Some of Florida's Republican members of Congress are considering a possible deal to open certain areas at least 100 miles off Florida's shores to drilling in exchange for a stronger ban in remaining offshore tracts.

Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Chumuckla, said Friday that talks about such an oil and natural gas drilling deal were still very preliminary. He said Congress might consider such a proposal in four to five weeks. He acknowledged, however, that both of Florida's U.S. senators, Republican Mel Martinez and Democrat Bill Nelson, are against the idea.

"Clearly, economics and political momentum are against the delegation," said Rep. Adam Putnam, a Bartow Republican who in the past has stood against drilling east of the Alabama-Florida line.

As Florida's universities continue to grow, the overall number of black students attending has dropped from a year ago, new figures released Friday show. ...

And the percentage of this year's freshman class that is black is at its lowest level since Bush became governor in January 1999.

"One Florida had nothing to do with the decline," said Russell Schweiss [a "Jeb!" flack].

"I applaud our state universities for their continued commitment to expanding minority enrollment," said Carolyn Roberts, chairwoman of the Board of Governors, in a statement.

Gov. Jeb Bush is a master of the mixed message. Sept. 2, he rolled out his brand new hybrid small SUV, having gotten rid of a gas-guzzling SUV that got about 8 miles per gallon.

"This baby goes at about 36 miles per gallon, which makes more sense," Bush said of his new ride. ...

But no sooner had Bush kicked the tires on his efficient hybrid than he sent a decidedly mixed message: Forget conservation, Floridians have a right to cheap gas.

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez would "love to see" President Bush appoint the first Hispanic to the U.S. Supreme Court, but said he expects to support whomever is chosen.

wants to make it easier and cheaper for businesses to comply with a new Florida law requiring school vendors to pass criminal background checks, suggesting relief may come as early as next month.

The groups, including Associated Builders and Contractors and Association of General Contractors, want lawmakers to drop the demand for fingerprinting and a state and federal background check, which cost between $60 and $90 apiece.

Duffee was executive director of the Correctional Privatization Commission from May 2002 until June of last year, when the Legislature abolished it. He was then hired as a lobbyist by The Windsor Group.

After founder Barney Bishop left to become president of a more powerful lobbying group, Associated Industries of Florida, Duffee bought the company from him.

Bishop said he's suing Duffee for failing to pay about $750,000 in the deal. The suit is expected to be filed today in Leon County Circuit Court.

has a chance to appoint his own "Judge Roberts." In the governor's case, that would be Clay Roberts, a top assistant to Attorney General Charlie Crist and one of six finalists for a circuit judgeship in the 2nd circuit that covers Tallahassee and surrounding counties.


Roberts, 40, may be best known as the former chief of the state Division of Elections during the recount in 2000. He's part of a competitive field of candidates for the post, which pays $139,000 a year.

What fine should an employer pay when nine people die because he violated a federal law?

The U.S. Department of Labor decided that George Pantuso should pay ... $37,000.

Nearly everyone [except "Jeb!"] agrees that the Federal Emergency Management Agency didn't live up to its name after Hurricane Katrina. Most troubling was not that the agency failed to manage this emergency, but that its failure was inevitable. Over the past four years, FEMA has been intentionally downsized, underfunded, politicized and diverted from its role in responding to natural disasters. ...

Under President Clinton, the agency took on a more active role, not only responding to emergencies but encouraging communities to prepare for them. For example, FEMA helped West Coast cities strengthen buildings to withstand earthquakes, saving lives and property.

Beginning in 2001, however, the agency lost its way. Even before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Bush showed little interest in FEMA's mission. Later, he further weakened the agency by cutting its budget and downgrading it from Cabinet level to an appendage of the Department of Homeland Security. Now 75 percent of FEMA's budget is related to terrorism, and the administration pushed the agency to relinquish its role in natural disasters. ...

And then there was the appointment of Michael Brown to head the agency. Before coming to FEMA, Brown supervised judges at horse shows. But he was also a friend of Joe Allbaugh, Bush's 2000 campaign manager and later FEMA director. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised that an agency run by political appointees rather than experts would stumble so badly. And although Bush stands by "Brownie" (an appropriate nickname), Brown has lost his credibility and should be removed from a job that is beyond his capabilities, once the situation in New Orleans is stabilized.

no agency deserves more blame than the one that was put in charge of the federal response: the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Michael Brown, undersecretary for emergency preparedness and response, was over his head in the job before the flood was a foot deep. He should have the decency to resign. His public comments have been bewildering; he seemed to know less about what was happening than did the average TV viewer.

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez on Wednesday defended a taxpayer-financed retreat for his staff at an Orlando theme park hotel, saying it was a necessary gathering worth shutting down his offices for several days.

Martinez described the price for the event as "modest," but he refused to disclose the cost.

"serving the government and not a party."

even shriller the opposition of Florida politicians to offshore oil drilling. ...

Florida's opposition is based on worst-case environmental catastrophes that even three of the most powerful hurricanes to hit in recent times could not produce. ...

Our position is not rational, not fair and not tenable. And it will not stand.

No sooner had Congress convened this week to address the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina than a few misguided souls started harping about lifting a ban on drilling operations off Florida's coast.

Are they certifiably nuts? Or perhaps the sheer magnitude of human suffering inflicted by Katrina temporarily robbed them of their senses. Let's hope so. If Hurricane Katrina proved anything, it's the sheer folly of locating oil and drilling operations in one of the most storm-prone areas of the world.

While it may seem humane to suspend Florida's 14.3 cent gas tax as prices hover around $3 per gallon, such a move would likely have an unintended bad consequence: Consumers would buy more gas rather than try to conserve it. What's more, even as some Florida lawmakers this week are urging Gov. Bush to suspend the gas tax, pump prices began to drop as fuel supplies stabilized throughout the state, with the exception of the Panhandle. As hard a hit to the wallet as filling up is these days, the gas tax should be left in place.

For the fifth straight year, median household income in the United States has either declined or stayed put. It's the first time on record that incomes have failed to show any gains for five years in a row. The poverty rate, too, has increased for the fourth straight year, after reaching a 20-year low in 2000. The number of people without health insurance has increased for the fourth straight year, to 45.8 million. Americans' indebtedness is at an all-time high, and savings not merely at an all-time low; last month the savings rate went into negative territory, meaning that people didn't have enough money to cover their bills with money saved up in August. They had to tap into previous months' savings.

Florida's poverty rate actually improved slightly (it's 1 percent below the national average). But median wages are still $1.47 an hour below the national average of $13.83, which adds up to annual wages more than $3,000 poorer than the national average. Almost one in five Floridians has no health insurance, ranking the state fifth from the bottom in that national category. And taxes still disproportionately fall on the middle and lower classes.

So while one set of strictly economic numbers shows power and health in the economy in Florida and the nation, another set of numbers -- the human element, numbers that actually show what's in people's wallets and how well they can take care of themselves -- points toward stagnation or increasing hardship. In third-world economies, that sort of disparity in the numbers is the norm. A nation's overall economic indicators might look good, because the numbers reflect the law of averages. Economic growth in China, Argentina and Venezuela, for example, has been racing at a staggering 8 to 10 percent clip. But poverty in those nations is rampant, too; so is inequality, and no one is lining up to emigrate there except for money looking for investment opportunities.

In the past academic year, the K-12 public school system of Minnesota survived an attempted hijacking of the statewide social studies curriculum by an alliance of radically right-wing and evangelical Christian activists who were empowered, startlingly, by the state's own acting Commissioner of Education. This effort was defeated over the course of several months by a remarkable collaboration between an energized group of K-12 teachers and parents and members of the University of Minnesota's Department of History. We describe this struggle, which has counterparts in a number of other states, and then assess some of its ramifications both for the place of history in K-12 curricula and for the public relevance of academic history.

In 2003 and 2004, 19 percent of Floridians lacked health coverage, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Florida was fifth from the bottom -- ahead of Oklahoma, Montana, New Mexico and Texas..

The study also found a disparity in tax burdens between the rich and poor. Florida's sales tax subjects the lower and middle classes to a proportionally heavier tax burden than their national counterparts. The state has no income tax.

As a result, the poorest 20 percent in the state pay, on average, 3 percent more of their income in taxes than those in a similar economic situation in the rest of the country, the report said. The richest 1 percent pay about 2.5 percent less than their national counterparts .

The last Democrat holding statewide office in Florida is blessed with good poll numbers and fortunate timing, as he gears up for a re-election race he expects to cost about $18 million. As one of six "red state" Democrats targeted by the White House, Nelson expects U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris to come at him with a well-financed and united Republican juggernaut next year.

"It's a long time before the election, and I don't take any numbers seriously this early," Nelson said in Tallahassee last week, when asked about a poll showing him with a 57-33 percent lead over Harris. "It's going to be a tough race, and I take nothing for granted."

During a series of nonpartisan town-hall meetings in Big Bend counties where voters register as Democrats but vote for Republicans in statewide races, Nelson never mentioned Harris. He talked about hurricane recovery, the war in Iraq, gasoline prices and health care.

For low-income, severely physically disabled young people in Florida, turning 21 has to be a dreaded event. The state agency charged with making sure they have continuing access to in-home health services has failed to request the necessary money. For those cut off after 21, their only alternative is a nursing home, which typically means leaving behind the care of a parent and a home they know.

This is absurd. It is more expensive for the state to house someone in a 24-hour residential care facility than provide discrete services at a patient's home. And wrenching these young adults from their parents' care would add to the stress of their lives, create undue emotional hardship and steal them away from their most trusted caregivers.

This low-brow search ensures that the state of Florida's reputation among the nation's universities will sink another few notches. ...

Our Board of Governors cannot possibly want to risk hiring anything less than the most astute, visionary, pragmatic, shrewd and experienced chancellor in the market. Board members wouldn't do this in hiring for their own businesses and professions. They ought not hire a puppet for our state's highest appointed educational administrative post.

A free ticket to college exists for students in Florida earning at least a B average in high school and scoring decently on college-entrance exams. ...
Yet with Bright Futures' costs climbing 11.4 percent next year - rising from $311.8 million to $347.4 million - there is a growing possibility that the standards to get a Bright Futures scholarship will be raised. The program next year is projected to cost twice as much as it did five years ago. It is funded by the state lottery.

There still would need to be a heck of a political fight to redesign such a popular program.

Bright Futures needs to be discussed in the context of financial aid," said Philip Handy, co-chair of the Higher Education Access Task Force and chairman of the state Board of Education.

"George Bush doesn't care about black people."

All of the men I saw come down from the helicopters were white. The majority of the people plucked from the rooftops were black. Yet those white rescuers didn't seem to care what the victims looked like.

- "here's a fact that can't be denied: He was not slow to prepare for last week's disaster."

- "The nightmare conditions at the Superdome and the New Orleans Convention Center, where tens of thousands fled for help, wasn't the fault of the military or President Bush. That blame belongs squarely on the shoulders of New Orleans officials."

As the extent of Hurricane Katrina's devastation became clearer on Tuesday — millions without power, tens of thousands homeless, a death toll unknowable because rescue crews can’t reach some regions — President Bush carried on with his plans to speak in San Diego, as if nothing important had happened the day before.

Katrina already is measured as one of the worst storms in American history. And yet, President Bush decided that his plans to commemorate the 60th anniversary of VJ Day with a speech were more pressing than responding to the carnage.

A better leader would have flown straight to the disaster zone and announced the immediate mobilization of every available resource to rescue the stranded, find and bury the dead, and keep the survivors fed, clothed, sheltered and free of disease.

The cool, confident, intuitive leadership Bush exhibited in his first term, particularly in the months immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, has vanished. In its place is a diffident detachment unsuitable for the leader of a nation facing war, natural disaster and economic uncertainty.

Nine years ago, then-Florida Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson convened a meeting of coastal states to talk about expanding Florida's Hurricane Catastrophe Fund along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts to share the cost of hurricane damage. Nothing came of it.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Nelson, by then a U.S. senator, pushed federal legislation to help insurance carriers set aside reserves for future catastrophes. Again, Congress lacked the political will to follow through.

From failed Republican congressional candidate to ousted "czar" of an Arabian horse association, there was little in Michael D. Brown's background to prepare him for the fury of Hurricane Katrina. ...

"He's done a hell of a job, because I'm not aware of any Arabian horses being killed in this storm," said Kate Hale, former Miami-Dade emergency management chief. "The world that this man operated in and the focus of this work does not in any way translate to this. He does not have the experience."

500 airboat pilots from the state have volunteered to help, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency had refused to authorize the volunteers to enter New Orleans.

As a flooded New Orleans sinks further into despair, up to 500 Florida airboat pilots have volunteered to rescue Hurricane Katrina victims, transport relief workers and ferry supplies.

But they aren't being allowed in. And they're growing frustrated.

"We cannot get deployed to save our behinds," said Robert Dummett, state coordinator of the Florida Airboat Association. He said the pilots, who range from commercial airboat operators to weekend pleasure boaters, "are physically sick, watching the New Orleans coverage and knowing that the resources to help these poor people is sitting right in our driveways."

On standby since Monday,the pilots -- many from Central Florida -- have spent thousands of their own dollars stocking their boats and swamp buggies with food, water, medical supplies and fuel.

But the Federal Emergency Management Agency will not authorize the airboaters to enter New Orleans. Without that permission, they would be subject to arrest and would not receive security and support services.

She is relentlessly partisan. ...

Wendy Swanson-Choi, a Republican parent who worked to elect Gov. Tim Pawlenty and served on an advisory committee for Yecke, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune there was another side. "She did herself in," Swanson-Choi said. "From the time I met her and saw her interacting with people, I thought, "You know what? We're set up for a problem here.' She didn't listen to anyone. It was just, "We're doing it my way. I'm right.'"

Gov. Jeb Bush and his Department of Education have operated in much the same fashion in Florida, demonizing critics instead of listening to their concerns. The political paranoia has diminished the professionalism at DOE and hurt Bush even with those in his own party.

"An ideological take on education -- a very conservative one."

That's the word from Jamie Crannell, a high school chemistry teacher in Minnesota who worked with Yecke when she was the state's education commissioner in developing standards for science classes throughout the state. "The only thing she was interested in was the intelligent-design issue," Crannell said of the creationism term. "The other 95 percent of what we do in science was ignored."

while many of her preliminary ideas raised eyebrows, the standards ultimately adopted under her leadership during the 16 months she was education commissioner in Minnesota were relatively well-received.

Plus, she has an impressive resume that includes 10 years of teaching middle and high school, three years on the Virginia State Board of Education and degrees at the bachelor's, master's and doctorate level.

Miriam Oliphant can use a little mercy. The Florida Elections Commission can prove it has a fully functioning sense of justice by granting it. ...

Oliphant has suffered enough. She's been publicly humiliated and has experienced serious financial problems since losing her job. Surely there is nothing to be gained by slapping her with a $55,000 fine, the penalty the Elections Commission wants to impose [for failing to open dozens of polling stations on time and allowing others to close early].

The judge recommended $2,000. That's fairer, more reasonable and, yes, more merciful. The commission should adopt the judge's recommendation.