There has been a clear shift in the mainstream media's portrayal of Crist in the past few months.

A glance at the record suggests things went south in June when Crist signed a bill weakening growth management controls, which editorial boards agreed was a terrible decision.

Things got worse in August after the governor picked his friend and campaign adviser, George LeMieux, to warm the Senate seat Crist covets.

• Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell wrote that Crist reminds him of Casper the Friendly Ghost: "always smiling, always friendly — and yet never really completely there."

• St. Petersburg Times political editor Adam C. Smith wrote a piece this week suggesting Crist was "dissing" Jeb Bush's legacy, noting how Crist spoke to a GOP group in Michigan last weekend and pointed out that one national study has Florida schools showing big gains after he came along in 2007. Dissing Jeb? Not the kind of message Crist wants Republican primary voters to hear.

• A recent piece by syndicated columnist George Will, a widely read conservative voice, heaped praise on Crist's Senate rival, Marco Rubio, while calling Crist a "climate change worrywart" who approved a public-option property insurance program in Florida. Will wrote that the Florida race is a test of whether a "principled conservative" can win, and he wasn't referring to Charlie Crist.

• The Palm Beach Post's Frank Cerabino wrote that it was "embarrassing" to see Crist on TV touting his Cover Florida program and its 4,000 subscribers at a time when nearly 4 million people in Florida have no coverage. "Charlie's Hooey," read the headline.

Now, Cerabino and others rarely wax poetic about Crist. But the criticism appears to be growing in size and scope, and most experts who follow this sort of thing will tell you that critical press coverage can spiral out of control quickly.

Laff riot

"Senate President Jeff Atwater tapped newly elected state Sen. Joe Negron to chair the Judiciary Committee, a plumb post for the freshman senator." "Senate newbie Negron to chair judiciary".

That Grayson guy

"Pugnacious, partisan, smart and rich, the Orlando Democrat has been stirring the pot since taking office in January, most vividly when he took to the House floor this week and said the Republican health care plan amounted to 'die quickly.'"

The rant would have been unusual for a lawmaker from even the most liberal congressional district. But Grayson, 51, represents a part of Florida that is divided politically — probably not the constituency that wants to hear the GOP is "knuckle-dragging Neanderthals" as he fumed on CNN Wednesday. ...

Already Grayson is one of the most targeted incumbents in the country, having defeated four-term Republican Ric Keller, and his re-election bid embodies the challenge Democrats face in holding control of Congress as the president's approval rating falls.

But a leading opponent has not yet emerged and Grayson, the 12th-wealthiest member of Congress, has resources to defend himself. He spent $2 million of his own money on the 2008 campaign. (The "die quickly" speech has triggered $150,000 in contributions, his office says.) And his district has shifted from slightly Republican to slightly Democratic.

"It's no coincidence the National Republican Congressional Committee has named me as the No. 1 target next year," Grayson said. "We're working hard, getting things done."

He grew up in a cramped Bronx tenement, the asthma-inflicted son of public school educators.

A wildcard is Armando Gutierrez, the 28-year-old son of a politically active Cuban émigré of the same name. Gutierrez, whose father served as spokesman for Elian Gonzalez’s family during the child’s well-publicized custody saga, is making some waves as a potential candidate.

The junior Gutierrez has money and connections and could run against one of the big-name candidates as an outsider. He is a good bet to enter the race regardless of others’ plans.

'Glades

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "For now, it's just a piece of paper. With any luck, however, it will become the document that helps to save the Everglades. This week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed an $81 million contract with a Broward County company to remove the plug that keeps water from getting to the Everglades. So in about a month, work could begin to raise a 1-mile portion of U.S. 41 - also known as the Tamiami Trail — in Miami-Dade County." "A bridge to the Everglades".

Enough with the foot dragging

Tallahassee has its own share of, what Alan Grayson described as "Foot-dragging, knuckle-dragging Neanderthals".

Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board thinks Floridians should

be alarmed at a finding that nearly 28,000 applications for restoration of civil rights -- including requests from people who were never incarcerated -- have been ignored. Together, the error rate and the backlog suggest that the Florida Parole Commission, which handles rights-restoration cases, is severely underfunded and overburdened with rules. ...

[An] audit also found that the [Parole Commission] was putting several categories of request on the backburner, including cases of people who were convicted in other states or in federal court. That left 28,000 cases in limbo, though last week, a commission spokesman said additional staff had been hired to process them. And as part of the 2009 budget, the Legislature asked for recommendations on ways to simplify the process, as well as data that will likely demonstrate how underfunded the commission is. That report was due Thursday but unavailable at press time.

Good question

"Should public officials be doing undercover work?"

Mel's "unusually blatant example of the 'revolving door' phenomenon"

"Mel Martinez was a familiar face to the high-powered lobbyists of DLA Piper well before he resigned early from his Senate seat and then, just two weeks later, joined the firm."

During his 4 1/2 years in the Senate, the firm's members frequently represented clients on legislation before the committees the Florida senator sat on, according to government lobbying records.

Washington-based public interest activists call Martinez's move an unusually blatant example of the "revolving door" phenomenon — elected officials or government employees moving back and forth to lobbying jobs.

Martinez had announced in December that he wouldn't run for re-election, but then vehemently and repeatedly denied rumors among political insiders that he would leave office before his term ended.

Martinez said he was quitting to spend more time with his family. But DLA Piper has no office in his hometown of Orlando. It has offices in Washington and Tampa.

DLA Piper officials, however, have been quoted as saying he will spend much of his time in Orlando, but he has been helping set up offices in Brazil.

A DLA Piper spokesman declined a request for an interview with Martinez or company officials for this story. ...

DLA Piper officials have been quoted as saying they held a "meet-and-greet" for Martinez before he left office, but didn't discuss employment terms until after he left.

Senators make $174,000 a year.

McGehee said former legislators can make $500,000 to $1 million a year at top lobbying firms, "depending on how much work and energy they want to put into it."

Solar folds like a cheap suit

"Oil and solar power may seem like strange bedfellows, but this week the Florida Solar Energy Industry Association -- a group that represents more than 100 solar companies statewide -- announced support for oil drilling within 10 miles of Florida's coast so long as oil tax money is used to subsidize solar installations. The deal has upended a longstanding coalition of renewable energy businesses and environmentalists who tried unsuccessfully to pass a clean energy bill in recent years." "Anti-drilling coalition fractures".

PSC

"Signaling his displeasure with the Public Service Commission's handling of two rate cases, Gov. Charlie Crist asked the commission Friday to postpone a final decision on the proposed increases by Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light until his two new hires to the panel take office." "Crist asks PSC to hold off on utility rate case".

Post strives for "balance"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "It's one thing to criticize a tax cut. It's a different matter to react as if a tax cut is akin to starving the hungry and drowning the sick."

Former League of Women Voters President Pamela Goodman is not running for anything - yet. But last week she acted as if she were involved in a political scrum when she called Palm Beach County Commissioner Steven Abrams' vote against a tax hike "despicable, disgusting" and "unconscionable" in an interview with The Post's George Bennett.

Pruitt denies he's a crook

"Pruitt says he’s not unnamed official in Mendelsohn indictment".

"Would you want the public to be able to witness the annual lap dance of chicanery"?

Daniel Ruth

So would it be that much of a cataclysmic event to consider holding all or part of an annual legislative session in a more centrally located site such as Orlando, or Tampa — you know, where people actually live?

Wouldn't it be worth experimenting with — just once?

Then again — pardon the cynicism, it's a character flaw — it is altogether possible the powers that be in Stepford meets Two Egg Heights are perfectly happy with the capital exactly where it is, thank you very much.

After all, if you made the capital easier to get to, more convenient to visit, well, before you know it, more people might actually want to drop in on halls of government to see how things really work when it comes to legislating. Uh oh. No good can come from this.

This open-government-in-the-sunshine fiddle-faddle has its limits, you know.

If you are a member of the Florida House or Senate, or a lobbyist, would you want the public to be able to witness the annual lap dance of chicanery, money-grubbing and influence-peddling that passes for legislating?

Much better to keep the capital tucked away between Oz and Lower Podunk where the town's two horses can freely cavort on lonely airport runways.

Government of the people, for the people and by the people is a wonderful concept — that is if you can find it in the first place.

After all, she is a woman ...

"Is Ford's temperament an issue?".

A Trib thing

The Tampa Tribune's Tom Jackson gives the West Central Florida wingnuts yet another venue, to wit: his column. In bush league fashion, Jackson slams one of Florida's political rising stars for the teabagger bombing of her

town hall event [that] provided weeks of hilarity among the read-the-bill set [to be contrasted with the read-books set].

And Castor's contortions on cutting off federal funding for scandal-plagued ACORN - she voted against the cutoff before she voted for it - fuel a limitless supply of yuks [at least for Jackson and his buddies in the community's "after all, he is black" set].

But in recent days, Rep. Castor has demonstrated with compelling forcefulness that her reach as an energetic member of the majority party extends far beyond the modest Tampa-centric boundaries of District 11. And Pasco residents are free to be unamused.

This week, the congresswoman persuaded the Environmental Protection Agency to hold a re-re-review of its own findings, and those of the Army Corps of Engineers, regarding the development plans for Cypress Creek Town Center - a proposed shopping, dining and entertainment mall straddling State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel whose official name seems destined to include "Oft-Delayed."

Assuming the unthinkable does not occur - District 11 goes Republican in 2010 - Rep. Castor will remain a rising star in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's power constellation, and agency operatives resist rising stars at their peril.

And it's not like her ostensible concern extends beyond her constituents. At the end of its meandering journey from Darby to the Hillsborough River near the University of South Florida, Cypress Creek contributes to Tampa's major source of drinking water. So there's that.

But those willing to assign subtler intentions will note that Castor is a darling of radical environmentalists, and her intervention cannot help but please them. Environmentalists remain absolutely freaked that Jacobs has chosen a larger asphalt footprint over the breathtakingly expensive - possibly deal-breaking - parking garage they prefer.

Tri-Rail

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Three of Florida's big urban centers -- Jacksonville, Tampa-St. Petersburg and Orlando -- want to build commuter rail lines like Tri-Rail which serves the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach corridor. Yet Tri-Rail is in peril because the Florida Legislature has yet to approve a dedicated revenue source to match the federal government's $500 million investment in the state's lone commuter rail service." "Fund Tri-Rail". Related: "Recent developments might give SunRail commuter train momentum".

Entrepreneurs in action

"Former Lehman Bros. executive now owns Fla. stores".

Ferre is assembling a campaign team and seeking a speaking slot at the Florida Democratic Party convention in Orlando that begins next week, infringing on turf all-but claimed by the front-running Democratic Senate candidate, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami.

Ferre would enter the race months and millions of dollars behind. The 74-year-old business consultant has been out of public office since 1996.

"The challenges to Ferre's campaign being a success are many and great,'' said Miami Democratic political consultant Jeff Garcia. "However it would be foolish to underestimate him . . . There's obviously not unanimity in the excitement for Kendrick.'' ...

Ferre is Puerto Rican. ...

After serving in public office for much of three decades as a mayor, city commissioner, Miami-Dade county commissioner and state representative, Ferre lost three bids for county mayor in 1996, 2000 and 2004. The last time he won an election, in 1993, people were referring to a new technology called the "information superhighway.''

In whose lap is this going to land?

"A well-known political campaign consultant and former aide to a Florida governor is tied to a federal corruption investigation touching the highest levels of state government, the Herald/Times has learned."

Stephen D. Hull [here's his business facebook page], a Tallahassee-based lobbyist and consultant, helped establish a political committee whose records were seized by the FBI before Wednesday's indictment of Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, a Broward ophthalmologist and high-profile fundraiser for dozens of current and former state lawmakers.

Hull, a lobbyist for the Florida Society of Ophthalmologists, did not return messages to his cell phone, office phone or e-mail. He worked as the press secretary to then-Gov. Bob Graham for seven years in the 1970s and '80s.

Two of the political committees under investigation -- the Alliance for Florida's Future and the Alliance for Promoting Florida's Future -- share a phone number or address with Hull's offices, records show.

An officer with one of those groups told the Herald/Times that Hull directed payments from its accounts. Both committees paid thousands of dollars in consulting fees to companies controlled by Hull in Tallahassee and Georgia, according to records and interviews.

Charlie boots two Jebbites

"In a move designed to reshape the embattled Public Service Commission, Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday named a former newspaper editorial board member and the former finance director for the Escambia County sheriff to the utility regulators' panel, ousting two incumbents."

Crist appointed David Klement, former Bradenton Herald editorial page editor, and Benjamin ``Steve'' Stevens, former chief financial officer for the Escambia County sheriff's department, to serve on the five-member panel. He rejected two commissioners originally appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush who were seeking new four-year terms: Commission Chairman Matthew Carter and Katrina McMurrian.

Believe it, or not

"No joke: UF officials remove zombie plan from site".

A weak RPOFer bench

"Love him or hate him, America quickly learned U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson's name this week after the freshman Democrat from Orlando used a pair of House floor speeches to galvanize — or further polarize — the raging debate over health-care reform."

It was exactly the kind of liberal Democratic flamboyance that had prompted local Republican leaders on election night last year to "guarantee" that the GOP would regain in 2010 the seat that Grayson took from four-term Republican Ric Keller.

Yet, 13 months before the next election, Grayson still has attracted no major Republican candidate, as such widely touted challengers as [ethically challenged] Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty and [lightweight] former state Sen. Daniel Webster have remained mum about their intentions.

And with a growing war chest — thanks in part to his floor speeches — Grayson is in far better shape than many had expected he would be. ...

Calls to the GOP's top three hopefuls — Crotty, Webster and state Rep. Stephen Precourt, R-Orlando — were not returned. ...

The only challenger to step forward was a retired pilot, Dan Fanelli, who brought a few dozen "Tea Party" protesters with him as he declared his candidacy in front of Orlando City Hall.

Wingnuts of the world unite!

"'Sicko' film at a Miami-Dade middle school angers some parents, Cuban-American activists".

"That's not justice. It's cruelty"

Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "Violent felons should not be taking care of young children or old people. In Florida, they do. Contradictory state laws, lax regulations and poor enforcement have enabled thousands of ex-convicts, many with violent pasts (including rape, murder and predatory crimes against children) to hold jobs in child care centers, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities."

Florida law can be too restrictive regarding ex-felons' rights to work (or even vote). For example, ex-felons may not hold jobs in schools. The state law that mandated criminal background checks for workers in child care centers and elder-care facilities, however, includes an exemption for most ex-felons who prove that they are reformed. The second-chance exemption is loose. Applicants can obtain an exemption with a cursory expression of remorse, a promise to behave and a few reference letters. Statewide, 82 percent of those who apply for an exemption are granted one.

Ex-felons should get those second chances. It is unjust to prevent an individual who has paid his or her debts to society from having a chance to re-integrate the community with the same opportunities as anyone else. Otherwise, serving a sentence in prison or on parole becomes only the first of an open-ended punishment. That's not justice. It's cruelty.

Entrepreneurs in action

"Don Reinhard, former Florida State Seminole Booster president, was sentenced Thursday to 51 months in federal prison on federal tax and bankruptcy fraud charges. Reinhard, 48, pleaded guilty earlier this year to multiple charges of falsifying tax returns and hiding assets in a bankruptcy that followed the collapse of a multimillion-dollar investment scheme that snared some of the state capital's most prominent players." "Ex-FSU Booster leader Don Reinhard sentenced to 51 months on fraud charges".

Rail boost

"Disney backs high-speed train in central Florida".

Thank you Mr. Obama

"UF getting $93 million in stimulus money".

"A grand, unifying theory"

Paul Flemming: "Traffic tickets: A grand, unifying theory of Florida government." "Traffic tickets redux (the money angle)".

Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, 51, a Hollywood ophthalmologist, is also accused of commiting fraud when he claimed that he had used his money and clout with Charlie Crist and other high-ranking Florida officials, in a bid to thwart investigations into Mutual Benefits Corp., a Fort Lauderdale life insurance company.

Mendelsohn's indictment was the first in a long-running corruption investigation by the Justice Department into Mendelsohn and a major campaign contributor, Joel Steinger, former chief of Mutual Benefits.

"Foot-dragging, knuckle-dragging Neanderthals"

Grayson's hometown rag: "Orlando's colorful U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson is riling Republicans again — this time over health care — in an escalating rhetorical battle that had Grayson invoking the Holocaust and Republicans calling him 'unhinged.'"

Republicans characterized his comments as proof he is unfit for office.

"This is an unstable man who has come unhinged," said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Andy Sere. "The depths to which Alan Grayson will sink to defend his indefensible comments know no bounds."

Republicans also said that Grayson, who is Jewish, went too far by invoking the extermination of millions of Jews in World War II.

"He further crossed the line by comparing the health-care debate to the Holocaust," said Sara Sendek, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee.

The GOP also tried to equate Grayson to U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who shouted "You lie!" at Obama during his health-care address.

U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., drafted a resolution to reprimand Grayson, modeling it after the language Democrats pushed through to chide Wilson. Price said he would file the resolution this week.

Grayson said he had not been told by party leaders to apologize for his remarks. He disputed reports that House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson, D-Conn., had sought an apology, saying he had spoken with Larson and the two agreed none was needed.

Grayson, appearing on CNN on Wednesday night, dismissed the RNC criticisms: "What the Republicans have been doing is insulting," he said. "They are foot-dragging, knuckle-dragging Neanderthals."

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, the first-term Democrat from Orlando, already has a well-deserved reputation for overheated rhetoric. But he outdid himself Tuesday night when he declared -- on the floor of the House -- that the "Republican plan" for health care was for Americans to not get sick, or to "die quickly" if they do.

There is no place in a civil debate in Congress for this kind of hyperbolic, hyperpartisan attack. It's outrageous. Mr. Grayson owes the House a sincere apology.

Yes. His comments were outrageous and over the top. (1061 responses) 13.1%

No. He deserves credit for having the courage to tell the truth. (6248 responses) 77.4%

Yes. If Grayson really wants health-care reform, this isn't the way to get it. (212 responses) 2.6%

No. Republicans have already shown they aren't interested in doing anything but blocking health care reform. (552 responses) 6.8%

Amid the bitter political bickering, Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida stood firmly behind his comments.

The first-term lawmaker returned to the House floor Wednesday afternoon and mocked Republicans' call for an apology by citing a study being published in the American Journal of Public Health that found nearly 45,000 people die each year for lack of health insurance.

"I would like to apologize ... I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner to end this Holocaust in America," he said.

Grayson's initial comments came Tuesday night as he criticized Republican health care proposals as a "blank piece of paper."

Argenziano has made some enemies

"Reporters have been offered information aimed at discrediting Public Service Commissioner Nancy Argenziano for weeks. She owns and works from a second home in North Carolina purchased with the help of a legislature lobbyist while she was a state senator." "Argenziano dismisses ethics questions".

"Information aimed at discrediting Argenziano has been offered anonymously to reporters for weeks. Pennington blames Florida Power & Light, the Juno Beach-based company that has been in the middle of recent controversies involving PSC staffers and is asking the PSC for a 30 percent rate increase. FPL says it does not try to influence commissioners and declined to comment Wednesday." "Public Service Commissioner Nancy Argenziano discloses, defends lobbyist ties". Related: "PSC commissioner under scrutiny over financial deals".

SunRail resurrection?

The Tampa Tribune editorial board writes that, "with the Massachusetts compromise on liability, the chances of a SunRail resurrection seem likely. "

The question is whether a new deal would be any better than the old one. While the Massachusetts agreement is only in principle for now – there is no language yet – the terms do not seem very onerous for the railroad. Its risk is negligible.

Until recently, CSX demanded absolute immunity, even in the event of a freight accident in which the railroad was at fault.

But under the compromise, CSX will contribute $500,000 to pick up part of the cost of a liability insurance policy the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority carries for the entire Bay State commuter rail system.

Sink "happens to be in the right"

"Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum, competing candidates for governor, squared off Tuesday in a dispute over best ways to manage Florida's $110 billion pension fund. McCollum, backed by Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, prevailed at the Cabinet meeting — declaring that the State Board of Administration 'ain't broke' and that, therefore, any fixing can wait until December. Sink, the major Democratic contender for Crist's job, said the complexities of modern markets and the size of Florida's portfolio make the Reconstruction Era management methods woefully obsolete." "Sink: Update control of fund".

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Crist and Attorney General Bill McCollum have put off until December any serious discussion of issues surrounding the state's oversight of its investments, including its $110 billion pension fund. The Republicans — once again — thwarted Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, a Democrat who wants to expand oversight of the State Board of Administration beyond the three elected officials. Sink is running for governor and scoring her own political points on this issue, but she happens to be in the right." "Ducking their duties".

Boyd

"U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd and wife separate in midst of reelection campaign".

Thank you Mr. Obama

The Miami Herald editorial board: "The gridlock that has stalled Everglades restoration for so long may finally be easing. A wise appointment by the Obama White House and the first real infusion of federal money since Congress approved the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) in 2000 are combining with state efforts to move things forward." "Progress at last".

RPOFers rolling in their anti-ACORN dung

"In 2004, ACORN mobilized a volunteer army to help win passage of a constitutional amendment raising Florida's minimum wage to $6.15, worth an extra $1-an-hour to an estimated 300,000 low-income workers."

Four years later, the anti-poverty group registered 151,000 voters in Florida before the 2008 elections, enraging Republicans by their focus on poorer communities often friendly to Democrats. And as the economy sank, ACORN launched a program to help homeowners fight against home foreclosures.

But now a video sting, surging Republican anger and the recession have combined to bring the group to a standstill. ...

Leroy Bell, Florida ACORN's co-chairman, said his organization is paying the price for standing up for poor people.

"If you want to kill the message," Bell said of critics, "you kill the messenger."

The national fallout for ACORN has been breathtaking since the Sept. 10 release of undercover videos showing ACORN staffers in Baltimore and Philadelphia seeming to offer advice on how to evade taxes to two young conservatives posing as a pimp and prostitute.

Since then, Congress voted to cut off its funds; the census bureau severed its relationship with ACORN; and critics have denounced the nearly 40-year-old group as poorly run or corrupt.

"Walmart salaries"

Kudos for Mike Thomas managing to get these words by his editor: "Medicaid already pays Walmart salaries".

Unfortunately, in the uncontrollable need for "balance", Thomas is of course required to slam Grayson:

The health-care debate is focused on government options, death panels, ObamaCare, and now, from Rep. Alan Grayson, the Republican "Die quickly" option.

Lost in this intelligent discourse has been Medicaid.

Medicaid is why Tallahassee raised your taxes this year, and largely why Charlie Crist hopes to skedaddle up to Washington before the stimulus runs out and Tallahassee implodes.

Medicaid is a virus in the budget — mutating, replicating and now threatening to take over the host organism.

Lneejerk legislation has consequences

"New debate on heels of double-dip crackdown".

It ain't a tax ...

"Floridians are going to pay more for home insurance despite years without serious storms".

"A dangerous irony"

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Democracy relies on competition -- candidates vying with their ideas to win elections. For Florida's 67 counties to now have only one large certified company to select for election equipment or upgrades is a dangerous irony." "Guard against voting-machine monopoly".

But to hear Crist talk on the campaign trail lately about his accomplishments, cutting spending and taxes and improving schools, it can sound like much of his time has been spent cleaning up after former Gov. Bush.

"When I got elected governor, out of 50 states, Florida in K-12 education was ranked 31st - 31st out of 50. Not so good,'' Crist told party leaders gathered at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference in Michigan on Friday night. ...

Crist is the first governor in Florida history not to seek reelection, and the speech underscored the challenge he faces in touting his record leading state with one of the worst economies in the country.

He hasn't been in office long enough to have a significant legacy, and to suggest he has fixed major problems in the state is to imply a beloved figure among most Florida Republicans, Gov. Bush, left major problems.

Claim: "We're very pleased with what's happened [in education] — from 31st to 10th in the nation since I've been governor," Crist said on MSNBC's Morning Joe show.

Discussion: Crist's statements aren't quite right, according to the authors of an Education Week "Quality Counts" study upon which the claim is based. For one thing, Florida was never ranked 31st. For another, the magazine changed its ranking methods in such a way that years can't be compared. ... [Moreover,] January's Education Week survey gave Florida high marks for having accountability measures, but it was near the bottom of the heap in school funding and got an F for college readiness. ...

Claim: Crist, who opposes "government-run health care," has cited his Cover Florida program as an example of how private insurers can design low-cost coverage for the uninsured.

Discussion: Crist fumbled for a reply when CNN's John Roberts asked him Tuesday why he opposed President Barack Obama's health-care program when he supported KidCare, a government-run health-care program for children in Florida. ...

Claim: "We understood we needed to rein in spending," Crist told Michigan Republicans. "When I got elected governor, our state budget was $73 billion. I cut it $8 billion in 2 1/2 years. Now it's down to $66 billion."

Discussion: Lawmakers are privately furious at Crist for grabbing credit for cutting the budget.

True, spending has shriveled from $73 billion to $66 billion — but that was because of plummeting tax revenues caused by the recession.

We got ours!

"Members of the Patriotic Resistance [sic], a conservative grassroots organization, held up signs protesting proposed legislation". "Local conservatives oppose public health care option".

Will campaign politics be "left at the [Cabinet room] door"?

"To catch a glimpse of the 2010 governor's race, look no further than the Cabinet room in the basement of Florida's Capitol."

It was there, on Tuesday, that Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink's gubernatorial opponent thwarted her latest efforts to expand oversight of the state pension board.

Sink, a Democrat, wanted her fellow Cabinet members, Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum, to endorse her proposal recommending the Legislature expand the State Board of Administration's trustees board.

"This is a continuation of the legacy I want to leave as CFO," Sink said. "And that is a better governing board for the pension fund."

But McCollum, her opponent for governor, insisted on a slower, more measured approach. Crist, who has helped McCollum raise money for his gubernatorial campaign, agreed.

Crist's "shadow panels"

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "Wow! It seems that Gov. Charlie Crist is actually seeking advice from people he knows or admires - and people of different political persuasions, even - in his selection of judges."

The Associated Press reports the governor has used "shadow panels" - certain core advisers - to interview candidates already vetted by judicial nominating commissions to study their qualifications for appointment to the bench.

The Daily Business Review of Miami obtained records showing the governor asked the panelists to interview would-be judges nominated by the 26 commissions appointed by the governor. But by the tone of the reporting and front-page coverage, the conclusion that readers are invited to draw is that Crist has been trying to circumvent the system.

More 'o that gubment regulation ...

... that RPOFers would argue "stifles freedom", or sumthin' like that: "Improve caregiver screening now".

Carole who?

"Crist's Senate campaign sent a mail solicitation from Carole Crist that asks for $1,000, $1,500 or $2,400 to help send her husband to Washington."

The fundraising letter in which she describes her supposed

experiences might be somewhat exaggerated. Carole Crist is rarely with the governor at official events, yet the letter talks about seeing the horror of storms, weeping with families who've lost loved ones to war, sharing the sorrow with those who've lost homes and more.

"A dangerous irony"

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Democracy relies on competition -- candidates vying with their ideas to win elections. For Florida's 67 counties to now have only one large certified company to select for election equipment or upgrades is a dangerous irony."

Florida's Department of State, which certifies election equipment and oversees statewide election results, should move quickly to broaden the competition. Otherwise, Election Systems & Software's $5 million acquisition of Diebold Inc.'s voting-machine company amounts to a near monopoly. ...

With mostly ES&S and Diebold equipment in use the company will essentially have a monopoly, and that is making a lot of elections officials and fair-voting advocates uneasy. ...

The state and election supervisors have been working with the manufacturers to develop software enhancements that tell voters at least twice during the process if they make a mistake, such as voting for more than one candidate in a race.

This is why competition is necessary. Given that voting is a human endeavor there may always be problems that challenge the process. Elections supervisors have to be able to tell ES&S that, if the competition has something better to offer, they expect the same from it, at a reasonable price, or else they'll go elsewhere.

For this to happen the State Department will have to make sure other voting-machine manufacturers understand that, even though Florida's likely not to be in the market for major purchases any time soon, its elections officials still want to have access to their products for future upgrades.

The 2000 election fiasco raised Floridians' expectations for transparency and accuracy in the voting process. Voters in Florida today have no tolerance for mistake-riddled balloting. Election officials can reassure voters by fostering healthy competition among the makers of voting equipment to ensure that every machine works, is tamper proof and will enable every vote to be counted.

"Sunburn"

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: ""."The public has a right to know and participate in government decisions. But some current and former public officials in Venice thumbed their noses at the law by discussing business in their private e-mail accounts and then either deleting them or failing to save them. The e-mails constituted "meetings," yet the public was shut out. These officials should be ashamed of themselves." "A deserved case of sunburn".

Special election blues

"Poll workers who went unpaid after this month's special election while the Flagler County Commission and the Supervisor of Elections wrangled over costs could see checks by Thursday." "Election workers to get paid".

As Florida burns ...

"Florida lawmakers want to muffle car stereos" ( Rep. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla wants to "make it a moving violation to play a car stereo too loudly").

"Taxpayers aren't served by intragovernmental bickering"

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "In mid-September, 19 percent of Flagler County's registered Republicans turned out to elect former House Speaker John Thrasher in a special primary election to replace the late Sen. Jim King. Until then, Flagler County hadn't had a special election in at least 30 years."

The week before the election, Kimberle Weeks, the supervisor of elections, requested $179,000 from the County Commission. It was an unusually large sum for a special election -- larger than the $173,500 that had been requested to cover the 2008 general election cycle, which included early voting days and a primary. The amount Weeks requested represented a 26 percent supplement to the supervisor's $690,000 budget. The commission agreed to honor the request as long as Weeks provided a paper trail showing where the supplemental money was spent. The county, in turn, would turn over that paper trail to the state in order to be reimbursed.

Weeks would not agree to the arrangement. Appearing before the commission earlier this month, she disputed commissioners' micro-management of her office. She had a point. But so does the commission.

Chiles

"As he retraces many steps of his famous father's long walk, Bud Chiles is thinking about running." "Chiles weighs run for CFO".

"Without debate or objection"

"Without debate or objection, Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet agreed to spend $1.98 million Tuesday to protect about 436 acres near Lake Miccosukee from development." "Crist, Cabinet OK nearly $2M to protect Jefferson Co. land".

"Catch 22"

"Already suffering from a grinding recession, Florida's 3,000 home inspectors, and a growing legion of mold inspectors, face a Catch 22 next summer when they are required for the first time to obtain a state license." "Home inspectors, contractors frustrated by new license law".

5 gears in reverse

"Trial lawyers, black lawmakers, blasting lobbying group over racial mailers". See also "Race-baiting flier prompts lawyer to threaten quitting group".

Just when the focus ought to be narrowly fixed on drafting a workable prescription for America's ailing health-care system, however, State Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, and state Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, trot out a cynical political game.

Their Florida Health Care Freedom Act would amend the state constitution to let Florida opt out of any federal health-care plan — ostensibly to protect Floridians' rights to chart their own health-care course.

"The federal government will not only choose your doctor and ration your treatment, but also penalize people that want to pay for their own lawful health care services," he says. "That's just wrong."

What's wrong is this partisan proposal, a transparent effort to muddy the already turbulent waters of the health-care debate by politicians who offer no viable alternatives.

Charlie puts his blinders on

"If they didn't know much about Jeb Bush, people listening to Charlie Crist at a GOP conference in Michigan this weekend may have been under the impression the ex-governor was tax and spender ignoring schools:"

"We understood we needed to reign in spending. When I got elected governor our state budget was $73-billion. I cut it $8-billion in 2 1/2 years. Now it's down to $66-billion," Crist told the crowd. ...

Listening to the speech, we didn't hear Crist say Florida was plagued by high unemployment when he enttered office, but of course it wasn't. Unemployment, now at 10.7 percent, was 3.3 percent when Crist took office.

The numbers Charlie conveniently forgets

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Recent numbers issued by the U.S. Census Bureau paint a grim picture of Florida that will get even more somber if lawmakers in Washington fail to enact health care reform."

# The number of uninsured Floridians increased from 2.8 million in 2001 to 3.7 million in 2008. With 21 percent of its residents uninsured, Florida ranks fourth worst in the nation.

# The percentage of Florida adults under 65 without insurance increased from 22 percent to 26 percent. This figure only considers people who are uninsured for an entire year - it does not include Floridians who have recently lost coverage through the recession.

# Private coverage is eroding. The percentage of Floridians with employer-provider coverage decreased from 66 percent in 2001 to 62 percent in 2008.

# Lack of insurance isn't just a problem for low-income people. An additional 23,000 Floridians from high-income households are now among the uninsured.

# Since 2000, average family premiums - $12,780 for those insured through employers have increased by 88 percent in Florida.

To make matters worse, the census bureau reports that Florida is one of five states that saw its median household income fall between 2007 and 2008.

Haridopolos "raking it in"

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "What is still little-known by the general public is that any lawmaker can routinely accept much larger checks for food, drink and travel through committees allowed under state law — called committees of continuous existence (aka 527s, so-named for an IRS code) — and also through state parties."

There's no limit on how much a special interest can give to the committees of continuous existence, which are set up with names such as Preserve the American Dream, Committee for Florida's Fiscal Future, Conservative Citizens for Justice and Citizens for Housing and Urban Growth. Those are just four of some 100 committees that have proliferated in recent years, set up by a lawmaker and controlled by him or her — with contributions coming in from special interests that have, ostensibly, that same vital concern for that American Dream, Fiscal Future, Justice or Urban Growth.

The money can be dispersed however the lawmaker chooses, to win allies on votes of bills they are sponsoring, or to win positions of power, such as speaker or senate president, by helping other members with their own campaign expenses. ...

Last week, it was reported that Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, has collected $1.1 million in his Freedom First Committee, formed in May — partly to help ensure his position as Senate president after the 2010 election, and partly to ensure as many GOP victories as possible.

"Pay close attention, Florida"

The Sun-Sentinel editorial board:

Pay close attention, Florida.

The push is still on to turn Florida into a gas- and oil-producing state and, unlike similar efforts in Congress, this push is appealing to a far more receptive audience.

Since 1990, Florida has had strict prohibitions limiting offshore drilling, but state business leaders and out-of-state oil and gas interests believe they have a persuasive argument — a $2 billion-plus annual payment to state coffers, along with assurances to protect the beauty of the state's Gulf Coast. ...

However, the more important question is: Does the proposal have merit? The answer is still unclear. Opening Florida's Gulf Coast to more energy exploration is a huge policy shift for a state that has long prided itself, and profited from, its environment and coastal communities; that change should not be made lightly, if at all.

Too many questions and too few specific answers remain.

PSC Posts

"Crist will decide this week whom to appoint to two key posts on the state board that regulates utilities, a decision that will influence energy policy and affect Florida's electric, water and sewer rates for years to come." "Gov. Chrlie Crist to fill two open posts on PSC". Related: "State regulators extend deadline for FPL's request to raise rates".

Marco needs cash

"Can Rubio translate momentum into money?".

Too many Rooneys

"three Rooneys eye 2010".

Get serious about TriRail

The Miami Herald editorial board: "If Florida is serious about attracting federal dollars to help build a bullet train that would generate jobs for South Florida and millions of dollars from tourists, the state has to first commit to the rail system we already have: TriRail." "TriRail funding key to getting bullet train".

"Voting-rights advocates ... were understandably alarmed"

Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "Vote security and accuracy is a nonpartisan issue. People of all political affiliations want to know that when they cast a vote, it's going to count, and that the total will be reported without risk of tampering."

Recent controversies put spotlight on the technology used to record and tabulate votes -- and the companies behind it. And when the two companies that dominate the voting-technology market announced their merger this month, voting-rights advocates and elections supervisors were understandably alarmed.

Between them, Premiere Elections Solutions (a spinoff of Diebold) and Elections Systems and Software control voting technology in 65 of Florida's 67 counties. (Indian River and Palm Beach counties use Sequoia Voting Systems.) Nationwide, the Premiere/ES&S dominance is just as marked: They provide equipment to nearly 75 percent of the elections supervisors across the country.

The past behavior of both companies raises questions about how they would act when joined.

GOPer madness

"GOPers cheer Dion, boo UN".

"Trial lawyers' backing should have been public"

Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "The racism-tinged fliers that targeted voters in the recent state Senate Dist. 8 campaign were a prime example of vile stealth campaigning. And while trial lawyers eventually admitted they were behind the scurrilous ads, voters were left wondering -- for too long -- exactly who was lurking behind the group listed on the fliers." "Unmask attack ads".

Billy's conflict of interest

"When it comes to the board that supervises state public investments, Florida is different. It may be the only state that has its attorney general double as an investment fund trustee. Ethics watchdogs say it's an inherent conflict of interest: The state's top law enforcement officer and top legal adviser cannot provide independent legal advice to a board that he sits on." "Attorney General Bill McCollum's role as trustee for state investment fund may be a conflict". Related: "Does Bill McCollum have a conflct serving on SBA?".

Times are tuff for those unearned income folks

"For decades, the Sunshine State has been utility-friendly, making regulatory decisions that have allowed its power companies to earn some of the highest profits in the nation. That in turn has brought those companies a wealth of investors. But the outcome of a proposed $1.3 billion-a-year base rate increase for Florida Power & Light Co. could indicate a shift in policy for the state." "Investors, utilities fear wide financial fallout if state rebuffs FPL".

"Lately, employees haven't even gotten a bonus"

Bill Cotterell: "No bad thing lasts forever, so it's nice to see that the state of Florida actually expects its employees will get pay raises again some day."

Not next year. And not as much as had been predicted in previous forecasts by the Florida Retirement System.

The state recently sent annual statements and its fall bulletin to FRS pension plan members, summarizing changes in pension laws and making projections of what they have to look forward to — or dread — depending how well each employee is fixed for Social Security and private retirement preparations. The cover letter reminded members that the projections are just "a snapshot in time" and that things can get better or worse.

Routinely, year after year, pension projections had been made with an assumption of 3-percent raises. If you work for the state, you might have noticed your salary has not been going up 3 percent in recent years. In fact, you've undoubtedly noticed that it hasn't gone up at all, unless you take an odd thrill in $1,000 "bonuses" that work out to about $13 a week after taxes.

And lately, employees haven't even gotten a bonus.

Déjà vu all over again

The Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "Amid more lapses in judgment, Florida's Public Service Commission again finds itself under scrutiny."

The regulatory board went through a similar crisis of confidence a few years ago. The issue then was attendance by PSC officials at a 2002 telecommunications convention in Miami Beach. Further damaging the PSC's standing at the time, too, was recognition that numerous former PSC staff members had gone to work for the companies they once regulated. Well, guess what? That hasn't changed much.

Whining from the rugged individualists at the Trib

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "Once again, property owners in sinkhole-prone Pasco and Hernando counties are getting shafted by the governor and Legislature. A new law taking effect in January gives insurance companies the option of summarily dropping property owners who have standard sinkhole coverage – a major protection that helps people fix their homes when a sinkhole is detected." "A sinking feeling in Pasco and Hernando".

The Chattahoochee River

"Officials say they've been closely monitoring water quality in the Chattahoochee River and other waterways affected by the rainstorms that struck Georgia and other states in the Southeast." "River water concerns cited after SE rainstorms".

At least it ain't a tax

"FIU to charge fee for commencement ceremonies".

Rubio hanging in there

Adam Smith asks "what are we to make of all these GOP straw polls?"

Two explanations that aren't necessarily mutually exclusive: (1) Charlie Crist has a serious problem with the conservative base that eventually could spell trouble, and (2) local Republican executive committee members are breathtakingly out of touch with mainstream Republican voters. ...

Rubio has been riding a long wave of helpful publicity, from straw polls to the backlash over Crist appointing his longtime adviser George LeMieux to the Senate. The latest gift is a column by the influential George Will, who trashes Crist's conservative credentials and predicts Rubio will be Florida's next U.S. senator. ...

But there's a good chance all that glowing Rubio press ceases around Oct. 15. That's when campaign finance reports are due, and when Rubio will likely again face questions about his viability against champion money-raiser Crist.

Haridopolos and Cannon fight for oil campaign dollars

Aaron Deslatte: "Politics is about timing, and incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, and future Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Indialantic, think the ingredients have cooked long enough."

Haridopolos wants to host town-hall meetings around the state — much as he did with property taxes three years ago [who knew?] — to air out the issue of authorizing the Cabinet to issue leases for oil drilling within roughly five miles of Florida's beaches.

Cannon wants to do his own road show, including a public forum that would be webcast.

Such drilling was unthinkable to Democrats and Republicans two years ago. But recent polls show a majority of Floridians are supportive, and oil companies are pushing for a quick vote.

Limiting state and local revenue increases by a formula tied to population and income growth is especially ripe, given that wages are stagnant, unemployment is at 10.7 percent and population is declining, he said. "I think people are looking for that [revenue] predictability."

Lawmakers in previous sessions have been reluctant to pass such a cap. But with Haridopolos entering the apex of his influence, 2010 might be his year.

"Proposals to heal Corruption County"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Two proposals to heal Corruption County emerged last week. Both offer good ideas for creation of an inspector general's office and commission on ethics. Both could wind up as competing choices before voters in November 2010. That would be a mistake."

One proposal comes from Palm Beach County. It offers ordinances to create the inspector general's office, a commission on ethics and a tougher code of ethics. The ordinances would go before the county commission in December to be put into place by January. Later, the county would draft charter language to go before voters in November 2010. Placing the anti-corruption measures in the charter protects them from political manipulation.

The second proposal comes from a consortium of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, Leadership Palm Beach County, the Voters Coalition and the Business Forum of Palm Beach County, which includes builders, Realtors and chambers of commerce. These groups promise a petition drive for their charter amendment if they disagree with the county's approach.

Stealth group "free-for-all"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Lawmakers need to act quickly to ensure voters aren't in the dark. The Legislature must craft a new law requiring timely financial disclosure by stealth groups that pop up days before an election. Failing to regulate such groups creates a free-for-all where there is no way to know who is behind well-financed political messages." "Voters' right to know".

PSC

"A week before the governor must decide whether to reappoint him to the Public Service Commission, the chairman of the state utility regulation panel ruled Friday that the largest rate case of his term should extend into January -- and into the new terms of either his or his successor." "State regulators extend deadline for FPL's request to raise rates".

"Like treating Type 2 diabetes with Twinkies"

Mike Thomas: "Florida is on the edge of a depression with plunging home prices, rampant foreclosures and abandoned houses rotting in the heat and dragging down neighborhoods."

It raises an interesting question. Who is more extreme, the people responsible for this conflagration — and whose response to it is to build more-more-more — or the people who want to give voters the option of reining it in?

"I think the housing bust has exposed the reality of developer control for what it is," says Blackner. "They had everything they wanted for the last five to six years. They crashed the economy. They have no solution other than bring the bubble back. Hometown Democracy is the only genuine reform on the table that can change the politics of growth once and for all."

Is that radical?

Or is this radical? There are 300,000 empty houses in Florida. "For Lease" signs have replaced merchandise in storefront windows. Office vacancies are skyrocketing. The state's population is declining for the first time since World War II. Yet there are requests pending to build more than 600,000 more homes, along with millions more square feet of commercial space. There are plans to conjure up massive new cities from scratch in the middle of nowhere.

This is like treating Type 2 diabetes with Twinkies.

Deadline

"Crist faces a deadline this week to decide whom to put on the embattled board that sets electric rates." "Gov. Crist to fill empty posts on PSC". See also "High stakes ride on Crist's PSC picks".

Another fine RPOFer

"Three years ago, Mark Foley stood before TV cameras, acknowledged his long-hidden homosexuality and confessed to sending sexually suggestive e-mail and instant messages to teenage male congressional pages. Vilified from coast to coast as an example of a Republican Congress that had given in to self-indulgence and corruption, he resigned. That ended a career in public office that spanned three decades, including five House terms." "Disgraced lawmaker re-emerges".

Rail wars

The Miami Herald editorial board: "The U.S. Department of Transportation has told Florida that it has a good chance of winning approval of a high-speed rail project that meets the right criteria to win some of the $8 billion in stimulus money the White House is offering to help build rapid transit."

The Miami-Orlando corridor should be first in line because it makes the most economic sense. But Gov. Charlie Crist is pushing for an Orlando-Tampa line first. Supporters of the Miami-Orlando route are challenging the governor's choice, arguing that there will be more ridership on the north-south line to pay for operations and that the distance between Tampa and Orlando is too short to allow for truly high speed rail.

The Tampa-Orlando route lacks the required connecting public transportation system whereas Miami already has the newly completed Miami Intermodal Center next to Miami International Airport.

The Florida Department of Transportation is seeking $2.5 billion to build a Tampa to Orlando route first and asking for $30 million for environmental-impact work to build the Orlando-Miami line second. According to FDOT, the federal Railroad Administration wants only proposals where the environmental impact study already has federal approval.

The Tampa-Orlando line has that approval, but is it the right choice to win federal dollars?

"You bet I would!"

Gerald Ensley: "Earlier this month, a member of the audience at the town hall meeting on health care reform challenged U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd. The questioner, upset Boyd supported measures that many in the angry audience didn't, asked the Congressman: 'Would you vote for something if 75 percent of your constituents opposed it?'"

Boyd never really answered, obfuscating about the difficulty of knowing if 75 percent truly opposed a measure. But I know how he should have answered the question:

"You bet I would!"

Gun nuts

"The National Rifle Association has taken aim at the coalition of some 450 mayors — 45 of them in Florida — alerting gun owners that the group will lobby Congress to end 'reciprocity' among states that issue concealed-weapons permits, tighten restrictions on sales at weekend gun shows and weaken privacy protections for gun owners." "Gun-control group catches heat".

"A microcosm of the broader effort to revive the River of Grass"

"Of the many engineering atrocities inflicted on the Everglades, the C-111 ranks high on the list. The canal was cut across deep South Miami-Dade in the 1960s for the Aerojet Corp., which was then building moon rocket engines so big they had to be barged."

The rocket plant closed decades ago. The C-111, also known as the Aerojet canal, has remained, sucking water that once flowed into Florida Bay and piping it 20 miles the wrong way, east across U.S. 1 into Barnes Sound.

Now, after years of delay, the South Florida Water Management District is poised to begin healing the unnatural wound of the C-111 with $25 million in projects.

By the multibillion-dollar measuring stick of Everglades restoration, the construction work is simple and cheap. But the first step toward fixing the C-111 still faces myriad challenges, making it a microcosm of the broader effort to revive the River of Grass.

"'It always comes down to the lobbyists'"

Fred Grimm: "The process seemed purposefully obtuse. Construction bids were bundled and submitted as imprecise estimates, based on obscure criteria, to be negotiated (and massaged and inflated) long after contracts were let."

Broward School Board Member Beverly Gallagher was busted in an undercover FBI sting Wednesday, accused of taking bribes to influence the bid selection on a $71 million school construction project.

Sakhnovsky was hardly shocked. The corruption charges against Gallagher only confirmed his long held suspicions.

Nor did the corruption charges shock Pat Santeramo, despite his affection for Gallagher. He knew the system invited exploitation. As president of the Broward Teachers Union, he was there when another selection committee sorted through bids for the district's health insurance contract.

Santeramo, worried about insurance for 22,000 union members, felt an obligation to be there. But it was not exactly scintillating work, slogging through stacks of competing insurance bids.

Santeramo wondered why the same three school board members, year after year, ``would fall all over themselves'' to get on the selection committee.

Santeramo suspects the attraction was a process so full of complexities and subjective criteria that school board members on the committee could finagle any outcome they wished. Santeramo came away convinced that the final decision in the $200 million deal came down to the influence of a certain lobbyist. "It always comes down to the lobbyists,'' he said.

"Imagine this news story ..."

Scott Maxwell: "Maybe you've already formed a strong opinion about teenage runway Rifqa Bary. But imagine if the family that helped her run away from Ohio weren't a Christian one here in Orlando. Imagine, just for a moment, that the circumstances were reversed."

Imagine this news story ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Orlando girl, feared missing for two weeks, has been found in Ohio — in the home of a Muslim imam.

The girl's parents, devout Christians who live in a modest suburb in east Orlando, were shocked to learn that the imam and his wife had been harboring their daughter, Julie Johnson, all this time without letting them know.

Julie was 16 when she ran away — a minor in the eyes of the law.

The girl's parents assumed that their daughter would soon be returned home. But Ohio authorities have so far refused.

The imam and his wife — who met Julie through an online prayer group — say she no longer wants to be a Christian.

Students without a trust funds

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "Every little bit helps when you're a college student without a trust fund". "Two plans help students afford a degree".

St. Petersburg-Pinellas

"The election of a new St. Petersburg mayor will offer a chance to improve relations between the city and county, some commissioners say. It's an opportunity to change the dynamics — to 'hit the reset button,' City Council member Karl Nurse said." "Can city-county relations improve?".

FCAT follies

"Shifting teachers to hike FCATs proves no cure-all".

"Bad news for Florida"

Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "For opponents of health care reform, it's one of their favorite numbers:"

About 250 million Americans have health insurance, and 85 percent of them are satisfied. That, according to a September Gallup poll. So why bother reforming the system? Because the number is as misleading as many of the recent distortions about health care. And the Senate bill Max Baucus introduced last week, which has President Barack Obama's support, plays into the distortion by doing little to help where help is needed most: the uninsured and the under-insured. That's bad news for Florida, which has the nation's second-highest rate of uninsured individuals and whose low-paying service jobs provide bare-bones insurance -- if they provide insurance at all.

"Uphill budget"

"Miami-Dade faces uphill budget battle with labor unions".

Will ethics charges be renewed?

"Ethics investigators failed to match up a utility regulator's story with the record, raising questions about whether the ethics charges should be renewed." "Probe of cleared PSC commissioner called incomplete".

"Disturbing flaws"

"Disturbing flaws in Florida's background screening system have put children, seniors and the disabled in the care of convicted felons with records that include rape, child molestation and murder, an investigation by the Sun Sentinel newspaper has found." "Newspaper: Faulty system lets felons be caregivers". Related: "Is a felon supervising your child at day care?".