Daily Newsc Clips for February 25, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

White House: Layoffs, cutbacks loom for Florida if feds can’t make budget deal
By Laura Green
Palm Beach Post
Related: A look at automatic budget cuts in Florida
Virtually every sector of Florida’s economy will be hit if Congress and the White House cannot reach yet another deal to stop deep cuts in defense and domestic programs set to take effect Friday.

Gov. Scott versus Legislature bound to cause sparks
By Matt Dixon  
Florida Times-Union
With the 2014 election cycle already under way, this year’s legislative session is sure to be marked with heavy-handed clashes between Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders.

Will House Go Along on Medicaid?
Staff Report
Health News Florida
On Thursday, even as national news outlets were treating Florida's Medicaid expansion as a done deal, mutters of trouble ahead emerged from the north end of the Florida Capitol -- the House of Representatives.

How to cure Florida’s electoral dysfunction
By Desiline Victor and Gihan Perera
Miami Herald
One of us came to this country from Haiti for a better life arriving at age 79 and toiling hard as a farmworker.

Florida task force says no major changes needed to Stand Your Ground law
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
A 19-member task force commissioned by Gov. Rick Scott to review Florida’s Stand Your Ground law has put out its final report, largely voicing support for the law.

Florida needs no advice from Jeb Bush on education policy
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Former Gov. Jeb Bush has an undeserved reputation as an education reformer.

EDITORIAL CARTOON OF THE WEEK

By Mike Luckovich
Atlanta Journal Constitution

FLORIDA POLITICS

Fla. lawmakers seek elections, ethics changes
By Brendan Farrington
Associated Press
President Barack Obama used a 102-year-old Florida woman who waited for hours to cast a ballot as an example of voting problems that need fixing, Jon Stewart used a profanity to describe Florida's elections process and Jay Leno suggested Floridians shouldn't even be allowed to vote on American Idol.

The case of the phantom ballots: an electoral whodunit
By Patricia Mazzei
Miami Herald
The first phantom absentee ballot request hit the Miami-Dade elections website at 9:11 p.m. Saturday, July 7.

In David Rivera investigation, suspected ringer charged in federal court in $81,486 scheme
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
A one-time candidate whose suspicious campaign finances led to an FBI investigation of former Miami Congressman David Rivera was formally charged Friday in federal court with three crimes.

Renewed fight begins for bill to ban texting and driving
By Rochelle Koff
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
It was supposed to be a joyous occasion.

Imagine if Greer weren't the choice
By Lucy Morgan
Tampa Bay Times
In October 2006 it looked as if House Speaker Allan Bense would become the next chairman of the Florida Republican Party.

The Party of Us Should Prevail over the Party of Me
By Dan Gelber
Florida Voices
About a decade ago Fox commentator Bill O’Reilly published a book entitled “Who’s looking out for you?”

POLITICAL RACES

Alex Sink says she's unlikely to run for governor in 2014
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
There are only two top-tier Democrats considering a run for governor, Charlie Crist and Alex Sink, and Sink sounds unlikely to do it. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

As BP Trial Nears, Hints of Progress on a Deal
By Barry Meier and Clifford Krauss
New York Times
As settlement talks continued Sunday on the eve of a trial against BP stemming from the 2010 explosion of a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the details of an offer by federal and state officials to the oil company started to emerge.

Billboard company agrees to settle for $100,000, a small fraction of what state is owed for taking trees
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Three years after what a grand jury called a flagrantly illegal $2 million tree giveaway to a well-connected Panhandle billboard company, the Florida Department of Transportation settled for pennies on the dollar.

Environmental group could sue to protect two Florida species from the dangers of sea level rise
By Sean Kinane
WMNF Tampa
An environmental group hopes the threat of a lawsuit could help to protect two Florida species that face threats because of rising sea level.

FPL builds plant that will actually work
By Ivan Penn
Tampa Bay Times
The hulking hunk of steel that towers over U.S. 1, across the Indian River from the Kennedy Space Center, stands as a monument to one utility's success — and another's failure.

LGBT

State probes fundraising by anti-gay-marriage group
By William March
Tampa Tribune
After more than four years, the Florida Elections Commission is still investigating allegations of illegal fundraising by backers of an anti-gay-marriage constitutional amendment that voters narrowly passed in 2008.

Ruth: Hillsborough County's rejection of domestic registry squashes equality
By Daniel Ruth
Tampa Bay Times
Perhaps nothing gets all that sackcloth in a Gordian Knot of a wad than the prospect of gay folks being granted civil union rights by way of a domestic registry.

Obama administration asks U.S. Supreme Court to void section of Defense of Marriage Act
Associated Press
Miami Herald
The Obama administration is asking the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional a section of federal law that only recognizes male-female marriages.

EDUCATION

Rubio's stale school plan
By Robyn E. Blumner
Tampa Bay Times
Sen. Marco Rubio has so much star power at the moment his teeth seem to gleam when he smiles.

Remedial lessons on charter school expansion in Florida
By John Romano
Tampa Bay Times
Theoretically, the role of a state legislator is simple.

2013 Session Outlook: Education
By James Call
Florida Current
The stage is set for the third act of a 14-year old ideological battle pitting traditional public education supporters against proponents of competition to improve schools.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Analysis: When it comes to Citizens, property insurance costs, Gov. Rick Scott keeps mum
By Steve Bousquet and Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
He says he is protective of Florida families, but Gov. Rick Scott can’t get a grip on one of the big pocketbook issues for many of them: the rising cost of homeowner insurance.

New agency chief promises more oversight of economic-development money
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
When Gov. Rick Scott tapped his top lawyer last December to take over the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Jesse Panuccio became the agency's fourth director in 14 months.

Experts argue over effect of minimum-wage hike
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
When President Barack Obama asked Congress to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour, the response was swift and predictable.

E-Fairness Closer to Reality
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
For 12 years Florida retailers have been pushing legislation they call eFairness.

Your tax dollars at work: on the side of a race car
By Michael Van Sickler
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Quick: You're a state that has twice the pedestrian deaths than the national average.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Medicaid expansion affects everyone
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Until she was laid off from her job at a cell phone company, Toni Rosenberg said she’d always prided herself on being self-sufficient.

Get to know some of those affected most by Florida's Medicaid expansion debate
Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
The tea party governor now says he wants to expand Medicaid. The Republican Legislature isn't as sure.

DCF: Medicaid paying nursing home bill for wealthy
By Kelli Kennedy
Associated Press
Florida welfare officials are proposing a bill that targets Medicaid fraud among patients who hide their assets with family and friends to get the taxpayer-funded program to pay for their nursing home care.

Too Good a Deal to Pass Up
Editorial
New York Times
Rick Scott, the Republican governor of Florida, did an about-face this week by agreeing to expand the state’s Medicaid program, a critical element of the Affordable Care Act.

Editorial: Medicaid expansion the right call
Editorial
Miami Herald
There is governance, and there is politicking. One is grounded in practicality; the other floats — and sinks — on ideology.

Gov. Rick Scott visits Miami drug-testing lab
By Douglas Hanks
Miami Herald
Days after surprising political watchers by accepting a federal expansion of Medicaid, Gov. Rick Scott came to a Miami drug-testing lab that attracts trial participants with the promise of free advanced care.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Defense of Voting Rights Act points to bailout provision
Associated Press
Tampa Bay Times
The Obama administration and civil rights groups are defending a key section of the landmark voting rights law at the Supreme Court by pointing reformed state, county and local governments to an escape hatch from the law's strictest provision.

Illegal farm workers to D.C.: A little would do a lot
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Undocumented Guatemalan tomato picker Mateo Sebastian has not been home in five years, and that is the main reason he listens closely to any news about immigration reform.

Grassroots effort builds for laws to curb gun violence in South Florida
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
The Newtown, Conn., massacre Dec. 14 took Jonathan Schuman back more than four decades to 1968, when he was an aide to Sen. Robert Kennedy and the Democratic presidential candidate was shot to death in Los Angeles.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

How Much Support Does "Smart Justice" Bill Really Have?
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
A Republican-backed proposal to reduce the number of former inmates going back into Florida’s prisons is now taking shape in the form of a bill.

Execution of murderer raises new questions about the death penalty in Florida
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
The execution of Paul Augustus Howell scheduled for Tuesday has put Florida’s death penalty process under the microscope again.

Daily News Clips for February 22, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Rick Scott's new ideology? 'Getting re-elected,' some say
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Two years ago nobody would have dreamed that Rick Scott, the multimillionaire political outsider crusading against Obamacare, would end up heading into a re-election campaign looking like the sort of pragmatic, moderate Republican tea party activists loathe.

Fla. Gov. turnabout on health care angers allies
By Gary Fineout and Kelli Kennedy
Associated Press
Minutes after Florida Gov. Rick Scott made a surprise about-face decision to expand Medicaid, social media lit up with complaints from tea party loyalists and core conservatives who said they felt betrayed by a leader who campaigned on his opposition to the Affordable Care Act.

Republicans stunned, Democrats happy with Scott's Medicaid decision
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Democrats were derisive and Republicans were repulsed -- even revenge-minded -- Thursday by Gov. Rick Scott's decision to support a three-year extension of Medicaid access for nearly a million poor Floridians.

Governors Fall Away in G.O.P. Opposition to More Medicaid
By Abby Goodnough and Robert Pear
New York Times
Related: States planning to expand Medicaid
Related: Rick Scott Accepts Reality
Under pressure from the health care industry and consumer advocates, seven Republican governors are cautiously moving to expand Medicaid, giving an unexpected boost to President Obama’s plan to insure some 30 million more Americans.

House gives Dems minimum number of early voting hours
Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
A House committee gave Democrats a victory in the hard-fought effort to find a fix to the long lines at the polls that embarrassed the state during the last election.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Public Servants Being Kicked to the Curb
By Sandspur
SWFWMD Matters
The legislature, led by Will Weatherford, son-in-law of former House Speaker Allen Bense, is moving to end the existing opportunity for public employees to get a reasonable pension after decades of dedicated public service.

Universal Theme Park Will Drop Health Coverage For Its Part-Time Workers To Avoid Obamacare
By Tara Culp-Ressler
Think Progress
Universal Orlando, a theme park resort in Florida that generates more than $1 billion dollars in annual revenue, plans to drop insurance coverage for its part-time employees at the end of this year — a tactic to avoid providing its workers with adequate health benefits under Obamacare.

Rick Runs: Kriseman Runs for Mayor of St. Petersburg
By Benjamin J. Kirby
The Spencerian
I am incredibly excited about Rick Kriseman running for Mayor of St. Petersburg.

They've Only Just Begun: Rick Scott And Republicans Are Killing Florida
By Martha Jackovics
Beach Peanuts
If you live in Florida, you already know much of the story published in this month's Mother Jones: What's It Like to Wake Up From a Tea Party Binge? Just Ask Florida!

Rick Scott bows to reality in Medicaid decision
By Joan McCarter
Daily Kos
Florida Gov. Rick Scott's reversal on accepting Obamacare's Medicaid expansion funding is contigent on a couple of things.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Gov. Scott's about-face on Medicaid is one of several changes in direction
By Kathleen Haughney
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Gov. Rick Scott swept into office on the 2010 tea party wave. He wanted to slash spending, cut taxes and kick out illegal immigrants.

House Democrats: We can work with Scott
By James Call
Florida Current
House Democrats said Thursday that they are willing to work with Republican Gov. Rick Scott on major social service issues.

Suspect in David Rivera campaign-finance scandal to be charged Friday with federal crimes
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald
A former candidate under FBI investigation with former U.S. Rep David Rivera is scheduled to be charged Friday with federal crimes over his campaign finances, sources tell The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald.

Bipartisan ethics and elections tone absent from push for campaign cash overhaul
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
A duo of sweeping ethics and election reform bills, both top priorities for legislative leaders, have so far been met with bipartisan support and little opposition.

Crist, now a Democrat, to speak in Lakewood Ranch
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Former Florida Governor Charlie Crist will make his first major speech as a registered Democrat before a Sarasota-Manatee audience in Lakewood Ranch in March.

Ethically exempt
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
A Florida Senate committee approved sweeping ethics reforms Tuesday, but — as the Legislature is inclined to do — the senators carved out an exemption for themselves.

POLITICAL RACES

Scott Could Face Political Challenge
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Governor Rick Scott has reversed course on accepting federal money to cover nearly a million more people under Medicaid. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Tampa Bay senators say they will propose law dealing with nuclear plant charges
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Four Tampa Bay area senators announced Thursday they are working on legislation dealing with nuclear cost recovery by utilities but not a repeal of the 2006 law.

Sugar Farmers Attack Everglades Water-Pollution Report
By Jessica Palombo    
WFSU Tallahassee
South Florida sugar farmers are attacking an Everglades water-pollution report being circulated among lawmakers as flawed and misleading.

BP Oil Disaster Trial Set for Monday
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
Billions of dollars and the health of Florida's Gulf Coast are on the line as the civil trial against BP begins on Monday in New Orleans.

LGBT

Why the GOP Should Embrace Gay Marriage
By Eric Sasson
The New Republic
That the Republican Party is in the midst of an identity crisis was made all the more clear by the competing responses to President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech, one by the party's parched "savior," Marco Rubio, and another by Tea Party darling Rand Paul, purveyor of spending cut proposals.

EDUCATION

Report: Florida made big gains in math, reading compared with other large states
By Lisa Gartner
Tampa Bay Times
A first-time report released Thursday on the nation's five most heavily populated states, or "megastates," shows that Florida students made some of the most significant gains over 19 years on closely-watched federal tests.

Sen. Legg files bill to offer more pathways to graduation
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
As he promised back in December, state Sen. John Legg has filed legislation that would give high school students more course options that count toward graduation.

FAMU still negotiating to end hazing lawsuit
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
Florida A&M University, which had a previous settlement offer rejected, is still trying to resolve a lawsuit filed by the family of a drum major who died following a hazing ritual.

State Asks Poly Board to Justify $25 Mil. Request
By Mary Toothman
Lakeland Ledger
The State University System Board of Governors wants a detailed accounting of why Florida Polytechnic University's leaders intend to ask for an additional $25 million to set up the school.

Board orders Fla. State digital film school moved
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
Florida State University must move its digital film program from West Palm Beach to the school's main campus in Tallahassee, the Board of Governors decided Thursday.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Palm Beach County Dem congressmen urge support for Obama’s ‘balanced’ fix for deficit
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
With across-the-board federal spending cuts set to take effect next week unless Congress and President Barack Obama strike a deal, three local House Democrats urged Republicans Thursday to abandon their cuts-only approach to deficit reduction and support closing tax loopholes and deductions for corporations.

Senate Democrats call on Gov. Scott to push regional insurance compact
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Senate Democrats want Gov. Rick Scott to rally support in other states for a regional insurance compact that would spread risk among Gulf and Atlantic coast states.

Cat Fund provisions stripped from Senate insurance bill; fate uncertain
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee is cobbling together a large property insurance bill with several provisions aimed at reducing the state’s imprint on the private market, but on Thursday provisions shrinking the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund were stripped out of the draft bill.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Scott takes right step with Medicaid expansion
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Rick Scott made the right decision by endorsing the expansion of Medicaid that would provide health care to more than 1 million uninsured Floridians, including perhaps 225,000 in Tampa Bay.

Medicaid numbers add up
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Gov. Rick Scott, a numbers man, has finally allowed math to trump political ideology.

Scott’s Medicare flip a tipping point for Affordable Care Act
By Laura Green
Palm Beach Post
President Barack Obama’s health care law had no more vocal critic than Gov. Rick Scott.

Obama admin. encouraged by health law progress
By Associated Press
Miami Herald
A day after Florida's Republican governor endorsed a key part of the federal health care overhaul, the Obama administration says it's encouraged by the progress.

Florida hospitals seek fairness in Medicare payments
By Nicole Gaudiano and Ledyard King
Florida Today
Florida hospitals say they're getting cheated out of tens of millions of dollars in federal reimbursements for treating Medicare patients.

Bill to Ban Beach Smoking Changes
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
State lawmakers want to bring the Clean Indoor Air Act outdoors.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Visualized: Gun Money in Florida
Staff Report
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Gun control will be in the crosshairs when the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing Feb. 27 on the federal assault weapons ban.

Drones over Florida? Part 1: state legislators aim to protect privacy
By Janelle Irwin and Sean Kinane
WMNF Tampa
Unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, are already being used in Florida -- and more may be coming.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Faith Leaders Call On Gov. Scott To Stop Execution Of Man Soon Slated To Die
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
A man convicted of causing the death of a state trooper is expected to die next week.

Judge allows military home to stay open despite abuse complaints
By Alexandra Zayas
Tampa Bay Times
Despite a list of state findings that includes, most recently, bizarre punishment and a broken bone, a self-titled "colonel" and his unlicensed Port St. Lucie military academy can continue to house and discipline boys for 16 more months with no oversight.

Daily News Clips for February 21, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Rick Scott's 'new perspective': expand Medicaid after all
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: What people are saying about Gov. Rick Scott's Medicaid expansion announcement
Related: Report: Florida Medicaid expansion could create 71,300 jobs
Related: Florida receives go-ahead to privatize Medicaid
Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday he supports expanding Medicaid and funneling billions of federal dollars to Florida, a significant policy reversal that could bring health care coverage to 1 million additional Floridians.

Legislature should follow governor and expand Florida’s Medicaid program
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott is finally paying more than lip service to “putting Florida families first” with his announcement Wednesday that he supports expanding the state’s Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act for three years.

Documents spark questions about Crist choice
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
George LeMieux somehow convinced Gov. Charlie Crist's chief of staff during a late-night meeting that he deserved an interview to be considered for the U.S. Senate post to which he was ultimately appointed, according to newly unearthed documents.

In speech, Crist says he's the same guy — with a new political party
By Adam C. Smith
Tampa Bay Times
Charlie Crist, the former "Ronald Reagan Republican" who now looks like the Democratic frontrunner for governor in 2014, says he's pretty much the same guy he always was.

Precourt pushes bill to eliminate 'living wage' laws, snaring South Florida
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
Miami Dade and Broward counties would have their decades-old living wage ordinances repealed and local governments would be banned from enacting similar employment benefits under a bill passed Wednesday by a House committee.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Rep. Darryl Rouson wins caucus vote to be next House Democratic leader
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
In dramatic fashion, Rep. Darryl Rouson of St. Petersburg narrowly won a caucus vote Wednesday night to be leader of House Democrats in 2014.

Who Is Allen Cox and What Can We Learn From Him?
By Paula Dockery
Florida Voices
On Feb. 11, with the utterance of three words, “Guilty, Your Honor,” Jim Greer prematurely ended an ugly and convoluted chapter in the Republican Party of Florida’s history.

Sen. Thrasher files Internet sweepstakes café moratorium bill
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
Efforts to ban or regulate Internet sweepstakes cafés in Florida have failed to get through the Legislature in recent years, but now Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, is taking a different approach to the storefront shops offering slot-like video games.

Legislature invites firms to conduct gambling study
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
The Florida Legislature released the parameters for the study of the state’s gambling economy and laws Wednesday and invited firms to conduct the analysis.

Ethics and exemptions
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A Florida Senate committee approved sweeping ethics reforms Tuesday, but -- as the Legislature is inclined to do -- the senators carved out an exemption for themselves. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Land-preservation push is worth a shot in amendment-weary Florida
By Eve Samples
TC Palm
If you’re a Floridian who voted in the November election, it’s understandable if you never want to see another constitutional amendment again.

Florida legislators hope to fix nuclear advance fee law
By Ivan Penn
Tampa Bay Times
Five years ago, Peter Bradford warned that a Florida law allowing utilities to charge customers in advance for nuclear power projects could have "ruinous economic impacts.'' It did.

Water quality crucial to Floridians, UF survey finds
By Kristine Crane
Gainesville Sun
Floridians prioritize water quality over quantity, even though they have taken some steps to limit their water consumption to ensure water conservation, according to a recent University of Florida survey.

In not recommending energy legislation this year, Putnam cites near-veto of energy bill last year
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said in 2012 it was important to show that Florida could pass an energy bill -- even if it was only modest one.

Bill that would allow oil drilling in state forest is withdrawn
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Rep. Doug Broxson on Wednesday withdrew HB 431, which would have encouraged companies to explore for oil and gas in Blackwater River State Forest in northwest Florida.

LGBT

Bayli Silberstein, Bisexual Eighth-Grader, Speaks Out As Florida School Board Tries To Block GSA (VIDEO)
By Meredith Bennett-Smith
Huffington Post
A bisexual middle school student has become something of an LGBT celebrity in Florida this week, after her attempt to start a Gay-Straight Alliance club at her school became a countywide controversy.

EDUCATION

House panel considers class size penalty, virtual school bills
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The House's Choice and Innovation Subcommittee exhibited widespread support for CIS3, a proposed committee bill that would increase virtual education.

Florida is again among leaders in Advanced Placement scores
By Cara Fitzpatrick
Tampa Bay Times
Florida continues to rank among the top states in the nation for student performance on Advanced Placement exams, jumping to fourth from sixth in 2012, according to results released by the College Board Wednesday.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Gov. Rick Scott outraged over salary increases at Citizens
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott blasted top executives at Citizens Property Insurance Corp. for “foolish” behavior Wednesday, calling on them to give back large pay raises they received last year.

Budget Should Give Every Floridian a Fair Opportunity
By Rep. Joe Gibbons
Florida Voices
I believe Florida’s budget for 2013-2014 should be guided by one simple premise: that every Floridian deserves a fair opportunity to achieve the American dream.

Pelosi, in Palm Beach County, urges long-awaited passage of Paycheck Fairness Act
By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post
Guns, climate change and voting reform upstaged equal pay for women during President Obama’s state of the union address Feb. 12, but Nancy Pelosi made it the top priority in her comments to a women’s organization on Wednesday.

Military cuts would force thousands of furloughs in state
By Ledyard King
Pensacola News Journal
Thousands of civilians who work at military installations across Florida will face temporary pay cuts of up to 20 percent unless Congress acts to stop automatic budget cuts set to take effect March 1, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.

Seven Tax Loopholes the GOP Loves to Love
The Progress Report
Think Progress
In less than two weeks the very damaging across the board “sequester” cuts will kick in unless Republicans agree to a replacement that is a balanced compromise including both new revenues from closing tax loopholes and smarter, more targeted spending cuts.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Scott Shocker: Let's Expand Medicaid!
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Related: Medicaid Expansion Critics Were Wrong
Gov. Rick Scott had hinted that if he got what he wanted from the Obama administration, he'd give the President's appointees what they want.

In reversal, Scott approves Medicaid expansion but faces state lawmakers leery of Obama plan
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Rick Scott said Wednesday he wants to expand Florida’s Medicaid program to add 1 million lower-income patients to the rolls, endorsing a key provision of President Obama’s federal health care overhaul that the Republican governor fought for years.

Senior Citizen Advocates Urge Lawmakers Not To Repeal Protections Against Life Insurance
By Sascha Cordner      
WFSU Tallahassee
A Florida lawmaker is hoping to persuade others in the Florida Legislature to reject any attempts to bolster a market that targets life insurance policies for older Floridians.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Yes, Rubio and Obama Mostly Agree on Immigration. No, That Doesn’t Mean Reform Is Inevitable.
By Michael Grunwald
Time Magazine
It’s true that Senator Marco Rubio’s stated principles for comprehensive immigration reform are quite similar to President Obama’s.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Florida prison deficit balloons
By Michael Peltier
News Service of Florida
The cost of downsizing Florida’s prison system cost at least $15 million more than expected this year and the Department of Corrections continues to operate in the red, the state’s prisons secretary told lawmakers Wednesday.

U.S. Supreme Court ruling affects many immigrant convicts in South Florida
By David Ovalle
Miami Herald
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Wednesday shuts the door on appeals for hundreds of Floridians convicted in the past of crimes for which they could be deported.