Statewide Reports-August 1-15,2001

Statewide Reports-August 1-15/01

NOTE -
If the link to the on-line articles has changed, search the paper's archive section by date and title - Palm Beach Post links are only good for the day posted, and there is a fee to access archived articles. Same is true for some of the others although the time frame varies.

8/15/01

	Bush tells panelists his values are guide The governor tells appointees to the state's judicial boards not to be ashamed to consider his ideology.
	Everglades land buying too slow, Bush told Rising land prices threaten to make the $8-billion Everglades restoration plan more costly.
	46,000 must retake FCAT test The students failed to meet the minimum score for graduation, set Tuesday by the governor and Cabinet.
	Is Baker fixin' to satisfy his hankering for status quo? Where I grew up, the word "fixing" often meant "about to," as in, "I'm fixin' to go to the store." But "fixing" also can mean to rig a contest or decision. Therefore, it can be said that the city of St. Petersburg is fixing to hire a police chief, and some people suspect that the fix is in.
	Harris going on talk circuit Al Gore also plans to speak in Iowa DES MOINES, Iowa - Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris is a hot item on the fund-raising talk circuit.
	Officials say insecticide is safe Aerial spraying gives wing to health concerns Richard and Ashley Hotz went on a vacation of sorts from their Jefferson County home last Saturday, but it wasn't a trip they wanted to take.
	Scientists seek better hurricane tracking TAMPA - The nation's top hurricane hunters said Tuesday they are refining how storms are tracked in hopes of developing better predictions of where hurricanes will hit and whether a small storm will turn into a monster one.
	Pension fund director given nod of approval The three-member board that oversees the state pension fund gave its director a vote of confidence Tuesday, pushing back a state lawmaker's effort to limit his power. Tom Herndon, the executive director of the State Board of Administration, which manages the $100 billion pension fund for state workers, got a $5,000 bonus from the board, which consists of Gov. Jeb Bush, Treasurer Tom Gallagher and Comptroller Bob Milligan.
	UF ready to settle overbilling case Report: Medicare overbilling case could cost UF $8.6 million rlh200pet ST. PETERSBURG - The University of Florida, accused of overbilling Medicare over a 10-year period, proposes a settlement that could cost it $8.6 million, a newspaper reported. The Gainesville school is prepared to pay that to settle allegations that its doctors overbilled the government when filing Medicare claims from 1987 to 1997, the St. Petersburg Times reported Tuesday, citing a copy of the proposed settlement.
	House leader: No 'turkeys' House Majority Leader Mike Fasano says the state is looking at a potential revenue shortfall and has urged that spending for special local projects, known as "turkeys," be curtailed. "Although many items have a legitimate mission, when compared to other state necessities like public education and health care, these items fall short of being deemed critical," Fasano, R-New Port Richey, wrote Monday in a letter to his Senate counterpart.
	Lawyers want foster-care monitor MIAMI - Broward County's model foster-care program is failing and needs a court-appointed monitor to help protect its children, an advocacy group said Tuesday. Despite state promises of improvement, "the situation of children in this district has continually deteriorated. They simply lack the capacity to protect the children," said children's attorney Michael Dale, a Nova University law professor.
	Former rep beats tobacco attorney JACKSONVILLE - Former state Rep. Stephen Wise beat out a tobacco attorney and a retired police officer Tuesday in a Republican primary for the state Senate seat vacated by new education secretary Jim Horne.
	Bush Administration Revising Medicaid HMO Rules keywords: scale back medicaid rights
	Refinery questions warrant outside review of DEP A disturbing public record that documents serious environmental threats at the St. Marks Refinery going at least as far back as the mid-1980s illustrates both a problem and an opportunity for David Struhs.
	No more standing in line to apply for jobless benefits By Amy Martinez, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Lose your job? Don't expect a shoulder to cry on. Your local unemployment office no longer is there to help with jobless benefits. Florida now requires laid-off workers to seek unemployment compensation by mail, phone or the Internet.
	Everglades restoration at risk, Gov. Bush told By Jim Ash, Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau Environmentalists painted a bleak picture of the future of a $7.8 billion Everglades restoration project on Tuesday, warning that the state is losing a race against the developer's bulldozer and skyrocketing...
	Hundreds of sharks seen near Tampa Palm Beach Post Wire Reports Hundreds of sharks have been sighted this week off Central Florida's west coast, prompting officials to warn swimmers and scientists to ponder what is luring them here. Bull sharks, hammerheads and nurse sharks...
	Manatee protection regulation dropped -In a decision signaling a shift in the tide of the ongoing battle over the slow-moving, grass-munching mammal, federal regulators said Monday they intend to drop a controversial permit fee that would have cost people an average of $524 to build new boat slips in waters frequented by the manatee
	Graham wants study of Escambia - U.S. Sen. Bob Graham says the federal government ought to look into the connection between public health and pollution in Escambia County. Graham, who was in Pensacola on Tuesday, has been pushing in Congress, along with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough, for funding to study health in Escambia County
	Graham says no run for governor
	SATs, grades the best predictor of success in college - Political leaders such as Woodrow Wilson and Dwight Eisenhower once came from academia, but Florida's university presidents last week showed why those days are long gone. - The presidents put academia's out-of-touch nature in focus by saying, in effect, that they don't want to use the best available tools to make admissions decisions. You see, they don't like the results.
	First Florida Forever purchase approved TALLAHASSEE — Forever started Tuesday for fragile lands in Florida. Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet approved the first purchase of a parcel of environmentally sensitive land for preservation under the "Florida Forever" program. The state has been buying land to keep it from being developed for more than a decade under the Preservation 2000 program.
	Bush, Gallagher tussle over FCAT score for graduation — High school students will have to work a little harder to get a diploma under standards Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet approved Tuesday after a testy debate. Secretary of State Katherine Harris questioned whether the test scores proposed by the state Department of Education were high enough and Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher argued they were too low.
	Hey America — Get a grip! Molly Ivins - AUSTIN, Texas — Several mostly overlooked news stories of late can be added to the collection under "Defining the Zeitgeist," our perpetual quest to understand our times — also known as "getting a grip." In the Fleecing of America category, the special prosecutor in charge of the Henry Cisneros case is still at work, at a cost of over $2 million a year to the taxpayers.
	Delusions of prosperity Paul Krugman: Three years ago, after the collapse of Long Term Capital Management, U.S. financial markets were in crisis. For a few weeks it looked as if the economy would succumb to panic, to self-fulfilling pessimism. Then the Fed surprised the markets by cutting rates without waiting for its next scheduled meeting. Confidence was quickly restored, and Alan Greenspan was promoted to demigod status. This slowdown, it turns out, is different.
	Guest commentary: Taking the 'duh' out of Florida A day in the life of Congresswoman Katherine Harris, R-Fla., January 2003.

8/14/01

	Board considers another tuition hike Fall classes haven't started at state universities, but the Florida Board of Education already is making plans to increase tuition again next year.
	Redistricting in Florida Unlike some other states, Florida does not have a statutory deadline to complete reapportionment. But it does have a practical deadline.
	FSU seeks support for $3M electricity center Florida State University officials think the state's future economy will be only as good as its ability to deliver electricity. And it has asked Enterprise Florida Inc. - the state's top economic development organization - to support a $3 million center to study cheaper, more efficient ways to provide power to the private sector.
	First lady records drug-prevention ads MIAMI - Florida first lady Columba Bush is taking to the airwaves, asking families to work to raise drug-free children. Bush and state drug prevention officials joined Monday to unveil two public service announcements urging families to spend more time together discussing the dangers of drugs.
	Crist facing questions over contributions Early campaign finance reports show Charlie Crist has a huge fund-raising edge in the attorney general's race, but one of his opponents is questioning when Crist began collecting the money. State Sen. Locke Burt, who is running against Crist for the Republican nomination, is questioning whether Crist may have solicited campaign contributions before officially opening an account.
	Governor: Balance privacy, services MIAMI - Gov. Jeb Bush said Monday that government needs to strike a balance between enhancing opportunities over the Internet and protecting the privacy of state residents. Bush told technology leaders that Florida has made strides in making government more accessible over the Web, noting that the state was the first in the nation to have its budget available online, while working to have all professional licensing administered on the Web.
	Report says state had warning of cemetery wrongs DAYTONA BEACH - State cemetery regulators knew for seven years that 16 bodies had been buried in wrong places at two Daytona Beach cemeteries but did little to stop the problem, the Orlando Sentinel reported Monday.
	Agency releases manatee protection measures The Fish and Wildlife Service's interim guidelines include dropping permit fees for waterside projects in manatee areas.
	Manatee protection regulation dropped
	Lawsuit deal to cost UF $8.6-million The settlement would end litigation that started when a whistle-blower accused the university of overbilling Medicare.
	Creatures of the night =When darkness comes, they scurry out of their hiding places and look for a warm body. They want to bite your neck, or whatever else they can get to
	Texas' oily mess There may not have been a spill in the gulf for 21 years, but look at what tolerance for oil drilling has done to Texas' beach communities.
	The poor take another hit Nothing unites the Republican majority on the Hillsborough County Commission like kicking around people who can't afford medicine or the rent. They've done it again -- cutting millions of dollars in aid for poor people who face a medical emergency, or who need help buying groceries or keeping the power turned on.
	As pressure increases, Florida schools opening earlier and earlier For a growing number of students in Florida and across the country, school starts in August -- early August, even -- instead of the after-Labor Day start of years past.
	Jury Still Out On Talented 20 It's too early to pronounce Gov. Jeb Bush's Talented 20 program a failure, as state Sen. Kendrick Meek and former state Rep. Tony Hill would have it. It's also too early to pronounce it a success, as the governor and his supporters would have it.
	EPA will issue review of 1970 Clean Air Act - As part of its sweeping effort to increase the energy supply, the Bush administration is scheduled to release by Friday its reassessment of a key tool aimed at reducing air pollution.
	Success found during trade mission An international trade mission led by Enterprise Florida recently spent some time in Argentina and Chile, trying to secure global business relationships.- Among the Northwest Florida businesses that made the sojourn to South America are Pensacola's Sunbelt Industrial Supply Company, Bonifay's Holmes Manufacturing and Panama City's Aculab USA Inc.
	Russia won't help Bush's missile defense plan By Margaret Coker, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer MOSCOW -- Russian officials on Monday firmly rejected a U.S. proposal aimed at easing implementation of the Bush administration's planned missile defense shield. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld came to...
	Anti-globalists vow D.C. protest By Bob Dart, Palm Beach Post Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- Organizers of the militant anti-globalist movement vowed Monday that "no force on earth will stop us" from protesting at next month's meetings in Washington of... (WF - the vilification begins...)

8/13/01

	Bill Cotterell: You're better off without this free tuition Today is the deadline for state employees to apply for tuition vouchers for enrolling in state colleges (more about that later), and getting into school is tougher this year.
	Cabinet room to be updated New technology, better access for disabled in plans The Florida Cabinet meeting room, the darkly paneled chamber in which Secretary of State Katherine Harris last November kicked off the legal scramble for the White House, is getting a $565,000 face-lift.
	Attorney wages war on big corporations GAINESVILLE - Willie E. Gary weaved his way through the crowded courtroom, offering hugs and handshakes to anyone in arm's reach and pumping his fist in the air.
	Inches of rain, drops in aquifer Precipitation is normal now, meteorologists say, but only 13 percent reaches the aquifer, so the water shortage persists.
	New rules clouding DUI blood evidence A state Supreme Court decision brings changes that might affect convictions in some major cases.
	All you need to know about Florida is in the ABCs A is for August,
	Majority of juveniles in adult prisons will stay there By Barney Gimbel, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer After Lionel Tate was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in adult prison, and as fellow 14-year-old Nathaniel Brazill faced that possibility, the Florida Legislature changed how the state...
	Education contract goes to aide's ex-firm By Jim Ash, Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau TALLAHASSEE -- One of Education Commissioner Charlie Crist's top lieutenants was on the payroll of a Jacksonville computer company only months before the department awarded it...
	Bennett: Loophole lets some officials take lumps and pensions By George Bennett, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Thanks to a new loophole that Florida legislators crafted this year for their fellow elected officials around the state, Palm Beach County Commissioner Addie Greene plans to take advantage of...
	Editorial: Set the schools free Charter schools in Florida are free to throw off state bureaucratic constraints. If flexibility is good for charter schools, however, why isn't it good for...
	Black freshman enrollment drops by nearly half at UF - -- Black freshman enrollment at the University of Florida is expected to be down by nearly half this year under Gov. Jeb Bush's ban on racial preference in public university admissions. Blacks represented nearly 12 percent of the freshman class last year, but the class starting this month will be only 6 percent to 7 percent black, officials at the state's most elite public university estimate.
	Laptop users told to beware of access threat by hackers - -- Business travelers eager to plug their laptop computers into wireless Internet networks cropping up at hotels, airports and coffee shops need to be on guard: Their e-mail and Web browsing can be easily intercepted, security experts warn
	Clean air ruling due this week - WASHINGTON - Utility industry officials and some environmentalists say they are unsure where the Bush administration will come down Friday when it completes a review of federal clean-air regulations and coal- fired power plant emissions.
	OIL DRILLING: Dependency on foreign oil is a necessity - Prior to becoming president, George W. Bush stated, "It is impossible to be too closely aligned with the oil industry." Never before in modern presidential tenures, has a president been so closely aligned and influenced by a single industry. -- The Bush administration is exploiting the current energy situation in California to implement its oil-driven agenda to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and off the coast of Florida, launching an all-out attack on the environment.
	Medical bill mistakes widespread Studies show that up to 97 percent of hospital bills each year include errors.
	Prisons are breeding grounds for HIV, but officials ignore problem - Although health-care workers say jails and prisons are a known transfer point for HIV, Florida prison officials are reluctant to screen because of the high cost of HIV-fighting drugs. Even so, they don’t distribute the condoms that might prevent HIV’s spread.
	Florida retains troubled system for having witnesses identify criminals - In Florida, the witness would be allowed to study six photographs and compare the images side by side. She wouldn't have that luxury in New luxury in New Jersey, the first state in the nation to change procedures on witness identification by requiring photos to be shown individually in a sequence.
	Agency Mocks Transparency The Florida Department of Children & Families is making a mockery of the Sunshine Law and the whole concept of open and transparent government. In so doing, it mocks the promises made by DCF Secretary Kathleen Kearney to bring greater openness and accountability to the agency.
	Expressway proposal awakens giantGoing on 8 p.m., the meeting took on the look and feel of an old-time revival.
	UCF study: Minor offenses crowd jail For many, the Orange County Jail is a "debtors' prison," where inmates who commit minor crimes wait behind bars for their day in court because they can't afford bail.

8/12/01

	Election reform: late and underpriced? There is probably no more telling example of why the state needs a central voter registration database than the discovery last week that Secretary of State Katherine Harris was registered to vote in two counties.
	NAACP protests at Adam's Mark hotels DAYTONA BEACH - More than 150 protesters picketed peacefully Saturday outside an Adam's Mark hotel as part of a nationwide boycott to focus attention on discrimination accusations.
	Is this Florida's Future - As drilling moves into the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the chance of a massive spill is slight, but the day-to-day operations of oil and gas rigs could affect Florida's environment.
	Black UF freshmen numbers plummet Only 6 to 7 percent of the first class to enter the university under Gov. Jeb Bush's new admission criteria will be African-American.
	Experts call virus no reason to panic The mosquito-borne West Nile virus is likely to appear in west-central Florida, but it poses little risk to humans.
	Election challenge Forty-one Florida counties are rushing to replace their voting machines, and they are doing it with little financial aid from the state and no helpful advice.
	Protect the Pasco coast Florida and Pasco County worked together for more than a dozen years to turn 3,400 acres of privately owned land into what is now being developed as a coastal park just west of U.S. 19 in Port Richey and Bayonet Point. So, why stop now? The state shouldn't bypass a new opportunity to expand preservation in western Pasco County, where almost half of the 18-mile coast has been developed.
	Scanned man joins protest over cameras - -- A construction worker whose face was used to demonstrate Big Brother-style surveillance cameras got a visit from police after an Oklahoma woman thought the picture was her wanted ex-husband.
	Stop shark feeding dive expeditions - No summer would be complete without delirious shark hype, even though bumblebees and lightning bolts kill more people. Still, in the wake of two harrowing attacks, it's significant to note that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently decided that there's no reason to ban shark-feeding dive excursions.
	Reformers Hope Party Can Rise From Ashes TAMPA - The Reform Party, once seen as the vanguard of a new third-party movement in American politics, has essentially collapsed after dissolving in lawsuits during last year's election. ...
	Reno scrutinizes governor's policies- Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno told Sarasota Democrats on Saturday that it will be mid-September before she decides whether to run for governor. -But she is already lashing out against her would-be opponent Gov. Jeb Bush, whom Reno criticized during her presentation to the Democratic Club of Sarasota.

8/11/01

	Aerial spraying to be addressed County and state officials will host a meeting on Thursday to provide information and ease concerns about upcoming aerial spraying for mosquitoes. Some 17 Florida counties have asked the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to begin aerial spraying, according to spokesman Terry McElroy. The state is using a DC-3 and two leased planes to spray the insecticide Dibrom to kill adult mosquitoes.
	DuPont must pay growers $88.5M Jury rules plants were damaged by fungicide A jury awarded two Costa Rican growers $29.5 million Friday for plant damage caused by the DuPont Co. fungicide Benlate - an award that will be tripled because the panel also ruled the company violated Florida's anti-racketeering laws.
	A balancing act - The region's steady population growth is pushing the need for more limerock for roads, bridges and homes....At the same time, more people means more complaints about noise, dust and traffic a mine can bring, along with hard-to-dismiss concerns about how blasting affects nearby springs or rivers.
	ECUA attorney's ouster challenged- Executive Director A.E. "Van" Van Dever of the Escambia County Utilities Authority returns to the hot seat Monday when the utility's board of directors discusses his role in removing an attorney appointed to handle a water pollution lawsuit filed by the state.
	Ticks crawling out the woodwork - Ron Lutz is one of many who recently had an unfortunate encounter with the eight-legged parasites known as ticks. Such encounters can strike fear into the most rugged of outdoorsmen. In summer, the pesky bloodsuckers are on the prowl to latch onto humans and animals for a free ride and a free meal.
	Water monitoring pinpoints pollution Anybody who lives near the water shouldn't be surprised by a national report released this week showing that the number of U.S. beach closings and advisories nearly doubled last year.
	Sixth International South Florida Tattoo Expo at the Radisson Resort in Coral Springs...45 tattoo artists from across the United States and as far away as Japan are hawking their skills at the convention, which runs through Sunday afternoon. Eighteen bands will perform at the event.
	Crist may have broken state elections law - Education Commissioner and attorney general candidate Charlie Crist might have broken state elections law by soliciting and accepting money prior to opening a campaign account, then filing an erroneous amended report about it.
	Ergonomics guidelines are at hand - Labor Secretary Elaine Chao has said she will announce new guidelines in September aimed at preventing injuries such as tendinitis, carpal-tunnel syndrome and back strain.
	Harris provides lessons on wrong way to deal with press, public - ...Say nothing, hire your own expert and hide behind staff members who occasionally answer questions. Florida's secretary of state pioneered this approach to dealing with problems last year while helping the state look stupid.
	Crist refiles campaign report to clarify receipt of contributions - -- After listing $3,500 in campaign funds before opening his campaign account, attorney general candidate Charlie Crist has submitted a revised report that shows the checks arrived after his account was open, according to law
	Protesters Say Human Error Shows Face-Scanning Flawed TAMPA - The first case of mistaken identity to arise from controversial face-scanning police cameras reignited protests Friday in Ybor City. ...
	Ex-offenders should have the right to vote - If George W. Bush's life had ever been convicted of a crime, he might still be president, but if he had been a resident of one of several states, he could not have voted for himself. That's the irony of some of our nation's archaic voting laws. President Bush could have been a convicted killer, rapist, or gun-toting bank robber, but none of those distinctions would have prevented him from becoming president.
	Nader forms new group, aims to repair damage WASHINGTON — Ralph Nader is back with a new organization, some new goals and the same dogged determination to make the Democratic Party squirm whenever it drifts toward the center. The veteran crusader for causes of the left calls his new grass-roots group Democracy Rising.
	Actor Edward James Olmos sentenced to 20 days in protest against Navy bombing Olmos sets a ``dangerous example.''
	Carl Hiassen's back: - Island Justice - but not for lost mangroves Monroe County prosecutors are dropping all criminal charges related to a highly publicized slaughter of protected mangroves. The outcome is as pathetic as it was predictable, given the long, inglorious tradition of raping shoreline in the Keys. Commission caved in -- your roof might, too -`Privatizing' code inspections was proposed by Mayor Alex Penelas, the pet chipmunk of the construction industry. Slogging through the heart of hurricane season, it's disquieting to know that Miami-Dade developers will soon be able to hand-pick the inspectors who review their projects.

8/10/01

	Air assault targeting mosquitoes Three species identified as carriers of West Nile virus Aircraft will take to the sky in North Florida beginning tonight to battle a dime-sized insect that can carry the potentially fatal West Nile virus.
	2nd West Nile case verified A 64-year-old Madison County woman officially became Florida's second West Nile encephalitis case Thursday, after the state got results confirming that she has the mosquito-borne disease.
	Harris expert: File deletions normal - -- An expert hired by Secretary of State Katherine Harris has concluded that some computer files from the presidential vote recount period were deleted, but he described that as "business as usual" whenever new operating systems are installed
	Teflon might be melting for Harris - ...The impact is clear: Election officials should stay out of party politics. By serving as both head of the state Division of Elections and co-chair of George W. Bush's campaign, Harris brought partisan politics into the elections offices.
	DOE contract again falls under scrutiny The company that received a controversial $897,000 contract from the Florida Department of Education had a closer tie to Education Commissioner Charlie Crist's chief of staff than just her lobbyist husband.
	Capitol Corner: Public health and politics a bad mix He didn't ask us, but Gov. Jeb Bush is going to get some advice anyway - don't send a politician to do a public health expert's job. That's from 81-year-old Arthur W. Morrison of Tallahassee, and 91-year-old Dr. Wilson T. Sowder of Jacksonville, both of whom worked decades for previous incarnations of the state Health Department. Sowder, in fact, served as the chief public health officer of Florida under 11 governors.
	Congressman joins race for governor U.S. Rep. Jim Davis filed papers Thursday to seek the Democratic Party nomination for governor, becoming the fifth prominent contender in the contest.
	An unsure Rep. Davis seeks funds The Florida congressman remains non-committal about entering the 2002 race in a bid to unseat Gov. Jeb Bush.
	Judicial board includes 5 Republicans - Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday appointed six members to a panel that will help choose Pinellas and Pasco judges and, as was expected, most of them are Republican, and a few are political activists.-- The appointees are among the first wave Bush has announced since the state Legislature restructured the commissions earlier this year -- part of a reaction to a judiciary seen by many lawmakers as too activist. -- The overhaul eventually will give the governor unprecedented control -- the power to choose all judicial nominating commission members.
	A journalist in jail Vanessa Leggett has been sitting in a federal jail since July 20 and may remain there for 18 months, as long as she refuses to turn over research material she gathered on a 1997 murder for a book she is writing. Her situation raises troubling questions about how far law enforcement can go to compel journalists to disclose confidential sources.
	Miami officials seeking $55,000 pay raise -- Miami commissioners on Thursday voted to send three proposed city charter changes to a public referendum on Nov. 6 -- including one that would increase their salaries from $5,000 a year to $60,000.
	Time to send a message (lost the link - sorry) There is a prohibition against former Florida legislators lobbying the Legislature for money for two years after leaving office. John Thrasher acts as if the Sunshine Amendment applies to everybody but him.

8/9/01

Democrats call for Harris' resignation
Secretary of state rejects request from party chair Bob Poe
The Florida Democratic Party on Wednesday asked Secretary of State Katherine Harris to resign after media reports indicated her staff performed partisan activities on state equipment and her office was internally calling the presidential election for George W. Bush hours before a self-imposed deadline for recounted ballots.

Democrats say Harris should resign
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Democrats urged Secretary of State Katherine Harris to resign Wednesday, the day after media groups found Republican political documents on her office computers.

The imaginary firewall
The computer records the secretary of state's office didn't want Floridians to see reveal an improper mingling of official and partisan activities.

Democrats pressure Harris to quit post - The Florida Democratic Party on Wednesday called for Secretary of State Katherine Harris to resign following news reports that computers in her Capitol office stored copies of stump speeches for her to deliver on behalf of Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush. = Documents recovered from the computers also show that Harris' office in November prepared a speech for her declaring Bush the winner of Florida's 25 electoral votes hours before the much-disputed presidential election returns from Palm Beach County were due to her office.

Harris voting mix-up unnoticed for months
TALLAHASSEE -- Secretary of State Katherine Harris, the state's top elections officer, was registered to vote in two different counties for nearly seven months before aides caught the error, records from her own...

Drought eased but not erased
State's supply of drinking water is still below normal
OKEECHOBEE - Thanks to soakings from two tropical storms and normal to above-average rainfall in Florida the past two months, Lake Okeechobee is rising, lawns are green, and rivers and lakes are filling up.

Growers seek $29 million from DuPont
MIAMI - Two Costa Rican growers asked Wednesday for $29 million in compensatory damages from DuPont Co. for plant damage blamed on the fungicide Benlate, which has been dropped as a company product.

Tourist takes turtle eggs from beach
SARASOTA - A Columbus, Ohio, tourist who took 27 sea turtle eggs from a stormswept Florida beach and then called the zoo for help when they hatched, said Wednesday she made a terrible mistake.

Navy flies cruise missile over Panhandle
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE - A U.S. Navy destroyer launched an unarmed Tomahawk cruise missile Wednesday on a test flight over the Florida Panhandle, a day after a British submarine tested the weapon.

State attorney's use of campaign fund questioned
State election officials say the Panhandle official may have violated the laws by using campaign money for items such as cat food.

U.S. deaths spur removal of cholesterol drug -
Nation WASHINGTON - A cholesterol-lowering drug taken by 700,000 Americans - Bayer Pharmaceutical's Baycol - was pulled off the market Wednesday because of muscle destruction linked to 31 U.S. deaths and at least nine more fatalities abroad.

Group: Sites cannot recover-What: Phosphate mining expansion hearings

Where: Manatee County Courtroom K, 920 Manatee Ave. W.When: Today, Friday and Aug. 13-17, with a 1 p.m. start on Monday and 8 a.m. start all other days.

Collier water employees again charged in acid spillA year after their trial court victory, three Collier County water employees again face hazardous dumping charges in connection with an acid spill that went unreported to state regulators for months.

Big Brother is watching you — through your computer
CHICAGO — Big Brother was at the American Bar Association convention this week, selling his wares. Lawyers, look out: Your firm does not want you in the bathroom when you could be posting billable hours. And Big Brother is at every other business and professional convention these days, peddling the means for employers to snoop on employees and to ratchet up standards of efficiency in a sort of Taylorism gone berserk.

White House lips are sealed on Talk magazine
The White House is understandably peeved at Talk magazine but blacklisting its writers will only backfire. The latest issue has a photo spread in which models portraying the Bush daughters depict the convivial twins as jailbirds. That's a little harsh for the girls' scrapes for underage drinking. But the White House was apoplectic.

Letter: Struhs: DEP didn't intend for pumping to hurt lake
The Palm Beach Post
During my 30 months as secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, no issue has commanded more of my attention than the 30-year plan to restore the South Florida ecosystem. A lingering drought is requiring difficult decisions. Management of Lake Okeechobee has been the most challenging.

Beetle invasion spreads
Rangers armed with chain saws have started to hack down 6,000 acres of forest across Florida, struggling to curb a devastating epidemic of ferocious pine beetles that are eating the trees.

8/8/01

	Files: Harris' office set for Bush win before recount over - TALLAHASSEE -- Hours before Palm Beach County's final presidential election recount totals were due last November, staffers for Secretary of State Katherine Harris and GOP political operatives were preparing speech drafts calling them "unlawful" and declaring George W. Bush the winner in Florida, according to documents from her computers recovered by The Palm Beach Post. -- When she later appeared on national television on Nov. 26, Harris disregarded Palm Beach County's manual recount because it was completed two hours after a 5 p.m. deadline when she certified Bush the winner. -- But according to drafts of that document made legible by a data recovery company from Harris' office computers, Harris' advisers -- which at that point included two top Republican campaign operatives with access to her computers -- had drafted a document by 1:30 p.m. that named Bush the winner.
	Political speech found on computer But spokesman says inspection vindicates Harris Secretary of State Katherine Harris has consistently maintained she kept a "firewall" between her political work for George W. Bush and her role as Florida's chief election official.
	Harris computers show Bush support Documents renew the debate about whether she was impartial during the historic election recount.
	Scrutiny of Harris' PC hard drives turns up no post-election politics The dueling roles of Katherine Harris, chief vote-counter for the state of Florida and campaign partisan for President Bush, emerge from an exhaustive examination of thousands of computer files in her office.
	Partisan Documents Found On Drives TALLAHASSEE - Reused and recycled, two computers from Secretary of State Katherine Harris' office no longer contain all the information they held during the controversial vote recount in last year's presidential ...
	Harris search finds flaws - Files on computers used by employees of Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris during last fall's disputed presidential election might be lost forever, destroyed earlier this year when new programs were installed on the computers, experts said Tuesday. - A survey of material that could be recovered from those computers suggests, however, that Republican partisanship existed - and possibly was common - within Harris' office.
	Barry to bring more mosquitoes Heavy rains dumped by Tropical Storm Barry could lead to an explosion in the population of mosquitoes carrying dangerous viruses like West Nile. "Anywhere from the next week and a half to two weeks, we're probably going to see a lot of mosquitoes hatch out," said Amy Bryan, a community health educator for Leon County Mosquito Control. "Any time you have a significant rainfall event, mosquito populations are going to be much greater than they were before."
	Companies sue state over Medicaid list Drug makers went to federal court Tuesday to challenge a new Florida law that requires a rebate from companies to get their drugs on a list of approved medicines for people on Medicaid.
	First Amendment takes a hit in Texas and Ohio You would think the First Amendment's directions on freedom of speech and of the press (“Congress shall make no law") would be pretty clear to everyone by now. But here we are in the middle of 2001 with a journalist in jail in Texas and another citizen in prison for writing his thoughts in a private journal.
	'They made me feel like a criminal' He was just having lunch in Ybor City when a surveillance camera captured his image. Weeks later, the police show up.

8/7/01

	Bush: Tax cuts best for success Sounding a theme likely to be aired frequently in his re-election campaign, Republican Gov. Jeb Bush has begun touting his record of $1.6 billion in tax breaks as wise public policy, even in these darkening economic times.
	Editorial: Travels with Katherine Now we know why Katherine Harris was so strangely aloof from details of elections she supposedly supervises even as she co-chaired George W. Bush's campaign in the state. She was focused on being Florida's own Colin Powell.
	Red Cross takes damage assessment to the Web When Tropical Storm Barry whirled through North Florida, the Red Cross was there to assess the damage - both on the scene and on the Web.
	Autopsy: Aide died of head trauma FORT WALTON BEACH - A 28-year-old congressional aide who died last month in her Panhandle office lost consciousness because of an abnormal heart rhythm and fell, hitting her head on the desk.
	Herald relinquishes voting files MIAMI - The Miami Herald has turned over electronic copies of computer files of ballots cast in last year's disputed presidential election to the Palm Beach County elections office. The move came after the Chicago Tribune reported last week that the county erased the so-called "bal" files when it prepared for a local election this spring.
	U.S. resident leaving nation to protest INS Sergio Engels has lived in America for 42 of his 48 years, served in the American armed forces, has two degrees from American universities and worked for six American law-enforcement agencies.
	Marine Lab needs FSU's protection Florida State University's unique marine lab at Turkey Point is in an ideal location for not only academic study of marine life but the enjoyment of human pursuits as well.
	Key West justice - but not for lost mangroves MONROE COUNTY - Prosecutors are dropping all criminal charges related to a highly publicized slaughter of protected mangroves. The outcome is as pathetic as it was predictable, given the long, inglorious tradition of raping shoreline in the Florida Keys.
	Firm faces class-action suit over pipeline operations...The lawsuit contends that court intervention is needed because Koch has failed to safely maintain its pipelines and that, as a result, the lines pose an imminent danger of leaks, fires or explosions. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Pipeline Safety has failed to monitor Koch's lines and does not even have current maps of the company's pipeline network, the lawsuit says.
	Editorial: To find patients rights, look in the Senate bill House Republicans unanimously supported a sham patients bill of rights Thursday. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Lake Worth, and Rep. Clay Shaw, R-Fort Lauderdale, joined their colleagues in voting for a bill that gives more protection to HMOs than to patients.
	Guest editorial: A tribunal White House approves of President Bush was eloquent in his praise for the United Nations International Tribunal, the court charged with trying war crimes cases from the breakup of Yugoslavia. The court had just handed down its first genocide conviction — Bosnian Serb Gen. Radislav Kristic for the deaths of thousands of Muslims in the infamous 1995 Srebrenica massacre. In the same message, Bush praised Bosnia for turning over three senior Muslim officers accused of war crimes against Serbs and Croats.
	Guest editorial: Richer but in some ways sadder Americans are richer than ever, according to newly released census data also showing that affluence in this nation of ours can be both blessing and bother.
	Journals Give Scientists Last Word On Studies BOSTON - The world's top medical journals plan to set a new policy that gives final say on the conclusions of medical studies to researchers who conduct the work, not the drug companies that pay for them. ...

8/6/01

	Feds audit families system More than half of budget for family safety at stake Betty Bryant's doublewide is a beehive of activity. It rings with the shouts of rambunctious boys tearing through the rooms, careening against furniture, showing off for guests.
	Plans grow for voter education Officials budget big to ensure no more trouble MIAMI - Elections officials throughout Florida are drawing up ambitious plans to reach and educate voters to ensure the 2000 presidential election controversy does not repeat itself in 2002.
	School may get McKay voucher Hope School serves disabled students The Florida Department of Education has said a Tallahassee private school is eligible to participate in a voucher program that could allow its director to receive thousands of dollars in state money to educate disabled children - all of whom are related to her - in her own home.
	Technical reality of election reform hits hard As Florida prepares to enact its sweeping update of voting systems, companies circle in for the hard sell.
	The competitors: Eight voting system companies seek the state’s election business
	Florida snapshots from the surveyThe Census Bureau survey released today provides information about a wide variety of topics. Here are a few of the findings on Florida:
	INS releases up to 300 longtime detainees -More than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling against the indefinite detention of foreign nationals with criminal records, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has released as many as 300 detainees nationwide -- but plans to continue holding hundreds of Cuban Mariel convicts and asylum seekers on grounds the court ruling excludes them.
	Ex-Miami finance director pleads guilty in bribery scheme Miami's former finance director, who led the city into a $68 million deficit, pleaded guilty Monday in a bribery scheme that also brought down a city commissioner, county commissioner and city manager.

8/5/01

	national hurricane center web Barry getting better organized and moving toward the Panhandle A tropical storm warning remains in effect from Grand Isle Louisiana eastward to Apalachicola. Watches or warnings may be required for portions of the Florida Gulf Coast east of Apalachicola later today.
	http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/hurricane/
	Budgetary bumbling In a relentless pursuit of tax cuts, Florida's leadership appears blind to or apathetic about the economic consequences, which we've only begun to feel. Second West Nile case reported 64-year-old Madison County woman hospitalized Health officials walked door-to-door Saturday in Madison County looking for sick people amid news that a woman there has b