Daily Clips for June 5, 2012

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

In debate over Jacksonville sexual orientation bill, critics cite conscience
By Steve Patterson
Florida Times-Union
Excerpt: The legislation would outlaw orientation as a reason for discrimination in hiring or promotion, housing or access to public accommodations like hotels and restaurants. “We see Jacksonville as a place that needs to catch up to the rest of Florida,” said Mark Ferrulo, executive director of Progress Florida, a group that advocates for a number of liberal causes.

FEATURED STORIES

Florida Official Behind Gov. Rick Scott's Voter Purge Linked to $1 Billion Campaign Effort Against Obama
By Lee Fang
Republic Report
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice asked officials in Florida to suspend the controversial voter purge conducted by Gov. Rick Scott's (R) administration, citing possible violations of voting rights law.

State to Challenge U.S. Government on Voter Purge
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
The State of Florida wants to keep checking the voter database for non citizens, even though the US Department of Justice has said the process is illegal this close to an election.

GOP Steps Up Bogus War on Voter Fraud
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Huffington Post
Related: Rick Scott Defends Voter Purge As Necessary 'To Have Fair Elections'
A defiant Florida GOP governor Rick Scott essentially told the Justice Department where it could go when it demanded that Florida stop its loudly trumpeted campaign to purge tens of thousands it claims aren't eligible to vote.

Fifteen Voters Removed In Rick Scott’s Purge Reinstated By Florida Elections Supervisors
By Josh Israel
Think Progress
Related: Heritage Foundation ‘Expert’ Cannot Cite Any Examples Of Actual Voter Fraud
Last week, the Clay and Pinellas County Supervisors of Elections’ offices told ThinkProgress that they had already removed names from the voter rolls on the basis of not responding within 30 days to letters demanding proof of citizenship.

Exclusive: Senator Marco Rubio’s Chief of Staff Maintains Financial Ties To Lobbying Firm
By Lee Fang
Republic Report
Lobbyists, hoping to persuade lawmakers and their staffs on any number of important issues, breeze in and out of the halls of the Capitol every day.

Florida Versus Spain
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Mainly as a note to myself: What was once Peter Kenen’s big insight about optimum currency areas is now a commonplace: They’re much more likely to be workable if you have fiscal federalism, so that there are large automatic transfers to depressed regions.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida: Nelson opinion 'superfluous' to election-law review
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
Florida officials want to exclude U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson from a federal court fight here over changes to the state's voting laws, filing court documents opposing Nelson's attempt to argue against the provisions.

Governor Scott addresses voter purge and county Medicaid billing dispute
By Regan McCarthy
WFSU Tallahassee
Last week, the U.S. Justice Department ordered the state to stop its effort to purge its voter rolls of potentially ineligible voters.

Overruling Florida's onerous attacks on voting
Editorial
Bradenton Herald
When a federal judge blocked enforcement of a portion of a new state law that clamped down on voter registration drives, phrases in his ruling made even sharper points than opponents of the provision.

POLITICAL RACES

Candidate qualifying week opens for fall elections
By James Call
Florida Current
The fall election season officially began Monday with the start of a four-day qualifying period for congressional, state and county races.

Protesters complain about parks access during RNC
By Keith Morelli
Tampa Tribune
Jared Hamil has a message for Republican National Convention organizers who think protesters will be deterred by the RNC Host Committee reserving most of the large downtown parks during convention week.

Ron Paul activists complain RNC is trying to block their festival in Tampa
By Richard Danielson
Tampa Bay Times
Supporters of Ron Paul suspect the Republican National Convention is toying with them, and they're taking their complaint to social media, talk radio and anyone else who will listen.

To promote congressional debate, group asks if Bill Young will be too sick to campaign
Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
The Suncoast Tiger Bay Club tends to be provocative when it touts upcoming speakers. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

State moving forward with new Everglades restoration permit after talks with federal agencies
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
South Florida Water Management District Executive Director Melissa Meeker on Monday described a tentative agreement reached with state and federal officials for proceeding on a revised plan for Everglades restoration.

LGBT

Lesbian parental-rights case in Brevard County draws attention
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
State and national legal groups are trying to sway the Florida Supreme Court in a parental-rights case that pits two lesbian partners who used in-vitro fertilization to have a child but later ended their relationship.

Same-sex marriage issue proves divisive for churches
By Steve Heisler
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Long before President Barack Obama offered his opinion on same-sex marriage, the issue has been divisive and hotly debated, threatening to alter the makeup of area churches.

EDUCATION

Vice President Joe Biden tells Cypress Bay High grads to think big
By Marc Caputo and Alexandra León
Miami Herald
Vice President Joe Biden couldn’t have picked a better spot Monday to make an election-year pitch: The new Marlins Park baseball stadium, site of Cypress Bay High School’s 2012 graduation ceremony.

Mom says son hung himself due to bullying, pressure of the FCATs
By Sean Kinney
Key West Keynoter
Sheri Leitch of Key Largo says the constant pressures of bullying and the state-mandated Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests prompted her 13-year-old son to take his life on May 2.

Pinellas, Hernando may vote on FCAT resolutions
By Danny Valentine
Tampa Bay Times
As the stakes keep increasing in Florida's standardized testing system, teachers have protested and parents have complained about anxious students more fearful than ever of failing.

School Board to vote on resolution opposing making FCAT so important
By Joey Flechas
Gainesville Sun
Local school officials say they are getting tired of all the testing.

Top education leader: Hold FAMU's Ammons accountable
By Denise-Marie Balona
Orlando Sentinel
One of the most powerful education leaders in Florida wrote a harshly worded letter to the Florida A&M University Board of Trustees on Monday in which he demanded university President James Ammons be held accountable for a "number of serious issues" confronting the university.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

State government layoffs are coming, but more slowly than last year
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
Staff reduction plans are trickling in from state agencies, but without as many mass layoffs as last year.

Gov. Scott takes jobs talk to rural Panhandle counties
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott toured the Panhandle on Monday, visiting with community and business leaders in a series of "roundtable" meetings focused on the unique challenges Florida's small counties face in creating jobs.

Long-Term Unemployed Losing Program Benefits
By Elvina Nawaguna
Lakeland Ledger
The economy is still fragile, jobs are still scarce and recent data shows consumers are still worried about money.

For GOP grown-up, a tax pledge too far
By Daniel Ruth
Tampa Bay Times
Related editorial: Making room for budget compromises
It probably gives you some idea how far the Republican Party has drifted into the 16th century when Jeb Bush has emerged as a moderate voice of reason and common sense.

State must feed the 'beast,' not starve it
By Randy Schultz
Palm Beach Post
Florida needs money.

Twenty-five state lawmakers back move for higher Citizens’ rates
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Twenty-five Republican state lawmakers issued a letter today saying they support efforts by Citizens Property Insurance to raise the rates for the state-backed insurer.

Summer jobs fade for Florida teens
By Emily Roach
Palm Beach Post
Sisters Rosy Ayala and Josselyn Casaleno want jobs to pay for school activities, gas and odds and ends like shampoo.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Orange leaders to tackle pain clinic ordinance
By Amy Pavuk
Orlando Sentinel
Orange County leaders will vote on an ordinance Tuesday that would make sweeping changes in the way local pain-management clinics, physicians and pharmacists conduct their business.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Time to fix a flawed 'stand your ground' law
By John Romano
Tampa Bay Times
It seems many of us want to believe in Florida's "stand your ground'' law. The polls show it. The politicians sense it. Common sense probably even dictates it.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Florida: New Bond Hearing Sought
Associated Press
New York Times
George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch leader charged with killing Trayvon Martin, 17, was confused and fearful when he and his wife misrepresented their finances at a bond hearing that allowed his release, his lawyer said Monday.

Odebrecht sues Florida over new law banning government hiring of firms tied to Cuba
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
The Coral Gables-based subsidiary of Odebrecht, the Brazilian engineering and construction conglomerate, sued the state Monday over a contentious new Florida law that bans governments from hiring companies with business ties to Cuba.

Daily Clips for June 4, 2012

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Florida voter purge gets pushback from elections supervisors, U.S. Justice
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Excerpt: Progress Florida Political Director Damien Filer: "The fact is Rick Scott is carrying on a disgraceful GOP legacy of disenfranchising voters in Florida. And he's doing it on purpose. Sadly, Florida is once again a late-show punch line. Jon Stewart and Jay Leno are no doubt thrilled. Florida voters, not so much."

FEATURED STORIES

All 67 Florida Election Supervisors Suspend Governor Rick Scott’s Voter Purge
By Judd Legum
Think Progress
Related: Meet Archibald: The Second 90-Year-Old WWII Veteran Targeted By Florida’s Voter Purge
On Thursday, the Justice Department demanded Florida Governor Rick Scott end his extensive purge of registered voters from the rolls because it was in violation of federal law. Scott still hasn’t formally responded but his county election supervisors have already taken action.

Rick Scott: state is "absolutely not" targeting minorities in noncitizen voter purge
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Related: Investigation of two noncitizen voters may bolster Scott’s fight with feds
Related: How Obama aided and abetted Scott’s voter purge mess
Gov. Rick Scott said his administration is “absolutely not” intentionally targeting minorities as part of a noncitizen voter purge that the U.S. Department of Justice has ordered Florida to halt.

The GOP, demographics and voter suppression
By Leonard Pitts Jr.
Miami Herald
Related column: Beer lobbyist knows little about voting
Bill Internicola had to show his papers.

Wisconsin recall election has Florida implications
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
If Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker survives a recall election Tuesday, it could give his Florida counterpart more breathing room to pursue a similar agenda here before facing re-election in 2014.

Fight to control leadership of state Senate looms over this year’s elections
By Mary Ellen Klas and Steve Bousquet
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
The road to the future of the Florida Senate goes through Tampa Bay in November.

Out of office, Jeb Bush retains major influence on education policy
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Former Gov. Jeb Bush is six years out of office, but his influence over the state's education policies may be greater than ever.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Jeff Parker
Florida Today

FLORIDA POLITICS

Voter purge, election changes concern some
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
Related editorial: The feds step in
U.S. Army Maj. Robert Lowen is a native of Canada who came to Gainesville to earn his doctorate in entomology and nematology at the University of Florida.

Deutch seeks records on state voter purge
By William March
Tampa Tribune
U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch of Boca Raton has filed a public records request for documents related to the state's attempted voter roll purge, which is targeting alleged non-citizens illegally registered to vote.

Darkness in the Sunshine State
By Charles M. Blow
New York Times
Florida ought to know better. And must do better, particularly on the issue of voting and discrimination.

Temper tantrums in Tallahassee
By John Romano
Tampa Bay Times
At least once a month, I have a conversation with my 8-year-old that sounds something like this: "Stop that.''

Eavesdropping at the Governor’s Mansion
By Mary Jo Melone
Florida Voices
If it were possible, Rick Scott would be tearing his hair out right about now.

Judge stops assault on democracy
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
All Floridians, especially Gov. Rick Scott and state lawmakers, should consider the sensible findings of U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, who last week threw out part of an overreaching elections law.

Reprieve for voter drives
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Next time Florida lawmakers are tempted to meddle with voter registration drives, they might want to read up on the First Amendment and the freedoms it protects.

Please pass the sunshine
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
Shady officials have, in copious numbers, left a cloud of ethical suspicion over Florida's state and local governments.

While Florida struggles, Congress dithers
By William E. Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
To the frustration of many Floridians, Congress has spent relatively few days in session this year and accomplished little while Republicans and Democrats grapple for advantage in the fall elections.

Sen. Marco Rubio earning respect in Senate for foreign-policy work
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Marco Rubio had just stepped off the plane from his first visit to Cuba, the homeland of his forebears, a land at the heart of his political identity.

POLITICAL RACES

Qualifying for Florida elections beginning Monday
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Now is the time for Florida political candidates to get serious about where they're running.

It's hurricane season -- and it may cost you
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
If you place stock in surveys of voters who still have two years to change their minds, former Republican-turned-Indy Gov. Charlie Crist could beat current Gov. Rick Scott by a double-digit margin.

Romney's ticket won't include baggage, er, Rubio
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
Despite having enough baggage to make him look like a suitcase manufacturer, Marco Rubio remains the favorite of pundits trying to figure out whom Mitt Romney will pick to be his running mate.

State Democrats gather in Tampa to select delegates for convention
Staff Report
Tampa Tribune
Just weeks before the nation's Republicans gather in Tampa to make Mitt Romney their presidential candidate, the state's Democrats are in town to choose delegates for their convention.

State Rep. Jeff Brandes files to run for Florida Senate
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
State Rep. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, filed to run for the Florida Senate on Friday, setting up a potentially bruising primary that could pit him against either Rep. Jim Frishe, R-St. Petersburg, or Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Push for mandatory paid sick days goes countywide
By Mark Schlueb
Orlando Sentinel
A group of workers' rights activists who launched a petition initiative to require Orlando businesses to provide employees with paid sick days said Friday they are now taking their effort countywide.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Failure at the top in protecting Florida's wetlands
By Bill Maxwell
Tampa Bay Times
Imagine Gov. Rick Scott as Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513 landing on the pristine La Florida ("place of flowers") shore in the vicinity of the Caloosahatchee River.

Conservation lands in Volusia, Flagler under review for other uses
By Dinah Voyles Pulver
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Over 35 years, the St. Johns River Water Management District bought 605,000 acres to protect and improve the St. Johns River and its tributaries, to safeguard freshwater supplies and prevent homes from flooding.

Water district's plans to lease land for hunting draws fire
By Christopher Curry
Gainesville Sun
The 836-acre tract straddling the Santa Fe River and the Alachua/Bradford county line is known as Mud Swamp.

On first day, new Northwest Florida water chief says "conspiracy theories" are untrue
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
New Northwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director Jon Steverson on his first day on the new job on Friday said he's heard the "conspiracy theories" about a DEP takeover of the water management districts but they're not true.

Get on with it
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
After the Santa Fe River ran green with algae, we asked in an editorial "Where's the EPA," and why isn't it enforcing the Clean Water Act in order to protect Florida's waterways from nutrient poisoning?

LGBT

Gay married couples look to high court on benefits
By Denise Lavoie
Associated Press
Fresh from a favorable ruling by a federal appeals court, Dorene Bowe-Shulman can't wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on whether same-sex married couples should get the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples.

Court's positive step for marriage equality
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
In another positive step toward equality for all, a federal appeals court last week declared the federal law that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman unconstitutional.

EDUCATION

Statewide algebra test trips 52 percent of 9th graders
By James Call
The Florida Current
More than half of the ninth graders in Florida public schools need to retake an algebra class if they want to graduate from high school.

State begins push to link FCAT to new nationalized education curriculum
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson is touring the state and talking with parents and local school officials about the results of this year’s FCAT test and end-course exams.

FCAT validity questioned after scoring changes, lowered marks
By Scott Travis
South Florida Sun Sentinel
FCAT scores can determine everything from teacher pay to housing prices, but frequently changing standards are causing some to question how valid the results actually are.

Failing on FCAT
By Brad Rogers
Ocala Star-Banner
Rick Roach is something of a cult hero among Floridians who think the FCAT is doing more harm than good in our public schools.

The high cost of higher education
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
A college education is not nearly as affordable as it used to be.

Joe Biden to address Cypress Bay graduation at Marlins Park today
By Georgia East
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Vice President Joe Biden threw Cypress Bay High School a bit of a curveball when he announced he would deliver the keynote address at the school's graduation ceremony.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Workers: State blocks unemployment benefits
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
With Florida's unemployment rate at a three-year low of 8.7 percent, Gov. Rick Scott says his policies are helping drive the state's economy on the "path to recovery."

Insurers, agents see rates as key to shrinking Citizens; others wary
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Board members for the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. got feedback from insurance companies, agents, consultants, lawmakers and Realtors during a meeting Friday in Tampa on how best to reduce its number of policies, but many speakers echoed one theme: Rates must increase faster.

Company to offer passenger rail from Miami to Orlando with possible expansion to Jacksonville
By Larry Hannan
Florida Times-Union
Florida East Coast Industries is planning to offer passenger rail service from Miami to Orlando within the next two years.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Drug-bill battle is lucrative for lobbyists, legislators
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
It's a fight between Capitol insiders with pocketbook implications for thousands of injured workers, a battle between doctors selling marked-up medications and insurers trying to protect their bottom lines.

State accommodates counties on Medicaid billing, but sticking points remain
By Travis Pillow
Florida Current
Representatives of Florida's counties say that although they are still suing the state to block a Medicaid bill-collection scheme that became law this year, they have been able mitigate some of the new law's contentious effects.

Expert at DOH abruptly resigns
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Health News Florida
Florida’s main agency charged with protecting the health of residents continues to deal with the departure of many of its high-ranking officials.

A.G. Holley State Hospital to go, but issue of TB patients remains
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
The Florida Department of Health's plan for closing A.G. Holley State Hospital, released to the public Friday, offered only a rough outline of what is to become of its 37 tuberculosis patients, hinting at the difficulty the state has had finding medical homes for patients whose care is costly and prolonged.

Contractors: VA missed chance to speed hospital work, save jobs
By Marni Jameson
Orlando Sentinel
Lost in all the shouting going on among VA officials, contractors and politicians about the Orlando VA Medical Center's much-delayed opening are the workers getting hurt most by the project's poor oversight.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Drones could soon be flying in Florida skies
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
Drones that have killed hundreds, if not thousands, of suspected terrorists in the tribal regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan soon may be patrolling the skies over Florida and the rest of the United States.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Florida 'stand your ground' law yields some shocking outcomes depending on how law is applied
By Kris Hundley, Susan Taylor Martin and Connie Humburg
Tampa Bay Times
Florida's "stand your ground'' law has allowed drug dealers to avoid murder charges and gang members to walk free.

George Zimmerman back in jail, defense expected to file request for his release
By Amy Pavuk
Orlando Sentinel
George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with fatally shooting teenager Trayvon Martin, woke up once again at the Seminole County Jail on Monday, where he returned over the weekend after a judge revoked his bond.

Daily Clips for June 1, 2012

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

The BluVu: Week of May 28^th
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
Just call us the "Gunshine" State, Rick Scott's still bumping along clumsily and Progress Florida’s Damien Filer tells us about the continued attack on public schools…all this and more as political reality comes your way.

FEATURED STORIES

Feds to Florida: halt non-citizen voter purge
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
The Justice Department ordered Florida’s elections division to halt a systematic effort to find and purge the state’s voter rolls of noncitizen voters.

U.S. judge blocks limits on third-party voter registration in Florida law
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A federal judge on Thursday blocked enforcement of several parts of a controversial Florida election law passed in 2011, including a 48-hour deadline for third-party groups to turn in voter registration forms that he called "harsh and impractical."

Jeb Bush’s Top Education Advisor Receives Unfortunate Distinction
By Mc Nelly Torres
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
A Colorado think tank has described the research of former Gov. Jeb Bush’s top education advisor as “nonsensical, confusing and disingenuous.”

Political storm looms as hurricane season begins Friday
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
State officials hope Florida can make it one more year without a major hurricane hitting the state, but a political maelstrom over the cost of property insurance seems inevitable.

Mitt Romney campaign ramping up in Florida to enthusiasm of Republicans
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
As Mitt Romney ramps up his campaign in must-win Florida, he faces a daunting reality.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Gov. Rick Scott promotes mistrust of his own motives and administration
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
One-on-one, Gov. Rick Scott must be an interesting guy. All governors are.

Will Democrats Embrace Public Schools?
By Kartik Krishnaiyer
The Political Hurricane
Florida has been at the forefront of the school “choice” movement over the past two decades.

Rick Scott Targets 91-Year-Old Veteran In Florida Voter Purge - Where Is The Outrage?
By Inkberries
Beach Peanuts
Last year Florida's Governor Rick Scott "honored" veterans, including an estimated 17,000 homeless veterans on Memorial Day by cutting $12 million out of the state budget from the National Veterans Homeless Support Groups.

NAACP Board Endorses Marriage Equality
By Trish Ponder
Pensito Review
Whatever that weird thing is with black churches and gay people is one step closer to being resolved, following an action by the NAACP, which followed an action by Pres. Obama.

Forgiving Crist? That Will Take Work
By Jake
Rantings From Florida
I have made no secret in the last election cycle about my feelings on Charlie Crist, and believe far too many Democrats were placing disproportionately little blame on his spoiler candidacy putting a Senate seat out of reach for the blue team.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Judge strikes down part of Florida's election law
By Steve Bousquet and Marc Caputo
Tampa Bay Times
A federal judge on Thursday struck down a key part of Florida's recently revamped election laws, saying the Legislature's restrictions have made it "risky business" for third-party groups to register new voters.

Feds: Halt Fla. voter purge
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Related: Hillborough officials push back against voter rolls purge
County elections supervisors raised red flags, and then federal authorities weighed in Thursday to demand the state of Florida halt its ongoing push to remove thousands of voters from the rolls.

Florida elections official seeks Homeland Security database for voter-roll 'purge'
Staff Report
Palm Beach Post
Acknowledging that a list being used to try to find potentially ineligible voters has flaws, Florida's top election official on Thursday asked for help from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in culling names of non-citizens from Florida's voter rolls.

Elections Supervisors Throughout Florida Confirm U.S. Citizens Improperly Included In Voter Purge
By Josh Israel and Adam Peck
Think Progress
Related: Florida GOP Chair Admits Voter Purge Is Flawed, Says It Must Continue Anyway
Related: Palm Beach Elections Supervisor Rejects Florida’s Voter Purge List
When Gov. Rick Scott’s (R-FL) administration distributed its controversial lists of possible non-citizen voters last month, state statute required the state’s 67 county supervisors of elections to send out letters requiring those voters to prove their eligibility to vote within 30 days — a window that will end in the next couple of weeks in many counties.

Florida’s Discriminatory Voter Purge
Editorial
New York Times
In Florida, where a few hundred votes can determine a presidential election, Republicans have never stopped searching for new ways to keep ballots out of the hands of minorities and poor people, groups that tend to vote Democratic.

Stop trampling voters' rights
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
The state's campaign to purge suspected noncitizens from the voting rolls is flawed beyond repair, and Tallahassee should shelve it and start over.

Advocate claims rampant Florida corruption linked to money in politics
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Tampa
Florida has a corruption problem. So a group is leading an ethics reform charge by looking at how tax dollars are spent.

Rubio puts foreign policy credentials center stage
By Andrew Rafferty
MSNBC
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) put his foreign policy credentials on center stage on Thursday during an appearance before the Council on Foreign Relations.

POLITICAL RACES

Tension looms at Republican convention
By Jessica Vander Velde and Eric Deggans
Tampa Bay Times
Protesters might not be the only people filling local jails during the Republican National Convention.

GOP to Jim Norman: Who?
By Sue Carlton
Tampa Bay Times
With the flurry over a property appraiser porn scandal and an attorney general's wedding-that-wasn't, you might have missed other intriguing political news, about state Sen. Jim Norman and his future in Tallahassee.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Judge extends deadline for federal agency to issue new pollution limits
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A federal judge on Thursday granted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a nearly six-month extension on a deadline to establish new federal water pollution limits in Florida.

Suwannee River Water Management District issues first-ever watering restrictions
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Rains from Tropical Storm Beryl were not enough to prevent the Suwannee River Water Management District this week from enacting its first-ever watering restrictions.

Customers speak out on FPL rate hike at hearing
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The Tea Party came out to protest. So did charity workers, business people and government officials.

LGBT

Court: Heart of gay marriage law unconstitutional
By Denise Lavoie
Associated Press
A federal appeals court today declared that the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally denies federal benefits to married gay couples, a groundbreaking ruling all but certain to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Federal court ruling on same-sex marriage cheers gay leaders in Palm Beach County
By John Lantigua and Lona O'Connor
Palm Beach Post
When Palm Beach county gay rights leader Tony Plakas heard that a federal appeals court had struck down the Defense of Marriage Act Thursday, he said he was pleased but not surprised.

EDUCATION

How Jeb Bush Stood Up To ALEC For National Education Standards
By John O'Connor
StateImpact
Last summer, a multi-state legislative group was meeting in New Orleans to hammer out a list of education priorities.

USF paying bills for Lakeland campus
By Lindsay Peterson
Tampa Tribune
Members of a state governing board went out of their way last week to praise the University of South Florida for its cooperation in the creation of a new university in Lakeland, which requires the closure of USF's campus there.

Poly boosters want to move beyond rancor
By Lindsay Peterson
Tampa Tribune
The message from the Polk County leaders on Thursday was clear: Florida Polytechnic University is coming, and everyone needs to forget the controversy and do what they can to help the fledgling school.

College Banking Deals Mean Added Fees For Students
By John O'Connor
StateImpact
Looking to replace budget cuts, more colleges and universities are signing deals with banks to provide financial services to students.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Critic: Citizens summit snubs consumers
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post
Depending on who is talking, a "depopulation summit" scheduled for today in Tampa is either an innovative forum for ideas to shrink Citizens, the state's insurer of last resort, or a "rate hike dream team" that leaves consumer groups out of the loop.

Florida needs bolder insurance fixes
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Another hurricane season starts today, and so do the annual rituals.

Wal-Mart is latest company to withdraw from conservative group
By Mae Anderson
Associated Press
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has withdrawn its membership in a conservative political group that has come under fire as part of the Trayvon Martin case, saying it has strayed from its core mission to advance free-market principles.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

What will the right do if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds health reform?
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
This video features the Cato Institute’s Michael Cannon, the conservative think-tank wonk who was Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s transition health adviser.

DCF official's ouster linked to alleged affair, sexual harassment
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
A high-ranking Department of Children and Families official who resigned "for personal and family reasons" in January was forced out after being accused of having an affair with and sexually harassing an employee, DCF officials told The Palm Beach Post this week.

Jackson board approves UM agreement
By John Dorschner
Miami Herald
Twenty-four hours after lambasting the proposal in often heated terms, the board of the Jackson Health System on Thursday unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding to forge a new relationship with the University of Miami.

Fla. jury awards $75M to family of dead smoker
Associated Press
Ocala Star-Banner
A jury in Fort Lauderdale has awarded the family of a dead smoker $75 million in damages against four tobacco companies.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Gun advocates take aim at Orlando gun-law staffer
By Mark Schlueb
Orlando Sentinel
Gun-rights advocates are squaring off against Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer for hiring a new city employee to spearhead the city's fight against illegal guns.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Media argue against sealing Zimmerman records
By Mike Schneider
Associated Press
A consortium of more than a dozen media groups is asking a judge not to seal some records in the case of a neighborhood watch leader charged with killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.