Daily News Clips for September 6, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

President Bill Clinton heaps praise on President Barack Obama for 48 minutes
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related: 5 things to watch in President Barack Obama's speech
Bill Clinton, who rode economic anxiety into his first term as president then oversaw a roaring comeback, gave a speech before the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday that was sweeping, emotional and wildly received but carried a simple pitch: Stick with Barack Obama.

Bill Clinton could be key in helping Obama in Florida
By Jeremy Wallace
Ocala Star-Banner
If President Barack Obama is going to win Florida, he's could use a big assist from former President Bill Clinton.

State Democrats' mantra: Winner of I-4 corridor wins the White House
By Brent Batten
Naples Daily News
All week long, Florida Democrats have heard how important their state is in the coming election.

As former Fla. governor takes stage at DNC, Dems ponder 2014 possibility
By Ledyard King
Tallahassee Democrat
It all started with a symbolic hug in Florida two and a half years ago.

Exclusive: Paul Ryan Quietly Requested Obamacare Cash
By Lee Fang
The Nation
Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan is barnstorming the country, promising to repeal every provision of the Affordable Care Act if the Romney-Ryan ticket is elected.

Voting rights groups encouraged by court rulings against restrictions
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Speakers at the Democratic National Convention are using words and images to push minority, young and working-class voters to the polls.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Fair Districts groups challenge Senate seats
By Aaron Deslatte
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Voting-rights groups are launching a new legal challenge to Florida's newly minted state Senate maps, arguing the districts still intentionally favor Republicans despite the 2010 anti-gerrymandering mandates passed by voters.

Fla. Legislature Wants Lawmakers Exempt From Testifying About Redistricting
By Jessica Palombo    
WFSU Tallahassee
Lawyers for the Florida Legislature are asking a judge to exempt lawmakers from being called to testify about drawing legislative districts.

Feds OK early voting plan for Hillsborough, four other counties
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder agreed today to accept Florida’s revised early-voting plan for five counties covered by the federal Voting Rights Act.

FSU Students Protest Florida Voting Laws
Staff Report
WCTV Tallahassee
A group of students at FSU say they're angry about Governor Rick Scott's voting laws.

In Florida, 632 Public Officials Late in Filing Financial Disclosure Forms
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Integrity Florida, a state-based ethics watchdog, reports that as of September 5, 632 state and local elected officials are filing their financial disclosure forms late and owe $15,800 in fines, according to the Florida Commission on Ethics.

Court records in Hialeah voter-fraud case show more voters received absentee-ballot help
By Scott Hiaasen and Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Ramon Del Pino can’t say for sure whom he voted for last month.

Crist Speech Ruffles Feathers Among Democrats At DNC 2012
By Trimmel Gomes       
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida’s former Republican Governor Charlie Crist is getting a high profile speaking role at the Democratic National Convention Thursday, beating out those with deep roots in the Party.

Bob Buckhorn happy to be a guest, not the host, of Charlotte's DNC party
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
While acknowledging that the atmosphere surrounding the Democratic National Convention has a friendlier vibe than the one last week at the Republican National Convention, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn defended the fortress-like security plan he helped devise.

POLITICAL RACES

Look for Obama speech to keep ‘Forward’ theme while also addressing record
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Barack Obama has never had a problem with what George H.W. Bush famously called “the vision thing.”

Thousands line up for Obama appearance at St. Petersburg College
Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
Sweltering heat and long lines didn't deter thousands of people around the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday from picking up tickets to President Barack Obama's Saturday speech at St. Petersburg College's Seminole Campus.

Obama to bring re-election campaign through Melbourne, West Palm Beach on Sunday
By Dave Berman
Florida Today
President Barack Obama plans to bring his re-election campaign to Melbourne and West Palm Beach on Sunday with a speech that focuses on the economy as part of a two-day swing through Florida.

Political conventions highlight Hispanic split
By Suzanne Gamboa and Russell Contreras
Associated Press
The Hispanics with the highest profiles in this year's political conventions, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio, stand as opposites in a cultural and political split that has divided millions of U.S. Latinos for decades.

Planned Parenthood rally encourages support for Obama
By Joanne Spataro
Creative Loafing Charlotte
When Louise (name changed to preserve anonymity) found out she was pregnant, the 29-year-old single mom in Cincinnati, Ohio, knew she could not afford to have another child.

Democrats return mentions of God, Jerusalem to platform
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Bowing to Republican pressure, Democrats on Wednesday amended their platform to include a mention of God and a declaration that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.

Sen. Bill Nelson prefers campaign trail to convention
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Bill who? Nelson where? The embattled senior senator from the nation’s biggest battleground state has almost no profile at the Democratic National Convention.

Reported theft of Romney tax records being probed
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
The Secret Service said Wednesday it is investigating the reported theft of copies of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's federal tax records during a break-in at an accounting office in Franklin. Someone claiming responsibility demanded $1 million not to make them public.

PPP poll: Floridians like Rubio, Clinton in 2016
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Florida Democrats overwhelmingly prefer Hillary Clinton as their 2016 presidential candidate, and Republicans narrowly prefer Sen. Marco Rubio over former Gov. Jeb Bush as theirs if Mitt Romney loses the November election, according to a Public Policy Polling survey.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

PSC kicks off nuclear cost recovery hearing by deferring $9 million in Crystal River costs
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Florida Public Service Commission on Wednesday kicked off a hearing on nuclear power costs being requested by utilities by agreeing to a Progress Energy Florida motion to delay consideration of $9 million in costs associated with its Crystal River nuclear plant.

Wildlife officials prepare to smooth path for panther into Central Florida
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
Because scientists say the rebounding Florida panther has filled nearly all the available habitat in Southwest Florida, state wildlife officials Wednesday told their staff to start working on expanding its population into Central Florida.

LGBT

Should Tampa protect unwed Florida pairs?
By Kevin Wiatrowski
Tampa Tribune
Two months after granting limited legal protections to unmarried couples, Tampa's city council is weighing whether to extend the same protections to couples from elsewhere in Florida.

EDUCATION

St. Johns County School Board to call for end of FCAT
By Teresa Stepzinski    
St. Augustine Record
The board for the state’s best school district is poised to criticize Florida’s reliance on high-stakes testing to measure student achievement.

Florida School Teachers Helped Students Cheat On State Exams, Investigation Reveals
By Samreen Hooda
Huffington Post
The state Department of Education's investigation into the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) found potential cheating at four Florida schools and have since implicated one.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

USDA Report: More Hungry Households in Florida
By Chris Thomas
Public News Service Florida
Not enough money to keep food on the table.

Obama must act now to help homeowners with loan troubles
By Carmen Balasquide
Orlando Sentinel
It's been more than seven months since President Obama's State of the Union address, in which he promised to stand up to Wall Street and take strong action on the side of homeowners in Florida and other states.

Florida expected to avoid budget shortfall next year
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Florida's need to make deep budget cuts because of the recession may finally be over.

Audit of Citizens mimics board members' complaints over rates
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
An operational audit of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. released Wednesday by Auditor General David Martin reiterated what some Citizens board members have been saying for months – that its premiums are too low to entice private insurers to take over its policies.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Democrats finally step up to promote health care reform
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
It's been more than two years since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act and more than two months since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the guts of it are constitutional.

Palm Beach County woman will speak for Medicare at DNC
By Andrew Abramson
Palm Beach Post
About 15 years ago, Carol Berman exhausted virtually all of her assets to pay for long-term care for her Alzheimers-inflicted husband.

Health plans ready to vie for Medicaid contracts in Florida
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
With Florida gradually moving toward a statewide Medicaid managed-care system, 14 health plans are ready to compete for contracts to provide long-term care to seniors.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Regressive and illegal
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Florida's regressive policy of charging out-of-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants — even when those children were born in Florida and are, thus, American citizens — is harsh and counterproductive.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Scott signs death warrant for Miami man convicted of eight murders
By Brittany Davis
Miami Herald
Gov. Rick Scott signed the death warrant for John Errol Ferguson, who was convicted of eight murders in two separate incidents, according to a press release from the Governor's Office.

Daily News Clips for September 5, 2012

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

The BluVu: Week of August 27^th
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
The Republican National Convention had its highlights and low points but appeared to be an audition for the 2016 Presidential contest, Damien Filer of Progress Florida gives us an honest perspective on the GOP quest for the white house and more as political reality comes your way!

FEATURED STORIES

Michelle Obama's speech stresses president's values, record
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Related: President Obama to appear Saturday at St. Petersburg College in Seminole
Arguing her husband "brought our economy from the brink of collapse," first lady Michelle Obama used a boisterous opening day of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday to make the case for a second term, touting accomplishments of the past four years while appealing to a nation's determination.

With Charlie Crist set to address DNC on Thursday, most Democrats ambivalent
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related editorial: Practical governing, not party ideology
Charlie Crist's Democratic coming-out party kicks off Thursday night at Bank of America Stadium.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker excites Florida delegation with breakfast speech
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Meet the Florida DNC delegation
Cory Booker, the reform-minded Newark, N.J., mayor and potential future presidential contender, was injured this morning stepping out of his SUV en route to talk to the Florida delegation at the Marriott Charlotte City Center.

Nelson, Mack Florida Senate Race Critical To President Obama
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
Related: Poll Shows Nelson Not Doing So Well, Mack Doing Even Worse
As the U.S. Senate Race between incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson and Republican U.S. Congressman Connie Mack IV heats up, political experts say it’s really a battle about which party controls the Senate chamber.

Voter Suppression: The Confederacy Rises Again
By Ari Berman
The Nation
On Sunday I attended a fascinating panel of Southern politics experts convened by UNC–Chapel Hill.

FLORIDA POLITICS

3 Floridians scheduled for main-stage time at Democratic convention
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
South Florida’s own Debbie Wasserman Schultz is a ubiquitous presence at this week’s Democratic National Convention, and former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is generating as much buzz as anyone scheduled to appear at the three-day gathering of Democrats this week.

Light rail helps Charlotte avoid Tampa's bus woes
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
Artellia Burch isn't so sure she would have braved the traffic to attend Monday's street festival that helped launch the Democratic National Convention.

Activists think Republican convention security was overkill
By Janelle Irwin
WMNF Tampa
The Tampa Police Department hired thousands of extra officers to help with security for the Republican National Convention last week; some activists who were protesting the event including Occupy Tampa’s Andrew Speirs think it was overkill.

Former Florida Senate leader Phil Lewis, 82, dies
By Ana M. Vades
Palm Beach Post
Related editorial: Phil Lewis: one of Florida’s great public servants
As a longtime legislator and president of the Florida Senate from 1978 to 1980, Phil Lewis said one of his proudest achievements was helping create the South Florida Water Management District, the agency charged with restoring the Everglades.

Early voting schedule hinges on court case
By Jerome R. Stockfisch
Tampa Tribune
If you're planning to cast an early ballot, you'll have to wait awhile to pencil in a time and date on your calendar.

Scott’s lobbyist returns to old firm
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Rick Scott’s top lobbyist, who shepherded the governor’s policies through a frequently wary Legislature the past two years, is rejoining his old Tallahassee lobbying firm.

POLITICAL RACES

Democratic poll: Crist unpopular but edges Scott; Nelson leads Mack
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, one of the featured speakers at this week’s Democratic National Convention, has a net unfavorable ranking among Florida voters, according to a new survey by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.

Nelson’s convention stop short
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Fighting to retain the last statewide seat held by a Democrat in Florida, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson made a brief appearance on the Democratic National Convention floor Tuesday, mingling with state’s 365-member delegation.

Empty-chair jokes making the day of Democrats at their convention
By Brent Batten
Naples Daily News
Florida Democrats 570 strong on Tuesday heard the outline of a game plan they hope to use to re-elect President Barack Obama come November.

Reading the Polls: The Weight of Race
By Martin Dyckman
Florida Voices
The polls don't appear to make sense.

Lawmaker’s suit alleges absentee-ballot fraud at North Miami assisted living facilities, nursing homes
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Charges of absentee-ballot fraud at assisted-living facilities and nursing homes are at the center of Rep. John Patrick Julien’s legal challenge to the results of the District 107 primary race for the Florida House.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Your guide to Fla's Constitutional amendment ballot questions
By Amy Keller
Tampa Bay Times
Florida Trend breaks them down.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Some legislators balk at new water legislation despite summer of water worries
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Some key legislators say they're not interested in coming up with new legislation to address environmentalists' concerns after a summer of water controversy and recommendations last week in an Ichetucknee Springs restoration plan.

Sen. Fasano wants Lisa Edgar ousted from Public Service Commission
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Sen. Mike Fasano, who opposed Public Service Commissioner Lisa Edgar's reappointment to the commission four years ago, is asking Gov. Rick Scott not to reappoint her this time.

U.S. lays out examples of "gross negligence" by BP
By David Ingram
Reuters
The U.S. Justice Department is ramping up its rhetoric against BP PLC for the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, describing in new court papers examples of what it calls "gross negligence and willful misconduct."

LGBT

Record presence - more than 8 percent - for LGBT people at Democratic National Convention
By David Crary
Associated Press
The Democratic National Convention is a watershed event for America's gay rights movement, which never before has been embraced so warmly by a major political party.

EDUCATION

Florida Schools In Session, But Teachers Absent
By Sarah Gonzalez
NPR
Schools have been open for a couple of weeks across much of Florida, but not all of the students know who their teachers are yet.

Hollywood Dramatizes Parent Trigger Legislation At Tampa And Charlotte Political Conventions
By Gina Jordan
StateImpact
A Hollywood drama focused on education made its way to Tampa and Charlotte in the last week.

Federal judge rules state cannot treat some Florida students as non-residents and charge higher tuition
By Jay Weaver
Miami Herald
A federal judge has ruled the state is discriminating against potentially thousands of U.S. citizens who live in Florida, by charging them higher out-of-state tuition as non-resident students simply because their parents may lack legal U.S. residency.

FAMU suspends dance team after hazing reports
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
Florida A&M University, still reeling from the hazing-related death of a marching band drum major 10 months ago, on Tuesday suspended its Torque Dance Team following allegations of an off-campus hazing incident.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Pension Case Primed for Action
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
The state and more than a half million employees and retirees will soon be one step closer to knowing if employees will continue to pay three percent of their salaries into the pension fund.

What North Carolina Can Teach Florida About Jobs
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
North Carolina has spent the past several years creating jobs in high-skilled sectors, while Florida has thrived only in low-skilled work.

National Debt 16 Trillion
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
While the national debt continues to grow, as Whitney Ray tells us, Florida has a balanced budget and is paying off its debt.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Obama: With health care, Romney just 'doesn't care'
By David Espo
Associated Press
Campaigning his way toward the Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama slapped a “Romney doesn’t care” label on his rival’s health-care views Sunday and said Republicans want to repeal new protections for millions without offering a plan of their own.

Rod Smith: My son has cancer, and we Democrats need to spread the word about ObamaCare
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Florida Democratic party chairman Rod Smith this morning told hundreds of Florida Democrats in Charlotte that three weeks ago today his 25-year-old son, Dillon, was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a form of cancer that usually strikes children.

5 more sign on to a statewide health exchange
By James Call
Florida Current
The Harris Corp. continues to build a Florida Health Information Exchange as the Agency for Health Care Administration announced Tuesday that five more organizations will join the network, which enables health care providers to access patient information via the Internet.

Democrats try to reframe abortion debate by focusing on reproductive rights
By Edward-Isaac Dovere
Politico
Democrats think they've figured out how to win the abortion debate: Don't make it about abortion

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Group aiming to oust 3 justices starts state tour
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
An organization working to deny three Florida Supreme Court justices new terms on the high bench began barnstorming through nine cities Tuesday, touting a "report card" that flunked all three members on some major issues.

Florida judges objecting to some new court rules
Associated Press
Miami Herald
Florida's judges aren't happy about some new rules on how the state's judicial system is governed that were adopted by the Florida Supreme Court.

Daily News Clips for September 4, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Florida Democrats have top-notch lodging, big numbers in Charlotte
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
Related: East of Charlotte, black voters illustrate Barack Obama's challenge
Related: Betty White at the DNC? Plus, did Romney get a bounce?
Related: Atmosphere in Charlotte more free, fun than Tampa
Florida Republicans may not want to read this story.

Obama’s 2nd-term agenda: Global warming, immigration, taxes
By Lesley Clark
Miami Herald
Related: Obama after four years – change or more of the same?
Related editorial: Beyond hope and change
President Barack Obama says his Republican challenger has the “wrong vision” for the country. So what’s his?

Democratic platform backs gay marriage, abortion rights
By Donna Cassata
Associated Press
Democrats unveiled a party platform at their national convention Monday that echoes President Barack Obama's call for higher taxes on wealthier Americans while backing same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

At GOP convention in Tampa, full truth is sometimes missing
By William Douglas
McClatchy Newspapers
Beyond the hoopla, politics and glitz, the Republican National Convention has been marked by speeches filled with half-truths, misleading statements, obfuscations and downright falsehoods.

Florida's early-vote 'expert' unconvincing
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
The state of Florida is having trouble convincing a federal court that its reduction in early voting days does not discriminate against African-Americans.

A Labor Day with little for unions to celebrate
Editorial
Naples Daily News
Some years ago, there was a popular bumper sticker that read: "The Weekend, Brought To You By The Labor Movement." And it was true.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Jim Morin
Miami Herald

FLORIDA POLITICS

DNC begins Charlie Crist’s latest campaign
By Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman
Politico
To his friends and detractors alike, there’s little doubt about it: Charlie Crist’s next campaign has already begun.

Florida Democrats say Crist must ‘prove himself’
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Former Republican Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s speech at this week’s Democratic convention is a trophy for national Democrats, who say Crist’s appearance shows the GOP has been hijacked by conservatives who won’t allow bipartisan compromise.

Wasserman Schultz says she’s grown "alligator skin" as DNC chair
By Erika Bolstad
Miami Herald
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz stopped by Tampa last week while Republicans were holding their convention. How could she resist?

Changes to Florida voting rules still mired in controversy
By Greg Hamilton
Gainesville Sun
Changes to Florida's voting laws were passed in 2011, but the full force of HB 1355 is sweeping the state today as the election season enters its final phase.

Sen. Fasano calls for Cabinet hearing on Citizens' travel spending
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, sent letters to Gov. Rick Scott and three Cabinet members Friday, urging them to hold a public hearing to address excessive travel spending by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. officials.

That's Not Weird, That's a Florida Election
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Voices
I told a friend the goofy new Will Ferrell-Zach Galifianakis comedy, "The Campaign," is hilarious -- although it could never happen in real life.

Court saw through state’s fuzzy election math
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
It is not surprising that Florida’s Republican leaders moved to restrict early voting before November’s election.

POLITICAL RACES

Looking back on presidential elections yields insight for 2012
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related: PolitiFact tallies Obama's campaign promises
Related editorial: Obama should point to accomplishments, point way ahead
Amid grim economic numbers, the incumbent president looks to many Americans like he is in over his head and ineffectual.

Democrats Say U.S. Is Better Off Than Four Years Ago
By Jim Rutenberg
New York Times
A day after fumbling a predictable and straightforward question posed by Mitt Romney last week — are Americans better off than they were four years ago — the Obama campaign provided a response on Monday that it said would be hammered home during the Democratic convention here this week: “Absolutely.”

After decades of fighting, Democrats show unified front
By Mark Z. Barabak
Los Angeles Times
There is something unusual about the gathering of Democrats in this steamy Southern city, something that may be more significant than just about anything said or done once the convention starts Tuesday.

Tampa’s Republican National Convention: Optics, Lies and Palmetto Bugs
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
The Republican National Convention has come to an end.

The battle is joined: Tampa is election's frontline
By William March
Tampa Tribune
The convention is over. Let the battle for Florida begin, because that may be what the next 64 days of the presidential campaign boils down to.

Obama to make post-convention visit to Florida next weekend
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
President Obama will campaign in Florida next weekend, the Obama campaign announced this afternoon.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

All 11 amendments are a bad bet
By Stephen Goldstein
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Attention Florida voters: Just say "No" to all 11 constitutional amendments on the November ballot.

Bid to block law misleads families and businesses
By Greg Mellowe
Orlando Sentinel
Legislative leaders kicked off last session by placing Amendment 1 on the November ballot.

Amendment 4 is affront to tax fairness
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
If there is a silver lining in Florida's real estate bust, it may be this: Inequities created under the state's Save Our Homes property tax limit have been greatly diminished, meaning neighbors in identical homes are far more likely to be paying closer to the same tax bills.

This small-business owner welcomes earned sick time
By Julie Norris
Orlando Sentnel
Orange County voters will likely have the opportunity to enact an earned sick-time initiative this November. As a small-business owner, I'm eager to throw my support behind this cost-effective policy that benefits both workers and businesses.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Rising sea comes at a cost for South Florida cities
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Climate change may be the subject of debate in some places but in South Florida it’s become a costly reality.

Dolphins at the mercy of the clueless and the cruel
By Carl Hiaasen
Miami Herald
Earlier this summer, in the Gulf waters near the Florida-Alabama border, somebody stabbed a screwdriver into the head of a bottlenose dolphin.

LGBT

Democrats' support for gay rights in Charlotte echos 1972 convention in Miami Beach
By Julio Capo Jr.
Miami Herald
When the Democrats hold their national convention in Charlotte, N.C., this week, the party platform is expected to endorse same-sex marriage.

HHS Says Health Plans Cannot Discriminate Against Transgender People
By Michelle Andrews
Kaiser Health News
In a recent letter hailed by advocates in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, the Department of Health and Human Services clarified that provisions in the Affordable Care Act prohibiting sex discrimination in health insurance apply to transgender people.

EDUCATION

Scott isn’t fooling parents on the FCAT
By Kathleen Oropeza
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Scott and his advisers really need to get out more.

FEA responds to Jeb union bashing
By James Call
Florida Current
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush used a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention to further his reputation as an advocate for reforming public education.

Florida Schools Rely More on Teach for America Teachers
By Arianna Prothero
StateImpact
The number of Teach for America teachers working in Florida schools is going up.

Federal government push to collect on student loans amid bad economy fuels growth in filings
By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post
Nearly 30 years after graduating from the University of South Florida, William Milner Jr. this year got an unwelcome memento from his college years: the bill.

FAMU's new chief plans 'deep internal' review of university
By Denise-Marie Ordway
Orlando Sentinel
FAMU Interim President Larry Robinson said Wednesday he will do a "deep internal dive" review of the university after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement completes its investigation into possible financial irregularities at the school.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Scott touts gains, but job growth slows this year
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
In the weeks before the Republican convention, some GOPers feared Gov. Rick Scott was hurting the party's message with his daily affirmations of Florida's rebounding job market.

In Florida’s employment recovery, minimum-wage jobs lead the way
By Douglas Hanks
Miami Herald
Florida’s employment recovery hasn’t brought back many well-paying jobs.

Minorities not recovering from recession, FIU report says
By Marcia Heroux Pounds
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida's slow job creation during the recovery has created growing inequalities among workers, according to the "State of Working Florida" report released Monday by Florida International University.

The fallacies of trickle-down economics
By Mike Williams
Florida Times-Union
This Labor Day falls in the midst of an historic election. We have an opportunity to reject an economic model that has proved to fail our nation.

90,000 Citizens reports for property-insurance discounts rejected
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post
More than 90,000 times, Florida’s last-resort insurer Citizens and its contractors rejected reports from inspectors they hired to determine whether customers qualified for property-insurance discounts, an analysis of more than 225,000 inspection records by The Palm Beach Post shows.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

States have power to shape federal health care law if governors want to take it
By Laura Green
Palm Beach Post
Though Florida lost its Supreme Court challenge to President Obama’s health care law, state politicians could still have a say in setting minimum health benefits for plans here under the federal Affordable Care Act.

In Florida, Medicare is not a senior-only issue
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
For Bruce Cargill, an 87-year-old retiree, Medicare is a “glorious program” that, along with Social Security, keeps millions of older Americans out of poverty.

Bus tours deliver messages for both sides in abortion debate
By Lona O'Connor
Palm Beach Post
In the political struggle over abortion, the techniques used to influence voters can be ultra-modern — websites, emails, tweets — and they can be old school, in the form of bus tours.

DOH tests 3,000 for TB
By James Call
Florida Current
Florida Surgeon General John Armstrong said Friday that state’s Department of Health has launched a three-pronged attack to control a tuberculosis outbreak.

On second thought
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Gov. Rick Scott's opposition to expanding Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act was already unfortunate from a humanitarian standpoint.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

State welfare recipients repaid after drug testing halted
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
The state paid back nearly $600,000 to welfare recipients who were denied benefits during a four-month period last year because they failed or refused to take a drug test after a federal judge temporarily halted the law, figures from state welfare officials show.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Legal Challenges to Voter-ID Laws: Too Little Too Late?
By Adam Cohen
Time Magazine
In this year’s heated battle over voter-ID laws, the critics score a big victory: a federal court overturned Texas‘ tough new ID law last week.