"Whoops"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board:

Florida is eliminating touch-screen voting, supposedly because of security concerns. Whoops.

The state has discovered that its anointed successor, optical-scan voting, also comes with security concerns. The state is correct to put the system to the test, but after lots of time and money, the solution may be no better than the problem.

"State's new voting system will need new protection".




Voter Rolls

"State's voter rolls shrinking".




"Woe"

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "Frustration over property insurance revives talk of legislative hearings and sworn testimony. Who would have thought that the Florida Legislature holds the tool to tamp down the growing and unproductive war of words over property insurance? The lawmakers do and they should use it as soon as possible." "Insurance Woes".




Giuliani

"Former Gov. Bob Martinez is endorsing Rudy Giuliani in the Republican primary for president, the Giuliani campaign is expected to announce today." "Ex-Mayor Martinez To Support Giuliani". See also "Ex-governor will endorse Giuliani" and "Bob Martinez To Back Giuliani".




"Suddenly Chilly"

"It was the longest 20 seconds of their lives. Former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez was in a crowded Capitol Hill elevator Wednesday when who should squeeze in but U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Awkward." "A suddenly chilly ride in a Capitol Hill elevator".




Have a Cigar

The Tampa Tribune editorial board:

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, has pushed for the children's health insurance program expansion and has pledged to hold the tax increase to the amount prescribed in the House legislation. No lawmaker is under as much pressure as Castor to protect the industry, and rightly so given the cigar industry's deep roots in her district.

"Snuff Out Cigar Tax Hike".




PIP

"The lead negotiators on legislation to replace Florida's no-fault auto insurance law say they have a basic agreement. But the proposal has provisions and omissions that have derailed earlier bills, and it appears that it will take a lot more arm-twisting for a passable bill to surface in either the upcoming special session or even in next spring's regular session." "PIP Law Changes Unlikely To Pass". See also "Lawmakers fight to save expiring no-fault law".




Early Start

"Brevard County gets a taste of the 2008 presidential campaign today with Republican candidate Mitt Romney's stop in Melbourne. The former Massachusetts governor's visit is the first of what area political leaders expect to be a steady stream of White House hopefuls vying for local support in the coming months. The reason is Florida's new primary date is among the earliest in the nation." "New primary likely to lure candidates".




Hot

"Installing solar panels and a hydrogen cell at the Governor's Mansion to make his point, Charlie Crist seized control of the state's energy policy from a Legislature he considered too timid." "Crux of Crist energy plan hotly debated".




Surprise

"At least 21 people have applied to Gov. Charlie Crist’s office for the appointment to replace Warren Newell on the Palm Beach County Commission. But don’t be surprised if Crist picks someone else." "Does Crist have a surprise for the county commission?".




What a Deal

"It appears Pinellas County's swift, $225,000 purchase of Property Appraiser Jim Smith's vacant land in June wasn't the first notable deal Smith got on the property. He only had to put $100 down in 1994 when he bought it." "The original Jim Smith land deal".




"The hollow ring of justice"

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board:

The hollow ring of justice

Donna Duffer got what she deserved. Gambling addiction or not, the bookkeeper crafted a sophisticated plan, over three years, to bleed dry the county Convention and Visitors Bureau accounts she managed, in the hopes of striking it rich on online bets.

For her $1.6 million theft, she got 10 years in prison. The circuit judge didn't allow her time to get her affairs in order. She went straight to a cell upon sentencing.

But you have to wonder about the justice of a system that deals such an exacting punishment on Duffer, and yet, the county commissioner who abused the public's trust on the way to amassing a $10 million fortune in secret, illegal land deals gets half the time.

"Justice isn't equal in Duffer, Masilotti cases".




Cleavage

"Despite an early start, a large stable of candidates and an unprecedented level of media attention, the 2008 presidential race has been largely missing an issue that many experts call central to the state and the country's future - education."

"All domestic issues have taken a back seat so far in the presidential campaigning because the campaigns have been focused on Iraq," said U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, co-chairman of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's Florida campaign.

Wexler said part of the blame for why education isn't in the forefront must go to the media, which are often "more interested in handicapping the horse race, talking about who's raising the most money and who's criticizing whom."

He cited the recent media fascination surrounding Sen. Hillary Clinton's cleavage during a July 18 speech on the Senate floor. The New York Democrat was speaking about the costs of higher education.

"Education erased from issue board in campaign talk".