Daily Clips for May 4, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

FL passed up $200M for kids
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Over the past two years, Florida did such a good job of enrolling uninsured children in KidCare that the state could have qualified for as much as $200 million in federal bonuses – money that could have helped get more children into care.

Gov. Rick Scott lets public open his email box with new website
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott, once so wary of the state’s public records law that he refrained from creating a state email account, launched a new open records program Thursday designed to give the public access to his emails and those of his 11 top staff members.

Governor steps in it — all week
By Daniel Ruth
Tampa Bay Times
As bad weeks go, you might argue John Edwards, on trial for being a louse in North Carolina, was practically tiptoeing through the tulips compared to Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who over the course of a few short days may have successfully managed to offend more people than crazy-as-a-loon Gainesville pastor Terry Jones contemplating a match and a Koran.

'True the Vote' Still Out to Screw the Vote
By Brentin Mock
The Nation
Just two weeks ago a Rasmussen poll showed that 64 percent of Americans believe voter fraud exists.

Obama promises to push for Dream Act, while Rubio tries to allay the right wing
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Nelson pans Rubio's competing proposal to DREAM Act in talk with USF students
President Obama at a Cinco de Mayo event Thursday expressed a desire to pass the Dream Act, the legislation that's back in the news now that Republicans and Sen. Marco Rubio are pushing for an alternative.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Book Review: From Yellow Dog Democrats to Red State Republicans
By Dave Trotter
Political Hurricane
For those of you that might be new to Florida politics or don’t know much of this history behind it, this is the perfect book to get you up to speed.

Florida Lawmakers Claim ‘Stand Your Ground’ Is Pro-Woman, Despite Exemption For Domestic Violence
By Annie-Rose Strasser
Think Progress
A father/son duo in the Florida state legislature is working hard to bring gender politics into the debate about Stand Your Ground laws.

Marco Rubio: refuses to meet with climate change scientists
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
Dr. Harold Wanless is Chair of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Miami.

I Live In Florida And Wanted An Education, But All I Got Was This Rick Scott Sharpie
By Inkberries
Beach Peanuts
Hey Kids, Can You Spell Awkward? Maybe not, but it's the same way you spell pathetic: "R-i-c-k  S-c-o-t-t."

The Concealed Carry Dream World
By Jon Rector
SOG City Oracle
Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano wrote an opinion piece the other day on concealed carry entitled, Get ready for new face of gun owners.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Sen. Marco Rubio: Gov. Rick Scott wrong on Cuba crackdown law
By Marc Caputo and Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Related column: Florida law against Cuba may help Cuba
Sen. Marco Rubio joined the chorus of Republican lawmakers who disagree with Gov. Rick Scott for calling a Cuba-crackdown bill unenforceable and unconstitutional.

Florida Takes Cuba Policy to the Absurd
By Tim Padgett
Time Magazine
Cuba has always been a volatile issue in Florida, but what played out in Miami this week bordered on the farcical.

PIP fraud legislation among last batch of bills awaiting Gov. Scott's decision
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Legislation aimed at cracking down on personal injury protection (PIP) fraud is one of 36 bills Gov. Rick Scott is expected to take action on Friday.

Jennifer Carroll says "we didn't go out asking people" to join the "stand your ground" task force: False
By Toluse Olorunnipa and Katie Sanders
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald PolitiFact
Lawmakers and lawyers clamored to join the task force set up by Gov. Rick Scott to examine Florida’s justifiable homicide laws after Trayvon Martin’s shooting death.

POLITICAL RACES

Swing-state polls: Florida, Ohio toss-ups; Obama up in Pa. by 8 percent
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Florida is back in the presidential toss-up column according to a new poll that shows Republican Mitt Romney gaining on President Obama over the past month.

Political Florida Lets Get to Work Committee raises more than $1 million in April
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
With Gov. Rick Scott making plans to run for re-election in 2014, a closely linked political committee raised more than $1 million in April --- and has already collected nearly $2 million this year, according to the committee's website.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Coastal Cities Summit: Sea level rise is no longer a matter of if, but when listen
By Liz McKibbon
WMNF Tampa
Cities on coastlines face unique challenges including flooding enhanced by rising sea levels.

Litigious group focused on biodiversity, endangered species opens Florida office
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
An environmental group with a history of suing federal agencies over endangered species issues announced Thursday it is opening a Florida office.

Judge pushes civil trial over BP spill into 2013
Associated Press
Miami Herald
The federal judge who will decide whether to approve a class-action settlement of claims against BP PLC has scheduled a January 2013 trial for other claims spawned by the deadly blowout of the company's deepwater well in the Gulf Mexico.

LGBT

Equality Florida: Federal Bureau of Prisons now requires LGBT employee representation in system
By Steve Rothaus
Miami Herald
Equality Florida says the Federal Bureau of Prisons now is requiring LGBT employee representation in the national federal prison system.

City law should forbid discrimination
Editorial
Florida Times-Union
It's never too late to do the right thing.

EDUCATION

Scott Prays, Schools Don’t - for Now
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Many Florida school students participated in the National Day of Prayer by voluntarily attending religious events.

USF students share worries about students loans with Sen. Bill Nelson
By Justin George
Tampa Bay Times
A few students put off law school, scared a looming doubling of government-backed student loan rates would crush them.

Liberal arts cuts at UF will not mean faculty layoffs
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
The dean of the University of Florida's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences said Thursday that his proposal for $5.9 million in budget cuts avoids faculty layoffs, but faculty will feel the effect of the plan through changes such as larger class sizes and teaching loads.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida unemployment compensation being reduced
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
Florida's improving unemployment rate may be good news for most people, but it will have a negative effect on many of the estimated 836,000 workers who remain jobless.

Job cuts rise in April but Florida losses outpaced by hiring
By Marcia Heroux Pounds and Dana Williams
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Announced job cuts in April were three times larger than the number in March, based on layoff notices filed with the state.

Scott's new power over jobs agencies might violate federal law
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
|A new state law allowing the governor to remove chief executives and members of the state's 24 regional work-force boards may violate federal legislation giving that power to local elected officials.

Florida no-fault insurance reform sponsors say Governor Scott will sign bill despite glitch
By Michael Peltier
News Service of Florida
Two key lawmakers behind Florida's no-fault insurance reform package said today they expect the governor to sign the new law Friday despite a potential glitch that could delay payments to some health providers.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Rick Scott’s Obsession With Other People’s Urine
By Pierre Tristam
Flagler Live
Anyone other than my doctor who’d ask me to pee in a cup isn’t just out of line.

Tampa’s Plea for a Bit of Disarmament? Rejected
Editorial
New York Times
Mayor Bob Buckhorn of Tampa, Fla., proudly packs a .38-caliber revolver as one of the 900,000 Floridians holding concealed-weapon permits these days.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Justices fire back in flare-up over their campaign paperwork
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
Florida's three Supreme Court justices, who are under fire for using court staff to assist them in their last-minute completion of their paperwork needed to meet the deadline for their merit retention campaigns, shot back on Thursday with a letter from a well-regarded constitutional law expert.

Daily Clips for May 3, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Rick Scott shoots down Tampa's request to ban guns outside GOP convention
By Richard Danielson
Tampa Bay Times
Related editorial: Gun sense and nonsense
Saying he will not allow Tampa to disarm citizens throughout its downtown, Gov. Rick Scott shot down the city's request to ban concealed weapons outside the Republican National Convention.

Gov. Scott retreats from statement calling anti-Cuba law unenforceable
By Patricia Mazzei and Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Gov. Rick Scott has started retreating from a controversial statement that a Cuba-crackdown bill he signed the day before was unenforceable.

Gov. Rick Scott takes aim at domestic violence group salary
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
For the past decade, Florida law has required that tax money to aid victims of domestic violence be controlled by a single group.

Scott's veto of planning council money hurts local governments and state's future, say critics
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
For 50 years, the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council has been working with local governments — helping them find the best routes for hurricane evacuation, assisting them in attracting new businesses, assessing how a shopping center built in one city might affect the traffic in neighboring areas.

13 Charged in FAMU hazing death
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Tallahassee
Thirteen people are facing charges in the hazing-death of a Florida A & M University band drum major.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Rubio winning PR war on Dream Act
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Florida Democrats for weeks have been escalating attacks on Sen. Marco Rubio, most recently highlighting votes against the Restore Act and the Violence Against Women Act.

Knives are banned at Tampa’s GOP convention, but guns are OK
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
Mindful of the “potentially contentious environment” that comes with so many overwrought protesters converging on a national political convention, the city of Tampa has banned a number of items the last four days of August.

POLITICAL RACES

Poll: Florida too close to call as Romney gains, gender gap narrows
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Florida is back in the presidential toss-up column, with Republican Mitt Romney moving to a within-the-margin-of-error lead over President Obama in a new Quinnipiac University poll after trailing Obama by 7 points in late March.

Gingrich suspends presidential run, supports Romney
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Newt Gingrich, the colorful former House speaker and fiery partisan, formally exited the Republican presidential contest today and vowed to help Mitt Romney's bid to defeat President Barack Obama.

Candidates scramble for signatures in last week to gather petitions
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Those seeking office in the state Legislature have four more days to submit their petitions to the Florida Division of Elections.

Rep. Connie Mack to visit Pensacola today, tout Keystone Pipeline project
Staff Report
Pensacola News Journal
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack is scheduled to be in Pensacola today to tout his support for the Keystone XL Pipeline.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

DEP moving into new areas of possible water quality controversy
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
With the workload of developing new nutrient water quality rules seemingly in the rear view mirror, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is moving forward on some other potentially controversial water quality issues.

Water district cuts may undo decade of work
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
In its heyday — especially for thirsty cities and counties — the Southwest Florida Water Management District was the closest thing to a rainmaker.

Progress Energy raises price tag, delays start date of Levy nuclear plant
By Ivan Penn
Tampa Bay Times
Progress Energy announced Tuesday that it had raised the price tag of a nuclear plant that may never get built, and said it wants customers to pay more for an existing reactor that may never restart.

Judge allows Gulf oil spill settlement to proceed
Associated Press
Florida Current
A federal judge on Wednesday preliminarily approved a proposed class-action settlement that would resolve billions of dollars in claims against BP over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP sees a return to grandeur as Gulf fishermen reel from disaster
By Rocky Kistner
Facing South
The second memorial of the nation's worst oil catastrophe has come and gone, forever linked to Earth Day and seared into the psyches of millions of Gulf residents and fishermen. 

EDUCATION

Lawmaker warns funding woes could 'erode' quality of state universities
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
The architect of a higher education bill vetoed last week by Gov. Rick Scott warned that the quality of Florida’s universities would “erode” if the state does not find a way to shore up their funding.

Polytech's fiercest opponent to speak at commencement
By Brittany Davis
Tampa Bay Times
When Sen. JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, pushed to break off the University of South Florida's Lakeland branch to create the state's 12th university, Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, was the fiercest critic.

Lee County Schools to cut 50 positions; principals have final say
By Sabina Bhasin
Naples Daily News
Related: Collier Schools releases details of position, budget cuts
As student enrollment grows, the Lee County School District's budget is going in a different direction.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

CEOs rank Florida as second-best state to do business in
By Jeff Harrington
Tampa Bay Times
America's corporate chieftains still consider Texas the best place to do business, but Florida is close on its heels.

As state cuts jobs and merges services, it trims $16 million in rental costs
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott, who promised to cut state rental costs by $24 million in two years, has achieved about two-thirds of his goal in less than one year of reducing state job rolls and consolidating government services.

Will Social Security Last for Gens X, Y, Z?
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
Social Security is going broke three years earlier than last year's projection, according to the annual report by the Social Security Board of Trustees.

The gospel of selfishness
By Joy-Ann Reid
Miami Herald
Ayn Rand was not a Catholic. In fact, the favorite philosopher of Libertarians and Republican budget writers abhorred and belittled organized religion.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

State efforts to tackle drug addicted babies issue proven with study
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
A newly-released study is looking into babies born with prescription drug addictions nationwide.

Feds arrest more than 100 Medicare fraud suspects in South Florida, nationwide
By Jay Weaver
Miami Herald
If you thought Medicare fraud had faded as a crime, think again.

Florida loses $63M in tobacco tax with federal law's loophole
By Marni Jameson
Orlando Sentinel
Florida missed out on $63 million in tobacco-tax revenue from April 2009 to August 2011 because of a loophole in a federal law that went into effect in 2009, according to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

When a gun law backfires
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
In the wake of the Trayvon Martin death, much has been said about Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Probe sought into judge's decision not to run for state attorney
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
Palm Beach County's Republican Party, citing an April 15 report in The Palm Beach Post, has asked three agencies to open an investigation into what caused Circuit Judge Krista Marx to decide against running for state attorney.

Daily Clips for May 2, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Rick Scott signs Cuba-crackdown bill, but it's a public relations fiasco
By Marc Caputo and Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Gov. Rick Scott began Tuesday morning as the darling of Miami's Cuban exile community, but by day's end he was being vilified for the way he handled a bill cracking down on companies that do business with Cuba and Syria.

Scott signs law bad for Florida business
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott might be the jobs governor, all right — for other gulf states.

Gov. Rick Scott talks about texting, Stand Your Ground and his latest boots
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Related: Lack of jobs, not banks, to blame for blighted homes, governor says
Gov. Rick Scott stopped at the Sun Sentinel's editorial board Tuesday afternoon, fielding questions on a variety of subjects – many of which he didn't offer an opinion on.

While Florida officials pan 'Obamacare,' the public covers many of their medical expenses
By Francis Gilpin
ABC Action News
While Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi leads the legal assault on the Obama administration's attempt to provide 49 million uninsured Americans with medical coverage, state workers like her needn't worry about their own taxpayer-subsidized health insurance.

$21 Million to Help FL Health Centers to Serve More Patients
By Mary Kuhlman
Public News Service Florida
More Floridians will be able to receive services through community health centers, thanks to new funding from the Affordable Care Act.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Unauthorized biography of Marco Rubio paints nuanced, largely flattering portrait
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Marco Rubio can breathe easier.

Redistricting — legal, but flawed
Editorial
Miami Herald
In a matter of days two hurdles to holding an orderly election in November in Florida disappeared, clearing the way for candidates for 27 congressional districts, 40 state Senate seats and 120 state House seats to fire up their campaigns.

POLITICAL RACES

Ex-GOP hopefuls back Senate rivals
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Two former Republican presidential candidates with tea party followings have weighed in on Florida's GOP Senate primary as some in the party fret about a lack of grass-roots enthusiasm for the race.

Needing earmark, Romney went to C.W. Bill Young
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Mitt Romney hates earmarks. But it wasn't always that way, and when he needed one — $60 million to provide security for the Salt Lake City Olympic Games — Romney went to Florida's earmark king.

Florida's RNC delegates may face dreary ride to the convention hall
By Lane DeGregory
Tampa Bay Times
For Florida's delegates, the road to the Republican National Convention starts here: behind a small white guardhouse rimmed by begonias.

RNC commute would make Scott support mass transit
By Joe Henderson
Tampa Tribune
I think there is a way to get Gov. Rick Scott's help bringing the Tampa Bay area's mass transit into the 20th century. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Progress Energy wants to nearly double monthly charges for nuclear projects
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Progress Energy announced Tuesday it is requesting an increase of nearly double the amount it now charges customers for planned nuclear energy projects.

Appeals court to consider Gulf oil spill plans
By Greg Bluestein
Associated Press
The federal appeals court in Atlanta is set to hear a challenge from environmental groups seeking to block Shell from drilling 10 new deepwater wells off the coast of Alabama, one of the first drilling approvals since the disastrous 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Feds seek summer trial date for Gulf spill claims
Associated Press
Florida Current
The Justice Department is urging a federal judge to set a new trial date for no later than this summer for government claims against BP over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

EDUCATION

100 Collier school district positions to be cut due to budget crunch
By Heather Carney
Naples Daily News
In an effort to help balance its budget, Collier County Public Schools will eliminate 100 positions districtwide this year, including music, physical education, and art teaching positions.

Budget committee recommends Lee schools cut support staff funding
By Chris Umpierre
Ft. Myers News-Press
Lee County schools might have fewer support employees assisting teachers in classrooms next year.

Deerfield school gives FCAT on wrong day
By Cara Fitzpatrick
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The point of taking FCATs is to ensure students are on track.

Board members being sought for Fla. Polytechnic
Associated Press
Miami Herald
The Board of Governors is seeking trustee applicants for Florida's newest public university.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Citizens closes $750 million reinsurance bond, setting record
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. borrowed $750 million in wind risk catastrophe bonds on Tuesday, the largest single tranche bond offering of that type to capital markets.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Terri Schiavo foundation leaves Florida
Associated Press
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Terri Schiavo's family members have moved the foundation they started after her death from St. Petersburg to Philadelphia.

Top-down mandate
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
"Alachua appears first on an alphabetical list of Florida counties," notes the suit.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Stand Your Ground task force to hold public hearings
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott’s public safety task force had its first meeting Tuesday, and the 19-member group decided its mission would be to review Florida’s self-defense laws, specifically the controversial Stand Your Ground statute.

Carroll defends makeup of 'Stand Your Ground' panel
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Ocala Star-Banner
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll on Tuesday defended the makeup of the panel that Gov. Rick Scott appointed to look into Florida's self-defense laws in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting death.

Lawyers: 'Stand your ground' law becoming more common defense
By John Woodrow Cox
Tampa Bay Times
On a sticky summer night in 2010, William Siskos tucked a .22-caliber Ruger in his waistband and walked to a home on Ligonier Road in Spring Hill.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

In Prison Nation, Gov. Scott Rejects Modest Reform
By Martin Dyckman
Florida Voices
Nothing could make less sense than Gov. Rick Scott's pretext for vetoing the bill designed to ease a few nonviolent offenders out of prison. It doesn't sound as if he even read it.

Charges expected in FAMU drum major's hazing death
By Mick Schneider
Associated Press
When prosecutors announce criminal charges Wednesday in the hazing death of a Florida A&M University band member, they will embark on a legal chess game involving multiple defendants who require different approaches for winning convictions, experts say.

Daily Clips for May 1, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

U.S. Justice Department approves redrawn Florida redistricting maps
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
State officials on Monday cleared the final two hurdles needed to put their new redistricting maps into effect, setting the stage for candidates to qualify for office using the state's new political boundaries.

$8,000 fine for Marco Rubio was not his first from FEC
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related: In Fox interview, Rubio explains use of GOP credit card, friendship with David Rivera
The widespread attention paid to an $8,000 election fine levied against U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's campaign underscores heightened scrutiny the star politician is receiving and renewed past issues that could hang over him as he's considered as a vice presidential candidate.

Sen. Rubio's vote on Violence Against Women Act draws controversy
By Margie Menzel
News Service of Florida
Sen. Marco Rubio – a strong contender for the GOP vice-presidential nomination – is finding his vote against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act to be a source of controversy.

Independent task force wants changes to 'stand your ground' law
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The statewide task force to review Florida's "stand your ground" law will begin its work today, but a state senator who formed his own task force is recommending the law be rewritten to make it more difficult for defendants to claim self-defense.

Bar launches awareness drive on judicial retention votes
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
The Florida Bar launched a $300,000 campaign Monday to educate voters about what role they play in determining whether state Supreme Court Justices and appellate judges stay in office.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Gov. Rick Scott to sign bill banning governments from hiring companies tied to Cuba
Staff Report
Miami Herald
Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday will sign a contentious bill into law that would ban state and local governments from hiring companies with business ties to Cuba and Syria.

POLITICAL RACES

RNC hotel assignments out — Florida gets Innisbrook Resort
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related column: For Florida Republicans, a humid Siberia
The coveted hotel assignments for the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa are out, and Florida will be sent to the convention's version of Siberia.

Michelle Obama campaign stop rakes in $300,000, shows Democrat support in Collier
By Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Naples Daily News
A visit from first lady Michelle Obama last week raised about $300,000 for her husband's reelection, according to a source close to the campaign. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Turtle nesting off to early start
By Kelly Farrell
Naples Daily News
Sea turtles have a head start on nesting season in Collier and Lee counties.

LGBT

Jax City Council to talk gay rights
Staff Report
WJXT Jacksonville
Jacksonville's City Council will soon be discussing gay rights in the River City.

EDUCATION

Florida's pre-K programs need improvement
By Bill Maxwell
Tampa Bay Times
If it is true that our children are our future, I am convinced that Florida's future is bleak.

Florida Poly Will Take Time to Set Up, Brogan Says
By Mary Toothman
Lakeland Ledger
Frank Brogan, chancellor of the State University System of Florida, said Monday there is no way the new Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland can open for classes this fall.

Genshaft: No layoffs for USF Poly employees until at least July 2013
By Kim Wilmath
Tampa Bay Times
After saying last week that she wasn't sure the University of South Florida would be able to keep all the employees from USF Polytechnic past July, president Judy Genshaft now vows there will be no layoffs for at least a year beyond that point.

Sen. Nelson hears student loan laments
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
Not only does University of Florida undergraduate Keira Thompson have student loans, but so does her mother.

Retrenchment
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Given recent events it is difficult to be optimistic about the future of public higher education in general and the University of Florida in particular.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

State housing agency wants to loosen requirements for federal mortgage help program
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
The Florida Housing Finance Corp. board of directors voted Friday to ease restrictions on qualifying and to boost payments for a federal mortgage assistance program designed to help unemployed or underemployed workers struggling to make monthly payments.

Extended unemployment benefits set to expire in Florida
By Marcia Heroux Pounds
South Florida Sun Sentinel
A Floridian who loses his job this year will be eligible for 74 weeks of unemployment benefits, instead of the 99 weeks available during the recession.

Citizens seeks fewer customers, higher premiums
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Citizens Property Insurance has some new ambitious goals: Move as many as 678,000 policyholders out of state-run insurance and once again become the “insurer of last resort.”

Fla. AG asks public how to spend $300 million
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is asking the public for advice on how to spend $300 million.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Mental-health plan, state reach settlement
By News Service of Florida
Ft. Myers News-Press
After months of legal battling about whether it spent enough money on patient care, a Medicaid mental-health plan will not have to pay back about $4 million to the state, according to a settlement agreement.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

FDLE: Florida's crime rate continues to drop
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
Florida's crime rate has fallen to a four-decade low, according to statistics released Monday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Johnnie Byrd plots comeback, this time as a judge
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
When Johnnie Byrd left Tallahassee after serving as House speaker eight years ago, the judgments were not kind — from his peers or the public.

Florida Supreme Court Justices Goofed, But Not A Criminal Offense
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Voices
When the legendary state Sen. Dempsey Barron bossed the Florida Senate, he would dismiss a silly argument by reciting a ribald limerick ending with the Latin legal dictum "de minimus non curate lex" -- the law does not concern itself with trifles.

Florida’s Innocence Commission Deserves Life
By Susan Clary
Florida Voices
With the stroke of a pen, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy abolished the death penalty last week making that state the 17th in the country to abandon capital punishment.