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8/24/02
 | DCF: Regier authored earlier article condoning "the rod"
TALLAHASSEE Criticism of the state's new child welfare agency chief escalated Friday over his Bible-based views on women's roles in the family and spanking children. Jerry Regier was criticized by some women, including a Republican legislator, and Democrats for an article he wrote 14 years ago that condones "manly" discipline of children and says men have authority over their wives.... |
| DCF: Excerpts from the 1988 Jerry Regier article "The Not-So-Disposable Family"
The following is excerpts from a 1988 article "The Not- So-Disposable Family" in Pastoral Renewal magazine authored by Jerry
Regier, secretary of the state's Department of Children and Families.... |
| Protesters pick at past of DCF chief
Democrats and women's groups continue their assault on Jerry Regier's views, as expressed in a 1988 article.... |
| Fretting about views when we need results
.... He believes in spanking children. He does not believe in beating them until they are black and blue. And he doesn't see his personal beliefs as state policy.... |
| Regier's critics get new material--
Newly discovered writings by Gov. Jeb Bush's choice to head the state's child-welfare agency raised more questions Friday about whether Jerry Regier would impose his conservative Christian values on public policy.--
The swirling controversy prompted Bush to issue his strongest defense yet of the 57-year-old Oklahoman, calling critics intolerant and guilty of "soft bigotry" against people of faith.--
But a copy of a prologue to Values & Public Policy that Regier wrote in 1988 and obtained Friday by the Orlando Sentinel, argued that values are of critical importance in forming public policy.--
"Policy-makers in the public arena as well as scholars in the research arena are products of the values they have formed over the years," Regier wrote. "These values reflect the political, educational, religious and cultural presuppositions which they have accepted as fact."... |
| Bush: DCF chief's critics use `double standard'
Gov. Jeb Bush charged Friday that critics of his new state child welfare chief -- a fundamentalist Christian who advocates corporal punishment -- are displaying ''bigotry'' and a ''double standard'' against people of faith.... |
| Regier's revelation:
Another reason to pass on DCF nominee
Florida's child-protection system is in a scandalous state of disarray and dysfunction. The last thing the state needs is a man who thinks the challenges facing this state can be solved with wedding gowns and birch rods.
... |
| State attorney: DCF broke law
Tarquez Woodson fit the profile of a child at risk and shoudn't have been left with his parents....
Controversial program espoused by Regier
Bush defends DCF nominee
Lawmaker criticizes reports defending DCF |
| Task force to seek missing DCF kids
A statewide task force aims to find the more than 400 children missing from the Department of Children and Families by Nov. 1, officials said yesterday after launching the program.... |
| Money would help school the poor
Public schools face special challenges in educating poor, minority students. The population often comes to school with problems typical of a home-life mired in poverty, and are simply less prepared to learn than their rich, suburban counterparts. You would think these added troubles would translate into additional resources, but a new education funding study indicates just the opposite. In a majority of states, school districts charged with teaching low-income students are actually given less money per student, in some cases thousands of dollars less.... |
| Bush goes on offensive against Democratic underdog
TALLAHASSEE After a summer of refusing to talk about his Democratic opponents, Gov. Jeb Bush is attacking a potential opponent considered the underdog to Janet Reno in the Democratic gubernatorial race. Although Tampa lawyer Bill McBride has lagged behind the former U.S. attorney general in most polls, Bush is suddenly preoccupied with the prospect of having to face the Vietnam war veteran in November.... |
| Republicans continue swinging at McBride
Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan reaches back more than a decade to criticize Bill McBride's law firm management.... |
| Brogan: McBride cut workers' benefits
- The Bush campaign's attack also came at some peril, because Brogan was forced to defend the administration's own record of privatizing state services, eliminating hundreds of low-wage jobs during the past three years to save money.
...
Health-insurance premium increases for state workers this year cut into the 2.5 percent pay raises granted by Bush and the Republican-led Legislature. Bush drew criticism earlier for pushing a $262 million corporate income-tax cut even as state Medicaid benefits were trimmed.
...
Brogan insisted there's "a vast difference between making public-policy decisions about how to streamline government, make it more efficient, more effective, and to plow that money back into improved services, versus making similar kinds of decisions so that money can be utilized to increase pay packages for some of the wealthiest members of the law firm."
... |
| McBride's law-firm record attacked
By Jim Ash, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan accuses the Democratic gubernatorial candidate of placing the brunt of cuts on lower-level staff at Holland & Knight in 1989.... |
| Democrats pump cash into McBride
Bill McBride is making a name for himself statewide with a financial boost... |
| Let Dyer, Warner run to succeed Butterworth
Palm Beach Post Editorial
For all the attention the governor's campaign will receive, this race could have equally serious long-term ramifications.... |
| Voting reform in idle
Palm Beach Post Editorial
If only Florida's elections were run like Fox's 'American Idol' voting . . . |
| Judge sets trial date if case can't be resolved
TALLAHASSEE The attorney handling the suit attempting to get Mary Barley off the Democratic primary ballot for agriculture commissioner said Friday that his client would drop the case immediately if she swears she signed her filing papers. If not, a Leon County judge will hear the case against the Islamorada developer and environmentalist next Friday.... |
| Barley best choice in state race
Having Mary L. Barley's name on the Sept. 10 primary ballot for state agriculture commissioner is a pleasant surprise for Florida Democrats.
... |
| Candidate must face questions about oath
TALLAHASSEE -- Environmentalist Mary L. Barley will have to answer questions about the loyalty oath submitted with her paperwork when she became a Democratic candidate for state agriculture commissioner.... |
| South Florida Senate race full of nasty allegations
TALLAHASSEE The Democratic primary for a South Florida Senate seat has turned into a nasty affair, with accusations of money offered to get candidates to drop out, talk of bad business practices and a complaint about use of the "race card." Five Democrats are vying for District 39 covering southern Miami-Dade County, the Keys and a rural swath of
Hendry, Collier, Broward and Palm Beach Counties.... |
| Judge delays start of voting suit as parties work to reach settlement
MIAMI A judge postponed the start of a civil trial over the 2000 election Friday to give attorneys for civil rights groups, the state and two Florida counties more time to reach a settlement. U.S. District Judge Alan Gold gave the parties until Tuesday morning to decide whether to settle the case and avoid trial, which was scheduled to begin Wednesday.... |
| Environmentalists Are Right To Seek Ditching Of Errant Law
--
A coalition of Florida environmental groups is seeking to overturn a state law that curtails citizens' ability to contest government decisions.
The challenge is being made on technical grounds. The groups rightly say the law violates the Florida Constitution's single-subject rule, which states that two or more unrelated subjects can't be in one law.
The slippery effort to muffle citizens' legal voice was tagged onto an Everglades restoration bill in the closing hours of the Legislature.
This was typical of the bullying tactics of Sen. Jim King, who was determined to pass the measure. The Jacksonville Republican is scheduled to become the next Senate president.
... |
| Beach access hidden, difficult
PONTE VEDRA BEACH -- Charlotte Kolb has lived near Ponte Vedra Beach all her life. But enjoying the sand, sun and sea hasn't always been easy.... |
| Orange candidates: Take shot at managed growth
Here are the facts of life in Orange County: Schools are crowded, roads are jammed and new subdivisions are replacing wildlife habitat at a breakneck pace.... |
| Hood rejects homeless plan
Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood on Friday killed two controversial proposals that aimed to make downtown Orlando safer and friendlier to the arts.--
Hood had instructed the Orlando Police Department to create a cadre of "safety ambassadors" to patrol downtown. These citizens would have let police know via walkie-talkies if they saw homeless people lying on the sidewalk or others breaking the law.
--
Hood said she will table the idea until after her forum on homelessness at the Expo Center in early October. She said she is not interested in resurrecting it unless there is strong community demand.... |
| Bahrain Refuses To Take Al- Najjar
Mazen Al-Najjar became a man without a country Friday, realizing what he once described as one of his worst fears. ... |
| Health officials investigate salmonella outbreak at Disney
ORLANDO A salmonella outbreak at Walt Disney World sickened as many as 141 people, including visitors attending an athletic competition for organ- transplant recipients, health officials said Friday. Eighteen cases were confirmed by laboratory tests. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimates that 141 people from 32 states who attended the U.S. Transplant Games in late June may have gotten sick.
... |
| Panhandle town getting $1 police cars, with advertising
SPRINGFIELD This Florida Panhandle town is getting new police cars for only $1 each, but there's a catch. The cars will be festooned with corporate sponsorship logos similar to those on race cars. City commissioners voted 4-0 Thursday to accept the deal with Charlotte, N.C.-based Government Acquisitions.
... |
| Rare flower blooms in Florida
Central American passionflower,
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| Tampa federal Judge sides with Polk in school
uniform challenge
LAKELAND There's nothing unconstitutional about requiring students to wear uniforms to public schools, a federal judge said in tossing out a lawsuit challenging Polk County's school dress code. The challenge was brought by more than 500 parents who opposed the district's 1999 order that students from kindergarten through eighth grade wear uniforms. |
| Guest commentary: Academic freedom?
John K. Wilson, who never worried about academic freedom in the universities when it was conservatives who were silenced, is now very afraid because, he believes, opponents of the war on terror are singled out for oppression. Well, the more recruits for liberty the better, no matter how late they decide to join the party. |
| Guest editorial: Poor defendants, poor lawyers
It is no secret that rich and poor defendants have vastly different experiences in the criminal justice system. What continues to shock, however, is just how raw a deal the poorest defendants get. A series of articles in The New York Times last year told of one New York lawyer who represented 1,600 poor clients at once. |
| Guest editorial: A lesson about trade hypocrisy
President Bush, who has talked a better free-trade game than maybe any U.S. president in either recent or not-so-recent history, lost virtually all his credibility on the issue when he raised tariffs to as high as 30 percent on imported steel. |
| Guest editorial: Examining how the towers collapsed
The Bush administration kicked off a vital two-year investigation this week of the factors that caused the World Trade Center towers to collapse last Sept. 11. It is a necessary follow-up to the initial six-month inquiry into the structural collapse, which was hobbled by a lack of resources and legal authority. |
| Will corporate powder keg ignite a populist explosion?
...Traditionally, declaring class warfare has been an ineffective political strategy in America -- are you listening, Al Gore? Most Americans, rather than resenting the wealthy, aspire to one day share their lofty status. It's why this country's ever- widening division into two nations has had such little effect on Washington.---
But Americans also have a deeply ingrained sense of fairness. The scandalous CEOs have pushed us too far -- and finally are reaping the whirlwind of public fury... |
| FBI corruption costs more than credibility
By George McEvoy, Palm Beach Post Columnist
How do you compensate a man who spent 30 years in a federal prison for something he did not do? Especially when a judge has determined that the FBI knew all along that the man was
innocent |
8/23/02
| Boaters, fishermen asked to watch for terrorist activity
Boaters can expect to see Operation On Guard signs, with the toll-free number, along the waterways from Key West to Fort Pierce and other parts of the state.
.... Boaters are asked to keep an eye out for: suspicious persons conducting unusual activities; suspicious persons photographing/ making sketches; suspicious person loitering for extended periods; suspicious persons renting watercraft; unknown vendors attempting to sell/deliver merchandise; unknown persons asking detailed questions.--
Without an explanation of what a suspicious person is, Simon thinks it could lead to racial profiling. |
| Regier authored earlier article condoning "the rod"
The new head of Florida's child welfare system was the sole author of an article 14 years ago that condoned "manly" discipline called for in the Bible and said women should work at home, a newspaper reported Friday.--
Jerry Regier argued for a restoration of family values based on "biblical norms" in the 1988 article, which is similar to one written a year later that Regier distanced himself from last week. |
| Earlier Regier article had same message
Florida's new child welfare chief, who denied last week writing a controversial 1989 essay that condoned spanking even if it produces bruises or welts, wrote another article for a magazine that encouraged the use of ''manly'' discipline, and quoted from the Bible: ``Smite him with the rod.''
|
| Bad things appear after you type nominee's name in Google
It was supposed to send a message. The former head of the Department of Children and Families steps down after one embarrassment too many and the governor demonstrates decisiveness by hiring a replacement within 48 hours. |
| Regier's record skimpy on child-welfare work
He isn't the reformer Florida crisis requires. |
| Outgoing DCF chief honored by group
Outgoing Department of Children & Families Secretary Kathleen Kearney said Thursday she would advise her successor, Jerry
Regier, to "get a lot of rest" and keep an open mind. |
| Civil rights groups, state negotiating settlement in voting suit
MIAMI A coalition of civil rights groups is negotiating with the state and Hillsborough and Orange counties in an attempt to settle a lawsuit over the disputed 2000 election before it goes to trial next week. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and four other civil rights groups said Thursday that they have been negotiating with government attorneys. |
| Palestinian professor deported for alleged ties to terrorism
TAMPA A Palestinian professor was deported to an undisclosed Middle Eastern country Thursday, one day after the university he formerly taught at filed a lawsuit seeking to fire his brother-in-law because it believes he has ties to terrorism. Mazen
Al-Najjar left the country at 9 a.m., ending his seven-year legal battle to remain in the United States, according to his attorney, Joe
Hohenstein. |
| Al-Najjar in limbo as he heads to Bahrain
Bahrain says it will not let the ex-USF instructor who had been jailed on secret evidence stay. He received a visa for "ordinary people" who want to visit. |
| Al-Arian vows to fight lawsuit
The USF professor denies alleged ties to terrorists and will seek a move to federal court. |
| USF professor's relative deported
-- TAMPA -- A Palestinian professor was deported to an undisclosed Middle Eastern country Thursday, one day after the university he formerly taught at filed a lawsuit seeking to fire his brother-in-law because it thinks he has ties to terrorism....
Al-Najjar is the brother-in-law of USF computer-science Professor Sami Al-Arian. USF President Judy Genshaft announced Wednesday that she intends to fire Al- Arian because of his alleged ties to terrorism. The school filed a lawsuit Wednesday that includes the termination letter university officials will send to Al- Arian if the courts rule that firing him would not violate his constitutional rights. |
| Sharon postpones Florida visit
MIAMI Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has postponed his scheduled trip to Florida next month, but that decision has nothing to do with Democratic charges the visit's aim was to help Gov. Jeb Bush's re- election bid, a consulate spokesman said Thursday. Sharon was to visit Florida on Sept. 9, the day before a primary election for the Democratic candidate for governor. |
| Sharon aborts Beach rally plans
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has canceled his September trip to Miami Beach, avoiding the scorn of Democrats who accused him of meddling in the Florida governor's race. |
| Bush: State doing more business with minority firms
TAMPA State spending with minority- owned businesses increased 24 percent in the past year, and Gov. Jeb Bush said it's further evidence that his One Florida initiatives are working. The state spent $682 million with certified minority- owned businesses in the fiscal year ending June 30, up from $549 million the previous year, according to Bush's office. |
|
Photo by: COLIN HACKLEY |
Bush, GOP On McBride's Tail To Bill Him As Tricky, Vague
TALLAHASSEE - Having selected his running mate, Gov. Jeb Bush is trying to choose his opponent. Bush, who faces no opposition for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, is attacking Tampa lawyer Bill McBride with increasingly aggressive TV ads and publicity stunts in a move designed to help former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. ...
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| Protestor steals spotlight from McBride
Bill McBride was briefly upstaged by a Gov. Jeb Bush supporter in a yellow duck suit. |
| McBride says GOP 'nervous'
Democrat Bill McBride said Thursday that Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Republican Party "are getting nervous" about him overtaking Janet Reno next month. |
| Bush agrees to 3 debates with Democratic opponent
ORLANDO -- Gov. Jeb Bush has agreed to participate in three debates with his to-be-determined Democratic challenger, his campaign said Thursday. |
| Grand jury to probe DCF role in custody dispute
OKEECHOBEE A grand jury will investigate whether state child welfare workers urged a boy to lie that his father sexually abused him, prosecutors said. Okeechobee County grand jurors will investigate that and several other complaints brought by Dennis Gaffney. |
| Backlog case closed, and boy died
Child welfare workers hurried investigations of Tarquez Woodson's abusive home, where he later died. |
| The flip side of 'Motor Voter Act' isn't so pretty
I've been known to rail against the Republicans on occasion. Today, it's the Democrats' turn. |
| State universities struggle with enrollment boom
ORLANDO At the University of Central Florida, the road to enlightenment is often
gridlocked. "Going across the street takes you 40 minutes," said engineering student Carlo Rivera, who lives at the Knight's Krossing residence hall complex next to
UCF. "It's crazy." |
| Living-wage advocates add moral focus
... "We're the richest country in the world, and this is one of the richest communities. No one should live in poverty," said the Rev. Fred Morris, a leader of the local living-wage movement and director of the Florida Council of Churches. The fact that hundreds of employees working under contract for Orange earn wages that, for a family of four, place them under the federal poverty line "is immoral," Morris said. |
| Editorial: Immokalee
A fledgling community cleanup project in Immokalee goes by the clever name of Weed and Seed. First we weed out the bad element, namely crime, then we sow the seeds of good law and order, safe streets and community pride. Some residents say the initial crackdown by sheriff's deputies, making drug and prostitution arrests, is too harsh. |
| Rookie's mistake blew transformer
With the flick of the wrong switch, an unsupervised power-plant apprentice melted down a $584,410 transformer, Lake Worth investigators say. |
| Lake Okeechobee bottom plants recovering
WEST PALM BEACH Bottom plants that nurture fish are sprouting again in Lake Okeechobee, providing more evidence that the lake is recovering from ecological damage caused by high water before the 2000-01 drought. Scientists at the South Florida Water Management District found 43,000 acres of shrimp grass, eel grass, pepper grass, hydrilla and other bottom-growing plants last month in a survey of 368 spots along the lake's fringes. |
| Guest commentary: An answer to wildfires
As the 2002 fire season turns into one of the worst ever with no prospect of matters improving soon it is easy to wonder whether there is any solution to the fire crisis confronting the nation's public lands. Fortunately, there is. It is called "restoration forestry" but to understand it, we will have to do away with some misconceptions. |
| Guest editorial: Global court A fresh reason to be for it
If ever you doubt the sense in creating an International Criminal Court, think about this: What is the world to do when soldiers on the "right side" seem to have done something awful? Who can be trusted to seek justice? It happens, of course. In fact, new U.N. findings suggest it may have happened last year in Afghanistan. |
| The president's slipping grip
The Economist magazine -- which endorsed George W. Bush for president, and which stands almost alone among the European quality papers as a consistent friend to the United States -- headlined a recent article: "The Disappearing Presidency." Someone might want to boil those three words down to a length suitable for the president's attention span and stick it under his nose. |
| We go solo against Iraq at our peril
Here we are playing hawks and doves again on the matter on Iraq - war or no war? - with particularly peppy exchanges from our more excitable brethren on the right concerning "appeasement" and lack of patriotism on the part of anyone who isn't ready to nuke Baghdad now. Bubba and Joe Bob have a question: "Why don't we git Oh-sama Bin first?" |
8/22/02
| Choices reveal the real Bush
--A former state senator from Tampa, Grant was the sponsor of a bill
that would have allowed the posting of the Ten Commandments in public
schools and other public facilities.--
Grant once attacked the University of South Florida for allowing
Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis onto its campus to speak. Why?
Because Louganis is gay and his presentation, according to Grant,
``represents moral decadence and is an embarrassment to the university
community.''--
During his tenure in the Legislature, Grant wiped out state funding
for a Tampa public radio station because he found its programming
personally offensive. He even wanted to outlaw nude
sunbathing.--
On Monday, Jeb Bush appointed Grant to the Commission on
Ethics.--
And folks think Bush doesn't have a sense of humor.... |
| Democrats raise eyebrow at Sharon's upcoming visit to Florida
MIAMI State Democrats denounced Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's upcoming visit to Florida as a ploy to boost Republican support among Jewish voters one day before a crucial primary. Florida Democratic Party Chairman Bob Poe said Wednesday the visit appears to be an attempt by Sharon to gain favor with President Bush by helping his younger brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, in his campaign for re-election. |
| Mary Barley shakes up race in agriculture
Having Mary Barley run for state agricultural secretary is akin to having Phyllis Schlafly run for madam of the whorehouse....
Don't be fooled by the words Consumer Services in the title. The primary purpose of this agency is to promote, defend, subsidize and generally kowtow to the agricultural industry.
... If a Mediterranean fruit fly shows up in a trap, the Agriculture Department will send planes at taxpayer expense to dive-bomb cities with the pesticide malathion. If a health official complains because people are getting sick, the Agriculture Department will get those concerns erased from the report. That happened in 1999.
... Barley actually proposes that the whims of agriculture be balanced against the needs of the state for clean water, property rights and even public health.--
For this, agriculture is branding her an extremist seeking the office to carry out a personal vendetta.--
And all she really is suggesting is that they pay their own way and clean up their own pollution. |
| Judge will rule on whether to take Democrat off ballot
It's been pitched as the ideological matchup of the decade: environmentalist Mary Barley, champion of the Everglades, taking on rancher and Republican incumbent Charlie Bronson for the post of state agriculture commissioner. |
| Patrols may report homeless
Orlando is considering creating a cadre of civilian "safety ambassadors" to patrol downtown. They would let police officers know via walkie-talkies if they see homeless people lying on the sidewalk or others breaking the law. |
| DCF
chief: 'I'm here to stay'
The new secretary answers his critics and vows to find missing children and run an open agency. |
| DCF chief: `I plan to stay'
Gov. Jeb Bush's nominee to head Florida's child-welfare agency stood defiantly Wednesday in front of his new offices, pledging that he would not heed Democrats' demands to step aside. |
| New child welfare secretary: Missing children top priority
TALLAHASSEE The newly appointed child welfare secretary said Wednesday that finding missing children will be his first priority when he takes over the agency next month. Jerry Regier spent the day meeting with Department of Children & Families staff before meeting with Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Tim Moore to discuss tracking missing children. |
| DCF head warms to faith groups
The new child welfare secretary supported a character program with ties to a fundamentalist preacher. |
| TALLAHASSEE: Altered time sheets lead to four arrests
Four employees of the state Department of Education have been arrested by police for allegedly falsifying time sheets, said Scott Hunt, spokesman for the Tallahassee Police Department. Hunt said the department was notified in July that a DOE audit discovered several employees had been altering their time sheets. According to DOE officials, it appeared that the time sheets were being altered before they were sent to the payroll office - but after they were signed by supervisors. The employees either... |
| Court hears arguments over Florida's death sentencing law
TALLAHASSEE With a dozen relatives of murder victims watching, the state Supreme Court grappled Wednesday with the question of whether Florida's death sentencing law violates defendants' right to a trial by jury. If the answer is yes, the sentences of 372 death row inmates could be invalidated. |
| Victims' kin: Keep death penalty
High court arguments to ditch death verdicts are met with pained outcries from murder victims' relatives. |
| Election 2002: McBride criticizes Bush's school grading system
MIAMI Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride denounced Gov. Jeb Bush's system of grading public schools Wednesday, calling it a system of "phony accountability" that hurts children. McBride joined a group of teachers and administrators in front of Miami Edison High School, which received a failing grade on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test last spring. |
| Miami election officials rushing to teach voters touchscreen
MIAMI Without enough money to hold a mock election, Miami-Dade County elections officials bought newspaper ads to teach residents about the new touchscreen voting machines before next month's primary. A quarter-page ad appeared this week in The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, its Spanish language counterpart, instructing voters how to operate the machines. |
| Candidate for attorney general proposes medical crimes office
Maddox targets prescription drug sales |
| A state telecom referee in wrong role as player
Palm Beach Post Editorial
PSC chairwoman lobbies on behalf of BellSouth. |
| Lightning strike
kills farmworker
Friends, co-workers blame Manley Farms for not allowing employees to take shelter from thunderstorm--
Friends and co-workers say Uriel Hilario-Gonzalez would be alive this morning if his employers at Manley Farms had let him and the crew he was working with take shelter from an afternoon thunderstorm Wednesday. The 35- year-old father of two died after being struck by lightning in a field along Bonita Beach Road east of Bonita Springs. He was hit shortly before 3 p.m. during a thunderstorm that deluged parts of Bonita Springs for several hours. Manley Farms employees told Lee County Sheriff's Office investigators that Gonzalez died while running toward a vehicle to escape the storm along with other workers in the field |
| Canker found on Cape Coral tree inspected twice
Agriculture inspectors have found citrus canker on a residential grapefruit tree in the Gulf Coast city of Cape Coral, making Lee County the 14th in the state to be hit by the disease. |
| Escambia corruption trial moving to Okaloosa
PENSACOLA The trial of a real estate agent charged with bribing one or more Escambia County commissioners is being moved to Okaloosa County in part because of extensive media coverage of the case. A judge Tuesday agreed to the change of venue sought by Joe Elliott, who sold the commissioners a former soccer complex for $3.9 million and a defunct car dealership for $2.3 million. |
| USF President: Palestinian prof has terrorist ties, should be fired
TAMPA University of South Florida officials accused a tenured Palestinian professor of having terrorist ties and filed a lawsuit Wednesday asking a court to determine whether firing him would violate his free speech rights. The university filed a complaint for "declaratory relief" asking the courts to enter a judgment that its plan to fire computer science professor Sami Al-Arian would not violate his constitutional rights, USF President Judy Genshaft said at a campus news conference. |
| Genshaft's inaction is louder than words
For months we've waited for Judy Genshaft to act, and she finally has. |
| USF sues for right to fire professor
USF says it can prove that professor Sami Al-Arian has ties to terrorists and asks the court to determine whether firing him would violate his constitutional rights. |
| USF's Dramatic Move Spawns Legal Debate
TAMPA - The University of South Florida's overhauled case against Sami Al-Arian is a desperate act that puts the school in a clumsy position of proving a professor aided terrorists, his attorney said Wednesday. ... |
| Lawsuit raises stakes for opponents
TAMPA -- In moving the dispute with Sami Al-Arian into civil court, USF president Judy Genshaft has set up a possible legal dilemma for the suspended computer science professor. |
| Activists Hispanic media award irks gay rights groups in Miami-Dade
- With a critical vote on whether Miami-Dade County should keep its anti-discrimination protections for gay men and lesbians a few weeks away, the leader of an effort to repeal the law is the subject of a controversy involving Hispanic media figures and gay rights groups. |
| Editorial: Stadium Naples case
One person in the Stadium Naples case has been conspicuous by his absence from the list of key figures subjected to full investigation. That is Joe D'Alessandro, who led the first investigation that found no criminal wrongdoing in 1998 and later arrested two former Collier County commissioners only after evidence was placed in his lap in full public view. |
| Guest editorial: New threats to clean water
The environmental community and the Bush administration are at odds again, this time over proposed changes in a key part of the Clean Water Act. The changes would give states greater leeway in deciding which waterways need to be cleaned and how rapidly to do the job. |
| Bush unveils wildfires plan
The president is proposing that more logging in forests would help prevent wildfires. |
| Guest commentary: Hey, we could lose in Iraq
Can you believe it? We might soon launch an all-out war, and all with a minimum of national debate. Supersonic fighters taking off, missile launchers turning their turrets, soldiers shipping out. And preparing the battlefield with massive quantities of weapons and water, ammo and anesthetics, food and fuel . . . and body bags. |
| Molly
Ivins: 'Why don't we git Oh-sama Bin first?'
AUSTIN, Texas Here we are playing hawks and doves again on the matter on Iraq war or no war? with particularly peppy exchanges from our more excitable brethren on the right concerning "appeasement" and lack of patriotism on the part of anyone who isn't ready to nuke Baghdad now. Bubba and Joe Bob have a question: "Why don't we git Oh- sama Bin first?" |
| Guest editorial: Sharing the evidence on Iraq
The Bush administration has floated a succession of possible justifications for war with Iraq Saddam Hussein's purported links with international terrorism, Baghdad's membership in a worldwide "axis of evil," Iraq's efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Few firm facts have been offered in support of any of these claims, but there have been frequent allusions to secret intelligence information that officials are unwilling to make public. |
| Maureen Dowd: Coup de Crawford
WASHINGTON The plotters are meeting down at the Ponderosa Wednesday. They waited to huddle in Crawford until the flower child Colin Powell had gone up to the Hamptons, ensconced with the white-wine- swilling toffs scorned by the president. |
| Bush's plan the wrong one for Mr. and Mrs. America
President Bush's ballyhooed economic forum was all hype and no hope. Instead of a serious discussion of the nation's economic situation, it was a pep rally - a staged event with a tired-out script. |
| Guest editorial: Judicial hypocrisy
The Supreme Court's conservative justices say they practice judicial restraint and accuse their liberal colleagues of activism. But a conservative federal judge has just written a blistering book arguing that the court's conservatives are actually engaged in a huge power grab, under the banner of respect for the states, that seriously erodes the rights of ordinary Americans. |
| Guest editorial: Extremely good news
Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney has been perhaps the most extreme member of the House of Representatives, and so it is extremely gratifying that she has lost a Georgia primary with just 42 percent of the vote compared to the 58 percent garnered by her opponent. |
8/21/02
| Top level worker placed on leave
A memo urging a closer audit of a former Pinellas contractor brings swift suspension.....
Her memo calls on the county to do a detailed audit of how Lockheed Martin IMS handled welfare clients during its short-lived welfare services contract with the county. The company terminated the contract last year and the county is being sued by Lockheed. |
| Expert says Palm Beach's new voting machines are flawed
WEST PALM BEACH An elections systems expert hired by a man who lost a city election inspected Palm Beach County's new voting machines Tuesday and pronounced them flawed. Rebecca Mercuri, a computer science professor at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, tried out one machine and pored over accuracy test results from a March election in Boca Raton.....
Mercuri says the machines should provide paper receipts so voters can be sure their ballots are cast. LePore said receipts invite even more trouble and would need to be carefully stored and hand-counted if questions arise about an election. |
| Touch-screen error exposed
If the names of two candidates are selected, a third name can be registered. |
| Screaming evidence
Last week, the Florida Home Builders Association paid the Florida Elections Commission a $40,000 fine to settle claims that builders' groups in Central Florida laundered campaign contributions to help developer- friendly... |
| Redistricting Brings New Primary Colors
TALLAHASSEE - To state lawmakers, you're blue or you're red. Nothing else matters.
... But the abstract game of lassoing blue and red neighborhoods becomes reality Sept. 10, when voters might realize for the first time that the lawmakers they've grown used to have been yanked away in the name of political gain
... The results are largely in: Most elections this year are afterthoughts as heavily red or blue districts leave little realistic chance for the other party.
... ``It's very disappointing,'' she said. ``We're the voters. We know who we've voted for in the past and who we feel we can trust. But it's the state Legislature that did all the redistricting. We had nothing to say about it.'' |
| Attorney general, governor say Harris' actions were valid
TALLAHASSEE The actions taken by former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris in the days before she resigned were legally proper, lawyers for Gov. Jeb Bush and Attorney General Bob Butterworth said Tuesday. |
| Harris' 'de facto' acts cleared
The secretary of state's actions after she disqualified herself and before she was replaced were legal. |
| Question persists: Did she sign oath?--
An elections clerk raises additional questions about paperwork filed on behalf of a statewide candidate. |
| Judge OKs ballot measure on tax exemption panel
TALLAHASSEE A ballot question that would set up a special legislative panel to review, and possibly eliminate, any of the myriad of sales tax exemptions can go before voters Nov. 5, a judge ruled Tuesday. Lawyers for a group of businesses that oppose the measure had challenged it, arguing it was misleading to voters. |
| Court to consider constitutionality of death sentencing law
TALLAHASSEE Attorneys for two condemned inmates will attack Florida's death penalty law Wednesday before the state Supreme Court, which will later issue decisions that could affect all 372 inmates on the state's death row. |
| Condemned men: Sentences not valid
TALLAHASSEE -- Two death-row inmates today will ask the state Supreme Court to throw out Florida's death-penalty law, arguing that it violates a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gives juries the sole authority to impose a death sentence.--
Since the high-court decision on June 24, Florida executions have been put on hold, and capital murder trials have come to a near-standstill. Meanwhile, the fate of 372 inmates sentenced to death could hinge on what the Florida court does next. |
| A lack of credibility
If DCF wants to restore credibility, it needs to be far more open. |
| DCF pick has Bush campaign on guard
Political advisers are watching to determine whether Jerry Regier's appointment is harming the governor's reelection campaign. |
| To save kids, help the caseworkers
Nearly five years ago, while campaigning for Florida governor, Jeb Bush called a news conference to talk about the plight of Florida's abused and neglected children. |
| GOP can't win many friends with this man--
Florida Republican leaders could have done much better than Edison Misla Aldarondo when choosing a poster child for their campaign to lure Hispanic voters.
-- Manuel Noriega, perhaps?-- Misla Aldarondo, former speaker of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives, was charged last week with drugging and raping a 17-year-old girl in his home. |
| McBride says Bush re-election effort 'desperate' with TV ads
COCONUT CREEK Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride said he was buoyed Tuesday by a new blitz of state Republican Party advertising targeting him this week, calling it a sign of desperation by Gov. Jeb Bush's re-election campaign |
| McBride ad strikes back at Bush
The Democratic candidate's counterattack is against a spot criticizing how he ran his law firm. |
| McBride counters Republican ad
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride sought to turn a negative Republican Party advertisement to his advantage Tuesday, quickly countering with his own ad in which he says Gov. Jeb Bush has singled him out for attack ``because he knows I'd be the toughest Democrat to beat.'' |
| Public vs. private on beach access
PONTE VEDRA BEACH -- About 150 people gathered last night to talk about beach access -- or the lack of, depending on who you ask.
At last night's meeting, some Ponte Vedra Boulevard residents said they have adequate access and don't want parking allowed on the street to encourage people from outside the area to come to the beach.--
But others who don't live in Ponte Vedra Beach said they'd like beach access increased because they have just as much right to enjoy the beach as those who can afford to live on it. |
| Environmental groups sue
to stop expansion of mining--
The Army Corps of Engineers ignored years of warnings and criticism and four federal laws in approving rock mining permits across 5,000 acres of sensitive Everglades wetlands, claims a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday. Three environmental groups filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Washington, D.C., circuit in an attempt to have those permits revoked. |
| Environmentalists sue Army engineers to stop expansion of mining in Everglades
WASHINGTON Three environmental groups sued the Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday to overturn a decision that would allow continued limestone mining in 5,409 acres of the Florida Everglades for the next 10 years. Environmentalists say the permits endanger drinking water and harm a $7.8 billion federal effort to revive the expansive wetlands area. |
| Groups try to halt Everglades mining
A lawsuit says the work will destroy water flow and drive out endangered wood storks. |
| Army Corps sued over Glades mining
Two federal agencies have turned a blind eye to a billion-dollar rock-mining industry that is degrading the Everglades' ecosystem and South Florida's water supply, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by three national environmental groups. |
| Giant grasshoppers again plaguing central Florida
ORLANDO An agricultural plague has descended on central Florida this summer. Four-inch-long grasshoppers, immune to conventional pesticides once they're grown and too toxic to be eaten by natural predators, are swelling in numbers due to a dry winter and a return to normal rainfall this summer. |
| State removes obstacle to restoration of Broward beaches
- State wildlife officials lifted their objections Tuesday to Broward County's beach restoration project after deciding the work will not damage the feeding area of young sea turtles as much as they first thought. |
| Prosecutor wants jail for convicted Escambia commissioner
PENSACOLA A prosecutor wants suspended Escambia County Commissioner Terry Smith sentenced to 60 days in jail for violating Florida's open-government "sunshine" law. Smith was convicted last month on two counts. He was accused of having illegal private conversations about public business with another suspended commissioner, former Florida Senate President W.D. Childers. |
| Critics complain nursing homes spending money on political ads
TALLAHASSEE A nursing home industry group has pumped more than $150,000 into ads for state legislative candidates this year money that critics say could be better spent on caring for patients. |
| 4th gay rights law foe charged with fraud in signature drive
- ... Busse was charged with illegally using her commission as a notary to notarize her own signature. The charge, a third- degree felony, carries a possible prison sentence of five years.--
Busse's arrest follows three others last week, including that of Anthony Verdugo, the head of the county's Christian Coalition. Assistant Polk County State Attorney John Aguero filed formal charges Monday against Verdugo, 40, Ralph Patterson, 76, and a 17-year-old the South Florida Sun-Sentinel is not identifying because he is a juvenile. |
| Mica urges state to ban semis from interstate's rush hours
ORLANDO In an effort improve highway safety. U.S. Rep. John Mica wants the state to ban tractor-trailers from Interstates 4 and 95 during rush hours. |
| State OKs an Allstate homeowner rate raise
- Florida homeowners insured by Allstate Insurance Co. will see their premiums rise an average of 15.7 percent starting in November, though most Central Florida policies will increase less than that. |
| Decision on Al-Arian due today
If USF fires him, he will be among only a handful of tenured professors in the nation dismissed each year. |
| USF Redefines Al- Arian Case
TAMPA - The University of South Florida today will change its plans for firing Professor Sami Al- Arian in two significant ways, formally accusing him of terrorist ties and asking a court whether its case would violate his
right to free speech. .. |
| Kindergarten test: Cautious
use of standardized assessment
The first day of kindergarten is always rough for somebody. Sometimes it's the howling 5-year-olds who can't be dislodged from their deathgrip around a parent's knee. Sometimes it's Mom or Dad getting misty-eyed as their child races into the classroom with nary a backward glance. |
| Papp recommended to lead state's four-year colleges
ORLANDO Daniel S. Papp, a senior vice chancellor in Georgia's postsecondary education system, is a state panel's choice to lead Florida's four-year universities. A review team from the Florida Division of Colleges & Universities chose Papp over two other candidates after the finalists were interviewed Tuesday. |
| Bush selects FAMU trustees
Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday appointed two business executives to the Florida A&M University board of trustees. |
| State signs deal to privatize state personnel work
TALLAHASSEE The state Department of Management Services said Tuesday it signed a seven-year $280 million contract with Convergys Corp. to run some of the state's personnel work. |
| Guest editorial: An education on welfare
The opposition of the Bush administration to proposed education changes in a Senate welfare reform bill is surprisingly shortsighted. The White House is determined to make the sweeping 1996 welfare law even tougher by lessening any leeway used by states to match programs with particular needs including higher education. That's unfortunate because the case-by-case strategy is working."Some people could spend their entire five years ... on welfare going to college," sniped Mr. Bush. "Now that's not my idea of helping people become independent, and it's certainly not my view of understanding the importance of work."--
Critics might contend a man who was born to wealth, and whose own work ethic has provided ample fodder for discussion, simply doesn't understand the struggle of the extremely poor to improve their lot. |
| The un-slap heard 'round the world
'You know, some days I get so frustrated I just want to go up to the closest black person and say, 'You can't understand this, it's a white thing,' and then slap him, just for my mental health." |
| 'In this nation of laws ... we have a police state in the making'
We are fighting a war against terrorism to defend American values of truth, liberty and justice. That's how President George W. Bush sold this war to us after the horror of Sept. 11. |
| Paul
Krugman: The real thing
Don't tell, maybe they won't ask. That was the message of a July memo from an official at the Department of Veterans Affairs, posted by Joshua Marshall at talkingpointsmemo.com. Citing "conservative OMB budget guidance" for spending on veterans' health care, the memo instructed subordinates to "ensure that no marketing activities to enroll new veterans occur within your networks." Veterans are entitled to medical care; but the administration hopes that some of them don't know that, and that it can save money by leaving them ignorant. |
| Bush to Propose Easing Logging Rule--
Keywords: timber industry, federal rules, environmental appeals |
8/20/02
| Ex-technology chief back in court:
Roy Cales, the state's former technology chief who quit last year after being charged with felony theft and forgery, was back in a courtroom Monday. His attorney, Stephen Dobson, asked Circuit Judge Tom Bateman to toss out a piece of evidence that prosecutors say links Cales to the crime. Cales is accused of using a forged letter to secure a loan from Farmers and Merchants Bank in 1996, three years before taking the state job. He has pleaded not guilty. Dobson argued that the letter is an unclear photocopy and that the original cannot be found, but he also said there's "no proof that
(Cales) authored, prepared or signed" the document. The state's evidence rules prefer original documents. Bateman is expected to rule by Wednesday. |
| Regier 'crisis' falters when facts known
The attacks against Jeb Bush's choice to head the state's child-welfare department, Jerry
Regier, show what you get by mixing an incomplete news story and nasty politics. |
| DCF chief still under fire
By S.V. Date, Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau
Bush's spokeswoman said Jerry Regier's decision to cut ties to a Christian group is what's important. |
| Saga of
DCF: Bush should cut his losses
Gov. Jeb Bush must heal himself when it comes to the self-inflicted political wound he incurred in naming Jerry Regier secretary of Florida's Department of Children & Families. He's the latest in a long line of administrators named by governors of both parties and over many years to take on a thankless and nearly impossible job: helping ensure the fundamental safety and welfare of Florida's aged, helpless and very young. |
| Regier in for tough time by Senate
The man picked by Gov. Jeb Bush to head Florida's child welfare agency will face a thorough grilling by a skeptical Senate as questions persist about his evangelical Christian beliefs, the incoming Senate president said Monday. |
| Bush adds three members to DCF panel
TALLAHASSEE Gov. Jeb Bush appointed three new members Monday to a panel studying problems at the state's child welfare agency in an effort to add diversity to the group.
H.T. Smith, a lawyer and an advocate in Miami's black community; Nestor Rodriguez, executive director of Voices For Children Foundation, Inc.; and foster parent Juli Millsap from Miami-Dade County were added to the Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Protection. |
| DCF officials say Panhandle free of mishandled cases
PENSACOLA Problems with missing children and mishandled cases that have plagued the Department of Children & Families in South Florida have not materialized at the opposite end of the state, agency officials say. The department's District 1, based in Pensacola, is responsible for four Florida Panhandle counties:
Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton. |
| DCF starts using new equipment to track children
MIAMI Florida's Department of Children & Families is using new machines to help identify and track children under its care. The 19 suitcase-sized machines scan and digitize fingerprints and photos, plus record children's personal information. The machines are currently in use in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. |
| Endangered credibility: Florida, U.S.too slow with sea cow protections
If manatees were vengeful creatures, Gov. Bush and President Bush would have to watch their backs. |
| New contract to privatize personnel duties
In the biggest privatization move of Gov. Jeb Bush's administration, the state signed a seven-year contract Monday for Convergys Corp. to take over personnel functions. |
| Whistleblower filed federal lawsuit
TALLAHASSEE A state personnel director sued Florida in federal court Monday alleging she was the victim of gender discrimination and suffered in a work environment hostile to women. Debby Minot has been director of human resources for the Florida state Board of Administration since 1999. She has been on paid leave since April. |
| Suit accuses officials of harassing women
The lawsuit also alleges unfair pay for women at the state Board of Administration. |
| Minot speaks out against state agency in lawsuit
The ousted personnel chief of Florida's pension-investment agency said in a federal lawsuit Monday that a "good old boy network" permitted discrimination against women and sexual harassment in her office. |
| Jeb should lead, not intimidate
Beat amendment with pledge to lower class sizes. |
| Election 2002: McBride ads hit airwaves in South Fla., Reno makes I-4 push
MIAMI Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls Bill McBride and Janet Reno sought support outside of their home bases Monday, looking to boost their campaigns three weeks before the primary. McBride, a Tampa lawyer, became the first Democrat to be featured in a series of television advertisements in South Florida, a move calculated to raise his name recognition in voter-rich Broward and Miami-Dade counties. The 30-second spots, paid for by the Florida Education Association's Quality Public Education Corp., touts McBride's background as the former managing partner of the state's largest law firm and discusses his endorsement by the union. |
| Election 2002: Tampa Tribune endorses McBride, citing education proposals
TAMPA The Tampa Tribune has endorsed gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride for the Democratic primary, saying the attorney and ex-Marine is a proven leader who will focus on state issues. The paper was the first in the state to endorse a gubernatorial candidate. The Tampa attorney faces former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and state Sen. Daryl Jones of Miami in the Sept. 10 Democratic primary. The Democrats want to oust Republican Gov. Jeb Bush in November. |
| GOP turns tough ad on McBride
Bill McBride may be trailing well behind Janet Reno in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, but the state Republican Party isn't taking him for granted. |
| GOP goes on attack against McBride
-- TALLAHASSEE -- The Republican Party, airing the roughest TV ad of the governor's race, is attacking Democrat Bill McBride as a "reckless" corporate lawyer playing tricks with campaign-finance laws. |
| GOP airs ads to slow surging McBride
By Brian E. Crowley, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Fearing that Bill McBride could slip past Janet Reno, the Florida GOP began airing a hard-hitting new ad. |
| Republicans target McBride in ad attack
The state Republican Party began an unusual political tactic Monday when it sought to influence Democratic voters by airing a television attack ad that singles out Bill McBride. |
| Reno takes her campaign to the pivotal I-4 corridor
The Democrat makes her pitch, without specifics, for health care, smaller class sizes, teacher pay, and fiscal responsibility. |
| Double standard for Democrats about churches
For years, Gov. Jeb Bush has captured the hearts of conservative, church-going people. That's no secret. |
| Gay vote gains more importance due to ballot
As Florida's gubernatorial race hurtles toward the Democratic primary in September and candidates scramble to shore up support among traditionally Democratic constituents, gay and lesbian voters are emerging as a key group to woo. |
| City Quietly Watches County's Public Access TV Debate
TAMPA - Mayor Dick Greco and the Tampa City Council say programming on public access television is a problem. ... |
| Imprisoned unfairly in the land of the free
These are not good days for asking people to look at the bigger picture. Since Sept. 11, we have been shaped by the narrow lenses of our fears. We see enemies everywhere. |
| Palestinian held in Tampa secret evidence case to be deported
- A Palestinian imprisoned twice for immigration violations and suspected terrorists ties will be released this week from a federal prison and deported to a country in the Middle East, his attorneys said Monday.--
Mazen Al-Najjar, 45, has been held since November on a deportation order for overstaying his visa, which was issued 20 years ago.--
Al-Najjar, who has never been charged with a crime, has been held in solitary confinement at the federal prison in Coleman in central Florida since November 2001. |
| Ex-official: Al-Arian had roots in jihad
TAMPA -- A former senior CIA counterterrorism official who has spoken in support of Sami Al-Arian said in a recent court deposition that the controversial University of South Florida professor helped create the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. |
| Around the state
Former state Sen. Grant named to ethics panel |
| Twenty cities say new state law violates constitution
TALLAHASSEE Twenty Florida cities sued the state Monday over a law that forces them to pay workers' compensation benefits to police or firefighters who suffer from hypertension or heart disease even if their medical condition is unrelated to their jobs. The Florida League of Cities pointed to a claim from a 37- year-old firefighter who suffered a heart attack five minutes after having sex with his wife a | |
