More MZM

It seems it ain't just "Representative B" in MZM trouble:

Gov. Jeb Bush's office is refusing to release documents or answer questions about a $400,000 tax credit awarded to MZM Inc., whose former chief executive pleaded guilty last week to bribery and illegal campaign contributions.

"Disgraced Executive Got Local Tax Deals".




Tax Rate Increase from "Jeb!"

"Bush won't be offering any additional solutions to Florida's hurricane-insurance woes during his State of the State message next week, but he said Friday that one thing's clear: Rates must go up." "Hurricane insurance 'is going to have to go up,' governor says".




"Some machines are vulnerable to hacking"

"A state advisory to all counties acknowledges that tests show some machines are vulnerable to hacking." "Voting machine security alert sent". See also "State issues new voting guidelines".




GOoPers Running Amuck

A "proposed [GOoPer] constitutional amendment aims to make every branch of government, most notably the courts, subservient to the Legislature. Such an approach would boost the bruised egos of legislators, who are tired of the courts telling them their efforts to restrict abortion and spend public money on private tuition vouchers are unconstitutional. But the courts were not created to be the servants of the politicians who write the laws." "Pre-session power grab".




FCAT Follies

"In this newly designed FCAT and standardized test crucible, the students most dependent on the public schools to improve their lives probably will become increasingly resented by the kind of knowledgeable and creative teachers they need most. The playing field for students and teachers will become even more unequal as take-home pay becomes directly correlated with standardized test results." "Think of the FCAT as a bonus".




Don't You Dare Second Guess "Jeb!"

"Two Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to strengthen the state's role in port inspections, but Gov. Jeb Bush said on Friday that Florida already has the toughest port security in the nation." Here's why - in ports "Jeb!" claims to have the "toughest" security in the nation,

Last year alone, 127.4 million tons of cargo passed through Florida's ports and yet only a fraction of that cargo was inspected," Klein said. "That this obvious lapse in security has not been addressed on the federal level demonstrates just what a low priority port security is.

"Bush questions need for state cargo inspections".




More FCAT Follies

"Critics were fuming Friday after learning that the FCAT - the standardized test that will leave a permanent mark on the academic future of thousands of Florida students - will be graded by $10-an-hour temporary workers who are required only to have a week's training and a bachelor's degree." "FCAT could be scored by temps".




Gallagher May Regret ...

attending this meeting:

In the long and bruising race for governor, it was just one of thousands of events. But the scene Wednesday in Pasco County may prove to be a watershed moment.

Tom Gallagher rearranged his schedule and showed up for a town hall meeting on insurance. The chief financial officer wasn't there long, but stayed just long enough to make a dubious impression.

"Did insurance gripe session appearance hurt Gallagher?".




"Governor still 'devious' ..."

"Gov. Bush once said that he had "devious plans" to thwart the class-size amendment. If "devious" implies clever or original, he wasn't telling the truth. That's appropriate, since it turns out that not telling the truth — which in politics hardly counts as clever or original — is his basic strategy for undoing the class limits voters approved in 2002. Gov. Bush did not tell the truth about how much smaller classes would cost. And he is not telling the truth about how well Florida can afford the real cost of lowering the number of students in each class. When he first campaigned to defeat the class-size amendment, Gov. Bush said that compliance would cost $14.3 billion through 2007. If his 2006-07 budget is approved, the state will have spent $11 billion less than that." "Governor still 'devious' on class-size amendment".




Freeloaders

"Lobbying organizations that lavishly entertain government big shots during the legislative session can't be blamed if some freeloaders violate the new gift ban or sneak some friends into a big party, the Commission on Ethics decided Friday." "Freeloaders OK at lobbyist parties".




Hereinafter Referred To As The "Gallagher Rule"

"The Florida Ethics Commission recommended Friday that the Legislature consider a law requiring state Cabinet members keep their financial holdings in blind trusts." "Ethics commission recommends blind trusts".

In any event, to Gallagher's relief, "[a]n analysis shows he lost thousands of dollars, undercutting accusations of insider information." "Gallagher's stock buys led to losses"




Potholes

"Proposals aim to stem lawsuits over sinkholes".




Trust Us ...

everything is just fine:

Just days before elections, state officials were reviewing this week whether they had a problem that could call into question tens of thousands of absentee votes.

The problem surfaced in the state's new central voter database, a multimillion-dollar project aimed at cleansing the voter rolls of errors and preventing voter fraud.

The Herald-Tribune on Wednesday found thousands of entries in the tally of historic votes that suggested people already had voted in elections that haven't happened.

The finding launched a review by state election officials who worried the entries could make it appear that legitimate voters were trying to vote twice.

"State Says Vote Count Not In Danger".




More From The "Values" Crowd

"A review showed Miami-Dade and the state education department got reduced grants when U.S. officials flouted their own regulations to benefit those with political ties." "Federal grants went to Bush allies".