For seven years, he was the voice of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at meetings on repairing the River of Grass.

Now, Harvey's bosses have decided their top water quality expert in Florida no longer will work on the $10-billion Everglades restoration program.

The problem: He spoke up.

Barbarians at "the gates of Disney's Magic Kingdom"

"An unprecedented deal struck this month by Gov. Charlie Crist and the Seminole Tribe of Florida would, for the first time, bring high-stakes gambling practically to Orlando's doorstep -- clearing the way for Vegas-style slot machines, blackjack and baccarat at a Tampa casino about an hour's drive from the gates of Disney's Magic Kingdom."

Now tourism executives in Central Florida, which has spent billions building Orlando into perhaps the best-known family-vacation destination on the planet, say it is only a matter of time until gambling interests seek access here, too.

"Business-friendly climate"

"Employers continue to look south to us for our reasonable cost of living, our sunny shores, our business-friendly climate and our talented work force." "Lifelong learning key to high-paying jobs".

What do the St Pete Times editors mean when they say "business-friendly climate".

Dontcha' love "free trade"

"Some Florida tomato growers say they are getting out of the business because it has gotten too difficult to compete with foreign growers not bound by U.S. labor laws and environmental and food safety regulations." "Fla. tomato growers say it's tough to compete with foreign farms".

Don't expect a lot of editorial comment from the free-trade-freaks in the traditional media.

Petitions

"In the grandstands, mall entrances and grocery parking lots, you'll find them smiling and asking you to save Florida from greedy developers, environmental over-exuberance or social decline. ... The next two months are crunch time for petition-gathering groups as they race toward a Feb.1 deadline to collect the 611,009 voter signatures Florida requires to put a citizen-drafted amendment on the statewide ballot." "Groups shift their petition-drive efforts into high gear to meet Feb. 1 deadline in Florida".

This is hardly a surprise: "The National Institute on Money in State Politics has just published a study showing that most citizen-initiative petition campaigns on constitutional amendments are waged by big corporations and political committees that are looking out for their own interests." "Citizen initiatives come courtesy of corporate cash".

Whatever

"Frank Brogan clearly botched the ouster of Florida Atlantic University's fundraising chief, and his bosses should have called him on it. But even that isn't enough to ruin the FAU president's overall record since taking the reigns nearly five years ago." "Brogan deserves his contract extended, but needs constructive criticism, too".

"A great disservice"

"The Florida Legislature did residents, present and future, a great disservice last spring by "

rejecting Gov. Charlie Crist's proposal to increase by $100 million funding for one of the state's most important initiatives - the Florida Forever land preservation and conservation program.

Doing so would have allowed land managers to take advantage of the slow real estate market and reduced land prices.

The nearly seven-year-old program, which receives about $300 million annually in documentary stamp taxes, has less than $35 million dollars in the kitty. Yet state and local officials have identified more than $11 billion in projects worth pursuing. And the program is scheduled to die in 2010.

Lawmakers' refusal to pony up more money wasn't a good sign for the future of land preservation in Florida.

Lake O

"Clean up more of the dirty water pouring into Lake Okeechobee and find ways to better target a wider range of pollutants, a team of scientists told South Florida water managers in a report issued this month." "Scientists call for more cleanup of water draining into Lake Okeechobee".

Here's an idea

"The Jacksonville pioneers believe so strongly in their plasma arc technology and its ability to cleanly convert Tallahassee's garbage into electricity, that they're ready to spend $180 million." "Turning trash into treasure".

To replace Allen ...

"Voters in parts of Brevard and Orange Counties will vote in January and February to elect a replacement for former Rep. Bob Allen, who resigned after being convicted of solicitation." "Tallahassee: Dates set for election to replace legislator".

The report sets "self-sufficiency" standards for each county in the state -- a measure of income needed to survive without public assistance.

the wages needed by families to subsist dramatically eclipsed the minimum wage and the federal poverty line, which is roughly $20,000 a year for a family of four.

"At $7 an hour full time, that's $14,000 a year -- which is probably enough money if you're a single person living at home with your parents," said James Wright, director of the Institute for Social & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Central Florida. "But if you're living in your own apartment and paying $800 a month in rent, you simply don't have any money left at the end of the year."

Part of the issue, Wright said, is that poverty levels were set 40 years ago and based on the cost of food. But since then increases in housing, energy bills and health care have dramatically outpaced the rise in grocery bills -- making the poverty line an inadequate indicator of the true scope of poverty.

Striding the world's stage at taxpayers' expense - will Charlie cozy up to genocide-enablers?

"Crist considers trips to India and China". This is just plain silly: "discussions about curbing global warming would be a focal point for the Asian trips." Will someone, anyone call Charlie on misusing public dollars in an effort to burnish his "international relations" bona fides when he jumps into national politics.

I can hear it now: in a VP debate with, say ... Wesley Clark (the retired four-star general of the United States Army who was valedictorian of his class at West Point, was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in PPE (Philosophy, Politics & Economics), graduated from the Command and General Staff College with a master's degree in military science, spent 34 years in the Army and the Department of Defense, receiving many military decorations, several honorary knighthoods, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and who commanded Operation Allied Force in the Kosovo War during his term as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000) , serial flunker of the Florida bar Charlie Crist will preface a question about foreign affairs with the following: "While I was in China negotiating a global warming pact, I ...".

While in China wasting Florida's tax dollars on a silly publicity stunt, perhaps Charlie address this issue? More: "China and Darfur", "Coalition for Darfur : China and Sudan, Blood and Oil" and "China and Darfur - International Herald Tribune": "A strong UN force is needed to halt the genocide in Sudan's Darfur region. If it is not sent soon, it may be too late for many thousands of potential victims. The immediate cause of the delay is the refusal by Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, to agree to a UN force, which he preposterously claims would attempt to recolonize his African nation. He is able to get away with this largely because China, a permanent member of the Security Council, continues to protect him with the threat of using its veto."

Don't count on it: after all "China is already one of Florida's top trading partners, with the state importing more than $5.1 billion in goods from the country in 2006 and exporting $488 million in goods. The top import was data processing equipment and the top export was fertilizers, according to Enterprise Florida.".

Fear of fading

Marco Rubio the 36-year-old Miami GOPer who will have to leave office next year, and desperately wants so remain relevant, "has thrown his weight behind a citizen petition that boasts a 26 percent average property tax cut statewide."

At the same time, Gov. Charlie Crist will be gearing up his own campaign for the Legislature's plan, which he helped craft.

Tension between Rubio and Crist, both Republicans, has been growing for months, with Rubio challenging the governor on various policy decisions. On Monday, Rubio made his most overt move by filing a lawsuit to block a gambling compact Crist fashioned with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Rubio insists the Legislature must ratify any deal; Crist disagrees.

"Vice-presidential timber?"

"He's an affable if not bland U.S. senator from Florida who once orbited the planet but has few lofty legislative achievements and little national name recognition. Is it any wonder, then, that Democrat Bill Nelson - inoffensive, mostly unknown, and unattached to any major issues, causes or scandals - is again being talked about as vice-presidential timber?" "Fight With Party Might Push Unknown Senator To National Stage".

"Gov. Charlie Crist, with a politician's ability to evade interrogation, has been dodging one question more than any other lately: Could he be a candidate for vice president in 2008? Crist has repeatedly said he is not thinking about it, even though it has been mentioned by presidential candidates and his supporters. Still, he won't stifle the speculation by ruling it out. That speculation, experts say, does as much as anything to build his national profile and political clout."

And remember this?: "Last spring, at the behest of the state House Speaker Marco Rubio, the Legislature passed a law allowing Florida officeholders to run for federal office without giving up their state posts. Although Rubio denied it, the law was perceived as aimed at making it less risky for Crist to take a running mate slot. If his ticket lost, he could remain as governor; if it won, the governor's office would open for hopefuls, including Rubio." "Are They VP Material, Or Are They Not?".

Ouch!

"The party pointedly books no hotel rooms for Floridians at the convention." "Democrats snub the Florida delegation".

Charlie's numbers

"A Mason Dixon Poll released Tuesday shows that 61 percent of Florida voters rate Gov. Charlie Crist's performance as 'excellent' or 'good.'" "Poll: Crist still doing good job". See also "Poll: Voters give Crist high marks".

Back to the future

"A Florida member of the Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit Tuesday that seeks to force the state to move its presidential primary back to March. Jon Ausman of Tallahassee said the legislature's decision to move the primary to Jan. 29 broke Democratic Party rules and violated the free speech and assembly provisions in the U.S. Constitution." "Suit seeks to roll back Florida's primary date". See also "Democratic official sues state over presidential primary date".

Voter registration numbers

The Palm Beach Post has a cool interactive map showing, on a county-by-county basis, current voter registration, together with 2000 and 2004 prez election results."Photo".

Spoils

"45 state appointments still unfilled".

Another silly stunt

"Crist on Monday unveiled a new Web site - floridaperforms.com - that outlines 35 of his goals for the state and rates the progress of each as improving, maintaining or worsening." "Crist measures state performance on Web site".

Another Jebacy

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Here's a radical idea: Reward schools for teaching children. Maybe you think that's already happening. Florida gives each public school a letter grade based on how well students do on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. ... But as Palm Beach County Superintendent Art Johnson pointed out last week during a school board workshop, those assessments are based on what students know, not on what they've learned. As a result, those grades are biased against poor schools."

The current system is "a great way to attack public education," Dr. Johnson said, and get money for vouchers and charter schools to "privatize" education. But it isn't a great way to honestly assess schools. "This is a political question, not an educational question," he said. He'll be seeking support for a change from other school boards, the Legislature and Congress.

Palm Beach County

"Florida's top elections official voiced concern Tuesday that Palm Beach County's voting equipment vendor doesn't have an approved plan to accommodate disabled voters when state standards change in 2012." "County election vendor not ready for 2012, state frets". Joel Engelhardt: "Florida's newest ballot issue".

"Backlash"

"Pollster Brad Coker said the numbers indicate that the decision of the Democratic candidates not to campaign in Florida in advance of the Jan. 29 primary 'could come back to hurt the party in the general election.'" "Giuliani's Lead Over Clinton In Florida Hints At Backlash".

Cat

The News-Journal editors: "On its face the bill that soared through the U.S. House early this month to help property owners in states like Florida share catastrophe risk with those in other states looks like a no-brainer. "

States that voluntarily join a federally chartered risk consortium would be eligible for federal low-interest disaster loans and disaster reinsurance. The measure stops far short of being a national catastrophic fund, where risk is spread among all states. Still, it would widen the risk pool, which after all is a basic principle of insurance. From hurricanes in coastal states to tornadoes in Kansas to earthquakes in California, if property owners facing such natural disasters were in a national risk pool, the burden on any one policyholder would be reduced.

However, there's a serious flaw in the House bill, labeled the Homeowners Insurance Defense Act, sponsored by two South Florida lawmakers. Its financial incentives, much like those in the ill considered National Flood Insurance Program, would open the public purse to subsidize, therefore encourage, development in coastal and other disaster-prone and environmentally sensitive areas.

Bonuses

Bill Cotterell the other day: " Remember those bonuses that state employees got last week? It's understandable if you forgot, because - at $673.50 after taxes - the $1,000 one-time payment wasn't all that noticeable. It was, of course, better than nothing, and it's probably more than most state workers can hope for next year." "If a bonus were a bonus, it might mean something".

Ann Romney

"Ann Romney's visit with 30 women in St. Petersburg's Old Northeast neighborhood on Tuesday capped off a four-day tour of Florida, campaigning on her husband's behalf. Such solo trips are becoming more common for Mrs. Romney." "Romney's key ingredient".

Days of the week are denoted by tee times. Sunset is washed down with a cold beer or margarita at outdoor happy hour. The backdrop is a town square, where a faux-rustic facade and classic oldies pumping from speakers festooned on street lamp posts make visitors wonder if Gene Kelly might emerge for an encore of "Singin' in the Rain."

This 26,000-acre enclave set in Central Florida is one of the largest retirement communities in the United States.

It is also a GOP oasis. As Republicans survey the state, looking for optimism in the 2008 presidential election, it is no wonder their gaze falls hopefully on The Villages.

The developer of the retirement community, Gary Morse, is one of Florida's top Republican donors. His community spares no red-carpet treatment or local media coverage when candidates come to town. Most of The Villages' 67,000 residents are Republicans -- and some of the most reliable voters in the state, with a turnout rate of nearly 80 percent.

Ethics charge

"A New Port Richey man said he has filed a complaint against state Sen. Mike Fasano with the Florida Ethics Commission, alleging Fasano misused his position in a flap over state's driver safety handbooks." "Fasano targeted in ethics complaint".

"A regular guy" (who married his cousin)

"Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani burnished his regular-guy credentials and held forth on topics ranging from religious liberty to alternative fuels to baseball star Alex Rodriguez's new contract before Sunday's season-ending NASCAR Nextel Cup Ford 400 race. Giuliani, at his third NASCAR race this year, called racing 'the quintessential American sport' in brief remarks to drivers before the race." "Giuliani a regular guy at NASCAR race". See also "Giuliani looks for voters at NASCAR finale" and "Giuliani attends Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway".

Meet the new (elections) boss

"Crist tapped Miami attorney Jorge Cruz-Bustillo of the law firm Diaz, Reus, Rolff & Targ for the job that had been held by former state Rep. Chance Irvine." "Crist chooses elections panel chairman".

FCAT follies

"FCAT gets an exam of its own".

That took long enough

"The centerpiece of the new strategy is spending a little extra money up front to bring community-based mental health resources to those who need them before they wind up cycling in and out of the criminal justice system. This will serve the dual goals of enhancing public safety as well as helping a large percentage of the mentally ill who can function relatively well with proper care and medication." "End wasteful, cruel policies on mentally ill".

The other Jim Smith

"Jim Smith finally got one thing at least half right. The embattled Pinellas County property appraiser has decided he won't run for re-election next year." "Smith's galling exit from office".

No "true 'good guy'"

The Palm Beach Post editors: "A fight already is breaking out over the agreement Gov. Crist and the Seminoles signed last week to expand gambling at seven tribal properties in Florida. But the odds of finding a true 'good guy' in this fight are slim." "Given bad set of options, best bet is on Seminoles". Yesterday, Scott Maxwell wrote that "I'd bet on it: New gambling deal will go through".

"Florida Hometown Democracy"

"Fla. businesses unite to fight 'Hometown Democracy' referendum". See also "'Hometown Democracy' would give Fla. residents power over development".

Then, nothing.

Like thousands of other would-be Florida voters, Figueroa's application went astray in a state registration process that since 2006 has become more computerized, circuitous and complex.

County election officials say the number of voters lost through Florida's central registration system is small — 90 percent of applications get voter cards.

The result is that applications from more than 43,000 Floridians hoping to become eligible voters over the past 21 months were rejected by state computer programs and kicked out for special review.

More than 14,000 initially rejected — three-fourths of them minorities — didn't make it through that last set of hoops.

African-Americans were 6.5 times more likely than whites to be rejected at that step.

Hispanics were 7.2 times more likely to be failed.

The issues begin with the 2005 Florida Legislature, when lawmakers pushed through election law changes meant to bring the state into compliance with new federal laws that were a result — in part — of Florida's own notorious electoral past.

Along with federal mandates to create a single statewide voter database and to check those names against driver's license and Social Security numbers, Florida added a requirement: Applicants who didn't pass the database test would not be registered to vote.

The provision was approved by the U.S. Justice Department in 2005, but further tinkering gives "lost" voters just two days after an election to prove the computers were wrong. That has raised new civil-rights concerns, and the Justice Department has asked Florida to prove its system is not discriminatory against minority voters.

"I know I'm in the South down here, you people aren't the sharpest pencil [sic] in the box," he said. "It's no wonder Bush won the election."

And your point is?

Here's Mike Thomas' regular insertion of his nose into Bushco's derrière: "Look at what Jeb Bush accomplished by setting tough standards for the education bureaucracy." Tell us, Mike, exactly what did Jebbie "accomplish"?

Isn't it possible that, in the Bushco tradition, there was a "dereliction of duty" on Jebbie's part? See "Dereliction of Duty - Florida's Failed Education Policy". See also "Another Jebacy" (The Tampa Trib describes Florida's "dismal high school graduation rate") "Raise quality" ("Florida's schools stand as monuments to mediocrity")

"I will return!" says Saint Marco

"House Speaker Marco Rubio's power is about to begin its natural decline as his term comes to an end. But the Miami Republican is taking steps to remain in the spotlight."

Rubio, 36, recently asked House counsel Jeremiah Hawkes if he would be violating the gift ban by raising money from lobbyists and others for Floridians for Property Tax Reform and 100ideas.org, a "charity" that shares a purpose with Rubio's cause of the same name.

In both cases, Hawkes said Rubio can solicit funds. Rubio would not have to disclose fundraising for 100ideas.org because, he said, he did not create the group that has been so closely associated with the Miami Republican. It was formed in August by Miami property magnate William Holly and Winter Park lawyer Ometrias Deon Long, among others.

Mel's money woes

"Florida Republican Mel Martinez is among the top early fundraisers of the class of U.S. senators who face re-election in 2010, already taking in nearly $2.9 million for his own cause."

But in bracing for the future, the first-term senator's campaign fundraising has been complicated by the past.

Rather than stockpiling a lot of this money, huge chunks have instead gone to paying off more than $500,000 in debt from his 2004 race, refunding contributions to 2004 donors that exceeded federal limits, and paying accountant and lawyer fees to help untangle finance-reporting irregularities.

Those costs have helped to lower Martinez's campaign committee balance to just $915,557 through Sept. 30 in his latest filings with the Federal Election Commission.

That ranks only 21st among the 30 senators whose seats will be up for grabs in 2010, not including four other senators who have been more focused on raising and spending money nationally as presidential candidates. ...

Along with the more than $500,000 in debt from the race, a Federal Election Commission audit released in April resulted in the Martinez being forced to refund nearly $97,000 in 2004 donations that appeared to exceed legal limits.

Martinez's committee also has had to pay at least $300,000 so far in legal and accounting fees to help address bookkeeping irregularities.

And that may not be the end of it.

The audit's findings of numerous election-law violations can still lead to a hefty fine by the commission, though an agency spokesman said officials there will not discuss whether it is being considered.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink; state House Minority Leader Dan Gelber; former U.S. Rep. and gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis; and Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio.

All in the family

"Crist has named Miami attorney Jorge L. Cruz-Bustillo, 44, to head the Florida Elections Commission. The Cuban American has been a member of the commission since 2005. ... Cruz-Bustillo's father, Harry Cruz-Bustillo, was a Bay of Pigs veteran who was imprisoned in Cuba for 18 months before returning to the United States near the end of 1962. ... Cruz-Bustillo was appointed to the commision two years ago by then-Gov. Jeb Bush. On Tuesday, Crist tapped Cruz-Bustillo to serve as chairman." "Miami attorney named chairman of state elections commission".

Enough already

The media apparently thinks there's something special about this story: "GOP rides Crist's back to woo black voters". For a review of yesterday's inflated coverage of the latest failed RPOF publicity stunt, see "The best they could do".

Bad bet?

The St Pete Times editors:

Given the open hostility in the Legislature toward Indian gaming, Gov. Charlie Crist had reason to want to avoid a showdown that could leave Florida empty handed. But the compact he has now signed with the Seminole Tribe allows for games that are otherwise illegal, and the governor cannot make law. While there are differing legal opinions, it seems this agreement could require the approval of the Legislature.

Memorial

"Plant City's only black commissioner says the marker doesn't belong on city property." "Confederate memorial creates a stir".

The coal thing

Mike Thomas: "Charlie Crist's campaign against global warming is turning the power companies topsy-turvy. ... Here is some historical scoop:"

Jeb Bush began pushing coal. It is plentiful, cheap and made in America.

It also contains plenty of carbon, a global-warming pollutant. And while you can do a lot to clean coal, you can't scrub out the carbon.

Enter Charlie Crist, whose crusade against carbon has turned into a crusade against coal.

And so all those coal plants planned under Jeb are being canceled under Charlie, including one by the Orlando Utilities Commission. This has power company officials chewing on their tongues.

Meanwhile, Crist also has signed an executive order requiring the state to sharply reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

The first target comes in 2017, when we are supposed to have cut emissions to what we were putting out in the year 2000.

And to reach that goal we won't be able to use nuclear power because any new plants are more than 10 years off.

So how do you produce a lot more energy with a lot fewer emissions without nukes? You don't.

.The logical place to raise it would be a tax on power bills.

With Florida already facing a cost-of-living crisis, would Crist sign off on that? This is the same guy whose favorite sound bite is he never voted for a tax increase.

And yet if Crist doesn't put some serious green into Florida becoming a greener state, this effort will fail and all his new greenie buds will turn on him.

Let's not "run government like a 'business'"

"Human skeleton found under floor of Madeira Beach business".

1000 Friends?

The Palm Beach Post editors: "Florida Hometown Democracy, led by Palm Beach lawyer Lesley Blackner ... distrust extends to 1000 Friends [of Florida] because of the developers on its board: 'They've had 20 years. Has there been any growth management in Florida?' Actually, the answer is yes, just not enough of it. As noted, the Florida Chamber is acting less on behalf of good government and more on behalf of its members. But 1000 Friends of Florida has been in the fight against bad growth long enough, and has enough victories, to know good ideas from bad ideas. Its refusal to embrace Hometown Democracy is telling." "Still Florida's good friend".

"A boy with a drill"

"White clouds of poison washed over eastern Hillsborough County last week, closing roads and closing schools, hurting firefighters and killing fish, chasing hundreds of people from their homes. All this terror from a boy with a drill." "A pipeline spewing homeland insecurity".

Key Deer

"When the National Key Deer Refuge was established in 1957, its first manager, Jack C. Watson, sometimes employed unorthodox tactics to discourage repeat poachers targeting the diminutive deer under his protection." "Refuge helps the Key deer bounce back".

Warm up

"With Realtors and business groups preparing to square off against labor unions over passage of Florida's property-tax reform proposal, the Jan. 29 vote looms as an early warm-up for powerful interests certain to play big roles in next year's presidential and state elections. Florida Realtors have given $820,000 to the state Republican Party during the past three years, while labor unions have steered $929,873 to state Democrats during that span, making them among the biggest contributors to either side, state records show."

But defeating the measure also could sharpen the focus of voters on Florida's sluggish economy and turn their wrath against Republicans, who control the White House and Florida Governor's Mansion as well as the Legislature, Kitchens said.

He told Florida Democrats at their convention at Walt Disney World last month that the party's candidates need to "hang this [economy] problem" around the necks of Republicans.

By contrast, if the plan is approved, it will allow the GOP to claim a measure of economic victory heading into the election year.

"Sure, the Democrats are going to try to make this fail and turn it into one more example of voter fatigue with Republicans," said state GOP chairman Jim Greer.