Byrd softens stance on phone rate bill
As the political tide surges against his bid to repeal the law, the House speaker opts now for freezing rates.
Tallahassee still spouts party line
A year ago, the Legislature and Gov. Bush perpetrated a fraud on Floridians. They approved the largest local phone-rate increase in the state's history and justified it by saying that the law would result in equal or greater savings.
A year later, the fraud has been laid bare, and several prominent politicians feel just as exposed

House to alter phone rate repeal, aim instead for rate freeze

Bush: Phone rate repeal probably premature

Amendment has developers in a panic
A grass-roots move to give Floridians a defining voice in how their communities grow has touched off a backroom panic among some developers, builders and the politicians they own.
The proposed Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment would provide citizens with the final vote on substantial changes to local comprehensive land-use plans
( www.floridahometowndemocracy.com ).

Byrd's new role: dead speaker walking
It begins to happen in the second year of any House speaker's term. But Johnnie Byrd is not only losing power, he's also losing the respect of his members.
In public at a rally of doctors in white coats, House leaders lined up behind Byrd. But they are close to an open revolt at some of the things he wants to do. They have grown tired of being pawns in his race for the U.S. Senate.

Capitol offenses
There are few places in the industrialized world where politicians would argue over whether they can afford prenatal care for poor pregnant women. Deplorably, Florida is one of them. The proposed budget the Senate will debate this week terminates assistance to some 7,000 women. It also repeals the Medically Needy program, which the Legislature made a huge splash about saving just one year ago. For the 27,000 chronically ill people who depend on it, the Senate proposes only prescription drug assistance. They will be expected, presumably, to write their own prescriptions and perform their own surgeries.

State's plan: Disable the disabled
Talking about more, but helping less.

Painful cuts loom for Medicaid
The health care program for the poor is straining the state budget. The ugly solution: cutting programs or participants.

Legislature: House appropriations panel votes out budget

Florida Legislature: Senate panel moves $56.5 billion budget

Pretending to want to help teachers
TALLAHASSEE - Some of the worst bills legislators propose are the ones that sound the best-intentioned. The newest paving brick on the road to you-know-where is a constitutional amendment that propounds an extra homestead exemption for public school and charter school teachers.

Voucher overseer looks beyond criticisms
As the program faces several inquiries, education chief Jim Horne says innovations always prompt attacks.

Testing voucher students may cost taxpayers
By Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Florida taxpayers could shell out more than $700,000 a year for an independent company to evaluate the academic performance of voucher students.

Boost tuition, crank out the grads
Producing workers not same as education.

Legislature: Senate bill would cut stipends for independent foster children

State considers upgrading, consolidating capital workspace

Voting rights of Florida felons under scrutiny

Bill limits felon withholds
The House approves a bill changing the rules for granting withholds of adjudication for felons.
The state House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill Monday that would rein in the use of withholds of adjudication, a decades-old practice intended to be a one-time break for felony offenders.

Bush ally suspended for using e-mail for personal reasons

Small Changes, Big Disruption
A report published in the journal Science says imperceptible changes in ocean temperatures caused the 1930s "Dust Bowl" phenomenon, suggesting that just a small change in the Earth's climate can have drastic consequences on our way of life.

Panhandle dolphin deaths hit 90, two more sick at Gulf World

Schoolkid turns catnip into weapon against mosquitoes
The middle schooler has found a way to transform the herb into a powerful bug repellent.

Those who cross Bush face payback

Let's hear 9/11 record, not just a few lyrics
Selective disclosure won't tell whole story

Listening to Medicare
A new report shows that Medicare is in financial trouble, and the Bush administration's prescription drug program will only make the situation worse.

Rice: all talk, no show
The Bush White House has been struggling to answer testimony by former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke. The way to answer is the same way Mr. Clarke gave his testimony last week: in public, before the 9/11 commission, and under oath.

Molly Ivins: A sad tale of arrogance and ignorance
AUSTIN, Texas — I'd like to thank Richard Clarke for doing the most obvious, decent and necessary thing this country needed from its government after 9-11, and that is to apologize to the families of those who died in those attacks and to admit: "We failed you. ... I failed you." Thanks to former Sen. Bob Kerrey for underlining it.

Molly Ivins: Prize specimens of spin
AUSTIN, Texas — Naturally, when I heard President Bush is now claiming to be in the forefront of the fight against corporate crime, I thought it was an April Fools' joke. But no, there it is in print — he made a big speech about it in Houston, of all places, not far from the Enron building.

3/23-19/04

Scores of opponents protest Bush visit to Orlando and
Anti-war demonstrators take to Florida streets for peace

Judge speeds up suit aimed at adding paper trail to votes and
Election fix stymied by delays, computer doubts, confidence gap

Taking initiative
Legislators want to make it harder to amend the state Constitution with voter initiatives, without giving voters the ability to enact laws.

Lawmaking in full flower
Gov. Bush says he won't sign the House's blueprint for pre-K classes if it reaches his desk.
Pre-K Bill Won't Cut It
The Florida House has started down the wrong road in its efforts to implement the state constitutional amendment requiring universal pre-kindergarten education. It is either misunderstanding or ignoring the will of the voters who passed the amendment.
Pre-K plan at risk of veto
With much negotiating remaining on state-funded preschool, Gov. Bush suggests he would veto as deficient a plan that relaxes many of the rules sought by advocates of early-childhood education.
The champions of Florida's nascent universal preschool system said Monday they would urge the governor to veto the program if lawmakers approve the largely unregulated, low-cost version passed last week by a House committee.

Make no mistake: State voucher setup corrupt
Palm Beach Post Editorial
New abuses due to the lack of accountability

Court: State doesn't need to post bond in school voucher lawsuit

Democrats push for tax cuts to be stalled
To keep social service programs from suffering deep cuts, they say, their Republican counterparts must postpone plans.

By hiding from jokes, Bush, Byrd become one
It helps in the business of governing the state to have a sense of humor. Officials who can take a joke never take themselves too seriously.

Mutiny in the House
Back at the ranch, erstwhile the Florida House of Representatives, Speaker Johnnie Byrd has learned that they're not all like sheep. Congratulations to Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa, Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, and Chairman Jeff Kottkamp, R-Cape Coral, for refusing to let the Judiciary Committee become a subsidiary of Byrd's U.S. Senate campaign committee.

Some in House defend phone rate bill, won't support repeal  3/23/04
Allies scarce as Byrd seeks to repeal rates
Gov. Jeb Bush and Senate President Jim King consider repealing a phone rate increase premature. Democrats say Speaker Johnnie Byrd is merely feeding his U.S. Senate effort.
Byrd changes dial tone
Johnnie Byrd says he wants to repeal last year's record phone-rate increase. No, he wants to become a U.S. senator.
Byrd seeks repeal of phone rate hike bill
The House speaker, now a U.S. senate candidate, says the switch is the right thing to do.
Byrd calls for repeal of phone-rate increase
Phone company representatives were surprised and Democrats were skeptical Monday after House Speaker Johnnie Byrd said he wanted to repeal legislation that led to a controversial $355 million local telephone rate increase.
Repeal Costly Phone-Rate Law
Lawmakers in Tallahassee are apparently listening -- so call them now and tell them to repeal a bad phone-rate law that's going to cost Floridians plenty.
Better late than never
Byrd's reversal on phone rates is welcome
Last year, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd supported legislation that led to the Public Service Commission's approval of Florida's largest-ever local phone rate increase - a whopping $355 million phased in over four years. Now, Mr. Byrd is calling for a repeal of this consumer-unfriendly measure.
House speaker backs repeal of phone rate law

Klayman assails leadership of GOP
The U.S. Senate candidate says fellow Republicans have abandoned their principles.

Election 2004: McCollum wants to send undercover agents to Cuba

The legacy of Bill Sadowski
TALLAHASSEE - Whenever someone writes about how much lobbyists spend to influence the Legislature - as my colleague Lucy Morgan did this month - the winers and diners plaintively insist that they don't discuss actual legislation over good food and drink. It's only about getting to know one another, they say.
That's probably true. But it misses the point.

Democrat's cutting remarks prompt inquiry
A House Democrat implied that contributions propelled a health care bill, angering Republicans. Johnnie Byrd has asked a panel to look into it.

Florida Legislature: House proposes additional $75 million for domestic security

Crawford resigns position
Citrus boss's travel has raised questions
Bob Crawford is stepping down from his job as head of the Florida Department of Citrus, following downturns in the citrus industry and questions about accepting gifts from companies he regulates.
Bob Crawford to leave Citrus Department

'A human rights issue'
A worker needs to pick nearly 2 tons of tomators in one long day to earn $48, without health benefits or overtime pay.

Florida juvenile justice agency reeling, looking for answers

Miami foster-care chief fired by DC

 
BSO, DCF clash over tot's death
BSO Investigators attributed the death of a 3-year-old earlier this month while in the care of a 17-year-old sibling to ''inadequate supervision.'' But a DCF child-abuse hotline refused to investigate because of a new policy that forbids investigations when the alleged perpetrator is also a child. The policy has caused a rift between BSO and DCF.

For some people, just living can at times feel a little like a crime
No police report was taken. Nothing had happened. It was all a misunderstanding, the officers said.
But as far as Jesse Tucker was concerned, something real and palpable occurred that morning in mid February.

Famed reporter Carl Bernstein thinks little of modern journalism

Supreme Court sidesteps major ruling in Everglades pollution case
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court, sidestepping a major decision on the government's power to regulate clean water, told a Florida court Tuesday to reconsider a pollution dispute involving the Everglades.

Researchers try to unravel mystery of disappearing eel

McCain vs. the merchants of fear
As I wrote this column, McCain was demonstrating the courage of his convictions by speaking his mind, by voicing what he considers to be an unpopular truth that will further alienate him from GOP loyalists. When asked on CBS and NBC talk shows if Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry is weak on defense, as President Bush's campaign ads and Vice President Dick Cheney argue, McCain said: "No, I do not believe that he is, quote, weak on defense."

Kerry says Bush is soft on Chávez
John Kerry charges that President Bush's passive approach to backing opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez reflects a larger record of `sending mixed signals.'
Presumed Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry is accusing the White House of failing to promote democratic reforms in Venezuela, focusing attention on an issue that Democrats believe could hamper President Bush's quest for Hispanic votes in Florida.

Bush ex-insider disputes pre-9/11 myth
Richard Clarke says Iraq was administration's priority from the start.
White House rebuts Clarke's charges
The White House blasted former adviser Richard Clarke's allegations that President Bush had botched the U.S. anti-terrorism effort.

Joel Eskovitz: Corps of Engineers reform; presidential visit
Calls to reform the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are getting louder, and the ramifications could be felt in Southwest Florida and coastal communities around the country seeking federal money for beach projects.

Refusing to recuse
Justice Antonin Scalia's 21-page explanation of why he refuses to recuse himself from a case involving Vice President Dick Cheney after the two of them went duck-hunting proves that justice is more deaf than blind.

Molly Ivins: Election season gets off to an flying star
AUSTIN, Texas — My, we are off to an elegant start here, aren't we?
First, we have John Kerry in a classic open-mike gaffe referring to his Republican opponents as "crooked" and "lying." While this was not a high point in the history of political rhetoric, Kerry's refusal to apologize for the overhead remark promptly solidified his base.

3/18-16/04

Business group proposes changes in Florida's higher education
Florida's public universities should increase per-student funding and aid to low-income students by significantly raising tuition and making it tougher to receive state-funded scholarships, an influential business group told the Board of Governors Thursday.
Rising college costs protested
Florida students rally to support scholarship, prepaid programs
Gabe Pendas is fed up with tuition increases. "A lot of us are of the philosophy that education should be a right, not a privilege," said Gabe Pendas, a junior from Miami studying physics at Florida State University. "Shifting cost from the state to the student is going against that belief."
Florida Legislature: College students call on lawmakers to keep scholarships intact

Flock backs away from Byrd
Some House Judiciary Committee Republicans bristle at Speaker Johnnie Byrd's push to limit attorney fees in medical malpractice cases.

They bring in cash, and spend it
Lobbyists wine and dine lawmakers to help get legislation considered. And the check is getting bigger.

Deep healthcare cuts pushed
An estimated 7,000 poor pregnant women would lose prenatal and delivery care, thousands of chronically ill Floridians would lose coverage for doctor visits and the children of legal immigrants would be dropped from the state medical insurance program under a round of healthcare budget cuts state lawmakers unveiled Wednesday.
Early budget ideas hit social services
Senators say many of the proposed cuts may be scaled back as the budget process continues to move along.
Legislature mulls tough cuts to health care programs

Bush lays out plan for windfall
The governor wants the $1.1-billion in new money to pay down debt and help businesses and Medicaid.
TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush on Monday urged lawmakers to use a $1.1-billion windfall to avoid debt, provide a new corporate tax break and plug a hole in the exploding Medicaid budget.

Legislature: FDLE wants fingerprints of would-be name changer

Two universities appeal to set up medical schools
The Board of Governors faces what many in higher education view as a test of political independence.

Legislature: House panel approves grants for students at religious schools

Gallagher closes investigation on virtual schools

Some call pre-K bill beggarly
TALLAHASSEE - A bill that both Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and many Democratic legislators fear would water down standards for a constitutionally required prekindergarten program moved through the House Education Committee on Wednesday.
Set standards high for pre-K program
'This is about school readiness, not about simply watching over your children.'
Panel passes limited pre-K plan
A House committee passes a pre-kindergarten initiative that rejects many elements of Gov. Jeb Bush's proposal, saying that program would create too much bureaucracy.
Two years after voters demanded tax-paid pre-kindergarten, conservatives in the Florida House voted Wednesday to create a program with scant accreditation standards, few educational requirements for teachers and only three hours of daily instruction.
House dilutes pre-K plans
Kilmer says bill offers flexibility
"Every 4-year-old child in Florida shall be provided by the state a high quality pre-kindergarten learning opportunity in the form of an early childhood development and education program which shall be voluntary, high quality, free and delivered according to professional standards."

Two charter school chiefs also taking vouchers
They get public money for their charter schools and also run private schools that take state vouchers.
Report: Two directors of charter schools also run private schools

State vouchers whistle-blower's firing discussed
Board of Education member Charles Garcia of Boca Raton questions the firing of Bob Metty, who is largely responsible for exposing problems with Florida's voucher programs.

State delayed reports of boy hurt at center
Juvenile officials delayed reports and declined to conduct a state investigation into a restraint that broke the wrist of a boy at Palm Beach County's juvenile detention center.

Pariente chosen as next chief justice of Fla. Supreme Court

Keep Trust Funds Intact
"Affordable" housing isn't just for the poor. It's also for teachers, firefighters, police officers and other middle-class workers who are often forced by high urban housing costs to live far from their places of employment, thus contributing to urban sprawl, which consumes large swaths of open space and exacerbates traffic congestion.

Human-rights champion visits Florida pickers
By Christine Evans, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, sees the difficult conditions of Florida's tomato pickers and calls for better wages for the grueling work.

Tenet's damaging secrecy
Seeking more money while 'dumping' patients.

Broader canker search powers sought
Legislation that gives Florida agriculture officials broad search warrant powers to combat citrus canker is moving quickly through House and Senate.
State agriculture officials fighting the spread of citrus canker would be able to go into homeowners' backyards to look for infected trees without notice, under sweeping changes lawmakers proposed Wednesday.

Flood of unwanted spam turning users from e-mail
Frustrated by floods of spam, a significant number of computer users are reducing their use of e-mail and losing faith in the Internet despite a new law designed to stop spam, a survey released Wednesday shows.

Patriot Act throws book at our rights as readers
Although Pike and librarians like her know that agents could come knocking at any time, most library users probably don't realize that the federal law could affect them.
It permits federal investigators to get personal information - an address, for instance - and, if possible, to learn what people have been reading.

Phone rate hike must go: Here's how to get it killed
Dear Mr. Speaker,
I spent last week in Tallahassee, and everybody said you would like to do something to fix that awful telephone rate hike that you passed last year. The trouble is, there's no graceful way just to turn around and repeal it.
Crist: Phone rate hike documents should be open to public

Hospitals act to block price cap
Bay area hospitals place an ad blasting a perceived threat by lawmakers to cap emergency room fees.

Bill could imprison thousands
Thousands of people who violate probation would have to go to prison for at least five years under a measure that sailed through a House committee Wednesday, part of the reaction to last month's abduction and murder of Carlie Brucia.

Key West Commission backs same-sex marriages, decries Bush move

FIU environmental research effort questioned

Roll the tape: It's Everglades 101
Missing ingredient still money from Congress.

Dirty politics, dirtier air
Palm Beach Post Editorial
How the public lost, without having a say.

Administration outsmarts itself
The Bush administration may not have lied about a drug bill, but it knew the bill was irresponsible.

Molly Ivins: How much fun can one administration have?
AUSTIN, Texas Ñ How much fun can one administration have? More dead GIs. New record trade deficit. Stock market plunges. Ally in Spain goes down to defeat. The new Spanish prime minister says the occupation in Iraq is a "continuing disaster" and he's pulling his troops out. Still no jobs. And then they guy who was supposed to be the new jobs czar turns out to have laid off 75 of his own workers and then built a $3 million factory in China to employ 165 Chinese people. Whoever has the aspirin concession at the White House must be making a fortune.

False advertisement
A couple of promotional videos purporting to explain the Medicare prescription drug benefit are actually taxpayer-funded ads for the Bush campaign.




 

3/15-10/04

Swanee Hunt: Black voting power
Black voters can flex their political muscle this year. High unemployment and a down economy have hit minority communities hard. After losing jobs in record numbers, they could go to the polls and fire the president.
Vote-less ballots worry Broward Democrats
and..
Blind voters sue over level of audio training for poll workers
and...
Panhandle airport supporters say straw poll vote shouldn't matter
and...
Audit: Developmentally disabled billing system is flawed

Rhetoric meets reality
Voters and political leaders had high hopes for Florida's pre-K program. Now legislators call the standards for implementation unrealistic.

DOE's paranoia
The firing of Robert Metty, who raised questions about the Department of Education's handling of school vouchers, reveals a culture of suppression at the agency.
Voucher crowd silences a whistle-blower . . .
Ideology triumphs over the state's interest.
Voucher crowd shows hypocrisy
Double standard on view during staged rally.

Legislature: Bush signs KidCare bill, removing 71,000 kids from waiting list

Bush closes eyes to pain of cutbacks in Medicaid
 The governor wants Medicaid overhauled, top to bottom, because it's eating up too much of the state budget. The cost has doubled in the past six years.
Bush is right about the Medicaid challenge. But rather than chase after problems at the top, like the corporate income tax cheats who owe millions and could contribute to a solution, Bush is simply chipping away at the state's biggest program for care of those at the bottom.

Some see drug database as an invasion of privacy
Patrick Blair, retired Madison County farmer, said "whoa" when he heard the state is planning to put people's drug prescriptions in a database in order to prevent abuse. He called his local legislator and the governor to complain.
Joel Eskovitz: Consumer privacy issues enter outsourcing debate
Outsourcing has emerged as one of the big hot-button issues of this year's election ever since one of the president's advisers said farming out work that had been done in America is a positive step for free trade and our nation's economy
Bush reaffirms his desire for privatization
Gov. Jeb Bush is putting privatization on the fast track. Perhaps for the benefit of those not convinced by his three statewide campaigns, who dozed through both Bush inaugural addresses and managed to miss six State of the State speeches, the governor signed an executive order last week. It revealed that "it is a priority of this administration to improve the way state agencies deliver services to its citizens."
Florida company bought drivers' data, report says

Lawmakers trivialize their jobs
Driven by the meddlesome right wing of the Republican Party, the Florida Legislature has almost talked its way out of a job. Since Gov. Jeb Bush arrived in town six years ago promoting empty-building government and giving away fundamental government responsibilities to private companies, lawmakers devote themselves to variations of proselytizing.

Government works hard to keep us in the dark
 Today is "Sunshine Sunday," a day set aside by Florida's newspapers to emphasize the importance of open government and public records.
This is not some dusty topic - it is the blood and guts of our democracy. This is a day for remembering which is the master, the citizens or the government.
Keep records public
Lawmakers call them 'exemptions,' but they're really windows closed to public access.
Sunshine Sunday
"Improper services to capitalists are usually rendered behind closed doors" said President Theodore Roosevelt, who knew first-hand the corruption and self-dealing that politicians engaged in away from the public's gaze. As Roosevelt suggested, the best way to keep government accountable is to open it to the sunshine.
Stay Informed, Stay Vigilant
Open government and open records are vital tools of state government that help Floridians reach fair and informed decisions and better determine the way state residents want their society to operate.
Sunshine State
Open government sets Florida apart
It is important to be mindful of the fact that what makes our nation great is not how well we can make and keep secrets. Rather it is our legacy of an open government - a defining factor of our democracy - a mark that sets us apart from most other nations in the world."
Newspapers' effort makes public aware of open records laws

Charlie Crist has backbone to go with that smile
TALLAHASSEE - In his first 14 months as attorney general of Florida, Charlie Crist has managed to slow down a massive telephone rate increase, which had been put through by his fellow Republicans in the Legislature and the governor's mansion.

Who is for the farm worker?
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is touting legislation to improve the lives of Florida's 300,000-plus farm workers, who endure institutional and systemic injustices each day in our fields and groves and their personal lives....
In essence, Bush's proposal is a cleaned-up red herring, outlining an anemic effort to go after crew chiefs, the middlemen. It does not not go after the true culprits in this unethical system: the big shots who own the farms, the wealthy movers and shakers who control Florida's agribusiness.
Plow deeper on reform
Modern-day slavery: Gov. Bush's bill not good enough.
Still a harvest of shame
The new laws Gov. Jeb Bush proposed Monday could improve life for Florida farm workers, but the package overlooks the economic reality that underpins this shameful working environment. Cracking down on crew chiefs who harm their workers is a key part of any solution, but so is penalizing the growers, who - more than anyone - are responsible for the workers' living conditions. This legislation, for all of its strengths, does not take away the financial incentive to exploit and mistreat migrant workers.
Citrus officials booked business class flights to Japan

Legislature: Ostrich feed tax exemption repeal bill fails committee vote

Bill would require filters on public library computers
Public libraries would be required to install porn filters on computers, under a bill approved by a Senate committee over objections of librarians.

Is it better government or revenge?
The issue is the Florida Constitution -- specifically, how Floridians can change the constitution.
Legislature: Senate panel approves limits on citizen initiatives

Do the right thing
When voters approved construction of a bullet train four years ago, they also mandated that construction begin by Nov. 1, 2003.

Women arrested in FTAA protests sue over Miami-Dade strip search
and...
Penelas addresses critics over police tactics at FTAA talks

Pinched again at pump
Plenty of explanation for price spike, but no answers.

Bigotry has a new ally: black people
Call it an object lesson in the quality of equality. I refer to the Senate subcommittee hearing on the proposed constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage. And specifically, to an exchange between two leaders of the black community.

Tampa extends medical benefits to employees' domestic partners

Key West begins removing homeless from endangered wetlands
and..
Governor, Cabinet allow Keys development plan to move ahead

Research shows Florida Indian tribe may have survived in Cuba

State well study shows no hazards near Plant City plant

Lawsuit filed to protect mussels
An environmental group has filed a federal lawsuit to try to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect threatened and endangered mussels in the Ochlockonee River and the Apalachicola River system.

Molly Ivins: We're having a grand old time here in Texas
AUSTIN, Texas — Gosh, we are having such a swell time here in Texas. For starters, once again the speaker of the Texas House is under investigation by a grand jury. We're so proud. We have nothing against this guy personally, we're just rooting for an indictment as a matter of Texas tradition. This would make five out of the last six House speakers indicted for one thing or another, and you must admit, that's some record.

Aristide leaves Africa for Jamaica
By Peter Eisner, The Washington Post
Haiti's interim prime minister opposes, calling his return to the Caribbean an 'unfriendly act.'
Imagine if there were oil in Haiti
Imagine if there were oil in Haiti Some people are actually surprised that the Bush administration twiddled its thumbs while the democratically elected president of a neighboring republic was run out of office by armed thugs.

3/9-5/04

International monitors will watch election
They've monitored voting in Haiti; now they're on their way to El Salvador. Their next stops? Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Oliphant charged with 55 counts of election law violations
TALLAHASSEE -- Suspended Broward Supervisor of Elections Miriam Oliphant has been charged with 55 counts of violating election laws.

Lift the veil on voting
Want to see how a lawmaker voted on a bill? Good luck. Legislators have spent millions on computer technology, but trying to track their votes is tough.

Congressman sues state over ballots
Florida's voting machines came under attack again Monday when a lawmaker sued state elections supervisors because new ballot counters lack a paper trail needed for possible recounts.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler said voters need to be assured every vote is counted, particularly in close races where a manual recount is required by law.
Wexler files lawsuit demanding printers for new voting machines
U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler took his crusade for voting machine printers back to court Monday, filing a federal lawsuit in West Palm Beach that claims having no way to manually recount votes from touch-screen machines is a violation of federal law.

Political Ads Would Be Gone If I Were King
This is probably political unorthodoxy on a Luther-like scale of heresy and/or why I would be an abysmal failure as a stump consultant.
Still, it must be asked: Simply because you have almost $200 million in campaign funds sloshing around a bank account, where does it say you have to spend it?

Where are the jobs?
More than two years into the economic recovery, the job recovery hasn't arrived.

Competition? Sounds phony now
When Verizon and other phone companies persuaded the Legislature to pass the largest residential rate hike in state history last year, one of their main arguments was that the action would increase competition. Now that claim looks hypocritical if not downright deceptive. Instead of encouraging competition, Verizon - along with rate-winner BellSouth and other former Baby Bells - has been busy making life impossible for its rivals.

High court under attack again
Stripping away the power and independence of the state courts has been a mission of Gov. Jeb Bush's and the Legislature's. In recent years, Bush has successfully gained greater control over judicial appointments by changing the way members of judicial nominating commissions are chosen. Now, all appointments to the 26 commissions are made by him. The Legislature has repeatedly tried to take over the Florida Bar budget and has even entertained the idea of removing the death penalty from the jurisdiction of the Florida Supreme Court.

Amendments panel seems to be soaked in contempt
TALLAHASSEE - Well, I'll be foozleblogged. I spent Monday afternoon watching a committee of our Legislature in action, and the group could not have produced a more fatuous, wrong-headed collection of bad ideas if somebody had set down to script the whole thing. Which, come to think of it, somebody probably did.
Let's get right to the main points passed by the House Select Committee on Constitutional Amendments:

A plan to crack down on petitions, or citizens?
One of the big political questions in Florida this year will be whether to crack down on citizen petitions to amend the state Constitution.
It's possible the Legislature will ask the citizens to vote to give up some power.
Now, right off the bat, I think that the citizens need to impose two iron-clad demands on the Legislature in return:...

Panel OKs petition limits
Some constitutional issues wouldn't be considered
People who want to change the state constitution by petition drive could be limited to issues dealing with the structure of government or individual rights under a recommendation approved Monday by a House panel.

Bill would cap housing, land funds
Senate leaders are working to keep affordable housing and land conservation trust funds at current spending levels

Tallahassee's disgrace
Lobbyists in Florida's capital are buying votes, writing bills and making their fortunes - at the cost of political integrity.
Inside Southern Strategy, connections help
In 1996, when Republicans took over the state Legislature, Paul Bradshaw lobbied for just three clients: Advanced Drainage Systems of Orlando, the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and St. Philip Towing of Tampa.
David Rancourt was a $63,000-a-year lobbyist for the secretary of state, and John Thrasher was working his way up the leadership ladder in the House.
Today the three sit atop Southern Strategy Group Inc., a Tallahassee lobbying firm not 5 years old that illustrates how fast wealth can accumulate for lobbyists with connections.
Lobby tales ... through the years
In 1931, lobbyists pushing to legalize racetracks and parimutuel wagering in Florida shipped a carload of "ladies of the evening" to the Goodwood Plantation, an antebellum compound in Tallahassee where a group of senators roomed.
The details of what happened at Goodwood are lost to history, but that year the Senate passed a bill that legalized racing.
MoneyWorld: Admission prices are through the roof
A new crop of lobbyists - young, Republican and connected - are having themselves a time.

Workers' comp is dying at the hands of the Florida Legislature
It would take the rest of this column to itemize the rotten things that the Legislature did to Florida workers last year under pressure from the governor and the business lobbies to get workers' comp insurance premiums "under control." So let's talk today just about the worst.

Measure protects migrant workers
Migrant farm workers could be in line for improved working and living conditions while labor contractors would face increased penalties if they abuse seasonal workers under legislation Gov. Jeb Bush backed Monday.

Politicians show weight of union rallies
Two mass rallies by two unions of state employees - 48 hours and 250 miles apart - illustrate the importance Florida politicians place on them in this election year.

Casino-profit cleanup
Nothing better illustrates the excess of gambling than the way Florida Seminole tribal leaders have poured through their casino profits. Tribal leaders spent tens of millions of dollars in recent years, frittering away much of the money on cars, vacations and lavish gifts at the expense of legitimate tribal needs. Now, after too long a wait, the federal government is finally putting on the brakes, giving the tribe the option of cleaning up its act or risk losing the lucrative casinos. This is an appropriate use of regulatory power. Seminole leaders have a responsibility to the tribe and to the larger society on which gambling preys

Governing in the light? Lately, not so much
A few clouds appeared across the Florida Sunshine Law this week. It is to be expected whenever legislators gather.

Bush opposes gay civil unions
Governor says law already permits couples to join their financial assets
Despite a poll showing public support of civil unions for gays and lesbians, Gov. Jeb Bush said Monday that he would oppose legalizing the unions because existing contract law allows such couples to merge financial assets.
Poll: Voters not in favor of gay marriage, support civil unions

Abortion proposal is all politics
The Legislature has a lot on its plate this session, confronting serious issues of education, health care and budgeting. But House Speaker Johnnie Byrd has some other ideas as to what is most important: He wants to add an amendment to the state Constitution that would force minor daughters to notify their parents before obtaining an abortion.

Whistle-blower at state Education Department fired
The state Education Department fired a whistle-blower whose complaint helped lead to a criminal charge and several probes of Gov. Jeb Bush's school voucher programs.

Uncaring KidCare bill
It aims to make the problem of uninsured residents go away by ignoring those in need.

Probation officers' case input to be held back
Judges criticize recent move by Department of Corrections
Five weeks after a man on probation was charged with murdering 11-year-old Carlie Brucia, the Department of Corrections is changing the way judges get their information about people who violate their probation.

Prison guards, probation officers promised raises
Lawmakers court police group
Republican legislative leaders and Big Bend lawmakers promised prison guards and probation officers Monday that the 2004 Legislature will come through with pay raises and increase staffing levels in Florida prisons.

Inmate DNA testing at issue
Measure would deny requests
Because of a tiff between state legislators and the judiciary, hundreds of prisoners who say they were wrongly convicted may not get a chance to prove their innocence, advocates say.

Juvenile Justice keeps on cleaning house
As the fallout continues in the death of Omar Paisley, the state's interim Juvenile Justice head suspends 14 employees whose inaction may have led to the 17-year-old's death.

State Coronet Study Disputed
PLANT CITY - A national expert in environmental medicine and toxicology calls the state health department's recent investigation into cancer rates near Coronet Industries ``meaningless'' and ``irrelevant.''

Retain strict protection of Keys
Proposal before Cabinet would allow more harm.
Amid mangroves, tourists, Key West runs out of room for homeless

Ruling addresses dairy waste
Environmentalists had filed a suit against dairy farmers for the way they dispose of animal waste.
State waterways still polluted
Florida is failing to protect waterways across the state from pollution by livestock operations, a circuit court judge in Tallahassee ruled Monday.

Molly Ivins: Here's why Dick Cheney is a laugh riot
AUSTIN, Texas Ñ So the Democrats have a candidate at last, and he is about bent over double with gravitas. I think that means he doesn't a have humorous bone in his body. It's a good thing there's at least one serious person in this race Ñ the Bushies are getting sillier and sillier...

Kerry promises vigilance at polls
At a local visit, the Democratic presidential hopeful says he'll take whatever legal steps are needed to prevent Republicans 'from stealing the election again.'

Bush and the myth of great leadership
President Bush's new campaign ads are on the air and generating unintended consequences.
Nov. 2, of course, will tell us if these ads were effective. We do not need to wait until November to know, however, that these ads are some of the most cynical, tasteless, deceptive and exploitative the nation has ever seen.

3/4-2/04

Governor accentuates positive, rallies GOP
Jeb Bush speaks as a uniter, rallying fellow Republicans and avoiding divisive topics. Outside, about 2,000 protesters tick those off...
Bush: State on right path
Gov. Jeb Bush convened the legislature by saluting its GOP-dominated leadership.
State of the state
A few items the governor left out
For the capital city, Gov. Jeb Bush's silence regarding state employees in his 2004 State of the State address to lawmakers Tuesday is probably a good sign.
Governor's Speech Dodges Bullet Train, Class-Size Issues
Noticeably absent from Gov. Jeb Bush's State of the State speech Tuesday was any mention of repealing costly constitutional amendments to produce the bullet train and smaller public school classes.
State of the State: Bush highlights economy, family and education

Local delegates respond to State of the State speech

Protest focuses on Bushes, education
More than 3,000 flocked to Tallahassee to protest both Bushes and education programs including the FCAT and One Florida.
2,000 Protest Bush Brothers' Policies
As a college freshman four years ago, Anequa Williams participated in a sit-in at the state Capitol, joining thousands of people angered by Gov. Jeb Bush's decision to abolish affirmative action.
Protesters lash out against Haitian policy, state issues

Don't Raid Trust Funds
Gov. Jeb Bush didn't mention it Tuesday during his State of the State speech to the Florida Legislature, but his plan to abolish two affordable housing trust funds merits attention, and opposition.

Ah, cliches; it's the same old lines in Tallahassee
Although he is retired, noted cliche expert Dr. I.M. Hackneyed agreed to be interviewed for the opening day of the 2004 session of the Florida Legislature....

GOP reception an exception to the new rule
TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Senate has clamped down on campaign fundraising by its members during the session that began Tuesday. But the new restriction will be ignored next week, so the money can keep flowing to the state Republican Party...
Senate bars all political fundraising during session
Leaders won't say if the House will follow. A rule now only bars members from raising money for their own campaigns while legislating...

Bush to push for bullet-train repeal
Gov. Jeb Bush and Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher began a petition campaign today to repeal the 2000 constitutional amendment mandating construction of a high-speed rail system between Florida's major cities.
Bush To Push Repeal Of Rail
TALLAHASSEE - The drive to repeal a voter-mandated high- speed rail system, something lawmakers are proving unwilling to tackle themselves, will get a major push today from Gov. Jeb Bush and Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher. ...

Endangered trust
Affordable housing plan is illogical
Since 1992, the state's affordable housing trust funds have helped more than 150,000 Floridians obtain decent housing while earning the support of home builders, Realtors and housing activists alike. It's a widely praised program with virtually no opponents - except Gov. Jeb Bush.

Around the legislature (St Pete Times legislative updates)

House members should stand up to Johnnie Byrd
After watching the Florida House of Representatives in action during the last regular session and the interminable special sessions, how could anyone doubt the veracity of Speaker Johnnie Byrd's comment that the members of the House are sheep?...

Cuts for the poor
Gov. Bush's proposed budget takes $325-million from Medicaid, leaving Florida's elderly residents in nursing home care especially vulnerable.
In the expanding national debate over how to provide medical care for poor women and children and nursing homes for poor seniors, give Gov. Jeb Bush credit for his candor. He says he wants to cut Medicaid spending even if it means leaving some people in the cold...

$30 million in leaders' projects gets top priority
A bill containing $30 million in 'turkeys' sought by Florida's legislative leaders bypasses the usual committee review and is on track to be approved this week.

House bill would force flags in classrooms, cost on schools
By Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Lawmakers want every public classroom in Florida to display the U.S. flag but don't want to pay for them.

Legislature's new tack on disputed measures: speed
Bills on hot-button issues are roaring toward passage as lawmakers try to avoid acrimony in an election year...

Seniors who fail FCAT may lose alternate route to graduation
A committee report suggests ending the use of SAT or ACT scores to qualify for a diploma.

Legislature 2004: Two-year colleges in line for 7.6% budget hike
Florida's public universities and community colleges will watch anxiously in the coming weeks to see how state legislators allocate money.

Aiming to please the NRA
Here is the Florida Senate's idea of progress: Instead of shaking down taxpayers to clean up lead pollution at gun ranges, charge those who get gun permits from the state. Admittedly, that comes closer to putting the burden on the responsible parties, but it still falls short of making the polluter pay. This gun license fee (call it what it is - a tax) is a desperate attempt to make a distasteful bill palatable. What it really does is prove that legislators will throw out every principle they supposedly believe in to satisfy a feared special interest, in this case the National Rifle Association...
Fee hikes would fund cleanup of gun ranges
Sparked by a Pinellas case, the fees are part of a bill that exempts gun range owners from removing lead and arsenic contamination...

Capital slaughter
The Florida Legislature isn't just a sheep ranch; it's a slaughterhouse. What has been happening with the KidCare bill discredits not just the House, where it might have been expected, but the Senate as well...
Senate passes KidCare bill
KidCare would expand by 90,000 children under a bill passed today by the Senate which provides subsidized health insurance to more kids and ends the program's waiting list that became an embarrassment to lawmakers.
Legislature: Reducing KidCare waiting list moves forward in House, Senate

Parental rights plan cut back
A controversial parental rights proposal dies after the leader of the Florida House decides to go with a narrower Senate version.
On the second day of the lawmaking session, the leader of the Florida House threw in the towel for his wide-ranging Parental Rights Amendment, even though it was a hallmark of his campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Confidentiality on demand
When it comes to getting a fair shake from the Public Service Commission, many Floridians feel that the rules are stacked in favor of the phone, electric and water companies seeking rate increases. Indeed they are, according to a new study by a consumer organization. In particular, the PSC routinely allows utilities to stop the public from seeing documents that could help them fight higher rates...

To prod slowpokes, state may hike tuition
Florida universities might return to block tuition, where students pay for a full load even if they take less...

Public housing bribery ring is busted
Federal prosecutors charge housing authority employees with demanding bribes from poor people seeking public housing.
Federal prosecutors say government employees in Pompano Beach were shaking down the city's poorest residents -- demanding kickbacks for coveted spots in subsidized housing.

Judge sets up review of water-cleanup work
A federal judge has taken Everglades pollution cleanup off the public stage, at least temporarily, by setting up a procedure for expert review of federal and state restoration work.

Advocate fights to save sea turtles in Key West Harbor dredging

Disenfranchised
When Florida Democrats go to the polls Tuesday, they will be presented with a choice of nine presidential candidates. What a sham.

Learning to love child labor
How Bush can start paying off his debt.

After pigeon inspections, Bush eats crow
If so many lives had not been lost and were not still being lost each day, the Bush administration's weapons of mass destruction faux-intelligence campaign leading up to the invasion of Iraq would be laughable...

3/1/04

Protest will descend on capital
Organizers of a march that drew national civil rights leaders and more than 10,000 people to Tallahassee in 2000 are planning another protest Tuesday -- the opening day of the 2004 Florida Legislature and the 10-state "Super Tuesday" presidential primary.

Tallahassee is more like land of Oz
The governor hears and believes only what he wants - and no bad news - ever.
Gov. Bush at his peak of influence
"Every revolution begins with one person, relentlessly pursuing a deep and compelling internal vision," Gov. Jeb Bush told the 2001 Legislature.

How a girl's pain puts House and Senate on a collision course
What's going on in the state Legislature is tantamount to two trains set to run smack into each other when they get to the station.

Patients may lose cherished bed
A Bush Medicaid cut could leave nursing home patients who have to be hospitalized.

Indigent Care Crisis Looming
Last month on these pages, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board examined the revolving door through which the severely and persistently mentally ill intersect with the criminal justice system, and suggested some solutions to the problem. Recent developments, however, suggest that things may soon get even worse.

Fixing flaws spawns disputes
Senate President Jim King blames lawmakers for the problems, saying they didn't pay attention to details in crafting the law.

Protect policyholders
Legislature must deal with core problem: rising rates.
Wrecked cars should be restored with similar -- not inferior -- parts. Home buyers who move into houses damaged by lightning or leaky pipes deserve the chance to buy insurance. Property owners denied coverage deserve to know why, so they can fix the problems....
Insurance issue looms over legislators
A three-year projection of the state employee insurance plan's finances illustrates why Gov. Jeb Bush wants to radically change the system.

Election heightens session's intensity
November angst ratchets up partisanship as legislators handle health care, jobs and children's issues.

Cleaning house at DJJ
Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice is getting cleaned out, and not a minute too soon. Top officials have been ousted, while Secretary Bill Bankhead - out on a face-saving medical leave - has been replaced, at least for now. The shakeup is good news, provided it brings to the department a new culture along with the fresh faces.

Florida voters want more money spent on public schools, poll finds
South Florida voters have two messages for Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Legislature: Don't repeal our class-size mandate, and spend more money on public schools.

Star-spangled distraction: Educators need more than flags
Florida Senate Bill 612, requiring all classrooms in Florida, including colleges and universities, to display an American flag may be viewed by some as a worthy attempt to promote patriotism.

Study finds dolphins living in Fla. lagoon getting rare ulcers

Endorsements reveal principles
Why papers should take sides in elections.

Getting fakery down to a science
Certainty without all those annoying facts.
Did everybody see the Bush administration's claim that black and brown are white? It was so typical of today's Washington -- until Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson conceded that it was a mistake.
Admission of a mistake was new. The Environmental Protection Agency administrator still hasn't discussed what the inspector general reported: that the EPA said the air around Ground Zero in New York was safe before it tested the air and then, after it tested, said the air was safe even though some of its tests showed otherwise. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman still hasn't admitted that her department has no way to support her claim that there's no reason to worry that mad cow disease can affect Americans.

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