Vacation: 6/22 to 7/6
Dubious deletions
In an environmental report, the Bush administration altered references to
global warming, but that won't erase its effects on our planet.
The Bush administration has made global warming disappear with the stroke
of a pen - make that an eraser. With White House approval, officials
altered a draft report on the state of the environment to delete
references to the risk from rising global temperatures.
At one point, officials outside the Environmental Protection Agency even
tried to replace a reference to a 1999 scientific study with a study
partly financed by the American Petroleum Institute. The tinkering so
offended some EPA officials that the agency chose to omit the section on
global warming rather than be accused of faulty science. The controversy
came to light when a former EPA official gave the New York Times copies of
the draft report.
An Everglades alarm
Palm Beach Post Editorial
As predicted, new law invites federal cuts.
Worried that a new state law means Florida won't keep its promise to clean
up the Everglades, a U.S. House panel has cut some Everglades restoration
money and tied strings on the rest to try to make the state keep its
commitments.
Bush begrudgingly budges on malpractice cap
The governor says he would consider backing a $750,000 cap on damages.
Insurers warn current bills won't lower rates
TALLAHASSEE The state's biggest malpractice insurer warned Wednesday that
the measures being considered in the House and Senate won't lower doctors'
insurance costs and may actually increase how much they pay to insure
themselves against malpractice lawsuits.
Legislators are in special session trying to find a solution to the
escalating cost of insurance, which doctors say is forcing some of them to
stop practicing or to move out of state.
Insurers betray doctor 'allies'
Palm Beach Post Editorial
How can doctors think insurance companies are their allies when the insurers
act in such bad faith?
Lawmakers get extra week for malpractice crisis, may need more
TALLAHASSEE
The Senate and House gave themselves an extra week to deal with
medical malpractice insurance rates. But with members of each chamber at
odds over what's right to do, it may not be enough. "I love Tallahassee,"
said Sen. Dennis Jones. "I can stay all summer." That may be what it takes.
Florida should avoid Texas-sized malpractice problem
Before Gov. Jeb Bush pushes the Legislature any further on medical
malpractice reform, he should take a glimpse of his big brother's home state
and decide if that's his idea of limited, responsible government.
Bush signs FCAT alternatives bill, help for retiree town hospital
TALLAHASSEE
Gov. Jeb Bush signed legislation Friday giving high school seniors an
opportunity to graduate even if they fail the standardized test that has
been a hallmark of his efforts to bring accountability to Florida's schools.
He also signed a controversial bill to let a hospital serving a booming
central Florida retirement community expand without normal state regulatory
approval.
Saving schools may be Jeb's 'devious plan'
Jeb Bush's critics have long alleged that his real agenda with school reform
is to destroy public education.
He wants to pack kids off to private schools with their lunchboxes and
vouchers.
If that's the case, this is one devious plan that has backfired on him.
The number of failing schools in Florida dropped from 64 last year to 35
this year. If schools don't fail, the kids don't get vouchers.
4,000 eligible for schools switch
By Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Former F schools improved their state grades, some getting C's, but didn't
satisfy federal standards.
Byrd should bone up on history, not fundraising
Time for a history lesson.
House Speaker Johnnie Byrd passionately tried this week to defend
fundraising in the middle of an important special session on medical
malpractice.
He doesn't seem to understand how unseemly it looks for lawmakers to be
debating the hottest issue of the year one minute and putting out their
hands for contributions the next.
Proud politicians pass the taste test
Arare moment of clarity will arrive this week with a pair
of true-blue partisans rallying Florida's political parties in joyous fits
of fund-raising.
Bush signs civil rights bill
TALLAHASSEE Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill Wednesday that will give the
attorney general the power to file civil rights lawsuits against businesses
that engage in a pattern of discrimination.
The state previously could only file civil rights suits in cases of threats,
intimidation or coercion, said Attorney General Charlie Crist.
Ex-UCF teacher will stay in jail in Bradenton
An immigration judge Friday refused to release a former UCF
professor from a Bradenton jail, saying the Orange County resident once
helped plan conferences and solicit money for organizations now tied to
terrorist groups in the Middle East.
Elimination of runoff primary could play factor in Senate race
MIAMI
Voters won't consider the race for U.S. Sen. Bob Graham's seat for
more than a year. But the Legislature's decision to eliminate the state's
runoff primary could inject a wrinkle into the campaign. State lawmakers
moved last week to scuttle the runoff primary for another election cycle and
hold the 2004 primary on Aug. 31.
House votes to delay pay raise
TALLAHASSEE The House voted unanimously Wednesday to delay its annual pay
raise until December, which would bring lawmakers in line with other state
workers.
During the regular legislative session lawmakers voted to give themselves a
pay raise starting July 1, five months before other state employees, who are
set to get the same raise Dec. 1.... ...
"It was inappropriate, given the tough times that Floridians are facing, for
us to reward ourselves with higher pay before we take care of those who work
for us and those who pay our bills," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Ron
Greenstein, D-Coconut Creek. "No elected official is more important than any
other public servant."
Fetus-guardian suit speeds up in disabled woman's case
DAYTONA BEACH
An appeals court has agreed to fast-track the case requesting a
guardian be appointed for the fetus of a mentally disabled rape victim. A
three-member panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal ordered the expedited
hearings Wednesday, meaning the issue could be decided in weeks instead of
months.
Disney's opponents upset over probable route of bullet train
LAKE BUENA VISTA Three of America's biggest entertainment conglomerates
Disney, Anheuser-Busch and Vivendi Universal are playing a dangerous game
of chicken with an oncoming bullet train.
A fight over a high-speed train route for central Florida is pitting Disney
against Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando in this land of pixie dust,
superhero roller coasters and dancing killer whales.
Disney's rivals say if they don't get a station, they say they may work to
stop the train dead in its tracks.
New flock of whooper chicks ready for training for Florida flight
NECEDAH, Wis.
A new flock of whooping crane chicks has arrived at the Necedah
National Wildlife Refuge to take part in a project to reintroduce a
migratory flock between Florida and Wisconsin. The chicks, who were hatched
at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md., flew Thursday to
central Wisconsin by private airplane.
Latino civil-rights group criticizes federal hiring practices
LAKE BUENA VISTA The nation's oldest Latino civil-rights group criticized
federal agencies for doing a poor job hiring and retaining Hispanics.
The League of United Latin American Citizens released a scathing report
Tuesday and called for a more serious commitment to a federal work force
that represents the changing U.S. population.
Court rules Reno has immunity from Elian protester lawsuit
MIAMI A group of people who alleged their constitutional rights were
violated during the raid to seize Elian Gonzalez three years ago cannot sue
former Attorney General Janet Reno, a federal appellate court ruled
Thursday.
Cheney: Bush to stick to energy efficiency, conservation plans
BOCA RATON Vice President Dick Cheney urged Congress on Friday to pass an
energy bill that he said would reduce the nation's dependence on foreign
resources while strengthening the economy. Cheney told petroleum industry
leaders that to avoid price hikes and shortages, the Bush administration
would continue to focus on energy efficiency and conservation and to
increase domestic energy production.
Molly Ivins: The great Iraqi Gold Rush rolls on
AUSTIN, Texas My, my, my, the great Iraqi Gold Rush is on, and who should
be there at the front of the line, right along with Halliburton and Bechtel,
but our old friends at WorldCom, perpetrator of the largest accounting fraud
in American history.
Weapons of mass destruction and the psychology of fanaticism
By all accounts, the behind-the-scenes battle within the Bush administration
over just what information should be used, or spun, or hidden, to make the
case that Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat to America and the rest of
the world was a knockdown, drag-out fight between the facts and a zealous,
highly politicized, "who needs proof?" mind-set. And, at the end of the day,
the truth was left writhing on the floor.
Bush signs anti-corruption bill
TALLAHASSEE Officials who use their public positions for personal gain
will face tougher penalties under a measure signed Tuesday by Gov. Jeb
Bush that caps off four years of effort by the governor and Southwest
Florida lawmakers to tighten public corruption laws. Bush said the measure
represents a long-awaited first step toward toughening previously
ambiguous laws that have made it difficult to punish public wrongdoers who
cash in on their public jobs.
Child-welfare agency eliminates 160 jobs after budget cut
WEST PALM
BEACH Florida's beleaguered child-welfare agency will eliminate
160 jobs due to budget cuts a move decried by child advocates as another
sign the state is failing to fix a broken system. Bob Brooks, a spokesman
for the state Department of Children & Families, said the $13.8 million in
cuts would affect administrators, analysts and office support staff but
not the workers who directly handle the cases of abused and neglected
children.
GOP lawmakers raising campaign money during session
TALLAHASSEE
Several Republican lawmakers are taking advantage of their return to
the capital for a special session by holding fund raisers while in town.
House Speaker Johnnie Byrd is playing host to fund raisers this week for at
least a dozen Republican representatives, including events at the offices of
the Florida Retail Federation and the Florida Dental Association and at a
bar two blocks from the Capitol.
A shameful spectacle
Many lawmakers have the gall to gorge on fund-raisers
during the session.
Fund-raising ban extension killed
By Jim Ash, Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau
The ban would've prohibited fund-raisers any time lawmakers are in session.
Keep runoff
Eliminating Florida's primary runoff wouldn't serve democracy.
Democracy isn't pretty. Nor is it always convenient.
It is, however, the foundation of America's governance, a set of guiding
principles that created and now sustains the most powerful, freedom-loving
nation on Earth.
Senate panel OKs malpractice cap
Bill limits claims, but has provisions for the worst-injured patients to win
unlimited awards.
Award limit in medical suits gets boost
Senate signals shift during 4-day session
Senate President Jim King said Monday the Senate is willing to consider
limiting the amount of money people can win in medical malpractice lawsuits,
as lawmakers returned to the capital under orders from Gov. Jeb Bush to
address the rising cost of insurance for doctors.
Special session on malpractice begins
The House and Senate signal flexibility on a key sticking point -- a
$250,000 cap on noneconomic damages.
FCAT alternatives: House passes bill to allow FCAT alternatives
TALLAHASSEE Hours after the state Board of Education voted not to allow
alternative tests to the FCAT, the House passed a bill that would allow the
board to consider other tests as a graduation requirement. The bill directs
the board to determine what scores on tests like the SAT or ACT would be
equivalent to a passing Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test and allows
them to use those scores to allow high school seniors to earn their diploma
if it chooses to do so.
Board
of Education rejects alternative tests for FCAT
The state Board of Education has rejected a proposal to let other tests be
used as an alternative to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test as a
standard for allowing high school students to graduate. On a 5-1 voice vote,
the board voted down a Department of Education recommendation to let
students use passing scores on the SAT and ACT examinations in place of the
FCAT. Critics of the FCAT have demanded an alternative, saying it isn't fair
that more than 12,000 high-school students won't be able to graduate this
year because they didn't pass the test, first taken in the 10th grade. Board
members opposing the change said they didn't want to diminish the importance
of the FCAT in evaluating students.
Making the grade by playing the system
It took the creative enterprise of a Hungarian kid to expose what's wrong
with the FCAT: You can buy your way out of the hassle.... Some folks decry
the private school that gave Hajdu his due as a diploma mill, but clearly
the operator simply wanted to help a bright kid whose future might be ruined
because of the result of one test.
Legislature keeps chipping away at FCAT
Legislators continued to hammer at the FCAT with amendments.
The cost of bad credit
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Ratings, often iffy, affect insurance rates.
More secrets?
Our position: Once again, legislators are trying to conceal important
information from the public.
No matter how limited their agenda is, state lawmakers always seem to
squeeze in proposals to erode the constitutional guarantee of open
government. Like Jell-O, there's always room for more attacks on the
public's right to know in Tallahassee.
ACLU fears voluntary DNA tests rights may violate civil rights
MIAMI
Civil rights advocates expressed concern Monday that a manhunt for
a sexual predator has led to dozens of Hispanic men resembling the suspect
being stopped by police and asked to provide DNA samples. Police have
stopped about 120 men, mostly Hispanic, and asked them to volunteer DNA
samples to help in the investigation.
Job market worst since early 1990s
MILWAUKEE -- Three out of four employers expect to cut jobs or hold off on
hiring this summer, contributing to the worst employment market since the
early 1990s, a new survey said Tuesday.
About two-thirds of employers said they don't expect to hire any
additional workers and 9 percent plan to eliminate jobs during the
July-to-September quarter, according to the survey by Manpower Inc.
"Let's try not to get anyone too depressed, but the facts are the facts,"
said Jeffrey Joerres, chairman and chief executive officer of Manpower,
which surveys 16,000 businesses for its quarterly survey.
High rates of incarceration hit black America hard
With Saddam Hussein deposed and the Soviet Union dead, the United States
stands alone as the planet's prison camp. This country has the world's
highest rate of incarceration and more than 2 million people behind bars.
As the government seeks more power, the people go along
Every once in a while, someone will circulate a petition asking Americans
to endorse a set of principles that have been paraphrased to disguise the
fact that they are the same principles contained in the Bill of Rights.
And whenever it happens, large numbers of Americans say no.
Environmental groups call for DEP Secretary Struhs to be fired
TALLAHASSEE While Florida Environmental Protection Secretary David
Struhs is being mentioned as a candidate to head the nation's
environmental agency, a group of conservation activists say he hasn't been
a good steward of the state's natural resources and called Thursday for
Gov. Jeb Bush to fire him.
Bush's response: "No, hell no!" ...
Legislature 2003: Lawmakers return to Capitol looking for
malpractice fix
It could be a long, hot summer for lawmakers. They
return to the Capitol Monday for an intense four-day special session to
try to craft a solution to the high cost of doctors' malpractice
insurance. Gov. Jeb Bush has said they must approve a plan designed to
lower costs or he will keep calling them back to Tallahassee until they
do.
Minority leader urges Bush to cancel special session
House Minority Leader Doug Wiles has suggested that the governor cancel
this week's special session on medical malpractice reform because the
House and Senate appear to be at impasse.
Limit may repel victims' attorneys
For someone who thinks he or a family member is a medical-malpractice
victim, the proposed $250,000 limit on "pain and suffering" awards in
malpractice cases may make it harder to find an attorney.
Caps might not aid doctors
Lawmakers will gather to consider limiting certain jury awards against
doctors, hospitals.
Special session agenda expanded
By Jim Ash, Palm Beach Post Capitol Bureau
Gov. Bush adds education and election reforms to the medical malpractice
insurance debate.
Jobs measure costing state $75 million, losing jobs
By S.V. Dαte, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
The costly program has lost jobs instead of created them, but will still pay
venture capitalists $75 million.
TALLAHASSEE -- Senate President Jim King is considering repealing a state
program that is giving three venture capital companies $75 million in
taxpayer money but has so far resulted in a loss of 174 jobs.
The "CAPCO" program, originally passed in 1998, was supposed to bring more
high-paying jobs to the state. Under the way the law was written, however,
the amount of money flowing to the venture capital companies is not based on
the number of jobs created, meaning the companies could pocket all of that
$75 million investment's final value even if more jobs are lost...
Montgomery pulls ahead of Tallahassee
By Randy Schultz, Palm Beach Post Editor of the Editorial Page
No matter how bad this state got, Florida always would be more progressive
than Alabama, or not.
Skimpy DCF budget undermines promises
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Pledge to help 'most vulnerable' ignored.
A college FCAT?
Florida's universities don't need a new standardized test, but they do need
help addressing problems that existing accountability measures have
identified.
Politics pulling apart university governance
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Adam Herbert's departure a symptom.
Annual grades for public schools delayed by computer glitch
TALLAHASSEE Florida's public schools were supposed to get their annual
A-to-F grades Thursday, but the release was delayed because of a computer
glitch.
School accountability grades are now expected to be released next week, said
Frances Marine, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Education.
The grades are based on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and used
in part to decide whether students in failing schools are eligible to use a
state voucher to attend private school.
Biomed researchers lost to budget crunch, can't finish studies
TALLAHASSEE Steven Ames has been doing something not many other scientists
have, looking at the role of stress reduction therapy in getting young
people to stop smoking. The researcher's study was one of the first
recipients of a grant from money that came from Florida's settlement with
the tobacco industry.
The $600,000 grant was awarded in 2002 and was for a three year study,
$200,000 a year.
But Ames, at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, and several other biomedical
researchers doing smoking-related disease research around the state were
little-noticed victims of budget wrangling last month.
The deep well problem
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Injected wastewater needs more treatment.
Scientists trying to learn cause of dead coral in Keys
Scientists and researchers are trying to learn what
has caused the death of patches of staghorn coral at two small reefs in the
Florida Keys. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists
recently found the ailing coral and saw the problem spread while doing
routine monitoring at White Banks North and White Banks South, a few miles
off Key Largo, said Cheva Heck, a spokeswoman for the Florida Keys National
Marine Sanctuary.
Move to block oil 'inventory' fails
By Jeff Nesmith, Palm Beach Post-Cox News Service
Sen. Bob Graham's attempt to get the measure deleted from a national energy
bill failed 54-44.
Biologists consider ways to fight invasive pepper tree
MELBOURNE Bill Overholt pinched in his fingertips shiny, budding leaf tips
he hopes hold clues to evicting Florida's most dreaded tourist.
The University of Florida biologist has embarked on a project to trace the
genetic history of the Brazilian pepper tree. It's a budding attempt to eat
away an ecological headache that's infested nearly a quarter of the state's
land mass in the last 160 years.
Homeowners live with uneven burden
Edward Fiorenza paid $8,343 in property taxes last year on his new home at
1701 Coral Ridge Dr. in tony northeastern Fort Lauderdale.
Mary Chesler, the longtime homeowner next door, paid just $4,389, even
though her house is larger and worth more.
From house to house, block after block across South Florida, such
head-scratching disparities are multiplying. This is largely because of Save
Our Homes, the 1992 amendment to the Florida Constitution tailored to
protect homeowners from runaway taxation.
The winners: almost anyone who buys a home, files for a homestead exemption
and stays put. The longer you stay, the more you save. People with
escalating property values get the biggest windfall...
Driver convicted with 'black box' evidence gets 30 years
FORT LAUDERDALE A drunken driver was sentenced to 30 years in prison
Friday on a double manslaughter conviction partly based on evidence from a
data recording device similar to the "black box" of aviation....
The conviction was partly based on information from a data recording device
similar to the recording devices found on airplanes, trains and space
shuttles. The computer device indicated Matos was going 114 and 103 mph just
seconds before the crash.
The device can record a car's speed and deceleration, as well as when its
air bag deployed and the pressure on the brake pedal before a crash. Some
vehicles, including the one in the Broward crash, can also log whether
drivers wore a seat belt or how hard they pressed the gas pedal. ...
The poor as a handy distraction
The gravest questions of fiscal responsibility for the nation
are being ignored in the freakish sideshow now under way in Congress over
yet another tax cut in these fiscally difficult times. President Bush and
the Republican leaders should be candidly debating the $2 trillion-plus
mountain of deficits and debt they are rolling onto the backs of future
generations through the administration's serial tax cuts. Instead, they are
obsessed with the 2004 election cycle, wrangling over how best to throw a
last-minute bone to low-income Americans shortchanged in last month's tax
giveaway to the most affluent Americans.
Using flag to burn opponents un-American
By George McEvoy, Palm Beach Post Columnist
Republicans wear it as a patriotism badge.
Conservative operative is in the right place at the right time
WASHINGTON -- Those who believe in a "vast right-wing conspiracy" might
trace its path to a generic conference room of a nondescript office building
here, where fresh bagels and cream cheese await more than 100 conservative
activists every Wednesday morning.
Paul Krugman: Who's accountable for the war in Iraq
The Bush and Blair administrations are trying to silence
critics many of them current or former intelligence analysts who say
they exaggerated the threat from Iraq. Last week, a Blair official accused
Britain's intelligence agencies of plotting against the government. (Blair's
government has since apologized for January's "dodgy dossier.") In this
country, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell has declared that questions
about the justification for war are "outrageous." Yet dishonest salesmanship
has been the hallmark of the Bush administration's approach to domestic
policy. And it has become increasingly clear that the selling of the war
with Iraq was no different.
Farewell, Ari. Now for the truth
Last month, press secretary Ari Fleischer announced he will leave the White
House in July. Having served as President George W. Bush's official
spokesman since December 2000, Mr. Fleischer explained his "own sense of
timing and respect for the president" prompted him to resign before the
administration gears up for the 2004 reelection campaign. (Reportedly, the
man said this with a straight face, just as if every word he has ever
uttered about anything has not been in the interest of reelecting Mr. Bush.)
Hinting at job burnout, the recently married 42-year-old spokesman said of
his future employment plans, "I want to do something more relaxing -- like
dismantle live nuclear weapons." Thus, the seemingly unflappable,
deliberately cautious and exquisitely evasive communicator moves on --
probably to some cushy position in the private sector. He can rest assured,
however, that without any significant lapses, he served the declared
interests of his president well. How well he served the press is another
matter, one that will be debated for decades to come.
But not open to debate is the reality that on his watch, the White House
press secretary abdicated all responsibility to serve the people through the
press. Instead, he refined the art of using voluble statements to disclose
as little information as possible as long as possible. And on those rare
occasions when journalists have had the effrontery to probe for specific
clarification of issues, Mr. Fleischer's response was to spout more
doublespeak or to ignore the offensive questioner altogether....
Grand Ostrich Party blocking weapons probe
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Reliable intelligence crucial to U.S. policy.
And the hunt goes on
(Rough draft of hastily canceled presidential address regarding the effort
to locate weapons of mass destruction in Iraq). My fellow Americans,
Bush would hold back Head Start
By Elisa Cramer, Palm Beach Post Editorial Writer
Don't toss program to cash-starved states.
St. Joe chairman named to higher education board
TALLAHASSEE
A Jacksonville business executive was named by Gov. Jeb Bush
Wednesday to the Florida Board of Governors, a 17-member panel that
oversees the state's 11 public universities. Peter Rummell, 58, is the
chairman and chief executive officer of the St. Joe Company, the state's
largest private land owner. He is also a member of the Florida Council of
100.
Gov. Bush appoints chum to education governing board
TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday named a Jacksonville business
executive to the Florida Board of Governors, the panel that oversees
higher education in the state.
Another quits Board of Governors
By Larry Keller, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
UF radiology professor Richard Briggs says he is disillusioned with the
board.
Preserve voters' choice
Palm Beach Post Editorial
If runoffs go, use second-choice balloting.
Are runoffs in Florida headed for extinction?
Imagine what Florida might be like if it wasn't for LeRoy Collins, Reubin
Askew, Bob Graham and Lawton Chiles. We've been lucky to be one of the 11
states with runoff primaries that made it possible for those governors to
get past better known front-runners in their first statewide races. At
least, we used to have runoffs. It looks like time, technology and an
unmentionable Republican political advantage have combined to eliminate them
for good.
Activist battles for access to records
Florida's spiraling health-care costs could possibly be controlled, making
medical-malpractice insurance reform less arduous, if the state Agency for
Health Care Administration would simply follow laws already on the books.
That's according to a Tallahassee activist who has filed a public-records
lawsuit against the state agency. John Sisson, a former state employee who
retired as an entrepreneur, is demanding AHCA give him public documents
about the agency's medical-practice guidelines that state law requires it to
keep on more than 200 diseases.
FDLE Commissioner Tim Moore to retire in July
Commissioner Tim Moore, who joined the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
as a fingerprint clerk 30 years ago, announced his retirement plans Tuesday.
State education officials working on FCAT-like college test
ORLANDO Inspired by statewide testing used to determine whether
third-graders are promoted and high-school seniors can receive standard
diplomas, Florida education officials are devising an exam for college
seniors.
Supporters want to tie students' success rates on the test to future college
funding, much like the state offers funding incentives and assigns grades to
public schools that perform well on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment
Test.
But unlike high-schoolers who take the FCAT, supporters say college students
probably would not have to pass their test to graduate.
Student's fast diploma concerns educators
Educators on Wednesday deplored a private academy's decision to issue a
diploma to a high-schooler who failed Florida's public-school graduation
test.
Meanwhile, at the school that offered the service, the phone rang all day
with parents seeking help for their children.
Last week, Belz Academy in Fort Myers awarded a diploma to Attila Hajdu, an
18-year-old Hungarian student who failed the reading portion of the Florida
Comprehensive Assessment Test while attending Seminole High School in
Sanford.
Belz accepted a $70 fee and declared him a graduate after reviewing Hajdu's
school records and other test scores. Students at private schools are not
required to pass the FCAT, unlike teens in public school.
Schools chief wants FCAT alternative
By Mary Ellen Flannery, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Superintendent Art Johnson says he'll seek permission for a series of tests
over the Internet instead.
Foundation's move to area concerns liberals
By Marc Caputo, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Some fear a conservative-linked organization is part of a trend to influence
the nation's agenda from Florida.
Board of Pharmacy takes action against Canadian drug sellers
TAMPA
The state Board of Pharmacy is declaring storefront businesses that
provide low-cost prescription drugs from Canada as pharmacies practicing
without a license. The board and its parent, the Department of Health, don't
have the authority to shut down the businesses, which have been
proliferating in Florida during the past several months.
Bush signs bill he says will address Everglades concerns
TALLAHASSEE
Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill Tuesday intended to ease concerns of
environmentalists and members of Congress about the state's commitment to
cleaning up the Everglades. The bill, passed during a special session last
month, was meant to tighten language in a measure he earlier signed into law
earlier that critics said would delay by a decade or more the cleanup of
phosphorus pollution running into Everglades National Park from sugar farms
and suburban sprawl.
Bad attempt by sugar
The court was right to turn down the sugar industry's
attempt to derail judge.
Judge kept on Everglades case
By Robert P. King, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
A federal appellate court rejects a sugar company's bid to remove District
Judge William Hoeveler.
Everglades pollution still exceeds limits
By Robert P. King, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Despite the state's claims of success, phosphorus levels in the Loxahatchee
refuge are sometimes too high.
Democrats urge Bush to delay Everglades act
EVERGLADES
NATIONAL PARK Flanked by the vast river of grass they said they
want to protect, several Democratic state legislators implored Gov. Jeb Bush
on Wednesday to stop implementation of the recently signed Everglades
Restoration Act. The legislators said the law threatens both the wetland
itself and the $8 billion cleanup partnership with the federal government.
They said some Democrats voted for the bill last month only because they
were duped by the Department of Environmental Protection.
7 legislators to Gov. Bush: Put Glades bill on hold
Seven South Florida Democratic legislators stood on a patch of grass near
the Everglades on Wednesday and asked Gov. Jeb Bush to delay implementation
of a new Everglades cleanup law.
Bush signs bill implementing class-size amendment
ST. PETERSBURG Gov. Jeb Bush reluctantly signed a bill Monday implementing
Florida's class-size limitation amendment, then said he still hopes voters
will reconsider the issue because of its cost.
Smoking suit dropped amid funding promises
The Tampa lawyer who filed suit against Gov. Jeb Bush over cuts in the
state's anti-smoking program for youths has withdrawn it after assurances
that more money will be pumped into the effort.
Guilty pleas accent fake drug problem
It used to be heroin or cocaine. But increasingly, authorities are finding
counterfeit medications.
New budget pushes state debt past ceiling
TALLAHASSEE The $600 million in bonds in next year's budget for reducing
class size will push the state's debt further above the target limit set by
law, but Gov. Jeb Bush said there's no immediate cause for alarm.
TaxWatch unable to find turkeys in budget
TALLAHASSEE Florida TaxWatch said Tuesday it looked but couldn't find any
local projects known as "turkeys" in the state budget lawmakers passed last
month, the first time in more than a decade the spending plan's been free of
hometown pork.
City of Tallahassee threatens lawsuit against old refinery
TALLAHASSEE City officials are threatening to sue the owners of a closed
refinery where officials have said the ground is contaminated, alleging the
company hasn't done enough to clean up petroleum and dioxin pollution to a
nearby city power plant.
Last year state environmental officials ordered a cleanup of the St. Marks
Refinery, about 20 miles south of Tallahassee. The city owns an electricity
generating station adjacent to the refinery.
People barred from two Keys reefs because of dying coral
KEY LARGO Boaters and divers will be kept away from two patch reefs for 60
days in an emergency move to prevent a fast-spreading coral disease from
contaminating other areas, the federal government said Tuesday.
Scientists discovered the disease about two weeks ago in the staghorn coral
of White Banks North and White Banks South, two patch reefs off Key Largo,
according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National
Marine Sanctuary Program.
St. Augustine turns down request to fly rainbow flags
ST. AUGUSTINE This historic city's commission has refused to reverse a
decision denying a request to fly rainbow flags, commonly associated with
gay and lesbian pride, on the Bridge of Lions.
A group asked to fly the flags this week in conjunction with gay pride
events held across the country.
Drug treatment should be just a click away
The level of alcohol and drug dependency in this country is at crisis
levels. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, of
the 27 million Americans who now are abusing illegal drugs or alcohol
regularly, 16 million need treatment, but only 3 million get it. The future
looks equally bleak if we do not take action: Nearly one-fourth of
eighth-graders say they have been drunk; and in addition to their alcohol
use, 10.8 percent of youth aged 12-17 used illegal drugs last year.
Leading anti-abortion activist arrested on molestation charges
PENSACOLA An anti-abortion activist who had strong ties to the gunmen
and bombers who waged deadly violence against clinics here over the last
two decades was arrested Tuesday on charges that he molested a resident at
the girls home he owns.
Home for troubled boys closes after abuse allegations arise
OVIEDO Investigators have closed a group home for troubled boys while
they check reports that residents dumped a housemate into a septic tank
and forced him to sit without pants on a fire ant mound....
The home, which has operated for 17 years, deals with boys from 12 to 17
years old with severe behavioral problems, executive director Bennie
Richardson said. The facility can house up to 10 boys, he said....
The home is accredited by the Florida Association of Christian Child
Caring Agencies Inc., based in Palatka, and has a religious exemption to
licensing by the state Department of Children & Families.
Molly Ivins: What happened to the nation's progressive tax system?
AUSTIN, Texas In the "physician, heal thyself" department, please note
the response of White House press spokesman Ari Fleischer to a bulletin
from North Korea that said: "The intention to build up a nuclear deterrent
is not aimed to threaten and blackmail others, but to reduce conventional
weapons. North Korea hopes to channel manpower resources and funds into
economic construction and the betterment of people's living."
Fleischer piously replied: "Perhaps from this glimpse of North Korea
acknowledging that its own people suffer as a result of North Korea's
policies, it will help North Korea to now make the right decisions. And
the right decisions are to put their people first, to feed their people,
to get health care to their people ..."
Not only should feeding the people and getting health care to the people
be more important than a nuclear program, it should even be more important
than tax cuts for the obscenely wealthy. The United States now spends $400
billion a year on the military that's 50.1 percent of all discretionary
spending (non-discretionary includes Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid). These priorities are not exactly setting a great example for
North Korea.
Editorial:
Ashcroft's America (cont'd)
The Justice Department is pressing the federal courts to put on show
trials for terrorism suspects - kangaroo proceedings in which the
government holds all the evidence and witnesses and can decide what to
withhold from the defendant. For Attorney General John Ashcroft, every day
apparently is another opportunity to dismantle constitutional protections.
New budget pushes state debt past ceiling
The $600 million in bonds in next year's budget for reducing
class size will push the state's debt further above the target limit set
by law, but Gov. Jeb Bush said there's no immediate cause for alarm. In
fact, Bush praised the Legislature for restraint and for using cash
instead of issuing more bonds for some purchases of environmentally
sensitive land.
The $250,000 myth
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Report shows lawsuit cap won't save doctors.
80-year-old jurist fights to preserve his Everglades legacy
MIAMI The legacy of William Hoeveler may be 15 years spent policing a
complex lawsuit mired in biology and hydrology that is intended to restore
the Everglades to its bygone days as a free-flowing, slow-growth marsh.
But sugar growers say that is long enough. Claiming the federal judge has
turned into a bully with a political bent, they are asking other judges to
throw him off the case. Best known as the federal judge who sent
Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to prison, the 80-year-old jurist
returned to the headlines this spring by saying a new Everglades law
heralded by Gov. Jeb Bush was "clearly defective" even before it was
signed.
Lawmakers don't merit raise now, says one
Lawmakers should not be taking a pay raise July 1 after postponing pay
raises for all other state employees until Dec. 31, says Rep. Ron
Greenstein, D-Coconut Creek.
Sugar's law evades forever Everglades Act
By Randy Schultz, Palm Beach Post Editor of the Editorial Page
Here's the bill that everyone connected with it says will help, yet no one
wants to claim it.
Congressman questions governor's Everglades effort
MIAMI
A leading Republican congressman is questioning Gov. Jeb Bush's commitment
to clean up the Everglades, citing "genuine alarm" over a new Florida law
covering the restoration of the area's fragile ecosystem.
Congressman questions Glades law
Citing ''genuine alarm'' over the controversial Everglades law, another
leading Republican congressman is questioning Gov. Jeb Bush's commitment
to cleaning up the River of Grass.
Jeb finds W.'s campaign much more stimulating
Palm Beach Post Editorial
The governor will hold back needed money until next year.
Runoff elections canceled for another year
By Jim Ash, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Florida leaders decide to continue the no-runoffs plan in hopes to avoid
election meltdown.
Election 2004: Graham says Bush makes U.S. 'most questioned' nation
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa Democratic presidential hopeful Bob Graham said
Saturday that President Bush's aggressive foreign policy has left America
"the most questioned nation in the world" and made it far more difficult to
forge an effective battle against terrorism. The Florida senator also said
the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq could damage the
nation's international standing even more.
Harris getting ready for 2004 showdown
Congresswoman takes aim at 'radical liberals'
INSIDE POLITICS U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris is hitting all the Republican hot
buttons - tossing out words such as "liberal," raising the spectre of Bill
and Hillary Clinton and reviving memories of Florida's 2000 presidential
fiasco - as she cranks up her 2004 campaign.
Elections regulators will proceed with McBride investigation
TALLAHASSEE Florida elections regulators have decided to proceed with an
investigation into whether former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill
McBride accepted almost $2 million in illegal campaign contributions from
the state's teachers union during last year's campaign. If the investigation
finds he broke elections law, McBride could be forced to pay millions in
fines based on charges that he used the money in producing a massive TV ad
campaign.
TV ad blitz for McBride under scrutiny
Florida elections regulators say there is good reason to believe that former
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill McBride and the state's teachers union
broke the law last year with a massive TV ad blitz that many believe led to
McBride's stunning primary victory over former U.S. Attorney General Janet
Reno.
High court hears arguments on who can challenge One Florida
TALLAHASSEE The NAACP went to the Florida Supreme Court Friday to
argue for its right to challenge the state's ban on the use of race in
university admissions. The oral arguments were peppered with references to
the landmark 1954 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court desegregating schools,
a case that was argued in the nation's high court by the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
ourt considers One Florida case
Against a backdrop of the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's
school-desegregation ruling, Florida's highest court questioned the NAACP's
legal standing Friday to challenge Gov. Jeb Bush's One Florida Initiative
that ended affirmative action.
Lawyer: Eglin inmate gets solitary for 'political' news clippings
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE An inmate serving 90 days at the federal prison camp
here for protesting at another military base was put in solitary confinement
because he received and distributed political newspaper and magazine
clippings, his lawyer said Thursday.
Bill Quigley said the minimum-security prison camp transferred his client,
William "Bud" Combs, to the Santa Rosa County Jail for eight days of
solitary after friends sent him anti-war and social justice articles from
The New York Times, Readers' Digest, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, the
BBC and the British newspaper The Guardian.
"Even in prison you're not supposed to be punished for reading the paper,"
Quigley said in a telephone interview from New Orleans, where he is a Loyola
University law professor. "This gives us an idea about the arbitrary power,
and what people consider political activity, in prison."
Ethics panel drops charges against former House aide
TALLAHASSEE The Florida Commission on Ethics voted Thursday to drop ethics
charges against Stephen MacNamara, who was accused of using his influence as
a former top House aide to help a cement company get a permit to build.
The panel voted 5-3 to dismiss all ethics charges against MacNamara, a
lobbyist and former top aide to ex-House Speaker John Thrasher. MacNamara is
now a tenured professor at Florida State University.
The charges were dropped with new evidence and statements as to what
MacNamara did and said on behalf of Suwannee American Cement Co. in 1999.
MacNamara was employed by Thrasher in the beginning of 1999 and again in the
beginning of 2000, but said he worked for the cement maker in between the
two stints of employment with the House.
The state initially rejected the company's permit to build the plant near
the wild and scenic Ichetucknee River in north-central Florida but later
reversed itself. MacNamara's role in the reversal and whether he used his
influence in the Speaker's office to get the decision reversed was
questioned.
Professor leaving state university board in protest of politics
GAINESVILLE
The only faculty member on the board that oversees the state's 11 public
universities will resign his post later this month because he says he's
disgusted by political influence on higher education in Florida.
Faculty leader leaves in disgust
GAINESVILLE - The most politically influential faculty member in the state
is disgusted and angry at what he sees happening to higher education in
Florida.
Universities are starving for money. State leaders are ignoring the wishes
of voters who asked for a separate governing board. Politicians are running
many of the schools.
Richard Briggs has had enough.
The University of Florida professor is leaving the state and resigning from
the Board of Governors, the group that is supposed to oversee the state's 11
public universities.
"The political environment is so pervasive it corrupts the system," Briggs
said from his cramped UF office this week. "It shocks me to look at the
attitude of the people controlling education in Florida. They've perverted
and subverted the whole system."
Florida college students will pay more for less
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Higher tuition, fewer course offerings.
Senate: Schools will get smaller increase per student
Seven months after voters approved a constitutional amendment
to create smaller classes, Florida's schools will receive less new money per
student next fall than they did a year ago, according to numbers from the
state Senate. The amendment, passed over the objections of Gov. Jeb Bush and
Republican legislative leaders, appears to have provided little extra
financial help for school districts compared with what they have received in
other years.
Flying blind
Florida demands almost no standards for some voucher
schools.
NAACP to file FCAT complaint
The Florida Statewide Conference of NAACP Branches said it plans to file a
complaint with the federal Office of Civil Rights regarding the impact of
the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test on black and other minority
students.
Editorial: Florida class sizes
Let's see now. Florida voters, frustrated with lip service
about smaller class sizes, go to the polls and declare that's exactly what
they want. Though there is no price tag attached, voters are smart and
understand there is no free lunch. So politicians craft a response that in
part offers a fast-tracked high school diploma in three years rather than
four after earning 18 course credits rather than 24 or in Collier County
Public Schools' case, 30 as long as you can read and do math.
State: Ex-Lottery secretary accused of improperly taking gifts
The former secretary of the Florida Lottery and three other
senior management staff broke an ethics code when they accepted hundreds of
dollars in meals and gifts from vendors while doing official business, a
state investigation found.
Al-Arian looses bid for speedy trial, cases scheduled for 2005
TAMPA A former professor accused of terrorism lost his bid Thursday for an
immediate trial and could spend the next 18 months jailed under what he is
calling inhumane and unfair conditions until his case is heard.
Sami Al-Arian and three other men indicted as the U.S. operatives of the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad will not go to trial until January 2005, U.S.
District Judge James Moody decided. That decision now sets the stage for a
series of legal battles in the mammoth and complex case.
Muslim woman cannot wear veil in driver's license photo
ORLANDO
A judge ruled Friday that a Muslim woman cannot wear a veil in her
driver's license photo, agreeing with the state that allowing people to show
only their eyes would undermine efforts to stop terrorists.Circuit Judge
Janet C. Thorpe agreed with the state's assertion that if Sultaana Freeman
could keep her face off her driver's license, so could others planning harm.
Bush creates group to look at protecting disabled adults
TALLAHASSEE Gov. Jeb Bush appointed a panel of 11 experts Thursday to
study what needs to be done to protect mentally disabled adults from abuse
and to make recommendations later this summer.
The question of guardians for people with development disabilities has
surfaced because of the case of a 22-year-old Orlando woman who suffers from
autism and cerebral palsy and is pregnant as a result of rape.
Bush tried to get a guardian appointed for the fetus but a trial judge
refused. Instead Circuit Judge Lawrence Kirkwood appointed a guardian for
the woman and criticized the state Department of Children & Families for not
finding a guardian for her when she turned 18.
High court asked if personal emails on city computer are public
TALLAHASSEE All e-mail messages in a city-owned computer are public
records, attorneys for a newspaper argued Wednesday at the Florida Supreme
Court. But attorneys for the City of Clearwater countered with arguments
that some personal messages aren't subject to Florida's open records laws.
The question for the seven justices is whether e-mails sent or received by
government employees are public records simply by virtue of being housed in
or sent through a government-owned computer system.
Panel urges state purchase of Cypress Gardens
TALLAHASSEE
A state panel urged Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet on Friday to buy
the closed tourist attraction Cypress Gardens, a remnant of Old Florida
where Esther Williams swam and Betty Grable posed. The state Acquisition and
Restoration Council voted unanimously to recommend that the state buy the
entire park to save it from development.
Too much Cypress
By buying all of Cypress Gardens, the state will rob other
valuable lands.
State ethics agency dismisses charges against Oliphant
MIAMI
A state ethics commission has dismissed charges that embattled
Broward County Elections Supervisor Miriam Oliphant violated ethics by
employing her mother as a poll worker, renting a house to an employee and
misusing public funds, officials said Friday.
The freedom for which it stands
The integrity of the First Amendment hangs on the political courage of the
U.S. Senate. The House has voted 300 to 125 in favor of a constitutional
amendment banning the physical desecration of the U.S. flag. State
legislatures around the nation are lined up to approve the amendment by
overwhelming margins. U.S. senators, who have repeatedly defeated the
legislation in recent years, now offer the only check to this detrimental
measure. Theirs is a lonely position.
Ashcroft asks for wider authority
By Rebecca Carr, Palm Beach Post Washington Bureau
The attorney general defends seeking greater power dealing with terrorism
suspects.
Pollution estimates in President's plan revised
By Jeff Nesmith, Palm Beach Post Washington Bureau
The Clear Skies plan will be less effective in reducing mercury pollution
than previously estimated.
Like Enron, White House misleads its shareholders - us
Has there ever been a clearer, more irrefutable example of our political
leaders' lack of a moral compass than the clandestine, 11th-hour elimination
from the new tax bill of a promised child tax credit for almost 12 million
of America's poorest children?
Knee-jerk media help Democrats exploit tax cut
The next time the big Detroit automakers offer rebates for new car buyers,
we all ought to run out and get one. Not a car - just the rebate. And if
they won't give you the cash unless you buy a car, call your congressman.
State's tech office to be privatized
"Up to 150 jobs in the State Technology Office will be privatized in an
"alliance" with two computer giants to improve service and cut the costs
of running an increasingly automated government. ..." (This BC
puff press release has another side that hasn't been told ... and an old
one that's being forgotten: i.e.. the State
Technology draft audit... what happened to all the unaccounted $$?
Are these some of the same players? It was a bad idea before, and
it's a worse one now. Stay tuned... )
State Technology Office privatizing work
TALLAHASSEE The State Technology Office is in talks to privatize
its work coordinating the state government's computer systems and plans to
shift the work of 150 employees to two private companies by the end of
summer.
Bush signs bill prohibiting higher local minimum wages
TALLAHASSEE Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill Wednesday preventing local
governments from making local businesses pay minimum wages higher than those
set by the federal government. The measure passed the Legislature on the
last day of the regular legislative session last month and is a response to
a national "living wage" movement that has led some cities around the
country to try and require higher minimum pay than the federal government
does.
No savings, no justice
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Keep Death Row lawyers on the state payroll.
Death Row appeals office closing
By Susan Spencer-Wendel, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Legislators agreed to close the Tallahassee office of the Capital Collateral
Regional Counsel.
House Speaker signs pricey contract for media services
TALLAHASSEE House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's office is spending nearly
$8,000 a month of taxpayer money for daily briefings of newspaper and
television stories about Florida politics. Byrd signed contracts this year
with two companies to provide the reports, which cost nearly $94,000
annually and are available to all 120 House legislators and their staff.
Democrat wants aid spent
TALLAHASSEE -- The Senate's top Democrat urged Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday to
use millions of dollars in recently approved federal aid to beef up
Florida's lean $53.5 billion budget.
Sen. Ron Klein of Delray Beach said the money could "provide an immediate
jump-start for our sluggish economy" if poured into public schools,
universities, health programs or road-building projects, which have all
undergone budget cuts.
"Floridians will soon begin to feel the impact of the cuts imposed by the
budget we just passed," Klein wrote in a letter to Bush.
GOP senator tired of 'rhetorical crap' on the budget
Sen. Tom Lee's not the kind of guy you'd expect to cry that Florida's
fiscal sky is falling or that, by gosh, he's no longer going to put
"Band-Aids on cancers."
Bush-Bush-league budgeting
By Tom Blackburn, Palm Beach Post Editorial Writer
Disaster in Tallahassee, crime scene in D.C.
Lawmakers mull dropping 2004 runoff as elections supervisors voice
concerns
TALLAHASSEE Florida's elections supervisors are warning that the 2004
elections could be plagued with problems just like in 2000 and last year
if they are forced into a tight schedule with new touchscreen voting
machines. Legislative leaders apparently have heard the concerns. They say
they have agreed to consider legislation that would drop the second
primary, or runoff, in 2004.
Taxes aren't going up, but fees on tuition, other activities will
TALLAHASSEE Floridians won't have to pay new taxes to finance government
services under the budget passed by state lawmakers. But many of them will
pay higher fees.
They'll pay more for the privilege of keeping a poisonous reptile and
getting their drivers license back if it's suspended, for example.
And they'll pay more to go to college.
The biggest fee increase is on university students, who will see tuition
hiked more than 8 percent. Community college tuition will increase more
than 7 percent.
FSU to charge application fee
Universities will be able to charge prospective students $200 to apply
under recently passed legislation. Florida State University welcomes the
extra tool in predicting which students will show up for class.
New higher education laws raise concerns
By Larry Keller, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Supporters of the Graham Amendment say several of the laws may be
unconstitutional.
Leave it to university board
Lawmakers had no business meddling with university presidents' salaries.
Teachers' raises endangered
The budget crunch drags on as schools face millions more in cuts under the
proposed state budget.
Class sizes just might be reduced
A week ago,
few would have guessed that Florida's public school children might actually
have fewer classmates come fall.
But of all the issues legislators face this special session, reducing the
number of students in public school classrooms is the one initiative that
may materialize.
A little din amid static to modulate mediocrity
Nathan B. Stubblefield (1860-1928) was a Kentucky inventor who, according to
the story, came up with the radio four years before Marconi. Eccentric and
stubborn, Stubblefield refused to market his idea for fear it would be
stolen by big business. He died of starvation.
Now you know why the folks at WMNF-FM 88.5, the community radio station
based in Tampa, often refer to the "Nathan B. Stubblefield Foundation." That
is the name on the station's license, chosen by the activists and idealists
who founded WMNF in 1979.
Miami leaders ask Congress to overturn Haitian immigration policy
MIAMI
Haitian migrants should not be subject to indefinite detainment
when they reach U.S. soil and the federal government should help bolster the
Caribbean nation's struggling economy, a delegation of Miami leaders told
members of Congress Wednesday.
High court asked if personal emails on city computer are public
TALLAHASSEE All e-mail messages in a city-owned computer are public
records, attorneys for a newspaper argued Wednesday at the Florida Supreme
Court. But attorneys for the City of Clearwater countered with arguments
that some personal messages aren't subject to Florida's open records laws.
Court refuses fetus guardian for a 3rd time
For the third time in less than a week, Orange Circuit Judge Lawrence
Kirkwood on Tuesday denied arguments to appoint a guardian for the fetus of
a mentally retarded woman known as J.D.S., who was raped while living in an
Orlando group home.
Kirkwood's refusal for a rehearing likely will lead to an appeal to the 5th
District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach.
Bush builds case on guardian for fetus
He vows to push 'as far as we need'
Gov. Jeb Bush's administration has begun building its legal case for
appointing a guardian to represent a fetus -- a case likely to be viewed
nationally as a landmark in the battle over abortion rights.
Farmers want judge thrown off Everglades enforcement
MIAMI
Sugar growers moved on two fronts Wednesday to force a federal
judge off the Everglades restoration case, claiming he has lost his
impartiality while policing cleanup efforts for 15 years. U.S. District
Judge William Hoeveler "has given every appearance that he is no longer
going to be fair and impartial," said Robert Coker, senior vice president of
U.S. Sugar Corp.
Sugar-industry cronies tout lawmakers
A group with ties to the sugar industry wants to thank its friends in
Tallahassee for a job well done.
That's causing quite an uproar among environmentalists, who say the West
Palm Beach-based group is misleading voters by telling them that state
legislators are "leading the fight for Everglades restoration."
Particularly galling to environmentalists is that a group that calls itself
the Everglades Forever Partnership is sending out a flier filled with
pictures of alligators, wading birds and cypress swamps.
The flier, which started arriving in mailboxes across the state this month,
asks, "Who can we thank for protecting our Everglades?" On the other side is
the name and picture of the recipient's local legislator.
A long list of groups had fought bitterly against a bill backed by the sugar
industry that they say will delay stricter pollution standards for the
Everglades by at least a decade.
"I'm absolutely amazed at the brass that these guys have in sending this
thing out," said David Reiner, president of the South Florida-based Friends
of the Everglades.
Fliers tout Everglades bill supporters
By Robert P. King, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Some state officials were surprised to find their faces on fliers
distributed by farming-backed group.
Butterworth suggested for Everglades master
By Bob King, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
The former attorney general is favored by eight environmental groups to
oversee the cleanup.
Solar power: Sunshine State isn't living up to its name
In 1970, the year Florida officially adopted the nickname "Sunshine State,"
there was not one power plant from Miami to the Panhandle that harnessed the
sun's powerful rays to generate electricity.
An environmental albatross
The Rodman Dam is a relic of the ill-fated Cross Florida Barge Canal, but it
also remains a modern-day political marvel. Though virtually every single
academic, state and federal study in the past three decades has called for
the dam to be destroyed, a few stubborn lawmakers and some bass fishing
enthusiasts have stood in the way. Why should this year be any different?
Tougher penalties for turtle egg poachers signed
TALLAHASSEE Turtle egg poachers will face tougher penalties under one of
several bills signed by Gov. Jeb Bush. Bush signed a measure Monday making
it a felony to possess 12 or more sea turtle eggs with a penalty of up to
five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Christian group wants Disney's no-fly zone down for Gay Days
ORLANDO The airspace above Walt Disney World has been free of aircraft
since March, when the government said the resort was a terrorism target of
symbolic value. But a Christian organization that wants to send
banner-towing planes over the theme park during this week's Gay Days
festivities believes the no-fly zone equals no free speech.
Mayor welcomes Gay Days visitors
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer kicked off the annual Gay Days celebration Tuesday
night in a historic and symbolic step toward ending years of bitterness
between City Hall and the gay community.
Federal official backs Miccosukees in Everglades water dispute
MIAMI Miccosukee Indian Tribe members and environmentalists are getting
closer to forcing South Florida water managers to clean up polluted waters
before pumping them into the Everglades.
In a 19-page brief released Friday, U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson
joined a federal appeals court in saying that the South Florida Water
Management District should comply with the strict standards of the U.S.
Clean Waters Act.
Molly Ivins: The effort to find peace in the Middle East
AUSTIN, Texas "I said you were a man of peace. I want you to know I took
immense crap for that." George W. Bush, diplomat extraordinaire, to Ariel
Sharon, The Washington Post, June 3, 2003. The effort to find peace in the
Middle East is something on which all Americans can support the president,
whether we think he knows what he's doing or not. He has recently been
getting some criticism for letting his religious beliefs into the process.
Give working poor the millionaires' tax cut
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Otherwise, Bush's plan is not what he promised.
Paul Krugman: Waggy dog stories
An administration hypes the threat posed by a foreign power. It talks of
links to Islamic fundamentalist terrorism; it warns about a nuclear weapons
program. The news media play along, and the country is swept up in war
fever. The war drives everything else including scandals involving
administration officials from the public's consciousness.
Although the movie's title has entered the language, I don't know how many
people have watched it lately. Read the screenplay. If you don't think it
bears a resemblance to recent events, you're in denial.
Our feisty nation turns passive
Why are we giving Bush a free pass?
It will be a question historians will debate perhaps for centuries to come.
How did a president remain solidly popular with the American people, even
though:
-The economy stagnated during his watch.
-He turned a projected federal surplus of $5.7 trillion over the next decade
into a projected $2 trillion deficit, fueled by huge tax cuts that enriched
the wealthy and failed to stimulate the economy.
-He proposed and won more tax cuts, though most economists warned that they
wouldn't likely create many jobs.
-His administration trimmed basic domestic civil rights, including the right
to privacy, counsel and habeas corpus.
-He openly scorned relations with traditional allies and potential friends
worldwide.
-He launched a war against a sovereign nation without establishing why it
was urgent and necessary, and without achieving any of his stated goals for
attacking, except regime change.
-The company once headed by his vice president landed a no-bid contract in
Iraq far more lucrative than originally revealed?...
Too much secrecy
When the government operates in secret, people can be abused.
Locking up the huddled masses
A report by the Justice Department's inspector general
has confirmed what was widely suspected at the time: The department's
wholesale post 9/11 roundup of immigrants from Muslim and Arab countries was
inefficient, unnecessarily abusive and done with little regard for the
detainees' rights.
FCC decision: There goes one more piece of freedom
This is a gross scandal. The Center for Public Integrity has a stunning
study out on the concentration of ownership in telecommunications. The even
more stunning news is that the Federal Communications Commission, which
theoretically represents you and me, is about to make all of it even worse.
And behind this betrayal of the public trust is nothing but rotten,
old-fashioned corruption. It's the old free-trip-to-Vegas ploy, on a grand
scale.
Area may feel effect of FCC move
Looser rules allow NBC to buy the remaining share of the Lowell Paxson's PAX
TV network.
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