Daily News Clips for May 31, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

The BluVu: Week of May 31, 2013
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
Is Rick Scott marching to the drumbeat of defeat? Is former Democratic Leader Nan Rich the only one tough enough to call the Republicans out ?  Damien tells us how the sequester could put you at risk as political reality comes your way!

FEATURED STORIES

Pension bill stuns counties, could force tax increases
By Bill Varian and Michael Van Sickler
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A bill passed in the waning moments of the 2013 legislative session with little discussion and signed two weeks later by Gov. Rick Scott will cost state and local governments nearly $900 million in additional expenses next year, hitting county governments especially hard as they struggle to emerge from a prolonged economic slump.

Gov. Scott approves controversial bill opposed by environmental groups
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott has signed HB 999, a bill so detested by a host of environmental groups that they brought in former Sen. Bob Graham to try in vain to stop it.

Citizens deal with Heritage Insurance is $52 million of corporate welfare.
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
In December, Florida’s state-run insurance company dropped a $350 million policy take-out plan after widespread criticism that it amounted to corporate welfare.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

RPOF Rolls Out Attack On Nan Rich And Florida Women
By Martha Jackovics
Beach Peanuts
In spite of boasting to the contrary, is the Republican Party of Florida not so sure they have a winning incumbent in Rick Scott?

Florida High Court Pushes Back Against State Underfunding Of Public Defenders
By Nicole Flatow
Think Progress
In Florida’s Miami-Dade County, lawyers often meet their criminal defendant clients moments before they walk into the courtroom, without having visited the crime scenes or interviewed witnesses.

Red states rejecting Obamacare Medicaid expansion need it most
By Jon Perr
Daily Kos
From the beginning, the defining irony of the never-ending debate over Obamacare is this: health care is worst in those states where Republicans poll best.

Throwback Tuesday: How Florida Happened; The Political Education of Buddy MacKay
By Kartik Kraishaiyer
The Florida Squeeze
Buddy MacKay is one of the most influential and underrated figures in Florida’s development from backwater to thriving mega-state.

A banner year for Big Sugar billionaires
By gimleteye
Eye On Miami
What a blessed year if you love Big Sugar.

FLORIDA POLITICS

GOP recruiting minorities for 2014
By James Call
The Florida Current
Floridians will play a key role in the national Republican Party’s effort to recruit the next generation of elected officials devoted to limited-government principles.

Gov. Rick Scott signs bill to help human trafficking victims
By Lauren Carr
Tampa Bay Times
Florida victims of human trafficking will now be able to petition the court to expunge arrests and convictions from their record if the acts were committed under duress from a trafficker.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Florida Medical Marijuana Effort Could Get Help From Aging Baby Boomers
By Maggie Clark
Stateline
Florida lawmakers made it clear this session that they are not interested in legalizing marijuana.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Outside appraisal boosts Citrus County's tax claim against Duke Energy
By Ivan Penn and Drew Harwell
Tampa Bay Times
Duke Energy's attempt to slash its Citrus County tax bill might have backfired: A new appraisal says the utility owes more than three times what it paid last year.

EDUCATION

Orange County Opting For More K-8 Schools
By Gina Jordan
StateImpact Florida
The popularity of K-8 schools is growing in one of Florida’s largest districts. Orange County Public Schools will add up to five kindergarten through 8th grade schools to the three already in place.

Online Pasco budget town hall meeting outdraws face-to-face sessions
By Jeffrey S. Solocheck
Tampa Bay Times
The Pasco County School Board turned to the internet Wednesday evening for its first interactive online budget town hall meeting.

CF eliminates 28 positions
By Joe Callahan
Ocala Star-Banner
College of Central Florida can no longer rely on reserve funding to balance its budget, so it has eliminated 28 positions for the 2013-14 year.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Forecasters face furloughs during hurricane season
By Eric Heisig
Pensacola News Journal
Fueling concerns about their ability to respond if disaster strikes, two federal agencies with key roles protecting the public during hurricane season will do so with fewer employees because of this year’s sequester.

Transportation dominates town hall meeting in Tampa
By Richard Danielson
Tampa Bay Times
The importance of having a regional approach to transportation was something on which everyone agreed Thursday night.

Consumer advocate: Rate decisions should include falling reinsurance costs
Staff Report
The Florida Current
Regulators should consider the drop in reinsurance costs when deliberating rate increase requests from insurers, Insurance Consumer Advocate Robin Westcott said Thursday.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

It's Deadline Day for Doctors' Bonus
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Primary-care physicians who treat Florida Medicaid patients are eligible for a big, fat retroactive bonus thanks to the Affordable Care Act -- as long as they file for it by Friday, May 31.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Scott's Drug Test Overreach
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
A complex ruling in federal appellate court over Gov. Rick Scott's employee drug testing program left both sides claiming victory as the case heads back to district court.

Exonerated death row inmates call on Scott
By Bill Cotterell
The Florida Current
Two men exonerated and freed after spending years on Florida's death row delivered a letter and petition to Gov. Rick Scott's office Thursday, urging him to veto a pending "Timely Justice Act" that legislators approved this year to end decades-long delays in executions.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

'Just an amazing man': Sandy D'Alemberte honored on his 80th birthday
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
Retired Supreme Court Justice Parker Lee McDonald pulled his necktie forward Thursday and pointed out the little alternating pattern of judicial scales and maps of Florida on it.

Pam Bondi wants a say in dismissed Brooksville red-light camera cases
By Tony Marrero
Tampa Bay Times
Motorists with pending red-light camera citations rejoiced this month when a Hernando County judge decided to toss out right-on-red cases that came before him.

Daily News Clips for May 30, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Another start-up insurer’s deal with Citizens draws scrutiny
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post
Related: Gov. Rick Scott signs Citizens reform bill, then blasts insurer
A $52 million deal between state-run Citizens and a start-up insurer that gave to $110,000 to Gov. Rick Scott’s political committee may be causing “serious concerns” for Florida’s House Speaker, but state records show another fledgling carrier from South Florida spent more than $650,000 lobbying state legislators and executives to get more — up to $63 million.

Holder vaunted as option for Lt. Gov
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has been tight-lipped in his search for a new lieutenant governor, avoiding speculation about anyone under consideration and saying only that he expects to name someone soon.

Group asks Scott to veto speedier-foreclosure bill
By Mary Shanklin
Orlando Sentinel
A homeowner-advocacy group is pressuring Florida Gov. Rick Scott to veto a bill that would expedite foreclosures in the state starting July 1.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Critics fret over doubling of campaign-cash cap
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
The size of campaign contributions that flow into city and county races across Florida will double this fall, a change that critics say gives deep-pocketed donors even more sway over local elections.

Senator wants documents related to ousted DEP attorneys
By Bruce Ritchie
The Florida Current
Sen. Darren Soto on Wednesday filed a public records request seeking Florida Department of Environmental Protection records related to the dismissals of four attorneys last week.

POLITICAL RACES

Gwen Graham Discusses Her Father, Obamacare
By Abby Livingston
Roll Call
Every year, scores of congressional candidates visit the CQ Roll Call offices to meet with reporters and Contributing Editor Stuart Rothenberg.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Consumers Paying For Non-Existent Nuclear Plant
By Matt Horn
Capitol News Service
A bill waiting to be signed by the governor will drastically change how two of Florida’s largest power companies bill customers for a nuclear power plant that doesn’t even exist.

Saving our springs
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
It sounds like some rare good news for our beleaguered springs: The state has allocated $10 million out of the budget for springs protection.

EDUCATION

Manatee parents complain about teacher cuts
By Katy Bergen
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Anna Maria Elementary School parent Amy Bowes hasn't forgotten the flock of crying children that surrounded a teacher last week in a school lobby, upset that he wouldn't be returning next year because of budget cuts.

State money for teacher raises not enough, Pasco superintendent tells staff
By Jeffrey S. Solocheck
Tampa Bay Times
As soon as the Florida legislative session ended, Gov. Rick Scott hit the road to celebrate the money he had inserted in the 2013-14 budget specifically for teacher raises.

Report: P.E. should be a core subject
By Lisa Gartner
Tampa Bay Times
Reading, writing, 'rithmetic and... kickball? The U.S. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies says yes, arguing in a new report that physical education should be considered a core subject in the nation's public schools.

Summer reading camps and, possibly, more tests on tap for 3rd graders who struggled on FCAT
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
Third graders who got bad news about FCAT reading scores Friday will soon be offered a chance to attend a summer "reading camp."

Tuition frozen at Broward College, Palm Beach State
By Scott Travis
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Tuition at Florida's colleges will remain steady after years of big increases.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Low-income seniors must wait for local action on tax breaks
By Andrew Grant
Daytona Beach News-Journal
When Florida voters went to the ballot box last year, they faced 11 proposed amendments to the state constitution. They voted down most of them — except three.

Affordable housing again in short supply
By Josh Salman
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
When Mike Beller moved to Sarasota three years ago, he didn't expect apartment hunting to be such an arduous chore.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Vindictive health care bill targets consumers
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
The federal health care reform law has withstood a court challenge and a presidential election, but the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature is still battling it.

State Workers' Insurance Still Skewed
By Craig Kopp
WUSF
Gov. Rick Scott tried again this past legislative session to make all state employees pay the same amount for health insurance.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Federal panel rejects state worker drug tests
By Bill Cotterell
The Florida Current
A highly skeptical federal appeals panel on Wednesday refused to approve the "unprecedented scope" Gov. Rick Scott's order for random drug-testing of about 85,000 state employees, but said he can justify urinalysis on a job-by-job basis for government workers whose drug use might endanger coworkers or the public they serve.

Harsh views, few facts on immigration, UF survey shows
by Jeff Schweers
Gainesville Sun
Floridians have strong opinions but few facts about immigration, an extensive survey by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences shows.

Time for Boy Scouts to take next inclusive step
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
As the saying goes, you must crawl before you walk. It certainly applies to the Boy Scouts of America.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Dead Dozier kids finally matter
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
No one much cared before. Not when these children were brutalized by the guards at the Dozier School for Boys. Not when their bodies were discarded into unmarked graves.

Daily News Clips for May 29, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Sequester Could Effect Florida During Hurricane Season
By Mike Springer
WCTV
Excerpt: "There's real cause for concern here in Florida because we are looking at cuts," said Damien Filer of Progress Florida.

FEATURED STORIES

Obama's Next Big Campaign: Selling Health Care To The Public
By Ari Shapiro
NPR
President Obama often tells audiences that he has waged his last campaign. But that's not exactly true.

Another bad deal from Citizens
Editorial
Miami Herald
No doubt many readers instinctively flinch when they see yet another story in The Miami Herald involving Citizens Property Insurance.

Leon County judge orders release of redistricting documents, again
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Tampa Bay Times
A Leon County judge has again ordered more documents to be turned over to plaintiffs in a long-running lawsuit over Florida’s redrawn legislative maps.

Would Koch Brothers be good for journalism?
By Brad Ashwell
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
As you read this newspaper you are probably not thinking much about who owns it. But the question of who may be purchasing it along with several other major newspapers has the attention of many.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Rick Scott signs texting-while-driving ban, but does it have teeth?
By Rochelle Koff and Gina Cherelus
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
It may not be the strongest law, but texting while driving will be prohibited in Florida starting Oct. 1.

Once again, Bill Nelson denies he wants to run for governor
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing
Despite his protestations to the contrary, Bill Nelson continues to be floated as a possible Democratic gubernatorial nominee in 2014.

Florida GOP launches attacks on Crist
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Fifteen months before Democrats choose a nominee to challenge Republican Gov. Rick Scott, the Republican Party of Florida has launched attacks on undeclared Democratic frontrunner Charlie Crist.

Jim Davis,'06 Democratic candidate for governor, not sold on Charlie Crist
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Charlie Crist is working to win over members of his new party but he hasn't convinced Jim Davis, the 2006 Democratic candidate for governor, who says Crist would be judged on his record -- "and he's got a record."

POLITICAL RACES

Shawn Harrison looking for rematch with state Rep. Mark Danish
By Richard Danielson
Tampa Bay Times
The last time Shawn Harrison and state Rep. Mark Danish ran against each other was nearly seven months ago.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Everglades restoration law gets Scott's go-ahead
By Andy Reid
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Big Sugar and environmental advocates alike Tuesday celebrated Gov. Rick Scott's signing of Everglades legislation aimed at getting more pollution-fighting help to Florida's famed River of Grass.

Gov. Scott must support massive project that is key to restoring the Everglades
By Randy Schultz
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott prematurely claimed victory Tuesday on saving what remains of the Everglades.

After years of legislative fights over fertilizer rules, sides can't agree on way forward
By Bruce Ritchie
The Florida Current
After battling yet another year over legislation that would restrict local fertilizer ordinances, the opposite sides in the issue remain in sharp disagreement over how to proceed.

Governor signs brownfield restrictions into law
By Sandra Pedicini
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott has signed into law a bill that forbids businesses from receiving state tax breaks simply because of perceived pollution on their properties.

EDUCATION

Broward struggling to fix aging schools
By Karen Yi
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
With no major boost to capital funding approved by the state Legislature this year, the Broward County school district is running out of options to fund long-term fixes for its deteriorating schools.

Schools move away from media specialists
By Gabrielle Russon
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The scarlet letter still stuck from grade school, O for outcast.

Polk County School Board Budget Shortfall Balloons; Officials Must Cut $12.7 Million
By Merissa Green
Lakeland Ledger
Unexpected increases in expenses and losses of revenue has caused the Polk County School District's budget shortfall to swell to $12.7 million, School Board members were told Tuesday.

Manatee parents press Mills on teacher layoffs
By Erica Earl
Bradenton Herald
More than 1,300 parents are asking the school district to reconsider eliminating 182 teaching positions in Manatee County, saying layoffs "are not an acceptable solution to the financial crisis affecting Manatee County schools."

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Florida consumer confidence nears pre-recession level
Staff Report
Gainesville Sun
Florida consumer confidence rose for the third straight month in May to the highest level since the Great Recession.

Scott's tortured logic on Amazon
Editorial
Ocala Star-Banner
Rick Scott proudly touts himself as the “jobs governor,” but his recent rejection of a proposed deal to bring one, possibly two, massive warehouses for online retail giant Amazon to Florida has proven that his own rigid political ideologies are more important than bringing hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs to our state.

Miami-Dade social services feel sequester pinch
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Rosanna Taveras figured the federal budget cuts from the so-called sequester would go unnoticed at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami.

Federal cuts force Marion Senior Services to close dining sites two days a month
By Jim Ross
Ocala Star-Banner
Marion Senior Services has announced it will close its congregate dining sites two days per month in June, July and possibly August.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

State of Florida Insurance: Sweet Deal for House Members
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
Will Weatherford, speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, said recently that his chamber's decision not to expand Medicaid benefits "wasn't an oversight but a thoughtful, purposeful action."

Outbreak Pharmacy Had Been in Trouble Before
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Florida authorities are tracing the steroids that were shipped into the state from a Tennessee-based compounding pharmacy thought to be responsible for seven infections.

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Chief justice ends practice of congratulating new Eagle Scouts
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
Florida’s highest-ranking judge ended the long-standing practice of sending letters of congratulation to Eagle Scouts as the Boy Scouts of America agonized publicly over whether to admit gays as members.

Daily News Clips for May 28, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Not your grandma’s League of Women Voters; Conservatives say activism makes it partisan
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Excerpt: Mark Ferrulo, executive director of the left-leaning Progress Florida, who has worked with the League on a number of issues over the years, defended the League’s nonpartisanship…"they want to focus on one thing and one thing only and that is what is the right policy for the people of Florida"

FEATURED STORIES

Weatherford asks Fla. House to review Citizens $52 million takeout deal
Staff Report
The News Service Of Florida
Florida’s House speaker wants to review Citizens Property Insurance Corp. after the approval of a “unique” deal that gave a relatively new but politically connected company up to $52 million to take out as many as 60,000 policies from the state-backed insurer.

7 years without storms but Fla. rates keep rising
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
It's been nearly eight years since Hurricane Wilma raked the southern end of Florida and caused billions in damages, the last of eight hurricanes to hit the state in 2004 and 2005.

Behind would-be Democratic candidate Charlie Crist, a loose-knit crew of advisers
By Adam Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Charlie Crist, almost unique among political figures of his stature, has never had a consistent inner circle of advisers at his side.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

Florida legislators' health care hypocrisy
By Chan Lowe
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Sometimes I’ll ask somebody I’m having a conversation with if he can name his representative in Congress. Nine times out of ten, he doesn’t know.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida Republicans' 2014 prospects nervous about top of ticket
By Adam Smith
Tampa Bay Times
As the 2014 election cycle approaches, a lot of prospective Republican candidates are nervously watching Gov. Rick Scott's low poll numbers, knowing that their campaigns could well be dragged down — or lifted up — by the fellow at the top of the ticket.

Scott relying on improving jobs numbers as 2014 looms
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Gov. Rick Scott left little doubt in a speech here on Monday that improving state unemployment numbers and gains in education are going to be essential as he begins to ramp up for his 2014 re-election.

Senator means what she says, and gets results
By Rochelle Koff
Tampa Bay Times
Senate President Don Gaetz calls her the Margaret Thatcher of the Florida Senate — "tough, principled, independent and absolutely fearless."

Texting while driving about to become illegal in Florida
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Those slow drivers who drift out of their lanes may become a little less frequent after Tuesday, when Gov. Rick Scott plans to sign into law a measure banning texting while driving.

Gov. Rick Scott set to act on slate of bills, including some from First Coast lawmakers
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Each year during The Players Championship, Northeast Florida residents look to make a few extra dollars renting their houses out to visitors, golfers and members of the media.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Patronis: Scott will sign bill on well permitting
By Matthew Beaton
Panama City News Herald
State Rep. Jimmy Patronis’ environmental permitting bill still awaits the governor’s signature, but the Panama City Republican is confident it will come, despite ongoing opposition to the legislation.

$10M set aside for springs stirs hope and discussion
By Kristine Crane
Gainesville Sun
When Mark Wray took ownership of Ginnie Springs in 1971, its crystalline waters were picture perfect.

Water managers accused of foot-dragging while paddling down polluted Wekiva River
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
The treasured Wekiva River now resembles its neighbor, notorious Lake Apopka, in at least one vivid way: algae cripple both bodies of water.

Thinning of Ocala National Forest trees aims to improve habitat for Florida scrub-jays
By Ludmilla Lelis
Orlando Sentinel
A timber crew made quick work of some 60-foot-tall sand pines with a shearing machine that cuts the trees at the base like a massive pair of scissors. 

EDUCATION

Students who haven't mastered English are casualties of strict system
By Lauren Roth
Orlando Sentinel
Time is running out for the kids in Melanie Gathers' English 3 class.

Finding licensed child care centers is important
By Mary Kelli Palka
Florida Times-Union
It’s one of the most difficult decisions parents must make: finding quality child care for their children.

Governor sends universities a message: no tuition hikes this year
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott has been blasting Florida’s steadily rising college and university tuition, saying it is making higher education unaffordable for many families. 

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

 Raises and worries for state workers
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
In signing the $74 billion state budget, Gov. Rick Scott lauded the fact that Florida has one of the smallest state workforces, based on population — in the nation.

Summer job forecast: Slight rise in employment for teens
By Emily Roach
Palm Beach Post
Teens have a slightly better chance of getting a job this summer than the past few years, but employment is still scarce for the age group with the highest unemployment rate.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Moffitt, community cancer centers question new state award
By Jodie Tillman
Tampa Bay Times
A little more than a year ago, Gov. Rick Scott warned Moffitt Cancer Center and two other Florida research institutions they would lose state funds if they tried to franchise their brand names.

Hospitals sue over cut in state reimbursement for noncitizens
By Mary Shedden
Tampa Tribune
Immigration is more than a political firestorm for people running some of Florida’s hospital emergency rooms. 

IMMIGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Homelessness: Miami’s shadow city
By Anna Edgerton and Evan S. Benn
Miami Herald
Like many of South Florida’s chronically homeless people, Ronald Poppo spent years living in the shadows, addicted to the bottle and unwilling to seek shelter or reach out to family.

High court case may affect prayer at government meetings
By Mark Schlueb
Orlando Sentinel
In Deltona, as in most towns, cities and counties across Florida and across the country, City Commission meetings start with God, flag and country.