Daily Clips for June 27, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Haridopolos joins Gov. Rick Scott in calling for energy policy allowing Florida offshore drilling
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Senate President Mike Haridopolos joined the governor Friday in calling for a new state energy policy that will open the door to oil and gas drilling off Florida’s coast, new nuclear power and increased investment in renewable energy.

Thousands join hands on the sands of Florida's beaches
By Wayne K. Roustan
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Upwards of 5,000 people joined hands across Florida beaches at noon Saturday to protest offshore oil drilling and promote clean energy.

Lawmakers expect redistricting litigation — and they're ready to pay
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Florida's gerrymandered districts ensure re-election
Related editorial: Drawing fair districts
Florida lawmakers tasked with redrawing the state's political maps are professing they'll follow the constitutional amendments passed last year to strip partisanship from the redistricting process. Meanwhile, their lawyers are trying to invalidate them in court.

Many new Florida laws reflect GOP philosophy
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
Florida will take another step into an era of declining expectations from its cash-strapped state government this week when the most austere in a series of tight annual budgets goes into effect.

State job recovery shows troubling trend
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
When new employment statistics were announced this month, Gov. Rick Scott was quick to jump on the data, noting that Florida has been steadily gaining jobs - nearly 61,000 since he took office in January.

Gov. Scott picks Tallahassee insider MacNamara as chief of staff
By Michael C. Bender
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott continued a weeklong shakeup in his office on Friday, naming Stephen R. MacNamara his new chief of staff.

Scott may be dragging down GOP presidential candidates
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott is re-launching his administration after six months, shedding his coterie of "outsiders" in favor of old hands in the Capitol in hopes he can reposition himself with voters.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Andy Marlette
Pensacola News Journal
Related editorial: Water, water, not everywhere

FLORIDA POLITICS

Scott signs major bills dealing with corporate taxes, abortion and rulemaking
Staff Report
Florida Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott on Friday signed 14 bills, including two controversial measures dealing with abortion and a rulemaking bill that shifts the burden of proof from applicants to those who challenge proposed state permits.

Governor's SunRail decision could come this week
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
This could be the week the SunRail commuter train gets back on track or gets derailed, like so many other mass-transit plans for Orlando.

Two state Capitol insiders getting new roles
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
A pair of longtime Capitol insiders will be taking on new duties early next month.

AARP raps Gov. Scott for not exempting volunteers from background checks
Associated Press
Orlando Sentinel
The senior citizens group AARP says it's baffled by Gov. Rick Scott's veto of a bill that would have exempted social service volunteers from background screening.

Voting rights: Floridians must speak up for 'people power'
By Stephen Goldstein
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Politically left, right or center: Every Florida voter needs to become "a card-carrying member" of the American Civil Liberties Union and also support Fair Districts Florida.

'Greatest good fortune' for politicians is bad luck for voters
By Randy Schultz
Palm Beach Post
Last week, state legislators began pretending that they care what the voters think about how Floridians will vote for Congress and the Legislature in 2012.

Disillusioned Argenziano fights for old GOP values
By Lauren Ritchie
Orlando Sentinel
In an impassioned essay published recently in her hometown Citrus County newspaper, former state senator and ousted Public Service Commission member Nancy Argenziano took aim at the Republican Party and hit it dead in the heart.

New Florida Voting Law: Voting Ban On Final Sunday
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
The Legislature's recent changes to Florida's elections law were so massive and controversial, it would be ironic if the overhaul came tumbling down because of one slightly obscure overstep.

POLITICAL RACES

Poll: Gov. Rick Scott’s Unpopularity Handicapping GOP Pres Candidates In Florida
By Jon Terbush
Talking Points Memo
Related: Obama leads in Florida
A plurality of Florida voters say they are less inclined to support a Republican presidential candidate in 2012 because of the way their freshman GOP governor has acted since taking office, according to a PPP poll to be released Friday morning.

Florida's GOP Senate candidates court tea party vote at Pinellas forum
By David DeCamp
St. Petersburg Times
The route to a tea party-led political forum ultimately required turning to the right.

Tampa 2012 GOP convention planners prepare for slight chance of hurricane
By Richard Danielson
St. Petersburg Times
As he looks ahead to hosting next year's Republican National Convention, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn is upbeat, but blunt.

Rep. Kathy Castor may face challenge from Mark Sharpe
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Republican Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe is talking about challenging Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor for her congressional seat in 2012. Sharpe, who pushed hard for the high-speed rail line connecting Tampa to Orlando, said this week he wants to be able to participate in national discussions on deficit reduction and America's wars.

Mayoral candidates’ campaigns wind down
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Related: Absentee ballots: Everyone’s doing it
With the end of the grueling campaign for Miami-Dade mayor in sight, Julio Robaina and Carlos Gimenez traversed the county on Saturday, trying to outrun the rain and seeking the last-minute support of voters casting their ballots early.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

As safety worries grow for existing U.S. nuclear fleet, proposed new reactor design faces mounting problems
By Sue Sturgis
Facing South
A yearlong Associated Press investigation has found that federal regulators have kept aging U.S. nuclear reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards or failing to enforce them.

Opponents of coastal oil drilling join hands in solidarity
By Kevin Wiatrowski
Tampa Tribune
Last year's BP oil spill has faded from the headlines, but that doesn't mean Nina Perino is ready to forgive and forget.

Protesters join hands against oil drilling in Gulf
By Rebecca Ross
Pensacola News Journal
Sparkling green water and soft white sand — it was another postcard-perfect day on Pensacola Beach.

EPA rules for Florida water trashed in House hearing
By Steve Patterson
Florida Times-Union
Members of Congress were told Friday that clean-water rules targeting algae in the St. Johns River and other Florida rivers were examples of the federal government making decisions that should be handled by states.

Drought wreaks ecological havoc on Lake O plants
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
Even an untrained eye can see there is something wrong with Lake Okeechobee. Floating docks at the boat ramp no longer float. The knees of cypress trees are naked and dry. And the cleats on pilings where boats tie off in the canals are now 10 feet above the water line.

Fight over Lee mining could lead to challenge of Florida’s new growth law
By Eric Staats
Naples Daily News
The agency that was responsible for Florida’s growth management wants to drop out of a big fight over rock mining in eastern Lee County.

LGBT

Wedding plans bloom as NY legalizes gay marriage
By David B. Caruso and Verena Dobnik
Associated Press
As the news flashed around the globe that New York state had legalized gay marriage, New York fashion designer Malcolm Harris didn't waste any time.

Gay marriage backers: NY vote has national impact
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Many obstacles still lie ahead for supporters of same-sex marriage, and eventually they will need Congress or the Supreme Court to embrace their goal. For the moment, though, they are jubilantly channeling the lyrics of "New York, New York."

New York's new law gives St. Pete Pride parade an extra buzz
By Kameel Stanley
St. Petersburg Times
Patti Holston woke up Saturday morning and knew this year's Pride festival was going to be different.

EDUCATION

Educated children key to Florida's economy
By Gov. Rick Scott
Orlando Sentinel
One of the critical components of my seven-step plan to create 700,000 jobs in seven years and turn Florida's economy around is to make sure our state has the best-educated work force, ready to work in our 21st-century economy.

More teachers seen leaving
By Marcia Lane
St. Augustine Record
Numbers are up for retirements, resignations and non-reappointments in the St. Johns County School District.

A weekend interview with Gerard Robinson, Florida education commissioner-select
By Jeff Solochek
St. Petersburg Times
With a unanimous State Board of Education vote, and the full backing of Gov. Rick Scott, Gerard Robinson won the job this week as Florida's new education commissioner.

As schools cut budgets, strains on counselors grow
By Christine Armario
Associated Press
Roslyn Wagner's tone shifts from cheerful to concerned as she looks through the grades of the teenage boy seated before her.

Decline in minority enrollment alarms Florida's law schools
By Denise-Marie Balona
Orlando Sentinel
Law schools in Florida have struggled for years to draw more minorities into legal fields long dominated by white men.

State starts charging fees for GED classes, reaction mixed in Collier, Lee
By Joanna Chau
Naples Daily News
As the cost of education in Florida continued to rise, GED, ESL and ELL classes remained free.

Prepaid college plan might not cover tuition rate hikes
By Morris News Service
St. Augustine Record
Families with Florida Prepaid College Plans should take another look at whether the package they bought will cover the ever-higher expense of higher education.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Gov. Rick Scott faces tough decision on costly Orlando commuter rail line
By Janet Zink
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Roused by his tea party base, Gov. Rick Scott early this year halted a decades-in-the-works bullet train linking Tampa and Orlando — citing concerns about possible costs to Florida taxpayers.

Privatization’s unspoken risk: Corruption
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
The future of government runs for 10.5 miles through the heart of Broward County, amid rocks and dust and earth-moving equipment and trucks and workers along Interstate 595, where motorists can look out their car windows and contemplate another three years of traffic hell.

Americans not so concerned about debt crisis, poll finds
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Americans seem not to have awakened to the fast-looming debt crisis that could summon a new recession, imperil their stock market investments and shatter faith in the world's most powerful economy.

What the GOP Really Means by ‘Shared Sacrifice’
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Yesterday, we covered the GOP’s temper tantrum, as the New York Times called it, in which Republican leaders bailed on negotiations to avert a default on our obligations — a default that is only on the table as a result of the GOP’s willingness to keep paying the bills we started racking up as a result of Bush-era policies.

Companies bet on expanding gambling in Florida
By Michael Vasquez and Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
Florida was once the state where casino blueprints went to die. Three times in one 16-year span, voters rejected the idea of Las Vegas-style casinos.

New rules chip away at homeowners' rights
By Mary Shanklin
Orlando Sentinel
New laws that take effect next week for homeowner and condo associations cut back on the rights of owners and renters alike while shoring up community associations' ability to collect delinquent dues and fees.

Public employees good at squeezing a dollar
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Nameless and faceless, civil servants too often are blamed for all that's wrong with government, being cast as lazy, incompetent spendthrifts abusing the public exchequer.

Florida workers challenge retirement contributions
Editorial
Ft. Myers News-Press
When it came to public employee pensions, the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott let their anti-union, anti-government enthusiasms blind them to their legal and moral obligations.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Medicaid Cuts Could Impact Florida Economic Recovery
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
A report from the organization Families USA says that every federal Medicaid dollar that flows into Florida stimulates state business activity and generates jobs.

Fla. panel rejects funds for elderly
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
A Florida legislative panel Friday rejected millions in federal money designed to help remove patients from nursing homes and provide them with similar care in their own homes.

Legislature rejects federal grant money again
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
Florida lawmakers on Friday rejected federal grant money that would have implemented a program meant to transfer people from nursing homes to community based care initiatives.

NOW holds rally at Rubio's office to protest 'war against women'
By Alex Orlando
Tampa Tribune
When Gloria Wood hit 80 years old, aches, pains and doctor bills hit back. An irregular heartbeat didn't help, either.

AHCA signs $2 million Medicaid contract
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Current
Mercer Health & Benefits edged its only competitor and will earn $2 million to help the Agency for Health Care Administration implement a new overhaul of its $22 billion Medicaid program.

Some Florida urgent-care clinics will be required to post prices for common procedures
By Richard Martin
St. Petersburg Times
State Rep. Richard Corcoran recalled a day last year when a doctor recommended an MRI test for his wife's back pain.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Get-tough laws hurt more than immigrants
By Bill Maxwell
St. Petersburg Times
Just north of Florida in the farm fields of Georgia, the impact of the nation's illegal immigration debate is now taking shape.

Food Not Bombs activist accuses Orlando mayor of defamation
By Mark Schlueb
Orlando Sentinel
One of the activists arrested after feeding the homeless at Lake Eola Park said he will file a defamation lawsuit against Mayor Buddy Dyer for calling members of his anti-poverty group "food terrorists."

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Fla. Gov. Scott has yet to sign a death warrant
Associated Press
Miami Herald
Gov. Rick Scott still hasn't acted on what past governors have said is one of their most serious responsibilities - signing death warrants.

Death penalty flawed
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
Last week a federal judge in Miami deemed the Florida death penalty unconstitutional because juries do not have to detail the aggravating factors in first-degree murder cases that caused them to recommend the punishment.

Clarence Thomas crosses ethical line
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Unlike other members of the federal judiciary, U.S. Supreme Court justices are not bound by a comprehensive set of ethics rules.

Don't Put Away So Many Prisoners
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
The debate continues over privatizing the prison system as a way to save the state money, but a premier tax watchdog group, respected for its conservatism and fiscal frugality, has another idea: Don't put away so many prisoners.

Daily Clips for June 24, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Scott administration drawing up energy proposal that could include coal
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Advisors to Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday told about 40 representatives of utilities, industry and renewable energy groups that they're working to develop a multi-year legislative package by September that will include consideration of energy from coal.

Oil Drilling Opponents Rally Along Florida Beaches
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
Thousands plan to join hands Saturday along Florida beaches for the second annual "Hands Across the Sand" event, meant to demonstrate opposition to expanded coastal and offshore drilling as well as support for clean-energy choices.

Tuition going up 15 percent at Florida's public universities
By Kim MacQueen
Florida Current
Tuition is going up at Florida’s public universities this fall -- but even once it does, the state will still be way behind the national average.

Gov. Rick Scott kills insurance rate comparison website
By Paige St. John
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
State officials have quietly pulled the plug on a consumer-friendly website that was the sole resource for homeowners comparison shopping for the best property insurance rates.

Redistricting: The secrets, lies and shenanigans
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Feeling overwhelmed by all this talk of redistricting?

Jon Huntsman says Florida is where his presidential race 'is going to be won'
By Adam C. Smith and Marc Caputo
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Staff Writers
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman opened his national presidential campaign headquarters in Orlando Thursday, promising the Sunshine State will be top priority for winning the GOP presidential nomination.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Private Prisons Spend Millions On Lobbying To Put More People In Jail
By Andrea Nill Sanchez
Think Progress
Yesterday, the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) released a report chronicling the political strategies of private prison companies “working to make money through harsh policies and longer sentences.”

Rick Scott: "laser-like" as in, you can't teach me anything I don't know
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
In high prose the Sunshine (of the Empty Mind) News writes, "Scott Stays Laser-Focused on Economic Development".

From The Netroots To Maddow: Rick Scott Makes The Annals Of Republican Failure
By Inkberries
Beach Peanuts
I've been absent from blog posting the last few days because I was attending Netroots Nation in Minneapolis, Minn., also the homeland of "The Bachmann."

The Wrong Inspiration
By Jake
Rantings From Florida
An interesting political phenomenon of the last 50 years has been the shift of "Support Israel" from being a banner message for the Democratic Party to one for the Republicans.

This exists: tea party summer camp
Joy-Ann Reid
The Reid Report
And where else would a tea party “Jesus camp” be, if not Florida…

FLORIDA POLITICS

Scott signs Florida bills on lawsuits, school food
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Bills limiting lawsuits against automakers and giving the state's agriculture commissioner authority over school food programs became law Thursday with Gov. Rick Scott's signature.

Scott vetoes bill that would weaken background screening
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a bill Thursday that would have allowed some volunteer workers with in-home social service groups to avoid background screenings.

State could sign off on sweeping plan to overhaul e-mail
By Gary Fineout
Florida Current
State legislators this week could sign off on a sweeping plan to overhaul the state’s e-mail system and finally force tens of thousands of state workers to use a common system and -- just as importantly -- a common set of e-mail addresses across all of state government.

Scott’s Image
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Depending on which poll you look at Governor Rick Scott has one of the lowest job approval ratings in the country.

Dear Rick: You're great. Love, Rick
By Daniel Ruth
St. Petersburg Times
It's probably an unfortunate indication you have all the grass roots support of Hosni Mubarak attempting a leisurely stroll through Tahrir Square when you are reduced to writing yourself your own fan letter.

Florida Begins Redistricting Hearings (audio story)
By Greg Allen
NPR
Florida is holding hearings as it begins redistricting — drawing up new congressional and Legislative district maps.

Show us the maps
Editorial
Florida Today
Florida lawmakers charged with reconfiguring congressional and legislative boundaries are in the first stages of a summer-long public hearing marathon to seek voter input on how new districts should be drawn.

Florida needs tougher anti-corruption laws
By Matt Reed
Florida Today
Florida has led the nation for years in the number of public officials convicted on federal corruption charges.

Libya debate creates unusual political alliances in Fla., and on Capitol Hill
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Capitol Hill is engulfed in debate over war, the strain on U.S. troops abroad and the financial toll in a time of economic strife.

Miami-Dade GOP faces financial woes
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
Fireworks erupted at an otherwise perfunctory meeting of the Miami-Dade Republican Party this week when a committeeman raised his hand and asked, “Are we broke, basically?”

POLITICAL RACES

Presidential candidate Huntsman calls Florida 'a key,' draws high-profile GOP attention
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Newly announced Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman's first campaign visit to Florida piqued the curiosity of some high-profile Republicans and drew attacks from some top Democrats as he vowed to run "very, very aggressively" in the Sunshine State.

Romney leads the way in Florida
By Tom Jensen
Public Policy Polling
Mitt Romney has a double digit lead for the Republican Presidential nomination in Florida, further cementing his front runner status in the wake of Mike Huckabee's exit from the race.

Marco Rubio as Mitt Romney's Vice Presidential Pick a "Dream Ticket," Romney Adviser Says
By Matthew Hendley
Broward New Times
Republican presidential candidates are going to need an incredible campaign strategy to dismantle President Obama in the 2012 election.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Gov. Scott to propose energy legislation, conscious on cost
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
After remaining on the sidelines on energy issues since taking office, Gov. Rick Scott is entering the fray, ordering up renewable energy legislation, demanding that utility regulators lower energy-efficiency standards and preparing a new energy plan, the governor's top policy advisers said Thursday.

Rule change protects manatees
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Manatees are among Mother Nature's most guileless and gentle creatures, and among her most vulnerable to the deadliest of predators — humans.

LGBT

Obama says gay couples deserve same rights as all
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
While praising New York state lawmakers as they debated legalizing gay marriage, President Barack Obama stopped short of embracing it. Instead he asked gay and lesbian donors for patience.

EDUCATION

Scott signs transfer of school food and nutrition programs to agriculture department
By Katie Sanders
St. Petersburg Times
Gov. Rick Scott signed off Thursday on Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam's session priority: transferring school food and nutrition programs from the Department of Education to his agency.

Florida narrows gap between white, Hispanic students on test scores
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
Florida is a leader among the states in closing the academic-performance gap between Hispanic students and their white classmates, a new national report shows.

Chances of lightning strike greater than some questionable FCAT scores
By Allison Ross
Palm Beach Post
The two FCAT answer sheets were so similar that the odds of the tests being taken independently was one in a trillion.

FCAT scores thrown out for two kinds of irregularities
By Marc Freeman
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Palm Beach County schools targeted in a recent statewide crackdown on FCAT cheating can appeal invalidated scores by Sept. 1, school district officials said on Thursday.

Orange schools budget expected to remain flat for 2011-12
By Lauren Roth
Orlando Sentinel
While other districts are making painful cuts for the coming school year, Orange County Public Schools are predicting a budget nearly identical to the current one.

Florida's Bright Futures scholarships to be evaluated
Associated Press
South Florida Sun Sentinel
A Florida State University professor has received a federal grant to evaluate the state's Bright Futures scholarship program.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Glades prison closing tabled as officials seek ways to save jobs
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
The Glades communities got some breathing room this week when Florida Corrections Secretary Edwin Buss told local leaders that the state will fund the Glades Correctional Institute until at least Sept. 1.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Democrat asks feds to nix Florida Medicaid overhaul
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich has asked federal officials to reject Florida's Medicaid overhaul.

National Right to Life Convention kicks off in Jacksonville
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Related: Operation Rescue wants information on every abortion provider
The 2011 National Right to Life Convention kicked off in a riverfront Hyatt in Jacksonville this morning.

NOW to protest at Marco Rubio's Tampa office before conference begins
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing Tampa
As we featured in the current issue of CL, the National Organization for Women is coming to Tampa this weekend for its annual national conference.

‘Wellness’ channel planned in FL
By Marty Clear
Health News Florida
A cable television channel devoted to health and wellness programming is gearing up to launch in September out of Pinellas County studios.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Food Not Bombs Threatens Legal Action Against Orlando
Staff Report
WFTV Central Florida
The controversial group Food Not Bombs says it plans to take legal action against the city of Orlando.

Rick Scott's Brother Is a Welfare Recipient With a History of Drug Charges
By Kyle Munzenrieder
Miami New Times
Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed into law a bill that requires all people seeking welfare take mandatory drug tests.

Senators introduce comprehensive immigration reform bill
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
U.S. Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Harry Reid, D-Nev., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., John Kerry, D-Mass., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., reintroduced a comprehensive immigration reform bill on Wednesday.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Governor urged to review Fla. death procedures
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
The executive director of a soon-to-be-disbanded oversight commission for Florida's death penalty sent a letter to Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday saying the panel's work needs to somehow continue.

More sniping in case involving Taj Mahal judge
Staff Report
Florida Tribune
The lead prosecutor leading the judicial ethics case against embattled 1st District Court of Appeal Judge Paul Hawkes on Wednesday fired back his own salvo over attempts to have him disqualified.

Daily Clips for June 23, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Scott touts property tax cut bill at South Florida water district where public job cuts anticipated
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott was harshly criticized for being insensitive Wednesday after he traveled to the South Florida Water Management District to sign a bill that will cut $128 million from the district budget and cost many of its workers their jobs.

Man behind Gov. Rick Scott's message doesn't always play nice with press
By Steve Bousquet and Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Brian Burgess, the man charged with shaping Gov. Rick Scott's image and message, got his start working with reporters on behalf of a Kansas district attorney best known for prosecuting an abortion provider.

Gov. Scott shakes up his inner circle
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
With rock-bottom poll numbers only six months into his term, Gov. Rick Scott is shaking up his staff, giving up his Capitol-outsider focus in a bid to implement his conservative agenda more effectively.

GOP presidential hopefuls gearing up in Florida for grueling race
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman isn't a household name, but in the slow-to-develop race for the 2012 GOP nomination, he's making the biggest campaign personnel investment in Florida so far.

Federal judge strikes down Florida's death penalty
By Daphne Duret and Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post
In a decision hailed by defense attorneys and civil libertarians, a federal judge in Miami has struck down Florida's death penalty saying the way it is applied flies in the face of the U.S. Constitution.

FLORIDA POLITICS

The Agony of Crist
By Ben Wallace-Wells
The Atlantic
As recently as 2008, it seemed better to be Charlie Crist than to be just about any other politician in the country.

Prendergast's new job part of shake-up in Scott administration
By Catherine Whittenburg
Tampa Tribune
Tampa native and Ret. U.S. Army Col. Mike Prendergast became the new head of the state Department of Veteran Affairs on Wednesday.

Residents speak out at redistricting hearing
By Ali Helgoth
Panama City News Herald
Panhandle residents said they want fair representation in state and federal government, but there was some disagreement Wednesday on the best way to ensure it.

From the redistricting hearings: How to carve up the panhandle?
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
Lawmakers have completed a swing through the panhandle for public redistricting meetings. One issue that’s come up a lot in the area is whether the region is divided properly, particularly when it comes to its Senate seats.

Despite promise of ‘transparent, open' redistricting process, public has reasons for skepticism
Editorial
TC Palm
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, is chair of the Senate Committee on Reapportionment.

Ethics Commission: Adam Hasner failed to disclose his finances
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Republican Senate candidate and former state House Republican leader Adam Hasner failed to properly fill out his constitutionally mandated financial disclosure forms, the Florida Commission on Ethics reported found.

Florida lawmakers react to President Obama's speech on Afghanistan
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Obama's Afghanistan plan criticized by Dems, GOP
Reaction to President Obama's speech.

POLITICAL RACES

GOP poll: Tea party movement could cost Republicans in 2012
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Beware, Florida Republicans: The tea party movement that swept you into office in 2010 could cost you the next election.

Huntsman to open presidential campaign headquarters in Orlando
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
His roots, family and career have been mostly in Utah, and his biggest fan base outside the Beehive State is probably in Washington D.C. But as former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman begins his run for president this week, his campaign base will be in Orlando.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Committee formed to fight anti-ObamaCare amendment
By Janet Zink
Miami Herald
A pair of South Florida political consultants have created a political action committee called "Pay Your Own Fair Share" to fight a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that takes aim at the individual mandate in the federal health care legislation.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Hundreds to join hands in drilling protest
By Kimberly Blair
Pensacola News Journal
Hundreds of people are expected to hold hands and form a human line in the sand along Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach on Saturday to peacefully protest offshore drilling.

Bob Graham says lack of leadership on climate change should trouble all Floridians
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing Tampa
Former Florida Governor and Senator Bob Graham came by CL's offices yesterday to engage in a discussion about public policy issues, all part of his whirlwind day in Tampa promoting his just published novel, Keys to the Kingdom.

Wildfire Dangers Still a Concern
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Triple digit temperatures and little rain fall, especially in the Panhandle, is turning Florida into a tinder box. Much of the state remains in a drought, as Mike Vasilinda tells us.

As fresh water supply drops, officials worry seeping salt water will ruin wells
By Jennifer Sorentrue
Palm Beach Post
Wetlands that supply water for all of southeastern Florida have run virtually dry and can no longer replenish drought-parched wells used by public utilities, water managers are warning.

LGBT

UN resolution supporting gay rights sends welcome message
Editorial
South Florida Sun Sentinel
At a time when the gay community is having a difficult enough time winning equal rights battles on multiple fronts in America, the "land of the free," the significance of the United Nations Human Rights Council's resolution supporting gay rights around the globe cannot be understated.

EDUCATION

New state education commissioner an advocate for vouchers, school choice
By Allison Ross
Palm Beach Post
The state Board of Education took little time during a meeting today to name Gerard Robinson, secretary of education in Virginia, to be Florida's next education commissioner.

McKay scholarship program sparks a cottage industry of fraud and chaos
By Gus Garcia-Roberts
Miami New Times
From June 2006 through November 2010, the woefully cash-strapped Florida Department of Education (DOE) forked over $2.057 million to Julius Brown, former middle school basketball coach and cofounder of a string of obscure sports apparel businesses.

Universities want new dental education programs, but a lack of dentists is not the problem
By Kim MacQueen
Florida Current
Efforts now underway at four Florida public universities are aimed at vastly expanding education options for new Florida dentists.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

SEIU Challenges New Florida Law Reducing State Employee Pay (audio interview)
By Robert Lorei
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Coming up we'll talk with a union president who is challenging the new law reducing state worker pay by 3%.

Florida personal income is growing — slowly
By Jeff Harrington
St. Petersburg Times
Florida incomes are growing again, but still lag behind most of the country.

Palm Beach County to governor: spare Glades prison and its jobs
By Jennifer Sorentrue
Palm Beach Post
Palm Beach County commissioners on Tuesday urged Gov. Rick Scott and other state leaders not to close the Glades Correctional Institution in Belle Glade.

Government job cuts hurt cities
By Tami Luhby
CNN
Metro economies struggling the most to recover from the Great Recession typically lost government jobs, a new Brookings Institution report found.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Keep Medicare public
By Patricia Wilson
Orlando Sentinel
Adam Hasner in his guest column Friday about Medicare and his support of the Ryan plan spins how Medicare is funded.

State may begin self-insuring workers in HMOs
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
Looking at potentially tens of millions of dollars in savings, Florida lawmakers this week could move toward restructuring part of the health insurance program for state employees.

Abortion foes bring national spotlight to Jacksonville as movement grows statewide
By Matt Dixon
Florida times-Union
This week, freshman U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio took his first foray into the choppy waters of Washington abortion politics.

Florida Pushes Rule Allowing Medicaid Providers To Opt-Out Of Family Planning Services On Moral Or Religious Grounds
By Tanya Somanader
Think Progress
The 2010 Republican wave is bearing a multi-pronged attack on women’s reproductive rights.

Scott signs ‘Choose Life’ bill into law
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Among the bills Gov. Rick Scott signed into law yesterday was House Bill 501, a measure that redefines how money made from sales of Florida’s bright yellow “Choose Life” license plates is spent.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

The Clarence Thomas Scandal
By Ian Millhiser
The Progress Report
In 1969, Justice Abe Fortas resigned in disgrace after the nation learned that he had accepted tens of thousands of dollars worth of gifts from corporate executives and other wealthy benefactors.