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NOTE -
If the link to the on-line articles has changed, search the paper's archive
section by date and title - Palm Beach Post links are only good for the day
posted, and there is a fee to access archived articles. Same is true for
some of the others although the time frame varies.
10/31/01
- Divided,
not done - TALLAHASSEE -- In an atmosphere of dissension and
distrust, the Legislature fell short of solving the state's budget
shortfall Tuesday as a special session collapsed after nine days.--
The House sent Gov. Jeb Bush $800-million in budget cuts and then
adjourned. Left behind was a fuming Senate and millions more to cut.
... Senate President John McKay called the budget unconstitutional and
suggested a lawsuit should be filed against the House. And lawmakers
say they will probably have to make more cuts in another special
session or when they return to Tallahassee for the regular session in
January. The Senate had not decided Tuesday night whether to convene
or let the session run out as scheduled Thursday night.
- Editorial:
Jeb's no Casey Jones
Where was Jeb Bush? The Legislature just had a train wreck, and the
state's chief engineer was in New York, lecturing Congress.
"Train wreck" is lawmakers' pet metaphor for what happened
Tuesday. Mostly, they use the possibility as a threat until they...
- Bush
keeps low profile, draws criticism -- Many lawmakers are
questioning the governor's hands-off approach to the budget crisis.
- Republican
budget battle troubling for Governor Bush - TALLAHASSEE -- After
three years of surpluses and success in pushing his agenda, Gov. Jeb
Bush is now presiding over the biggest internal Republican Party
squabble since the GOP won control of state government in 1998.
- Education,
social services lose budget battle -TALLAHASSEE -- Lawmakers
slashed $800 million from school and social service agency budgets on
Tuesday, even as House leaders called the action inadequate and Senate
leaders called it unconstitutional.
- Budget
cuts called a 'short-term fix' - The school budget loses less than
1 percent, but other programs, including a well known anti-tobacco
program, don't fare as well.
- Legislative
session may not balance budget
Florida legislators could end their budget-balancing special session
today, but it could just be the beginning of a legal and financial
quagmire for the state.
-
House passes cuts, goes home
Plan relying on reserves ends antagonistic session
House members Tuesday held their noses, passed the Senate spending
plan and went home, ending the 11-day special session two days
early.
- State
House, Senate at impasse over how to erase budget deficit -
TALLAHASSEE -- A combative state House short-circuited a special
budget cutting session on Tuesday by approving a plan that slashes
$800 million in state programs and taps state reserves to make up a
projected $1.3 billion deficit.
- Meltdown
The House sent in its dangerously unbalanced, irresponsible and
shamefully amended budget. It would serve Floridians well for the
governor to veto it.
- State
economic stimulus package dies in House
An economic stimulus package designed to create 25,000 jobs by
expediting road building and other public works died Tuesday when the
House failed to take it up. The package, pushed by Gov. Jeb Bush,
passed the Senate 34-3 before the House adjourned from the special
session later in the day.
- Security
bills may be stalled
Several security bills were passed Tuesday by the state House of
Representatives, but the measures may go no further. That's because
the Senate doesn't plan to pass any of the security measures during
the remainder of the special session, Majority Leader Jim King said.
- The
folly of bonuses during crisis
If Florida lawmakers insist that raising taxes is irresponsible in a
time of economic distress, then they might consider this political
corollary: Handing out bonuses is not smart business when employees
are being laid off.
- Senate
budget cuts
The House voted Tuesday to approve the Senate's budget plan. Some of
the cuts include:
-
Business
recruiting group warned
Audit reveals questionable account, funded by companies taking grants
--
Four state senators warned Enterprise Florida on Tuesday to avoid even
the appearance that public money might be used for executive bonuses,
private club memberships and lobbying.
-
For
expediency's sake
Some of the Energy 2020 Study Commission's recommendations seem to
favor expediency over accountability and threaten local government
home rule authority.
- Veterans
fume over THAP chief's reports -- The VA and the inspector general
are investigating claims by residents that Chester Luney's positive
reviews were false.
- Senators
explore river talks
Committee took no action after hearing
Concerns about public involvement in water-sharing talks for the
Apalachicola River prompted a state Senate committee Tuesday to wade
into the issue.
- County
urged to end mosquito spraying
A newly formed organization opposed to the use of chemicals for
mosquito control took its case to the Leon County Commission on
Tuesday, asking the board to consider using environmentally friendly
ways to control the bloodsucking pests.
- This
is our night to playfully defy all real monsters
Today is Halloween, or All Hallows' Eve. In olden days, back in
England, Ireland and Scotland, the lanterns for this holiday were
carved out of beets, or potatoes, or even turnips. We Americans
decided to use one of our native vegetables, the pumpkin, which, if
you ask me, proved far superior for the purpose.
- Cops
on alert: For what, they have no idea
A nationwide warning of imminent terrorism comes with a lack of
specifics. For now, police say it's post-Sept. 11 business as usual.
- Easier
A's paying off two ways
Grades buoyed by a more generous grading system improve students'
parental rewards and national scholarship odds.
- Pinellas
delays voting machine decision
Commissioners call for further investigation of the two companies
after news Monday that a key employee was indicted on conspiracy
charges.
- 'Truth'
takes shots at tobacco's friendly face - A singing corpse. A wink
at death, a nod at cancer. The new spot spoofs big tobacco's
charitable ads.
- Terrorism
spawns two new specialty license tag designs - TALLAHASSEE -- The
Legislature approved "United We Stand" and "American
Red Cross" specialty auto license plates Tuesday and specified
that money raised from the tags will go to efforts to fight terrorism
and biological attacks.
- Florida
universities brace for tougher controls on foreign students When
he came to the United States on a student visa four years ago, Spanish
citizen Jose Antonio Cañas knew there were strings attached. He
couldn't work off-campus. He had to pay top tuition of $25,000 a year.
And of course, once he had the degree, he'd have to leave.
-
Family members battle for what's left of the Lykes Bros.
business empire
- The
greatest show in Miami - The Miami mayoral race is like that
famous circus act where a midget car speeds into the tent and clowns
start piling out. This year, 10 candidates have emerged from the
city's metaphorical midget car to amuse us before next week's
election.
10/30/01
-
House to end session without taking up many security bills
Measures to detain witnesses, withhold public records and transfer the
Capitol Police to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
permanently probably won't pass during this week's special session. A
skittish House committee Monday said it needed more time to justify
such strong measures
- Legislators
scuttle bid to limit public's access to government records - A
committee's postponement of a bill offering state police far-reaching
powers over public records on Monday effectively scuttled talk of any
sweeping new exemptions until the next legislative session starting in
January.
- Intangibles
tax hangs in the balance of the budget - ... a cut in the
Florida's intangibles tax on stocks and bonds has become the line in
the sand that neither the House nor the Senate seems willing to cross
in negotiations over the $1.3-billion hole in the state budget.
- No
compromise coming on cuts
Lack of solution may require another session Florida House members
will likely end the special legislative session on the budget today by
approving a $778 million slate of spending cuts approved last week by
the Senate.
-
State House set to OK budget-cut plan that may `not go far enough'
- TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida House of Representatives is poised today
to pass a budget-cutting plan that legislative leaders agree doesn't
go deep enough to resolve the state's $1.3 billion budget shortfall.
- Bitter
budget battle could force governor to decide on spending cuts -
TALLAHASSEE · The acrimonious budget battle between the Republican
leaders of the House and Senate raged through Monday -- and the result
could force Gov. Jeb Bush to make the spending cuts he had called
lawmakers into special session to handle.
- GOP
legislative leaders are bitterly divided on cuts - TALLAHASSEE --
A special session of the Legislature, convened to fix the biggest
budget deficit in a decade, resumes today in a storm of anger and
uncertainty as top Republicans criticize each other from opposite ends
of the Capitol.
-
FSU
graduate programs may see budget cuts
Florida State University's graduate programs will take a hit if the
Legislature today approves the reduced budget pending in the House.
FSU could lose more than $8 million in money used to attract top
graduate students by waiving out-of-state tuition and fees, the
provost told the university's Board of Trustees on Monday.
-
The
media's tawdry tendencies have surfaced anew
We interrupt our regularly scheduled column for the following
fast-breaking public safety alert: Watching the news may be hazardous
to your health - and may be damaging the well-being of our entire
nation. In much the same way that the terrorists hijacked our
airplanes and turned them into flying bombs, they are now on the verge
of successfully hijacking our airwaves.
- Charge
taints vote device bid...Lancaster and other top county staff
members said all they knew was that Sequoia had some type of
procurement problem in Louisiana. Betsy Steg, a county attorney, said
state officials had told her that "each one of these companies
had issues."
- House
panel okays measures to combat terrorism - But a number of
controversial antiterrorism bills are delayed and likely dead for this
session.
- Rise
in dish TV tax draws static - Satellite TV users channel anger at
legislators over a law aimed at "simplification'' of taxes on
communications.
- Public
may lose dissent in power plant plans - A state commission wants
to make it easier for utilities to build power plants anywhere in
Florida by curtailing the public's opportunity to oppose them. - The
far-reaching plan scheduled for consideration by the Energy 2020 Study
Commission in Tallahassee on Wednesday also proposes making it easier
and cheaper for power companies to string lines across environmentally
sensitive land that the state has bought to preserve.
- Spread
the pain
In the face of a $1.3-billion budget deficit, the state Senate and
House have agreed to give up pay raises, however, the House won't seem
to let the large intangibles tax cut go.
-
Socialist candidate fired from Goodwill job - The head of Goodwill
Industries of South Florida has fired Miami mayoral candidate Michael
Italie, a member of the Socialist Workers Party, because he is a
``subversive'' presence in the company.--
Dennis Pastrana, chief executive officer of the nonprofit
organization, had Italie fired Oct. 22 after reading campaign
pamphlets that supported Cuba's communist revolution and criticized
the United States for its presence in Afghanistan. --``We cannot have
anyone who is attempting to subvert the United States of America,''
Pastrana said. ``His political beliefs are those of a communist who
would like to destroy private ownership of American enterprises and
install a communist regime in the United States.''
-
Mayoral hopeful's contacts lucrative for firm -The law firm of
Manny Diaz, a candidate for mayor of Miami, was paid more than $1
million for work awarded by the state Insurance Department while his
friend Bill Nelson was commissioner.
10/29/01
- Shhhh,
don't say a word: The Senate is meeting
A possible transcript of the first secret meeting of the Florida
Senate.
- Sunshine
Law faces shadow - TALLAHASSEE -- Lawmakers say they want to make
Florida safe from terrorism, but advocates of open government say
Florida's honored "government in the sunshine" faces the
gravest threat in a special session nearing its conclusion.
- Lawmaker
grips ax on 'tough' cuts -TALLAHASSEE -- Five years ago, Tampa's
Sandra L. "Sandy" Murman was a prominent charity volunteer
and Democratic candidate for the state House. She told voters she
wanted to "end corporate welfare" and spend more public
money on education and children. Democrat Gov. Lawton Chiles
campaigned for her.-- Today, the 51-year-old Murman is in a remarkably
different role: She's the top House Republican in charge of slashing
state programs that help the poor and elderly.
- Infringing
on civil liberties
In a Congress terrified of appearing soft on terrorism, Democrats and
Republicans passed by overwhelming majorities a deeply flawed
antiterrorism bill that significantly -- and in some cases dangerously
-- expands the powers of federal law enforcement and intelligence
agencies with few hedges against abuse.
- A
panic to arms
Be forewarned: Republican state Sen. Ginny Brown-Waite is now likely
to be armed. And she's not alone. Brown-Waite and more than 15,000
other Floridians have applied for weapons permits since the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11. People, of course, have a right to own guns. But
it's not clear to us what protection a gun affords anyone against
terrorist threats.
- Everglades
could become casualty of war -For the Everglades, the fate of an
$8.4 billion restoration is facing new doubts as terrorism, war and a
sinking economy have upended the nation's priorities and squeezed
state and federal spending.--It's just one example of a chill that has
settled on a variety of environmental causes in wartime America, where
data on toxic chemicals have vanished from some government Web sites
and activists have felt compelled to refrain from criticizing
President Bush
- Lawmakers
call for more ground troops
Sen. John McCain said Sunday that America must unleash ``all the might
of United States military power,'' including large numbers of ground
troops, to prevail in Afghanistan. Bush administration officials said
the Taliban is being weakened, but warned Americans must be prepared
for a drawn-out conflict.
- Critics
fear terrorism measures will erode Florida's open government laws
-TALLAHASSEE · Legislators say they want to make Florida safe from
terrorism, but advocates of open government say the state's honored
Government in the Sunshine Law faces the gravest threat during the
special session nearing its conclusion.
- Democratic
candidates rap governor for low teacher salaries, tax cuts -Former
Attorney General Janet Reno, attorney Bill McBride, House Minority
Leader Lois Frankel and state Sen. Daryl Jones told members of the
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees that Bush
has failed the public schools and has not looked out for workers.
- Harris:
Good Times Paid Off For State
TALLAHASSEE - Last year's rancorous
presidential election made Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris
a star in the Republican Party, and Florida taxpayers are still paying
for her 15 minutes of fame. ...
10/28/01
- Walking
line between blind fear, plain sense
What did it for me was the way the dates were written on the anthrax
letters, with the month going first, then the date, then the year. The
mad anthrax mailer is no foreigner who prays to Allah.
- Bush:
Projects to create new jobs
DAYTONA BEACH - Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday the state was in a
recession but a plan to pump millions into tourism marketing and
highway and school construction would soon result in thousands of new
jobs for Floridians.
- Bush
touts billion-dollar plan to revive economy
As Gov. Jeb Bush lauded a $1 billion plan to revive
Florida's lagging economy, his audience -- Florida's home builders --
hoped Saturday that their piece of the state's economic pie wouldn't
be forgotten. -- Bush admitted that some issues, such as
growth-management concerns, have become less of a priority.
- State
seeks economic CPR
Gov. Jeb Bush and state lawmakers are ready to pluck
$19 million that had been designated for attracting new industries and
divert it to an advertising campaign aimed at luring vacationers back
to the Sunshine State.
- Tampa
Bay briefs
Bush says relief package will help ailing economy
- Democrats
lambaste record of governor
Democratic candidates for governor railed against
Gov. Jeb Bush when they spoke to members of the state's second-largest
labor union Saturday night at the Hotel Royal Plaza in Lake Buena
Vista.
- Auditors
find state needs to bid more to save
At a time when money is tight and every dollar counts, state agencies
last year spent $400 million on goods and services without putting
them out to bid. That worries the state's chief financial watchdog,
who is recommending Florida purchasing laws be reworked to increase
competition.
- Republicans
look pretty bad right now
TALLAHASSEE -- The Democrats controlled the Legislature for more than
a century, sometimes well, as when they made education a state
responsibility and wrote a new Constitution, and sometimes poorly, as
in 1987 when they fumbled the last clear chance for tax reform. (A
Republican, it should be noted, was governor then.) But they never
looked as bad as the Republicans do now. If you owned a junkyard, you
wouldn't trust them to run it.
- The
State House's Foolish Antics - The nation is at war and faces an
unprecedented national security threat. The nation's economy is in a
tailspin. Meanwhile, Florida confronts a $1.3 billion budget deficit
that will force massive cutbacks. - So during this time of crisis, it
is altogether appalling that the state House leadership is more
concerned with political brinksmanship than serving the people of
Florida.
- Dáte:
Back to business as usual as lawmakers bicker, back-stab
By S.V. Dáte, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
TALLAHASSEE -- Fans of Government-by-Train-Wreck are in for a real
treat. This past week has offered a glimpse of the next six months in
the Capitol, and that future is ugly. Whatever veneer of Republican
unity that was...
-
Audit:
Elevator safety may be at risk
More than a year after the state turned over responsibility for
inspecting Florida's elevators and escalators to the private sector,
an audit released this week shows the state can't be sure those
inspectors are doing their jobs or even are adequately certified.
- Audit:
Shelter upgrade won't make deadline
The state won't erase its shortage of hurricane shelter space in time
to meet legislature-imposed deadlines, an auditor's report says, but
state and local emergency managers say they're satisfied they can
handle all but the most catastrophic storm...
- Inside
Politics: Legislator takes comedic pause from politics
If you got away from the fiscal food fight in the special legislative
session last week, there were a few lighter moments on the local
political scene.
- Attacks
expensive for theme parks
ORLANDO - Security guards stationed at two rows of tables at the Magic
Kingdom entrance stop guests and search their bags before the visitors
can pass through the turnstiles and head down Main Street, U.S.A.
- Two
are jailed in anthrax hoaxes
FORT LAUDERDALE - A 24-year-old woman charged with committing an
anthrax hoax was held on $25,000 bail after a judge called her "a
disgusting piece of dirt" - if she's guilty.
- Harris
applauds farmers
State agriculture 'No. 1 source of stability,' she says ORLANDO -
Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris praised the state's
farmers Saturday for "fueling Americans' determined resistance
against terror." But another elected official warned that
citizens must be vigilant that the agriculture industry isn't turned
against them. "Bioterrorism is something that's here. It's truly
for real," said state Rep. Joe Spratt, R-La Belle.
- Path
to impeach always thorny - ...As Florida lawmakers consider this
fall whether to begin impeachment proceedings against Pinellas-Pasco
Circuit Judge Charles Cope and Hillsborough Circuit Judge Robert
Bonanno, they will be drawing lessons from Florida's long and colorful
history of impeaching public officials.
- The
difficult task of moving the minds of zealotry
I don't remember the grade I was in when I first learned about the
Salem witch trials or the Spanish Inquisition. But I do remember at
the time thinking how incomprehensible those chapters in human history
were.
- Democrats
are honking but can't pass that red pickup
Next year's gubernatorial election is not shaping up as a referendum
on the disputed 2000 presidential vote in Florida, as Democrats had
hoped. Osama bin Laden has seen to that. Since the Sept. 11 attacks on
America, the political dynamics have changed and what already was
going to be an uphill battle -- unseating Republican Gov. Jeb Bush --
has suddenly become even tougher. At this early stage, the problem for
Democrats is that they appear more committed to nominating Janet Reno
than to defeating Jeb Bush.
- Landfill
enemies turning to DEP -MOUNT DORA -- This summer, residents were
unable to stop the County Commission from unanimously approving a
landfill for construction debris at a longtime sand-mining operation.
- Cable
provider, Fort Lauderdale in standoff - Fort Lauderdale · Two
weeks after city commissioners rejected a 10-year franchise for
AT&T Broadband, the cable TV company is still broadcasting in
homes across the city.
- Airlines
face dilemma over safety, profiling - Islamic leaders refer to it
as "flying while Muslim." On about 30 occasions since Sept.
11, passengers have been forced off U.S. airliners because they
appeared to be Middle Eastern.
-
Nuclear experts study adequacy of security plans - Security
at Turkey Point has never been tighter.- Some of it is visible.
Private guards armed with assault weapons patrol the gate to the
sprawling nuclear power plant along Biscayne Bay in South Miami-Dade
County.
- No
fighting spirit at the drug companies -
They say we're all in this battle together, but not everybody's got
the same fighting spirit. The makers of the anti-anthrax drug Cipro
finally have agreed to sell 100 million doses to the U.S. government
at the cut-rate price of 95 cents per tablet.
This less-than-spontaneous burst of compassion follows a week of
unsavory headlines for Bayer A.G., the German firm that manufactures
the antibiotic.
With anthrax being unleashed against American citizens, many in
Congress felt strongly that Bayer ought to make Cipro more widely
available at a reasonable cost.
Such humane gestures are virtually unheard of in the price-gouging
world of pharmaceuticals. Initially, Bayer resisted the idea of
discounting the drug because, hey, how often does a company get the
chance to cash in on a full-blown national emergency?
- Schultz:
America losing big in PR war
She is an Afghan woman living in Kabul. She has two young children.
She sleeps with them in one bare room. On and off, over the past three
weeks, she has felt the earth shake from the impact of...
10/27/01
-
House and Senate leaders wrangle - Senate President
John McKay accuses House Speaker Tom Feeney of passing an unbalanced
budget in the special session.
- Senators
ax post of solicitor general - Senators slice $800-million out of
the budget, along with Tom Warner's job, while skirmishing with the
House.
- State
cuts budget -- but not as severely
Lawmakers are poised to approve a $47 billion state
budget that retains a tax break for wealthier Floridians, keeps most
of the funding for the public-school system, slashes programs for the
poor and elderly -- and sets the stage for a greater crisis next
spring.
- Fate
of programs uncertain
Under the Senate budget bill, which House leaders say they plan to
adopt next week, lawmakers cut about $800 million in state services.
- Compromise
sought with deferment
Do tax cut when economy isn't hurting, say Bush, Senate leader
A cut in the taxes Floridians pay on their stocks and bonds took
center stage Friday as two powerful Republicans urged a third to bend
a little on the issue.
- Man on a mission
House Speaker Tom Feeney made it clear Thursday that he was willing to
go home without a balanced budget if necessary to protect the
scheduled repeal of the intangibles tax. ...That goal is, apparently,
far more important to Feeney than any other issue facing the state.
It's more important than education. It's more important than
environmental protection. It's more important than prescription
assistance for the elderly. It's more important than helping pregnant
women. It's more important than delinquency prevention and keeping
tabs on parolees.
- Schools
escape budget cleaver - A freeze on hiring and limits on travel
are likely, but overall many educators are satisfied with the cuts.
-
Aid for scholars targeted for trims - TALLAHASSEE -- Amid the
late-week wrangling over the state budget, Florida's senators served
notice for the first time that the state's hugely popular Bright
Futures Scholarships program -- which has provided tens of thousands
of students with a free college education -- may no longer be
untouchable
- Secret
state computer center urged - TALLAHASSEE -- Florida
needs to set up a secret command center with computer banks so the
state can prevent a "digital Pearl Harbor," the state's top
computer security expert told lawmakers Friday.
- Security
plans for state systems reviewed again
The headline goes here headline goes here goes State agencies and
private industry took a hard look at how to protect "critical
infrastructure systems" - communications, utilities,
transportation - after the Gulf War a decade ago.
- Rash
rush to secrecy
Wanted: A "Doctor of the Day" for Florida's
Legislature, preferably an orthopedist, for an outbreak of jerking
knees.
- Senate
secrecy rule
The Senate hasn't had a secret meeting since 1967, but supporters of
the rule change say the war on terrorism has made some secrecy
essential.
-
Senate defends secret
planning -
TALLAHASSEE -- A day after voting to allow themselves to meet in
secret, senators were quick to hail the controversial decision Friday,
noting at a security meeting that certain details of the state's
computer security plans can't be divulged to the public.
- Elected officials need a Truth in
Telling Law...For the last six months, the Office of the Auditor
General and the Department of Elder Affairs' Office of the Inspector
General have uncovered expenditures not necessarily connected to the
provision of services to the frail elders it intends to serve. As one
reporter commented, the stack of documents identifying the problem
reached a foot high. But no one, not even that reporter, took the time
to analyze what those documents revealed.
- Pondering
the corruption cycle; happy as a teacher
While packing to leave Tampa for retirement in Colorado in 1995,
former state attorney Bill James said one of the first things he
intended to do after settling in at 7,500 feet above sea level was
"contemplate the Tampa mind set."
- Ex-legislator
lobbying for PSC post -TALLAHASSEE -- Former state Rep. Rudy
Bradley stunned his fellow Democrats when he supported Republican Gov.
Jeb Bush in 1998, then defected to the GOP the next year.
-
Legacy of a riot: a peace garden in St. Pete
- More
West Nile evidence triggers aerial sprayng - Three sentinel
chickens were confirmed to test positive for West Nile virus on
Friday, adding to the evidence that the mosquito-borne illness is
spreading through Palm Beach County.- As a result, officials in Palm
Beach and Broward counties planned to spray for mosquitoes over the
weekend. Both counties are among 51 under a state health alert for the
mosquito-borne infection that has struck 11 Floridians so far, four in
the Keys.
10/26/01
- Don't
let cuts further hurt the disadvantaged
As a result of three years of cutting taxes for affluent businesses
and investors, Florida has a $1.3-billion budget deficit. Lawmakers,
led by the ultra-conservative Speaker of the House Tom Feeney and Gov.
Jeb Bush, have responded to this deficit not by repealing these lavish
tax cuts, but, rather, by proposing deep social spending cuts.
- Budget
terror: Our warlords are in real jam - ...They are paying
recurring expenses with a one-time pot of gold, delaying the day of
reckoning for Florida's budget crisis. Aren't Republicans supposed to
be good with money? -
The reason they are doing this is because they have become such a
national embarrassment, they are looking for any way out of this jam.
- Our
legislators at work? Pray for us
(10/26/2001)--The Florida Legislature was summoned to Tallahassee
to fix a $1.3 billion hole in the state budget, with dreadful
scenarios looming over education, public health and social programs.
Some of us hoped for sober deliberations.
- House
accepts Senate budget
Feeney forgoes negotiation in surprise move
A day of confusion and behind-the-scenes negotiations culminated
Thursday with the House accepting outright a budget proposed by the
Senate - an unprecedented move made more bizarre when it was roundly
criticized by Senate President John McKay.
- Surprise
move throws state budget negotiation into turmoil - Florida House
Speaker Tom Feeney further complicated the state's budget crisis when
he abandoned his plan for cuts and agreed with a moderate Senate plan.
- Compromise
plan spares schools, healthcare big cuts -- TALLAHASSEE -- South Florida healthcare and education officials
were breathing a cautious sigh of relief Thursday night as the state
Legislature appeared to settle on a budget bill that made smaller cuts
in hefty state programs like education and health and human services.
- Legislators
have shaky budget deal
TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida House and Senate tentatively agreed
Thursday on $800-million in cuts in health care, education and
juvenile justice programs, but chaos and bitterness over a tax break
for investors left the budget in doubt.
- State
may cut care for needy
County officials are concerned about cuts to the Medically Needy
program and to Medicaid reimbursement.
- Less
bad, but not good
There's little good news in the budget bills facing the Florida
Legislature, but thankfully the governor is offering some much-needed
leadership.
- Florida's
budget fight gets rowdier
The Florida Legislature's budget-cutting session
skidded to an unexpected halt Thursday, with House Speaker Tom Feeney
accepting the Senate's plan to cut $800 million from the state's $48
billion spending plan.
- Budget
Hits Social Services
TALLAHASSEE - In a stunning turnaround that
caught even Gov. Jeb Bush by surprise, House leaders abandoned their
own brutal budget-slashing plans Thursday and gave tentative approval
to the shallower cuts proposed by ...
- School
officials relieved by proposed cuts
The House tentatively approved the Senate's plan Thursday to deal with
the state's $1.3 billion deficit, which had school officials breathing
an uneasy sigh of relief and lawmakers looking forward to ending the
special session.
- UCF
trustees pass costs on to students
- Foolish
cuts - Plans to eliminate $55 million in graduate tuition waivers
would cut the heart out of graduate research programs at the
University of Florida, Florida State and South Florida.
- Senate
passes measure to cap Bright Futures
No student would get more than $3,200 a year in scholarship aid under
the legislation, which lacks support in the House.
-
Gov.
Bush optimistic at security meeting
Gov. Jeb Bush expressed optimism Thursday about statewide efforts to
bolster security, but he also warned that terrorist threats continued
to loom.
- Capitol
Corner: Republicans, listen to your constituents
Freshmen House members have been getting more than their share of pep
talks from the Republican majority this week, as legislative leaders
circled the wagons for what was assumed to be a showdown with the
Senate over major budget differences.
- Senate
approves secrecy measures
TALLAHASSEE -- On an unrecorded voice vote, the state Senate Thursday
gave broad new powers to Senate President John McKay to close meetings
on security and terrorism "at his sole discretion."
- New
rules to permit secrecy for Senate
Citing the need to access sensitive information related to terrorism,
the Florida Senate is prepared to adopt sweeping new rules that would
allow secret committee meetings.
- State
senators add secret-sessions rule - TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida
Senate, carving an extraordinary exemption for itself from Florida's
open-meeting laws, voted to allow secret sessions aimed at averting
terrorism.
- Editorial:
Hush the secrecy talk
Throughout the anthrax story at American Media Inc., it has become
clear that releasing information makes more sense than trying to
conceal information. The Legislature, particularly the Senate, seems
unwilling to believe such real-world evidence. Rather than scale back
attempts to...
- In
the dark
Our position: Florida senators should be ashamed of
their disregard for the public.
- Senate
adopts modified rule on secret meetings
The Senate slightly weakened a secret-meeting rule Thursday, but the
attorney for an open-government organization said the rule still puts
a big cloud over Florida's famous "sunshine" laws.
-
The
mandate doesn't call for irrelevant laws
House Speaker Tom Feeney is trying to keep legislators busy so they
don't get into trouble in Tallahassee saloons during the day. Indeed
he doesn't seem to mind if they pass lightweight, unnecessary
legislation while a few leaders wrangle over how to fix
- Offended
by patriotism
Patriotism can bring out the worst as well as the best in people, a
fact displayed again this week by the Florida House of Representatives
as it capitalized on current events to demand that the Pledge of
Allegiance be recited daily in every school and to encourage
student-led prayers. Both seriously offend the core freedoms that
America is fighting to preserve.the $1.3 billion hole in the state
budget.
- State
erases 30-year-old blunder with restoration of Kissimmee River -
Wrestled inside a 56-mile-long canal for decades, the Kissimmee River
is finally breaking free.
- Be warned, Ashcroft tells
terrorists
WASHINGTON -- Attorney General John Ashcroft pledged Thursday to use
new powers granted by Congress to pursue terrorist suspects
relentlessly, intercept their phone calls, read their unopened e-mail
and phone messages and throw them in jail for the smallest of crimes.
- How
the new antiterrorism bill could affect your life -
WASHINGTON — Do you use your local library's computers or a
cyber-cafe to surf the Internet? If a suspected terrorist used the
computer before you, the FBI can use "sneak and peek"
warrants to collect your surfing habits and look at your e-mails. Do
you rent rooms? If that quiet upstairs boarder turns out to be a
suspected terrorist, you could be charged with the new crime of
"harboring" a terrorist.
10/25/01
-
Focus,
focus, focus, you babies in Tallahassee
- As rough economic times call for harsh decisions about
Florida's future, lawmakers are trying to slice an ever-shrinking pie
of tax revenue for ever-increasing needs.
-
Solve cash crisis, Bush orders - ``The strongest feeling I
have is, we have a duty to get this done,'' Bush said. ``This is not
the time for gamesmanship and brinksmanship and one-upping.''
...``This is all just a distraction from the real problem at hand,''
said House Democratic Leader Lois Frankel of West Palm Beach.
- A
Missed Opportunity - Give state Reps. Ron Greenstein, Ken Gottlieb
and Tim Ryan credit for trying. Their budget amendments didn't go very
far in the Florida Legislature, but their efforts had the type of
creative thinking needed to ease the state's budget crisis.
- Pruitt
lauded for budget-crunch courage
Sen. Ken Pruitt is winning commendations from Republican colleagues
for showing leadership in his response to the state's biggest budget
deficit...
- Lawmakers
brace for painful budget-cutting
Florida lawmakers today will do something they haven't done in a
decade - they will spend the day in chambers trying to craft a midyear
budget that lops a significant sum off the spending plan they started
with.
- House
panel votes to shift burden - The bill would cut programs for the
elderly and disabled. And cash-strapped counties may be forced to take
up the slack.
- 200
billion awaits builder of jet fighter
In the high-stakes corporate shootout over the
richest defense contract in history, it's almost high noon.
- Senate
committee OKs secrecy
Florida senators could develop secret anti-terrorism laws in closed
meetings and state agencies could close public records while police
run a terrorism investigation, under proposals given quick committee
approval Wednesday.
- Ah,
those deep, dark secrets in the Senate
TALLAHASSEE -- If you really want to draw a crowd in the Capitol,
suggest doing something in secret. (If you want to keep people away,
hold an eight-hour open meeting with testimony from a bunch of
experts.)
- Keep
discussions open - Accountability takes a
direct hit when deliberations are kept secret.
- Senate
favors secret votes and meetings - The full state Senate is likely
to approve the changes, meant to increase security.
- Horne
against laws on patriotism education
Florida students need to learn how government works, but patriotism
education should be left up to parents, principals and school boards,
Education Secretary Jim Horne said Wednesday.
- Cheap
political trick A bill requiring the
Pledge of Allegiance in schools seeks to fix what isn't broken.
- Florida
lawmakers pass prayer bill, let budget cuts wait - TALLAHASSEE --
After a debate that pitted Christian against Jew, the
Republican-controlled House on Wednesday passed a school-prayer bill
that has nothing to do with what lawmakers are in town to do -- cut
the state budget.
- Prayer
bill splits House
- House
approves bill on student-led prayer - Some lawmakers complain that
such side issues sidetracks the Legislature from the special session
issue: budget shortfall.
-
Lawmakers right to share pain, but concerns on point
Given the budget crisis that has brought lawmakers to Tallahassee this
week and next, representatives couldn't very well start the slashing
process without considering their own 2.5-percent raises. That would
be symbolically insensitive and politically imprudent.
- Cuts
worry anti-tobacco group
Advocates for Florida's Tobacco Control Program said during a news
conference Wednesday that cuts proposed by the Legislature would
"destroy" the state's campaign to keep children smoke-free.
-
Battling
domestic violence
Mardrell Hale stood in the rain Wednesday night at Lake Ella for a
woman she has never met. Hale, a victim of domestic violence, never
knew her abusive ex-boyfriend's next victim, but she thinks about her
every day. He killed her.
- TECO
fined for leaks at coal-burning plant
TALLAHASSEE -- The state fined Tampa Electric Co. $333,100 Wednesday
for improperly storing waste at a Polk County plant that's billed as a
state-of-the-art "clean coal" facility.
-
USF
peace rally a tough sell - The forum, like many rallies across the
country, attracts a small crowd to the college campus.
- Reno
should bow out of the race
TALLAHASSEE -- Janet Reno has been a friend for some 30 years --
though she may no longer think so after reading what follows. I
believe that I know her well enough to disagree strongly with those
who say her candidacy for governor is an ego trip. Her ego is small.
It is her love for Florida and her fervor for justice that are huge.
- Welfare
reform put to the test - For years, critics have wondered whether
the success of welfare reform was due more to the strength of the
economy than the power of its ideas.-- We're about to find out.
10/24/01
- Feeney:
Time may run out on budget cuts
Speaker pessimistic that Legislature will approve budget bill by
deadline
--
The special session to slash $1.3 billion out of the state budget is
just two days old, but House Speaker Tom Feeney is already predicting
lawmakers won't be able to agree on a spending plan in the nine days
left.
-
State
may alter scholarship program
The state's Bright Futures scholarship program may have some big
changes in its own future as a bill that would stiffen eligibility
requirements and limit the amount of money students can receive
advances in the Senate.
-
House
rushes patriotic bills
Called back to the Capitol to tackle a budget deficit, members of the
House took the opportunity Tuesday to pass some laws on patriotism.
- Feeling
patriotic, state House OKs star-spangled legislation - Amid a
flurry of motions during a boisterous special session Tuesday, House
members overwhelmingly approved bills to guarantee that Florida
residents may fly American flags outside their homes and to require
that children start each school day by reciting the Pledge of
Allegiance.
- House
okays pledge bill for students - TALLAHASSEE -- What was supposed
to be a budget-cutting session turned into a show of patriotism
Tuesday as the state House of Representatives passed a bill that would
require Florida schoolchildren to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each
morning.
- The
pressure mounts over state budget bickering
Tuesday I watched members of the state House, under tremendous
pressure as they whack the state budget, snarl, whine and hurl
sarcasm. The best stuff was not Republicans versus Democrats, but
Republicans versus each other.
- Lawmakers
start cutting process - A nickel here, a dime there and a lot of
boasting about what was spared in the face of a money crisis.
- ...
put politics aside
The bickering must stop so that legislators can
attend to specific budget cuts.
- Budget
roils House, Senate - TALLAHASSEE -- Battle lines hardened
and the talk got tougher Tuesday between House and Senate leaders
pursuing dramatically different paths toward cutting more than $1
billion from Florida's cash-strapped budget.
- Fear
drives Senate's rush to secrecy
The Florida Senate, gripped by the fear of terrorism,
is set to launch a barrage of legislation and rules that would allow
lawmakers to meet and cut deals in secret.
- No
state secrets
Senators have no business considering a rule change
that allows secrecy.
- Florida
Senate to vote on meeting in secret - If approved, the proposal,
designed for meetings on terrorism prevention, would allow closed
sessions for the first time in over 30 years.
- Security,
but not over freedom
Terrorism is winning in Tallahassee, where a panic-stricken state
Senate is poised to shut the public out, "at the sole discretion
of the president," whenever it wants -- or claims it wants -- to
talk about preventing terrorism. No one might ever know what else they
did because every document and record, including any vote, could be
kept secret, too.
-
Senate debates secrecy rules - TALLAHASSEE -- Senate
President John McKay, fearing that lawmakers may not be able to talk
about state security efforts without tipping off terrorists, wants to
allow senators to meet in secret.
- House
committee looks at impeachment for judges- Several lawmakers
question whether the Legislature should involve itself in the judges'
fates.
- State
targets biased policing
Police shouldn't stop a woman in a Corvette because she's good-looking
or someone who looks Arabic for no other reason, Attorney General Bob
Butterworth said Tuesday. "We do not tolerate bias-based
policing, period," Butterworth said at the first meeting of a
task force investigating the discriminatory treatment of motorists.
"It's a problem, and we want to root it out."
- Schools
might escape layoffs
Public schools may be able to squeeze through the current budget
crunch without layoffs, the head of the Florida School Boards
Association said Tuesday as lawmakers worked on spending cuts.
- Kids,
minorities make for tough budget debate
Tough choice between cutting money to help children or minorities Last
March, Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan called "Take Stock in Children"
a national model on helping poor kids succeed. The mentoring program,
which provides college scholarships and tutoring for low-income
students, counts Gov. Jeb Bush among its supporters, too.
-
Budget cuts spark discord among GOP that may influence
political campaigns - TALLAHASSEE -- Inflamed passions in
Florida's capital this week could spill into a nasty political season
next year, when Gov. Jeb Bush and scores of legislators face the
voters.
- House,
Senate rift hardens over $1.3 billion budget deficit -
- Tense
session exposes Republican rift - TALLAHASSEE -- The stress of
cutting $1.3 billion from the state budget created a House divided on
Tuesday, opening up an unusual rift in the conservative Republican
leadership and infuriating black lawmakers.
- A
cautious approach to budget balancing
Florida lawmakers face a daunting task in special session this week.
The economic slowdown combined with the devastating financial impact
of Sept. 11 left an estimated $1.3 billion hole in the state budget
for the current fiscal year.
- Budget
cuts threaten anti-tobacco program - Advocates say smoking among
youths has gone down, but they add that further cuts could damage the
campaign.
- Ethics
report: Ex-lawmaker misused money-- TALLAHASSEE -- Former state
Rep. Willie Logan used money provided by taxpayers for office expenses
to pay off his bills at JCPenney and Burdines, rent costumes, donate
to charities and raise cash for himself, according to an investigation
by the Florida Ethics Commission.
- Groups
say actions hurt manatees - A coalition of environmental groups
has accused federal officials of greenlighting more than 200 new
waterfront developments in manatee habitat around Florida, shirking
its promise to create manatee refuges and failing to enforce boating
speeds.
- Let's
separate fact from fiction regarding Sept. 11
There are many myths surrounding the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It's
time to dispel them.
- FCC
chairman making security a top priority
WASHINGTON -- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael
Powell said Tuesday that he will make "homeland security"
for broadcasting and telecommunications systems a top priority.
- Editorial:
Push back on air safetyBy a 100-0 vote two weeks ago, the Senate
passed an air security bill that would make all airport screeners
federal employees and put a $2.50 surcharge on tickets to pay for the
tighter controls. When the debate moved to the House, unanimity
disappeared, and the bill ran aground on a familiar partisan sandbar:
The Republican leadership fears that complete federalization would
create another government bureaucracy that panders to the whims of
unions.
10/23/01
- Legislature
sweats out state budget cuts
Suggestion to forgo pay raises for state workers meets cheers, jeers
-
After calling a special session to order Monday, House Speaker Tom
Feeney summed up the predicament the governor and lawmakers find
themselves in as they slash $1.3 billion from the budget.
- Why
is state budget fix a surprise?
The Florida Legislature, which has been merrily cutting taxes for the
last three years, is now staring at a monstrous $1.3 billion shortfall
in revenues. This means that the state soon won't have enough money to
operate, which is what happens if you're foolish enough to slash taxes
at a time when government's income is dwindling.
- Any
way you slice it, budget cuts will be ugly
TALLAHASSEE -- These two guys are standing at the edge of the Grand
Canyon, deciding how to jump across. One guy is psyching himself up,
taking deep breaths and flexing his muscles for a mighty leap. The
other guy is scribbling numbers on paper.
- $80,000
down, and more than a billion more to trim - Meeting in a special
session to slash Florida's budget, lawmakers begin with their recent
pay raise. Says one: "This appears to be a bill of posturing.''
- Two-bit
gesture - The Florida House voted to eliminate their cost of
living pay raise this year. That's a two-bit concession indeed given
the task of cutting $1.3 billion out of the budget.
-
State budget cuts a terrible sequel
(10/21/2001) Dispense with eye examinations and free eyeglasses
for poor children. Eliminate memory clinics for Alzheimer patients.
Wipe out prenatal care for thousands of poor, pregnant women. Tighten
eligibility for Bright Futures scholarships. Cut millions out of
programs for the developmentally disabled. So much for drug treatment
of ex-cons.
- Security
tight as session begins - Differences between GOP leaders harden,
and the House speaker says lawmakers may not finish the budget cuts in
two weeks.
- Special
session caution
The Florida Legislature should remain prudent when deciding on budget
and civil matters during the governor's short special session.
-
Airlines ask state for break in fuel tax to boost business -
TALLAHASSEE -- Fresh off receiving their $4.5 billion bailout from
Congress, the nation's passenger airlines are asking Florida for a
massive tax break to boost business in the state
- Editorial:
Break Tallahassee code
When the going gets tough, some people try to take advantage of the
situation. Take the Florida Home Builders Association, for example. Or
Associated Industries of Florida. In the name of stimulating the
economy, the builders are lobbying Gov. Bush and the Legislature to...
- Program
Needs Oversight
John McKay has a problem. So, too, do many parents
in Florida who rely on the popular voucher program that bears the
state Senate president's name.
- Security
measure shutters records - A terrorism-fighting set of proposals
would enable law enforcement to withhold some public records a week or
more. TALLAHASSEE -- A Senate committee approved a package of
proposals Monday designed to combat terrorism by closing public
records, detaining witnesses and giving broader wiretapping authority.
-
Senate
panel works on new security proposals
A key Senate panel grappled Monday with security in the wake of
terrorism, and the struggle involved closing public records and taking
witnesses into custody. The Select Committee on Public Security and
Crisis Management approved several bills that would limit the public's
access to records during investigations into terrorism or terrorist
threats.
-
Security proposal moves in Senate
- Polls
are as ubiquitous as they are useless
The world has changed forever. That's what everyone has been saying,
and saying again, since Sept. 11. In many ways, it's obviously true:
Who would have thought that opening your mail without a hazmat crew
standing by would qualify as risky behavior?
- Disney
asks workers to cut hours to save money
Thousands of salaried workers at Walt Disney World
were asked Monday to cut their work week to 32 hours as the company
stepped up cost-cutting efforts.
- Driven
to war on a full tank of questions
Standing at a gas pump over the weekend, I thought
about what oil expert Daniel Yergin told me during a recent interview.
- War
details often remain secret years later
A decade later, Americans still don't know how far special operations
forces went inside Iraq during the Gulf War. Some parts of the
fighting in Kosovo and Vietnam — even Korea — remain sketchy. Even
in conventional wars, the secrets are many.
- Dump
Sugarloaf -- The governor and Cabinet must
protect Lake County and reject sprawl.
- Gimme
shelter: Will Lynx think globally?
Once in a while you'll see the bumper sticker: Think
globally, act locally.
- West
Nile cases put Broward, Palm Beach counties on alert
Palm Beach and Broward counties were put on a medical alert by state
health officials Monday after tests confirmed West Nile disease in
horses from Royal Palm Beach and Parkland.
- Schools
and billboards
If parents and teachers want a return to the days when school campuses
were devoted to education rather than providing captive audiences for
advertisers, they must be prepared to fight a persistent and
determined industry.
- Editorial:
Congressional spending — Keep control of the purse
Congress, even one distracted by anthrax, should not cede its
constitutional spending authority to the White House. The White House
is proposing that Congress grant President Bush 30-day spending
authority to keep the government operating if for some reason Congress
can't convene to do it.
10/22/01
- Support
for U.S. fading as air campaign enters 3rd week
NOWABAD, Afghanistan — As the American bombing campaign entered its
third week on Sunday, refugees flowing out of Kabul this weekend said
the duration of the air campaign and the increased number of civilian
casualties is beginning to undermine initial support for the American
action.
- Pakistani
border guards open fire to stop Afghans
--Pakistan relaxed border controls Friday but clamped down again
Sunday despite an estimated tens of thousands of people trying to
escape U.S. bombing.
- Relief
agencies race against frigid weather
With winter coming on fast, the war in Afghanistan is
placing dangerous new stresses on an international relief effort
struggling to prevent the starvation of more than 1 million people.
- Blackburn:
The rich get richer -- it's a lock
The Social Security "lock box" never was more than a
Halloween pumpkin, and no pumpkin ever scared off an eager trick-or-treater.
In the lock box's day, presidents, candidates and...
- State's
shortfall a legislative quandary -The Florida Legislature,
which has been merrily cutting taxes for the last three years, is now
staring at a monstrous $1.3 billion shortfall in revenues. This means
that the state soon won't have enough money to operate, which is what
happens if you're foolish enough to slash taxes at a time when
government's income is dwindling.
-
Two strong-willed opposites square off on Florida's budget -
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida's biggest budget crisis in history is in the
hands of the state's political odd couple.- Tom Feeney is the
conservative House speaker who wanted to steamroll the state Supreme
Court during the 2000 presidential election recount and anoint George
W. Bush president. -
John McKay is the moderate Senate president who resisted Feeney's
presidential recount attempts and now, to the chagrin of other
Republicans, wants to tax more goods, not fewer.
- Some
budget cuts may bring results that are unkind
Three areas will take the brunt of the cuts in the state budget that
the Florida Legislature has to make in a special session that starts
today
-
Tough choices ahead as state trims budgetTALLAHASSEE -- For
the last few years, as Florida's leaders decided how to spend state
money, the choices weren't that hard. There was so much to go around.
- Don't
Cut Prosecutors - The Legislature will have
some tough decisions to make in the special session that starts today.
With the economy reeling, tax revenue declining and budget shortfalls
growing, Gov. Jeb Bush has called the session so lawmakers can make
spending cuts to bring the budget into balance, as required by the
state Constitution. But no matter where they turn, they will find an
already tight budget that leaves little or no room for painless cuts.
- Citizen
hands developer a defeat -JENSEN BEACH -- There are a few battles
in life worth fighting, no matter the personal toll. - Karen Shidel
says government failed to protect her from a new apartment complex, so
she had to protect herself.
- Seams
to be tested in K-20 -The new unified education system faces as
much as $700-million in cuts during the special legislative session.
But will the cuts fall evenly?
- Don't
rush on secrecy
Adding new limits to Florida's public records law should be done with
great care, which is why the Legislatureshould avoid the issue in this
week's special session.
- Curb
antibiotic use in livestock
The editors of the New England Journal of Medicine have joined the
American Medical Association in calling for a ban on the use of some
antibiotics in farm animals. Are livestock growers and and federal
regulators listening? The concern is that the antibiotics widely used
in food animals can cause bacteria to become immune to the drugs'
effect. Then, if these resistant germs remain on the meat after
slaughter, they can cause illnesses that doctors will be powerless to
treat.
10/19/01
- Plan
could stretch schools' budgets
Feeney proposes shifting some construction funds
The House has a plan to protect classrooms from deep budget cuts, but
not everyone is buying it.
- FHP
names deputy director
The Florida Highway Patrol has promoted Lt. Col. Larry L. Austin to
deputy director of field operations, filling the second top job in the
department. He is the first black trooper to occupy the job.
-
Education
backers push tax hike
... As lawmakers sat in subcommittee meetings looking at ways to cut
more than $1 billion in spending for the rest of this fiscal year,
representatives for the state's teachers, children and elderly
promoted a poll they sponsored that showed public support for the tax.
(WF-not unless they withdraw the intangibles cut!)
- Lawmaker:
Abolish Elder Affairs - A senator drops a bombshell with a
proposal to get rid of the department. Gov. Bush's office rejects the
idea.
-
Guard posted at governor's officeTALLAHASSEE -- With
concerns mounting that prominent elected officials could be targets
for terrorism, an armed guard has been posted outside the office of
Gov. Jeb Bush.
-
Nurse arrested in anthrax hoax
- Cerabino:
Forget noses: Anthrax rumors coming out ears
By Frank Cerabino, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
We don't need Cipro. We need Valium. The ratio of anthrax paranoia to
actual anthrax has gotten comically out of balance here. The federal
government needs to do something. Send us some drugs. Not for anthrax
-- but for anthrax anxiety. Xanax. Prozac. Horse tranquilizers...
10/18/01
- Berkeley
city council condemns U.S. bombing - BERKELEY (Updated 6:07 p.m.
EDT Oct. 17) — The City Council on Tuesday night approved a
sprawling and controversial resolution honoring victims of terrorism
while condemning the U.S. response to those deaths.
- Legislators
pose budget cuts
Committees haggle over programs
Lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Wednesday to start the unpleasant
task of choosing what government programs can be eliminated, seeking
to cut about $1 billion from a budget squeezed by a
terrorism-paralyzed economy.
- Spots
marked for budget knife
- Cuts
may slam door on the state's poor -Programs that help the state's
poor and frail are expected to be among the hardest hit because they
get a big chunk of state tax dollars to operate.
- Shop
worker sues Herron Steel
Lawsuit saysatmosphere was racially charged
A black former employee of Herron Steel Co. is suing the local
steelworks, saying he was "terrorized" by racially charged
language and a Ku Klux Klan sign that was placed in his work area.
- Prison
guards' trial in inmate's death delayed
STARKE - The trial of five corrections officers charged with
second-degree murder in the 1999 slaying of Death Row inmate Frank
Valdes will be delayed for a week, once a jury is finally selected.
- TV's
talking heads stoke anthrax panic
Bio-terrorism for dummies - tune in at 6. "Alrighty now, boys and
girls, if you'll turn your TV monitors to CbinN, we'll learn exactly
how to commit genocide through, yep, you guessed it, bio-terrorism!"
- Small
in numbers, great in struggles
Nobody thought about what would happen afterward.
- Desalination
plant wins in court
Opponents lose their battle to block the permit to operate the
country's largest plant converting seawater to freshwater.
- Keep
patriotic displays voluntary
While most Americans have been worrying about anthrax and other
terrorist threats, the School Board in Madison, Wis., has been
concerned with protecting students from the Pledge of Allegiance and
The Star-Spangled Banner.
- Smoke 'em out of the cities
There's a time for pep talks, and there's a time for plainspokenness.
All across the United States, as- sorted crackpots are emptying packets
of Sweet'N Low or baking soda into unmarked envelopes to be mailed to
enemies, real and imaginary.
10/17/01
- Lawmakers
might place limits on public records - TALLAHASSEE -- Florida's
long established public records law could be in trouble in the wake of
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.-- As legislators prepare for a special
budget-cutting session that begins Monday, some are calling for
changes in the law that could substantially reduce access to public
records. And Florida's sheriffs are pledging to "work like the
Dickens" to add exemptions to the law.
- There's
a big picture here, but anthrax isn't in it yet
Let's keep our eye on the big story here.
- Fears
and 911 calls surge
Dispatchers field dozens of frantic calls about suspicious mail,
powder and people. Most of the worries prove unfounded.
- Port
security a new priority
Officials will pay for stepped-up patrols and a port office for
sheriff's personnel.
- Gov.
Bush: Penalty harsh for anthrax hoaxes
Practical jokes may result in 15 years in jail
Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner
Tim Moore issued stern warnings Tuesday to people who perpetrate
hoaxes involving anthrax or other weapons of mass destruction.
-
-
Public
comment sought on Comp Plan
- Tallahassee-
City and county commissioners will consider public comment Thursday on
proposals to change growth policies and land-use designations across
Tallahassee and Leon County.
- Miller
wins Panhandle congressional election
PENSACOLA - Republican state Rep. Jeff Miller easily defeated two
political newcomers in a special election Tuesday to replace U.S. Rep.
Joe Scarborough, who resigned effective Sept. 6. By winning in the
Florida 1st District, Miller became one of the first two members of
Congress elected since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and
Washington, D.C.
- Possible
juror tells of threatening call
Man excused after getting phone message MIAMI - A potential juror in
O.J. Simpson's road-rage trial reported Tuesday that he was threatened
by phone with a fate worse than Simpson's murdered ex-wife if the man
made trouble on the jury.
- State
gun sales shoot up after Sept. 11 terrorism
Officials say permits, background checks also increased Floridians
motivated by anxiety in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are
buying guns or getting refamiliar with the ones they have. Sales at
the Tactical Edge gun shop and range in West Palm Beach have more than
doubled since the attacks, and the once-a-month training classes that
used to attract a handful of people are now scheduled twice weekly and
fill up at 20 per class, said owner Timothy Fox.
- Let
family planning efforts expand
The Bush administration has agreed to allow states to extend Medicaid
benefits to poor families in need of family planning services. But the
continued objections and tinkering coming from the Department of
Health and Human Services raise questions about whether the
administration is truly committed to the program.
- Powers
added in haste
Even some of the lawmakers who voted for new antiterrorism legislation
have concerns about the way in which it was rushed through Congress.
- Dissent
is one of our most valued freedoms
In his column, Let's move away from moral relativism (Oct. 13),
conservative columnist John Leo suggests this is no time to be looking
into root causes of unrest in the Middle East, and anyone who suggests
doing so (the morally relativistic, multiculturally inclined left) is
saying in code "we had it coming." He even goes so far as to
suggest that those who expressed concern about acts of Muslim-American
bias shortly after Sept. 11 demonstrated a correspondingly
"lop-sided" or inappropriately small amount of attention to
the horrors of our recent national tragedy.
- connection problems limiting news postings today - more later...
- there is also more news at Floridabay.com
10/16/01
-
Budget shortfall less than feared
But numbers could be off by millions
Florida's budget shortfall has grown to $1.3 billion, slightly less
than the $1.5 billion feared but plenty big enough to cause some pain
when lawmakers start slashing spending this week.
-
State may slice over $1 billion in budget
- Could
disaster fund save budget?
With Florida's budget woes deepening, Gov. Jeb Bush
proposed Monday that lawmakers tap a state emergency fund -- once
considered reserved for hurricanes or other disasters -- in a
desperate attempt to stop the rising tide of red ink.
- Schools
ask for fund control
State universities want a say in budget cuts
State universities may use the upcoming special session to grab more
power over how they raise and spend money. Citing the impending round
of budget cuts, the leaders of the 11 university boards of trustees
told Gov. Jeb Bush on Monday that they should be given a "lump
sum" and decide where the cuts should come from instead of being
told where to cut by lawmakers.
- Graham:
America needs to take an offensive stance
Osama bin Laden's time may be running out, U.S. Sen. Bob Graham said
Monday. In a wide-ranging interview with the Tallahassee Democrat ,
the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee also said federal
investigators have found no evidence linking recent anthrax incidents
in Boca Raton, Nevada and New York City to the four terror attacks
Sept. 11. But Graham said the nation is not prepared for biological
attack and that preparing both medical and law enforcement responses
should be a top priority of the new Office of Homeland Security.
-
Whales
better but critical
Anti-bacterial drugs helped
PANAMA CITY BEACH - The only two surviving short-finned pilot whales
of the nine that stranded themselves in the Florida Panhandle last
week were improving Monday but remained in critical condition.
- Anthrax
scare slow to reach officials
St. Petersburg's leaders defend their cautious approach to the news,
which many officials first heard on TV.
- Real
fears intrude on Halloween
The FBI debunks a hoax about attacks on malls as shoppers avoid
blood-and-gore costume choices.
- Let's
ease up on term limits
The last time Florida had a budget deficit crisis wasn't so long ago,
merely 10 years, yet only 15 legislators remain in Tallahassee of the
160 who had to cope with it. With 13 of them being senators, that
leaves only two in the House who can apply the benefit of personal
experience to the present difficulty. The reason for this brain drain,
and for the House's leadership vacuum, is the eight-year term-limit
initiative that Florida voters approved in 1992 in the misguided
belief that it would improve government.
- Airline
relief didn't answer safety concerns
The morning after the attack on America, when the nation's airline
lawyers lined up, looking for relief from disaster damages and the
threat of bankruptcy, Congress responded. Days later, $5-billion
without strings and $10-billion in guaranteed loans were awarded to
get the American public flying again.
- Ailing
tourism looking more sickly
- Finding
jurors for 5 guards is a struggle GAINESVILLE -- When the company
is on trial in a company town, finding impartial jurors is no easy
job.
- Fasano
pushes cut in legislators' pay - Fasano is asking his fellow
legislators to approve a bill that would repeal a 2.5 percent pay
raise given to legislators July 1, rolling their annual pay back from
$28,608 to $27,900.
-
Second Boca worker diagnosed with inhalation anthrax - A second
American Media Inc. employee was diagnosed with inhalation anthrax
Monday, the same day public health investigators discovered a
``minuscule'' number of anthrax spores in a Boca Raton post office
that handled bulk mail for the supermarket tabloid publisher.
- Voracious
beetles take a break
State forest workers have a chance to catch up on
Florida's unprecedented swarm of Southern pine beetles -- if only to
prepare for another year and potentially much more damage.
- Low
bids on security carry high risks
If you ask a security officer why he or she changes
jobs every nine months, that person will tell you, "I gotta go
where the money is at."
- there is also more news at Floridabay.com
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