Daily News Clips for December 18, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

New gun restrictions proposed in Washington; resisted in Tallahassee
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Related AP story: Fla. lawmaker favors ending ban on guns in schools
Some longtime gun rights supporters in Congress acknowledged Monday that they were willing to discuss new restrictions as a result of the shooting rampage that killed 20 first-graders and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school on Friday.

Gun advocates just change the subject
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
Related: In massacre’s aftermath, will Congress act?
They need to change the subject. Turn the conversation away from questions about assault rifles and high-capacity magazines and 26 first-graders and teachers mutilated by high-velocity bullets on a cold Connecticut morning.

Florida Electors Officially Pick President Obama, VP Biden
By Jessica Palombo    
WFSU Tallahassee
Just as they did in all U.S. states, Florida’s presidential electors met to cast their official ballots on Monday.

Former Gov. Charlie Crist to testify in U.S. Senate about Florida election law
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will testify about the electoral process in Florida on Wednesday before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington.

Q and A with: Charlie Crist
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Florida has always produced strange politics, but we've never seen anything like Charlie Crist.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Florida's political views on gun laws are complex, divergent
By Alex Leary and Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
Underscoring the politics in the debate following the Connecticut school massacre, Florida officials offered divergent views Monday, from stricter gun laws to arming teachers to focusing instead on mental health.

Castor calls for assault weapon ban, closing 'gun show loophole'
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Reacting to the Newtown massacre, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor says Congress should act immediately to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, and close the "gun show loophole."

Florida Democratic Party chairman race down to two
News Service of Florida
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The decision by Annette Taddeo to withdraw from the race for Florida Democratic Party chair over the weekend has turned the race into a two-person battle, with Allison Tant of Tallahassee and Alan Clendenin of Tampa left to vie for the position.

Angry Over Gay Mayor's Election, Florida GOP Leader Wants To Stop College Kids From Voting
By Tim Elfrink
Miami New Times
When Craig Lowe won a run-off two years ago to become Gainesville's first openly gay mayor, many hailed it as a landmark of tolerance in conservative Central Florida.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Seafood workers fear more than drought is working against Apalachicola Bay
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Some Franklin County oystermen say Apalachicola Bay has endured droughts before but they've never one with the effects they're seeing now.

Everglades restoration options on table
By David Fleshler
South Florida Sun Sentinel
After several restoration projects on the fringes of the Everglades, a state and federal team has begun work on a plan to revive the sawgrass sloughs and tree islands at the heart of the vast marsh.

Texas pumas save Florida panthers from extinction
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A new study says breeding with Texas pumas has so far saved the Florida panther from extinction.

EDUCATION

Online-only university among Florida's options for more distance education
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Florida's 12th university became a reality earlier this year, and there is already discussion about whether the state needs a 13th.

Lawmaker to pull bill drastically changing Bright Futures
By Denise-Marie Ordway
Orlando Sentinel
The lawmaker who introduced a bill last week that would have drastically changed the state's popular Bright Futures scholarship program is withdrawing the measure, a legislative aide confirmed Monday.

13th Grade: Older, Returning Students Strain Florida’s Community and State Colleges
By Lynn Waddell and Mc Nelly Torres
StateImpact Florida
Pepper Harth has always loved music. After high school, she studied voice and acting in New York.

Jacobs calls for more officers in Orange elementary schools
By David Damron and Lauren Roth
Orlando Sentinel
Mayor Teresa Jacobs said Monday she wants to put more armed deputies in about 60 unincorporated Orange County elementary schools for the rest of the academic year, in reaction to the massacre in Newtown, Conn., last week.

New chief, old education game plan
By Darryl E. Owens
Orlando Sentinel
Florida last week tapped its fifth top educator in 18 months: former Indiana school chief, Tony Bennett.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

The politics of work
By Joy-Ann Reid
Miami Herald
At the heart of capitalism is a constant struggle between management and labor.

Scott Opening Florida Budget Website to All Bidders
Associated Press
Lakeland Ledger
Gov. Rick Scott is seeking competitive bids for a Florida budget website open to all citizens rather than renewing an existing contract that now excludes the public.

New policy talks continue between Citizens, insurance regulators
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
The deadline for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to respond to state regulators over a new homeowners policy came and went Monday, but little was resolved in the dispute over the rates for the new policy.

Close tax break loophole on for-profit home builders
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
When lawmakers in Tallahassee passed a special tax exemption in 2011 to help nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity build multifamily housing, their good intentions inadvertently created a massive tax break for private, for-profit developers.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Centers Had History of Abuse
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Two Florida centers that housed vulnerable populations -- adults with brain-damage, teen girls accused of delinquency -- had a long history of trouble before problems came to the attention of authorities, according to reports over the weekend.

FL Medicaid Doctors to get 105% Raise
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Florida is one of five states that pay primary-care doctors so little for treating Medicaid patients that those doctors will get a raise of more than 100 percent when a federal subsidy kicks in on Jan. 1, according to a new study.

We must rebuild our mental health system
By Mark J. Yacht
Gainesville Sun
Over the years I have written several published editorials emphasizing the need to reopen and adequately fund our nation’s mental hospitals.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

On second thought, bragging about Fla.’s 1M concealed weapons permits not such a good idea
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
Here’s a news conference I’d like to see this week: Hello, I’m Adam Putnam, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Pizza-place shooter cites ‘stand your ground’ against complaining customer
By Kameel Stanley and Stephen Nohlgren
Tampa Bay Times
Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law has been cited in hundreds of cases.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Scott appoints deputy secretary to head Florida Corrections
By David Royse
News Service of Florida
Florida Deputy Secretary of Corrections Michael D. Crews was promoted to secretary Monday by Gov. Rick Scott, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of Ken Tucker.

Daily News Clips for December 17, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

We can't remain silent on gun control
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
The horror that unfolded Friday in a Connecticut elementary school leading to the deaths of at least 26, including 20 children, is a heart-wrenching reminder of how desperately this country needs to have an honest conversation about guns and violence.

Florida revenue forecast improves, but federal “cliff” and pension ruling could hurt budget
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Florida’s economy continued showing fresh signs of life, with analysts Friday forecasting tax collections will rise almost 5 percent next year – giving Gov. Rick Scott and state lawmakers more cash to spend in the state budget.

Provisional-ballot law prevented little fraud but forced extra work
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
It's the most unreliable way to vote, a last resort in which half of the ballots are disqualified.

Gov. Scott calls for bids to build transparency web site
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
A budget tracking web site paid for by Florida taxpayers but never made public will remain on the shelf as Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday that he will seek bids to create a public budget watchdog site and the vendors of the existing system can get in line with everyone else.

Speaker Will Weatherford warns lawmakers to cool it after rowdiness at Disney resort
By Lucy Morgan and Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
House Speaker Will Weatherford has apologized for the behavior of some lawmakers at a retreat last month when several Republican members who had been drinking became unruly at a Disney World hotel.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Jim Morin
Miami Herald

FLORIDA POLITICS

Few answers for long lines at Orange, Osceola polls
By Scott Powers and David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Related column: Bill would remedy long voting lines
Chris Fernandez waited five hours to vote Nov. 6, then drove past his polling place a couple of times during the afternoon to see whether the line ever got shorter.

Taddeo drops out of race for chair of Florida Democrats, backs Allison Tant
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Annette Taddeo has dropped her bid for chair of the Florida Democratic Party and has gotten behind Allison Tant, saying "it is clear that she would make a phenomenal Florida Democratic Party chair and unite our party because of her passion for Democratic values that we all share."

Ethics law changes on Legislature's radar for 2013 session, report says it's time
By Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Naples Daily News
Florida's counties are strengthening their ethics laws while their law-making counterparts in the state's capital have stayed mum on the issue since the 1970s, a recent report said.

Mediocre GOP opponents put luck on Sen. Nelson's side
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Hard to argue with political analyst Stuart Rothenberg, who last week declared Bill Nelson the "Luckiest Politician of 2012."

Former GOP chairman Bob Waechter charged with felony
By Jeremy Wallace and Carrie Wells
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The most powerful political player in Sarasota County politics and the former chairman of the county Republican Party has been charged with a felony after authorities say he stole the identity of a political rival and made campaign donations in her name to a Democratic candidate for Congress to embarrass her.

Longtime Florida political figure Doyle Conner dies
By Brent Kallestad
Associated Press
Doyle Conner, the youngest House speaker in Florida history who went on to spend 30 years as the state's agriculture commissioner, died Sunday.

Compilation of reactions from Florida’s elected officials to tragedy in Newtown
By Peter Schorsch
Saint Petersblog
Florida elected officials offered condolences to families and the community around Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where a 20-year-old man killed 20 children and seven adults on Friday.

POLITICAL RACES

Charlie's future is all about campaign cash
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Charlie Crist 2.0 must answer a serious question before he becomes a serious alternative to presumed Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls like former CFO Alex Sink, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer or ex-Broward Sen. Nan Rich.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Florida rivers getting sicker, Sentinel investigation finds
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
Florida's rivers are in trouble. That's what the Orlando Sentinel found after a yearlong evaluation of some of the state's biggest and smallest, most urban and remote, cleanest and dirtiest, protected and abused rivers.

Group urges federal government to take manatees off endangered list
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
For more than a decade, boaters who chafed at the proliferation of speed limits on the water have contended that the Florida manatee no longer deserves to be called an endangered species.

Drive to keep Kings Bay from being smothered by toxic algae treats symptom, not cause
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
Last month, Florida's top environmental regulator took a boat tour of a Citrus County spring, joined by the chairman of the state Senate's Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee.

Florida urged to develop criteria for military missions on state conservation lands
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Acquisition and Advisory Council members on Friday questioned the extent of military training missions that will be conducted on state lands as state officials agreed to discuss whether criteria are needed for what is allowed.

Public Service Commission acted for FPL, not consumers.
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
On Thursday, the Florida Public Service Commission officially became a wholly owned subsidiary of Florida Power & Light Co.

LGBT

Gay leaders take seats in Tally
News Service of Florida
South Florida Herald-Tribune
With the U.S. Supreme Court considering same-sex marriage, President Barack Obama re-elected on a platform that included it, and the first openly gay lawmakers taking their seats in Tallahassee, gay voters say it’s been a winning year.

Gays celebrate year of political victories
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
After a string of political victories in Florida and across the country, gays and lesbians see 2012 as a political watershed.

EDUCATION

Schools around US mull security after massacre
By Christine Armario
Associated Press
Schools around the country are reviewing security plans and in some cases adding extra law enforcement patrols to prepare for the first day of classes since a shooting massacre at an elementary school in Connecticut.

Florida education chief puts focus on communication
By Jerome R. Stockfisch
Tampa Tribune
The state Board of Education has named Tony Bennett education commissioner, keeping Florida on track with the reforms initiated by former Gov. Jeb Bush in 1999.

Same old, same old
Editorial
Ocala Star-Banner
It’s no surprise that Tony Bennett, Florida’s newly hired education commissioner, would be bullish on testing, vouchers and charter schools, or that the state’s largest teacher union would object to his appointment.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Citizens fights new policy because it saves consumers too much
By Charles Elmore
Palm Beach Post
State-run insurer Citizens moved Friday to block customers from saving nearly 30 percent on their 2013 premiums if they choose less coverage under a new state law — unless regulators agree to kill most of the savings first.

Union jobs build middle class
By Richard Trumka
Florida Today
It’s a tough time to work for a living. Middle-class families have been losing ground for more than a decade.

Don’t let yet another state employee ‘retire’ and keep working
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Some government employees in Florida must have confused themselves with big-time athletes.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Hike in Medicare Age: In or Out?
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
In the still-unresolved “fiscal cliff” negotiations over spending cuts and revenue increases, one Republican proposal that would have a huge impact on Floridians -- raising the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67 -- apparently has not been ruled out, McClatchy Newspapers reports.

Social Security and Medicare trim would squeeze retirees
By William E. Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Democrats in Congress and many of their constituents from the retirement haven of Florida are trying to fend off Republican proposals to trim future Medicare and Social Security benefits as part of a budget deal to avert the fiscal cliff.

Most Don't Know Much About Health Law
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Many people who are uninsured, the ones whom the Affordable Care Act is designed to help, are terrified of it because they have little understanding of it.

Centers Had History of Abuse
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Two Florida centers that housed vulnerable populations -- adults with brain-damage, teen girls accused of delinquency -- had a long history of trouble before problems came to the attention of authorities, according to reports over the weekend.

Fewer health care options for illegal immigrants
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
For years, Sonia Limas would drag her daughters to the emergency room whenever they fell sick.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Marco Rubio, Mario Diaz-Balart exemplify split among GOP on immigration reform
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
Immigration — one of the most complex and divisive issues facing the country — suddenly has new life on Capitol Hill.

State’s Gun Fetish is Nothing to Celebrate
By Pierre Tristam
Florida Voices
For some reason Adam Putnam, Florida’s agriculture commissioner and governor wannabe, felt compelled to hold a press conference last week to boast about the number of concealed-carry weapons license holders in the state.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Gov. Rick Scott picks Crews as state prisons chief
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott on Monday will announce a new secretary for the Department of Corrections: Mike Crews, who is currently the agency's No. 2 official, holding the title of deputy secretary.

State attorneys do not compile case statistics in a uniform manner
By Cindy Swirko
Gainesville Sun
About 43 percent of cases filed each year by the Alachua County Sheriff's Office and Gainesville Police Department are eventually dropped by 8th Circuit State Attorney Bill Cervone, records show.

Daily News Clips for December 14, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Now a Democrat, Charlie Crist regrets signing anti-gay marriage petition
By Adam C. Smith and Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
Former Gov. Charlie Crist completed his conversion to the Democratic Party on Thursday at a camera-ready media event at which he revised his views on yet another issue: same-sex marriage.

Mel Martinez on higher taxes: ‘Republicans are going to have to swallow the pill’
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Florida’s former senator and one-time head of the national Republican Party, Mel Martinez, said Thursday that members of his own party need to get ready to go along with higher taxes.

Dems to Justice Department: probe Florida election law
By Dara Kam and John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
A divided U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will not convene hearings on Florida’s new election law, despite a request from the state’s six Democratic members of Congress, who charged that the measure intentionally limited access to the polls by blacks and many other Florida voters.

Florida to let Washington make health care decisions
By Donna Koehn
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
When uninsured Floridians sit at their computers next October to select mandated health insurance, they will shop options compiled by the federal government, not the state.

What ‘Right to Work’ Has Meant For States Like Florida
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
This week, Michigan became the country’s 24th Right to Work state, which has prompted close examinations of what such laws mean for a state’s economy.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Florida's projected 2013 budget surplus comes at a steep price
By Daniel Tilson
West Palm Beach Liberal Examiner
High on the list of Good News, Bad News stories in Florida this week was the Dec. 5 announcement that the state budget now has (drum-roll please) - a $436 million surplus.

Florida Elections Chief Begins His "Not Listening Tour" On Election Problems
By Martha Jackovics
Beach Peanuts
On Monday Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner began what's being phrased as a "listening tour" of elections offices where there were problems in the November elections, but from early reports it sounds more like window dressing.

In Florida, An Actual Bipartisan Discussion On How To Deal With Climate Change
By Christina DeConcini
Think Progress via WRI’s Insights
“Think globally, act locally” is a slogan that aptly describes what I witnessed last week at the Southeast Florida Climate Leadership Summit.

Crist Now a Democrat: Reaction
By Kartik Krishnaiyer
The Political Hurricane
Governor Crist has finally made official what was coming for months. On Friday, he officially declared himself a Democrat and in doing so has set of a wild frenzy of speculation as to whether progressives will embrace him or simply brandish him as a turncoat.

Let The Consternation Begin
By Jake
Rantings From Florida
We saw it coming. Now the moment has arrived. Charlie Crist, whose early political stances earned him the nickname Chain Gang Charlie, is now a Democrat.

FLORIDA POLITICS

How to Fix Florida's Elections Mess
By Paula Dockery
Florida Voices
To fix a problem, you first need to understand it.

Florida elections chief, in St. Lucie, says recount deadlines may be too tight for counties to meet
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
Emerging from three hours with the elections supervisor of St. Lucie County on Thursday— the only county that missed the deadline for filing final election results — Secretary of State Ken Detzner said he was concerned that current deadlines may not give counties enough time to complete recounts.

It's official: Former Gov. Charlie Crist is a Democrat
Staff Report
Tampa Tribune
What had been the worst-kept secret in Florida politics the past few months is official.

Tant wins Leon Dems chair, can now run for state chair
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Prominent Tallahassee Democratic fundraiser Allison Tant was elected chairman of the Leon County Democratic Party Thursday night, making her eligible to run for state party chairman against Alan Clendenin of Tampa.

POLITICAL RACES

Private poll: Crist has big lead in Democratic primary
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
A new private poll of 1,000 Democratic voters gives former Gov. Charlie Crist an overwhelming advantage over all other Democrats in a hypothetical primary for governor, including a 21-point lead in a test matchup against Alex Sink, the party's 2010 nominee. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Revive land buying for environment, economy
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
It might not make its owners rich, but undeveloped land can be among the most valuable property in Florida.

Regulators tweak settlement agreement, award FPL a $350 million rate increase
By Susan Salisbury
Palm Beach Post
Despite the objections of the Office of Public Counsel, Florida Power & Light on Thursday was granted a $350 million base rate increase beginning Jan. 2 and $165.5 million for its new Cape Canaveral plant starting in June.

Gator hunt plan for Loxahatchee wildlife refuge sparks angry response
By David Fleshler
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Hundreds of letters and emails to the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge were clear: Don't kill the alligators.

Fla. Asks: Should Silver Springs Be A State Park?
By Jessica Palombo    
WFSU Tallahassee
The state of Florida is taking public input on a proposal to turn Central Florida’s Silver Springs attraction into a state park.

EDUCATION

Shocking upset in Indiana steered new education chief Tony Bennett to Florida
By Curtis Krueger and Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Indiana failed to well serve migrant students during Bennett's tenure, report shows
Tony Bennett's loss in the Indiana school superintendent's race last month was so shocking that the teachers union president calls it the biggest political upset in state history.

Surprise us
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
It's no surprise that Tony Bennett, Florida's newly hired education commissioner, would be bullish on testing, vouchers and charter schools, or that the state's largest teacher union would object to his appointment.

Holding voucher schools to account is overdue
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott campaigned two years ago as an outsider who would bring a fresh perspective to Tallahassee.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Narrow 'fiscal cliff' bargain gains currency
By Andrew Taylor and Jim Kuhnehenn
Associated Press
Hopes dimming for a wide-ranging bargain, the White House and many congressional Republicans are setting their sights on a more modest deal that would extend current tax rates for most Americans, raise rates for top earners and leave other, vexing issues for the new year.

Citizens to postpone action on controversial loan program
By Michael Peltier
News Service of Florida
Citizens Property Insurance Corp will shelve a controversial $350 million loan program while it gathers data and looks at more options to reduce its number of policies.

Florida women earning 84 percent of median wages earned by men
Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
Women workers in Florida are earning about 84 percent of the weekly earnings of their male counterparts, the second-highest ratio since 1997, according to government data released Wednesday.

Florida tops foreclosure list for third straight month
Staff Report
Florida Current
There were 29,612 foreclosure filings in Florida in November – one in every 304 housing units in the state, according to a report released Thursday by the foreclosure tracking company RealtyTrac.

Fla. economists to draw up new budget forecast
Associated Press
Miami Herald
Florida economists are drawing up new a forecast for how much money the state is expected to collect in taxes over the next few years.

Florida lauded for controls on economic incentives
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Amid growing legislative scrutiny of corporate tax-incentives, a new non-partisan report gives Florida props for capping how much taxpayer money it uses to entice companies to keep or expand jobs here.

State appears ready to get on board with Orlando-to-Miami train
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
The state appears set to approve a key step in All Aboard Florida's quest to build a privately financed $1 billion train to carry tourists and business travelers from Miami to Orlando International Airport.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

FL Says It's Protecting Kids; Meanwhile...
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Two state agencies announced steps Wednesday that they say will keep Florida's children -- especially disabled, abused and foster kids -- safer.

Premiums Take 20% of Workers' Wages: Study
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
The average cost for family coverage in employer-sponsored plans rose 62 percent in Florida since 2003, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Victims Of Alleged Abuse At Dozier Want Feds To Grant Nelson Request For Probe
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
U.S. Senator Bill Nelson is calling on the U.S. Justice Department to continue a probe into the Infamous Dozier School for Boys, after recent findings show there were at least 50 graves at the North Florida reform school----that’s 19 more than were found when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated two years ago.

Fla. won’t restore rights to famed jewel thief ‘Murph the Surf’
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
Florida is turning down a request by famed surfer and jewel thief Jack Murphy to win the restoration of his civil rights.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Clemency board grants full pardon to wrongfully convicted man
By Brittany Alana Davis
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
After a wrongful murder conviction that put him behind bars for 27 years, William Michael Dillon received formal forgiveness from the state Thursday.

Crank it up! Supreme Court says police can't shut down car stereos
By Brandon Larrabee
News Service of Florida
Motorists are free to blast Justin Timberlake -- or any other music they choose -- as loud as they wish, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.