Daily News Clips for January 25, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Floridians Want More Health Care
Staff Report
WIOD South Florida
A new poll released by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network finds strong public support in Florida to accept federal funds to increase access to health coverage through the Medicaid program…Progress Florida has set up an online petition urging Floridians to tell the Florida Legislature to approve the federal money. To see the petition, click here.

FEATURED STORIES

Scott has big fight on his hands over teacher raises
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
Related: Tampa teachers grateful but wary as Scott touts pay-raise plan
Gov. Rick Scott's plan to give every teacher a $2,500 across-the-board pay raise is in for a rough ride in the Florida Legislature.

Teacher pay proposal smacks of political bribe
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
With an anemic approval rating, and dimming re-election hopes, Gov. Rick Scott borrowed the goodies-win-elections page from Mitt Romney's Monday-morning-quarterback playbook.

Florida House speaker wants 401(k) for state retirement accounts
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
House Speaker Will Weatherford will battle state workers to get one of his top priorities passed.

Bondi urges Floridians to seek mortgage deal cash, despite passed deadline
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday urged Floridians who believe they are eligible for a portion of the National Mortgage Settlement to continue to apply even though the deadline expired Friday.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Scott Tries To Score Political Points Again With His Favorite Hostage: Education
By Martha Jackovics
Beach Peanuts
Rick Scott is up to his old tricks again, pulling another 180 with his favorite hostages: teachers and education.

Florida Business Leaders Vow To Block Paid Sick Day Laws During Worst Flu Season In A Decade
By Pat Garofalo
Think Progress
The U.S. is currently experiencing its worst flu season in a decade, but many workers can’t heed the advice of public health experts to stay home when they’re sick due to a lack of paid sick days.

Equality Fail: Hillsborough as Scourge of the Bay
By Benjamin J. Kirby
The Spencerian
I was so proud when my town of Gulfport became the first in Pinellas County to approve a domestic partner registry.

Campaign Finance: Are “no caps” and “full disclosure” good ideas?
By Bruce Seaman
Daily Marion
Campaign finance reform had been announced in November as a priority of new Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford.

Florida's 201,000 "Missing Votes" - The Likely Votes That Were Not Cast
By JaxDem
Daily Kos
The country had many extra days to hear about the voting woes in Florida as, once again the state took it's time to count the votes -- the official tally from the November 6th election was presented on November 10th, finally.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Dems' party-chairmanship battle goes down to wire
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
The way Florida Democrats have battled among themselves in recent weeks over choosing an new leader, people might think the state governor's race is being decided this weekend in Lake Mary.

FL House Speaker Weatherford opposed to GOP Electoral College plans
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
Republicans in five states, notably Virginia, have discussed changing the way they award Electoral College votes in presidential races by apportioning them on each congressional district, rather than the state's popular vote.

POLITICAL RACES

Crist vs. Scott? More like Flip vs. Flop
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Rick Scott is about to make history as the very first governor to reform voting — and then unreform it. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Everglades legislation in works amid finger-pointing over phosphorus discharges
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
The Everglades restoration plan approved by federal officials in 2012 is leading toward changes in the Florida law dealing with the famed "River of Grass," key legislators said Thursday.

Audubon: Florida Development Puts Everglade Birds at Risk
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
Development and human influence in areas around Florida's Everglades continue to put certain bird and fish populations at risk, according to a report from Audubon Florida.

State to take control of Silver Springs and remove exotic wildlife
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
Silver Springs, which has spent the past two decades looking like the kitschy Florida roadside attractions of yore, is about to turn into something more sedate and respectable: a state park.

LGBT

Hillsborough commissioners reject domestic partner registry
By Bill Varian
Tampa Bay Times
Related editorial: Feckless four in Hillsborough set back rights
The president advocated for gay rights in his inaugural address this week. Some states have gone so far as to allow same-sex couples to wed.

ACLU: Allow gay-student group to organize at Lake middle school
By Erica Rodriguez
Orlando Sentinel
The American Civil Liberties Union is demanding the Lake County School Board allow a gay-student support group to form at a Leesburg middle school after the group was denied by campus administration.

EDUCATION

Lawmakers Get Update On Teacher Evaluations And The Student Success Act
By Gina Jordan
StateImpact Florida
A Florida House panel heard an update today on teacher evaluations and the state’s implementation of the Student Success Act, also known as Senate Bill 736.

Value-added measure for teachers still a work in progress
By James Call
Florida Current
Florida is plowing new territory by holding teachers accountable for students’ learning gains as called for in the Student Success Act of 2011.

Pay Raise for Teachers Is Ploy by Scott for Votes
By Rhonda Swan
Florida Voices
Rick Scott gives, but only after he takes away.

The raise Scott seeks is his standing with teachers
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Florida teachers will know that Gov. Rick Scott is friendly — and effective — when they get paychecks and see the raises he promised on Wednesday.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Scott’s Team Defends State Handouts To Business
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
During a meeting before an economics panel in the state Legislature, Gov. Rick Scott’s commerce secretary, Gray Swoope, defended the state’s controversial economic incentive program.

Mormon church could block Orlando-to-Miami train
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
The Mormon church could stymie efforts to build a $1.5 billion train between South Florida and Orlando International Airport by not allowing tracks on land it once owned.

Food stamp fraud costing Floridians millions
By Ana M. Valdes
Palm Beach Post
As state officials were wrapping up a study to determine how often Floridians defraud the food stamp benefits program, police in suburban Boca Raton arrested a woman they said claimed thousands of dollars in food assistance despite not being eligible.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Experts: Two-thirds of mentally ill in Florida go untreated
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Motivated by the massacre of 20 elementary school children in Newtown, Conn., Florida lawmakers are grappling with shortcomings in how the state treats the mentally ill in the hope of averting similar disasters.

Senators Get Their Wonk Groove On
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Sen. David Simmons was a math major in college.

Gov. Scott to send new baby congratulations — and vaccine reminders
By Jodie Tillman
Tampa Bay Times
If you bring someone kicking and screaming into Florida, expect a nice note from Gov. Rick Scott and wife Ann.

Daily News Clips for January 24, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

The BluVu: Week of January 24^th
By Gayle Andrews
The BluVu
Obamacare takes center stage in Florida as the President is sworn in for a second term and Progress Florida’s Damien Filer has commentary on that. The Governor tries some heavy lifting to repair his image with educators, but they're not convinced....all this and more as political reality comes your way!

FEATURED STORIES

Teachers skeptical of Gov. Rick Scott's plan to raise their pay
By Rob Shaw
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott unveiled a plan Wednesday he said would give Florida's public school teachers a $2,500 pay raise.

Critics say Scott's shift politically motivated
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Gov. Rick Scott came into office slashing state education budgets, taking on teachers and other public employees over their pensions and backing the Legislature’s effort to cut early voting in Florida.

If Guns Don’t Kill People, Why Does Florida Cheat Mental Health?
By Tim Padgett
Time Magazine
Maybe Florida is hoping to deflect attention from its hopeless election system.

Lawmakers challenge Rick Scott's economic incentives claims
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Florida lawmakers are pressing Gov. Rick Scott's job-creation team to cough up more details about the hundreds of millions of dollars in tax-incentives it awards to companies every year.

Cabinet OKs no-bid leases for Duda, Florida Crystals despite enviros’ delay request
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
Related commentary: Saving the Everglades will save region’s drinking water
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet on Wednesday unanimously approved 30-year, no-bid leases for two major growers in the Everglades despite a request from environmentalists for more time to review the land deals, made public 10 days ago.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Transparency developers say Senate leaders had access to site for more than a year
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
It remains one of the most perplexing questions surrounding the tug of war over the Senate's now-defunct Transparency 2.0 web site: Why would Senate leaders pay $5 million for a budget transparency web site for members but let it sit idle for more than a year until the contract expired?

Deja vu: Local governments eye many of the same legislative issues for 2013
By Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Naples Daily News
Pension reform and taxes are among the top priorities for local governments as the 2013 legislative session approaches.

Take Legislature, elections out of PSC process
By Beth Kassab
Orlando Sentinel
We're supposed to believe that Florida's system for selecting the people who set our utility rates is fair and free of political meddling.

Clinton quizzed by Rubio, praised by Deutch in congressional hearings
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
In what was hyped as a face-off of potential 2016 presidential rivals, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio quizzed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday on what steps she took to protect American diplomats before the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Libya that killed the U.S. ambassador and three others.

Creative Fix for the Campaign-Finance Quagmire
By Peter Schorsch
Florida Voices
In a pivotal story arc on HBO's seminal series, The Wire, veteran police commander Howard "Bunny" Colvin attempts to effect some real change in the troubled neighborhoods for which he has long been responsible.

Close revolving doors
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
It was distressing to learn Tuesday that two former state House speakers are ready to become lobbyists in Tallahassee.

POLITICAL RACES

Crist’s Spark Could Help heat up the Democrats
By Rick Outzen
Florida Voices
Charlie Crist will likely be the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer to run against Republican Governor Rick Scott in 2014.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

House hears criticism of energy conservation law, but chairman isn't sure about legislation
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A House subcommittee on Wednesday heard praise and criticism of Florida's energy conservation law, which has been the recent focus of criticism and a legal challenge.

BP Claims Czar Addresses State Cabinet
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
The man in charge of doling out 20 billion dollars in BP money met with the governor and State Cabinet today.

Environmentalists sue to prod national fisheries service to protect corals
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
The National Marine Fisheries Service has failed to develop a recovery plan for two Florida corals it listed as threatened six years ago, an environmental group alleged in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday.

Silver Springs set to become Florida state park
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Silver Springs, one of Florida's oldest tourist attractions, is going out of business and will become a state park.

LGBT

Hillsborough County to consider domestic partner registry
By Sean Kinane
WMNF Tampa
Hillsborough County Commission will take up the issue of a domestic partnership registry Thursday.

EDUCATION

Scott to push for teacher raises, but after layoffs Palm Beach County educators wary
By John Kennedy and Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott, who has signed state budgets that whipsawed classroom spending the past two years, said Wednesday he wants $480 million set aside next year for across-the-board pay hikes for teachers.

Bennett gets philosophical with Senate panel about education
By James Call
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott was the first item on the Senate Education Committee’s agenda for Wednesday’s meeting.

Rep. Stewart proposes using gun taxes to boost school safety
News Service of Florida
Tampa Bay Times
Tax collected on the sale of ammunition and guns would go into a "Safe Schools Trust Fund," to pay for additional guidance services and school safety measures under legislation filed in the House.

FAMU says its making big changes to battle hazing
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
Florida A&M University officials say in a new report that they're making sweeping changes to battle hazing at the school.

Florida Lawmakers Consider An Online University
By Lynn Hatter 
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida lawmakers are considering whether to create a 13th public state university which would be entirely online.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Lawmakers scrutinize economic incentive programs as budget battles brew
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Lawmakers in both chambers of the Legislature are taking a closer look at Florida’s economic incentives programs, after high-profile failures have left state taxpayers paying for companies that went bankrupt and failed to provide the promised jobs.

Big bill—and maybe higher rates—coming soon on Citizens Property Insurance
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald
A massive, multipronged bill to reform Florida’s property insurance market could be introduced soon in the Florida Legislature, as influential committee chairs are determined to shrink Citizens Insurance and stave off potential “hurricane taxes.”

Florida attorney general makes personal appeal for more state funds
By Matt Dixon  
Florida Times-Union
Attorney General Pam Bondi made her pitch Wednesday for money to hire lawyers and upgrade an aged phone systems.

Silence not golden on library cuts
By Darryl E. Owens
Orlando Sentinel
As the state has grappled with budget shortages in recent years, Florida libraries haven't been silent about funding cuts.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Senators Tackle Medicaid Economics
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
State Senate committee hearings tend to be long on detail, short on excitement.

Poll says majority of Floridians support Medicaid expansion
By Brian Bandell
South Florida Business Journal
A majority of Floridians support the expansion of Medicaid eligibility that can be enacted through the Affordable Care Act, according to a poll funded by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

Hospitals urge delay on new Medicaid payment system
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times
Florida hospitals are pushing for a delay in the scheduled July 1 launch of a new Medicaid payment system.

Mental Health Services Suffering
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
After cutting thirty-four million dollars from the states mental health budget over the last three years, Florida now ranks 49th nationally in available care.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Obama order meant to clear up NRA-backed language in health care law
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Among the 23 gun-related executive orders issued by President Barack Obama last week was one clearing up confusion about an NRA-backed provision that had been tucked into the president’s signature policy achievement, the Affordable Care Act.

Daily News Clips for January 23, 2013

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS

Happytown: Gov. Scott's about face on voting fiasco
By Billy Manes
Orlando Weekly
Excerpt: Progress Florida piled on with its own statement: "This is the same governor that signed the legislation (HB 1355) into law that disenfranchised thousands of voters, caused Floridians to wait in line for hours to exercise their right to vote, and turned our state once again into a nationwide punch line. This is the same governor that flatly refused to add more early voting days during the long lines of the 2012 elections and stated 'We did the right thing.'” Also, he spent $500,000 of taxpayer money defending that "right thing."

FEATURED STORIES

Guns and the governor
By Michael Putney
Miami Herald
After the horrific murders of 20 first graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary, Gov. Rick Scott said he wanted to have a conversation with Floridians about guns.

Rick Scott to seek pay raise for Florida teachers
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
With Florida expecting its first budget surplus in six years, Gov. Rick Scott wants to spend a chunk of it on higher pay for teachers — a proposal some see as more of Scott's newfound support for public schools.

Pink Slip Rick: Rick Scott's proposal only mandates 48 hours of early voting: Mostly True
By Katie Sanders
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald PolitiFact
Activists behind Pink Slip Rick are not impressed with Gov. Rick Scott’s attempts to distance himself from the voting reforms he signed into law in 2011.

Bill Banning Abortions Filed Same Day As 40th Anniversary Of Roe V. Wade
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
A Florida lawmaker is working to overturn an historic U.S. Supreme decision from 40 years ago called Roe v. Wade.

New restrictions on Florida public officials passes first Senate committee hurdle
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
A wide-ranging ethics package, dubbed Florida’s biggest reform in almost 40 years to the laws governing the conduct of public officials, unanimously cleared its first hurdle Tuesday in a Senate committee.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Lawyers ready for trial for ex-GOP leader Greer
By Mike Schneider
Associated Press
Prosecutors and defense attorneys said Tuesday they're ready for next month's trial of former Florida GOP leader Jim Greer, who is charged with funneling party money to his private company.

Florida GOP donor Jay Odom indicted on campaign finance fraud charges
By Lucy Morgan
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Panhandle developer Jay Odom, the man whose desire for a new airplane hangar led to the downfall of former House Speaker Ray Sansom, has been indicted on federal campaign finance violations.

Saving the RPOF From the GOP Governor
By Peter Schorsch
Florida Voices
Governor Rick Scott will not face a serious primary challenge when he runs for re-election.

The tweet that tweaked Pam Bondi
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times
Don't underestimate a tweet. They get read. And sometimes, they can annoy the powers that be.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Growers want state to give them 30-year no-bid access to Everglades land
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee bureau
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet will be asked on Wednesday to agree to a no-bid contract to allow two major agriculture companies to farm on Everglades land for another 30 years, a deal that would include pouring tons of phosphorous-laden fertilizer onto the site the state is spending billions to clean-up.

Bill to encourage oil drilling filed again in House
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A bill that would encourage oil drilling in Blackwater River State Forest has been filed in the House after a similar bill died amid opposition in 2012.

Florida water management districts seek $122 million for springs restoration
By Craig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
Florida's springs are in trouble.

Florida Mounts a Hunt for Creatures That Maintain a Very Low Profile
By Lizette Alvarez
New York Times
For as long as anyone can remember, hunters here have wielded machetes, knives, rifles and crossbows as they swept past thickets of mosquitoes and saw grass in pursuit of alligators, feral hogs, bobcats and vermin of all sizes.

LGBT

Gay activists laud Obama speech, now want action
By David Crary
Associated Press
President Barack Obama's emphatic gay-rights advocacy in his inaugural address thrilled many activists.

EDUCATION

Florida still near bottom with readjusted graduation rate calculations
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
A new U.S. Department of Education report indicates that more high school students graduated on time in 2009-10 than ever before, the Huffington Post reports.

School safety bill filed in House
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Tax collected on the sale of ammunition and guns would go into a "Safe Schools Trust Fund," to pay for additional guidance services and school safety measures under legislation filed in the House.

Should Florida postpone implementation of the Common Core?
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Florida school district superintendents have begged for relief when it comes to implementing the Common Core State Standards,  saying they don't have enough time to prepare in advance of the 2014-15 scheduled start date.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Gov. Scott's business tax break filed in House
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
One of Gov. Rick Scott’s top legislative priorities was filed as HB 401 Tuesday by freshman Rep. Ross Spano, R-Dover.

If Unemployment Bill Passes, Employers, Employees May Benefit
By Jessica Palombo    
WFSU Tallahassee
Appealing for unemployment compensation could become more a more localized process, if a bill making its way through the Florida Senate becomes law.

Lawmakers seek to create IG for Citizens Insurance
Associated Press
Palm Beach Post
A state lawmaker has filed legislation to create an inspector general position to oversee the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

Pari-mutuels present case to Senate gaming panel
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Representatives of Florida’s pari-mutuel industry touted their businesses as economic drivers that are part of the state’s history but acknowledged to a Senate panel Tuesday the long-term economic trends are not in their favor.

Florida home and condo sales, prices shoot up in December
Staff Report
Florida Current
Sales and prices for existing single-family homes and condominiums rose sharply in December, according to a report released by Florida Realtors on Tuesday.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Lawmakers consider to put in place health insurance exchanges under Obamacare
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
Sen. Aaron Bean might have summed it up best Tuesday as he and other lawmakers listened to a discussion of the Affordable Care Act between an official of the libertarian Cato Institute and an architect of Massachusetts’ health-care overhaul.

Cracks Appearing In GOP Opposition To Health Law
By Phil Galewitz
Kaiser Health News
Gov. Phil Bryant and Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney have known each other for 30 years and call themselves friends.

South Florida hospitals face huge federal, state cuts
By John Dorschner
Miami Herald
With the federal government already slashing their funds in big and small ways, and major state cuts possible from the upcoming session of the Legislature, South Florida’s hospitals are concerned about looming financial problems.

Roe V. Wade 40 Years Later
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
40 years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortions with its ruling in a case titled Roe V. Wade.

Neglecting elderly should never be an option
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Imagine for a moment that your pet dog, Rufus, is sick.

Daily News Clips for January 22, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

President Barack Obama's inaugural tone aggressive as he calls for unity, change
By Alex Leary and Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Related AP story: Time to act, Obama declares, taking oath 2nd time
Related editorial: Obama's unifying words to live by
Summoning the nation's sense of unity as he stood before its symbol of partisan gridlock, Barack Obama was sworn in for a second term as president Monday, using the moment to outline an ambitious agenda from climate change to immigration and equality for gays.

Floridians inspired by Obama's inauguration
By William E. Gibson
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Mohamed Abdalla, a student from Boca Raton, was so inspired at the presidential inauguration on Monday that he's thinking about getting into politics and maybe running for president.

Gov. Rick Scott's ex-dog Reagan bit mansion employee, records show
By Lucy Morgan
Tampa Bay Times
Reagan, the now famous dog that once belonged to Gov. Rick Scott, was banished from the Governor’s Mansion after biting an employee who moved his water bowl.

Ethics reform is long overdue in Tallahassee
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times
Every state legislator has to attend a class to learn the don'ts of holding office.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Online chat Tuesday to lead up to town hall on legislative session
By Elaine Chen
Miami Herald
Tallahassee is 480 miles away, and for many in South Florida it might as well be on another continent.

Charlie Crist a special guest at inauguration
By Amy Hollyfield
Tampa Bay Times
Times political editor Adam C. Smith caught up with former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist after the inauguration.

Invocation set tone for Obama’s second inauguration
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
It was altogether fitting and proper that Myrlie Evers-Williams spoke first at Monday’s presidential inauguration.

Public records watchdog sues several Tampa Bay agencies
By Jessica Vander Velde
Tampa Bay Times
Joel Chandler is obsessed with public records.

LGBT

President Barack Obama's second inaugural speech references Stonewall riots, gay marriage
Associated Press
Miami Herald
President Barack Obama referenced the Stonewall gay-rights riots in his inaugural address, classing them as a civil rights watershed along with key moments in the struggles for blacks and women.

Benefit costs: Boca estimates how much to extend health insurance to domestic partners
By Anne Geggis
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The cost of extending benefits to Boca Raton city employees' domestic partners and their children could total $2.4 million over the next 10 years, according to city officials' estimates.

EDUCATION

State plan to help charter schools irks Palm Beach County School Board
By Jason Schultz
Palm Beach Post
Some Palm Beach County School District officials are incensed at a state proposal to offer once again millions of dollars next year for capital improvements at charter schools — and none at traditional public schools.

Time for a discussion on testing in Florida?
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Teachers and lawmakers around the country are setting the bar for a conversation about the role tests play in American education.

Government Watchdog Recommends Tougher Bright Futures Requirements
By Gina Jordan
StateImpact Florida
Bright Futures money is being targeted again, this time by a government watchdog group that says the state should raise requirements for the merit-based scholarship program.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Pension proposal gets cool reception
Staff Report
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A proposal that could help cities and counties pay down their massive liabilities for police and fire pensions is getting a cool reception from both the unions and from local governments.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

It's time for pols to start respecting the abortion law
By Jenna Tosh
Orlando Sentinel
It's been 40 years since Roe v. Wade made abortion legal in the United States, protecting a woman's most fundamental right to make decisions about her own health.

State to begin one-size-fits-all Medicaid payments
By Kristine Crane
Gainesville Sun
Medicaid reimbursement at hospitals throughout Florida aims to be more equitable, and implementing Diagnosis Related Groups for Medicaid reimbursement is intended to be a nudge in that direction — by replacing a hospital's per-diem rates with procedure-based rates.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Will Democratic bill reviewing Stand Your Ground even get a look in the Florida Legislature?
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing Tampa
Last week, the mother of Trayvon Martin called on Florida legislators to support a bill that would repeal Florida's extremely controversial Stand Your Ground law.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Lawyers update judge in Greer case
By Mike Schneider
Associated Press
Attorneys are providing a new judge an update in the case of former Florida GOP leader Jim Greer, who is set to be tried next month on charges that he funneled party money to his private company.