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FLORIDA POLITICS
Since 2002, daily Florida political news and commentary

 

UPDATE: Every morning we review and individually digest Florida political news articles, editorials and punditry. Our sister site, FLA Politics was selected by Campaigns & Elections as one of only ten state blogs in the nation
"every political insider should be reading right now."

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Welcome To Florida Politics

Thanks for visiting. On a semi-daily basis we scan Florida's major daily newspapers for significant Florida political news and punditry. We also review the editorial pages and political columnists/pundits for Florida political commentary. The papers we review include: the Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Naples News, Sarasota Herald Tribune, St Pete Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Tallahassee Democrat, and, occasionally, the Florida Times Union; we also review the political news blogs associated with these newspapers.

For each story, column, article or editorial we deem significant, we post at least the headline and link to the piece; the linked headline always appears in quotes. We quote the headline for two reasons: first, to allow researchers looking for the cited piece to find it (if the link has expired) by searching for the original title/headline via a commercial research service. Second, quotation of the original headline permits readers to appreciate the spin from the original piece, as opposed to our spin.

Not that we don't provide spin; we do, and plenty of it. Our perspective appears in post headlines, the subtitles within the post (in bold), and the excerpts from the linked stories we select to quote; we also occasionally provide other links and commentary about certain stories. While our bias should be immediately apparent to any reader, we nevertheless attempt to link to every article, column or editorial about Florida politics in every major online Florida newspaper.

 

Older posts [back to 2002]

Previous Articles by Derek Newton: Ten Things Fox on Line 1 Stem Cells are Intelligent Design Katrina Spin No Can't Win Perhaps the Most Important Race Senate Outlook The Nelson Thing Deep, Dark Secret Smart Boy Bringing Guns to a Knife Fight Playing to our Strength  

The Blog for Friday, December 30, 2005

Florida Science Standards "Naive"

    The lead story has to be Florida's descent into the scientific dark ages.

    Embarassing ...

    simply embarassing:
    Gov. Jeb Bush staked out a curious position on a hot-button issue last week: Florida's K-12 science standards need beefing up, he said. But Darwin's theory of evolution should not be part of them.

    Had they heard, many scientists probably would have cringed.

    Darwin's theory is a pillar of modern biology. And a new state-by-state analysis by an influential education foundation concludes that Florida's standards are among the worst in the nation - with a big reason being its failure to adequately explain evolution.

    The report by the Washington,D.C.-based Fordham Institute calls Florida's standards "thin," "naive," "disappointing" - and in some cases, flat wrong.
    "Florida gets an F in science". In the meantime, the SPT reports today that "[a] majority of Pinellas parents who profess to follow the controversy say intelligent design should be taught in schools." "Poll: Evolution's not enough".

    Discuss it here.


    Power Deal

    "The proposed merger between the parent company of Florida Power & Light, the state's largest power utility, and Constellation Energy of Baltimore presents a challenge to regulators that only will increase over time. Under the deal announced this month, FPL Group will acquire Constellation for $11-billion in stock, creating one of the nation's largest electricity conglomerates. Consolidation may create some economies of scale, but as competition vanishes regulators will need to keep a handle on rates, service and corporate behavior." "A power deal in need of oversight".


    You Gotta Problem With That?

    "Pregnant migrant workers forced to work".


    Delightful

    "Treated wastewater sunk deep underground might be leaking into Florida drinking water." "DEP, Groups At Odds Over Well Leaks Fix".


    Dedge

    "Justice will not be done in the Wilton Dedge case until there is an investigation into how prosecutors allowed a sleazy jailhouse thug to frame him." "Questions about a snitch".


    When to Start?

    "Schools start too soon? Give FCAT later in year".


    Garcia and Davis

    "Years before Florida Democrats fully realized how crucial Hispanic voters are to winning Florida elections, an underdog Congressional candidate named Jim Davis ran Hispanic TV ads and aggressively courted Tampa's Hispanic vote. A big reason why Davis won that 1996 race and now has a shot at becoming Florida's next governor was Skip Garcia, a Tampa power broker who died Tuesday." "A Jim Davis Mentor".


    Agriculture Down

    "Bad year for Fla. agriculture as hurricanes devastate crops, spread citrus diseases".


    Who Makes These Rules?

    "OK, it's time for a little contest. How quickly can the Florida Department of Health put the kibosh on a proposed rule that would require foster families to have either a dishwasher or a divided kitchen sink?" "Rule deserves to sink".


    'Glades

    "Replace Flamingo Lodge in Everglades".


8:58 AM

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