PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
February 27th Weekly Show
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu: Florida’s Political Reality Show
Attempts to privatize public schools continue, the Supremes look over redistricting and say the Senate maps are particularly bad, Anne Coulter speaks badly about Jeb and Damien talks about the Governor’s hypocrisy.
FEATURED STORIES
State lawmakers struggle to make budget deal as session clock ticks
By Steve Bousquet, Michael Van Sickler and Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Racing against the clock, legislators labored Sunday to settle spending differences and agree on a $70 billion budget with five days left in the session.
Lawmakers must decide host of controversial issues this week
By Kathleen Haughney and Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Heading into the homestretch of the annual lawmaking session this week, the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature is still wrangling over a hodgepodge of pocketbook, ideological and social issues.
State budget negotiators plan $350 million in cuts for hospitals, nursing homes
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Hospitals and nursing homes are targeted to lose about $350 million in funding as House and Senate negotiators worked tonight toward completing a $70 billion state budget.
Justice Dept wants trial on Florida voting changes
By Pete Yost
Associated Press
The Justice Department is opposing changes in Florida voting procedures and says it wants a trial in the dispute, a move that could impact the state's August primary elections.
What happened to Florida Democrats?
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Ranking Florida's most influential Democrats
The state of Democratic politics in Florida i
PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS
February 27th Weekly Show
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu: Florida’s Political Reality Show
Attempts to privatize public schools continue, the Supremes look over redistricting and say the Senate maps are particularly bad, Anne Coulter speaks badly about Jeb and Damien talks about the Governor’s hypocrisy.
FEATURED STORIES
State lawmakers struggle to make budget deal as session clock ticks
By Steve Bousquet, Michael Van Sickler and Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Racing against the clock, legislators labored Sunday to settle spending differences and agree on a $70 billion budget with five days left in the session.
Lawmakers must decide host of controversial issues this week
By Kathleen Haughney and Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Heading into the homestretch of the annual lawmaking session this week, the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature is still wrangling over a hodgepodge of pocketbook, ideological and social issues.
State budget negotiators plan $350 million in cuts for hospitals, nursing homes
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Hospitals and nursing homes are targeted to lose about $350 million in funding as House and Senate negotiators worked tonight toward completing a $70 billion state budget.
Justice Dept wants trial on Florida voting changes
By Pete Yost
Associated Press
The Justice Department is opposing changes in Florida voting procedures and says it wants a trial in the dispute, a move that could impact the state's August primary elections.
What happened to Florida Democrats?
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Ranking Florida's most influential Democrats
The state of Democratic politics in Florida is so incongruous it borders on surreal.
EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Chan Lowe
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Read the artist's commentary here.
FLORIDA POLITICS
5 biggest questions of 2012 session answered
By Gary Fineout
The Fine Print
There's one week to go and most signs (absent some meltdown ala the 2011 session) are that Florida lawmakers will have everything wrapped up by March 9.
Slow pace in Florida Senate making even senators wonder what's going on
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Last year, the Florida House and Senate together passed more than 300 bills during the 60-day legislative session.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio urges Florida Ethics Commission to toss complaint against him
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
In a move sure to increase speculation he is angling to be the Republican vice presidential running mate, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is demanding the Florida Ethics Commission close out a complaint that he misused Republican and campaign money "to subsidize his lifestyle."
JD Alexander is the face of what's wrong with Florida
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
JD Alexander is the face of what is wrong with Florida.
Grounded by Rick Scott, Cabinet members learn how to travel Florida without a state plane
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
After logging 220,000 miles, Florida's chief financial officer said it was finally time to say goodbye to his Honda minivan "Blue Steele."
POLITICAL RACES
Study: Counties that didn’t implement new elections law had greater early voting turnout
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
According to newly-released research, Florida’s controversial new elections law affected early voting turnout in this year’s presidential primary, despite claims from proponents of the bill that it would not negatively affect accessibility of early voting.
State of the race from the Obama campaign
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Mild-mannered and perpetually rumpled, David Axelrod can sound more like an idealistic dreamer than a bare-knuckled political operative.
South Florida Jewish vote a key for Obama
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The decades-long allegiance of Jewish voters to the Democratic Party is under unprecedented stress, threatened by a combination of changing demographics and the concerted Republican effort to depict President Barack Obama as unfriendly to Israel.
Republicans start final push toward Super Tuesday
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A Washington state victory in hand, Mitt Romney is looking ahead to Tuesday's 10-state bonanza that features contests from Alaska to Ohio to Massachusetts, millions in campaign spending and the largest single day of voting yet in the Republicans' topsy-turvy primary race.
Extend primary battle or end it? GOP voters torn over best route
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
To hear some weary rank-and-file Republicans tell it, the increasingly bitter fight for the party's presidential nomination can't end quickly enough.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Amendment to Florida bill could make it easier to move Miami-Dade’s urban development boundary
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
On the heels of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s declaration last week that he will push to strengthen the urban development boundary, a countermove has sprung up in the Florida Legislature that would weaken the county’s protection against urban sprawl on its western and southern fringes.
Lawmakers close to rolling back 2008 energy reforms
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Few states had a more aggressive Republican-backed effort to address global warming and promote renewable energy than Florida in 2007 and 2008.
Environmental damages remain issue after BP deal
By Michael Kunzelman
Associated Press
BP's settlement with plaintiffs suing the company over the 2010 oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico may address harm to individuals and businesses, but there is nothing in it that compensates the public for damage to its natural resources and environment, the Justice Department said Saturday.
LGBT
Same-sex custody battle could change Florida law
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A custody battle in Florida between two lesbians could fuel the growing national debate over the definition of motherhood.
Marriage rights may make gay men healthier, study finds
By Diane C. Lade
South Florida Sun Sentinel
A new study suggests a surprising reason for marriage rights for gay men: it might be good for their health.
Anita Bryant Cancels After Threatened Protest
By Kevin Bouffard
Lakeland Ledger
After being promoted for weeks to appear at 50th anniversary festivities for the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, entertainer and anti-gay rights activist Anita Bryant failed to appear at Friday's induction lunch at Florida Southern College.
EDUCATION
‘Parent trigger’ bill triggers passion, procedural maneuvering
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A controversial “parent trigger” bill backed by powerful GOP leaders and education reform icon Jeb Bush is headed to the Senate floor for a vote in the final week of the legislative session over the objections of the measure’s critics over the way it is being handled.
Lawmakers hold off on plan for charter, public schools to share maintenance funds
By Kathleen McGrory
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Lawmakers are backing off a contentious proposal to have school districts share millions of dollars in maintenance funds with charter schools — and instead calling for a task force to study the issue.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Fla. lawmakers give Scott more say over jobs money
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Florida lawmakers are giving Gov. Rick Scott more say over money used to bring jobs to the Sunshine State.
Gov. Scott lowers tax-cut goal, wins support
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
President Obama and Florida Gov. Rick Scott have rarely found common ground, the chasm first emerging when citizen Scott led a hard-hitting political campaign against the federal health care overhaul.
Miami-Dade social justice advocates call for income equality, defend county’s wage theft program
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Clergy, labor and community advocates who spoke Thursday night at Miami’s Church of the Open Door called on residents to step up their efforts for economic equality, and hold elected officials and for-profit corporations accountable for their actions.
PIP clears House
By Tom Flanigan
WFSU Tallahassee
The Florida House has passed its version of a bill that supporters say will reduce auto insurance fraud.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Abortion measure passes House, prospects in Senate uncertain
By Katie Sanders
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Women seeking an abortion would first have to wait 24 hours and new clinics would be physician-owned as part of a sweeping antiabortion measure passed by the House on Thursday.
Hope wanes for major assisted-living reforms in Florida
By Kate Santich
Orlando Sentinel
On the eve of the 2012 Florida legislative session, many advocates for the frail and elderly were full of hope.
In a class of their own
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
It speaks volumes about the current Florida Legislature that even as members were working up budgets that cut school nurses who tend to some of the poorest children in the state, members of the Senate Budget Committee were voting down an amendment asking them to pay the same health insurance premiums as rank-and-file state employees.
Bondi reports success in Florida’s war on ‘pill mills’
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
For most of the last couple of years, Florida officials have been getting called on the carpet in Congress for the state’s reputation as the “pill mill” capital of the nation.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Senate panel okays state employee drug-testing bill in last committee stop
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A bill that would allow state agencies to randomly drug test employees passed its final committee today. The bill passed today on the House floor and is now a step closer to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk.
Still fighting for a penny per pound
By Bill Maxwell
Tampa Bay Times
Like many other consumers in Florida and the rest of the Southeast, I have made Publix supermarkets an essential part of my life by buying most of my food at one of their conveniently located stores.
Remembering Civil Rights Leaders Who Changed Florida
By Andrew J. Skerritt
Florida Voices
The ceremony in the Capitol rotunda was a reminder of the kind of leadership this state once produced and now so sadly lacks.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
ACLU, policy and religious groups ask Florida lawmakers not to privatize state prisonsBy Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The American Civil Liberties Union, along with dozens of policy and religious groups, are urging Republican governors– including Florida Gov. Rick Scott– not to sell state prisons to the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), a private company currently looking to buy state prison contracts as part of a new business venture.
Supporters mobilize against lawmakers' decision to close Hillsborough Correctional Institution
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Legislative leaders decided in weekend budget talks to close Hillsborough Correctional Institution in Riverview, the state's only faith- and character-based prison for women.
Wrongful convictions: One of Florida's greatest shames
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Last week, Florida finally made amends for wrongly imprisoning a Brevard County man for 27 years.
s so incongruous it borders on surreal.
EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK
By Chan Lowe
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Read the artist's commentary here.
FLORIDA POLITICS
5 biggest questions of 2012 session answered
By Gary Fineout
The Fine Print
There's one week to go and most signs (absent some meltdown ala the 2011 session) are that Florida lawmakers will have everything wrapped up by March 9.
Slow pace in Florida Senate making even senators wonder what's going on
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Last year, the Florida House and Senate together passed more than 300 bills during the 60-day legislative session.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio urges Florida Ethics Commission to toss complaint against him
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
In a move sure to increase speculation he is angling to be the Republican vice presidential running mate, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is demanding the Florida Ethics Commission close out a complaint that he misused Republican and campaign money "to subsidize his lifestyle."
JD Alexander is the face of what's wrong with Florida
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
JD Alexander is the face of what is wrong with Florida.
Grounded by Rick Scott, Cabinet members learn how to travel Florida without a state plane
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
After logging 220,000 miles, Florida's chief financial officer said it was finally time to say goodbye to his Honda minivan "Blue Steele."
POLITICAL RACES
Study: Counties that didn’t implement new elections law had greater early voting turnout
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
According to newly-released research, Florida’s controversial new elections law affected early voting turnout in this year’s presidential primary, despite claims from proponents of the bill that it would not negatively affect accessibility of early voting.
State of the race from the Obama campaign
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Mild-mannered and perpetually rumpled, David Axelrod can sound more like an idealistic dreamer than a bare-knuckled political operative.
South Florida Jewish vote a key for Obama
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The decades-long allegiance of Jewish voters to the Democratic Party is under unprecedented stress, threatened by a combination of changing demographics and the concerted Republican effort to depict President Barack Obama as unfriendly to Israel.
Republicans start final push toward Super Tuesday
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A Washington state victory in hand, Mitt Romney is looking ahead to Tuesday's 10-state bonanza that features contests from Alaska to Ohio to Massachusetts, millions in campaign spending and the largest single day of voting yet in the Republicans' topsy-turvy primary race.
Extend primary battle or end it? GOP voters torn over best route
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
To hear some weary rank-and-file Republicans tell it, the increasingly bitter fight for the party's presidential nomination can't end quickly enough.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Amendment to Florida bill could make it easier to move Miami-Dade’s urban development boundary
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
On the heels of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s declaration last week that he will push to strengthen the urban development boundary, a countermove has sprung up in the Florida Legislature that would weaken the county’s protection against urban sprawl on its western and southern fringes.
Lawmakers close to rolling back 2008 energy reforms
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Few states had a more aggressive Republican-backed effort to address global warming and promote renewable energy than Florida in 2007 and 2008.
Environmental damages remain issue after BP deal
By Michael Kunzelman
Associated Press
BP's settlement with plaintiffs suing the company over the 2010 oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico may address harm to individuals and businesses, but there is nothing in it that compensates the public for damage to its natural resources and environment, the Justice Department said Saturday.
LGBT
Same-sex custody battle could change Florida law
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A custody battle in Florida between two lesbians could fuel the growing national debate over the definition of motherhood.
Marriage rights may make gay men healthier, study finds
By Diane C. Lade
South Florida Sun Sentinel
A new study suggests a surprising reason for marriage rights for gay men: it might be good for their health.
Anita Bryant Cancels After Threatened Protest
By Kevin Bouffard
Lakeland Ledger
After being promoted for weeks to appear at 50th anniversary festivities for the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, entertainer and anti-gay rights activist Anita Bryant failed to appear at Friday's induction lunch at Florida Southern College.
EDUCATION
‘Parent trigger’ bill triggers passion, procedural maneuvering
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A controversial “parent trigger” bill backed by powerful GOP leaders and education reform icon Jeb Bush is headed to the Senate floor for a vote in the final week of the legislative session over the objections of the measure’s critics over the way it is being handled.
Lawmakers hold off on plan for charter, public schools to share maintenance funds
By Kathleen McGrory
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Lawmakers are backing off a contentious proposal to have school districts share millions of dollars in maintenance funds with charter schools — and instead calling for a task force to study the issue.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Fla. lawmakers give Scott more say over jobs money
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Florida lawmakers are giving Gov. Rick Scott more say over money used to bring jobs to the Sunshine State.
Gov. Scott lowers tax-cut goal, wins support
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
President Obama and Florida Gov. Rick Scott have rarely found common ground, the chasm first emerging when citizen Scott led a hard-hitting political campaign against the federal health care overhaul.
Miami-Dade social justice advocates call for income equality, defend county’s wage theft program
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Clergy, labor and community advocates who spoke Thursday night at Miami’s Church of the Open Door called on residents to step up their efforts for economic equality, and hold elected officials and for-profit corporations accountable for their actions.
PIP clears House
By Tom Flanigan
WFSU Tallahassee
The Florida House has passed its version of a bill that supporters say will reduce auto insurance fraud.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Abortion measure passes House, prospects in Senate uncertain
By Katie Sanders
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Women seeking an abortion would first have to wait 24 hours and new clinics would be physician-owned as part of a sweeping antiabortion measure passed by the House on Thursday.
Hope wanes for major assisted-living reforms in Florida
By Kate Santich
Orlando Sentinel
On the eve of the 2012 Florida legislative session, many advocates for the frail and elderly were full of hope.
In a class of their own
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
It speaks volumes about the current Florida Legislature that even as members were working up budgets that cut school nurses who tend to some of the poorest children in the state, members of the Senate Budget Committee were voting down an amendment asking them to pay the same health insurance premiums as rank-and-file state employees.
Bondi reports success in Florida’s war on ‘pill mills’
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
For most of the last couple of years, Florida officials have been getting called on the carpet in Congress for the state’s reputation as the “pill mill” capital of the nation.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Senate panel okays state employee drug-testing bill in last committee stop
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A bill that would allow state agencies to randomly drug test employees passed its final committee today. The bill passed today on the House floor and is now a step closer to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk.
Still fighting for a penny per pound
By Bill Maxwell
Tampa Bay Times
Like many other consumers in Florida and the rest of the Southeast, I have made Publix supermarkets an essential part of my life by buying most of my food at one of their conveniently located stores.
Remembering Civil Rights Leaders Who Changed Florida
By Andrew J. Skerritt
Florida Voices
The ceremony in the Capitol rotunda was a reminder of the kind of leadership this state once produced and now so sadly lacks.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
ACLU, policy and religious groups ask Florida lawmakers not to privatize state prisonsBy Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The American Civil Liberties Union, along with dozens of policy and religious groups, are urging Republican governors– including Florida Gov. Rick Scott– not to sell state prisons to the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), a private company currently looking to buy state prison contracts as part of a new business venture.
Supporters mobilize against lawmakers' decision to close Hillsborough Correctional Institution
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Legislative leaders decided in weekend budget talks to close Hillsborough Correctional Institution in Riverview, the state's only faith- and character-based prison for women.
Wrongful convictions: One of Florida's greatest shames
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Last week, Florida finally made amends for wrongly imprisoning a Brevard County man for 27 years.
