsor confident proposal will withstand legal challenge
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
The sponsor of a constitutional amendment ending the 125-year-old ban on state tax money going to organizations associated with religions expressed confidence today that the proposal will withstand a legal challenge by the Florida Education Association and an inter-faith clergy group.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

BP spill needed local input, official testifies
By Bart Jansen
Pensacola News Journal
Federal agencies should follow local emergency procedures when responding to oil spills like last year's massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico, an Escambia County official told a Senate panel Wednesday.

Dirty air: Florida ranks third worst for power plant generated toxic air
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times
A new report out by the National Resources Defense Council lists Florida as the third worst states for toxic air pollution in the nation, making the list as one of the nation's Toxic 20.

LGBT

Hate crimes and intolerance inspire new support services for LGBT communities
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Florida LGBT advocates tell The Florida Independent that despite efforts to fill the lack of social services for their communities, problems like bullying, underreported hate crimes and homeless youth continue to rise.

Let the DOMA-Dumping Begin!
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a historic hearing to kick off the process of undoing the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1996 law that says states don’t have to recognize legal same-sex unions performed in other states and says the federal government can only define and recognize marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

EDUCATION

More struggling schools must offer students the chance to transfer
By Ron Matus and Jeffrey S. Solochek
St. Petersburg Times
After her daughter went through suspension-riddled Pinellas Park Middle School, Margaret Kennedy knew her son, a Boy Scout with braces who's bound for sixth grade, wouldn't do well.

Wacky world of school choice just got wackier
By Mike Thomas
Orlando Sentinel
Now that we have spent almost $83 million to overhaul Edgewater High School, students there will be allowed to transfer out, leaving behind a lot of brand-new empty space.

Teachers Forced To Resign Over FCAT?
By Ashley Townsend
News4Jax
Three former teachers at Andrew Jackson High School spoke out Wednesday, saying they were forced to resign because they failed to administer the FCAT properly.

Stop the blame game
Editorial
Miami Herald
As Congress debates budgets and debt ceilings, 10 million college students are holding their breath — 600,000 in Florida.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

State pension plan gains billions during banner year
By Gary Fineout
Florida Current
New numbers from the State Board of Administration show that the state pension fund just wrapped up one of its best performances in the last 25 years.

Future of spaceflight? NASA is outsourcing the job
By Seth Borenstein
Associated Press
How America gets people and stuff into orbit is about to be outsourced in an out-of-this-world way.

Atwater finally names new insurance consumer advocate
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
Six months after taking office Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater finally named a new insurance consumer advocate.

Jobs deal leaves taxpayers in the dark
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
As Florida lays off teachers, closes libraries and parks, and slashes an array of public services to deal with the recession, Hillsborough County is offering without public debate $1.2 million in tax money to an unnamed global financial services firm in return for staying put in the Tampa area.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Report: Medicaid a lifeline for Latino workers and families
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Latino workers and families in the U.S. are among the largest beneficiaries of federally funded health insurance, but depending on the outcome of the current budget debate, they could end up losing that access.

In teen’s death, lack of money is no excuse for lack of caring
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
No need to empanel a grand jury to investigate the last few hours of Eric Perez, who was left to die in a Palm Beach County juvenile lock-up; sick, vomiting, crying for help, unattended by the medical staff.

Infographic: Florida's Prescription Drug Overdose Death Rates
Staff Report
Florida Current
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for July 8 shows that Florida has been particularly affected by prescription pill abuse.

Patient blows whistle on clinic
By Marty Clear
Health News Florida
An ad promising a free exam and X-rays lured Evelyn Goff to Oceanside Dental in Tampa, accompanied by her daughter.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Former state senator arrested in corruption probe
Staff Report
Florida Current
Former state Sen. Mandy Dawson was arrested Wednesday on federal tax evasion charges as part of the fallout from a wide-ranging corruption probe, a newspaper reported.

Florida needs standardized policies, procedures to ensure accurate, impartial and consistent witness identifications
Editorial
TC Palm
It is "the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions" in the Sunshine State, according to the interim report released recently by the Florida Innocence Commission.