From South Florida to Tampa Bay, a few county Republican parties are discussing or passing resolutions telling the state party to butt out of the Senate race or any other primary.

If the state party presses forward, Crist's election could be rockier than expected and his hand-picked Republican Party of Florida chairman, Jim Greer, could find it tougher to hold on to power.

''I like Jim Greer, but the ball is in his court. He needs to level the playing field,'' said Palm Beach County Republican chairman Sid Dinerstein.

''If he doesn't level the playing field,'' Dinerstein said, "we have a serious problem in the Republican Party of Florida and we'll have to straighten it out at our July meeting. The press might want to be there for that.''

Hillsborough County's Republican Party passed a resolution Thursday demanding that the state party remain neutral. Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Pasco and Hernando counties might follow suit.

The wave of resolutions was fueled by reports that Greer was talking with GOP higher-ups about whether to invoke party ''Rule 11'' to expressly endorse Crist.

Right now, polls and insiders suggest that Crist will have an easy time dispatching any rival in the 2010 primary or general election. But if the backlash against the party turns into a revolt, the primary might not be the cakewalk for Crist because Florida has closed primaries dominated by the conservative wing of the party.

Broward County state Republican committee man Ed Kennedy said Crist's embrace of President Barack Obama and his stimulus package cost him points with conservatives. And Palm Beach's Dinerstein said Crist and Greer's decision not to fully back a Republican congressional candidate embittered some Republicans.

The line between fearless warrior, unhinged zealot and doomed martyr can be hazy. It's hard to tell where to place the underdog Republican U.S. Senate candidate.

On the surface, it's absurd: an obscure Republican former legislator from Miami trying to beat Florida's most popular Republican, a sitting governor named Charlie Crist, who happens to be a record-shattering fundraiser. And 37-year-old Rubio intends to do this in the face of the national Republican establishment uniting behind Crist, and the Florida Republican Party bent on pushing Rubio out altogether. ...

Maybe it matters that in Crist's home county of Pinellas, more than half the people at this week's party meeting signed up to help Rubio's campaign. Or that the words "Charlie Crist" draw boos at some Republican gatherings. Or that local Republican parties this week have been scolding state GOP chairman Jim Greer for trying to throw the party's full support and resources behind Crist.

Polls show nearly seven in 10 Republicans approve of Crist's brief performance as governor, so the challenge for Rubio is spreading doubts about Crist's conservatism — and having the money to do it — beyond hard-core activists. That means aggressively tearing down the governor's record and ideas.

"The way to win for him has got to be all the way or nothing,'' said Republican consultant Adam Goodman. "The problem for him is he's going to hit the line where the party — and even the conservatives — will rebel against him. That's his Catch-22."

is drawing fawning coverage from the national conservative media — a Republican Barack Obama, swooned the Weekly Standard — eager to knock down the notion that Crist's brand of sunny centrism is the GOP's path to success.

Charlie about to break no-new-taxes pledge

"Charlie Crist signed a no-new-taxes pledge Thursday, indicating that while he's running for the U.S. Senate he might veto some of the fees and taxes legislators raised to balance Florida's budget."

In the Americans for Tax Reform pledge for federal candidates, Crist promises to oppose income-tax increases. Crist's Republican rival for the Senate seat, Marco Rubio, also signed the pledge on Thursday. Crist and Rubio had signed a similar pledge for state officeholders.

But Crist is about to break that promise if he doesn't veto most of the $2.2 billion in new taxes and fees that legislators approved May 8.

More Atwater for 'ya

"Senate President Jeff Atwater will run for chief financial officer. A political source close to Atwater said the announcement will be made on Tuesday". "Atwater plans to run for CFO, source says".

Not so fast, Jeff!

"Tom Gallagher, former rival of Gov. Charlie Crist, may run for Florida CFO".

The other Jeff

"Kottkamp will 'most likely' run for AG, not governor".

"Kids' health bill wins last-minute passage"

"The changes to KidCare, which includes children's Medicaid and the subsidized insurance program Healthy Kids, would remove barriers keeping many families out of the program. Fifteen years ago, Florida led the nation in providing health insurance for low-income children. Since then, the state's record has slipped, in large part, because of bureaucratic hurdles and underfunding." "Taking down barriers".

"Fiendishly expert at playing Pontius Pilate"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Tallahassee politicos have become fiendishly expert at playing Pontius Pilate. Rather than deal decisively with the nasty business of doctoring our ailing education system, the Legislature washes its hands." "Ease small-class angst".

"Republican leadership" at work

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "The 'growth-management' bill that eliminates Florida's strongest growth-management tools is special-interest government at its worst."

The special interests favored by Senate Bill 360 are developers. They have long complained about the two rules in the state's 1985 Growth Management Act that actually have teeth. One, called traffic concurrency, requires adequate roads to be in place before construction is allowed. The other requires huge projects on large parcels to undergo a rigorous review called a Development of Regional Impact. SB 360 would eliminate both.

In their place, the Republican leadership of both chambers has created fuzzy exemptions.

Scary visual

"Atwater, in future Prez nod, passes Senate fundraising torch to Haridopolos".

Lock 'em up

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Florida's prison population has jumped by nearly a quarter in just the past five years. It cracked 100,000 inmates for the first time this year."

Only California and Texas have more people behind bars. Over that same period, Florida's annual spending on criminal justice and corrections has shot up by more than a third to $4.5 billion. Rising crime is a factor in these increases, but they also reflect a wave of stiffer sentencing laws coming out of Tallahassee.

If current trends were to continue, Florida's prison population would top 120,000 in another five years. With the average cost of holding a prisoner now more than $20,000 a year, that growth in the inmate population would add hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the annual tab for taxpayers and force billions more to be spent on new facilities to house them.

The average prison, which holds 1,300 inmates, costs $100 million to build and $26 million a year to operate. The idea of plowing that kind of money into housing more criminals is especially hard to accept right now, with legislators slashing spending on basic services like health care and education for law-abiding Floridians, or relying on handouts from Washington, D.C.

Charlie wants voters to know: he's a green guy!

"A day after winning approval for his landmark Big Sugar land purchase, Gov. Charlie Crist thanked water managers in person. The governor, on his way to a hurricane conference in Fort Lauderdale, paid an impromptu visit Thursday to the South Florida Water Management District in West Palm Beach. " "Gov. Crist thanks water district officials for 'yes' votes in U.S. Sugar deal". See also "Crist to water managers who approved $536 million land deal: 'God bless you'".

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "The scaled-down proposal for restoration of the Everglades that South Florida water managers approved this week shows that pragmatism is not always the enemy of the ideal." "A better deal for Everglades".

Conservatives gone wild

"A small, radical Midwestern church that has made headlines for picketing Iraq War veterans' funerals plans to protest an America it believes has gone pro-gay and anti-God with demonstrations in South Florida beginning this weekend." "Anti-gay, radical Westboro church to protest in South Florida".

Now if they wanted a union ... that'd be different

"The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a resolution expressing solidarity with the writers, journalist and librarians of Cuba. ... It was co-sponsored by Florida's other senator, Bill Nelson, as well as Bob Menendez, Lindsey Graham, John Ensign, George Voinovich and Richard Lugar." "Senate supports free press in Cuba".

Never mind the "Forever" part

The Tampa Tribune editorial board find it "disheartening that, for the first time since the inception of the state's hugely successful land preservation program, lawmakers put a zero on the Florida Forever ledger for the new fiscal year beginning July 1. If bullheaded legislators responsible for this neglect had wanted to fund it, they could have."

Residents, who polls have shown strongly support preserving the state's natural riches, should remember this budgetary neglect come election time.

It's up to the so-called "People's Governor"

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "During the legislative session this year, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and other business interests lobbied hard to cap legal fees, which they blamed for the rising costs of workers' compensation insurance."

On the other side, lawmakers also heard from firefighters, police officers and first responders injured on the job who said the state's earlier effort at capping worker's comp legal fees kept lawyers from taking cases. Insurance carriers could deny legitimate claims with little fear of challenge.

Business interests prevailed, persuading lawmakers to impose rigid limits on legal fees in worker's comp challenges.

The measure robs workers of their legal rights. Carriers essentially have control over the claims process. In too many cases, they can run up legal fees for both sides by denying benefits in a deliberate attempt to force workers to settle claims for less than they are due. Because of the caps, workers' lawyers can ill-afford to continue the fight. ...

Crist should recognize the grave injustice and kill the bill.

Poor Vern

"Buchanan's Venice Dodge one of dealerships Chrysler closing".

"Dyer straits"

"Orlando government will cut its workforce by more than 10 percent -- some 342 positions, including more than 100 cops and firefighters -- unless an unexpected tax windfall comes through in the coming weeks." "Dyer straits: Orlando to lay off 100-plus emergency workers".

"Florida is one big storm away from disaster"

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "The clock is ticking, with hurricane season just a few weeks away. And Florida is still putting itself unnecessarily at risk, with homeowners finding themselves scrambling for reliable property insurance even as Florida is one big storm away from disaster. Gov. Charlie Crist has within his ample power, the ability to give consumers a little more control over their insurance decisions and that is by NOT vetoing the Consumer Choice Bill (HB 1171 and SB 2036), which even many homeowners who appreciate his interest in keeping their rates low hope he won't veto." "Editorial: Storm time".

Now that's entrepreneurship

"After the Rapture: Orlando man will deliver messages to those left behind".

Bright Futures

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "When the Legislature created the Bright Futures scholarships in 1997, its primary goal was to encourage Florida's best and brightest students to attend state universities. But lawmakers, flush with lottery dollars, transformed this worthy effort into a costly entitlement. Now the program has ballooned into a subsidy of nearly $400 million a year, and it is taking away money from other budget needs, including higher education itself." "Reform Bright Futures to sensible levels".

Labels: More blood for the bath

A political newcomer back then, she relied heavily on her extensive résumé with Bank of America. Who better to serve as chief financial officer than the woman who was president of Florida's biggest banking network for seven years?

Her mentor at Bank of America, current CEO Ken Lewis, said of Sink, "She's bright. She's a good communicator. She's a winner. She's driven to do all she can to succeed."

But now Bank of America has soaked up $45 billion in bailout money. Its widely reviled CEO, Lewis, earned more than $20 million in 2007 and $9 million in 2008. He has been blamed for the disastrous purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co., which has caused Bank of America stock to plunge.

Sink retired in 2000 and had nothing to do with any of this.

But details come second to perception in the political realm. So the Republicans will hammer away at the association.

RPOFer base likes their Rubio rare

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Anthony Man reports that last night "Rubio wowed an audience of Broward Republicans on Wednesday evening with his call for a new form [sic] of conservatism that rewards entrepreneurial attitudes and eschews government as the first choice for solving all problems." "Forget Crist, conservative Republicans in Broward like Rubio". See also "Senate candidate Marco Rubio wows Republican audience, calls for new form of conservatism".

Is this the man crush ...

... that will rock Florida politics?

conservatives, who have long mistrusted Crist, now loathe him for committing the cardinal sin of enthusiastically endorsing President Obama's stimulus plan this year. Among right-wing stalwarts, even using the word ''stimulus'' is a wicked act. They insist on the ugly locution ''porkulus,'' as in political pork.

Crist even embraced the president during a Florida rally in February, and the hug really got under the skin of the wingers. On Mike Thomas' Orlando Sentinel blog, a commenter recently declared, in all capital letters: ''I as a Republican, will never forget what Gov. Crist did, hugging and kissing Obama and taking all that stimulos (sic) money on TV.'' Ouch.

Marco Rubio, the former Florida House speaker, will be the conservatives' champion in the primary. ...

He was mentored by former Gov. Jeb Bush. As soon as Crist announced, Florida political junkies went into overdrive speculating whether Bush would endorse Rubio and turn the primary into a brawl. ...

According to the exit polls, the proportion of Florida voters who call themselves Republicans fell from 41 percent in 2004 to 34 percent in 2008. A Quinnipiac poll last month found that Crist's net approval was marginally higher among Democrats than among Republicans. ...

Florida will be one of the clearest tests of whether rank-and-file Republican voters are more interested in doctrinal purity, or in winning -- even if it means nominating an Obama hugger.

Backlash

Michael Mayo:"You can just imagine the campaign zingers coming soon from Charlie Crist's opponents:"

"When the going got tough, our governor got going."

"In the middle of his first term and he wants to go to D.C.? This guy gives new meaning to the term 'federal bailout.'"

a) Run for a second (and final) term as governor during a financial meltdown while dealing with a dysfunctional Legislature.

b) Head for D.C. with his socialite wife to hobnob with the elite, smile for the cameras and face no term limits as one of 100 in a club that doesn't require much heavy lifting.

I think we all know which job suits Crist best.

Crist started off promisingly as governor, showing a healthy pragmatic side. But he hasn't shown much leadership during the budget crisis or recent legislative session. Critics have called him Empty-Suit Charlie, Empty-Chair Charlie and Empty-Calendar Charlie.

They'll be able to say Crist is more interested in seeking an office than in holding it. This will be his fifth campaign for statewide office in 12 years. Democrats already are attacking Crist for hightailing it from Tallahassee. Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, who also will run in the Republican Senate primary, is taking potshots at Crist's conservative credentials.

'Glades

"South Florida water managers have approved Gov. Charlie Crist's deal to buy farmland from the U.S. Sugar Corp. for future use in Everglades restoration." " U.S. Sugar Everglades deal takes another step forward". See also "Water managers approve historic $536 million land buy for Everglades restoration".

"Local governments have only themselves to blame"

sThe Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "It took several years, but the state Legislature finally acted to end this expensive and increasingly outrageous use of taxpayer money. A bill is on its way to Gov. Charlie Crist's desk that would stop school boards, cities and counties from spending public money on campaigns to support or defeat referendums or amendments." "End the campaigning".

"Ah, but perception"

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board shatters some of the "double dipping" myths: "We all know perception sometimes can be more important than reality."

Such is the case with efforts to end the so-called "double-dipping" by government employees who retire and then reclaim their old jobs after a 30-day wait, collecting both their pay and a pension.

As the Tallahassee Democrat's Bill Cotterell has stated eloquently and often, it's really not double-dipping and it costs the state almost nothing extra. Employees are being paid for work that somebody would have to do, while collecting retirement money that is theirs in the first place.

He who makes the rules ...

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Letting schools make more of their own decisions could make them better. After all, who knows the needs of a school's students better than the principal, teachers and parents there? Working with that philosophy, the Pinellas School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to take the first step toward school-based decisionmaking, agreeing to hold a public hearing on the new policy. It is a step in the right direction, but the district needs to continue to move cautiously and methodically." "A smart move on school decisions".

Another privatization flop

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "Not long ago the mantra in Tallahassee was that the private sector could do no wrong and government could do nothing right."

Former Gov. Jeb Bush led a wholesale effort to privatize government functions, including a Medicaid reform program that relied on private insurers. ...

Too often in recent years some market-worshipping lawmakers seemed to have thought simply handing a private entity the keys to a government office would improve things.

The lack of oversight has led to a number of scandals, overspending and other embarrassing affairs involving outsourcing efforts, with WellCare being the latest.

An investigation by federal and state authorities found the company charged the state for mental health services it did not provide. It routinely skimped on children's mental health services to pocket more of the state's compensation.

The company has agreed to pay the state $80 million to avoid a conviction on a charge of conspiracy to defraud Florida Medicaid and Florida Healthy Kids Corp. A U.S. attorney called it one of the largest health-care fraud cases in the United States. Criminal charges are expected to be filed against several former executives.

Black people

"Rescuers are searching for survivors after a boat carrying about 30 people, mostly Haitians, capsized near Boynton Beach." "At least 9 dead, 16 saved after migrant boat sinks".

Trending blue

"Whites no longer are in the majority of the population in Orange County, Fla., home of Orlando. U.S. Census estimates released Thursday show that the theme park mecca joined the ranks of about 300 other U.S. counties in becoming majority-minority. That means half of the population is of a group other than non-Hispanic white. ... Orange County is the largest of the six counties that became majority-minority in 2008." "Whites no longer majority in Orange County, Fla.".

Bright futures

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "It took a $6 billion budget gap for Tallahassee to free Florida from the restraints of Bright Futures."

Legislators capped the scholarship program at this year's tuition levels, despite an 8 percent tuition increase at community colleges next year and as much as 15 percent at the 11 state universities. The cap will save the state nearly $35 million, which scholarship recipients - meaning their parents - will have to pay. ...

Bright Futures money has gone to more than 1 million students. It was touted as a program to keep the brightest high school graduates. In fact, it was a pacifier to quell complaints about how the state was using lottery money. Bright Futures began with $75 million. It has ballooned into a nearly $400 million shift of money from mostly poor lottery players to mostly affluent families. Now that the economy has forced legislators to talk about retooling the program, they should consider retaining the cap, raising standards, giving Bright Futures in a lump sum rather than a percentage and setting aside a portion of the money for needy students and for students pursuing degrees in high-needs areas.

The rich are different

"A New York billionaire's company has pleaded guilty to illegally importing wildlife parts, after inspectors found a big-game hunter's haul of elephant tusks, a mounted tiger head and bar stools covered with reticulated python hides on the company's 150-foot yacht at Port Everglades." "Yacht loaded with dead animal parts in Fort Lauderdale: Billionaire's company guilty of importing wildlife".

Courage on the bench

"Florida must recognize gay couples' adoptions that were granted in other states even though its laws bar granting such adoptions, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday." "Gay adoption gets court support".

Thank you, Mr. Obama

"Crist expresses gratitude for Fla. stimulus waiver".

Charlie's "calculated casual approach"

Bill Cotterell: "Rubio said the next 16 months should be a grand debate about the future of the state and the party. Crist is far too polite to reply [honestly that a "grand debate" will only raise the profile of the relatively unknown Rubio] ... but his campaign actions speak for him."

The way the governor entered the race showed a carefully calculated casual approach. Announcing new leadership for the state's emergency-management bureau, he was asked — as everyone knew he would be — about the Senate race.

Oh, that — well, sure, come to think of it, he'll run, Crist said, in effect, but he's really busy being the people's governor right now.

This leaves Rubio in an ankle-biting mode, and he'll chomp plenty, in a modern-media way. "Let the debate begin" was the tag line on not only the prepared statement he issued when Crist announced, but also in a YouTube video his campaign distributed. ...

Balk

"Fla. Cabinet balks at proposed auto insurance rule".

Emergency leadership

"Ex-Miami-Dade fire-rescue chief to lead Florida's emergency office". Related: "New emergency manager: Florida must prepare for hurricane season".

Blackwater River State Forest

"Florida's Cabinet on Wednesday approved the $1.3 million purchase of 575 acres in the Blackwater River State Forest as part of an ongoing Florida Forever project." "Cabinet approves $1.3M purchase for Fla. Forever".

On the desk

"Life-changing legislation awaits governor’s signature".

FCAT Follies

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial Board: "As a high-stakes test the FCAT fails on several counts. It works well as a diagnostic test. It was created as a diagnostic test, not as a tool to limit graduation and punish schools. Yet that's how it's been used. Schools with high overall FCAT scores are rewarded with extra money. Schools with overall failing grades get the double punishment of humiliation (when school "grades" are posted) and no "bonus" dollars. It would make more sense to invest more in failing schools -- not to reward them, but to help them improve. Public education shouldn't be about punishment and reward, anyway. It should be about maximizing opportunities." "Students hit tripping point".

Charlie Crist is unbeatable. No way can stodgy Bill McCollum beat folksy Alex Sink for governor. Dan Gelber's U.S. Senate Democratic primary campaign is toast against Kendrick Meek's. The Florida GOP, with so many once-safe seats now wide open, is poised to take its biggest drubbing in a generation.

Don't assume anything in this volatile political and economic climate. Especially not when we're about to mark the anniversary of Barack Obama's first extended campaign swing through Florida.

Back then, all the talk was about how the Illinois senator was weak with seniors, Hispanics and Jews. He couldn't possibly win Florida's 27 electoral votes. Wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong.

Alex Sink will be the next governor? Not so fast. ...

Crist is unbeatable for Senate? Nobody is unbeatable. ...

In this election cycle, anything is possible.

Rubio stiffed

"Crist draws quick support from GOP leaders for Senate bid".

Primary fight

"Crist: Too Moderate for Florida Republicans?", "Conservative activists question Charlie Crist's commitment to core GOP values", "Political reaction mixed to Crist’s Senate decision" and "Is GOP united behind Crist?".

"Enough with the political slumber"

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "The political calm lasted less than a week here in the Sunshine State before the engines started racing again and pundits were all a Twitter.
Advertisement With Gov. Charlie Crist's announcement Tuesday that fighting for the people of Florida from a seat in the U.S. Senate is where his 'heart is,' the speculation begins as to just how different the landscape will be in Florida in 2010 with the governor's office and all three Cabinet seats up for grabs." "The race is on".

Beth Reinhard: "The Republican primary battle between Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio reflects the party's broader struggle between its moderate and conservative wings." "Is Republican Party united behind Charlie Crist?".

Jim Saunders: "Crist, who has governed as a bipartisan populist, could face a tough Republican primary against former state House Speaker Marco Rubio of West Miami. Rubio built a conservative record in the Legislature and quickly indicated Tuesday that he will run to the right of Crist. ... Democratic leaders also blasted Crist for launching the Senate campaign while Florida faces huge financial problems." "Crist's Senate bid mixes up Florida politics".

Failure

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial Board:

Crist had commendable goals going into this year's legislative session. [1] He wanted utility companies to produce 20 percent of their power from renewable energy sources by 2020. [2] He wanted to bring Florida in line with clean-car rules adopted by California and a dozen other states. [3] He backed the $1.2 billion SunRail project, the commuter rail system that would have served Central Florida, including DeLand. [4] He wanted to consolidate state health agencies to make them more efficient.

He failed on all four counts.

Crist was mostly a spectator while legislators worked to plug the state's $6 billion budget gap. He could have tempered the debates, using some of his considerable political capital to slow the raiding of trust funds and press for reasonable alternatives to budget-slashing. He could have pushed for reforming the state's sales tax exemptions, which most Floridians favor (reform would increase state revenue without affecting most Floridians). He could have pushed for Internet sales taxes. He chose not to.

But that combination clearly hasn't served Floridians well with Mr. Crist as their governor. His preference for dodging politically unpopular but important policy fights has set the state back financially. And his habit of abandoning worthy causes once legislators, special interests or the public challenges them has cost the state economically and environmentally, and in the ability of its residents to commute from here to there.

Leadership from the governor could have spared Floridians at least some of this mess. It's what his successor will need to demonstrate to get them out from under it.

Mr. Crist could have compelled lawmakers to pass reality-based budgets that placed Florida on firmer fiscal ground. Instead, they're built on federal stimulus dollars that will disappear after Mr. Crist leaves office, along with raids on state savings accounts intended for kids' health and transportation projects.

It'll fall instead to Florida's next governor to build more credible budgets by making the state's sprawling bureaucracy more efficient, and by responsibly increasing its revenues and reforming the tax system.

Clearly Mr. Crist hasn't been interested in doing that. He wouldn't even champion hiking the state's tiny cigarette tax. He said he's not "warm and fuzzy" about it. But he was hot about giving the public still more tax breaks, like one proposed for first-time homeowners, though doing so means bending the state's already lopsided tax system further out of shape.

• On taxes, Crist carried the torch for the Amendment 1 property tax-cut referendum last year. He calls it ''the largest tax cut in Florida history,'' though it has been criticized as having a negligible impact on a typical homeowner. He also persuaded legislators to put new tax breaks on the 2010 ballot, one aimed at helping first-time home buyers and another for commercial property owners.

• On education, Crist needed to rely on nearly $900 million in federal stimulus money to maintain public school funding, and championed a 15-percent tuition hike sought by university leaders.

• On insurance, Crist promoted a rate freeze on the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and opposed higher rates for private insurers, which backfired when the state's largest private insurer, State Farm, announced it will pull out of Florida. Crist declared ''good riddance,'' but it remains to be seen how Florida's insurance market will stabilize in the absence of such a large player. In the just-ended legislative session, lawmakers passed a series of steps to make the insurance industry more market-based.

Leslie Spencer of AARP joined dozens of advocacy groups, some with ties to the Democratic Party, in criticizing a lack of leadership and shortsighted fiscal policy that relies on federal stimulus money without a thorough review of tax loopholes.

It'll be Meek agin' Charlie?

Scott Maxwell: "It'll be Kendrick Meek vs. Charlie Crist."

How do I know this?

Because Meek has the kind of smarts and charisma voters said they wanted in last year's presidential race.

Because the other Democrat is just another cog in the Tallahassee machine.

Because the alleged social conservative in the race is an unproven lightweight.

Because the proven conservative who could win seems more interested in grousing from the sidelines than getting in the race himself.

And because people just always seem to underestimate Charlie Crist.

Here's a breakdown on how the Senate race is shaping up ...

And if you think this race may be his most uphill battle yet, consider this: We're talking about a guy who flunked the state Bar exam — twice — and then went on to get elected attorney general.

The other race ...

"If you don't know the names of Florida's attorney general, chief financial officer or agriculture commissioner, rest assured: you'll start hearing them -- a lot -- very soon. Each of those statewide elected officials, Bill McCollum, Alex Sink and Charles Bronson, hope to become marquee names to Florida voters during the next 18 months." "With Charlie Crist running for U.S. Senate, meet the likely Florida gubernatorial candidates". See also "Jeb Bush has no plans to run for governor again in 2010".

'Glades

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "There's an admittedly high price to pay for buying large swaths of U.S. Sugar land. It's worth paying, however, because the South Florida Water Management District - not private sugar growers - would control the future of the Everglades."

The governing board will decide today whether the district should pay $536 million for 73,000 acres. The district would pay a premium to shrink the deal from a purchase of 180,000 acres for $1.34 billion. Buying less land now, while retaining the opportunity to buy more, would reduce the district's debt at a time of economic hardship. But to improve the deal, the district must meet the modest demands of officials in Hendry County.

"The Deliverance lobby scored another victory in Tallahassee"

Frank Cerabino: "Florida's barnyards remain a beacon of freedom."

That's because the Deliverance lobby scored another victory in Tallahassee this month.

For the second year in a row, the Florida Legislature failed to pass a bill that would have made it illegal to have sex with animals. ...

I think it might be time to shame those paragons of virtue in the Florida House by proposing a "Squeal Free or Die" animal sex specialty license plate

Liberty City Six

"Third time was the charm for federal prosecutors in the so-called Liberty City terrorism trial. But don't be surprised if Tuesday's convictions are not the last we hear of this case." "Liberty City Six trial too costly for the results". See also "5 found guilty in Miami of trying to join in terror plot with al-Qaida".

Poor Jeff

"Analysts see little hope for Kottkamp".

Buchanan

"Buchanan will not run for governor or Senate". See also "Buchanan to seek reelection".

"Special danger"

"Hurricanes pose special danger to Florida farm areas: blown pesticides, other toxic chemicals".

"Reality"

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial Board: "Floridians can always rely on year-round sunshine, but rainfall is highly unpredictable in the Sunshine State. This makes water resource management one of Florida's greatest challenges, but also one of its greatest rewards. Water sustains more than 16 million residents, supports multibillion-dollar industries in agriculture and tourism, and is the lifeblood of our natural environment, from north Florida's underground springs to central Florida's Lake Okeechobee and south Florida's expansive Everglades." "Coming to grips with drought's dry reality".

"Cue the creepy sound track from Psycho"

The Miami Herald editorial board: "It's the moment South Florida homeowners dread. The annual windstorm-insurance bill arrives and -- cue the creepy sound track from Psycho -- you open it to find another huge increase staring you in the face. You ask: How much more of this can I take?" "Seeking shelter against the wind".

Interim director

"Twenty days before the start of the 2009 hurricane season, Gov. Charlie Crist named Ruben Almaguer interim director of the agency that prepares Floridians for natural disasters." "Crist names interim emergency operations head". See also "Ex-Miami-Dade fire-rescue chief to lead Florida's emergency office".

Crist declares

Updated: "It's official: Gov. Charlie Crist announces run for Senate"

This is a bit much too soon for our serial bar exam flunker dontcha think?:

If successful, the move could help Crist in a possible presidential bid and give the struggling Republican Party a top tier candidate in a competitive race.

Party leaders have been saying for months that Crist wants to be in Washington rather than running for another term as governor. Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, jumped into the GOP Senate race last week, casting himself as a conservative "alternative voice" to Crist's more moderate image.
"Marco's a great guy," said Jason Steele, the Brevard County party chairman. "Unfortunately, when you're running against an icon who's been popular since the moment he's taken office, it'll be hard to out-fund-raise him, or match his appeal to rightwing conservative Democrats."

Virtually every statewide leader in Tallahassee, beginning with Gov. Charlie Crist, is expected to be seeking higher office. Crist's anticipated announcement Tuesday morning that he's running for the U.S. Senate, rather than reelection as governor, will trigger one of the most chaotic and wide open election seasons ever in Florida.

Crist's bid could also leave the Republican Party of Florida in the lurch, putting at risk its control of the governor's mansion and Florida's Cabinet. And with Crist running for federal office, he no longer can raise corporate contributions or unlimited ''soft money'' for the state party. That means that the state GOP, already cutting staffers and facing fundraising challenges with the sour economy, loses its top money-raiser.

''It's a huge problem for Republicans, and it certainly plays into the other side's hands,'' said Republican consultant Brett Doster of Tallahassee. ``It's going to put the party in a more defensive posture than it has been in a couple decades.''

some Republicans are worried about their top contender for governor, McCollum. He has lost two of three statewide bids since 2000. Sink, considered the Democratic front-runner for governor if she runs, won her first and only statewide campaign in 2006.

Time for a pay cut

"Fire crews from 4 counties, state battle Indiantown fires".

Luvin' the corporate welfare

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Sticker shock might be a natural reaction to reports that state and local governments are offering $31 million in incentives to land a solar-panel manufacturing plant for Orange County — especially when the news has been dominated lately by the money woes of recession-battered governments." "Compete for solar jobs".

The campaign for Governor begins

"While mum on speculation she might run for governor, Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink took a shot at potential gubernatorial rival Bill McCollum Monday at a Forum Club lunch." "Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink expected to seek Crist's job".

Alex Sink: "For years, Tallahassee has failed to take a modern, businesslike approach to managing the people's money." "Fix state's financial oversight".

Perhaps pay cuts will do the trick

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "A little boy in foster care is dead by his own hand, but a poorly functioning child welfare system also is responsible. Last month, 7-year-old Gabriel Myers hanged himself on an extendable shower hose while in a South Florida foster home." "DCF must do better".

Bill would stop local government elections communications

"The bill would not stop elected officials from individually voicing their opinions on ballot initiatives. It would stop local governments from using money under their control on political advertisements or other elections communications that provide anything other than statements of fact on local and state ballot initiatives."

But a spokeswoman for the Florida Association of Counties said Monday the group would ask Crist for a veto of the bill, which opponents say would undermine city, county and school officials' ability to do what they think is best for their communities.

The Florida League of Cities may also ask Crist to veto the bill.

"The state's needs are no longer his needs"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Ideally, Gov. Crist would announce today that he is resigning to run for the U.S. Senate. If that happened, Florida would get someone who is focused on being governor. Also, Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp would have a real job, and might be better able to defend his serial misuse of the state's air fleet for personal travel. Sadly, the governor will announce only that he is running to replace Sen. Mel Martinez, who will retire after his term ends next year."

Here are the real reasons:

# Gov. Crist doesn't want to be in office two years from now, when the federal stimulus money runs out and the state's chief executive might face some very ugly choices;

# Gov. Crist's new wife doesn't want to trade New York for Tallahassee, but she's OK with Washington;

# Gov. Crist has designs on running for president in (maybe) 2012 or (more likely) 2016.

If Gov. Crist really wanted to work on unemployment and the Florida economy, he would run for reelection. Unless he changed parties, he would be a first-term senator in a distinct GOP minority, and his ambition would make it hard to get favors from leaders of either party. But he could raise money and his national profile.

For this next vital year, though, Florida will be an afterthought to a governor in a way the state hasn't been in anyone's memory. ...

Since Gov. Crist was blinded by the national light last year, we have been struck by the rising bipartisan anger in Tallahassee - usually expressed privately - at his growing detachment. As this state needs long-term thinking, they say, Gov. Crist isn't thinking past November 2010. Now, Florida faces an election year with even more election-year politics.

Given how little the chamber really does, Florida could get by with a distracted senator. Charlie Crist is the first governor since the state went to four-year terms in the 1960s to leave early on his own. The state's needs are no longer his needs.

Kewl

"Pain in the pocketbook as Florida gasoline prices rise".

Pam stayin' put

"Mayor Pam Iorio, a subject of speculation for months about the possibility that she would run for the U.S. Senate or state chief financial officer next year, has announced that she won't seek another office." "Iorio says she won't run for new office next year".

Asked how the governor will serve out the 19 months left of his term if he is running for the Senate, LeMieux added: ``No matter what decision the governor makes, he will be, as he has been, focused on his job.''

Crist will immediately become the man to beat in the race to replace the retiring Republican Sen. Mel Martinez. Crist will face former House Speaker Marco Rubio of Miami in the Republican primary, but is likely to try to avoid a divisive battle. Rubio has positioned himself as the more conservative candidate. ...

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, a Democrat, and Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican, are likely to announce bids for governor, triggering campaigns for their own newly opened seats.

"Democrats are ready to pounce"

The Hill: When Crist jumps,

[h]is current office and many others in the state, meanwhile, will be very much up for grabs, thanks the domino effect of an open governor’s race. That race would draw other statewide officials and lawmakers, who would therefore vacate their seats.

The equation would leave all four cabinet seats in Florida open, in addition to the Senate seat. Republicans hold all but one of those statewide offices and large majorities in the state legislature, but a Crist Senate candidacy could cause a severe overhaul, and Democrats are ready to pounce. ...

Two Democrats -- state Sen. David Aronberg and former state Sen. Rod Smith -– are both eyeing attorney general, and they have expressed optimism about avoiding a primary. Aronberg said last week that he will run, provided Crist runs for Senate and McCollum runs for governor. ...

Congressional Democrats may also run for statewide offices and leave behind vacancies, but rumored candidates like Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) and Kathy Castor (D) appear set to remain in the House.

Small favors

"With 2010 shaping up as one of the most wide-open election seasons in Florida history, the only question surrounding young, ambitious and term-limited state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner has been which higher office he'd seek." "Hasner plans no run in 2010, cites wife's job".

"Florida hedges in gamble on gaming"

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial Board: "The best you can say about the gambling pact approved Friday by the Florida Legislature is that it could have been much worse." "Feeling lucky?".

"Into that void ..."

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "More homes are selling. In Palm Beach County, as The Post reported last week, sales contracts doubled from March to April. Prices may be stabilizing. Everybody hopes that the worst is over. But even if Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast have hit the real-estate bottom, the glut of abandoned and foreclosed homes remains a drag on recovery."

Into that void, it would be nice to report, stepped the Legislature. But no. Bills that would have forced banks to make good on payments to homeowners' associations went nowhere. "The bankers blocked all the attempts," said lawyer/homeowner association advocate Gary Poliakoff, "to make them take any more responsibility for foreclosed properties."

Public employees at work

"The Volusia County Fire Department and the state Division of Forestry are being assisted by the Seminole County, Brevard County and Deltona fire departments". "Volusia County brush fire grows to 1,000 acres".

"Was he right?"

Randy Schultz: "As the Florida House debated property insurance legislation last week, Rep. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, repeatedly claimed that Florida is "one storm away from bankruptcy." Whoa. That sounds bad. Was he right?" "A reckless storm forecast".

Courtesy of the public employees ...

... who wear bunker gear in 100 degree heat. "Alligator Alley reopens after fog lifts".

"Tough-on-crime mentality is being reassessed"

"Florida short of cash to house prisoners".

Troxler

"Bills that Gov. Charlie Crist should veto".

"Human trafficking"

"Authorities say they've arrested three people who were running a human trafficking operation in Pinellas County." "3 arrested in human trafficking operation".

All hat ... ?

"Miami Gardens' Sen. Frederica Wilson's hats -- cherry red, rhinestone-studded or canary yellow -- make her a bright rainbow in a sea of sober business suits." "Sen. Frederica Wilson has her hats in ring".

"Wake up, Florida"

Lawton "Bud" Chiles: "It's time to wake up, Florida. We have been lulled into a complacent, decade-long sleep by the reassuring rhetoric of egocentric politicians. They have played a charming game of sleight of hand with us. They have assured us we could build a great education and health system on the cheap. That we could take care of children and families by giving out tax breaks and providing corporate tax exemptions. That we could afford to lock up all the criminals and throw away the key. This politically popular but double-dumb strategy is the reason why Florida spends three times as much on prisoners as on our students."

In case you think disaster is too strong a word, consider these facts: Florida has more than 800,000 children who have no health insurance. Florida has 3.5 million family members that have no health insurance. Our overall health system is ranked 48th among the states. Florida has one of the worst high-school graduation rates in the country, as well as one of the worst teen felony and incarceration rates.

We invest far more in prisons than in high schools and colleges. Our pay for teachers, our pupil-teacher ratios, our funding for early education, after-school, K-12 and higher education is an embarrassment compared with any state. Our rate of infant deaths, number of homeless children, and number of children living in poverty are all shocking compared with the national averages.

"Whew!"

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "This year's legislative session had all the elements of a family feud in front of the neighbors. The governor's mansion and the Legislature are run by one party, but that didn't mean Republicans in Tallahassee were any less divided than if Florida were run by a coalition government of 30 political parties. That said, here's our take on the session:" "Legislative session had good, bad — and the whew!".

Water war

"The states of Florida and Alabama are meeting Georgia in federal court in Jacksonville over the allocation of water from Lake Lanier, which is the city of Atlanta's water supply." "Alabama, Florida and Georgia face off over water".

Dippers

"Sen. Mike Fasano said making employees take one or the other — retirement benefits or paycheck, but not both — was one of the most difficult bills he has worked in 15 legislative sessions." "'Double-dipping' bill owes passage to compromises".

Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "Many folks outside of Southwest Florida might wonder about the necessity of a exotic animal bill working its way through Congress. But anyone who's seen Nile monitor lizards, iguanas and Burmese pythons wreak havoc in these parts, understands the impetus behind the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act." "Editorial: Ex-pets on the run".

The reason: Florida has a broken ''Ponzi scheme of financing government'' that relies on population growth to pay for government, said economist Sean Snaith. And with little or no population growth, the state's finances won't improve.

''Florida's tax structure is flawed fundamentally,'' said Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute of Economic Competitiveness, which issued a recent report on the state's troubled condition.

Snaith said that a rebound in the economy will not be enough to replace billions of dollars in federal stimulus money that will dry up in 2011. But state needs and wants will grow.

That leaves Florida lawmakers with two choices, he said: ``Cut spending and raise taxes.''

In the short run, accepting more federal money would be a good place to start. Gov. Charlie Crist said last week that the state has until 2011 to claim $444 million in additional benefits for those who have lost their jobs. With a few tweaks to Florida's stingy unemployment compensation law, the Legislature could make more people eligible for benefits, and send that money to households where it is desperately needed.

Lawmakers raised cigarette taxes $1 a pack, but the Senate also wanted to eliminate significant tax loopholes. The House countered with a sales-tax proposal that would actually cost more to enforce than it would have raised.

The Senate position provides a good place to start in the coming months. Senators wanted to join an interstate compact to collect sales tax on Internet sales -- which could funnel $2 billion or more into state coffers while giving a fair shake to bricks-and-mortar merchants who own stores in Florida. Several lawmakers also advocated closing dozens of sales-tax exemptions, including fishing-boat charters, skybox tickets and movie-studio equipment rental, and reforming the state's corporate income tax to capture profits currently channeled out of state.

Calling most of the items it increased "fees" or "surcharges" instead of "taxes" fooled nobody. Ending slavish devotion to a no-tax slogan might pay off if legislators take up real reform. But that didn't happen in this session.

If legislators don't modernize Florida's tax system, when federal stimulus money declines in 2010-11 and then runs out the following budget year they'll be up the same creek without that stimulus paddle.

Believe it or not

Believe it or not, but "[o]ne of the tax plans that Florida voters will consider next year would give first-time home buyers a break on their tax bills." "Voters to have say on tax plan to help home buyers".

"Legislature ... incapable of governing Florida wisely"

Troxler: "How bad is the Florida Legislature these days?"

It's historically bad — the worst since the infamous "Pork Chop Gang" that was in charge of our state during the 1950s and 1960s.

The Legislature of recent years is simply incapable of governing Florida wisely. It lacks the intellectual horsepower, the will, even the desire. It's a machine for collecting laundered campaign money, paying back that money with favorably written laws, and getting itself re-elected.

Good grief! The joint lacks gravitas, ballast. It is a collection of superficial sloganeers. These days, a wacky idea pops up on a Tuesday and is a proposed amendment to the state Constitution on a Thursday, no questions asked.

"Giving the office of lieutenant governor a bad name"

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Jeff Kottkamp is giving the office of lieutenant governor a bad name, and his blundering ways are beginning to direct an embarrassing spotlight on the job itself. With so little good to his credit and so many missteps after only two years in the post, Mr. Kottkamp has only himself to blame. And some Floridians are beginning to ask if a lieutenant governor is necessary at all." "Does Florida need a lieutenant governor?".

"More"

"As the DNC chief taps into the energy of the Obama campaign at a gay center in Fort Lauderdale, some activists say they want the president to address more of their concerns." "Gay activists in Fort Lauderdale say Obama can do more".

"Florida has been living in a dream world"

Keep an eye on this.

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "Florida has been living in a dream world, in which a little imagination and a lot of regulation bring underpriced property insurance to a state that juts out into the warm, hurricane-spawning waters of the Gulf and Atlantic."

About 1.2 million State Farm policyholders woke up from that dream in January, when the company said it was pulling out of Florida, after being denied a 47-percent rate increase.

Gov. Charlie Crist — who presumably would like to make his run for the U.S. Senate as the man who lowered property taxes and insurance rates — said "good riddance" to State Farm. But that was little comfort to homeowners left shopping for new insurers and often finding rates higher than that 47 percent — if they could find insurance at all.

Enter the Consumer Choice Bill (aka the Save State Farm Bill).

The bill, passed by the House and Senate (HB 1171 and SB 2036) and on its way to Gov. Crist's desk, would deregulate rates for the state's largest insurers and let them charge what the market will bear. The bill recognizes that the free market can be a wonderful thing and that sometimes people will pay more for service and security and to maintain a long-term business relationship.

Early speculation is that Gov. Crist will veto the bill. And Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty — who Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, said helped him craft details of the bill before making a late and surprising switch to oppose it — said the Consumer Choice Bill "will very likely yield substantial and unpredictable rate increases."

Veto growth bill

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "Crist should veto the bill before it has a chance to put the bite on taxpayers. Under the change, it appears that developers could pass the buck for most if not all transportation and school improvements." "New growth bill needs fast burial".

Bad memories

"Just after dawn, two barges collided with a freighter. The rare collision of three ships resulted in about 32,000 gallons of mixed fuel and 330,000 gallons of fuel oil spilling into the Bay." "1993 oil spill led to revitalization along bay".

Gambling

"Lawmakers overcame gambling resistance and passed a historic plan to allow the Seminoles to continue offering casino games." "State lawmakers OK new deal on gambling".

Draggin' them knuckles

"At a well-received Suncoast Tiger Bay appearance last week,"

Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum dismissed the idea of the Justice Department going after former Bush administration officials who developed controversial [sic] interrogation techniques such as waterboarding.

"I don't think the techniques that they're describing … were torture," said gubernatorial contender McCollum, adding, "You don't prosecute people for giving their best legal opinion."

The Charlie effect

"Florida's dreary, $66.5 billion spending plan, passed over the objections of many hard-line Republicans and the faux protestations of Democrats, is set to start the dominoes falling toward a wide-open 2010 election season."

Gov. Charlie Crist — no doubt tired of all the negativity in Tallahassee these days — plans later this week to announce which office he will seek in 2010, and all signs point toward the U.S. Senate.

Four big-name candidates have met with Florida Republican Party officials and prime donors to gauge the level of interest in seeking the governor's office: Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, Attorney General Bill McCollum, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan of Sarasota and Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson.

Among the legislators likely to jump into the fray: state Senate President Jeff Atwater for CFO; Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, among many looking at the attorney general's office; Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, is already running against Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow for agriculture commissioner, and the list goes on.

1. Polls showed Specter trailing Toomey by at least 15 points, and only one in three Republicans approving of his performance. Crist, by comparison, is the overwhelming favorite in Florida, where the latest Quinnipiac poll showed 68 percent approving of the governor's performance.

2. Crist is among the most personable and charming politicians on the planet. Specter, not so much.

3. Specter was an accomplished lawyer and prosecutor, and even some critics acknowledge his deep intellect. Crist? Like we said, a really, really likable guy.

4. Republicans in Pennsylvania — which President Barack Obama won by 11 points — are far more vulnerable than Republicans in Florida, which Obama won by less than 3 points.

5. Crist crushed the last guy who tried to out-conservative him — Tom Gallagher — while Specter barely survived his last primary challenge.

KidCare changes

"'Florida was once a national model and now it's been viewed as one of the most complicated programs in the country,' said Linda Merrell of Ormond Beach, co-coordinator of the Florida Child Healthcare Coalition, made up organizations that pushed for changes."

The new legislation will allow a parent's income to be verified electronically and will reduce waiting periods for parents to re-enroll from 60 days to 30 days if they were canceled because of late or missed payments. Parents also won't have to wait six months to apply if they canceled their employer or private insurance. Instead, they will wait two months and there are some exceptions to eliminate the wait period for extenuating circumstances, such as the employer canceling the coverage for children or the coverage does not cover the child's health needs.

"I feel very excited to finally be able to say this bill passed," said its sponsor Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston. "This makes a lot of very good changes."

advocates say more is needed. Rich sought other changes, but couldn't get them approved. She said her main priority next year will be getting KidCare subsidized coverage for state employees, some of whom can't afford the state employee insurance for their children. About four years ago, the state cut employees from KidCare to save money.

For Constance Jones, 56, of Holly Hill, a secretary for the state Department of Children & Families, those changes may be too late for her daughter -- who turns 18 next March -- but she hopes it can help other people "so they don't have to go through what I went through."

Jones, a single mother who makes about $23,000 a year, can't afford the state employee insurance coverage. She owes more than $10,000 now in medical expenses for her two children, including a son who is 18. She takes her children to a no-cost clinic for low-income working people and the emergency room.

"Last chance"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Two possibilities remain for supporters of a commuter train for Central Florida: Accept its derailment in the state Senate and move along, albeit slowly, on Metro Orlando's congested roads. Or work to get it back on track — an option even some of its longtime backers call crazy." "A last chance for rail".

See also: "Jane Healy: 3 ways logic lost out in SunRail fiasco".

Related: The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Tampa Bay leaders and the state should help Central Florida try to revive SunRail. That will require reworking financing and liability to more fairly spread the risks. Commuter rail should come to metro Orlando — and to Tampa Bay — but the costs need to make sense and the model needs to work for other communities." "Commuter rail model needs fixing".

Thomas on Crist

Mike Thomas: "With State Farm pulling out of the state, many of its Central Florida customers are finding they face higher premiums and less coverage with smaller companies. I am one of them. I have learned that longtime State Farm customers who live in the interior often enjoy pretty reasonable rates. Charlie Crist wasn't thinking about us when, in his populist bluster, he proclaimed Florida better off without State Farm." "I'll make my own home-insurance choice".

The "academe's fattest poll tax"

Pierre Tristam: "Brooke Wolfe is an Atlantic High School honor student with an excellent 3.63 grade-point average. She applied to Florida Atlantic University -- not exactly the Harvard of the Gold Coast -- and four other schools. She was turned down by all five, forcing her into the third-rate anteroom of community-college education. What should never have happened to Wolfe is happening to thousands of students across the state. They have the grades, the will, the ability to make it in any state school. What they lack is a state university system enabled to give them the chance. It's not for lack of space or capability, but of lawmakers literate in what's best for Florida."

The expectations are unfair. The opportunities are a disgrace for being diminished by choice, not by necessity. Legislators are slaves to a zero-sum ideology that equates investment in education exclusively as more taxes, as if the cheapened opportunities and collective stupor of less investment in education isn't the biggest collective tax of all. Then they pretend that opportunity is at an all-time high because higher ed doesn't stop at UF and Florida State. The University of Central Florida is being touted as the next-best thing to the flagships. That's just it: next-best thing. Thousands of students who can't afford better schools already see UF and Florida State as settling for the next-best thing. (Keep in mind that at 31-to-1, Florida's universities have the worst faculty-to-student ratio in the country.) Now they're being forced to set their sights even lower.

It's a class system. The academic aristocracy at Florida State and the University of Florida; the high-achievers in the state's nine other universities (if they're lucky, as Brooke found out); and everyone else -- the majority -- in what passes for college credit at the community level. It's not just Florida, of course. Quality university education is becoming a privilege across the country, betraying the democratic mission of America's great post-World War II higher-ed boom. And that's without mentioning cost as academe's fattest poll tax. Florida isn't just fast-tracking the shift. It's excelling at it.

Them Libruls are at it again

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board is outraged that a police officer can't be pistol whipped into a confession:

Law enforcement officers in Florida who are the subject of an internal investigation already enjoy some of the most liberal [sic] rights in the country. Before an officer may even be questioned, he or she is told the nature of the investigation, given the names of all complainants and provided with all witness statements. Imagine the average citizen having the same opportunity to line up his story or alibi. But SB 624, by Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, goes another step by providing the officer with "all" evidence, including incident reports, GPS locator information and audio or video compiled by investigators.

"How South Florida fared"

"A week behind schedule, the Legislature has wrapped up a brutal lawmaking session. One word dominated the proceedings: budget." " in Tallahassee".

Pruitt

"'Inner voice' led Port St. Lucie's Ken Pruitt to retire".

Delightful Okaloosa County

"Crist has officially appointed a replacement for a Panhandle sheriff facing corruption charges. Crist appointed Ed Spooner interim sheriff of Okaloosa County on Friday. Spooner has already been heading the sheriff's office since February, when Charles Morris was suspended." "Crist names replacement for Okaloosa sheriff".