FEATURED STORIES
Spill cutoff at least week awayThe Associated Press
Miami HeraldRelated: As oil blob triples in size, Florida fears nightmare
Related: Fla. declares emergency over oil spillRelated editorial: It just takes one disaster
Federal officials shut down fishing from the Mississippi River to the Florida Panhandle on Sunday because of the uncontrolled gusher spewing massive amounts of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and the environmental disaster is still expected to take at least a week to cut off.
With Crist waving his veto pen, lawmakers end 2010 session
By Steve BousquetSt. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related editorial: Legislature fails to do its dutyThe Florida Legislature concluded the 2010 session Friday with a tense, polarizing debate over abortion and fresh signs of Gov. Charlie Crist's willingness to criticize Republicans he once considered allies.
Intense, emotional debate over abortion measure now headed to CristBy John Frank
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau In remarkable political theater during the waning hours of the legislative session, House Republicans rammed through a measure Friday to require women seeking an abortion to pay for an ultrasound and hear a doctor give a description of the fetus.
Crist puts Democrat Meek in playBy Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-TribuneThanks to Charlie Crist, Kendrick Meek now has a chance.
Voters to See 3 District Mapping Issues on BallotBy Gary Fineout
New York TimesFlorida voters this fall will be asked to sort out just what kind of rules that state legislators must follow when they draw new districts for Congress and the Legislature.
Rallies urge immigration law reformThe Associated Press
Tampa TribuneAngered by a controversial Arizona immigration law, tens of thousands of protesters rallied in cities nationwide demanding President Barack Obama tackle immigration reform immediately.
EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Jim MorinMiami Herald
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Session is over but veto loomsBy Jim Ash and Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee DemocratRelated editorial: Session aftermath
Sixty days of legislative action concluded Friday, overshadowed by Gov. Charlie Crist's vetoes and party denunciation.
A session assessment: For conservatives and for Crist
By Michael C. Bender and Kimberly MillerPalm Beach Post
Related: Bills that passed in 2010 Fla. legislative sessionRelated: Fla. legislation that failed or was vetoed in 2010
For GOP-run legislature: Session good but not great.
Emotion stirs Florida lawmakers as final debates close session
By Brandon Larrabee Florida Times-Union
The final gavel fell on the 2010 legislative session Friday, even as intrigue swirled about whether lawmakers could return in the summer.
Legislature Takes a Turn to The Right
By Lloyd DunkelbergerLakeland Ledger
With legislation on abortion, guns and school prayer, the Legislature took a strong turn to the right this year, signaling a long-term shift may be occurring in Tallahassee.
'Corruption-county' bill heads to Gov. Crist
Staff ReportPalm Beach Post
The Senate gave final approval Friday to a measure pushed by the Palm Beach County Commission that would allow counties and cities to go beyond current state law in fines and jail time for county officials and staff who violate local ethics ordinances or financial disclosure requirements.
Florida Senate votes to ban sex offenders from loitering near schools, parks
By Tonya AlanezSouth Florida Sun-Sentinel
State senators voted 39-0 on Friday to ban convicted sex offenders and predators from loitering or prowling within 300 feet of places where children congregate, such as schools, parks and playgrounds. POLITICAL RACES
Charlie Crist must get out of the gate quickly -- or fade, analysts sayBy Jim Stratton
Orlando SentinelRelated: Crist - and his veto pen - still have friends in Florida politics
If the independent Senate candidacy of Gov. Charlie Crist is to become more than a historic footnote, the next three weeks will be critical, veteran political operatives said Friday.
GOP quickly exiles governor
By Bill CotterellTallahassee Democrat
Republican campaign aides who joined Gov. Charlie Crist's campaign when it looked like a winner abandoned his independent bid for the U.S. Senate on Friday.
Contenders in 3-way Senate race all have shot at win
By William MarchTampa Tribune
Related: Crist, Rubio take campaigns to TV showsCharlie CristThis year's race for Florida's open U.S. Senate seat will confound the normal political wisdom on how to win a Florida election.
Crist's Flight from GOP Party Gives Hope to DemocratsThe Associated Press
Lakeland LedgerThe Republican infighting over Florida's Senate seat that drove Gov. Charlie Crist to ditch the GOP is giving an underdog Democrat a realistic shot at pulling off an upset in the fall.
Independent Crist will have to tap into an unfamiliar pool of donorsBy Beth Reinhard and Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg TimesRelated: LeMieux abandons Crist over nonpartisan bid
Related: Florida Gov. Crist's final 24 hours as a RepublicanRelated column: If it's Rubio vs. Obama, it's Crist vs. the Legislature
Even before Republican Gov. Charlie Crist launched his independent bid for the U.S. Senate, he was inviting well-heeled supporters -- many of them Democrats -- to Miami on Sunday evening to hear what could be the most important sales pitch of his career.
A liberated Crist hits Senate trail on his own
By Brendan FarringtonThe Associated Press
Gov. Charlie Crist feels liberated.
Charlie's Brave New World
By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune
Gov. Charlie Crist conceded on NBC on Sunday that he has an "uphill battle" to win the U.S. Senate race as an independent.
Rubio tempers his support for oil drilling in the Gulf
By Adam C. SmithSt. Petersburg Times
The day after he effectively locked down the GOP U.S. Senate nomination, Marco Rubio backed off his support for expanded drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and wouldn't commit to releasing state party credit card statements.
Billionaire `outsider' throws hat into Senate race
By Adam C. Smith and Beth ReinhardMiami Herald
Just when you thought Florida's topsy-turvy election year couldn't get crazier, billionaire real estate investor Jeff Greene of Palm Beach -- a Democrat -- hurtled into Florida's already chaotic U.S. Senate race.
Billionaire Jeff Greene Will Face a Slew of Attacks in Florida's Senate Race
By Chris GoodThe Atlantic
Running for Senate as a billionaire has its pluses and minuses. Jeff Greene is about to experience both.
Era of self-financed millionaire candidates begins in Florida
By Scott Hiaasen, Beth Reinhard, Adam C. Smith and Andres ViglucciSt. Petersburg Times
First it was Texas and California, then New Jersey and New York, and now Florida: Sunshine State voters, brace for bazillionaires gunning for public office.
Florida elections official Kurt Browning resigns
By Steve BousquetMiami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Florida's top elections official, Secretary of State Kurt Browning, abruptly resigned Friday, expressing "mixed emotions" about leaving on the last day of the legislative session.
Painting of Crist from state GOP headquarters to hit eBay
By Ray ReyesTampa Tribune
A one-of-a-kind oil painting of Gov. Charlie Crist, which adorned the lobby of the Republican Party of Florida's headquarters in Tallahassee as recently as yesterday, can now be yours.
13 'no party affiliate' hopefuls qualify for Congressional races
By Bill Cotterell Tallahassee Democrat
Gov. Charlie Crist officially became the nation's best-known independent candidate Friday, but he was far from being the only generic nominee hoping to go to Washington from Florida as the biennial qualifying period for Congress came to a close.
Lively House races on the ballot
By Daniel Chang and Lesley ClarkMiami Herald
A host of congressional contests officially emerged Friday, with Democrats eyeing a second chance to take one of South Florida's Cuban-American Republican seats and Republicans looking to win back two Central Florida seats.
Hernando sheriff to seek congressional seat as Ginny Brown-Waite bows out
By Tony MarreroSt. Petersburg Times
Related: Brown-Waite's affront to the votersU.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite announced Friday that health problems are forcing her to drop her re-election bid for the seat she has held for eight years.
BALLOT INITIATIVES
Legislature's proposed amendments offer referendum on GOP agendaBy Marc Caputo
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau When voters head to the polls Nov. 2, they'll be judging the handiwork of the Republican-led Legislature: six proposed constitutional amendments and one straw poll.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Florida prepares for oil landfall, fears the worst By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach PostRelated: Officials in Pensacola Bay frustrated with slow pace plan to protect delicate Florida marshes from oil spill
There is a sense of foreboding here, of sadness, and of anger, as residents of this breezy Panhandle town come to grips with what is headed their way.
Oil spill: People gather on Pensacola beach with sadness, dread
By Kevin SpearOrlando Sentinel
Related AP story: Fishing closed in Florida Panhandle because of oil spillLifeguard stations flew red flags as the muddy Gulf of Mexico roiled with the color of coffee and milk Sunday, too dangerous to swim in. And yet the beach was packed and the mood was mournful and unforgiving.
Obama seeks to reassure as oil slick nears coast The Associated Press
Tampa TribunePresident Barack Obama is trying to reassure fishermen and others on the Gulf Coast that the government is doing all it can as masses of oil from a pipeline rupture endanger fisheries, oyster beds and beaches.
Oil nightmare is complicated by unknownsBy Campbell Robertson and Henry Fountain
New York Times President Barack Obama visited Louisiana on Sunday afternoon for a firsthand look at the response effort to an oil spill that he called a "potentially unprecedented environmental disaster," while officials for BP described in detail for the first time their desperate efforts to seal the gushing well.
AGs for 5 states talk legal strategy for oil spillBy Melissa Nelson
The Associated PressThe attorneys general from Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas want BP PLC to sign an agreement spelling out exactly what "legitimate expenses" they'll cover from the spill.
An Oil-Driven DisasterThe Progress Report
Think ProgressOn Tuesday, a sudden explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig, located 40 miles off the shore in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers.
Springs funding slashed By Bruce Ritchie
Florida TribuneRetired state biologist Jim Stevenson recalls springs research in 2002 that led to some interesting results for a Columbia County homeowner and for elementary school children.
Recyling bill passes along with measure allowing yard waste in landfills By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.comA bill that provides a path for the state towards reaching a 75-percent recycling goal by 2020 was adopted by the Legislature Friday and is being sent to the governor.
Florida Legislature passes energy financing measure By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.comA bill that supporters said would establish an innovative renewable energy program in Florida passed the Legislature, but another bill that would have encouraged utilities to buy more renewable energy failed.
Response hasn't matched spill
EditorialPalm Beach Post
President Obama followed up a bad policy decision on offshore drilling with a slow response to a drilling accident that could cause an environmental disaster.
Reduce risks of drilling
Editorial Orlando Sentinel
Five thousand barrels of oil -- more than 200,000 gallons -- continue to escape each day from a breached pipeline off the coast of Louisiana, along with this dose of reality: Drilling is not safe. EDUCATION
Schools say lawmakers boasts over state budget won't save cutsBy Patricia Mazzei
Miami HeraldState lawmakers have boasted that their education budget holds public school funding steady -- but don't tell that to leaders in the Miami-Dade and Broward school districts who are scrambling to avoid millions in painful cuts.
Class-size amendment might squeeze choice plansBy Sherri Ackerman
Tampa TribuneVoters will decide in November whether to pass an amendment loosening new class-size restrictions in public schools.
Attitude change needed towards educationEditorial
South Florida Sun-SentinelIt's not like there is a silver bullet solution to the cuts facing teachers and school staffs.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Florida expects $6 billion hole in budget in 2011By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau The oil rig explosion that threatens the Gulf of Mexico also rocked the carefully crafted agenda of the Florida Legislature's incoming leaders.
Florida lawmakers balance budget with cuts, gaming moneyBy Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune They boosted funds for higher education, but hiked tuition to do it.
State worker layoffs spared in budget for nowBy Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee DemocratState employees won't face massive layoffs or salary reductions under the $70 billion budget Florida lawmakers approved on the final day of the legislative session.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Crist says Florida won't run high-risk health insurance poolBy Fred Tasker
Miami Herald Gov. Charlie Crist will leave it to President Barack Obama's administration to run the federally subsidized high-risk health insurance plan that is to cover people unable to buy such insurance in the private market due to pre-existing conditions such as cancer or diabetes.
It's illegal, but desperate Americans are buying drugs online from CanadaBy Fernando Quintero
Orlando SentinelThe high cost of prescription drugs has left many Central Floridians scrambling for ways to afford their medications. But for Anita Prager of Apopka, cheaper meds are just a mouse click away.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Protestors rally downtown for immigration reformBy Christina Veiga
Miami Herald
A small voice stood out among the chants and shouts of protesters who gathered Saturday in downtown Miami to recognize May Day and push for immigration reform.
