Daily Clips for August 3, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Bondi to launch inquiry over dismissal of two state attorneys
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Excerpt: Progress Florida, a liberal advocacy group based in St. Petersburg, accused Bondi of being beholden to the financial industry and began circulating a petition calling for an investigation. Mark Ferrulo, executive director of Progress Florida, said more than 6,000 Floridians have signed the petition. "We clearly felt there was enough smoke here to warrant looking for a fire. We're glad to hear there's going to be an independent investigation," he said.

Bondi wants outside inspector to review terminations
By Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune
Excerpt: Mark Ferrulo, executive director of Progress Florida, said via email that Bondi's decision was "great news," but that the group…”will remain vigilant in ensuring that this investigation is truly independent of Pam Bondi's office and entirely removed from potential political or outside influence."

Bondi seeks independent review of attorney dismissals
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Excerpt: "The Florida Office of Attorney General is on the front lines in the never ending effort to protect Floridians from scam artists, fraudsters and corporate criminals," said Mark Ferrulo, executive director of Progress Florida. "It's of paramount importance that the 'people's attorneys' be free to act on our behalf and not subject to the political shenanigans in Tallahassee."

AWAKE THE STATE IN THE NEWS

Argenziano Planning a Run for Congress
By Brandon Larrabee
News Service of Florida
Excerpt: Argenziano, who said she will officially announce her candidacy in the next couple of weeks, has grown increasingly vocal about what she views as the "hijacking" of her former party…And Argenziano was part of a series of "Awake the State" rallies held earlier this year to slam the agenda pursued by Scott and the GOP-dominated Legislature.

FEATURED STORIES

Protesters greet Scott at doughnut shop
Staff Report
Fox 13 News Orlando
Gov. Rick Scott was doing more than just cooking up doughnuts Wednesday morning in Tampa.

State agency releases details of sweeping Medicaid waiver request
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
State officials on Tuesday released details of a sweeping plan to overhaul Florida's $22 billion Medicaid program.

Florida medical leaders at odds with some religious groups over new women's preventive health rules
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
Private health insurance plans will have to cover birth control, well-woman visits, breast-feeding support and domestic violence counseling next year under a new women's preventive health rule announced by the Obama administration today.

Florida senators' debt votes reflect Washington divide
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Obama signs debt bill but new battles loom
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson cast it as a grand compromise.

Tea Party’s War on America
By Joe Nocera
New York Times
You know what they say: Never negotiate with terrorists. It only encourages them.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Scott goes kinder, gentler, more savvy
By Sue Carlton
St. Petersburg Times
So the governor with the bald head and the bad poll numbers appears to be undergoing an extreme makeover.

Notes from a longer-than-usual Q & A with Rick Scott
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
What better indicator of the glasnost and perestroika that have been sweeping through his administration than Gov. Rick Scott actually outlasting reporters at today’s post-cabinet press conference?

Who Created 85-Thousand Jobs?
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Governor Rick Scott won the election promising to create 700-thousand jobs in seven years.

Allegations spurring a Buchanan response
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan has launched an aggressive campaign to undermine the credibility of a once-trusted business partner who has accused the congressman of pressuring his employees to give illegal campaign contributions.

Florida redistricting battle lines drawn
By Dan Hirschhorn
Politico
Rep. Corrine Brown enjoys one of the most airtight districts in Florida: a thin, nine-county snake whose constituents have sent her to Washington for nearly two decades.

Florida Chamber asked for help raising $$$ from Scott
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Back when they were locked in legislative combat with unions over scaling back public-employee pensions, it appears the Florida Chamber of Commerce reached out for some fundraising help from Gov. Rick Scott.

A Fine Mess for Ethics Commission
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Here’s a real kick in the wallet to all Floridians struggling to deal with their legal responsibilities and financial obligations.

Florida lawmakers favor auto racing
By Derek Catron
Daytona Beach News-Journal
It didn't take long for Florida lawmakers to respond to news that North Carolina had named stock-car racing its official state sport.

POLITICAL RACES

Attorney who represented Bush in 2000 "Bush vs. Gore" case to hold fundraising reception for Obama campaign
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
The man who is probably more responsible than any other Floridian for putting George W. Bush in the White House will host a fundraising reception in three weeks for President Obama’s re-election.

Underdog Tim Pawlenty drawing strong Republican support in Florida
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
The vast majority of Floridians couldn't pick Tim Pawlenty out of a lineup. He barely registers in the polls.

Michele Bachmann coming to The Villages
Staff Report
Gainesville Sun
Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann will be in The Villages on Aug. 27 to address the Tri-County Tea Party Florida.

About that talk of Vern Buchanan jumping into Fla Senate race....
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
The chatter and speculation about Vern Buchanan preparing for a U.S. Senate run has been widespread since Mike Haridopolos dropped out of the race.

Proposed shift in Florida primary may force change in city election dates
By Jennifer Sorentrue
Palm Beach Post
Most Palm Beach County cities and towns may have to shift their election dates to coincide with a potential shift in Florida's 2012 presidential primary, Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher is warning.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Fla. restarting effort to regulate water pollution
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida is restarting efforts to develop tougher water pollution regulations to avoid an impending federal takeover of that responsibility.

PSC chairman: Nuclear remains big part of state's energy future
By Ivan Penn
St. Petersburg Times
Despite Progress Energy's broken nuclear plant and questions of whether the utility ever will build a second reactor, the chairman of the state Public Service Commission touts nuclear power as a critical source for Florida's future.

Conservative legal foundation creates property rights institute to beef up Florida presence
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The conservative Pacific Legal Foundation of Sacramento has created the Wade Hopping Institute for Private Property Rights in Stuart to beef up its presence in Florida.

Department of Environmental Protection may approve previously denied Pasco landfill
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Though a plan to build a landfill near environmentally sensitive lands in Pasco County was once thought dead, the permit has been reborn in recent months.

The GOP's Hidden Debt-Deal Agenda: Gut the EPA
By Bryan Walsh
Time
It was lost in the endless drama of the debt-ceiling negotiations, but last week the Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives launched an unprecedented attack on the country's environmental protections.

LGBT

Mrs. Cardenas on gay marriage
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
The American Conservative Union -- now led by Miami attorney Al Cardenas -- has barred the conservative gay Republican group, GOProud, from sponsoring and fully participating at its next national convention.

EDUCATION

Meeting in Tampa, state Education Board hears both complaints and ideas for saving money
By Jeffrey S. Solochek and Marlene Sokol
St. Petersburg Times
Gathered to discuss school funding, Florida's Board of Education spent much of Tuesday listening to complaints.

Changes needed in dual-enrollment funding, college presidents say
By Jeff Solochek
St. Petersburg Times
Few Florida educators see anything but good in the state's dual enrollment program, which allows high school students to take college courses and earn college credits for free.

Florida's voluntary pre-kindergarten has a long way to go become the 'high quality' demanded by voters
Editorial
TC Palm
In 2002, Florida voters by a 59 percent majority approved an amendment to the state Constitution.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty wants to phase in Citizens sinkhole rate hike
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related editorial: Slow the surge in sinkhole rates
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said Tuesday that he is prepared to phase in the massive rate increase for sinkhole insurance to soften the hit imposed by Citizens Property Insurance last week.

Former state representative will become Florida's top banking regulator
Staff Report
Florida Tribune
Former State Rep. Tom Grady was tapped on Tuesday to take over the job as the state’s main banking regulator.

Fla. Retail Federation defends sales tax holiday
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
The Florida Retail Federation on Tuesday defended the state's upcoming sales tax holiday on back-to-school purchases against arguments that such breaks do little or nothing to stimulate the economy or benefit consumers.

Panhandle bridge boondoggle could spur expressway authority takeover
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott is eyeing a proposal that stalled last session to merge regional expressway authorities, in light of the financial collapse of one Panhandle authority that represents what could be the state's first-ever debt default.

Economic development group sued over its unpaid bill
By Meg Laughlin
St. Petersburg Times
An economic development nonprofit that teaches "best business practices" to economic organizations around Florida recently had its own business problems: It couldn't pay a $30,000 bill to a Tampa hotel, which slapped it with a lawsuit.

State orders Workforce Central Florida to repay $739K in grants
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida's workforce-development board, an agency facing two government investigations, has been ordered to repay more than $739,000 that state and federal officials say was improperly used to settle a 2-year-old lawsuit.

Round Two: The Progressive Debt Deal America Wants
The Progress Report
Think Progress
With the wealthy, Big Oil, and other corporations asked to contribute nothing in the first round of the austerity plan President Obama signed today to avoid a catastrophic default on our nation’s obligations, there is little for progressives to celebrate.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Rick Scott's work group must show zero tolerance for neglecting the elderly
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Next week, Florida leaders take a closer look at the state's assisted-living facilities.

DCF head outlines changes to safeguard children
By Andrew Abramson
Palm Beach Post
Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins visited Palm Beach County on Tuesday, meeting with DCF employees, community providers and The Palm Beach Post editorial board to lay out his vision of revamping the organization.

Debt deal sets up another round of Medicare cuts
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Associated Press
Medicare and Medicaid were spared from immediate cuts in the debt deal, but it looks like just a temporary reprieve.

Federal Health Care Funds: Politics Of Suffering
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
The Republicans who run Tallahassee don't like President Barack Obama's health care reforms.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Truce: Homeless feedings moved to City Hall -- arrests stop
By Mark Schlueb
Orlando Sentinel
A truce has been declared in the battle between homeless-feeding activists and Orlando City Hall.

Not working
Editorial
Miami Herald
If nothing else, the hardline immigration laws passed by some states recently may once again demonstrate the wisdom of an old adage: Be careful what you wish for.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Death Row inmate's fate rests on legal challenge of new lethal injection drug
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
The fate of a man scheduled to be executed for shooting and killing a Coral Gables police officer 33 years ago rests on the answer to one question: Is the new use of a drug in Florida's lethal injections effective and safe?

Mom drops request for video of son’s death
By Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
The mother of a teenager who died at a South Florida juvenile detention center after seeking medical attention for hours is no longer seeking the video of his final hours at the lockup.

Daily Clips for August 2, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Florida’s Top Political Tweeters for August
By Peter Schorsch
St. Petersblog 2.0
Below is SaintPetersblog.com‘s ranking of Florida’s Top Political Tweeters for August…The most influential Florida political organization on Twitter is Progress Florida.

FEATURED STORIES

Scott to do 'workdays' a la Bob Graham
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott will be punching a time clock at a Tampa doughnut shop Wednesday, as he tries to massage his image and gain favor with a leery public.

Florida submits Medicaid plan based on managed care to feds for approval
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Florida officials sent a wide-ranging application Monday to the federal government for steering almost 3 million Medicaid patients into managed care, a major shift that has sparked heavy lobbying from critics who demand the Obama administration deny the move.

State approves new HMO contracts that call for big changes for state workers
By Gary Fineout
Florida Current
Florida contends that it will save $400 million over the next two years by making substantial changes to the health care benefits it offers thousands of state employees.

Florida utilities pressed for answers on escalating costs, time lines for new nuclear power plants
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
For the past two years, customers of Florida's largest electric companies have been paying to build new nuclear power plants that have an escalating price tag and no guarantee of completion.

Debt deal comes down to Washington's favorite solution: a committee
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Florida mixed bag as U.S. House approves debt-ceiling deal
Appoint a bipartisan, open-minded group of lawmakers to come up with a long-term plan to reduce the nation's budget deficit.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Scott says he will roll out legislative agenda in September
By Gary Fineout
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott may have just gotten through his first-ever legislative session but he is already getting geared up for his next one.

Scott meets with media over coffee and doughnuts
By Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott, whose relationship with the mainstream media has been notoriously strained at times, invited the capitol press corps over for an hour-long chat about everything from the federal debt ceiling to doughnut-making.

Rick Scott administration circumvents Justice Department in voting law changes
By Robert Lorei
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
We’ll talk first about a decision by the Scott administration to go around the US Justice Department in attempting to implement new voter laws here in Florida.

Rick Scott media strategy borrows from Bob Graham playbook
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Republican Gov. Rick Scott, whose poll standings have been among the worst of any Florida governor in modern times, is taking a page or two from the political playbook of one of the state's most popular chief executives — Democrat Bob Graham.

Florida delegation votes to pass debt deal in House, 18-7
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
Florida lawmakers grudgingly joined with their colleagues in the U.S. House on Monday in passing 269-161 a deal that prevents the federal government from defaulting on its debts — despite misgivings from even supporters of the last-minute compromise.

Florida lawmakers share in the joy of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' return to the House
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Already awash in emotion in the debt-ceiling debate, the U.S. House burst into cheers this evening when Rep. Gabrielle Giffords appeared to cast her vote in favor of the compromise bill.

Follow Fair Districts rules, speed release of redistricting maps.
Editorial
Florida Today
At last week's public hearing in Viera on redrawing political districts, state lawmakers heard what they've been hearing at similar meetings across the state.

POLITICAL RACES

Nancy Argenziano to run for Congress as a Democrat
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Saying the Republican Party has left her and is now owned by ideologues, former GOP state Sen. Nancy Argenziano says she will run for the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat.

Tea party won’t take down Allen West, but Democrats might
By Rachel Weiner
Washington Post
Talk of a tea party challenge to Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) is overblown. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be in the House come 2013.

Scott believes Perry will get into GOP race soon
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Florida Gov. Rick Scott says he believes Texas Gov. Rick Perry will soon be joining the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Mitt Romney draws $12.2 million from PAC
By Jonathan Martin and Kenneth P. Vogel
Politico
A new Super PAC created to support Mitt Romney raised $12.2 million in the first half of the year entirely from high-dollar contributors and spent just over $22,000, according to a report to be filed with the FEC Sunday.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Former DCA chief gets go-ahead to testify against Scott administration
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Former Department of Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham has been cleared by the Florida Commission on Ethics to testify in a growth management legal challenge but a hearing scheduled for this week has been delayed.

Florida town files lawsuit to block "misleading" growth management law
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A bill that substantially reduced the state's oversight in growth management was passed with a title that "cloaked" the true intent of the legislation, according to a legal challenge filed Monday.

Tensions brewing about possibility of allowing hunting on some public lands
By Atecia Robinson
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
There’s tension brewing about the possibility of allowing hunting on some public land.

LGBT

Gay marriage: awkward issue for some GOP hopefuls
By David Crary
Associated Press
Same-sex marriage might seem like a straightforward issue: You're for it or against it.

Miami Beach pays gay man $75,000 to settle false-arrest case; also orders cops not to harass same-sex couples
By Steve rothaus and David Smiley
Miami Herald
The city of Miami Beach on Monday paid a $75,000 settlement to a gay tourist who said he was roughed up, insulted and falsely arrested by two police officers near Flamingo Park in 2009.

EDUCATION

Education summit sets out to tackle big issues
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
St. Petersburg Times
The time has come for Florida's education leaders to have a frank talk about money, priorities and public schools.

Graduate students will pay more for loans under debt deal
By Douglas Hanks and Michael Vasquez
Miami Herald
Graduate students wound up on the “Loser” list from Washington’s debt deal.

Charter schools score big on maintenance funding
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott and the state Legislature do an outstanding job of talking a good game about improving education in Florida.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Thousands of state workers will have to find new insurance
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
Thousands of state employees covered by health-maintenance organizations will have to change their insurance next year under new contracts that state officials said Monday will save Florida taxpayers $400 million over the next two years.

Unemployment Goes Online
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Beginning today, jobless Floridians applying for unemployment benefits must do it online.

The Not-So-Grand Bargain
By Travis Waldron
Think Progress
Democrats and Republicans finally agreed on a deal to raise the debt limit Sunday, less than 48 hours before the nation was set to hit its borrowing limit.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Feds examining $1 billion in additional Medicaid payments
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
While Florida seeks approval of a sweeping overhaul of the $22 billion Medicaid program there are signs that the state's existing Medicaid reform program may be in for some major changes.

Florida medical leaders at odds with some religious groups over new women's preventative health rules
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
Private health insurance plans will have to cover birth control, well-woman visits, breast-feeding support and domestic violence counseling next year under a new women's preventive health rule announced by the Obama administration today.

Scott ceremonially signs four anti-abortion bills at governor’s mansion
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Alongside a group of social conservatives and anti-reproductive rights advocates at the governor’s mansion, Gov. Rick Scott signed four bills aimed at discouraging women from having abortions.

Bondi: Pill mill crackdown could hike crime
By Lyda Longa and Eileen Zaffiro-Kean
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Gov. Rick Scott and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi stopped by the Florida Sheriffs Association convention Monday, with Bondi warning of problems likely to come from Florida's crackdown on pill mills.

Obama administration revises policy, will not limit AIDS drug emergency funding
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
According to an HIV/AIDS patient advocacy group, the Obama administration announced Monday its decision to not limit the level of emergency funding Florida can receive for its AIDS Drug Assistance Program to less than what it received last year.

Little or no progress on medical mistakes in Florida
By Sally Kestin and Bob LaMendola
South Florida Sun Sentinel
"First do no harm" is a tenet every doctor promises to uphold, yet for many patients, the hands they trust to heal end up causing pain, suffering and even death.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Florida’s evolving immigration politics
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
Over the weekend, the transnational center-left pollster Stanley B. Greenberg published an op-ed in The New York Times explaining what Democrats can do to regain their mojo.

State lawmakers: Cities can’t ban guns in parks, town halls
By Diana Moskovitz
Miami Herald
Do handguns belong in South Florida’s parks and recreation centers and city halls?

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Atwater reverses, issues burial check to family of youth who died in state custody
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
After his staff blocked the payment last week, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater signed off Monday on a $5,000 check to help cover the costs of a teen who died while in state custody earlier this month and blamed the Department of Juvenile Justice for the delay.

Judge hearing challenge to Fla. execution drug
By Curt Anderson
Associated Press
A judge in Miami will hear a challenge to the state's planned use of a new execution drug.

The death penalty: A dead end in Florida
By Mike Thomas
Orlando Sentinel
Executing inmates is getting harder, more expensive and a lot loonier in Florida.

Daily Clips for August 1, 2011

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

U.S. probe sought into Bondi firings
By Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune
Excerpt: Progress Florida, a liberal advocacy group, is collecting petition signatures asking for an investigation by the attorney general's inspector general.

From Tampa to Tallahassee, this is Pam Bondi's life
By Doug Blackburn
Florida Today
Excerpt: Progress Florida, a liberal political group based in the Tampa Bay area, began an online petition campaign, seeking an investigation by the governor's chief inspector general. The petition said "influence of banks and the financial sector on political decision-making is far too prevalent" and that the firings of Clarkson and Edwards seemed "politically motivated."

Bondi Under Fire For Forced Resignations of Two Lawyers
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Excerpt: And Progress Florida, a St. Petersburg liberal activist group, also asked for an investigation of Bondi. The group alleges that Bondi is acting on behalf of groups such as mortgage processing companies Lender Processing Services and ProVest, which have contributed to her political campaigns.

FEATURED STORIES

To Escape Chaos, a Terrible Deal
Editorial
New York Times
There is little to like about the tentative agreement between Congressional leaders and the White House except that it happened at all.

Florida election law goes to court
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Secretary of State Kurt Browning has asked a federal court to approve Florida's new election law, sidestepping the U.S. Justice Department on the most controversial portions of the voting overhaul approved by the GOP-dominated legislature in May.

Florida's Medicaid program heading to managed care system
By Stephen Nohlgren
St. Petersburg Times
As Washington grapples with debt ceilings and spending, another set of fiscal negotiations quietly begins this week that will impact Floridians for years.

Opposing the Health Law, Florida Refuses Millions
By Kevin Sack
New York Times
When it comes to pursuing federal largess, most of the states that oppose the 2010 health care law have refused to let either principle or politics block their paths to the trough.

On talk radio, Rick Scott finds an audience
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott is in "Heaven."

Subverting the will of people with false claims
Editorial
Bradenton Herald
Honest Abe would be appalled. The party of Lincoln here in Florida has not been entirely honest with citizens in its zeal to consolidate control in Tallahassee.

Why Voters Tune Out Democrats
By Stanley B. Greenberg
New York Times
Barack Obama can’t catch a break from the American public on the economy, even though he prevented a depression and saved global capitalism.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Clay Bennett
Chattanooga Times Free Press

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida Sens. Marco Rubio, Bill Nelson debate nature of extremism in debt battle
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Florida's two U.S. senators debated the nature of extremism Saturday as Congress remained in partisan gridlock over the federal government's debt ceiling.

The push is on for political boundaries that make more sense
By Christopher Curry
Gainesville Sun
A drive north along Southwest 34th Street in Gainesville demonstrates the confusing, logistically maddening effects of some current political boundaries.

Redistricting Meeting Provides Political Theatre; Lacks Substance
By Dr. Susan Ruffin
Jacksonville Ledger
On July 11, members of the Florida Legislature were in Jacksonville for one of 26 public “hearings” on how the redistricting process will impact our community.

Taxpayers fund, get smacked by Bondi's 'revolving door'
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Earlier this year, the Florida Attorney General's Office was in the midst of a pull-no-punches investigation into foreclosure fraud.

AG Firings Need to be Investigated
By Dennis Maley
Bradenton Times
The whirlwind of controversy surrounding Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's forced resignations of two attorneys serving in the state's economic crimes division is well deserved.

Gov. Scott to hold open house for reporters
Staff Report
Florida Capital News
First-term Gov. Rick Scott is campaigning to change the hearts and minds of Capitol reporters.

Mike Haridopolos is relaxed in front of critics
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Senate President Mike Haridopolos isn't afraid of much these days.

Haridopolos defends book deal that clouded U.S. Senate campaign
By Matt Reed
Florida Today
Sen. Mike Haridopolos wanted to talk about his book.

Deposition by Buchanan’s former business partner shines light on campaign finance allegations
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Florida Congressman Vern Buchanan is no stranger to controversy, but Sam Kazran, a former business partner now currently enmeshed in a campaign finance controversy with the lawmaker, is.

Florida Commission on Ethics writes off almost $160,000 in fines
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
The state's Ethics Commission wrote off nearly $160,000 in fines against public officials Friday, but did decide to try dunning 19 public employees to make good on $22,050 in civil penalties now nearly nine years old.

GOP agenda puts too much in greedy private sector
By Ray Clasen
Ft. Myers News-Press
Tax cuts and small government: Sounds appealing, doesn’t it?

GOP's war of words with Lois Frankel lands U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney in awkward spot
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
After a few political ricochets, a Christian home for young unwed mothers in Tequesta emerged last week as an unlikely beneficiary from the feud between U.S. Reps. Allen West, R-Plantation, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston.

POLITICAL RACES

For Adam Hasner, past doesn't always match campaign trail pitch
By Alex Leary and Marc Caputo
St Petersburg Times
Adam Hasner is branding himself in Florida's Republican U.S. Senate primary as the perfect trifecta: an anti-establishment, principled conservative who was among the first to confront Charlie Crist's moderate ways.

Crossroads GPS attack ad targets Sen. Bill Nelson
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
It was a tough week to be Sen. Bill Nelson.

Democrats have the eyes on Buchanan's 13th District seat
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
If Vern Buchanan needs encouragement to run for the U.S. Senate, he need only talk to local Democrats.

Pawlenty looks to Florida to bolster his standing in GOP primary race
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is hoping an influential organization in Florida and signs of life in Iowa will revive a presidential campaign that isn't yet showing the grassroots excitement he needs.

How will Tampa police handle Republican National Convention protests?
By Kate Bradshaw
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
In fewer than thirteen months, Downtown Tampa will be swarming with protesters, politicos, and news teams from across the country who will be in town for the Republican National Convention.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Voucher backers pervert past, hurt future
By Hans Johnson and David K. Johnson
Tampa Tribune
Religious conservatives who dominate the Florida Legislature are taking chutzpah to biblical proportions.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Florida falling behind on renewable energy development
By Ivan Penn
St. Petersburg Times
Two years ago, the Sunshine State seemed poised to assume its natural role as a national leader in renewable energy.

Algae Blooms Plaguing Gulf Coast
By Steve Newborn
WUSF Public Radio Tampa
Several fish kills have been connnected to a dark blob of water sitting off the Gulf Coast of Florida.

The surprising link between mercury in seafood and inland agriculture
By Eve Samples
TC Palm
Everyone in the room appeared to be doing some mental math.

Growth management as we know it in Florida is now history; it's a whole new ball game
By Tom Fullman
TC Palm
The change in Florida's growth management laws recently signed by Gov. Rick Scott has moved state oversight and control to local government.

Proposal in U.S. Senate would weaken efforts in Florida, nationwide to clean up waterways
Editorial
TC Palm
Is it in the state of Florida's best interests to weaken the authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate water quality standards?

EDUCATION

Education takes a beating nationwide
By Stephen Ceasar and Teresa Watanabe
Los Angeles Times
After a particularly brutal budgeting season this summer, states and school districts across the country have fired thousands of teachers, raised college tuition, relaxed standards, slashed days off the academic calendar and gutted pre-kindergarten and summer school programs.

Researchers warn of school 'accountability shock'
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
Math teacher Antoine Joseph already had been thinking of leaving Miami Norland Senior High School, so when its annual grade from the state dropped from a D to an F nine years ago that just solidified his decision.

Florida's children owed a high quality education
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
It is time for an open and honest discussion about funding for Florida's public schools, which are suffering from cuts in per-pupil spending and the Legislature's obsession with charter schools and vouchers.

Hillsborough schools ponder how the charter school revolution will affect them
By Marlene Sokol
St. Petersburg Times
Picture Wharton High School with 400 fewer students, or Jefferson High with 200 fewer.

Schools of education thriving despite the market
By Perry Stein
Miami Herald
When Jodi Bell enrolled in Miami Dade College’s bachelor in education program, she thought she had chosen a recession-proof career and expected to land a job in special education upon graduation.

A weekend interview with Florida Board of Education vice chairman Roberto Martinez
By Jeff Solochek
St. Petersburg Times
For several years, Florida leaders have had to balance budgets with declining revenue.

College students: Know your major or you may pay double
By Denise-Marie Balona
Orlando Sentinel
Here's a piece of advice for college freshmen in Florida who plan to earn a bachelor's degree at a public university: Know what you want to study in advance, or it could cost you a lot more on the tail end.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Congress moving quickly on debt and spending deal
By Andrew Taylor
Associated Press
Related: Mixed Florida reaction to debt deal
Congress is moving quickly on an agreement to avert a potentially devastating default on U.S. obligations, with legislation that mixes a record increase in the government's borrowing cap with the promise of more than $2 trillion in spending cuts.

Public Employees Retire in Droves as Florida Pension System Narrows Incentives to Work
By Lilly Rockwell
News Service of Florida
In the three months since the legislative session ended, the Florida Retirement System has seen a substantial uptick in the number of new retirees.

Jobless benefits change this week
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Today
Starting this week, laid-off workers collecting unemployment compensation in Florida will have to show that they are seriously looking for a new job.

Easy investments beat state's expert pension planners
By Sydney P. Freedberg and Connie Humburg
St. Petersburg Times
Related editorial: Florida pension funds still cloaked in secrecy
An ordinary investor who put $100 into an easy investment fund portfolio 10 years ago could have had $184 by the end of the decade — without combing through the stock listings, making lots of trades or hiring high-priced experts.

A new push to tax web sales
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida retailers are shifting strategy in their decade-old fight to force large, out-of-state Internet companies to collect sales taxes on Florida purchases.

State officials hope Lottery makeover will boost ticket sales
By Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The Florida Lottery is not aging gracefully.

Concerns arise over landline deregulation
By Regan McCarthy
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
The Public Service Commission has overseen the operation of land line telephones for years.

Real estate investors beat the banks to profit on foreclosures
By Kris Hundley and Susan Taylor Martin
St. Petersburg Times
In just eight months, Barry Haught and his business associates have acquired 71 properties in Hillsborough County with a market value of $8.2 million.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Florida’s state-subsidized crisis pregnancy centers, by the numbers
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
As health care services in Florida face deeper cuts to their state funding, a network of crisis pregnancy centers has continued to maintain its $2 million in annual state funding, despite serving fewer patients and offering fewer services than either Planned Parenthood or Healthy Start.

Healthy State examines why Florida legislators rejected federal child abuse prevention dollars
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Since federal health care reform was passed, Florida legislators have turned down millions in federal funds that would have gone to home visiting programs that aim to fight child abuse and neglect.

Advocates mark Medicare anniversary with protest at Southerland's office
By Tom Flanigan
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
As the debt debate drags on in Washington, several Florida groups were putting some pressure on their U.S. House member.

Rx for Danger: Number of Florida babies born addicted to drugs skyrockets
By Amy Pavuk
Orlando Sentinel
The number of babies treated at Florida hospitals for drug-withdrawal syndrome continued to skyrocket last year, further evidence of the far-reaching impact of the state's prescription-drug epidemic.

Public weighs in on recommendation to turn over Jackson Health System to nonprofit
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Audrey Edmonson told participants in a public forum Thursday night that she is open to all options to ensure that the publicly funded Jackson Health System keep its doors open, but she was clear that she will not support job cuts there.

Despite insurance, medical bills push family to bankruptcy
By Kate Santich
Orlando Sentinel
The day their daughter was born should have been one of the happiest of Simon and Marsha Sutherland's lives.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Community organizers campaign against modern-day slavery and for fair food at Publix stores in Pinellas
By Andrea Lypka
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Anti-slavery protesters and activists for fair-food took their demands to three Publix grocery stores in St. Petersburg Sunday.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

New state prison boss pushing big changes
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times
Gov. Rick Scott paid a lot for Edwin Buss' expertise, and Floridians are about to find out whether Buss is worth the investment.