Daily Clips for July 6, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Florida’s Top Political Tweeters for July
By Peter Schorsch
St. Petersblog 2.0
Note: Progress Florida is again listed among the top political tweeters in Florida, and ranks first among organizations. Follow us at http://twitter.com/progressflorida.

FEATURED STORIES

Hundreds turn out to oppose RV camping sites at Honeymoon Island state park
By Craig Pittman
St. Petersburg Times
Florida's most popular state park, Honeymoon Island, should be left the way it is with no additional camp sites or spaces for recreational vehicles, a stream of devoted Honeymoon fans told state park officials Tuesday night during a public hearing that lasted about four hours.

Florida Democrats struggle to capitalize on Hispanic surge
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Florida Democrats have seen their registration numbers swell in recent years, due in large part to a surge in Hispanic voters.

Florida Watch Action ties Haridopolos to Scott in new video clip
By Cooper Levey-Baker
Florida Independent
In a new YouTube clip titled “Mike Haridopolos–Pink Slip Puppet,” the progressive group Florida Watch Action uses a series of short sound bites to tie Florida Senate President and U.S. Senate hopeful Haridopolos to Gov. Rick Scott, specifically highlighting his positions on education funding, offshore drilling and high-speed rail.

Teachers’ union sends Scott a message from Chicago
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
The state’s largest teachers’ union, which has already sued Gov. Rick Scott over the new law requiring payroll contributions to the Florida Retirement System, went a little more public Tuesday with its criticism of the Republican governor.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Another departure for Scott administration
Staff Report
Florida Tribune
Brian Hughes, the combative second-in-command for the press shop of Gov. Rick Scott, is leaving his job to join the Republican Party of Florida.

Gov. Rick Scott's net worth drops by $115 million
By Michael C. Bender and Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott's net worth dropped by $115 million in 2010, but his income soared nearly 40 percent in the sluggish economy.

Governor Scott Stops for Food, Gets Booed
Staff Report
First Coast News
A dinner in San Marco Tuesday night came to a rather unpleasant end for Governor Rick Scott.

Scott touts Florida's 'military-friendly' perks for active-duty members and vets
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Surrounded by war memorabilia on the day after the Fourth of July, Gov. Rick Scott held ceremonial bill signings at the Armed Forces Military Museum, showing "just a very small part" of the state's gratitude for veterans' service to the country.

Hacker Claims to Have Revealed Part of Florida Voter Database
By Matthew Hendley
Broward New Times
A hacker going by the name Abhaxas claims to have hacked part of the Florida voter database and publicly posted his findings.

Former Republican Party of Florida chair Jim Greer has same attorney as Casey Anthony
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Why should Jim Greer be smiling after the Casey Anthony verdict?

Hearings take redistricting questions to communities
By Sen. Don Gaetz and Rep. Will Weatherford
Daytona Beach News-Journal
This summer, lawmakers from across the state will begin the process of redrawing Florida's boundary lines for equal representation.

POLITICAL RACES

Introducing the St. Petersburg Times' Florida Insider Poll
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
He's an obscure former state House member competing against a former U.S. senator and Florida Senate president, but dozens of smart Florida politicos see Adam Hasner as the favorite to win the Republican U.S. Senate nomination.

Haridopolos Raises $900,000 in 2nd Quarter
By Joshua Miller
Roll Call
Florida Senate hopeful Mike Haridopolos raised more than $900,000 in the second quarter, a significant drop-off from his first-quarter haul.

Tampa's GOP convention a security challenge
By Josh Poltilove
Tampa Tribune
Presidential conventions typically have 3,500 to 4,200 people helping with public safety. Every day.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Rick Scott's Quiet Campaign Against the Environment
By Lisa Rab
Broward New Times
​Remember the environmental apocalypse Rick Scott was supposed to create?

Budget cuts a step back for marine research
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Crippled by debt and funding cuts, the ocean research institute that played a critical role in responding to last year's oil disaster is struggling to keep its science ships afloat.

Fire Danger Lessening
By Whitney Ray
Florida Capital News
This morning there were 96 wildfires burning in Florida, down from more than 430 active fires just two weeks ago, but the danger isn’t over.

DEP still working to fill high level vacancies, including modified positions
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has filled one high-level job vacancy, eliminated another and modified two vacant positions to go along with three other remaining vacancies.

Increase mileage standards
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
America lags behind China, Europe and Japan in demanding better fuel efficiency from its vehicles.

EDUCATION

State asks court to toss school-quality lawsuit
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
Can Florida's courts judge whether the state's public schools are high quality and adequately funded?

Central Florida schools scramble to find money as federal stimulus funds run out
By Erica Rodriguez
Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida school districts are saying goodbye to nearly a half a billion dollars in federal economic-recovery money this week as they close their budgets for the 2011-2012 school year.

Duval County appeals to maintain control of intervene schools
By Topher Sanders
Florida Times-Union
Avoiding lawsuits, creating a new partnering organization and lacking a valid way to compare this year's FCAT with previous exams are some of the reasons why Duval County Public Schools wants another year to manage its four most struggling schools.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Public workers flooded DROP as pension changes took effect
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Applications to the state’s deferred retirement program, known as DROP, spiked leading up July 1, when major changes to the public pension plan took effect.

Will the professional deregulation bill return?
By Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times
Floridians logged more than 45,000 complaints to a state consumer hot line during the latest fiscal year, up 20 percent from the year before.

Legislature short-changes homeowners on solar rebates
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
It bugs Timothy Rowe to hear about a new rebate program for homeowners who install solar panels on their roofs.

Atlantis' final launch inspires bittersweet celebration
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
Call it a goodbye party, attended by perhaps a million people.

Storms may wash out last space shuttle launch Fri.
By Marcia Dunn
Associated Press
NASA's last space shuttle countdown is under way, but lousy weather may delay Friday's launch attempt.

SEC launches investigation into St. Joe
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The St. Joe Co. says the Securities and Exchange Commission has begun a "private investigation" of the company's business practices.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Cuts at nursing homes: Local centers have options, say they won’t reduce staff
By Stacey Singer and Toni-Ann Miller
Palm Beach Post
Starting this month, Florida's 70,000 nursing home residents could find fewer nurses at their bedside after the Florida Legislature voted to lower the homes' minimum staffing standard by about 8 percent to help them absorb another round of Medicaid budget cuts.

U.S. Rep. Deutch tells seniors Medicare benefits shouldn't be cut
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Gerald Kanovsky, 75, worries Washington politicians, in the midst of negotiations to reduce the federal budget deficit, are going to sell Medicare recipients like him down the river.

State seizes thousands of pills during pill mill crackdown
Staff Report
Florida Tribune
State agents swept through pain clinics and doctor offices on Tuesday as part of a new crackdown authorized by the state's new law aimed at battling pill mills that prescribe drugs such as Oxycodone.

Many who skipped dental visits in the recession now face pricey procedures
By Sonja Isger
Palm Beach Post
When the economy tanked and some people felt they had to choose between their groceries and their gums, many went with the groceries and skipped those dental cleanings and checkups.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Florida business leaders oppose E-Verify immigration bill
By Alfonso Chardy
Miami Herald
If Congress passes a law mandating that private businesses verify the immigration status of employees, the requirement could disrupt or wreck certain businesses including Florida’s farms and hospitality industry, which thrives on international tourism, according to business leaders from several states, including Florida.

Daily Clips for July 5, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Progressives protest Rick Scott in St. Pete
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Florida Watch Action, Progress Florida and Awake the State organized the protest to coincide with Scott’s speech and more than a hundred new laws went into effect today.

Thumb down: Textbook by Sen. Mike Haridopolos hardly jumping off the shelves
Editorial
TC Palm
Initially, the book written for Brevard Community College by state This week, the liberal advocacy group, Progress Florida, in a story picked up by The Associated Press, reported that the book, "Florida Legislative History and Processes," had sold only 70 copies…If the state senator isn't embarrassed by this episode, he should be.

AWAKE THE STATE IN THE NEWS

Protestors voice disapproval of Scott in St. Pete
By Keeley Sheehan
Crative Loafing Tampa
Excerpt: “We want to show [the legislature] that people don’t agree with the policies put in place,” said Kofi Hunt, organizing member of Awake Pinellas, a branch of grassroots Florida organization, Awake the State. They want the legislature to rethink its policies, and “represent the people, not personal agendas.”

Chamber's ‘Six Pillars' not what you think
By Bruce Seaman
Ocala Star-Banner
Much of the damaging legislation approved by the Florida Legislature is due to lobbying by the Florida Chamber of Commerce. The local "Awake the State" effort joins statewide partners in exposing the Florida Chamber as nothing more than the lobbying arm for Big Business interests with scant interest in local communities or businesses.

FEATURED STORIES

In affront to his tea party base, Florida Gov. Rick Scott approves SunRail
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
In an affront to his tea party base and to backers of a Florida bullet train he killed earlier this year, Gov. Rick Scott on Friday gave the green light to SunRail, a controversial Orlando-area commuter rail project on hold since he took office.

State layoffs of 1,300 employees hitting home
By Steve Bousquet, Stephanie Wang, Jamal Thalji and Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Millions of Floridians head back to work today after a three-day Fourth of July weekend.

Scott cuts money for vets, kids — but not lobbyist
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
Call it the allocation of the immaculate conception — an unrequested $1.5 million surreptitiously folded into legislation even while $3.8 billion was being ripped from the state budget with brutal cuts in education and infrastructure and state worker pensions and programs for the poor, elderly and disabled.

Gov. Rick Scott goes 'into lion's den' to address newspaper editors
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related editorial: Scott shows contempt for open government
Standing in front of many of Florida's newspaper editors for the first time Friday, Gov. Rick Scott said charging for public records was more important than the chilling effect the policy could have on scrutiny of state government.

Robocalls, canned email may be a sign of GOP concern for 2012
By Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune
Michael Joyce is tired of receiving phone calls from Gov. Rick Scott.

Florida hopes to expand camping at state parks
By Paul Flemming
Florida Capital News
Florida wants to expand camping at its state parks and officials propose to do so with private development of campsites at up to 56 of them.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Chan Lowe
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Artist's commentary: Fair Districts and fact

FLORIDA POLITICS

Malarkey Meter: Fair districts fiasco (video story)
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Summary Closed Captioning Scott Maxwell puts the fair districts fiasco to the test in this week's Malarkey Meter.

Charging maximum for public records ‘right thing to do,’ Gov. Scott says
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott defended his administration’s public records policy to a roomful of media executives Friday at the annual meeting of the Florida Press Association and Florida Society of Newspaper Editors.

Scott's attempts to raise rating may hurt
By Bill Rufty
Winter Haven News Chief
Gov. Rick Scott has become embroiled in controversy over an attempt to raise his 29 percent approval rating that was reported in the latest Quinnipiac Poll.

PR gimmicks can't obscure Rick Scott's poor start
By Ron Littlepage
Florida Times-Union
Gov. Rick Scott is doing one heck of a job.

Can Florida Gov. Rick Scott become more than a punch line?
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times
After six months as governor, Rick Scott remains a national punch line.

The insider in Gov. Rick Scott's team of outsiders
By Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald
In the Capitol, everyone needs an insider.

Rick Scott finds ways to skirt mainstream media
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott, plagued by plummeting poll ratings and a fractious relationship with the state's traditional media, has increasingly turned to alternative methods of communicating with voters — including social media — in an effort to improve his public image.

Gov. Scott's wealth declines 53 percent
By Paul Flemming and Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
Florida's wealthiest governor is a lot less rich these days.

Big corporations calling the shots
By Seeta Begui
Florida Today
The Tea Party of 1773 was an action taken because of a tax levied by British lawmakers for Americans living in the colonies.

Major Tallahassee lobbying firm picks up Jim Smith
By Gary Fineout
Florida Current
Former Attorney General Jim Smith is joining Southern Stategy Group after leaving the firm he started with his son-in-law Brian Ballard.

Gov. Scott's taxes
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Apparently, Gov. Rick Scott hates taxes, except when it comes to taxing Floridians for their right to know what's going on in his office.

POLITICAL RACES

Some fear tea party could hurt GOP in 2012
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Some Republican fear the tea party movement that gave Republicans key wins last November could be a detriment in 2012.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott: No way I'm not running for re-election
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Imagine you're Gov. Rick Scott. After spending $73 million of your own money to win office, you face protesters constantly, you have little privacy and you are America's most unpopular governor.

Gov. Scott doesn't need to be popular -- yet
By Thomas Tryon
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott said it. I believe it.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Gov. Rick Scott defends plan to expand camping in state parks
By Craig Pittman
St. Petersburg Times
Despite strong criticism from members of his own party, Republican Gov. Rick Scott on Friday defended his administration's push to add new campgrounds with spaces for recreational vehicles in more than 50 state parks, including Dunedin's popular Honeymoon Island State Park.

Meetings seek public input on camping
By Dinah Voyles Pulver
Daytona Beach News-Journal
A series of four meetings taking place this week, including one in DeLeon Springs, asks the public to weigh in on adding family-style camping to more Florida state parks.

Budget cuts hurt Everglades
By Allan Milledge
Orlando Sentinel
"To maintain our natural wealth, we must engage in full and complete conservation of all our resources."

Can Florida dry up? We seem intent to find out
By Carl Wernicke
Pensacola News Journal
Droughts come and go, and Florida has always experienced its wet and dry seasons. But natural Florida was fully evolved to wait out the droughts and dry out from the floods.

Governor's energy policy veers toward drilling
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Gov. Rick Scott and state Senate President Mike Haridopolos have short memories.

Water testing to decline?
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
Frankly, we think our Gulf beaches are better than the three-out-of-five-stars ranking given them by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

LGBT

Obama administration says DOMA motivated by hate of gays, supports lesbian employee's case
By Sudhin Thanawala
Associated Press
In a strongly worded legal brief, the Obama administration has said the federal act that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman was motivated by hostility toward gays and lesbians and is unconstitutional.

Florida not close to backing gay marriage
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Legalized gay marriage continues to be a national trend. Unfortunately, don't expect that trend to come to Florida any time in the near future.

EDUCATION

Black colleges' goal: More graduates
By Bill Maxwell
St. Petersburg Times
President Barack Obama spoke in August at the University of Texas in Austin, urging the United States to regain the world lead in college graduation rates by 2020.

Adult-education classes in Florida now come with fees
By Denise-Marie Balona
Orlando Sentinel
Florida educators worry that a new fee on adult-education classes will force students to drop out of a program meant to help them secure work or higher-paying jobs.

Cautionary tales
Editorial
Florida Today
Welcome to Florida, Commissioner of Education Gerard Robinson.

FSU study of Bright Futures scholarships welcome
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Yes, $780,000 is a lot to pay for data and research that state officials should already have in hand.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Gov. Rick Scott says SunRail, hi-speed rail “two totally different” projects
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott defended his decision to allow a controversial Central Florida commuter rail project to move forward, saying he legally had no authority to block the $1.5 billion SunRail line as he did when rejecting $2.4 billion in federal funds for high-speed rail.

Tallahassee judge rejects union request to segregate employee pension payments
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times
Saying unions were requesting a "drastic remedy which should be granted only sparingly," Leon County Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford rejected a union request to issue an injunction and segregate public employees' 3 percent pension contributions from the state's retirement fund. A new law requiring the payments went into effect Friday.

Unions to keep fighting set aside of pension funds
By Brent Kallestad
Associated Press
Despite an unfavorable judicial ruling on their first stop, union leaders representing teachers and other public employees say they have just begun their fight against a new Florida law taking effect Friday that requires workers to contribute 3 percent of their pay to retirement.

Tight budget meant few tax cuts by Florida Legislature
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
What makes a successful lawmaking session?

Florida Cities Struggle with State Funding Cuts
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
The massive budget cuts passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature, and signed into law by Tea Party-backed Gov. Rick Scott, are coming home to roost in Florida's municipalities.

Infographic: 1,662 State Workers' Employment Ends Today
Staff Report
Florida Current
As originally reported by The Florida Current, July 1st marked the last day on the job for 1,662 agency employees.

Change to FRS has $93 million price tag for Big Bend area
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Today
In all the debate about requiring public employees to ante up 3 percent of their salaries for retirement, both sides agree on one thing.

It's your last chance to see a shuttle launch
Staff Report
Ft. Myers News-Press
Viewing history won't be easy for Southwest Floridians wanting to drive to the east coast to see the final space shuttle launch scheduled for Friday.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Health care: Private managed-care plans not answer
By Stephen Galvacky
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The Legislature's planned conversion of Medicaid into private managed-care plans certainly got the backing of the for-profit HMO industry.

Hopes crushed for seniors seeking care at home
By Brian Lee
St. Petersburg Times
The Legislative Budget Committee's recent decision to reject federal Money Follows the Person dollars is not only baffling but an affront to nursing home residents and their families.

Medicaid fraud probe focuses on state lawmaker
By Michael Sallah, Rob Barry and Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
Months after Florida lawmaker Daphne Campbell promised to crack down on Medicaid fraud, state agents are now carrying out her pledge by focusing on an unexpected target: Campbell's own health care business.

Blood bank officials on alert for parasite-spreading tick making its way to S. Florida
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
As if Lyme disease wasn't worrisome enough, ticks are increasingly spreading a malaria-like parasite to humans which infects red blood cells, and has been fatal.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Hackers continue 'Operation Orlando' website attacks
By Mark Schlueb
Orlando Sentinel
Computer hackers continued their assault on Orlando websites on Friday, attempting to disrupt the site for Orlando International Airport going into a busy travel weekend.

Tarpon Springs Food Not Bombs has mellow protest in solidarity with its Orlando comrades
By Kate Bradshaw
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
The battle over the right to share food with the hungry may be raging in Orlando, but a solidarity demonstration in Tarpon Springs suggests that perhaps not all touristy Florida towns are ready to bring down the gauntlet on the practice.

Wake up, poor people: You really don't have rights
By Paul Flemming
Ft. Myers News-Press
>From now on (or until the courts overturn it) Floridians will be free from the scourge of the drug-addicted welfare recipient supporting his $8-a-day crack habit at the public trough.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Appeals Court: Illegal Residents Entitled to Workers' Compensation
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
After dropping out of school in his native Mexico, Luis Aragon crossed the U.S. border as an illegal immigrant at age 16 in search of work.

Daily Clips for July 1, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Protest Planned for Gov. Scott's St. Pete Visit
By Linda Hersey
Patch.com
Progress Florida – a grassroots group that has organized voter opposition to Gov. Rick Scott – plans to protest the Florida governor's scheduled appearance Friday at the Vinoy Hotel in downtown St. Petersburg.

AWAKE THE STATE IN THE NEWS

Awake Pinellas protests against Scott and his "puppet" Haridopolos
By Monica Torres
Creative Loafing Tampa
Excerpt: Susannah Randolph, executive director of Florida Watch Action, targeted Sen. Mike Haridopolos as a “puppet” to Rick Scott, the governor the activists would like to give the “pink slip” to.

FEATURED STORIES

4 Florida GOP senate candidates mostly agree
By David Royse
News Service of Florida
The four Republican candidates for U.S. Senate generally agree on most issues facing the nation, with a couple minor exceptions, and spent most of a debate on Thursday directing most jabs not at each other but at Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, President Obama and former Gov. Charlie Crist.

Judge rules against putting pensions in separate account
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
A preliminary round in the legal fight over making public employees pay 3 percent into the Florida Retirement System was won by the state, as a circuit judge refused to make the government hold the money in a separate fund so it can be given back quickly if employees win their suit.

Gov. Scott's SunRail decision will be revealed at 11 a.m. on Friday
By Janet Zink
Miami Herald
Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad will make an announcement regarding the SunRail commuter rail project at FDOT headquarters in Tallahassee on Friday at 11 a.m.

Will Scott block still more grants?
By Brittany Davis and Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Dozens of health alliances around the state that are competing for big federal grants are worried that Gov. Rick Scott will block their chances of winning.

Phone deregulation, droopy-drawer regulation among 160 laws going on Fla. books Friday
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Old-school telephone users may see their rates skyrocket, school kids have to hike up their trousers and military vets can hunt in special areas under more than 160 new Florida laws that go into effect Friday.

Florida's a bleaker place for many
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
There can be no dispute. Today, Florida is a far less hospitable place to live for government workers, the elderly, the unemployed, women, students and property owners.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Drought! Straight Talk from the Real Book of Revelations
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
Drought, wildfires, floods. The first three minutes of network news is like a TV primer from the Book of Revelations.

An afternoon with Charlie, the once-and-future Governor
By Peter Schorsch
St. Petersblog 2.0
“Hey, Governor, please, PLEASE, run again,” said the hundredth or so person to shake hands with Charlie Crist last Saturday at the ‘Hands Across the Sand’ event in St. Pete Beach.

Rotting on the Vine: When Bad Public Policy Actually Works
By Benjamin Kirby
The Spencerian
Via Ghost in the Machine and The Atlanta Journal Constitution's Jay Bookman, the draconian immigration law in Georgia seems to be working.

Jeb's Florida 'miracle' coming to a state near you?
By iTeachQ
Daily Kos
Security at airports around the nation must be getting sick and tired of seeing education 'reformers' come to peddle their wares.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Kids, fall in line on the right for camp
By Daniel Ruth
St. Petersburg Times
Okay, kids, please put down your pitchforks and listen up.

Scott Takes Hardline Approach On Public Records Requests
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Lakeland Ledger
Gov. Rick Scott's combative relationship with Florida's media includes a hardline approach to providing public records.

New Florida laws take effect today
By Mark I. Johnson
Daytona Beach News-Journal
From requirements that employees in the Florida State Retirement system must contribute 3 percent of their salaries toward their pension to mandates that women get an ultrasound before getting an abortion, a variety of new state laws go into effect today.

They all love Debbie
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the new chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, spoke at the Florida Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner in Hollywood on June 11.

Tony Hill's new gig leaves an open Northeast Florida Senate seat
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Election season is coming early for Northeast Florida.

POLITICAL RACES

At first GOP Senate debate, 'Crist' tossed around like a dirty word
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
He has been off the public stage for nearly seven months and yet Charlie Crist's shadow still looms over the Florida GOP.

GOP Senate hopefuls differ on war plan
By William March
Tampa Tribune
President Barack Obama's Afghanistan troop withdrawal plan drew one of the few disagreements among four Republican U.S. Senate candidates in a debate Thursday.

Rubio to remain neutral during GOP presidential primary
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
It happens almost every time Sen. Marco Rubio sits down for a national TV interview. Will you be on the Republican presidential ticket in 2012?

Tim Pawlenty slips into Florida to raise cash for presidential run
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty slipped into Florida for a series of low-key events to raise some much-needed cash and make a pitch to the state's political elite.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Proposed ‘Religious Freedom’ amendment could complicate separation of church and state
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
An amendment repealing an existing ban on state funding for religious institutions in the state constitution is slated to appear on Florida’s 2012 ballot.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Haridopolos: No oil drilling next session
By David Royse
News Service of Florida
Senate President Mike Haridopolos said Thursday that while he’s in favor of boosting domestic oil drilling, and interested in studying “all options,” the Legislature will not pursue new drilling in near-shore Florida waters in the coming legislative session.

Scott says he'll consider meeting with governors of Alabama and Georgia on water dispute
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott says Florida needs to resolve some of its environmental disputes without litigation and indicated that he may consider meeting with the governors of Alabama and Georgia.

State parks issue receives national attention
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
The Rick Scott administration’s proposal to privatize portions of state parks is running up against increasing opposition.

Riverkeeper says Vinyard has promised ‘fresh set of eyes’ on Georgia-Pacific pipeline
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Since launching its campaign against a pipeline that would reroute much of a Palatka paper mill’s effluent into the St. Johns River, the St. Johns Riverkeeper has continued to maintain a drumbeat around the issue.

LGBT

Gay marriage no threat to traditional vows
By Ana Veciana-Suarez
Miami Herald
Any day now I’m expecting the fires of hell to scorch the earth and lightning to strike down sinners and saints alike.

EDUCATION

Fla. gives most elementary, middle schools A or B
By Christine Armario
Associated Press
More than two-thirds of Florida's public elementary and middle schools received an A or B grade on the state's annual assessment this year, the Department of Education said Thursday.

Rick Scott, Michelle Rhee praised charter school that just got an F (partly)
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
When Gov. Rick Scott unveiled some of his education policy proposals with school-choice celeb Michelle Rhee this January, they paid a visit to a second-grade class at Florida International Academy in Opa-Locka to showcase the successes of school choice.

State asks court to toss school-quality lawsuit
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
Can Florida's courts judge whether the state's public schools are high quality and adequately funded?

Some States Still Leave Low-Income Students Behind; Others Make Surprising Gains
By Sharona Coutts and Jennifer LaFleur
ProPublica
Florida is a state of stark contrasts. Travel a few miles from the opulent mansions of Miami Beach and you reach desperately poor neighborhoods.

Review of Florida Formula for Student Achievement: Lessons for the Nation
By William J. Mathis
National Education Policy Center
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the Foundation for Excellence in Education have embarked on a well-funded campaign to spread selected Florida education reforms to other states.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Unions try to protect money ahead of pending Florida pension changes
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Unions challenging a law that requires government workers to contribute to their state pension starting today have asked a judge to sequester the money in a separate fund until the lawsuit is resolved.

New drug tests for welfare applicants face hurdles, questions
By Kate Santich
Orlando Sentinel
A new state law requiring all welfare applicants to be drug-tested goes into effect today — even as opponents say the statute is riddled with problems and will not withstand a legal challenge.

South Florida FHP stations spared in cutback
Associated Press
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The Florida Highway Patrol is closing 10 stations Friday as part of the state's cost-cutting efforts.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Nursing home staffing level drops today
By Brittany Davis
Health News Florida
Nursing homes residents may have less face-time with their caregivers after a law takes effect today that revises minimum staffing levels.

Mandatory-ultrasound law goes into effect today
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Starting today, the state of Florida requires a doctor to perform an ultrasound prior to any abortion service, whether it is medically necessary or not.

Health care reform ruling suggests ‘political resolution’ should solve dispute
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
The Obama administration touted a victory Wednesday, as the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Affordable Care Act, the first time the federal health reform law was upheld by a Republican appointee.

Happy Birthday Medicare!
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Tomorrow marks the 45th anniversary of the implementation of Medicare (July 1, 1966), following President Lyndon Johnson’s signing of the landmark health care program on July 30, 1965.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Citing Homeless Law, Hackers Turn Sights on Orlando
By Don Van Natta Jr.
New York Times
The hacker group Anonymous has declared a cyberwar against the City of Orlando, disabling Web sites for the city’s leading redevelopment organization, the local Fraternal Order of Police and the mayor’s re-election campaign.

After a century of pain, former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys closes
By Ben Montgomery
St. Petersburg Times
He drove up from Fort Walton Beach, to the front gate, and by the time he arrived his daughter's text had come through.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Gov. Scott signs first death warrant
By Paul Flemming
Florida Capital News
Gov. Rick Scott Thursday signed his first death warrant, condemning a cop killer who fatally shot Coral Gables Police Department officer Luis Pena in April 1978.

2 get off death row, face life without parole
By Brent Kallestad
Associated Press
The Florida Supreme Court overturned death sentences Thursday for convicted killers from Jacksonville and Zephyrhills.