Still the same

"Despite some controversies over their tenure, both of Florida's state party chairmen, Democrat Karen Thurman and Republican Jim Greer, appear headed for re-election to their posts. Both have opponents announced to run against them in their upcoming party elections. Miami party activist Brett Berlin has said he will challenge Thurman in the Democratic election Saturday, and Eric Miller of Martin County, who says he represents conservative Republicans, is running against Greer at the party's annual meeting Jan. 10." "State Party Leaders Likely Here To Stay".

Deadline tomorrow for 'Glades

"The vote that could finalize a $1.34 billion purchase of sugar farms is now only days away, but the blockbuster deal is not a lock." "Florida-U.S. Sugar deal still not assured".

Meanwhile, "The South Florida Water Management District faces a Tuesday deadline to decide whether to pay $1.34 billion to U.S. Sugar Corp. for a vast farming tract needed for an ambitious plan to restore the Everglades." "Deadline nears on Everglades Restoration decision". See also "Everglades at a crossroads as vote nears on U.S. sugar deal".

Whatever

"The November election saw a remarkable surge of interest from young people, who not only jammed the polls but worked tirelessly on behalf of their presidential picks. Their enthusiasm helped secure the White House for Barack Obama, whose own relative youth had pundits saying this marked the rise of a new generation to power."

"The Republicans are mobilizing in kind."

The newly elected Hillsborough Republican Executive Committee chairwoman, Deborah Cox-Roush, is arranging meetings with leaders of Young Republicans clubs and planning candidate training schools.

Mirages

Jane Healy: "Mirage No. 1: "

That Charlie Crist really is the "people's governor" and not just another politician cozying up with special interests.

That Florida is getting more environmentally friendly because some large landowners donate land for conservation.

"little more than a publicity stunt"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "If Gov. Crist really wants to help Florida homeowners, he will propose a mandatory moratorium on foreclosures instead of a voluntary one that is little more than a publicity stunt."

He also will require that lenders then work with borrowers to keep them in their homes.

Two weeks ago, Gov. Crist and representatives of the banking and mortgage lending industry announced a voluntary 45-day moratorium that is supposed to provide homeowners relief through the holidays. It delays new foreclosure proceedings until after Jan. 15, but provides no help to those already scheduled to lose their homes.

Charlie's "Accelerate Florida may be more salesmanship than substance"

"It was sold as an economic steroid shot."

Confronting a souring jobs picture, Gov. Charlie Crist announced in August a program called "Accelerate Florida" that would speed up already planned road-building and school construction to try to stimulate the economy.

In a letter to president-elect Barack Obama this month, he claimed the 179 road projects and $1.4 billion in spending was "creating an estimated 38,000 jobs and pumping money into Florida's economy sooner than previously planned."

But Accelerate Florida may be more salesmanship than substance.

Provisionals

"Broward and Miami-Dade voters who used provisional ballots on Nov. 4 can check to see whether their votes were counted by using a new provisional ballot tracker at www.browardsoe.org or www.miamidade.gov/elections/. The tracker shows voters whether the ballot was counted and if not, why." "Provisional ballots in Dade, Broward can be tracked".

State Farm

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Last summer, State Farm lost its attempt for a 47 percent increase in homeowner premiums. So State Farm came back last week for a 67 percent increase that, correctly, was rejected." "State could play tough again to solve the insurance crisis".

"Uninsured" and "underinsured"

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board reminds us not to "confuse universal health insurance with a proper health care system. The two should be synonymous. Instead, they're increasingly disconnected."

It's not just about the 45 million uninsured. It's about an almost equal number of underinsured people. It's about health costs being the leading reason for family bankruptcy filings, at least until the housing crisis hit, because the health-insurance system isn't doing the job. Too often, it's bleeding family finances, not protecting them, as it should.

But striving for a universal health care system won't be enough. Not if all that means is that most people are mandated to carry health insurance, while the insurance coverage itself isn't mandated to provide broad coverage. Several states, Florida among them, have crafted bare-bones insurance initiatives that give the sheen of broader coverage while leaving the essential problem -- runaway costs -- untouched. The purpose of health insurance isn't to protect against illnesses. It can't. Illnesses inevitably happen and, hopefully, get treated. The purpose of health insurance is to protect against financial ruin when illnesses hit. When even a middle-class family with ordinary health insurance can be bankrupted the moment a catastrophic illness strikes, it's not the health care system that's broken, but the insurance system. Making that system universal would only enlarge the problem, enlarging the insurance industry's clientele without addressing the underlying crisis.

RPOF Klansmen

"A small vote in Florida raises specter of KKK".

Farmworkers

The Miami Herald editors: "Because farmworkers don't enjoy the protections of the National Labor Relations Act, they have traditionally been prey to abuses that a succession of administrations have tried to correct through Labor Department policy rules. The latest changes don't augur well for the farmworkers."

Rules that are to be published this week and which would take effect just days before President Bush leaves office would: make it easier to hire foreign ''guest workers'' -- to the detriment of Americans willing to work in the fields; lower wage standards; and weaken oversight of farm hiring.

This revision will hurt those who can least afford any cuts in pay or erosion of job protections. The changes in hiring rules are particularly egregious because the greatest fear of domestic farmworkers is being displaced by foreign guest workers who are less familiar with their rights and more likely to remain quiet when those rights are abused for fear of being deported.

Reversing the new H-2A rules, as they are known, won't be easy. It would require going through a lengthy ''notice and comment'' rule-changing process again next year. The best thing that President-elect Barack Obama can do is to push for enactment of a bipartisan AgJobs bill already in Congress that has the support of both farmworker unions and agricultural growers.

Florida is home to about 10 percent of the nation's farm workforce. If this administration won't do anything to lift their standards, the next one should make it a priority.

Lazy paramedic who ran this call probably expects a raise

"Another child, this time a boy less than a year old, has been killed in the crossfire of a shooting in Northwest Miami-Dade." "Baby shot by masked man in spray of gunfire dies".

Call canceled

"A state panel has delayed a conference call meeting on Gov. Charlie Crist's request for a more diverse slate of nominees to fill an opening on Florida's highest court. ... It wasn't immediately clear why the meeting was postponed." "Fla. Supreme Court nominating panel delays meeting".

Union member writes a letter

"Not everyone within the AFL-CIO is against Miami Mayor Manny Diaz receiving a post in the Obama administration. A week after the president of the South Florida AFL-CIO told The Miami Herald, 'Diaz's track record is he's ignored the middle class,' AFSCME Local 1907 -- a member of the local AFL-CIO -- has penned a letter defending Diaz. Local 1907 is the general employees' union at Miami City Hall." "Union leader defends Miami mayor".

All in the family

"Can a Miami Beach City Commission seat stay in the family? Jane Dee Gross certainly hopes so. The Miami Beach activist intends to file to run for her husband's Group II seat in January." "Wife wants Miami Beach seat held by husband".

Local delegation

"Preparing for a difficult legislative session, Volusia County lawmakers heard pleas Wednesday to approve a Central Florida commuter-rail system and to help programs and services weather state budget cuts. But as the Volusia legislative delegation held an annual public hearing in DeLand, one thing was missing: A steady stream of requests from government officials and community groups to pay for new local projects." "Commuter rail officials' top issue".

Yee Haw!

"Republican Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah is calling for the resignation of the GOP's local leader, a request that symbolizes a fracture in the county's dominant party." "Fractures in Lee County GOP widening".

Not a good sign

"Fewer donations and lagging investments has a state American Red Cross chapter hurting." "Red Cross in Tampa lays off 22".

Bad dog

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Wilton Dedge and William Dillon have more in common than the initials in their names. Both were convicted of heinous crimes in Brevard County -- Mr. Dedge for rape, Mr. Dillon for murder. Both spent more than two decades of their lives behind bars. Both were finally released, thanks to DNA testing. And both owe their loss of freedom, at least in part, to John Preston. Mr. Preston is a one-time dog handler whose dogs performed tracking feats in the 1980s that bordered on miraculous. The news reports were astounding. Mr. Preston's dog could follow a human scent months -- even years -- after a crime was committed." "We think: Gov. Crist should order an investigation into dog handler's cases".

Fear based economy

"The number of Hispanics being attacked in the Tampa area is on the rise, but police say it's not racially motivated. ... A community activist says many Hispanics carry cash because they believe they don't have the proper documentation to open bank accounts." "Number of Hispanics attacked near Tampa increases".

Cover Florida plans -- unveiled Wednesday -- fall short of the mark. They are uniformly skimpy, with high deductibles, caps and exclusions. At best, the program will shift Floridians from the "uninsured" to "underinsured" categories. At worst, the plans (and an affiliated program that offers stripped-down, small-group policies) could undermine traditional employer-paid insurance, leaving more Floridians subject to the financial meltdown that can accompany health catastrophes.

Keep it short

MM: "Crist seems oblivious to the tough choices ahead -- choices that can't wait until the Legislature's regular session begins in March. He should be convening a special session of the Legislature -- and not because state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, a Democrat, says so. Or because several Republicans agree. The honeymoon will have to be short, governor."

Ms. Marquez continues:

First, where not to raid to pretend to be solving Florida's regressive tax-structure problem. Don't touch the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund to try to make up for a $2.3 billion projected state budget shortfall.

That fund was created by former Gov. Jeb Bush in 1999, using a portion of the $11.2 billion lawsuit settlement from Big Tobacco. Bush's predecessor, Chiles, engineered the deal to pay for children's programs and, later, elderly services. The fund, which needs to recover a $1 billion loss from securities investments in the current roller coaster stock market, already was raided by Crist and the Legislature this spring for $1 billion.

We can't keep taking from children and the elderly -- instead of closing decades-old tax loopholes by targeting certain services -- and call that tax reform

Spineless

We're getting the same old song and dance: "For the conservative Republicans who run the Legislature, the storm clouds gathering over the state budget have a silver lining — the opportunity to shrink government as never before."

Jim Ash: "Not since former Gov. Jeb Bush uttered his [childish] line about 'emptying' state buildings in his second inaugural address have the budget-cutting proposals been so breathtaking."*

Perhaps "stoopid" is a better way to put it. Ash continues: "Internal correspondence between Gov. Charlie Crist's top budget advisers shows just how drastically the times are shaping the administration's thinking."

"Don't get excited — but I would like to cost out a possible 6.6 percent reduction to state employee salaries — excluding, if possible, university professors only," Crist's budget director, Jerry McDaniel, wrote in an Oct. 24 e-mail to key staff members.

His subsequent overview of proposals doesn't go so far. It considers the option of saving $300 million by furloughing 147,000 state workers for as much as two weeks. ... [as well as]

- Saving $3.97 million by merging the Agency for Health Care Administration with the Department of Health.

- Saving between $5 million and $43 million by either raising the academic standards or "means testing," students who get Bright Futures college scholarships, or saving $436 million by suspending the scholarship program altogether.

- Saving $640 million by eliminating optional services for poor people on Medicaid.

- Saving $300 million by substituting modular buildings for new prison construction.

There are sources of revenue available — not even taking into consideration a state income tax, which we're unlikely to see in our lifetimes.

An extra $1 tax on cigarettes would raise an estimated $1 billion and could bring with it even more savings in health care. It's almost the perfect tax: It discourages unhealthy behavior, taxes those who choose to engage in that behavior, and would be a temporary income boost, bringing in less income each year as smoking falls out of favor.

The intangibles tax on stocks, bonds and other intangible property — axed back when times were better — was Florida's only progressive tax, affecting mostly the state's most wealthy citizens. Today, it probably would be bringing in another $1 billion; even a few lawmakers are glancing at the possibility of resuming it.

And there are the many sales-tax exemptions that have piled up over the years — and seem sacred, but certainly not all of them are.

So what are our lawmakers and governor now considering to balance the budget?

Dip into the Lawton Chiles Endowment (again), scooping principle from a fund that supports health programs for the children and the elderly. Raid other trust funds. Cut spending in all programs. Furlough state employees for two weeks with no pay — employees who can't remember their last raise. House prison inmates in tents. And no tax increases.

Goin' after the poor newlywed

"The Florida Democratic Party is punching hard: "

"Crist's defense of embattled Speaker Ray Sansom, continued support for his hand picked Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer, and the fact that Crist bundler Harry Sargeant III remains RPOF Finance Chairman proves that while Crist continues smiling for the cameras his out-of-touch optimism and George W. Bush-like inattentiveness have allowed Republican corruption to fester, our economy to tank, and Floridians to suffer,'' party spokesman Eric Jotkoff said in a news release.

Florida's booming prison economy

Troxler: "As of Friday, there were 99,845 inmates in the Florida system, the nation's third-largest, housed in 60 prisons, 41 work or forestry camps, and assorted work-release centers and road prisons." "Is the goal more prison cells or fewer criminals?".

Sugar deal

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "If there's no deal by Tuesday, U.S. Sugar insists, the company's offer to sell its land to the South Florida Water Management District for $1.34 billion is off. That should be OK with taxpayers. The only way to negotiate a better deal is to stop this one." "Public should not play U.S. Sugar's poker game".

More: "Fanjuls file legal attack against U.S. Sugar sale", "U.S. Sugar deal may be $300 million too expensive, new appraisals say", "Opposition builds as U.S. Sugar vote nears" and "Everglades at a crossroads as vote nears on U.S. sugar deal".

Double standard ...

Remind me why this guy, who once had a promising statewide career...

... was indicted (and ultimately cleared) again?

Plotting behind the scenes with the college president who would become his boss, Samson pushed legislation last spring that created a new, exclusive tier of local colleges that could offer an array of bachelor's degrees. Along the way, the pair arranged a secretive meeting that skirted Florida's Sunshine laws.

<Hard

"How hard is it to talk about sacrifice and fiscal discipline when your own GOP House leader, Ray Sansom, has funneled millions of dollars to a community college that turned around and hired him for a $110,000 job?" "Sansom's new job puts strain on GOP".

And then there's this: "Republicans' high cost of governing".

2010

"Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman"

seemed to have a campaign on her hands until former Miami-Dade Democratic leader Bret Berlin dropped out last week, just a week after he got in the race. Apparently, he decided there wasn't enough time before the party's meeting in Orlando on Saturday. ...

The state party "spent more than $9 million on legislative campaigns but managed to gain only one seat in the state House," Berlin said last week.

But the Democratic insurrection seems over -- replaced by anticipation of 2010.

That's when the party will compete for an open U.S. Senate seat and 22 term-limited seats held by Republicans in the Florida House -- an opportunity potentially equal to 2006, when they gained eight seats.

Earth to Charlie ...

"On a cold night under a full moon, Florida found itself a new first lady - and a governor who, now married, can truly aspire to a national office. 'It's a great night for Florida and a great night for us,' a beaming Gov. Charlie Crist told the press Friday as he and his new bride, multimillionaire socialite Carole Rome, exited the First United Methodist Church." "'Great night for Florida,' Crist declares".

While Charlie heterosexes it up in Tally ...

Randy Schultz: "Florida has financial problems, real-estate problems, employment problems and leadership problems. But this ban is a moral problem, even though backers claim that it maintains some sort of higher moral order in Florida. 'Gays can love and care, but what is best for the children?' asked John Stemberger, the personal injury lawyer who heads up the Florida Family Policy Council and led the campaign for the same-sex marriage ban. Gay and lesbian adoption, he said, is 'not best for society.' For that argument to be true, however, society would have to want to hurt children." "No home for gay adoption ban".

"We should be ashamed"

Bill Maxwell last week: "We should be ashamed."

One of the most abused groups of farmworkers is Florida's tomato pickers, who earn the same amount for a bucket of tomatoes, about 45 cents, as they have earned since 1978. Florida's fresh tomato crop is worth $619-million annually. ...

During a U.S. Senate hearing in April focused on working conditions for Florida farmworkers, McDonald's and Yum Brands, which includes Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell, A&W and Long John Silver's, agreed to pay the 1-cent increase. Then, Burger King agreed. Most recently, Subway, with 24,000 U.S. stores, agreed to match Burger King and ante up an additional 1.5 cents per pound to cover administrative costs and guarantee that at least a penny will be reserved for workers. Subway went further by insisting on a monitoring system to ensure that the penny reaches the pickers.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., an outspoken advocate for the cause of Florida farmworkers and a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said of the Subway action: "This agreement between Subway and the (CIW) is yet another blow to the scourge of slavery that continues to exist in the tomato fields of Florida. Subway is to be congratulated for moving to ensure that none of its products are harvested by slave or near-slave labor. Sadly, too many other companies continue to tolerate this travesty."

You know you're a RPOFer when ...

"CHUMUCKLA, Fla. (AP) -- Thousands are expected this weekend at a Panhandle holiday celebration with a redneck twist." "Fla. festival celebrates 'Redneck Christmas'".

In Pasco County, no less ...

"The first shot of the 2010 election didn't show up on TV, in the mail or a press release. To County Commissioner Michael Cox and the Democratic Party leadership, the blow came from the commission dais in usually quiet December." "Partisan fighting gets off to early start".

Aaron Deslatte: "Jim Greer's hopes of remaining the chief of the Florida Republican Party may hinge on a mysterious crate of cigars and $2.5 million in American Express charges."

At the GOP annual meeting at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort next month, Greer is facing a serious challenge from Martin County Republican Eric Miller, an information-technology guru alleging that Greer's financial management is "irresponsible" and may have played a role in John McCain's defeat in the state by Barack Obama.

Critics complain that while Obama was pouring $70 million into a Florida victory, the state Republican Party was running up credit-card charges totaling $2.5 million this year without disclosing to the public or party donors what they bought. (The law doesn't require that receipts be filed for expenditures.)

The charges left many rank-and-file Republicans suspicious, given Greer's penchant for limo rides, private jets and fine cigars. According to Miller, several prominent GOP donors are mulling a lawsuit to force a forensic audit of the party.

Sad

The Tallahassee Democrat's Mary Ann Lindley:

The newspaper business continues to represent for me the romance, fever, beauty and power of language and human experience. ...

No question, journalism is changing. That is not a news flash.

We are a newspaper segueing into a "media company"; a newsroom that has become an "information center," a digital online product breaking news as it happens, and we are still not close to perfecting — though some of us are stubbornly trying — a genuinely new literary form: the blog.

Blogs, as with all forms of Internet communication, are loaded with fiction, fact and factlets, immediacy, intimacy and sometimes brief fame, depending on the trumpeting persistence of their authors.

And the online world is already gridlocked with them.

Though the form is new, the challenge of learning, verifying, reporting, filtering and, in a way, tailoring all the news and information, insight and opinion that is available at any given nanosecond into something that fits some printed pages meant for you, dear reader, and you alone has long been the challenge of writers and editors.

Fathoming what matters most, what people want to know and what they need to know as informed citizens in any given market is the challenge that isn't ending just because the venue of information delivery is changing from what it's always been to — well, that elusive next thing.

Right now, everyone is speaking at once. The roar of information is deafening and unclear; the future of newspapers is a story still being written.

I don't believe the ship is sinking, but it is in rocky waters just now.

Fortunately, there are lifeboats filled with young men and women who still believe in the mission and value of journalism and the First Amendment that endows it; who understand that language is still a powerful and beautiful force of nature.

A Third World thing

"Officials say a 12-year-old Daytona Beach boy found dead in his bed likely died of chickenpox." "Fla. boy's death may be linked to chickenpox".

Run (away), Jim, run!

"Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer has done little to position himself for a run for RNC chairman. But he hasn't closed the door on running, and he has been invited by Americans for Tax Reform to a debate of candidates for RNC leader on Jan. 5." "Gunning for RNC boss".

What housing crisis?

"Cops hunt mom, young girl who lived in beach pit".

Poor Mikey

Mike Thomas whines: "Why can't we get rail? One word: Boneheads". The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "We think: Commuter rail's back on track thanks to efforts of local leaders".

RPOFers at work: "do nothing and hope for a miracle"

Ernie Padgett, a former county administrator and commissioner with more than 30 years' experience in Florida government, who retired to Marianna last year after 12 years as Manatee County administrator:

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has asked the governor and legislative leaders to call a special session to address the financial crisis. I agree with her. Doing nothing until next March, when the Legislature is due to go into regular session, is not an option.

New House Speaker Ray Sansom shares the governor's lack of leadership approach in raiding trust funds and spending down the reserves. Sansom recently stated, "My hope is we'll have enough money in trust funds to keep the budget balanced for the entire year."

They are using nonrecurring dollars to fund recurring operational expenses. This is budgeting at its worst. A prime example of do nothing and hope for a miracle.

Funding for education, health care, law enforcement and corrections is being cut to unacceptable levels, compliments of the do-nothing officials in Tallahassee who are hoping for a miracle.

Journalism?

Jeez, I feel safe reading this Tampa Trib headline: "Crist Promises He Will 'Fight For Florida' In 2009".

More alleged "journalism" from Florida's inked stained wretches: "Caviar At Crist Reception Will Come From Mote Aquaculture Park" and "Crist Says 'I Do' In St. Pete".

Biomass

"Questions remain about proposed biomass plan".

Gator blues

"Add the University of Florida to the list of places feeling the effects of a sagging economy." "UF says endowment lost $104M this quarter".