Jeb Bush may be the take-charge optimist Florida needs
...A couple of weeks before the election, I asked Bush if he had any regrets in the way he had governed the first four years, particularly since he had campaigned in 1998 as a moderate who reached out to minorities, independents and pro-choice women.
Bush said he was "disappointed" about his administration's slow pace in pushing to better manage the state's growth. He promised he would address the issue in a second term, particularly since unmanaged growth has turned so many schools into classroom trailer parks.
He was "angry about public corruption" and lamented that the GOP- controlled Legislature didn't back legislation that would set tough penalties for those who abuse public office.
And, Bush said, he was "saddened" by the black community's reaction to his One Florida initiative, which has succeeded in helping more minorities go to college and do business with the state without using race-based affirmative action. "I know we hurt people along the way," he said, "in terms of the perception of taking something away. People viewed it as a civil right, which it isn't. It was profound. I could have been more sensitive to that."
A few days later, he e-mailed to me more regrets, including "not pushing for reforms quick enough" at the Department of Children & Families. "Progress was being made, but the culture didn't change as it should have."
Over the years, I've tried to understand what makes Bush tick and found that there's more to him than his big-business connections. There's spirit and faith and an unrelenting belief that any child - no matter the color, no matter how poor - can succeed if challenged. I've pounded him on tax cuts over and over again, but I don't question his sincerity when it comes to his education reforms... (Tall. Dem 11/20/02)
By Myriam Marquez
ORLANDO SENTINEL on 11/12/02 titled Room for regrets and a potential for greatness

Bush fully embraces class size amendment
TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush has put aside any "devious plans" to shelve the class size amendment.  ... "I'm governor of everyone," Bush said.- Even those who disagree with him. 
"Republicans, we're going to have to think differently than in the past," King told senators.-- "An increase in taxes, though certainly not what any of us wants, will have to be considered," he added.

Bush stumped over how to cap class sizes
Two weeks after Gov. Jeb Bush campaigned against the class-size measure warning it would cost $27 billion and force him to raise taxes, the governor is now saying he's so unsure of how to implement the voter-approved constitutional amendment that he doesn't know what it will cost, nor whether the state will need to raise taxes.

Gambling would degrade Florida in the long run
Floridians have had three chances to expand gambling in this state through ballot initiatives, and each time they responded with a definitive "no." Yet some state lawmakers are reopening a door that voters shut in 1978, 1986 and 1994.

Bush, Dinnen interested in definitions on class size issue
TALLAHASSEE — Florida needs about 16,000 new teachers each year to replace those who leave and to handle student growth. Add class-size reduction to the equation and the demand grows to nearly 25,000.

Gov. Bush, Dinnen of teacher's union meet privately
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Jeb Bush and the president of the teacher's union met privately to talk education policy Tuesday and emerged smiling. The two political opponents both told reporters they appreciated the meeting, which Bush arranged, as he said he would, shortly after defeating Bill McBride, the Democrat endorsed by the Florida Education Association for governor.

State's new two-party Legislature: yin and yang
TALLAHASSEE -- The Senate is Eeyore. The House is Pooh.
The Senate is a sad St. Bernard. The House is a happy wiener dog....
In sum, the outlook of the two halves of our state Legislature felt sharply in contrast Tuesday. It was the 14th day after the general election, the day that the Florida Constitution requires the members to convene, organize and choose their leaders.
Both chambers are run by Republicans, but they are the closest thing we have to a two-party system: a Senate Party and a House Party.

GOP leaders vow to get along
Bolstered by the biggest GOP majority ever elected to the Florida Legislature, two very different captains took the helms of the state House and Senate on Tuesday.

Legislature faces multibillion-dollar budget crunch By Mark
Tallahassee · The strongest Republican Party majority the Florida Legislature has experienced in more than 130 years stepped into power on Tuesday facing massive budget problems and a string of questions about how to contend with a new constitutional amendment to reduce class sizes. While hesitantly considering an expansion of legalized gambling -- such as installing video lottery terminals inside existing wagering sites -- to ease the state's multibillion-dollar budget deficit, freshly appointed GOP legislative leaders also pledged during a one-day organizational session to uphold the party mantra of lower taxes and less government.

Get Fair Share Of Federal Aid-- Stingy, stupid, shortsighted state policies deny Florida its fair share of hundreds of millions of federal matching dollars for health and human services for the poor. Those dollars are being returned to Washington or spent in other states smart enough not to look a gift horse in the mouth.- 
Fortunately, a reform campaign called the "Florida Revenue Maximization Initiative" is building momentum. The initiative would force Florida officials to take their blinders off and end objections or indifference to getting a full and fair share of federal aid.

Senate's new leader asks for bodyguard
TALLAHASSEE -- Fearful that he might be harmed by those who won't like upcoming budget cuts, Senate President Jim King is traveling with an armed guard these days.

Miami senator gains high post
Four months after a jury acquitted him of any crime in connection with campaign-finance violations, state Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla stood at the dais of the Florida Senate on Tuesday morning, basking in the accolades of his colleagues.

Democrats may use talent scouts to boost party's chances
Florida Democrats, their ranks and power decimated by a Republican election sweep, could soon turn to Hollywood-style talent scouts in their search for future political stars.

Florida a test for how plan will work
In the past, when a suspicious boat approached South Florida, cops or citizens would call the feds. But which agency: Customs, Immigration, Coast Guard, Drug Enforcement?

Orlando gay rights measure gets preliminary approval
ORLANDO — Gays and lesbians are a step closer to being added to the city's anti-discrimination protection laws, as the City Council gave preliminary approval to their inclusion. Council members voted 4-3 in favor of the measure adding gays and lesbians during a preliminary vote Monday night after an eight-hour public hearing that included 75 speakers.

U.S. Commission questions programs replacing affirmative action
WASHINGTON — Policies in California, Texas and Florida that guarantee admission to public universities for top high school graduates do not make campuses more diverse, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said Tuesday in a draft report.

Alleging fraud, state moves to close adoption agency
The adoption agency near Jacksonville, mired in accusations of fraud, may have its license revoked.

Return to the St. Johns
Of the many names given to Florida's extraordinary St. Johns River, the enduring one may have been taken from a biblical man known for his faith in other waters.

Purchase of 4,000 acres protects Loxahatchee River system - A plan to buy almost 4,000 acres of environmentally sensitive land in Palm Beach and Martin counties was praised on Tuesday as a major step toward preserving part of Florida's past and ensuring clean water and a healthy environment for the future.
"It gives all those animals and plants a place to live that otherwise would be bulldozed," said Joanne Davis, community planner for 1000 Friends of Florida. "It's beautiful [and] pristine. It's breathtaking."

Rock mine wins approval in Miami-Dade despite environmental concerns -- A new rock mine on the fringe of the Everglades won approval from the Miami-Dade County Commission on Tuesday, despite concerns about the project's environmental impact.
The commission voted 12-1 to approve a 110-acre limestone mine in northwest Miami-Dade County proposed by Rinker Materials Corp., a branch of an Australian company that operates one of the largest mining operations in Florida. The limestone will go into cement, asphalt and other building materials.  (see 8/4/02 article , Mining measure addresses roadwork)

Manatee County says no new phosphate mining on thousands of acres BRADENTON, Fla.-- Manatee County has designated more than 12,000 rural acres that drain into tributaries of the Peace River as off-limits to any new phosphate mining proposals.
In it's decision Tuesday, the Manatee County Commission said it wanted to better protect a drinking water supply shared by Sarasota, Charlotte and DeSoto counties.

Domino's founder to build campus, town near Naples
NAPLES, Fla. - The founder of Domino's Pizza announced plans
Wednesday to build a Roman Catholic university and college town in southwest Florida.
Tom Monaghan, who also formerly owned the Detroit Tigers, agreed to enter into a partnership with developer Barron Collier Cos. to build the town near Naples.
In exchange, the developer will donate 750 acres for Ave Maria University. Monaghan said he will enter into a partnership with Lamar Gable, chairman of Barron Collier Cos., in the purchase of 5,000 additional acres for the development of Ave Maria, the university's surrounding town.

WMNF-FM scales back program changes
The community radio station still plans to cut the show Oye Latino while boosting black programming.

Black holes colliding
By Mike Toner, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Scientists have spied two massive black holes colliding with each other in a nearby galaxy.

'I'm old — and owed'
A glance at its budget reveals that the great bulk of the federal government's tax revenues are devoted to three things: military spending, servicing the debt, and transferring wealth from the young to the old. Considered as a matter of principle, the latest proposed multi-billion dollar entitlement program for America's elderly — a prescription drug benefit — is completely indefensible.

Uncivil step: Court ruling creates homeland insecurity
Something is not quite right in the legal system when a federal appeals court doesn't allow both parties in a dispute to make their case before issuing a ruling; when the ruling may not be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and when lawmakers don't even know whether the court they created should or should not be above the law. But that's the case with the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review. 

A green light to spy
Anyone who worries that the war on terrorism will inspire an era of unprecedented government spying on Americans has new cause for concern today. The top-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review handed the government broad new authority on Monday to wiretap phone calls, intercept mail and spy on Internet use of ordinary Americans. The Supreme Court and Congress should reverse this misguided ruling.

Spying, but on whom?
You don't have to be partisan or paranoid to find it a cause for unease that three Reagan appointee appeals judges, named by a conservative Republican chief justice to a shadowy court, meeting in secret at a Justice Department headed by a conservative Republican attorney general, resolved a key issue of personal privacy. Taken by itself, this ruling may not be a terribly big deal. But taken as part of a pattern, it shows a disturbingly dismissive attitude by the Bush administration toward questions of personal privacy, freedom of information and civil liberties.If you're not paranoid, you're not paying attention

If you're not paranoid, you're not paying attention
...As homeland security heats up and federal officials consider extending the government's plans to -- oh, let's just go ahead and say it -- spy on Americans, patriotic citizens who value civil liberties might want to start practicing a few words that could prove useful in the coming weeks and months: "Not no, but hell no."
They should start saying it soon and loudly in the direction of Washington, D.C., as a new domestic- surveillance plan takes shape at the Pentagon. Officials there are in the process of researching a program, titled "Total Information Awareness," that should send chills down Americans' spines....

Reverse wiretap ruling
Palm Beach Post Editorial
It grants secret powers that invite abuse.

Back to the usual pork, pandering to special interests-- WASHINGTON -- The Republicans in the House of Representatives have just given a demonstration of how their party can squander the opportunity created by the midterm election to become the long-term majority in this country.
They have a popular president, control of both House and Senate and a demoralized Democratic opposition. The most imminent threat to their success is their own excess.
So what do they do?
At the first opportunity, they demonstrate exactly the penchant for pandering to special interests that got them in such trouble during the Newt Gingrich days, following their first takeover of Congress in 1994.

Senate OKs Homeland Security bill
The 90-9 vote comes after an amendment to strip certain special-interest benefits is defeated.

'Command' performance
Judge Thomas More was beheaded in 1535 for following his conscience
against the bullies of England's prevailing religion. Judge Roy Moore got elected Alabama's chief justice in 2000 by posing as a bully for the dominant religion.
Justice Moore won't send heretics to the chopping block. The precedents of 225 years of religious liberty in the United States weigh against that. Instead, he ordered hauled into the state's Supreme Court building a 5,280- pound block of granite with his version of the Ten Commandments carved on it. He thereby asserted who's boss -- no, not God; Justice Moore -- and offended Jews, Muslims, atheists, agnostics and many other Christians whose faith is less blustering and offensive than his.

11/19/02

2002 Leonids Meteor Gallery - photos of the Leonid meteor shower last night

Franklin, Gulf Comp Plans get state support
The state is urging Franklin and Gulf counties to update their growth policies and is offering $25,000 to each to help in the effort.

Canker crews armed with warrants
State citrus-canker inspectors are poised to serve search warrants this week on 2,805 properties in Central Palm Beach County. The warrants, which allow removal of infected trees without the property owner's permission, are part of a blitz to stop another outbreak of the disease before it gets any closer to the heart of the state's fresh-fruit-producing region.

Massive teacher hiring needed
Florida public schools will need to hire nearly 25,000 teachers for the 2003-04 school year, about 60 percent more than this year, a new state Senate analysis shows.

Class size cost could revive gambling option
Gov. Bush says he would not rule out allowing video lottery terminals in pari-mutuel facilities...

Gambling Expansion Being Weighed
TALLAHASSEE - Both houses of the Florida Legislature appear poised to expand legalized gambling during the upcoming legislative session to help plug a burgeoning budget deficit and pay for the new constitutional amendment to reduce class sizes. ..

Florida Senate chief: everything's on table for smaller classes
TALLAHASSEE — Video lotteries, taxes, vouchers: Incoming Senate President Jim King says everything's on the table for lawmakers faced with paying for smaller class sizes mandated by the voters. "I don't look at the 'tax' word as being a taboo subject — nor do I see it as being something that's a given," the Jacksonville Republican told reporters Monday. But he was quick to add that he doesn't want to raise taxes if other ways of lowering class size can be found: "We're just going to look at it."..

Florida leaders differ on budget
TALLAHASSEE -- On the eve of their nomination to the top jobs in the
House and Senate, Florida's Republican leaders wasted no time Monday staking out virtually opposite positions over how to solve the state's massive budget problems.
Incoming Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville, told reporters that he would consider anything -- including new taxes, gambling or a sweeping expansion of the state's school voucher program -- when it comes to raising money to pay for the reduced class size amendment approved by voters Nov. 5.
House Speaker-designate Johnnie Byrd, R-Plant City, just as emphatically told a meeting of Republican house members that they should "stay the course" and reject new taxes....

State GOP leaders divided over taxes, spending
Florida Republicans swept to historic majorities in this month's elections by attacking Democrats as big taxers, but the post-campaign reality of a dour economy is splitting the state's GOP leadership on taxes.

Fill in state's money trap
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Revisit John McKay's plan for tax reform...

Legislature swears in new members 
Thirty-one new members sworn in; Senate has 13 new members, 12 move up from the House...

Byrd takes gavel as speaker
The Plant City Republican positions himself against new taxes and for more freedom and "family empowerment."..

The House-Senate imbalance
Only in the loosest sense could it be said that Florida's 160 state legislators "won" the seats for which they will take their oaths of office today in ceremonies at Tallahassee. Most got them essentially for the asking; effective competition was the exception, not the rule...

Bush appoints panel to review election changes
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Jeb Bush appointed a panel Monday to review the changes Florida made in its election system and recommend what further improvements are needed. The Select Task Force on Election Procedures, Standards and Technology will examine how changes made following the contested 2000 presidential election worked during this year's primary and general elections...

Butterfly ballot, other political history at Capitol museum
TALLAHASSEE — More than 75 years ago, a worker renovating the House chamber at Florida's old Capitol building didn't recognize a then-common item as a potential artifact. So a spittoon — and possibly the salivary remnants of some long-dead lawmakers — was shoved aside as refuse. "Somebody just said, 'This is disgusting,' and kicked it into the wall, and that's where it stayed for decades," said Erik Robinson, curator of the new Florida Center of Political History and Governance museum at the Old Capitol. The rediscovered spittoon has new life as part of a museum and the remodeled Old Capitol, which opened Monday after a $3 million renovation...

Oliphant begins cutting costs, may trim her own salary - FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Broward County elections supervisor Miriam Oliphant has begun a department-wide cost-cutting program, and said she will cut her own salary if state law allows such a move...
Oliphant announced Monday that a voter outreach program has been discontinued, a move that she says will save $300,000.
The cost-cutting trend is in response to an audit released last week, which charged Oliphant with violating state law, overspending her budget by nearly $1 million and possibly engaged in conflicts of interest...

INVESTIGATE AUDIT'S FINDINGS
It's a safe bet that if the findings of the Broward County Commission's audit of Elections Supervisor Miriam Oliphant's handling of the department were about the actions of an appointee, that person would be out of a job. Ms. Oliphant, who is elected, could, however, face suspension by the governor for mismanagement of financial and personnel matters if such a decision turns out to be warranted.

Get real, Florida Democrats: Party chief Poe has to go
It does not pain me to say this. Bob Poe has to go. -- By every measure, the head of Florida's Democratic Party failed miserably to inspire a majority of voters to go with Democratic candidates in statewide races. He failed to find winning strategies for candidates in congressional races and in legislative races, too.
I've said it before. The Democrats must stand for something beyond being the anti-Bush party. They say they're for the "working people," but they inspired too few of those folks. Florida's voter turnout suggests that too many in the party's traditional constituencies - - blacks, Puerto Ricans and women -- didn't bother voting, and in some Democrat-heavy districts actually voted for Republicans instead....

Democrats really reeling
In living rooms and community centers across Broward County, shellshocked Democrats continue trying to figure out what went wrong in last Tuesday's election.

Charlie Crist appoints transition team
TALLAHASSEE -- Attorney General-elect Charlie Crist has appointed a transition team that includes Pasco-Pinellas State Attorney Bernie McCabe and former U.S. Attorney Roberto Martinez of Miami...

Better schools? Change the label
By Jac Wilder VerSteeg, Palm Beach Post Editorial Writer
A few added words, and problems vanish...

Charter school wants into 3 counties
A company that has struggled to keep charter schools running and classrooms filled around Florida and in other states has applied to open three schools for troubled youth in Central Florida...

Miami-area DCF chief: Problems run deeper than Rilya
MIAMI — The former district administrator of the Department of Children & Families said Monday that the Rilya Wilson case caused him great anguish but was an anomaly that doesn't reflect all the problems faced by the agency. Charles Auslander, 45, served his last day as the head of the DCF office covering Miami- Dade and Monroe last week. He submitted his resignation two months ago, and plans to return to an area firm as an appellate lawyer...

Florida kicks off new savings plan for college expenses
TALLAHASSEE — On the 15th anniversary of Florida's prepaid tuition program, officials kicked off a new initiative Monday to give parents and grandparents another way to pay for other college expenses. The new program, named the Florida College Investment Plan, allows tax-free saving in a potentially high-yield fund, one in which returns are not guaranteed. The money could be used to pay for books, off-campus housing, out-of-state tuition and graduate school expenses...

Delay in West Nile onset puzzling
Experts say the disease, first detected here in Oct. 2001, should've been found in humans sooner...

Whooping cranes about midway through their trip
The journey of 16 whooping cranes toward the Chassahowitzka- 
National Wildlife Refuge along Florida's central Gulf Coast is scheduled to continue Tuesday.-- On Monday, the flock -- led by four ultralight aircraft-- landed at the Hiwassee Waterfowl Refuge in East Tennessee.
The trip started Oct. 13 in Wisconsin...

State investigates possible tortoise kill
State game officials are investigating whether endangered gopher tortoises were illegally killed during land clearing for a new elementary school in south Lake County...

Fidel leads tens of thousands to protest U.S. immigration policies- HAVANA- President Fidel Castro led tens of thousands of people in a rally outside the American mission Monday to protest the U.S. government's decision to free eight Cubans who left the island last week on a stolen crop-duster plane...

The education of Bill Gates
Colfax, Wash., lies just a few miles west of the Idaho border, in a farming region where the hills roll across the horizon like an ocean swell and streets are mostly empty except for an air of dereliction. Bill Gates went there recently to admit what Colfax must have found obvious: that the computers he had donated to small- town libraries all across the country had not done what he predicted they would do, which is to help halt the exodus from rural America...

Rejection Didn't Stop Lilly's Gift Of $100 M To Poetry Journal
C HICAGO - An ailing heir who tried but failed to have her poems published in a small literary journal has given that journal an astonishing bequest that is likely to be worth more than $100 million. ...

Disabilities act pitted against states' rights - WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will rule on the constitutionality of a key provision of the Americans With Disabilities Act in a case that pits the court's recent drive for states' rights against the movement to expand legal protections for the disabled...

Troubling deficits -- Sentinel position: Congress has several sensible options to stem the red ink.-- It was just two years ago that politicians in both parties were preaching fiscal responsibility and vowing not to spend taxes collected for Social Security and Medicare on other government programs. How quickly they've forgotten...

Bombs away at the Justice Department
WASHINGTON — Behind an FBI draft report that strongly and shockingly criticized the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms was a letter-writing campaign by explosives experts from across the country condemning the FBI's efforts to win control of bomb investigations. The report was leaked last week and embarrassed the Justice Department...

A snooper's dream
The threat of terrorism has created a powerful appetite in Washington for sophisticated surveillance systems to identify potential terrorists. These efforts cannot be allowed, however, to undermine civil liberties. There is a program now in the research stage at the Pentagon that, if left unchecked by Congress, could do exactly that...

Senate Nears Homeland Bill Passage

Homeland security act
If the Homeland Security Act is passed without amendment, privacy in America is kaput, or so says The New York Times' estimable columnist, William Safire. He's wrong, but he is also onto something. A little-publicized but hardly secret plan is afoot that could ultimately — years down the road, and after the passage of still more laws — imperil the privacy of the citizenry to an extent scarcely imagined outside of fiction.

Broad Wiretap Powers Upheld - WASHINGTON - Attorney General John
Ashcroft and the FBI have broad power to wiretap the phones and secretly search the computers and homes of individuals who can be linked to foreign terrorists, a special spy review court ruled Monday. ...

Security screen
The Homeland Security exemption passed by the House would threaten the public's access to information that could have serious implications for public safety...

A dilemma of keeping out the right bad guys
I know I'm sticking my chin out by asking, but am I missing something? - The people in charge of guaranteeing our safety, whose primary function to date has been dishing out massive doses of paranoia, hysteria and repression along with daily reports on the current color of the federal heebie-jeebie mood ring, just got what they wanted...

Is Osama's still wanted or not?
AUSTIN, Texas — Osama bin Laden is back, and no one gives a damn? What is this??!! The White House spokesman announced, "This is about more than one man." The president now says it "really doesn't matter much" if bin Laden is dead or alive. This is the same president who promised to bring him back "dead or alive," isn't it? ...

Learning to get ahead: the A-B-Cs of crony capitalism
All right, children, gather 'round. It's time to practice our ABCs: "A" is for apple, "B" is for baby - and "C" is for Citigroup and crony capitalism, the subject of today's lesson.

Zealots and cynics: Pro-life cadre vs. jaws of debt
Maybe consumer-rights activists should rework their act. 
Ditch the boring press conferences with pie charts and droning monologues about the number of American families mired in debt. Instead, recruit a people willing to wave signs for hours on end, lie down in front of cars, and throw simulated credit cards at members of Congress. 

11/18/02

Vouchers Won't Satisfy Voters
Memo to Republican leaders in the Florida House of Representatives: An expanded school voucher program isn't what voters had in mind when they passed a constitutional amendment to address overcrowded classrooms in public schools.

Didn't We Elect A Governor, Not A Vicar General?
It's probably a bit soon to get worked up about this, but if Jeb Bush appears for his second inaugural wearing a miter, vestments and carrying a staff, one might conclude he has taken this whole ``Christian conservative political agenda'' thing just a pinch too far.-- 
At the risk of offending Bush's well- honed sense of omniscience, it might be worth remembering he was re- elected governor of Florida, not vicar general....

Canvassing board signs off on 2002 voting results
Put it in the history books. The state Canvassing Board signed off on the Nov. 5 general election vote results Sunday — the first in three Florida elections that didn't end in chaotic fashion. "We're making quiet history," said Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher, one of the three members of the state Canvassing Board that made the Nov. 5 election results official...

It's unacceptable not to let blind cast ballots at their precincts
On Election Day, blind voters went to their precincts and learned that the new touch-screen machines with earphones for their use would be available only at the Supervisor of Elections Office and at another location, in Delray Beach...

Why isn't workers comp working?
Grubbing politicians aren't the ones hurting. - The only thing in life that's self-executing is Mr. Fix-it with a screwdriver in a live electric socket, but "self-executing" is what Florida's workers compensation system is supposed to be.
So, of course, it isn't. Nobody cares, say victims of non-self-execution, until they get hurt on the job. Then it's too late. When employers who pay for the system get their premium notices next year, they'll care, too. Some will see 42 percent increases.
Last time rates were going up like this, it was 1993. Lawmakers passed a total, definitive, incredibly brilliant new self-executing law. Workers comp insurance lobbyists wrote it.... ... 
If politicians got spinal injuries reaching for contribution checks, you can bet all employers would pay workers compensation premiums, all injuries would be swiftly treated and all violators would be prosecuted. But since the workers comp system is felt mostly by laborers and small contractors, all bets are off...

Fixing Medicaid: Doctors need fair incentives to treat patients
Florida's Medicaid system is being battered by a hidden crisis -- a lack of specialists willing to treat patients on the health plan. The problem appears to be particularly bad locally, with patients forced to travel as far away as Tampa to see an orthopedist or a neurologist. But other communities are being hit, too. 

Save Our Homes law has saved many mansions
In 1992, Florida voters approved the Save Our Homes amendment to the state constitution.
With a name like that, it's no wonder it was hugely popular.
The amendment limits how much the taxable value of a home can increase each year to 3 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.
The amendment was sold largely as a way to protect long-time homeowners who might otherwise have to sell their homes because they couldn't afford to pay rising property taxes in a red-hot real estate market that had sent property values skyrocketing.
The faces most often associated with the amendment were senior citizens living on small, fixed incomes who were fearful of having to give up the family homes they had owned for decades.
As it turns out, the well-to-do have enjoyed far greater benefits...

Eyes on leaders in short session
The Legislature's regular session won't start until March. But a brief meeting Tuesday will provide clues about leaders' temperaments...

New lawmakers to have hands full with budget gap
Forget post-election afterglow. When the new members of the overwhelmingly Republican Legislature report to the state Capitol on Tuesday to take the oath of office, they may wish they had stayed home...

State's 'unsung heroes' whittle down expenses
Florida TaxWatch ought to send its new list of Davis Productivity Award winners to every legislator who spent the summer promising to whack away at that big, bloated, wasteful bureaucracy in Tallahassee...

Back to the drawing board
The Florida Democratic Party is about to start the biggest rebuilding effort Tallahassee has seen since the Seminoles went 0-11. "It's going to take a long time to turn this thing around," said Bob Poe, chairman of the once- dominant political party that lost every major race Nov. 5. "I'm not going to see the end of it but I am going to see at least the beginning, and it's important for us to take the right first steps."...

If you're gonna sell wine online, you gotta do the time!
There is something about the regulation of alcohol that brings out the worst in a legislature. What begins as an attempt to balance the competing claims of public order, health and morals with the demands of the marketplace ends up as naked protection of entrenched special interests, spiced with hypocrisy and served with a rich side order of protectionism to help it all go down. 

State unveils new college investment program
Beginning today, parents and grandparents in Florida will have a new way to save for their children's and grandchildren's college education...

John Hitt's UCF salary
Sentinel position: The state -- not local -- board should decide the pay for UCF president...

Private foster agency, DCF dicker budget
Child and Family Connections says it can't take care of Palm Beach County's foster kids for what the state offers...

Trailblazing political consultant bows out
After 22 history-making years of political work, Mary Repper decides that "it's time to move on."...

Fix WorkNet's problems
Any good being done by the welfare and job placement agency is being obscured by questions and suspicions surrounding its problem-plagued administration...

Orlando faces key vote on gay rights
Nearly a year of public debate over gay rights in Orlando is expected to come to a head before the City Council today...

For city's sake, get tough on bad cops
Of all the findings in The Herald's recent series about police shootings in Miami, none was more revelatory than this: Twenty Miami police officers have fired 552 shots on duty over the past 12 years. Their bullets struck cars, homes, restaurants, bystanders and, on occasion, suspects who might or might not have been armed....

Meteor storm set to dazzle stargazers overnight
Stargazers from South Florida to Europe are in for a treat beginning tonight for what could be the biggest natural fireworks display of the 21st century.

The warning overdose
Fourteen months after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, the American people deserve a more effective warning system about possible new assaults than the Chicken Little alerts the Bush administration is providing. Once again last week, Washington, in effect, warned that the sky was falling, and officials did a good imitation of Henny Penny as they analyzed the latest intelligence data about Osama bin Laden. This is no way to conduct the affairs of the most powerful, technologically advanced nation on the planet...

Deceit ascendant: Homeland security's national spying agency
Besides the obvious fact that it was the Reagan administration's beefiest heap of deceit and hubris, the Iran-Contra scandal of 1987 revealed that something else had gone drastically wrong in government: Congressional checks on the White House's imperious tendencies had failed. 

11/16/02

State gets more gloomy budget news
A decline in sales tax revenue forces state financial experts to revise their overall predictions by $232-million.

Agency chiefs may get booted
Help wanted: Apply within the Governor's Office. While governors in the past have gone through the formality of asking for - and then rejecting - resignations of agency heads once they enter their second term, Gov. Jeb Bush is serious about shaking up his administration.

State growth chief Steve Seibert resigns
TALLAHASSEE — The top official overseeing state growth has announced his resignation, days after Gov. Jeb Bush ordered a formal review of hundreds of staffers following his re-election. Steve Seibert, chosen by Bush in 1998 to head the Department of Community Affairs, becomes the first high-level appointee to confirm he will not serve in the governor's second term.

1st-Term Mediator Outgrows State Job
TALLAHASSEE - Steve Seibert, a mediator by trade, has always felt more can be accomplished with a handshake than a fisted glove and that a brokered compromise beats a lawsuit every time. That made him a good fit in 1998 when Jeb Bush, fresh from his first gubernatorial victory, began looking for someone to lead the state agency responsible for managing Florida's explosive ...

Shaw retiring after 20 years on high court
TALLAHASSEE — Justice Leander Shaw didn't dream about being a lawyer and had reservations about joining the Florida Supreme Court. But he ended up doing both. During two decades on the state's high court, he helped outline the rights of pregnant women and biological fathers, uphold laws against drunken driving and cross- burning, and settle a disputed presidential election. He also voted on hundreds of appeals from death row inmates and on two constitutional challenges to the electric chair. Shaw, 72, will retire in early January, 20 years after former Gov. Bob Graham named him to the high court

Byrd's rule: Speaker would limit legislative surprises
The course of events in Florida's legislative sessions is fairly predictable. ... The focal point of Byrd's plan is a "two-day" rule. Under that rule, a bill must be in its final form -- available to legislators and the public -- for at least two days before a final vote. Any last-minute amendments restart the clock. The provision is part of the revised House rules that will be presented to lawmakers Tuesday during the organizational session. 

Recovery excludes high-tech workers - While the economy appears to be on the mend from the recession that started with a tech meltdown in March 2001 and Florida unemployment numbers released Friday show an improving labor market, fired engineers and computer workers aren't finding new jobs.

Public access TV is vital to community's cultural evolution
A recent study found that economic development went hand in hand with certain bohemianism. Several magazines and newspapers analyzed the finding that cities with diverse, quirky, artistic populations had the strongest economic gains.

Pre-K leader urges legislators to act
Now that Florida voters have ordered the state to make free preschool available to all 4-year-old children by 2005, organizers of the recently approved initiative plan to lobby state lawmakers to begin phasing in the program as soon as next school year.

Be fair in reducing class size
Sentinel position: School districts that passed taxes shouldn't lose out to those that didn't.

Fierce flies are deployed to fight Florida fire ants
SARASOTA — Federal scientists at war with fire ants are turning to a nasty natural enemy that decapitates the stinging critters and raises its own young in their hollowed-out heads. "Cool! That's the stuff movies are made of," said firefighter/EMT Rob Blackwell, watching Thursday as hundreds of South American phorid flies were released in a field full of fire ant hills near Sarasota.

Tiny, nearly extinct butterfly caught in web of controversy
BAHIA HONDA KEY — The Miami Blue butterfly loves to frolic among the Nickerbean plants and vines in the state park here — but it also flutters at the edge of extinction. Fewer than 50 pairs of wings are the last holdouts of a subspecies that once covered half of Florida. The tiny cornflower-colored insect, whose finery is accented by two orange dots, now makes its home near a symbol of the development that caused its demise — one of Henry Flagler's crumbling railroad bridges. "The insect is down to its last known colony; it's one of the rarest animals on earth right now," said Thomas Emmel, director of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera Research at the University of Florida.

No longer can we take the oceans' bounty for granted
Is the price of stone crab claws giving you sticker shock? Remember when grouper was cheaper than steak? Because Southwest Florida lies alongside the beautiful Gulf of Mexico, you'd expect fish and other seafood dishes would be inexpensive. Once upon a time they were. But no longer. Why? According to the science journal Nature, Southwest Florida isn't the only region being hit by dwindling fish stocks.

Judge blocks rule saying screeners must be citizens - 
LOS ANGELES -- A federal judge Friday temporarily blocked a rule saying the government's new airport-security screeners must be U.S. citizens. The portion of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act barring noncitizens from the positions is unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Robert Takasugi ruled.
Takasugi's preliminary injunction will remain in place until trial in a civil-rights lawsuit brought by nine plaintiffs at Los Angeles and San Francisco international airports. No date has been set.

11/15/02

Conference told development threatening Panhandle's character
PANAMA CITY — A columnist and radio commentator said during a conference on planning the Florida's Panhandle's future that she's worried that development will forever change the region's unique character. Diane Roberts, who writes for the St. Petersburg Times and provides commentary on National Public Radio, was the featured speaker Wednesday at a planning workshop sponsored by the environmental group 1000 Friends of Florida.

What next? A zone for freedom of religion?
With any luck the timing will work out right.... The next time the president is in town I am sure I will feel pretty well compelled to run out and commit an act of free speech, and probably do it outside of the designated "free- speech zones" that have suddenly, and without enough resultant outrage for my money, appeared on the government/people interface.... 
That the terms "free speech zones," "first amendment zones" or "demonstration zones" should even exist is Orwellian enough. That very few people seem to notice or care is even more bizarre.

Budget forecast partly cloudy
A potential budget deficit and concerns over paying for a constitutional amendment to reduce class sizes has the governor and legislative leaders anxiously watching today's meeting of state economists.

Legislative leaders cool to workers comp special session
TALLAHASSEE — Prospects for a special legislative session to deal with workers' compensation reforms appeared dim Thursday, with legislative leaders opposed to the idea. Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher raised the subject Wednesday, calling for a session prior to the regular session that begins in March.

Workers comp becomes latest insurance problem
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Gallagher's call should rally state's employers.

Black justice's successor to come from four white candidates
Gov. Jeb Bush will pick a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Leander Shaw, one of two black jurists on the court and its most liberal member, from a list of four white men.

The governor and Lynx -- Orlando- Gov. Bush needs to demand answers from his Lynx appointees.
Lynx, the region's mass transit provider, is in ruins.
And only one man -- Gov. Jeb Bush -- can take immediate steps to help Central Florida recover from the ashes of the agency's own excesses.
Who can forget, after all, the pictures of Lynx board members stepping out of a stretch limousine en route to a pricey Las Vegas dinner paid for by a former contractor? The same goes for videotapes of board members and a top Lynx staffer whooping it up at the gaming tables -- while they were supposed to be attending a transit conference paid for by taxpayers....

Growth and 'Gray Peril' may have colored class-size vote
Florida electoral maps come in a few standard color schemes. There's the north-south pattern, the urban-rural pattern and the party stronghold pattern. That's pretty much it for easy-to-read elections. 

Stakes too high: Florida mustn't wager schools in games of chance
Florida voters have rejected casinos three times. They've long since realized that the Lottery was a giant boondoggle. They understand that gambling wrecks communities and lives far beyond any short-term tax revenue benefits. 

Lawmaker touts relief for class size
A Jacksonville lawmaker says the answer to reduce class size is more vouchers. 

When teachers are thieves ... A few days ago I was wrapping up a beautiful lecture on how markets work (economists find markets beautiful) when I realized that I was about to let my students go home five minutes early. Normally, I keep them until the last second so that they might fully benefit from my wisdom, but on this day I was hungry and feeling somewhat charitable. So I told them to go home and have a nice day.
At that point, a bright young man raised his hand and said, "Professor Chambless, you are plundering us out of these five minutes that we have paid for."

State seeks way out on pollution rule
By Robert P. King, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
State environmental employees are looking for an escape hatch before enacting a tough Everglades pollution limit.

Protesters aim to save old trees
For years locals have called it the Enchanted Forest. In 1990 it was the driving force behind voter approval of a tax increase to preserve environmentally sensitive land.

Palm Beach pays $104,000 to move 'unsightly' lines at Trump golf course
Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty has allocated more than 10 percent of her district's infrastructure improvement money to pay for lower power lines so the view will not be marred at Donald Trump's golf course.

'Update' on water really a sales pitch - DELTONA -- The official-looking postcard that arrived in Bill Goettel's mailbox in Deltona contained what seemed disturbing news: His drinking water may contain potentially health-threatening contaminants.
But like much of the political advertising that stuffed mailboxes and flooded airwaves before the Nov. 5 election, the "City Water Update" contained a bit of truth, a dash of omission and what some view as a dollop of manipulation.

Clear the DCF backlog
Backlog. It's a word that conjures up sterile images of paper mounds and file baskets. But in the context of child-protective investigations, the state's backlog continues to have excruciatingly human consequences for the safety of Florida's abused children. Clearing that backlog -- and putting measures in place to keep it from exploding again -- should be among the top priorities of state leaders.

Slow response puts state last in line for flu vaccine - Barely half of Florida seniors got flu shots last year, ranking the state dead last in the country in taking advantage of a vaccination proven to prevent deaths and illness, federal health officials said on Thursday.

Cardenas stepping down as state GOP boss
TALLAHASSEE — Al Cardenas, the Cuban- born Miami attorney who oversaw the unprecedented Republican sweep in last week's general election, is leaving as the state party chairman after four years. Cardenas said Thursday he would not seek re-election to the party post in January. Armed with a feisty personality, Cardenas has been quick to verbally spar with his Democratic opponents throughout his term. "I have been involved in Republican Party activities for 30 years," he said. "It's time to move on. I formally advised the governor, my wife and family and law partners over the weekend that I would not seek re-election."

State GOP losing leader since '98
Florida Republican Party Chairman Al Cárdenas, who this year helped orchestrate the most decisive Republican sweep in the state in modern times but also presided over the near-defeat of Gov. Jeb Bush's brother in the 2000 presidential election, announced Thursday that he will resign in January.

Broward vote chief: Audit doesn't show any crimes
FORT LAUDERDALE -- Broward County's embattled elections supervisor said Thursday that a county audit of her office raises concerns about ethical lapses and mismanagement but she sees no indication she has done anything criminal.
The 50-page audit is to be released to the public this morning. County Auditor Norm Thabit declined to discuss details of his report Thursday but said he was pleased with Miriam Oliphant's cooperation so far.

Oliphant vows to overhaul Broward election office amid critical audit - ... One of the more serious ethical charges addressed in the audit is Oliphant's personal ties to her assistant technical services supervisor. Oliphant rented a Melrose Manor home to the woman while boosting her pay almost 40 percent over the past year and a half, according to records obtained by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

CURB LOBBYISTS' CONTRIBUTIONS
Earlier this year, Miami Beach commissioners voted to require lobbyists and their clients to disclose fees and other terms of their contracts. The Beach was the first city in the county to do so -- even Miami-Dade commissioners have stalled an effort to force the issue.

Government got a little more open
If two heads are better than one, then 107 heads ought to be better than 80. At least that must have been the voters' take on how much thought should go into carving out exemptions to Florida's vaunted public records laws. That's why 76.6 percent voted "yes" on Amendment 4 last week.

Cubans await release after flight to U.S.
MIAMI — Relatives of eight Cubans who landed in Florida aboard a crop-dusting airplane awaited their release on Thursday as processing of the migrants by U.S. immigration officials entered its third day. Mirtha Fernandez of Hialeah said she received a call Wednesday night from her former mother-in-law, Mercedes Valdez, who was aboard the plane. Fernandez plans to take in Valdez and her 37-year-old son, Bernardo Amaran, when they are released.

Take away excuse for status quo in Cuba -- Fidel Castro's charm offensive continues to whittle away at the U.S. embargo against Cuba, and for good reason. The Bush administration's push for relations with despotic regimes around the world -- even offering talks with North Korea, part of what the president has called international terrorism's "axis of evil" -- makes the United States look hypocritical in its no- negotiations stance with Cuba

Independent colleges want specialty license tags
TALLAHASSEE — Twenty-one private colleges in Florida are joining the parade of those seeking their own specialty license tags. Thanks to a provision in state law intended to help get a tag for New College, the 11th state university, Florida's independent colleges are now eligible for their own.

Budget cuts? This was shameless censorship
Over the years I have griped that public access channels on cable TV aren't really "free speech." They are the opposite. They are artificial venues that the entire public is forced to pay for.

Jury tells gun distributor to pay teacher's widow $1.2 million
WEST PALM BEACH — A jury ordered a gun distributor Thursday to pay $1.2 million to the widow of a teacher gunned down by a 13-year-old student in a landmark case targeting inexpensive handguns. As part of a $24 million judgment, the jury pinned most of the fault for the 2000 slaying of Barry Grunow on the gun's owner and school officials. But the jury said gun distributor Valor Corp. should shoulder part of that blame because it didn't sell the gun with a safety feature, such as a lock, that could have prevented Nathaniel Brazill from using it.

Lawmakers reach compromise on retirement benefits for disabled veterans
WASHINGTON — After months of disagreement over increasing pension payments for disabled veterans, the House and Senate reached a compromise this week that pleases no one. Disabled military retirees — veterans with 20 or more years of service — have long lobbied Congress to overturn a century-old law that forbids them from collecting retirement pay from the Defense Department and disability pay from the Department of Veterans Affairs at the same time.

Spinning the war
If the United States does invade Iraq, you might want to take the news coming out of Central Command with several grains of salt. The White House has dispatched one of its message specialists to be the spokesman for Gen. Tommy Franks and to direct Central Command's media operations.

House approves Sept. 11 commission
As one of its final acts before leaving town for the year, the House approved a measure early today to create an independent commission to look into the Sept. 11 attacks and why the government failed to prevent them.

You are a suspect
WASHINGTON — If the Homeland Security Act is not amended before passage, here is what will happen to you: Every purchase you make with a credit card, every magazine subscription you buy and medical prescription you fill, every Web site you visit and e-mail you send or receive, every academic grade you receive, every bank deposit you make, every trip you book and every event you attend — all these transactions and communications will go into what the Defense Department describes as "a virtual, centralized grand database."

In peace gesture, Democrats clear path for 2 judicial nominees WASHINGTON -- Democrats closed their contentious two-year reign over the Senate Judiciary Committee by offering an olive branch to the Republicans on Thursday, sending two of President Bush's judicial nominations on for Senate votes despite strong opposition from liberal groups.  ... "President Bush's effort to appease his right-wing supporters has led him to put forward nominees like Dennis Shedd and Michael McConnell, who will use their lifetime appointments to roll back the clock on civil rights," said Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

11/8/02 - 11/14/02

Agency heads' resignations requested
Service First reached the highest levels of state government Tuesday as Gov. Jeb Bush asked all his agency heads and most senior officers to submit letters of resignation effective Jan. 7.

Election debacle may bury Ceasar
How badly did Bill McBride do in Broward County? So badly that Miami librarian David Nelson, who spent about $20,000 on a bid for agriculture commissioner, garnered 640 more votes.

Wanted: 1 Rabid And Very, Very Annoyed Pit Bull
DANIEL RUTH Published: Nov 13, 2002
T here isn't a jury in the world that would have convicted me of murder. ... This would have been a prima facie case of justifiable politiciancide.
It was election night at the Bill McBride wake in the Marriott Westshore when Frank Sanchez walked into the hotel ballroom.
Yes, I should have known better. But I committed the egregious faux pas of asking Sanchez how his Tampa mayoral campaign was going.

Tolerating Protest Is The Downside To Being President
DANIEL RUTH Published: Nov 10, 2002
Maybe it's just a minor, sour footnote soon forgotten on the grand canvas of a raucous, high-profile political campaign.
Or maybe its tiny echo is the sound of jackboots trampling on the First Amendment.
This involves being president of the United States - the ultimate job, with perks that can make even titans of industry drool with envy....

House rejects federal bankruptcy law measure
Republican opponents of abortion teamed with Democrats in the House of Representatives on Thursday to scuttle legislation that would have overhauled federal bankruptcy law.

Senate Clears Way for Its Pay Raise
The Senate has used one of the first votes of its lame-duck session to accept a pay raise for the fourth consecutive year.

Democrats lost before McBride
One might never guess from last week's election that registered Democrats still outnumber registered Republicans in Florida. The historic ass-kicking received by the party of Lawton Chiles, Leroy Collins and Bob Graham was as embarrassing as it was deserved. Blaming Bill McBride is convenient but cowardly.

  Media Concentration for a critical overview of the status of the media.  This becomes even more important a consideration in an era of single party control over both our Federal and State Government.

11/7/02

Immigrant advocates: Cubans landing shows unfairness of INS policy
MIAMI — The landing of a boat load of Cubans in the Florida Keys on Wednesday magnifies complaints that Haitians receive unequal, racist treatment from U.S. immigration officials, immigrant advocates said. The Cubans are likely to be released into the community within days, while Haitians are detained for eventual deportation if their asylum requests are turned down.

Retirees' nest eggs dwindle as rate cuts take their toll ...Low rates are great for business and for people who have a lot of credit-card debt or who want to buy new homes or cars.
But many older Americans have stashed the bulk of their assets in accounts that are dependent on interest rates.
For them, the Fed's interest-rate cuts -- 12 altogether since January 2001 -- have been a crushing blow.
In some instances, their investment income has been stripped to one-quarter of what it was just two and a half years ago.

McCain-Loophole: Campaign finance in a mess of reform
The midterm election of 1998 drew just 37.6 percent of voting-age Americans to the polls. If you're splitting hairs, Tuesday's election was an improvement: It drew 39 percent of the electorate, according to the independent Committee for the Study of the American Electorate. The last time a midterm election's turnout approached 50 percent was 1966. As turnout has fallen, special-interest money in elections has exploded. The connection isn't coincidental, which is one reason Congress finally passed a campaign-finance reform bill last March. 

Bush to seek new ideas, change -- MIAMI -- If you liked Gov. Jeb Bush 's first term, you'll love his second.
After four years of shaking up the status quo, Bush said Wednesday he plans to seek more changes in his second term, with education still his top priority. Amid much talk of new people and new ideas, he made his first move on the morning after his overwhelming re-election victory: He named a transition team as if he were a new governor. 
"This process will allow us to bring new people and new ideas into the equation," Bush said. "It will take input, seek advice on policy and coordinate the staffing of this new administration. We will need new public servants in my opinion, with a renewed passion for change, to be able to accomplish the things we want to change." 

Day after big victory, Jeb Bush deals with class-size amendment
MIAMI — Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had little time to enjoy his easy re-election victory before admitting Wednesday he does not know how the state will pay for a class size amendment he opposed as being too costly. Instead of a "devious plan" to circumvent the will of voters, Bush said he will seek advice on how to put the plan in place by talking with local school districts, the Department of Education and even the teachers union that spent millions of dollars backing Democratic opponent Bill McBride.

Democrats grapple with disaster
..."The Democratic Party has got to take a very hard look at itself in terms of its ability to attract particularly younger voters and its ability to build from the bottom up. Its ability to do grass roots campaigns," Rossin said. "It has to really reorganize itself and understand that we are the minority party and we have a lot of work to do."

Democrats in disarray
Democrats should insist on new leaders who will reassert their party's traditional values and rebuild their tattered political operations.

Bush wins Hispanic support; McBride fails to woo black voters ...Across Central Florida, election returns show that Democrat-leaning Hispanic voters crossed party lines to give Bush his second term. Analysts said the shift was fueled by Bush's cultural charisma and neglect by Democrats.
GOP leaders now hope that Central Florida Hispanics - - a voting faction that had seemed solidly Democratic just two years ago -- can be won over permanently.
McBride, meanwhile, also failed to get blacks to the polls, hurting his ability to narrow the gap.

Democrats turn wrath on chairman
Furious Democrats on Wednesday called for state party Chairman Bob Poe to step down.

Critical mistakes sank McBride
...In the aftermath of McBride's loss, his staff couldn't help looking back at a number of critical mistakes. Some say his first mistake was firing campaign manager Robin Rorapaugh after the primary win against former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and failing to replace her with another experienced strategist.
Instead, McBride brought people in from the state teachers union and related organizations who had little campaign experience and none running against a political machine as formidable as the Bush family's.

Broward officials misplace 103,222 votes, but outcomes are unchanged
No outcomes were changed by the mistake, election officials said.

Term limits for safe seats ...The large number of uncompetitive races results from redistricting, the once-in-10-years redrawing of congressional and legislative boundaries. The Legislature did that this year, based on the 2000 Census. Since Republicans control the Legislature, they drew Republican-friendly districts, just as Democrats once drew maps in hopes of helping their members.
Computer technology had evolved so much since 1992 that legislators were able to work block by block. It is an exercise that turns democracy on its head. Rather than the voters picking the politicians, the politicians pick the voters. They pack some of the other party's supporters into political ghettos and scatter the rest, isolating them and minimizing their impact....

Regents to return, with new name
With the approval Tuesday of Amendment 11, oversight of universities will revert to a system featuring one of the key components scuttled by Gov. Jeb Bush and the legislature -- the board of regents. This time it will be called the board of governors.
But don't look for dramatic changes right away. Bush will continue exerting enormous influence over the university system for now....

Ideas Weighed For Class Cuts- TAMPA - Now that Floridians have mandated smaller public school classes, the leaders supposed to make it happen are plotting their own courses. 
Already they're all over the map. 
Among educators, Hillsborough County's school superintendent said Wednesday that he would like flexibility, such as putting two teachers in large classes when extra rooms aren't available. Among politicians, the incoming speaker of the Florida House suggested expanding private school vouchers to subtract children from public schools. 

Palm Bay elementary school gets flak for FCAT cash rewards
PALM BAY — An elementary school stopped giving pupils money for top scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test after a newspaper inquired about it. Discovery Elementary School gave $20 to fourth-graders who earned top marks on the FCAT's writing exam. Those who earned the second highest score earned $10.

Public records amendment attracts national interest
TALLAHASSEE — Florida's passage of a constitutional amendment to strengthen the state's public-records and open-meetings laws attracted national interest Wednesday. The amendment requires a two-thirds majority of both houses of the Legislature to approve exemptions to the laws. Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation, said she received calls from open-government advocates and media groups around the country following the passage of the amendment Tuesday with 76.5 percent of the vote.

Government seeks immunity from liability in unintended manatee deaths -- WASHINGTON — The Bush administration wants to immunize the government from lawsuits for the next five years when endangered Florida manatees are unintentionally injured or killed from collisions with government watercraft, docks, boat ramps and marinas.

11/6/02

Jeb Bush rides late surge to victory in Florida
MIAMI — Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday became the first Republican governor in Florida history to win re- election, after a campaign that seemed to have as much to do with his brother, the president, as it did with his own first term in office. President Bush called his brother Tuesday night to congratulate him on his victory.

Floridians approve two education amendments
TALLAHASSEE — Florida voters approved ballot measures dealing with pre- kindergarten and higher education Tuesday, while a proposal to cap class sizes in public schools led by a slim margin. All three constitutional amendments, which were spearheaded by Democratic officials, would dictate education policy from pre-kindergarten to postgraduate studies.

Constitutional amendments:
Amendment 1 | Amendment 2
Amendment 3 | Amendment 4
Amendment 6 | Amendment 7
Amendment 8 | Amendment 9
Amendment 10 | Amendment 11

Victory for Bush, but with a hitch
Even without the class size amendment, Bush's campaign promise to build 12,000 new classrooms and his pledge to spend more on the state's child protection services, the state already faces a budget hole of at least $1-billion.
"It becomes a huge crisis for the Republican Party, especially because Jeb made taxes practically the cornerstone of his campaign," said outgoing Republican state Sen. Don Sullivan of Seminole, referring to how Bush pummelled McBride as a tax-and-spender.

Crist victory caps Republican sweep
TALLAHASSEE — "Chain Gang" Charlie Crist become Florida's first Republican attorney general and capped a GOP sweep of the state's executive branch Tuesday by beating Orlando state Sen. Buddy Dyer. It was a seat Democrats desperately hoped to keep. But Crist, a familiar name to Florida voters, overcame criticism of his legal skills and accusations of ethical lapses, to win handily.

Katherine Harris elected to Congress
SARASOTA — Former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris was elected to Congress Tuesday, easily defeating a friend of former President Clinton. Harris defeated Democrat Jan Schneider in the race to represent District 13 in southwest Florida, which includes Harris' hometown of Sarasota.

Republicans tighten hold on Legislature
TALLAHASSEE — Republicans tightened their grip on the state Legislature Tuesday, riding Gov. Jeb Bush's coattails in an election many said was over before it started because of GOP-led redistricting. They appeared poised to pick up one seat in the Senate, where they already held a 10-seat lead, looking as if they would turn back an effort by the state's top Democrat, Attorney General Bob Butterworth, to move into the Legislature

Republicans win two new congressional seats, Thurman loses
TALLAHASSEE — Republicans won Florida's two new congressional seats Tuesday and narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Karen Thurman. Former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who became a Republican idol in the 2000 presidential recount, won one of two other House vacancies, a seat previously held by the GOP.

Voters retain Justices Anstead, Wells
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead and Justice Charles Wells each won another six years on the Florida Supreme Court Tuesday. Justices, who are appointed by the governor, appear before voters in six-year intervals. Voters have never removed a justice.

Winning Florida: Heady victory leads to heavy responsibility
Republicans are celebrating in Florida today. They have every right to. 

Republican repeat, with a caveat
Floridians approved all three education-based constitutional amendments Tuesday, yet they re-elected Gov. Jeb Bush. It's obvious voters weren't making the connection between the man and his deeds. 

Jeb ponders class size 
Jeb Bush expresses concern over the class-size amendment voters approved Tuesday. 

The 'education governor' now can live up to label
With reelection comes class-size amendment.

McBride doubts he'll run again after an eye- opening campaign
He was the lawyer-turned-candidate who came from nowhere and became the political-upset story of the year.

Democrats in disarray as Bush, GOP dominate
Bill McBride and the Florida Democratic Party took political lemonade and molded it back into a lemon -- leaving the party in its most dismal state in more than a century.

Big money corrupts? Absolutely
So many incumbents win re-election to Congress these days that one national analyst recently suggested that our system now compares to the old Supreme Soviet - the rubber stamp organ of Soviet government before its dissolution in 1993.
The point: Congress all but rubber stamps the desires of the big- money spenders that get members elected in the first place and then secured in office almost indefinitely through massive year- round contributions. It takes a superhuman will - or a death wish- to accept big contributions and then snub the contributor's every request.
Indeed, members of Congress are so entrenched that statisticians now report that they have a greater chance of dying in office than of being unseated by a challenger....

Biggest loser: Democracy
When most Florida political analysts tally their post- election scorecards, they will conclude that Republicans won and Democrats lost the 2002 elections. Jeb Bush became the first Republican governor in history to win a second term. Republicans also won total control of the state Cabinet and continued their dominance of the Florida Legislature.--- But as poorly as Democrats fared, the biggest loser in 2002 was democracy. Thanks to the legislative and congressional redistricting plans that the Legislature passed earlier this year, most voters didn't even have a real choice on Election Day. Their representatives were selected not at the ballot box but months earlier in Tallahassee.

Democrats show they hold an empty bag
You almost have to wonder whether this election demotes the Florida Democratic Party into third-party status. The angry, bitter collection of labor and interest groups that is mostly what remains of the party has proven once and for all that it cannot win with its current philosophy.

Ways around soft-money ban
Coming off one of the sleaziest campaigns in memory, the Democratic and Republican parties have another trick awaiting the American public. Both are plotting to undermine the new campaign finance law that takes effect on Wednesday.

Judge 'astonished' by delay in naming manatee protection zones
WASHINGTON — A federal judge said Tuesday he was "astonished" by what he called the government's repeated foot-dragging in naming manatee protection zones in Florida. For the second time in three months, U.S. District Judge Emmett Sullivan ordered Interior Secretary Gale Norton to show why he shouldn't hold her in contempt for repeated violations of his court orders.

Lakeland outlaws 'aggressive' panhandling
LAKELAND — Pushy panhandlers are no longer legal on the streets of this central Florida city. Responding to complaints, Lakeland city commissioners passed an ordinance Monday banning panhandlers from using aggressive tactics when begging for money. Penalties include fines of up to $500 and 60 days in jail.

Algae may be airborne irritant reported at Brevard beaches
SATELLITE BEACH — Red tide is to blame for making beachgoers in Brevard County feel sick last weekend, health officials said Tuesday. Several people complained of persistent coughing, irritated throats and runny noses after visiting beaches from Cape Canaveral to Satellite Beach.

11/5/02

Transfer makes soft money hard; Florida GOP benefits
The Florida Republican Party received $3.2-million from the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the past two years, even though today's election does not include a Florida Senate race, public records show.

Cutting staff, proposing growth
Gov. Jeb Bush says he's trimmed the state government work force, but that hasn't stopped the state from proposing to expand the Capital Circle Office Center.

Just A Few Last-Minute Words From The Candidate
``I'd like to thank all of you for attending my one and only press conference of the campaign here on the eve of the election tomorrow, even though you're all a bunch of sneaky, underhanded, liberal lowlifes who clearly favor my opponent.''
``Why do you say that, sir?''
``The evidence is overwhelming. Throughout this campaign, you so- called `journalists' have tried to trick me by asking questions and then quoting what I said in your socialist rags. Let's just get this over with.''...

McBride: Calls misleading -- Messages from head of the Christian Coalition of Fla. say McBride supports gay marriage. ...

McBride campaign says calls misleading
ORLANDO — Democrat Bill McBride's gubernatorial campaign accused Republican Gov. Jeb Bush's campaign Monday of producing a misleading telephone message that implies McBride supports gay marriage. But the Bush campaign denied that the calls were approved by the campaign and said they were the work of the former head of the Christian Coalition of Florida, who had been hired as a private contractor by the Republican Party of Florida.

Governor Candidates Allow Race To Get Racial -- BRANDON - Racial politics surfaced in
the gubernatorial race Sunday, as Republican Gov. Jeb Bush told largely white crowds that black activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were in South Florida on behalf of Democrat Bill McBride - a claim the Democrats both denied and decried. 
Each camp set out to rally its faithful Sunday. For Bush, that means conservative, mostly white Republicans. 
McBride, accompanied by former President Bill Clinton, spent much of the day with black South Florida Democrats, along with the retirees of Broward County's condo canyons, the largest Democratic stronghold in the state. 
McBride spokesman Alan Stonecipher accused Bush of fanning racial animosity by repeatedly stirring up largely white crowds by mentioning that Sharpton and Jackson were campaigning for McBride. 
``It sounds to me pretty close to race baiting and should be below the dignity of the governor of a state as diverse as Florida,'' Stonecipher said...

All eyes turn to Florida
The president's brother is running, a key congressional race up is for grabs and everyone wonders whether the large turnout will be counted correctly

Attack ads turn you off? Vote, amend something
The other night, after seeing the umpteenth truth-bending negative campaign advertisement in a fight between two people I know and used to admire, I wrote a great rant.

The eyes of the world watch us vote today
In the last hours of the campaign, Jeb Bush and Bill McBride were in a battle over who produced the best made-for-TV moment.

New elections chief Kast gets baptism by fire
TALLAHASSEE — Ed Kast has a sense of humor. As the new head of the Florida Division of Elections, that's a good thing. Kast took over as head of the state's elections agency about a month before the September primary. For his first election in charge, Kast couldn't clearly determine the winner of the Democratic gubernatorial race in a scenario eerily reminiscent of the state's 2000 election mess.

Troubles loom as Floridians crowd polls
MIAMI — State and county officials expressed confidence Monday that Florida will finally have a well-run election, but hundreds of voters took no chances, casting their ballots a day early. The drive to vote early — something that Florida law allows — was particularly strong in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, where poor planning and other problems led to polls opening late and lost votes during the September primary. Okaloosa, Pinellas and Palm Beach voters also waited for hours at special early polling sites Monday, wading through ballots loaded with lengthy amendments and several statewide races, including the gubernatorial contest.

Turkish voters clean house
An old political adage about governing says, "Watch what we do, not what we say." So far, Turkey's new ruling political power, although founded by Islamic activists and suspected of having a sectarian agenda, is saying all the right things.

International group studies Florida election
TALLAHASSEE — Four members of a 12-person international group studying the election process in Florida met for more than an hour Monday with Assistant Secretary of State Dave Mann. Gerard Stoudmann, a Swiss citizen heading the group from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said they were invited by the U.S. government to make an assessment.

Sharpton denied access to Haitian detainees
MIAMI — The Rev. Al Sharpton's request to visit with Haitian migrants at a detention center was denied, prompting the activist to claim that he was the victim of a double-standard. Sharpton attempted to visit the detainees at Krome Detention Center on Sunday, but was turned away because law enforcement agents were still interviewing the Haitians.

Study suggests spouse's presence can cause back pain
ORLANDO — Trying to help your spouse's back pain can make the problem worse, according to a study presented by German psychologists. Patients with back problems showed almost three times as much brain activity when their spouse would enter the same room, but that activity dropped when the spouse left, research presented Sunday at the Society for Neuroscience annual conference suggested.

The Constitution isn't optional
Yasser Esam Hamdi is a special American. So special, in fact, that the U.S. government has kept him locked up in a windowless cell for more than six months — forbidden contact with anyone but his jailers. His pleas for a lawyer have been denied. Yet Hamdi hasn't been charged with any crime.

Molly Ivins: Making a mockery of cleaning up corporate corruption
AUSTIN, Texas — So the new guy in charge of reforming the accounting industry himself sat on the board of a company now being investigated for fraud, and when that company's outside auditors complained about accounting irregularities, he voted to fire them. This is just peachy.

William Safire: For turnout turnabout
ORLANDO — Every hairshirted goo-goo goes into a hand-wringing fit on the subject of voter turnout. Here in Florida, the razor's-edge state, Jeb Bush, the president's brother, is in a close race for governor against a man known primarily for not being the president's brother. Turnout is universally agreed to be the key.

WorldCom's troubles may grow
An additional $3 billion in accounting problems may be uncovered, sources said.

Ventura Names Independent to Senate-- 

EPA is forcing fewer fines Polluters paying 64-percent less
WASHINGTON - Polluters have paid 64-percent less in fines for
breaking federal environmental rules under the Bush administration than they did in the final two years of the Clinton administration, according to federal records analyzed by Knight Ridder.
The Bush administration is forcing fewer polluters to pay fines, and the penalties are much smaller than they were under Clinton, according to records obtained by a former top environmental- enforcement official under President Bush.

News may not be posted for the rest of the day -- Let's all do something to get out the vote -- 
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11/04/02

Bewildering ballot measures
Voters will likely be confused and slowed by the death penalty item.

Lawyers watch over polls
Both parties have lined up lots of lawyers to serve as poll watchers for Tuesday's election. 

Troxler: Read the chat transcript 
Times columnist Howard Troxler answers reader questions on the election and other topics. 

Only a razor may be able to cut difference in election predictions
Four years ago at election time, I entered into a contest of predicting the outcomes of various races. The result was my humbling defeat by Susan MacManus, the oft-quoted expert from the University of South Florida, who edged me out by a single prediction and therefore became the undisputed Potentate of Prognostication.

Area turnout heavy because of high stakes
State employees have a big stake in tomorrow's elections. Floridians will decide whether Gov. Jeb Bush or Bill McBride should be entrusted with finding about $2 billion, in excess of regular revenue growth, to meet state program needs. The budget belt-tightening required by that - plus constitutional amendments that might or might not make education better, but will definitely make it much more expensive - could require state layoffs.

11/03/02

State Buys Newspaper Ads Touting One Florida
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida taxpayers have picked up the cost of new full-page ads touting Gov. Jeb Bush's controversial One Florida plan that are running in black-owned newspapers just days before the Tuesday election.
Bush's One Florida plan, which was unveiled by the governor in late 1999, eliminated affirmative action policies in state contracting as well as in university admissions. It sparked a massive backlash against Bush from black Floridians.
Full-page ads have run in the past two weeks in The Broward Times -- a blackowned and oriented community newspaper -- and other black-owned newspapers across the state as well. A Department of Management Services spokesman said the ads have run in other newspapers but couldn't say which ones.
In large type, the ad that ran Oct. 25 says, "In Gov. Jeb Bush's agencies alone, spending with certified minority businesses increased by more than 28 percent over the preceding fiscal year. A major accomplishment, this robust increase in spending can be attributed to the governor's One Florida state contracting plan."...

7 protesters arrested; ticketholders kept out