Daily Clips for June 3, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Democratic Party Door Opens for Charlie Crist in 2014
By Kenric Ward
Sunshine State News
Excerpt: Calling Crist "an incredibly adept political chameleon," Damien Filer, of Progress Florida, said he isn't sure what the former governor actually stands for. "I would look awfully skeptical at the reinvention of Charlie Crist. I don't know what he honestly believes anymore," said Filer, who worked as an aide to Florida's last Democratic governor, Lawton Chiles.

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Rick Scott to launch inquiry into why some people were ejected from budget signing
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Video: What Rick Scott says about Democrats being booted from his budget signing
Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday he will launch an inquiry into why people were selectively removed from an event in the Villages where he signed the state's $69.1 billion budget.

Florida governor signs historic Medicaid bill
By Kelli Kennedy
Associated Press
Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed two historic Medicaid bills Thursday, placing the health care of nearly 3 million Florida residents into the hands of for-profit companies and hospital networks.

Scott signs sweeping growth management overhaul into law
By Bruce Ritchie
The Florida Current
Despite environmental opposition, Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed HB 7207, a sweeping growth management bill that largely removes state oversight of local land-use decisions.

Florida unions host ‘Festival’ to encourage folks to organize against Rick Scott
By Bob Shaw
Orlando Sentinel
The state AFL-CIO is planning an all-day “Festival for Florida’s Future” — a combination of music, kids’ games and lots of anti-Rick Scott rhetoric — at the Orange County Fair Grounds on West Colonial Drive on Saturday.

Don't cut lifesaving help
By Elton John and David Furnish
St. Petersburg Times
Florida faces a significant AIDS crisis.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

ACLU takes on Rick Scott: ‘a Radical in the governor’s office masquerading as a conservative’
By Joy-Ann Reid
The Reid Report
ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon did not mince words during a conference call with reporters regarding the organization’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Rick Scott over his executive order mandating random drug testing for state employees.

Mike Haridopolos Falls Through His Own Donut Hole
By Inkberries
Beach Peanuts
Mike Haridopolos, the self-proclaimed champion of "health care freedom" is having a little bit of trouble dancing around the issue of his desire to "free you" of your health care, and it shows.

RPOF Talking Points, in Case Scott’s Budget Left You Speechless
By Trish Ponder
Pensito Review
If you weren’t among the select few invited to Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s (R/Tea) ceremonial re-enactment of the signing of the hot mess that is this year’s state budget at a gated, tea party haven retirement community in the most land-locked part of Florida, we can help.

Miami Dade's role in the fracking of America
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing; the extraction process that is delivering massive amounts of gas and oil to consumers.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Gov. Rick Scott signs overhaul of Medicaid, growth laws
By Janet Zink and Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Dozens of bills affecting Floridians from the womb to the tomb were signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday.

Pafford wants to know: Who booted dissenters from Scott’s budget signing?
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
Last week, Gov. Rick Scott eschewed a traditional budget-signing ceremony for a political rally in The Villages, organized with the help of the state Republican Party, but it’s still not exactly clear who did what.

Governor or emperor?
Editorial
Miami Herald
That Gov. Rick Scott had the temerity to cast the $615 million in projects he vetoed as “shortsighted, frivolous, wasteful spending” is insult enough.

Gov. Rick Scott to visit Florida Keys this weekend
Staff Report
Florida Keys Keynoter
Rick Scott is scheduled to close out this week by making his first official visit to the Keys as governor, but who gets face time with the state's chief executive isn't clear.

Sen. Marco Rubio returns to teaching at FIU
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is returning to the classroom, taking a part-time job teaching politics at Florida International University in Miami.

A splashy start? That's not Dan Webster's style
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
Five months into his rookie term, Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Webster has proved the polar opposite of the man he replaced, Democrat Alan Grayson.

POLITICAL RACES

Mike Haridopolos stands out in Senate race for bucking GOP Medicare plan
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Florida’s crowded Republican Senate race has two types of major candidates: The three who support their party’s controversial Medicare revamp and Mike Haridopolos.

Mike Haridopolos' talk radio fiasco continues
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Mike Haridopolos may be the best thing ever to happen to Ray Junior, the sharp radio host for St. Augustine’s 1240 WFOY radio.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Florida Lawmakers Bow to Land Developers?
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
Land use management advocates say Florida's real estate 'bear market' is having a bullish effect on natural resources.

Eastern Palm Beach County now in worst drought on record
By Alexandra Seltzer and Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
After being in an "extreme drought" for weeks, National Weather Service officials announced Thursday that the area from West Palm Beach south through Broward County is now in an "exceptional drought" - the highest level of drought never before seen in South Florida.

Budget cuts kill funding for groups working to protect springs at four state parks
By Bruce Ritchie
The Florida Current
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection told springs stakeholders this week that four groups working to restore springs will not receive department funding next year because of budget cuts.

Without fix counties can still claim to recycle in excess of 100 percent
By Bruce Ritchie
The Florida Current
A proposal to fix a 2010 law change that could allow counties to claim they recycle in excess of 100 percent died last month when the legislative session ended.

LGBT

Transgender prom queen from Davie breaks down barriers
By Susannah Bryan
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Gay rights advocates are calling Andrew "Andii" Viveros a hero in heels.

EDUCATION

Governor approves voucher expansions, baggy pants bill
By Brandon Larrabee
News Service of Florida
A trio of bills overhauling state voucher programs and a measure cracking down on baggy pants at public schools were signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday.

For Florida's public schools, here come budget cuts
By Kim MacQueen
The Florida Current
This is graduation week in many of Florida’s public schools, a generally positive, uplifting time.

Scott's political show doesn't hide his damage to education
By Andy Ford
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
When Gov. Rick Scott announced his budget proposal in February, the word "education" was notably absent from the political event.

Running Rick Scott’s education claims through the Malarkey Meter
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott’s newest slogan is “Less Waste – More for education.”

FSU faculty committee reviewing Koch agreement
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A committee appointed by faculty leaders at Florida State University has begun reviewing the university's unusual contract with a famously conservative donor.

As debt mounts, few college students understand loan payoff process
By Leslie Williams Hale
Naples Daily News
Janea Soliven is more than five years out of college, and she’s still learning how her student loans work.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Rich Templin of the Florida AFL-CIO on the new state budget
By Robert Lorei
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Today we'll talk about the new state budget signed last Thursday by Governor Rick Scott. Our guest is Rich Templin, Ph.D., Legislative and Political Director of the Florida AFL-CIO.

Florida consumer confidence holds steady in May
By Donna Gehrke-White
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Floridians are still wary of the economy, and their own current financial situation, but at least the state's consumer confidence didn't decline for a fourth straight month.

Insurance Rate Increases
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Tornadoes and floods taking lives and destroying homes throughout the country could raise the price Floridians pay for property insurance.

Tourism BP funds finalized
By Jamie Page
Pensacola News Journal
Escambia County commissioners on Thursday awarded $4.38 million in BP grant money to — as Commissioner Marie Young once put it — "the same people who always get the money."

Florida makes short list of states adequately funding road repairs
By Brent Henzi
The Florida Current
Florida is one of only four states and Washington D.C. to spend the adequate amount of money on road maintenance to maintain quality roads, a new report shows.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Three doctors groups suing Florida over law limiting doctors in asking patients about guns
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Three groups of doctors are suing Gov. Rick Scott over a bill he signed into law Thursday restricting health care workers from asking patients questions about guns.

Scott to sign 'pill mill' regulation bill Friday
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott will sign HB 7095, the "pill mill bill," tomorrow at ceremonies around the state.

Drug co-pays soar; patients frantic
By Brittany Davis
Health News Florida
Each time Judith Postol swallowed a pill in May, she’d anxiously count down how many were left.

State facing unexpected $45 million Medicaid shortfall, officials say
By Liz Freeman
Naples Daily News
Florida hospitals are being dealt more budgetary woes, this time through an unexpected letter from the state Medicaid program.

New Fla. nursing home watchdog rejects criticisms
By Matt Sedensky
Associated Press
The new top advocate for Florida's nursing home residents insisted Thursday he is committed to patients' wellbeing and rejected suggestions he is too friendly with the industry to effectively serve as watchdog.

Bureau of HIV/AIDS director explains Drug Assistance Program crisis, ignores federal report
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
That Florida’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program has been in a funding crisis since 2010 is no secret, but how the state helped make that crisis possible has been largely ignored.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Welfare providers on drug-test law: It's not so simple
By Ihosvani Rodriguez
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Fleeing from an abusive husband, Sherry Holland packed her three children into a U-Haul van and headed hundreds of miles to Florida looking for a new life.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Fla. high court has new policy in some death cases
By Brendan Farrington
Associated Press
The state Supreme Court reversed a death sentence in a 1988 Pensacola quadruple murder case and then told the lower court Thursday that there is no longer a need to hold a new sentencing hearing, just decide whether Michael Coleman should serve his four life sentences concurrently or consecutively.

Citrus County electrician gets Gov. Rick Scott's first full pardon
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
James Turner received something Thursday no one else has from Gov. Rick Scott: a full pardon.

Judge looking into perjury claims
By Jim Ash
Florida Capital News
Leon Circuit Judge Terry Lewis is expected to decide soon whether he will order a top prosecutor for State Attorney Willie Meggs to turn over records from an informal perjury investigation to a crusading Tallahassee attorney.

Daily Clips for June 2, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

ACLU sues Scott over state employee drug-test order; Scott vows to take to Supreme Court
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Saying Gov. Rick Scott's executive order requiring drug testing of state employees is an unconstitutional invasion of privacy, the ACLU has sued Scott in the first of what is expected to be a string of lawsuits against Florida over civil liberties.

Alan Mendelsohn sentenced to four years in prison for political corruption
By Jay Weaver
Miami Herald
U.S. District Judge William Zloch slammed a respected Broward County physician with a four-year prison sentence on Wednesday, sending a strong message against the corrupting influence of special-interest lobbyists who raise millions for politicians in Tallahassee — in exchange for favors.

Listen: Haridopolos kicked off radio show for dodging Ryan budget question
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
Related: Haridopolos clarifies position on Medicare
Florida Senate President and U.S. Senate Candidate Mike Haridopolos was kicked off a conservative Central Florida radio show after declining to answer questions about Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget plan.

FRS rules are about to change; get prepared now
By Paul Flemming
Florida Capital News
For more than 655,000 public employees in the massive Florida Retirement System, the rules are about to change.

Enough roadblocks: Do the voters' will
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Perhaps now House Speaker Dean Cannon and Senate President Mike Haridopolos will hear the message that 63 percent of voters delivered unequivocally in November: Florida has new rules for drawing political districts to make them more competitive.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida cracks down on everybody (except Decent People)
By Howard Troxler
St. Petersburg Times
Public employees, as we all know, are parasites who should be punished.

For Rick Scott, Reputation Has Consequences
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
As we like to tell adolescents, there are repercussions to having a bad rep.

State Sen. Mike Fasano most vocal voice of Republican opposition
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
The most vocal and effective critic of the Republican agenda in Tallahassee stood before a TV camera to assess the 2011 legislative session.

Collier elections chief won't implement Gov. Scott's new voter law until OK'd by Justice Dept.
By Eric Staats
Naples Daily News
Florida’s roll out of a controversial new elections law hit a speed bump in Collier County in the days after Gov. Rick Scott signed it.

Donation charges dog Buchanan
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, still has not shaken allegations that he benefitted from illegal campaign donations to win election to Congress in 2006 and 2008.

Florida Democrats demand that Buchanan resign as National Republican Congressional Committee vice chair
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
The Florida Democratic Party is demanding that Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, resign from his role as vice chair for finance with the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Smith stops short of booting Ausman from party post
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith suspended Leon County State Committeeman Jon Ausman through next year’s presidential contest, but stopped short Wednesday of following a party panel’s recommendation that he be tossed off the executive committee.

McCollum joins Washington D.C. based firm
Staff Report
The Florida Current
Former Attorney General Bill McCollum is headed back to Washington D.C. after SNR Denton announced on Wednesday that he will oversee the law firm’s state attorneys general practice out of their D.C. offices.

POLITICAL RACES

Jeb Bush won't run for president, so his backers turn to Tim Pawlenty
By Mike Thomas
Orlando Sentinel
The Cult of Jeb held out hope until almost the very end that he would run for president.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Scott's $2.5 million veto kneecaps regional planning councils
By Bruce Ritchie
The Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott's veto last week of $2.5 million for regional planning councils is raising concerns about the future role of those 11 councils.

Nesting turtles give clues on oil spill's impact
By Ramit Plushnick-Masti
Associated Press
Nearly hidden by brownish sand, the Kemps ridley sea turtle digging furiously with her back flippers as she carved out a flask-shaped hole to lay her eggs wasn't aware of the excitement she was generating among the scientists, volunteers and beach-goers watching from a distance.

More pumping planned from Lake Okeechobee despite Audubon report of failing kite nests
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
Water managers intend to install more pumps on the southern edge of Lake Okeechobee to move more water from the shallow lake to thirsty sugar and vegetable farms.

Gov. Scott pushes hurricane prep measures
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Florida Gov. Rick Scott opened Florida's hurricane season Wednesday in Orlando with an appeal to families to make a clear plan heading into what's expected to be a busy summer.

A short-sighted veto
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
People routinely call for government to be run like a business, which is a mistake because it isn't one.

Veto this anti-jobs bill
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
If Gov. Scott signs the bill to abolish growth management, as everyone expects him to do, he probably will claim that it's all about helping Florida's economy by removing barriers to development. But that would be a lie.

A big chemistry experiment
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
Questions about the ultimate impact of the BP oil spill continue to pile up.

LGBT

Ros-Lehtinen becomes first GOP co-sponsor of act to ban discrimination against gay adoptive parents
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami, the nation's leading GOP lawmaker on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues, has signed on to support the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would prevent local laws against gay parents adopting.

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz recognizes LGBT Pride Month
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston, the new chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, has joined President Barack Obama in recognizing LGBT Pride Month.

EDUCATION

The battle over belt loops, saggy pants gets literal
By Tom Flanigan
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
This year, Florida lawmakers finally passed a bill giving public school districts the power to ban droopy pants worn by students.

Palm Beach County school board starts work on $2.5 billion budget that cuts 745 positions, creates one upaid furlough day
By Allison Ross and Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post
Palm Beach County School Board members got their first look tonight at next year's proposed budget, which would cut about $35.2 million, eliminate 745 positions and give all employees a one-day unpaid furlough.

Tuition hikes, cuts in aid pinch Florida college students
By Denise-Marie Balona
Orlando Sentinel
College students across Florida will return to classes this fall facing steep tuition increases and a variety of other cost hikes — all at a time when they'll be seeing less financial aid from the state.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Hundreds of state employees rush to beat retirement program changes
By Lucy Morgan
St. Petersburg Times
Hundreds of state and local employees are rushing to enter a popular retirement program to beat a July 1 deadline that will substantially reduce lump-sum payments some receive when they retire.

Can Florida bear the financial costs of a hurricane? Maybe, maybe not
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
This week marks the start of hurricane season and as Floridians make the dash to the nearest store to stock up on essentials like canned foods, water and tarps, the state has been prepping too.

Foreclosures expected to take longer as 'rocket docket' ends
By Mary Shanklin
Orlando Sentinel
Florida's foreclosure pipeline is expected to clog again, further delaying the state's real-estate recovery, when a special judicial program sometimes called the "rocket docket" comes to end June 30.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Biological Effects of Other Wireless Technologies Also Raise Concern
By Stephanie Carroll Carson and Chris Thomas
Public News Service Florida
After years of speculation, there is confirmation from the world's leading health body that minimizing cell phone use is a good idea, and scientists outside the World Health Organization (WHO) say other biological effects, beyond cancer, also are cause for caution.

Cell phone cancer risks: Can you fear me now?
By Robert Trigaux
St. Petersburg Times
There's something distinctly uncomfortable about a product that might cause cancer being used, often avidly, by 5 billion people worldwide.

Lawmakers: Get tough on ALF watchdogs
By Carol Marbin Miller, Michael Sallah and Rob Barry
Miami Herald
One of the state’s most powerful lawmakers has proposed punishing agency heads and inspectors who fail to police assisted-living facilities that violate state law.

Report: Cuts to Healthy Start could mean over 14,000 fewer at-risk women and children served
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Related: Scott cuts vaccinations for postpartum women on Medicaid
According to the “End of Session” report from the Florida House of Representatives released this week, Florida’s Healthy Start Coalitions lost $5.2 million dollars in state funding this year.

What federal decision to shoot down Indiana Medicaid plan could mean for Florida
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department has shot down Indiana’s plan to defund Planned Parenthood in its Medicaid plan.

Desperately seeking drug co-pays
By Brittany Davis
Health News Florida
Each time Judith Postol swallowed a pill in May, she’d anxiously count down how many were left.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

State worker suing Gov. Rick Scott over drug tests wouldn't be tested
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Thousands of state employees could be subjected to random drug tests under an order from Gov. Rick Scott.

ACLU sues over drug tests
By Jim Ash
Florida Capital News
The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit Wednesday in a Miami federal court challenging Gov. Rick Scott's executive order forcing state employees to undergo random drug tests.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Gainesville businessmen admit paying bribes to Florida prison officials
By Lucy Morgan
St. Petersburg Times
Two Gainesville businessmen have admitted paying bribes to state prison officials and officers of Keefe Commissary, the St. Louis company that provides snacks and other items to Florida's prison inmates.

Daily Clips for June 1, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

State Budget Sinks Florida Consumer Confidence, UF Says
By Kenric Ward
Sunshine State News
Excerpt: “Rick Scott ran on creating jobs, but instead he is running Florida’s economy into the ditch,” said Mark Ferrulo, executive director of Progress Florida. “Since this governor has been in office, we have seen him break his promise not to cut education funding, turn down job-creating projects such as high-speed rail, and today he signs a budget that eliminates thousands of jobs," Ferrulo said shortly before the budget-signing ceremony Thursday.

FEATURED STORIES

Department of Justice signs off on redistricting amendments
By Mark K. Matthews and Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
The U.S. Department of Justice has approved the language of the "FairDistricts Florida" constitutional amendments designed to restrict political gerrymandering, freeing the Florida Legislature to begin its once-a-decade redrawing of congressional and legislative districts.

Gov. Rick Scott includes 'failed stimulus' money in budget
By Marc Caputo
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Rick Scott's stimulus flip flop -- the video
Gov. Rick Scott campaigned against President Barack Obama's "failed stimulus" program — yet the freshman politician kept nearly $370 million of the federal cash in the Florida budget he signed last week.

Scott signs bills requiring drug testing for welfare applicants, making bath-salt possession illegal
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
People applying for welfare benefits in Florida will have to pay for and take a drug test under a bill signed Tuesday by Gov. Rick Scott.

Scott quietly signs tax cut package into law
By Gary Fineout
The Current
Gov. Rick Scott, who made a cut in the corporate income tax a key centerpiece of his budget proposal, signed a slimmed down version of his signature measure into law on Tuesday with little fanfare.

Rep. Vern Buchanan's former company violated law, Federal Election Commission says
By Lesley Clark
Miami Herald
The Federal Election Commission is asking a federal court to impose a $67,900 fine on a company formerly co-owned by Rep. Vern Buchanan that it says engaged in an "extensive and ongoing scheme" to reimburse employees who made contributions to the Sarasota Republican's congressional campaign.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Excuse me, governor, but have you met 'democracy?'
By Sue Carlton
St. Petersburg Times
Despite the recent budget-signing soiree during which some who disagreed were told to leave, Florida's $69 billion budget does not belong to the governor.

Local Republicans, Democrats squabble over new Florida election law
By Sara Kennedy
Bradenton Herald
It’s squabbling as usual between the political parties over an elections bill recently signed by Gov. Rick Scott.

Redistricting measures get green light from federal government
By Gary Fineout
The Current
The U.S. Department of Justice has signed off on Amendment 5 and Amendment 6, the two constitutional amendments that mandate that state lawmakers follow certain standards when redrawing lines for legislative and Congressional districts.

Gov. Rick Scott signs law requiring Floridians to pass drug tests to get state benefits
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Floridians must submit urine, blood or hair samples for drug testing before receiving cash benefits from the state under a bill Gov. Rick Scott signed into law Tuesday.

Scott's name on Florida road signs gives warning to visitors
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
Somebody ought to defend Gov. Rick Scott's decision to spend $8,800 in state transportation funds to have his name added to the state's roadway welcome signs.

Stop silencing the wonks
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
It didn't get much attention, but the Legislature took one more step toward eliminating a small agency that watches the state government.

POLITICAL RACES

RNC Chairman appoints executive team for 2012 GOP Convention
By Christian M. Wade
Tampa Tribune
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Tuesday announced new staff to manage to oversee the 2012 Republican National Convention.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Personhood supporters argue against rape, incest exceptions in anti-abortion laws
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Though a so-called “personhood” amendment, which would criminalize abortion and some forms of birth control, has yet to gain support among Florida lawmakers, Personhood USA is still increasingly active across the country.

LGBT

Gay couples quietly adopting in Florida
By Elaine Silvestrini
Tampa Tribune
Stanley Kroh knew he was the boys' father, even though Florida didn't agree.

EDUCATION

Governor and Legislature failed to fund schools at level required by Constitution
By Julie Delegal
Florida Times-Union
Gov. Rick Scott, who originally wanted a 10 percent cut to public education, now cries crocodile tears over the Legislature's failure to hold education harmless.

State poised to OK new teacher evaluations
By Lilly Rockwell
News Service of Florida
Class attendance will count.

Wanted: rock star to be Florida's top schools chief
By Ron Matus and Jeffrey S. Solochek
St. Petersburg Times
Florida, the Big Man on Campus in some education reform circles, was supposed to swagger up and get the pick of the litter for a new education commissioner.

FSU students get 'Koch'ed out
By Katherine Concepcion
FSView
The debate over a controversial $1.5 million donation to the Florida State University Department of Economics by the Charles G. Koch Foundation continues to get heated, with opposing sides using Facebook to debate their positions.

400 Broward teachers shifted to new schools
By Carli Teproff
Miami Herald
With budget cuts forcing many Broward principals to downsize their staff, more than 400 Broward teachers will be moving to new assignments at a different school come this fall.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Fla. consumer confidence holds steady; US index dips
By Anthony Clark
Gainesville Sun
Consumer confidence in Florida leveled off in May after three months of declines, but the national mood toward spending took an unexpected dip in separate surveys out Tuesday.

South Florida home prices worst since crash
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post
South Florida home prices in March hit their lowest level since the real estate crash, a crushing drop that reflected the nationwide trend and one that had economists declaring recent market gains artificial.

Five reasons that Florida homeowners insurance is still getting more expensive
By Jeff Harrington
St. Petersburg Times
Florida's annual, high-stakes game of hurricane lotto — will we be hit by a major storm this year or not?

Minimum Wage Increases to $7.31 an Hour
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Tomorrow 188-thousand of the state’s lowest paid workers will get a pay raise.

Sales tax holiday signed into law
By Peter Schorsch
St. Petersblog 2.0
Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Tuesday that creates a three-day holiday from the state sales tax on many items starting Aug. 12.

Rejecting high-speed rail money was big mistake
By Alcee L. Hastings
South Florida Sun Sentinel
As gas prices hover around $4 per gallon nationwide, Floridians are reminded yet again of what could have been.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

DCF chief explains how kids won't be put at risk as agency cuts 500 jobs
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
I was prepared for Florida's new secretary of children and family issues to give me all the standard lines.

Scott cuts programs for at-risk first-time mothers
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Last week, Gov. Rick Scott cut close to $2 million in health services for at-risk women and children in line-item vetoes to the state budget.

Another line-item veto: Specialized health care for low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The Apopka Family Health Center in Orange County was one of the many health care centers servicing at-risk women that received a line-item veto from the state budget last week.

Premiums cut on pre-existing condition health care coverage
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
After only a smattering of people enrolled in the pre-existing condition insurance plan created by the Obama administration's health overhaul last year, the federal government said Tuesday it will lower premiums by up to 40 percent in states like Florida and make it easier to apply.

Protestors call on Rubio to preserve current Medicare budget
By Kate Bradshaw
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Last week the U.S. Senate shot down a controversial House budget that included sweeping changes to Medicare, but critics of the proposal aren’t quite ready to rest easy.

Elton John urges Scott to save HIV/AIDS funding
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Singer Elton John is urging Gov. Rick Scott to protect a program that helps low-income HIV/AIDS patients obtain medication needed to control the virus.

Jackson Health System seeks $200 million from unions to balance 2012 budget
By John Dorschner
Miami Herald
Jackson Health System executives announced Tuesday that they want to reduce salaries and benefits for the system’s 11,100 employees by more than $200 million to help shrink a budget gap for fiscal 2012.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Florida immigration bill's failure angers tea-party backers
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Republican politicians across Florida and the nation pounded the campaign pavement in 2010 with fiery rhetoric about the need to secure the country's borders and send illegal immigrants home.