Daily Clips for July 26, 2012

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

The BluVu: Week of July 23^rd
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
The Governor and Lt. Governor have become the pariahs of the GOP, Genting is buying it's way to dominance in the gaming world, Progress Florida’s Damien Filer tells us what's wrong with the FCAT…all this and more as political reality comes your way!

FEATURED STORIES

Jim Greer denounces Florida Republican Party officials as liars, 'right-wing crazies' in deposition
By Lucy Morgan
Tampa Bay Times
In a wide-ranging deposition that spanned two days in late May, former Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greer denounced some party officials as liars and "whack-a-do, right-wing crazies'' as he described turmoil in the months before his resignation.

Will Florida's Voter Purge Cost Obama the Election?
By Molly Ball
The Atlantic
It is November 7, the day after the 2012 presidential election, and Barack Obama has narrowly lost his bid for reelection.

Tampa business owners who criticized Obama's comments about business live off government work
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
The Mitt Romney campaign offered up an inspirational tale of two local companies Wednesday as a way to cast President Barack Obama as an out-of-touch, big government apologist who doesn't understand how business works.

Jeb Bush wants Rubio for vice president
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush thinks Sen. Marco Rubio is ready to be vice president and he shared those thoughts with presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney, he said today.

Connie Mack's campaign violated election law, filing says
By Alex Leary and Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
A Jacksonville lawyer has filed an FEC complaint against Connie Mack's Senate campaign for allegedly violating federal election law through the purchase of Brooks Brothers clothing.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Is Crist contemplating a political comeback in 2014?
By Joe Henderson
Tampa Tribune
Charlie Crist isn't saying he plans to run for governor in 2014, but he isn't saying he won't. Read into that what you will.

Where in the world is Rick Scott visiting?
Associated Press
Florida Today
Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s office isn’t saying much about his vacation.

Everything you've ever wanted to know about voter ID laws
By Suevon Lee
ProPublica
Voter IDs laws have become a political flashpoint in what's gearing up to be another close election year.

POLITICAL RACES

‘You didn’t build that’ fight heats up in Florida with Romney attacks, new Obama ad
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
Republican criticism and mockery of President Obama for his “you didn’t build that” remark about businesses has clearly struck a nerve.

Election 2012: Romney nearly doubles Obama's fundraising in SW Florida
By Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Naples Daily News
Southwest Floridians donated more than $652,000 to presidential candidates over a three-month period in 2012.

Connie Mack’s staff tied to anti-Hugo Chávez group
By John Bresnahan
Politico
For years in the House and in his current bid for Senate, Florida GOP Rep. Connie Mack has attacked Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez with a zeal possibly unmatched in Congress.

Florida fares well in election technology thanks to paper ballots; falls short when it comes to auditing those ballots
By Pat Beall
Palm Beach Post
As the white-hot presidential contest heats up in this battleground state, a newly released national voting equipment study singles out Wellington for special notice, even as it gives Florida passing marks.

Tampa will hold three town halls on impacts of RNC on residents and businesses
By Seán Kinane
WMNF Tampa
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn announced Wednesday that he will host three town hall meetings in August on the impacts of the Republican National Convention on residents and businesses. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Everglades restoration plan evokes concerns at public hearing
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
The proposed $880 million plan to restore the Everglades drew concern from all sides at a public hearing Wednesday, from environmentalists saying it didn’t provide enough guarantees, to a water district board member who called the plan impractical and “a financial train wreck.”

Mercury pollution must drop 86%, Florida says
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
To eliminate the risk of poisoning from eating too much fish in Florida, the amount of mercury pollution entering the state's lakes, rivers and estuaries needs to drop 86 percent, a new analysis by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection shows.

LGBT

Gay rights group wants Carroll to apologize
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times
Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group, has launched an online petition campaign demanding an apology from Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, who drew the group's criticism by telling a Tampa television station on July 14 that "usually black women that look like me don't engage in relationships like that."

Equality Florida executive director Nadine Smith answers calls about LGBTQ issues
By Seán Kinane
WMNF Tampa
Wednesday on Last Call we discussed human rights issues in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.

EDUCATION

The DOE fails
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
We're not sure if our children are showing adequate progress under Florida's ever-changing FCAT tests, but the state Department of Education sure seems to be failing.

Charters, traditional schools and “equitable facility funding” purpose of new state task force
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
A new state task force has been tapped to make recommendations to the Florida Legislature on “more equitable facility funding for charter schools and schools operated by a school district.”

Higher education task force to 'brainstorm' in St. Pete today
Staff Report
Tampa Tribune
"Brainstorming" is on the agenda for Gov. Rick Scott's Florida Blue Ribbon Task Force on State Higher Education Reform.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Report criticizes Florida for no measurable goals in program meant to help people in foreclosure
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post
A federal inspector general report critical of a $7.6 billion foreclosure prevention plan specifically mentions Florida as failing to set measurable goals for its Hardest Hit program.

Florida insurance panel grills State Farm over rate increase request
By Michael Peltier
News Service of Florida
State insurance officials and consumer advocates on Wednesday pressed State Farm Florida Insurance Co. over a proposed 57.3 percent increase in rental property premiums when the company is still not writing any new business.

Insurers line up for PIP changes, but not rate changes
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Automobile insurers are clamoring to take advantage of new legislation passed this year to combat fraud involved in Florida’s personal injury protection (PIP) insurance, but are not as keen on adjusting their rates in kind.

Miami mayor plans to declare ‘financial urgency’ so he can rework union contracts
By Kathleen McGrory
Miami Herald
Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado is expected to announce plans to declare “financial urgency” at a city commission meeting Thursday.

Senate OKs extending tax cuts to everyone except rich
Staff Report
Tampa Tribune
Democrats pushed a yearlong extension of tax cuts for all but the highest-earning Americans through the Senate today, giving Democrats a significant political victory on a measure that is fated to go no further in Congress.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

|Medicaid Expansion Reduces Mortality, Study Finds
By Matthew Fleming
Kaiser Health News
As states decide whether to expand their Medicaid programs to cover low-income childless adults, the impact of their choices became clearer today in a study showing a reduction of mortality in states that have already made that move.

13 States Cut Medicaid To Balance Budgets
By Phil Galewitz and Matthew Fleming
Kaiser Health News
Thirteen states are moving to cut Medicaid by reducing benefits, paying health providers less or tightening eligibility, even as the federal government prepares to expand the insurance program for the poor to as many as 17 million more people.

FL hospitals score best. And worst.
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
When it comes to the revolving-door syndrome, Florida hospitals are among the best and the worst.

Obama and Insurers Join to Cut Health Care Fraud
By Robert Pear
New York Times
President Obama and health insurance executives plan to announce a new joint effort on Thursday to crack down on health care fraud by sharing and comparing claims data, administration officials say.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Concealed Weapons Permits Continue to Rise
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Concealed weapon license applications are increasing by ten thousand a month, and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, Florida is on track to have more than a million concealed license holders by this fall.

Reasonable gun limits overdue
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
A week ago tonight, they went to the movies to escape and were killed by a heavily armed gunman who police say bought thousands of rounds of ammunition by mail order.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Judge dismisses lawsuit aimed at closing primary election loophole
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
If the winner of a Democratic or Republican primary in Florida won't face opposition in the general election, then that primary is open to all voters without regard to party registration under a state constitutional amendment passed overwhelmingly in 1998.

Court: State law doesn't bar pregnancy discrimination
News Service of Florida
Ft. Myers News-Press
Nothing in Florida law prevents discrimination against women on the basis that they're pregnant, an appeals court ruled Wednesday, although federal law does.

Daily Clips for July 25, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Florida GOP racking up legal bills in Jim Greer case
By Lucy Morgan
Tampa Bay Times
It has been two years since officials at the Republican Party of Florida signed a controversial agreement to pay ousted chairman Jim Greer the remainder of his 2010 salary.

No gag order in case involving ex-aide to Jennifer Carroll
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
As the state prepares to interview witnesses in the case against a former aide to Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, a judge has warned attorneys to watch what they say.

Appeal court rebuffs Bondi on prison privatization
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Florida's attorney general has wide legal latitude to intervene in policy matters before the courts, but she can't start in the playoffs if she didn't take part in the regular season, a state appeal court ruled Tuesday.

Budget office: Obama health law reduces deficit
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
President Barack Obama's health care overhaul will shrink rather than increase the nation's huge federal deficits over the next decade, Congress' nonpartisan budget scorekeepers said today, supporting Obama's contention in a major election-year dispute with Republicans.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida legislators want to renegotiate tribal gambling compact
News Service of Florida
Palm Beach Post
State legislative leaders said they plan to renegotiate Florida’s revenue sharing compact with the Seminole Tribe at least a year early, the Miami Herald reported Tuesday.

Republicans take magnifying glass to Wasserman Schultz
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Her place in the national spotlight is prompting Republicans to focus like never before on everything about South Florida's most prominent Democrat, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston.

RPOF attacks "two faces" of Charlie Crist
By Brittany Davis
Miami Herald
"Charlie Crist demonstrates he has two faces. One is the face of what he says, and the other is his record," reads a blistering Republican Party of Florida e-mail sent out Tuesday afternoon.

POLITICAL RACES

Had enough of the 2012 election cycle? How about 2016?
Staff Report
Florida Current
Public Policy Polling is excited about the election. The 2016 election.

Dems rip Rep. David Rivera — then each other
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
The Democrats running to unseat Republican Congressman David Rivera ripped the scandal-plagued incumbent on Tuesday.

Aronberg’s opponents in state attorney race slam him for secret campaign
By Joel Engelhardt
Palm Beach Post
In a debate Tuesday, no-party candidate Robert Gershman and Republican Dina Keever slammed Democrat Dave Aronberg, their opponent for Palm Beach County state attorney.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

Fla.’s Amendment 8 threatens separation
By Shayne Cheshire
Central Florida’s Future
It is the view of credible historians and academic scholars that the founding fathers, in order to preserve true religious freedoms, determined our government should separate and isolate itself from religious faith and practice.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Coalition presents 15,000 petition signatures urging Gov. Scott to protect Silver, Rainbow springs
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Members of the Florida Conservation Alliance on Tuesday gave Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. petitions they said were signed by more than 15,000 people calling for more protection for Silver and Rainbow springs in Marion County.

Audit finds Florida poorly spent federal stimulus grants meant for energy projects
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Florida received the third-highest amount of energy-related stimulus money in the nation but ranks nearly last in the amount spent thus far on the programs, according to an audit released by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam’s office Tuesday.

System for stopping an oil spill is tested in Gulf
By Cain Burdeau
Associated Press
The first deep-sea test of a state-of-the-art containment system for stopping an oil spill akin to BP's catastrophic 2010 spill began on Tuesday, regulators said.

EDUCATION

Thousands in Miami-Dade face loss of child-care subsidies
By Caroline Navarro And Carol Marbin Miller
Miami Herald
More than 1,000 Miami-Dade children may be evicted from their child-care programs — and thousands more may be added to an already burgeoning wait list — as Florida early-learning administrators cut millions from a county program that provides subsidized child care for working poor and needy families.

School Board Officials Pan Education Chief's Explanation of School Grades Miscalculation
By Merissa Green
Lakeland Ledger
School Board members are "disgusted" with the response from Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson about the miscalculation of school grades for 213 schools across the state, including 14 in Polk.

Move over, FCAT: The SCATS are here
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Once again, the Florida Department of Education has fouled up on a grand scale — this time handing out the wrong grades to 213 different schools.

Senator wants a time-out on statewide tests
By James Call
Florida Current
A top lawmaker wants to call a time-out on statewide testing of Florida’s students and grading of public schools.

Fed gov. wants FSU to repay $3 million
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is looking to get some $3 million back from Florida State University.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Better opportunities drawing entrepreneurs from Florida
By Stephanie Wang
Tampa Bay Times
From one of Tampa's most blighted neighborhoods, Garrett Johnson triumphed with a tremendous success story.

Report: Florida overpaid jobless benefits by nearly $500M
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
From 2008 to 2011, as officials struggled to handle Florida's ballooning jobless rate, the state overpaid unemployment recipients by $486 million, according to a new analysis by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Global factors to weigh Florida economy down in coming years, state economists say
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Debt crises in Europe and a struggling housing market at home will remain a drag on the Florida economy for the foreseeable future, state economists said Monday during a meeting to adjust their long-term economic forecast.

Regulators plan State Farm hearing Wednesday over renters insurance hike
By Jeff Harrington
Tampa Bay Times
State Farm policyholders will be able to air concerns over a proposed 58 percent average rate hike in renters insurance at a public hearing in Tallahassee today.

Today Is the Anniversary of the Last Time the Minimum Wage Was Raised
By Robert Lorei
WMNF Tampa
Today (July 24) is the anniversary of the last federal minimum wage increase to $7.25 in 2009.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Giving Healthcare to the Poor Lowers Health Costs for Everyone
By Scott Randolph
US News and World Report
The federal government has long allowed many states to let lapse basic healthcare for the poor, even as states handed out billions in unnecessary corporate tax breaks.

Florida 50th out of 51 in Mental Health Funding
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Mental health funding in Florida ranks 50th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Florida toughens child abuse reporting laws
By Dale White
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
In the wake of the child abuse scandal that continues to rock Penn State University, Florida is toughening and broadening its laws about mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse.

Stearns blocks new health care fees for vets
By Bill Thompson
Ocala Star-Banner
U.S Rep. Cliff Stearns wanted to make his point clear last week: no new health care fees on aging veterans. 

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

State loses yet another round in private privatization saga
By Steve Bousquet
Miami Herald
Yet another legal setback for Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature in their efforts to expand privatization in state prisons.

Florida appeals Miami federal judge ruling blocking law prohibiting hiring of companies tied to Cuba
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
The state of Florida on Tuesday appealed a Miami federal judge’s decision to block the implementation of a new state law prohibiting governments from hiring companies with business ties to Cuba.

Daily Clips for July 24, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Bain Capital Created 'Demoralizing' Culture of Layoffs At Florida Plant
By Laura Bassett
Huffington Post
When Dade Behring started cutting employees under Bain Capital's management in the late '90s, Cindy Hewitt was on the front lines.

Bill Daley Asks: Is Obama Campaign Ready for Recounts?
By James Warren
Daily Beast
A top Democrat who was intimately involved in the rancorous 2000 presidential recount in Florida is raising an almost diabolically complex prospect: what if the Obama-Romney contest inspires recounts in multiple states?

Political committees' spending dwarfs traditional sources
By James Call
Florida Current
The biggest spenders so far in the 2012 campaign for the Florida Legislature are committees set up by politicians and others wanting to influence the outcome of the elections.

DOE acknowledges, explains mistakes in Florida school grades
By Leslie Postal
Orlando Sentinel
The Florida Department of Education on Monday acknowledged that it miscalculated school grades across Florida while local education officials said the mistake will fuel more public distrust in the state's student-accountability system that has been under increasing attack in recent months.

State attorney seeks gag order in case against Carroll's accuser
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
Alleging that attorneys for Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll's accuser are attempting to "try this case in the media," the state attorney in Leon County is asking the judge for a gag order that seals file and bars lawyers from talking to the media in the case against Carroll's former aide.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Lawmakers looking to tackle gaming regulation
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
With Florida emerging as one of the largest gambling states in the nation, legislative leaders are prepared to put gaming regulation on center stage in the next two years and renegotiate the revenue-sharing compact with the Seminole Tribe at least a year early.

POLITICAL RACES

Survey USA shows Obama, Mack with leads
By William March
Tampa Tribune
A Survey USA robopoll shows Barack Obama and Connie Mack IV with significant leads among Florida voters.

Prepping of Tampa Bay Times Forum for RNC on schedule
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
More than 3,000 seats have been removed from the Tampa Bay Times Forum in preparation for the Aug. 27-30 Republican National Convention.

Secret Service announces RNC security restrictions, road closures
By Ted Jackovics and Jose Patino Girona
Tampa Tribune
The Secret Service today released a plan restricting where residents and visitors can drive, park, walk or take a bus during the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Tallahassee: Five primary races to watch
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
If you're like a lot of voters in Florida, you'll blissfully ignore the Aug. 14 primary election, having convinced yourself that because a primary is sort of a preliminary round, your one vote just isn't very important. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Slime-covered river prompts Florida environmental groups to sue Corps of Engineers
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
A coalition of environmental groups is suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, arguing that the way the agency dumps polluted water from Lake Okeechobee is causing toxic algae blooms throughout the Caloosahatchee River near Fort Myers.

EPA agrees to air pollution limits for Florida
Associated Press
Ocala Star-Banner
The federal Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to set deadlines for limiting haze-causing air pollution from aging power plants and factories in Florida.

Planning group files Florida Supreme Court brief warning against discouraging public participation
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The American Planning Association's Florida chapter says a 1st District Court of Appeal ruling against environmental groups in 2010 would have a chilling effect on public participation in planning if it's allowed to stand.

'This is an emergency': Florida bird may soon be extinct
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
A type of sparrow that lives only in Florida has mysteriously plunged in number so dramatically that scientists fear it will vanish forever well before the end of this decade.

Will they listen?
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Today a contingent from the Florida Conservation Coalition, led by former governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, will deliver more than 13,000 petition signatures to Gov. Rick Scott.

LGBT

Time to vote on Jacksonville gay rights bill, downtown authority, says council president
By David Bauerlein       
Florida Times-Union
The budget hearings set to start in August are like a storm on the horizon for Jacksonville City Council members.

Homophobic Chick-fil-A Deserves a Plague of Protest
By Steven Kurlander
Florida Voices
As more states recognize same-sex marriage, Christian warriors are amping up their crusade to preserve what they define as traditional marriage between a man and a woman.

EDUCATION

State got FCAT grades wrong on 213 schools
By Donna Koehn
Tampa Tribune
Once again, the Florida Department of Education has delivered fresh fodder to critics of the increasingly maligned Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

In Polk Visit, Education Chief Touts Progress
By Merissa Green
Lakeland Ledger
Although the majority of Florida's students are Hispanic or black and most students qualify for free or reduced price lunches, the state is doing a better job of educating them than ever before.

Explaining How A Florida College Database Might Help You Earn $6,500 More
By Gina Jordan
StateImpact Florida
Need help deciding on a college?

Document: FAMU dean went to top officials about his attempt to suspend band
By Denise-Marie Balona
Orlando Sentinel
Former FAMU President James Ammons has maintained that he did not know until January about recommendations from two key officials to suspend the university's marching band just days before the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion last fall.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Advocates for a higher minimum wage plan Tampa Bay protest Tuesday
By Jeff Harrington
Tampa Bay Times
Advocates for a higher minimum wage are planning protests in 30 cities this week marking the third-year anniversary of the last increase to the federal minimum wage.

Economists: Florida jobless rate to remain bleak
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Florida’s unemployment rate probably won’t change much between now and the end of the year, and the jobs picture is set to remain bleak through 2016, a team of state economists said Monday.

Florida audit of loan program run by Tony Nelson shows lack of oversight
By Matt Dixon  
Florida Times-Union
An embattled Jacksonville black business loan program led for 16 years by felon Tony Nelson misreported information to the state, did not use formal accounting practices and had no formal conflict-of-interest policy.

EMA/SBA Disaster Recovery Centers Still Going Strong In FL
By Stew Lilker
Columbia County Observer
The FEMA/SBA Disaster Recovery Relief Centers (DRC) are still going strong in Florida as a result of Tropical Storm Debby, which dumped record amounts of rain and is being called by some a 500 year event.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Working Poor At Heart Of Medicaid Debate As Govs Draw Line In The Sand
Staff Report
Kaiser Health News
Even as state executives such as Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Florida Gov. Rick Scott remain firm in their opposition to the health law's Medicaid expansion, health providers such as Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Tony Cosgrove express their support for it.

State slashes county Medicaid bill, but officials hope for more
By Bill Thompson
Ocala Star-Banner
The state's recent decision to slash the bill Florida counties owe for Medicaid brought sighs of relief from Marion County officials.

Largest oil-spill health study needs volunteers
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Scientists studying long-term effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are looking for 15,000 more people who helped with the cleanup, even for one day.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

South Florida candidates split over need for tighter gun controls
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
South Florida congressional candidates agreed Monday that last week's massacre in a movie theater outside Denver was tragic. But Democrats and Republicans strongly disagreed on whether government should restrict guns or ammunition purchases.