The blame belongs with Tallahassee, where in a lack of planning and financial foresight, state lawmakers blithely underfunded the trust fund that holds tax receipts from employers to pay for jobless benefits during a recession.

Florida's politicians chose to believe the Sunshine State's growth economy would never need a serious rainy-day unemployment fund. Well, it's raining. The state's unemployment rate hit 11.2 percent in October. Meanwhile, the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund is broke. To keep jobless benefits flowing, Florida is borrowing about $300 million every month from the federal government.

Had Florida politicians not been so tax-averse, the state could have been far better prepared.

Yee Haw!

"Conservative radio/TV/book-writing personality Glenn Beck is making a campaign-style tour of Florida today and Saturday, hitting seven cities and promising to unveil policy prescriptions that he calls 'The Plan' on Saturday afternoon in the Central Florida Republican bastion of The Villages. " "Glenn Beck barnstorms Florida; Jupiter part of seven-city book tour".

Even Texas gets it

Randy Schultz: "For 25 years, Florida's criminal justice policy has been to lock up as many people as possible for as long as possible."

The Legislature has approved sentencing guidelines and minimum mandatory sentences. The Legislature has required inmates to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences. Even Pinellas County State Attorney Bernie McCabe, one of Florida's most hard-line prosecutors, says, "We take away a driver's license for durned near everything."

But Florida's incarceration rate is up 47 percent, crime has decreased nationally and the tough-on-crime tab has come just when Florida is tapped out. ...

The real star of the [Justice Summit 2009] in Tampa was not someone from Florida. It was Jerry Madden, a self-described "hard-line conservative" Texas legislator who sponsored the bill in 2007 that shifted his state away from incarceration at all costs to rehabilitation and treatment where appropriate. "My god, Texas," exclaimed Vickie Lopez Lukis, a Republican who chaired the Governor's Ex-Offender Task Force in 2006. If Texas can be smart on crime, why not Florida?

As Rep. Madden explained: "We didn't touch any sentencing laws. We just started shifting money." In 2008, he survived a primary challenge from a Republican who charged that Rep. Madden was "soft on crime." In 2009, he fought off attempts to undercut the reforms. He's going to run once more in 2010 "because by 2011, we'll have all the numbers to show that it really works."

Florida hasn't done smart for a long time. Here's a good place to start.

Something's gotta give

"Panhandle man fatally shoots black bear in yard"; "Headless panther found along road in central Fla.".

Old news

"Taking a cue from President Barack Obama's successful campaign, and from their children and grandchildren, elected officials and candidates are harnessing the popular social networking tools to drive home campaign platforms and reach voters." "Politicians jumping into social media, seeing new outlet to voters".

Daily Rothstein

"Bank helped Rothstein in fraud scheme, lawsuit alleges'".

Wingnut's sister luvs them trial lawyers

"Ex-Mayor Naugle's sister wins $300 million tobacco verdict".

See you in Havana

"At a tempestuous hearing, one House member after another criticized a growing campaign to lift the ban on American tourists traveling to Cuba." "Cuba Travel Ban Inspires Passionate Debate in House".

Another fine Jebacy

"Florida leads U.S. in foreclosures".

School lawsuit

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board:

The Florida Constitution requires a "high-quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high-quality education." A lawsuit filed last week in Tallahassee on behalf of a coalition of public school parents and students claims the state has failed to meet that obligation by not spending enough money, misusing the FCAT, failing to ensure school safety and keeping teacher salaries too low. It points to a number of education measures where Florida ranks well below average, much less high-quality. While the prospects of a court victory are debatable, the lawsuit can galvanize Floridians to demand better and put pressure on the Legislature to respond.

Perhaps they should be paid more ...

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "By 2010, Florida will be short approximately 18,000 registered nurses." "Filling the nursing gap".

Unemployment

"Florida jobless rate up slightly". See also "Florida's unemployment reached 11.2% in October" and "Temp labor may be bridge to recovery".

SunRail

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "SunRail appears closer than ever to passing the Legislature in Tallahassee." "In a position to win".

"In a brief interview outside a coffeehouse near the Capitol, Cretul, R-Ocala, said he was encouraged that the insurance liability and labor union concerns with the rail project were being addressed, but that the House would have a hard time swallowing a new $2 rental car surcharge to finance South Florida's commuter rail system." "House Speaker no fan of new taxes for rail".

Cuba

"Thirty years of spying for Cuba will send a retired State Department official to prison for life after he and his wife pleaded guilty Friday to sending secrets to the United States' longtime antagonist." "U.S. agent for Cuba gets life in prison".

Citizens

"Citizens rate hike not as harsh as expected".

Where's Charlie?

The Daytona Beach News Journal editors: "Sen. Bill Nelson, D-FL, and two of his colleagues introduced the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act last May to increase residencies by 15,000 nationwide. The measure was not funded. A Senate proposal in the health care reform legislation would redistribute 1,000 slots unfilled through five funding cycles to a small group of targeted states. It is unclear how Florida might fare if that measure passes. A contingent of state medical and political leaders are planning a trip to Washington D.C. by year's end to press the issue with lawmakers. The Tallahassee Democrat reported Sunday that the group intends to impress upon lawmakers Florida's need for 2,700 additional residency slots." "Out of a Florida med school, then what?".

But the idea that the Sunshine State can keep buying happiness on the backs of an exploding population has all but vanished in Tallahassee. ...

At the same time, the side effects of growth have increased demand for classroom space, prison beds, court services, jobless benefits, health care and other services for the poor — which is why state legislators are staring at a $2.6 billion budget shortfall when the 2010-11 fiscal year starts in July — the third consecutive year of budget holes created by a faltering economy.

And for the foreseeable future, economists predict tax receipts won't catch up with Florida's burgeoning demand for education, entitlement programs and public-safety services.

Some cite California as a model — to a point.

"California was very successful at creating great quality of life, a pretty good infrastructure system and a good education system," said state Rep. Will Weatherford, a Wesley Chapel Republican slated to become House speaker in 2012. "What they did not do was keep their taxation system low, and their government spending got out of control. We want to do what California did, but keep your taxes low."

Blue dog blues

An internal poll released by the Lawson campaign conducted by "The Research Network shows state Senator Al Lawson leading incumbent Blue Dog Congressman Allen Boyd in the race for Florida’s 2nd Congressional District."

- Lawson: 34.9
- Boyd: 30.7

Wingnut jumps into Kosmas race

"Paul P. Partyka, a real estate investor and former Winter Springs mayor, announced plans Thursday to challenge fellow Democrat and incumbent U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas in her 2010 re-election bid." "Former Winter Springs mayor to challenge Kosmas".

A bio piece on Partyka here: "Partyka to run against Kosmas".

If Crist switched parties ...

Daily Kos

decided to see how Crist would perform in a general election as a Republican, Democrat, and Independent:

All likely voters

Crist (R) 50
Meek (D) 33

Rubio (R) 30
Meek (D) 38

Don't get too excited with those Rubio/Meek numbers. 40 percent of Republicans are inexplicably "undecided" on that question. They'd come home.

Now for the hypotheticals:

Crist (I) 32
Rubio (R) 27
Meek (D) 31

Rubio (R) 34
Crist (D) 45

The three-way matchup is a statistical dead-heat, with the biggest undecided block being Democrats. Independents break 45% Crist, 27% Meek, and 22% Rubio. That would be an almost exact replay of NY-23.

On the two-way matchup with Crist as a Democrat, a third of Democrats are undecided. They'd like proof that Crist was a real Democrat, I'm sure. But ultimately, most would come home rather than give the birther-teabagger candidate the Senate seat. A quarter of independents are also undecided, though I won't pretend to guess what they'd do. Those who know what they want break 40 percent for Crist, 34 percent for Rubio.

If I'm Charlie Crist, I realize that I'm toast in the Republican primary. I note that a three-way race is a coin flip at best. But as a Democrat... switching parties and making an earnest transition on the issues would be the cleanest path to a Senate seat.

Sink on the move

DKos "also polled the governor's race -- it's a dead heat between Republican Bill McCollum (35), Democrat Alex Sink (33), and Undecided (32)." "FL-Sen: Bombshell results" (Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 11/16-18. Likely voters MoE 4%).

Travel time

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Miami-Dade is an international hub for trade and tourism. So it's to be expected that the county's trade and tourism executives would be traveling abroad to pump up business here."

What's inexplicable is why county commissioners get to go along for the ride -- without any real accounting of the trade mission's success.

There's not even a requirement that any such mission by the county-run International Trade Consortium should have Miami-Dade business people participate. Instead, a trip last month to Senegal and South Africa included Commissioner Audrey Edmonson, four county employees and business people from Jacksonville, Palatka, Daytona Beach and Boca Raton.

"The confluence is no accident"

"One group believes that homosexuals can be cured and runs programs aimed at putting gay men and lesbians on a straight path."

The other group believes such programs have tortured thousands of men and women, making it impossible for them to accept their natural sexual orientation and live happy lives.

The two polar opposites are to meet less than a mile apart in West Palm Beach beginning Friday. The confluence is no accident.

When gay rights activists learned the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality would hold its annual convention at the Marriott, they booked one at the nearby Crowne Plaza.

Not surprisingly, given the emotions surrounding the issue, neither group will leave town without being noticed.

"Folderol from Florida Republicans"

"Another week, more folderol from Florida Republicans."

Crist will speak to Escambia County Republicans at their annual Lincoln Day dinner Dec. 3. Escambia Republican Executive Committee Chair Susan Moore sent out the announcement more than a week ago. She also, it turns out, sent an e-mail to some supporters of former House Speaker Marco Rubio — who is running against Crist in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate — inviting them to attend in support of the county operation.

Some of those recipients then forwarded Moore's e-mail "misconstrued to sound as if I was apologizing for having the Governor as our featured speaker," Moore has since said.

It's the classic political gambit. Make your opponent deny a trumped-up charge, in this case being apologetic about hooking the state's chief executive for your big annual do.

Escambia's executive committee was embroiled in the summer's county "purge" of Ron Paul supporters, malcontents and political enemies (see for reference Brevard's ongoing Jason Steele tussle), with an officer suspended from a state committee for six months.

"Tobacco-tax collections in Florida are high and holding steady"

"Cigarettes sales are down 27 percent in Florida during the last four months, thanks to a new $1-a-pack tax designed to balance the budget and cut down on smoking. But despite the drop in sales, tobacco-tax collections in Florida are high and holding steady. That's because state economists accurately factored in the decrease in sales of smokes when they initially forecast the revenue from the surcharge that went into effect July 1. The new tax, which helps fund Medicaid, will raise $881 million this year and $907 million the next, the economists forecast Thursday when they analyzed cigarette-sales data." "Cigarette tax boosts state budget".

Whatever

"Florida's senators: Room for improvement in health care reform bill".

"Amigos"

"Although still in its honeymoon stage, the Rep. Mike McMahon (D-N.Y.) - Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) union has already produced tangible results." "Amigos from across the aisle".

Slow news day

Scott Maxwell: "Time for another round of hugs, slugs — and one ugh — for the politicians and newsmakers who help make Florida the unique, dynamic and occasionally stomach-turning place it is."

An ugh to the Florida Democratic Party for its (non-)news release about U.S. Sen. George LeMieux helping raise money for Charlie Crist. The Dems urged the media to look into this, saying, "Questions remain about the legitimacy of LeMieux's appointment and the cronyism that led to it." Questions remain? Are you kidding me? No, they don't. There are no questions about the legitimacy of LeMieux's appointment. We know it was cronyism. That's what LeMieux was — Charlie's crony. That's why he appointed him. That's why people were irritated — including Republicans who wanted a more respected and experienced statesman to get the job. And all that has been pretty widely documented by the press and everyone else. What's next, Dems? You going to suggest that top-secret sources have suggested Charlie likes to see himself on TV? Stop the presses!

Different cause

Paul Flemming reports that "Ben Wilcox, who for a decade worked Tallahassee's corridors of power for liberal watchdog group Common Cause, has landed with the League of Women Voters of Florida. Common Cause, a victim of the recession, shut down operations in Florida in March.".

"Bless their changeable hearts"

Mark Lane: "Florida voters, bless their changeable hearts, voted overwhelmingly in 1998 to put an amendment into the state constitution declaring that running quality schools is a basic job of state government."

Since 1868, Florida has had some kind of constitutional mandate for educational quality, but since 1885, the language was just for show. After 1998, though, language became more emphatic. In fact, it is one of the strongest such declarations in any state constitution in the nation.

Sadly, state voters did not follow up this declaration by electing legislators committed to school funding. And anytime the same voters had a tax cut in front of them, they jumped at that, too.

The unsurprising result is that Florida schools remain among first things the state cuts in bad times. Florida now spends $1,694 per student less than it did in 2006-2007.

So the amendment -- now part of Article IX, Section 1(a) of the state constitution -- was always a lawsuit waiting to happen.

And this week that lawsuit was filed in Leon County.

It asks the court to declare the state has failed to live up to its basic educational responsibilities. It wants the court to order "a remedial plan that that conforms with the Florida Constitution." It wants the court to retain jurisdiction to ensure such a plan gets carried out. Which sounds like the equivalent of putting the state public school system into receivership.

This filing comes only weeks after the Florida American Civil Liberties Union filed its own suit against the state saying the graduation rate in Palm Beach County is so bad it violates the amendment. It, too, asks the courts to force state action and funding.

Florida remains 47th in the nation in graduation rates — despite some very good school districts, including Leon's, and excellent, if underpaid ($5,000 below the national average), teachers. Its per pupil spending is among the worst in the nation, with the state's share of school districts' budgets dropping from 62 percent in 2000 to 44 percent this year.

Students drop out in frustration before they even enter high school; minority students are too often on the down side of the achievement gap, entering school unprepared to learn, and the digital divide exacerbates economic and social inequities that are irrefutable despite data manipulated to win political gold stars.

See you in Havana

"Cuba's celebrated and increasingly brassy [Generation Y] blogger Yoani Sánchez emerged Thursday as a player in U.S.-Cuba relations, scoring a lengthy reply from President Barack Obama to her questions and playing a starring role in a congressional hearing on efforts to let American tourists visit Cuba." "Blogger in Cuba has D.C.'s ears, not Raúl's". See also "Obama answers questions from top Cuban blogger".

Related: The Miami Herald editorial board: "Still in agony".

"Explosion of unregulated pain clinics"

"A Broward County grand jury suggests a series of new reforms to stop the explosion of unregulated pain clinics selling illegal narcotics. " "Broward grand jury recommend pain clinic reforms".

"The still-glowing public memory of past accidents"

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board wtites this morning that "three factors are working in the nuclear power industry's favor to drown out the history and the fears. None are worth the safety or financial risks."

First, the industry is capitalizing on its campaign to make nuclear power seem like a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels. The claim is only half right. Nuclear power produces virtually no greenhouse gases. But nuclear waste is among the most lethal materials on the planet. A repository for it has yet to be found. States such as California ban the construction of new nuclear plants until a permanent repository is accepting waste.

Second, lawmakers in Florida and Georgia are allowing utilities to surcharge their current customers for future construction cost of nuclear reactors the Nuclear Regulatory Agency hasn't even permitted yet. Instead of tapping reluctant investors, nuclear-powered utilities (including Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light) are squeezing customers, who have no choice. The Missouri Legislature rejected a similar scheme this year.

Third, the federal government is lavishing more than $120 billion in tax-dollar subsidies and loan guarantees on a bet to revive the nuclear-power industry -- money that would be more wisely invested on safer and surer renewable bets. That's the biggest force behind what the nuclear-power industry paints as a "renaissance." Without those subsidies and loan guarantees, it's unlikely the industry would be managing any revival at all, as investors remain unwilling to do what national and state governments are doing.

I believe that's three state troopers

"Senate budget chief J.D. Alexander is setting up a new office to help him figure out if the state is spending money wisely.
Alexander and his House counterparts have grappled with the state’s plummeting revenues and are facing a $2.7 billion projected spending gap in next year’s budget." "Need a job? Senate going to pay budget expert up to $170K a year".

Big of 'em

"After two hours of testimony, the City Council approves an ordinance that would protect transgender people from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations." "Tampa protects transgendered".

Entrepreneurs in action

"Officials at MacDill Air Force Base knowingly approved a $900,000 contract with a business owned by a disabled veteran, even though the work was performed by an unqualified company, a government report states. The Government Accountability Office report found that companies fraudulently collected at least $100 million in federal contracts from a $4 billion government program designated for disabled military veterans who run small businesses." "Report blasts MacDill contract with vet's firm".

Whoopee!

"Jim Greer still has a job".

Potential $13.3 billion shortfall

Aaron Deslatte writes that "during the next three years, the state's total budget shortfall could reach $13.3 billion, economists predict. Here are some reasons:

- Required education spending will grow 10 percent next year, while tax dollars for schools coming from local property taxes are projected to fall 1.9 percent during the next three years thanks to declining home values. ...

- Growth in the Medicaid state-federal health-insurance program for the poor and elderly will require $1.2 billion more next year to keep its wide array of programs for the 2.7 million (and growing) Floridians with incomes low enough to qualify. ...

- Prison-bed construction during the next three years will require $652 million in new money to house Florida's 100,000-and-growing incarcerated population, plus more money to operate them.

Herald editors speak

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Ban texting while driving, audit state employees' official travel" "Capital news".

Daily Rothstein

"A Coconut Grove businessman says he invested $2.16 million with Scott Rothstein after a friend solicited him to buy into a high-profit deal -- that returned nothing." "'Juice scam' victim: I was lured into Scott Rothstein deal". See also "Rothstein's law firm dissolves in wake of Ponzi allegations".

SunRail

Jim Saunders: "Crist positive about SunRail project".

It's nine months before the primary — way too early for predictions. What's clear, though, is that Crist's long-held image as a man with remarkable gut instincts for politics and people is shot.

It took him way too long to wake up to Rubio, and then he kept handing ammunition to critics, such as lamely insisting he did not endorse the $787 billion stimulus package that he campaigned for.

It's a pretty strong sign he's in trouble when the once-inevitable Senate nominee starts airing radio ads nearly a year out touting his conservatism. Crist's mostly self-inflicted wounds are real but not necessarily fatal.

Rest of the nation to subsidize ...

Florida's low tax, public irresponsibility? See "Florida to seek $1 billion in U.S. education grants".

Miami politics don't play in real world

"New Florida Sen. George LeMieux's first foray into foreign relations has drawn brickbats from former high-ranking State Department officials who say his effort to block the Obama administration's new ambassador to Brazil is damaging U.S. relations with Latin America."

"This continuing, prolonged vacancy sends an unintended signal that the United States does not consider Brazil an important relationship,'' the nine former assistant secretaries of state wrote in a letter to LeMieux, urging him to lift his opposition to nominee Tom Shannon.

Shannon had triggered the ire of South Florida Cuban Americans who believed he wasn't tough enough on the Castro regime during his tenure as a former assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs under President George W. Bush.

Senate staffers suggested Wednesday that LeMieux -- who was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist to fill the seat vacated by Mel Martinez -- could be trying to burnish his Cuba credentials to help Crist, who faces a Cuban-American opponent in the Republican primary for the Senate seat.

The nine former secretaries, who served under Republican and Democratic presidents, noted that Shannon had been approved by the Foreign Relations Committee -- of which LeMieux is not a member. Shannon was confirmed by a 14-to-4 vote.

The letter to LeMieux follows a rebuke from Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who -- without naming LeMieux -- last week suggested "unnecessary delays'' in confirming the "outstanding and highly regarded career diplomat'' were hurting efforts to work with Brazil.

"He has every right, if he doesn't think this individual is qualified, to go to the floor and make his case, but why should one freshman senator with no background in Latin America, no background in Brazil, decide the Senate can't vote on the president's nominee?'' said Bernard Aronson, who served as an assistant secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush, and signed the letter. "It's really a slap in the face to Latin America. You don't see nominees to France, Germany, China, held up by a single senator. It would be an insult.''

Florida's 15-point failure

Pamela Hasterok: "When is a 15-point lead a failure?"

When it's half what it used to be and held by Charlie Crist.

Some party leaders contend Crist is facing opposition not because of his moderate policies, but because he's shown a lack of leadership handling the state's money woes. If he had only cut government services more, he'd be in much better stead.

Others say Crist is being reviled simply for being the governor of a state suffering through its worst financial crisis in modern memory. Floridians are losing homes, jobs and income and they blame him for it. And, as Rubio won't let anyone forget, Crist embraced Obama when he visited in February, making the governor suspect.

But those who underestimate Crist usually pay. In the past 17 years he's won every race but one and that was against the legendary Bob Graham. He beat Tom Gallagher, the establishment choice to be the gubernatorial nominee, by 30 points. He out-works, out-charms and out-raises almost every opponent he's ever had.

But if this race is a litmus test for conservatives, a principled stand for how far right a candidate must fall on the Republican spectrum, it's also a stand for the party's moderates. They've been shunted aside for a decade, marginalized by a strong Christian conservative voting bloc. Crist restored their stature and increased their effectiveness from Tallahassee to Washington.

Will moderates allow the vocal few to return Florida's GOP to the extreme ideology of governors past?

If they do, they risk a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Values?

"Florida Keys wild bird center struggles to make ends meet".

RPOFer's "hush-hush"

"The state GOP executive committee is huddling in a private meeting with RPOF Chairman Jim Greer appease demands from numerous county chairmen that he back down from what critics say are heavy-handed tactics." "GOP huddle hush-hush".

Whiners.com

"Posey joins Treasure Coast Republicans who say stimulus package jobs numbers incorrect".

"Corruption clear"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Two weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Ryskamp rejected former Palm Beach County Commissioner Tony Masilotti's plea to get out of prison early but threw in an aside: the judge's personal belief that the law that put Tony away is unconstitutional." "Verdict in: Corruption clear".

Collins

Bill Cotterell: "Author takes a fresh look at Collins' legacy".

Whatever

"State House Speaker Pro Tempore Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton, confirmed Wednesday that he will not run for the state Senate when his current term expires. Reagan cited a compelling reason for passing up the opportunity to run for the Florida Legislature’s upper chamber: his friendship with an already-announced candidate, state Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton." "Reagan to pass on state Senate".

We don' need no stinkin' HCR

"The March of Dimes released its second Premature Birth Report Card on Tuesday. In it, Florida and 17 other states as well as Puerto Rico got the lowest grade possible for percentage of early deliveries. The state has logged a 13.8 percent rate of premature births. The national rate of premature births was 12.7 percent, statistics through 2007 show." "Florida gets F on early births".

RPOFer madness

"A Boca Raton attorney has filed to be the first Republican in 12 years to challenge for the historically Democratic state House District 78. Meanwhile, Boca Raton chiropractor Steve Perman is going to take a third run for the seat as the freshman incumbent, Rep. Kevin Rader, has already set his sights on the Florida Senate." "Republican attorney gunning to make history in House District 78 seat".

Sanchez

"Tampa businessman Frank Sanchez’s nomination to be under secretary of international trade has hit a snag. One source is saying it's because of an investigation into the now-defunct Renaissance Steel, where he was CEO. But the Commerce Department says that’s not the issue."

LeMieux says he is unaware of what is holding up Sanchez’s nomination, but the Huffington Post reported late last month that Sanchez’ nomination is being delayed by Republican staff serving under Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.

Citing sources in the private sector, the weekly newsletter “Inside U.S. Trade” speculated this past August that Sanchez’ holdup may be related to his role as CEO of the now-defunct Tampa company Renaissance Steel. The Department of Health and Human Services has been investigating whether the company may have misused federal funds it received from a non-profit group in 2005.

Daily Rothstein

Mike Mayo: "Before the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm became known as the possible scene of one of the biggest financial crimes in Broward County history, it was touched by the tragedy of violent crime — the March 2008 murder of attorney Melissa Britt Lewis.

At first, police theorized that she was a random victim, followed to her Plantation home by a robber upon leaving a supermarket. There were signs of a struggle in her garage, and her body was found in a nearby canal two days later.

Then the official version changed upon the arrest of Tony Villegas, the then-estranged husband of Lewis' best friend, Debra Villegas, RRA's chief operating officer. Tony Villegas allegedly killed Lewis because he was jealous of how close the women had become, investigators said.

Tony Villegas, a conductor for Florida East Coast Railway, has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial, held without bail for 20 months in the Broward County Main Jail.

Now that federal authorities are investigating firm co-founder Scott Rothstein and Debra Villegas for their possible roles in a suspected $1 billion Ponzi scheme, is it time to go back to re-write on Lewis' murder once again?

Long walk home

"Crist ordered an internal investigation Wednesday into travel by Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Frank Peterman, who has often commuted home to St. Petersburg on weekends." "DJJ chief under investigation". The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Peterman travel tab deserves inquiry".

Dogs

"The Kottkamps have rescued three dogs from the county dump near their home, where people often abandon pets. They named two of them George and Jeb—after the Bush brothers—and another Buddy. George went to an adoptive home, but the Kottkamps have kept Jeb and Buddy, both yellow Labrador retrievers." "Florida attorney general race could be contest of dog lovers".

Entrepreneurs in action

"Retailers call for rollback of hike in unemployment tax".

Crist allies say he will begin taking a more aggressive approach to his Republican primary opponent, former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, who has seized the momentum in their race during the past few months.

Traditionally, said GOP political consultant Corey Tilley, public campaigning in Florida begins after the election year's legislative session ends, which would mean May 2010. The public pays little attention before then, Tilley said.

"Deciding when to launch your strategy is what campaigns are all about," he said. "Sometimes it takes discipline to wait until the timing is right." ...

But the Rubio buzz among party insiders and political junkies "is becoming problematic," said another Tallahassee GOP strategist, Geoffrey Becker.

"It's distracting," Becker said. "He's got to get control over it."

Crist recently moved [Eric Eikenberg] to the campaign from his position as governor's office chief of staff, with indications the move was made sooner than planned. He also added a media spokeswoman to what had been a skeleton campaign staff.

Crist has a long way to go to restore the air of charmed invincibility he once had.

2.3 million Floridians on food stamps

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Floridians pained by the recession don't need another report on the state's troubled economy to tell them how tough things are."

Eleven percent of them already know it because they can't find work.

Hundreds of thousands know it because they can't keep up with the rent or mortgage on their homes.

And 2.3 million Floridians know it because they're pulling food stamps from their pocket books.

that lumps the Sunshine State with economic disasters like California and Michigan — when it warns Floridians their fortunes will worsen before they improve because of their systemically vulnerable state and local economies — residents should expect those setting policy to tell them how they'd strive to improve Florida's prospects.

Certainly, it's the very least they should expect of those now running for key elective positions around the state — for U.S. senator, for example, and for governor, Cabinet offices, legislative and mayoral offices.

But little's being said. That quickly needs to change.

Open mouth ...

"Rooney criticizes federal government, which claims jobs were created in non-existent congressional districts".

Expect "an eye-roll from the feds"

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "Give us the money. You can keep the rules."

That's the message two powerful state senators are considering delivering to Washington about Florida's vast and still-growing Medicaid program. It's hard to imagine any response but an eye-roll from the feds, who have watched Florida's fumbling attempts at Medicaid reform for the past five years.

The idea is being floated by Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville and chairman of the Health Regulation Committee, and Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Titusville.

As for the state's experiment in privatizing Medicaid, only zealots can characterize it as a success. ...

If the state can't police its current small-scale experiment, which only affects 10 percent of Medicaid recipients, there's little reason to believe that it would adequately oversee a program covering 2.2 million low-income Floridians, let alone those who would othewise be covered under a Medicaid expansion. If the Gaetz/Haridopolis request makes it out of the Legislature, it should be greeted by a rapid "no" from federal authorities.

Skyrocketing UC taxes

"Unemployment compensation taxes paid by Florida businesses will skyrocket next year due to the state's high jobless rate - 11 percent in September." "Fla. unemployment tax to skyrocket".

Enough with going to the barricades

Andres Oppenheimer doesn't believe in going to the barricades.

"Not enough"

"Not enough money. Not enough progress."

Florida is violating the state constitution by not pouring enough money into schools and relentlessly focusing on high-stakes testing policies that aren't getting good results, says a lawsuit expected to be filed Wednesday in Leon County Circuit Court in Tallahassee.

Prepared by a team of lawyers that includes a former Democratic House speaker and a Republican Party patriarch, the suit takes aim at virtually every aspect of the sweeping education overhaul engineered by former Gov. Jeb Bush and kept largely intact by his successor, Gov. Charlie Crist.

Low graduation rates, stagnant test scores, a persistent effort by lawmakers to shift education costs to school districts - all of it shows Florida is not living up to a constitutional mandate to provide high quality schools, the suit says.

In 1998, 71 percent of Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment that says educating children is a ``paramount duty'' of the state - and that the state shall make ``adequate provision'' for a school system that is ``uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high quality.''

The suit says the state isn't living up to those promises and is "misusing'' the FCAT to retain some students and keep others from graduating: "Overemphasis on high stakes testing for multiple purposes has not improved overall performance generally.''

The suit offers a barrage of statistics as proof: No. 29 in average teacher salaries. No. 39 in per pupil spending. No. 2 in the percentage of teachers who report being threatened by students.

The suit also points to FCAT scores. "Statewide, there is an alarming number of students who are not reading at grade level: 63% of Tenth Graders, 53% of Ninth Graders, and 46% of Eighth Graders,'' it says.

the state Board of Education, Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith, Senate President Jeff Atwater and House Speaker Larry Cretul.

Board Chairman T. Willard Fair did not return a call for comment*. Smith, Atwater and Cretul all declined comment because they had not yet seen the suit.

Bush declined comment, too. But Kristy Campbell, a spokeswoman for one of his education foundations, foreshadowed the statistical duel that lies ahead.

Raw political courage

"Crist: Ban texting while driving".

Travel time

"At a time when state employees face travel restrictions to save money, Florida's top juvenile justice official racked up $44,000 on travel -- much of it for commercial flights between his office in the capital and St. Petersburg, where his family lives."

Frank Peterman, secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice, has flown at taxpayer expense 68 times between Tampa and Tallahassee since taking office in February 2008, at a cost of almost $20,000. Many flights left Tallahassee on Thursday or Friday and brought him back to Tallahassee on Tuesday.

Peterman defended his travel as a legitimate and necessary way to get away from the bureaucratic atmosphere of Tallahassee and close to his staff members and young clients, who are concentrated in seven urban counties, including Pinellas.

"New taxes could scuttle the deal"

"Crist hopes lawmakers are close to agreeing on a special session for rail projects, but concerns over new taxes could scuttle the deal." "Bullet train might get special legislative session". See also "Crist hopeful special session on rail is near". Related: "SunRail hits new snag -- how to pay for TriRail".

No-bid $60 million contract

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Florida's state-run insurer absolutely should be rooting out fraud and incompetence that is inflating hurricane-mitigation discounts for homeowners. But Citizens Property Insurance Corp.'s board of directors should not award a no-bid $60 million contract to a private vendor who has not tackled a project of this size." "A bad deal from Citizens".

Openly gay mayor

"Keechl is Broward's first openly gay mayor".

Daily Rothstein

"Rothstein asks to voluntarily give up law license".

Hometown Democracy

Scott Maxwell on Hometown Democracy: "Pols fear power of the people".

Honestly, do you know how Charlie Crist would vote on a federal takeover of health care, on a cap-and-trade energy tax, on massive new spending bills, or on another stimulus boondoggle? ...

If you're not sure about what Governor Crist really believes, it's okay – Governor Crist doesn't seem to know, either. Don't believe me? See for yourself. As of this writing (the second week of November), the "Issues" page of Crist's official campaign website consists of the following message: "ISSUES PAGE COMING SOON!"

It is no wonder that Floridians have been turning to Crist's opponent in the Senate Republican primary race, Marco Rubio. Rubio is the former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and before that served in local government in West Miami. He has a strong legislative record of fighting for tax relief and reform, limited government, and market-driven solutions in Florida's energy and education industries.

Rubio knows what he believes and why he believes it. He trusts in the founding principles of our nation – individual liberty and limited government – and in the wisdom and ingenuity of the American people to spend their own money and solve problems. He distrusts big government power grabs – the thousand-page, trillion-dollar bills that takeover entire sectors of our economy without being read by a single congressman or senator.

Put simply, Marco Rubio believes the federal government is too big, so he will fight to make it smaller. He believes Congress takes too much of your money and spends it foolishly, so he will bring real change and reform to Washington. He believes politicians make for terrible businessmen, doctors, automobile engineers, and bankers, so they should not take over Wall Street, health care, car companies, and banks. He believes that free people make better decisions about their own money and their own lives than politicians ever could.

There's no way to know if Charlie Crist believes that, or anything else.

Marco moves South

"[T]he contest is drawing national attention as the highest-profile example of the moderate vs. conservative battle within the GOP. Rubio said he believes that is true, but also believes there is a deeper analysis to be made." "Senate candidate Marco Rubio delivers a right swing during Naples stop".

"A handful of gimme and a mouthful of much obliged"

"Sens. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, and Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, told the News Service of Florida they will advance plans to seek a federal waiver that would allow Florida to retain the $18.2 billion in state and federal funding needed to finance the program next year, but without the strings typically attached by Washington." "Two Senators Seek Medicaid Change".

Plagiarism?

"The Rubio campaign said the similarities weren't a case of plagiarism, but rather an homage to an effective ad that captured a defining moment in the 2008 presidential election." "Rubio ad in Fla. Senate race mimics Obama ad".

For background, see yesterday's "A mere coincidence?", courtesy of The Carmon Report.

Yee haw!

"Hundreds greet Huckabee in The Villages".

Sink and McCollum "have dramatically cut back their use of state aircraft"

"The two leading candidates for Florida's governor have grounded their high-flying ways on state-owned airplanes. Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum have dramatically cut back their use of state aircraft since a Herald/Times analysis in June revealed that they had racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in flights, including questionable use of planes by family members and use of the planes to commute to work from their homes in other parts of the state." "State planes used less in '09". See also "Crist puts brakes on travel costs". Related: "Strict business travel guidelines issued for state workers".

CFO

Catherine Dolinski: "Next year could be a watershed for Florida Democrats, who have an opportunity to regain parity or even take the lead on the state Cabinet. So far, they have credible candidates running for every Cabinet post — except one: chief financial officer." "Democrats scouting for CFO hopeful".

Pollution standards

"EPA to set water pollution standards for Florida". See also "U.S. to be czar for water pollution".

Stoopid

"Federal health care reform isn't yet a reality. But Florida is one of 11 states whose lawmakers have filed measures that would pre-emptively block or circumvent parts the federal plan, should it become law. The moves appeal to those who think health care is not in crisis and the uninsured and ill aren't their (or government's) problem."

But opting out of reform, especially for a state like Florida, where one in five Floridians is without insurance, doesn't solve problems. It compounds them and invites more. The state isn't in a position to rebuff a plan that would swell the ranks of its uninsured. Florida's attempt at doing so, through a state-backed plan called Cover Florida, is a failure. Coverage is minimal, premiums expensive, and potential customers uninterested. The state's finances, in deficit for the past two years, should make the case for more federal help (as would be forthcoming with a federal health plan), not less. And why would lawmakers deny constituents a chance at lower health-insurance premiums overall?

Yet senators and house members ... are proposing a constitutional amendment that would "prohibit laws or rules from compelling any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system."

They don't address the option directly. But McCollum makes a point that should interest actuarians and people who pay health premiums: At a minimum, federal health-care reform would ban insurers from dropping the sick or preventing those with pre-existing conditions from buying insurance. States would not be allowed to get around those portions of reform, should they become law. Absent a public option, which could cover anyone who applies, some private insurers would not survive if they had to carry the riskiest customers.

It's a twist on conservatives' standard fear of the public option -- that it would drive private insurers out of business, because they wouldn't be able to compete with the government. Gov. Charlie Crist, a candidate for U.S. Senate, maintains that a public option would lead to a government "take-over" of health care. He should know better.

See you in Havana

Sen. Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Rep. Howard L. Berman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, write this morning that "U.S. law lets American citizens travel to any country on earth, friend or foe -- with one exception: Cuba. It's time for us to scrap this anachronistic ban, imposed during one of the chilliest periods of the Cold War." "Lift the ban -- let Americans visit Cuba".

Sansom

"There was nothing secret about funding for a Panhandle state college, former House Speaker Ray Sansom argued to an investigative panel." "Sansom: Budget no secret".

Follow the money

"The board of state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. approved what is likely the largest no-bid contract in its history last month, awarding a $60 million deal to a software company in Jacksonville." "$60 million no-bid contract awarded by Citizens insurance creates storm cloud of discontent".

"Sink raised the bar"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Alex Sink raised the bar in the race for Florida governor Sunday by calling for the state to end an outright ban that prevents gays and lesbians from adopting. Sink made the challenge in a speech to the state's largest gay rights group. Her approach could end the state-sponsored bigotry that denies vulnerable children safe, stable homes."

Florida is the only state with a blanket ban barring adoption by gays — though the state, hypocritically, will allow them to serve as foster parents. The adoption ban is an embarrassment in the 21st century and a pound-foolish policy in a state where nearly 20,000 kids languish in foster care awaiting permanent homes. ...

[Sink's stand] says less about her than the sheep in Tallahassee over the past three decades who have not shown the courage or decency to remove the second-class status that homosexuals have in Florida by virtue only of their sexual orientation.

CD 16

George Bennett: "Democrat Chris Craft, running as a 'moderate and independent voice' in Republican-leaning congressional District 16, broke with many moderates in his party last week when he said he would have voted for the Democratic health care overhaul bill that recently passed in a 220-to-215 House squeaker." "Democrat Craft breaks with moderates, Slosberg eyes state House, local Dems warned of Palin-Limbaugh-Beck troika".

See 'Ya

"Crist's communications director formalized her resignation late Monday, warmly thanking the governor for about three years of interesting work but giving no indication what she plans to do next." "Crist's communications director makes resignation official".

"Being mean to the little guy"

"It pays to be nice. Just ask Mayor Roger Wishner, who helped kill a multimillion-dollar city partnership with Merrill Lynch because parent company Bank of America has been accused of being mean to the little guy." "Sunrise to Bank of America: Clean up your act".

Oregon versus Florida

Mike Thomas: "Oregon and Florida have polar-opposite tax structures."

Florida has no income tax. It relies largely on a regressive sales tax that takes a bigger bite out of low-income residents.

Oregon has no sales tax. It relies on corporate taxes, and a progressive income tax that takes a bigger bite out of high-wage earners. It is a mecca of wealth redistribution.

The problem is that when corporations and rich people take big hits, tax collections fall off a cliff. A very progressive income tax is much more volatile than a soak-the-poor sales tax.

Oregon's state revenues have plunged 19 percent, compared with 11.5 percent in Florida.

Oregon responded by cutting the state's budget, but also by raising taxes by 22 percent on the wealthy. It also raised taxes on businesses and taxes on gasoline — and borrowed $176 million for a stimulus package.

Compare this response to Florida, where legislators have savagely slashed the budget and raised taxes on low-income residents through $2 billion in higher cigarette taxes and fees.

Florida's version of a stimulus package is eliminating regulations that would prevent developers from building more empty houses for our declining population.

But the budgetary bloodletting, mandated by a strict balanced-budget requirement in the constitution, means we already have gone through a lot of the suffering other states have been trying to avoid with borrowing.

"According to Florida's budget office," reports Pew, "haggling [sic] through those hard choices this year has put the state on firmer long-term fiscal footing."

However, that footing will give way quickly if people don't stop moving to Idaho.

Florida's recovery is based on enough people moving here to fill 300,000 empty houses so we can begin building more houses.

Oregon's recovery is based on people buying stuff again.

Tobacco

"Up in smoke: Tax snuffing cigarette sales in Florida".

Miami

"Voters in Miami will soon be heading to the polls to elect a city commissioner to fill the seat vacated by their new mayor." "Election held for Miami mayor's former post".

Daily Rothstein

"Attorneys in the firm now believe 'the client' was actually Rothstein." "Rothstein sought countries without extradition treaties for 'client'".

Tri-Rail

The Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "Tri-Rail seems closer to gaining a reliable source of funding as state lawmakers realize that Florida's hope for high-speed rail hinges on the success of its only existing commuter line. So, as chances that a special session next month improves, and with it the opportunity to usher in the start of a new passenger rail system in Florida, there's still one very important person who isn't yet on board — Gov. Charlie Crist." "High-speed rail hopes still hinge on Tri-Rail".

Masilotti

"Corruption County: Masilotti wants out of slammer early".

Sink, Gelber SBA reform proposals

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Currently the agency is overseen by the Florida Board of Trustees, made up of the state's governor, chief financial officer and attorney general."

CFO Alex Sink has proposed a series of reforms. They include adding a financial expert to the trustees, conducting more independent audits and increasing the involvement of local governments and pension holders.

Ms. Sink was calling for reform before she launched her campaign for governor and became the Democrats' front-runner. Yet her ideas haven't quite caught fire with the other two trustees, Gov. Charlie Crist and Attorney General Bill McCollum. Mr. McCollum happens to be the leading Republican candidate for governor.

Meanwhile, a Democratic candidate for attorney general, state Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach, has called for replacing the attorney general on the Board of Trustees with the fourth member of the Florida Cabinet, the commissioner of agriculture. Mr. Gelber's reasoning makes sense; the attorney general shouldn't be part of an agency he might have to investigate.

The cranes are coming

"The flock of endangered birds is headed for St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in north Florida." "Whooping cranes make annual journey to Fla.".

told the state's largest gay rights group Sunday that homosexuals should be allowed to adopt if it's in the children's "best interest.''

Florida is the only state with an outright ban on adoption by lesbians and gay men. Sink said it should be up to a judge to determine whether it's in a child's best interest to be adopted, on a case-by-case basis. ...

The issue offers a contrast between Sink and the Republican front-runner for governor, Attorney General Bill McCollum, whose office is defending the state's ban on gay adoption. A state appeals court is weighing the case of a North Miami gay man seeking to adopt his two foster children.

Sink's speech at the Equality Florida fundraiser comes as she tries to chart a politically moderate path to the governor's mansion in 2010. She denied the crowd an obvious opportunity to applaud by using legal jargon about the ``best interest of the child'' instead of calling for an outright repeal of the state law.

Defined contribution scam just won't go away

Bill Cotterell: "Under Fasano's 91-page bill (SB 660), all new employees would have to join the defined contribution plan after Jan. 1, 2011. All current Florida Retirement System members, whether they work for the state or one of the hundreds of school boards and local governmental units whose pension funds are invested by the State Board of Administration, would still be guaranteed their regular pension benefits." "Fasano says goodbye pensions, hello savings".

Tiny steps ...

"Florida's constant search for more money could mean a tougher approach to businesses that fail to file annual reports on time."

By law, the 1.2 million corporations in Florida must file an annual report with the state, which can charge a $400 fine on every company that skips the May 1 filing deadline. The state, however, must waive the fine for most businesses if the company says it never got a reminder notice to submit a report.

Last year, 136,400 businesses requested a waiver. ...

Browning suggests lowering the fine to $200, but making it mandatory. That could result in an additional $30 million a year flowing into the state treasury, which would be a small boost at a time when the state is facing another shortfall of more than $2 billion.

The state also charges $600 to reinstate a corporation after it has been dissolved, for various reasons. But the same waiver provision applies to reinstatement, and 45,000 companies last year sought a waiver. Browning wants to reduce the reinstatement fee to $300 and make it mandatory, which he estimates could generate an additional $14 million a year in revenue, for a total of $44 million.

Surface water pollution standards

"A judge is considering objections to an agreement by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to set surface water pollution standards for Florida." "Judge hears objections to Fla. pollution agreement".

Yaawwnnn ...

"Taking a cue from President Barack Obama's successful campaign, and from their children and grandchildren, elected officials and candidates are increasingly harnessing the popular social networking tools to drive home campaign platforms and reach voters." "Campaigns tap Twitter, Facebook".

"A bad joke that ... shows no signs of ebbing"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "In July, we added this side-splitting entry to Florida's Big Book of Water Conservation Jokes: the South Florida Water Management District's plan to impose thrice-weekly lawn irrigation restrictions."

Whoa. Talk about tough. And the fear that hard-as-nails restriction must have struck in the hearts of the millions of residents in the district who water their lawns just once or twice a week.

It ranked right up there with this supreme laugher from the St. Johns River Water Management District. Perched on its soapbox, the District tells everyone that they need to conserve. Then it delivers this punch line: "Everyone" doesn't mean the California-based Niagara Bottling company. It gets to take nearly 500,000 gallons a day from the aquifer.

Why does it get to? Because Niagara asked; because the District said it could. Funny.

Seminole County asked, too, and got to pump 5 million gallons a day from the St. Johns River. Ha. To add to the laughter, Seminole County then sued the nearest straight man, the St. Johns Riverkeeper advocacy group, which had labored to block the water withdrawal. "Pay our $1.4 million in legal expenses,' said the county. Funny.

Only the continuing mockery of the importance of conserving Florida's dwindling water supply is a bad joke that needs to end, though it shows no signs of ebbing.

RPOFer pusillanimity

"Few targets in the country are more appealing to Republicans than freshman U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson of Orlando. Not only does he represent a district that could easily swing to the GOP, but the flamboyant freshman Democrat has spent much of his first year attacking Republicans on health care."

Yet with less than a year before Election Day, GOP leaders still find themselves without an experienced contender even as Grayson is parlaying his heated partisan rhetoric into national media time -- and money. An appeal on his campaign Web site has raised nearly $530,000 in the past month, according to the Web site.

A Walmart thing

"Arrest at Walmart leads to charges of racism".

Even the Trib ...

Even The Tampa Tribune editorial board believes "Juvenile lifers deserve second look".

Cuba cash

"Supporters of the U.S. embargo against Cuba have contributed almost $11 million to members of Congress since 2004 in a largely successful effort to block efforts to weaken sanctions against the island, a new report shows."

In several cases, according to the report by the nonpartisan group Public Campaign, members of Congress who had supported easing sanctions against Cuba changed their positions -- and then got donations from the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee and its donors.

All told, the political action committee that champions the embargo and its contributors have given $10.77 million nationwide to almost 400 candidates and members of Congress, the report says.

The contributions include more than $850,000 to 53 House Democrats who earlier this month sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposing any change to U.S.-Cuba policy. The average signer, the report says, received $16,344.

The top five recipients of the cash: Miami's three Cuban-American Republican members of Congress; 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain; and New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, a Democrat, whose parents fled Cuba before his birth.

Crist said Friday he had "full confidence" in Greer, who he said "is doing a great job leading our party with more diversity and reach-out to young people, to minorities."

But a swath of the party wants it the Jeb Bush way. They view Rubio as the ideological purist and standard-bearer for the small-government, Christian conservative and Hispanic voters who kept Bush in office despite Democratic-trending demographics.

And a lot of the tussling over Twittergate, limo rides and European vacations is an extension of that fight.

Palm Beach County GOP Chairman Sid Dinerstein, one of the leaders who signed the letter, said Greer "got put in an untenable position" when Crist opted to run for the Senate instead of re-election. Greer has since had to walk a paper-thin line between his personal support for the governor and his party duty to elect Republicans.

"He needs to disassociate himself from the Crist campaign."

Greer agreed to meet with the group in Orlando this week. He also set up a private conference call last Thursday in which he acted apologetic, blamed a handful of party miscreants and vowed to work his hardest to unite the GOP.

It won't quiet the growing chorus trying to oust Greer, who refused to return media phone calls afterward and asked those on the conference call to do the same.

One who signed the letter, GOP audit committee Chairman Gerald Braley, is a Greer supporter from Orlando and said the financial complaints against him are unwarranted.

"I know the books. I've been over them. There's no shenanigans going on," said Braley, who said he didn't know his name was going to be put on the letter and wouldn't speak about what was said on the call.

"I think there's a lot of things going on out there that are really distracting [to] what the job of the Republican Party is, and that's to elect Republicans."

Steele, who last week called on Greer to resign, sees things differently.

"It's going to implode, and if the governor doesn't see that, I'm sorry."

CPAC embraces Marco

"The Club for Growth finally made it official this month and endorsed Marco Rubio for the Senate over Gov. Charlie Crist. The National Review made him a cover boy, and everyone from George Will to Laura Ingraham has touted him as more conservative than Crist."

But now Rubio is officially the new darling of conservatives across the country. He has been invited to be keynote speaker of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington in February, a widely watched annual event. ...

Crist hasn't been asked to speak, though he did get some attention at last year's convention that came just a couple weeks after the governor embraced President Barack Obama and his stimulus package during a Florida rally. People booed the mention of Crist's name, and in a 10-person straw poll of potential presidential candidates, he came in dead last.

"Charlie needs his brain back"

Mike Thomas: "Charlie Crist sent more than George LeMieux to Washington back in August. He sent his brain. And now it turns out he doesn't have a spare."

Charlie has turned the orchestra that his "maestro'' left him into a third-grade marching band.

And now he is panicking. Did you see that interview with Wolf Blitzer when Charlie's mouth took off like a skittish horse and he incredulously denied supporting the stimulus.

It was Sarah Palin and Katie Couric all over again.

Charlie needs his brain back.

But George is living the high life in Washington, polishing his own apple for a change. ...

There is talk he will run against Bill Nelson in 2012.

His hand-picked chairman of the state Republican Party, Jim Greer, is a disaster, and George isn't here to fire him.

His campaign has been one misstep after another.

Charlie should have just owned up to supporting the stimulus: Teachers were in soup lines. Everybody else was grabbing the money. I lost my head. Won't happen again.

He broke the cardinal rule of lying in politics: Don't deny doing something everyone saw you do on national television.

His radio ads decrying Obama's spending only draw attention to his support for Obama's spending.

Telling reporters he didn't know Obama was in Florida was simply bizarre, particularly given that his staff had a memo from the White House saying: Tell Charlie that Obama is in Florida.

As unemployment passes 11 percent in Florida, Charlie flies off to ever more fundraisers to rake in ever-more millions.

The media that once adored him now routinely pummels him.

"Conservative jihad"

Tom Jackson: State Senator Mike

Fasano defended his (and, by extension, Crist's) governing philosophy as being rooted in seeking solutions. As we move deeper into the 2010 campaign season, he told them, "You're going to be hearing a lot of great rhetoric," but that they should seek candidates who "don't just talk a good talk."

Though it arrived in a veil, no one in the room missed this reference to Marco Rubio, the former state House speaker and Crist's chief rival for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate. Fasano's difficulty with voters such as these is that they regard Rubio's free markets/anti-regulation positions as solutions in themselves.

"Trends demand radical budget changes"

"It's no news to Florida lawmakers that they're in a budget hole -- a hole about $2.65 billion deep, by the most-recent figures. And they know they are running out of gimmicks to balance the books."

But do they understand that after three straight years of budget cuts, they've gone beyond cutting fat, to cutting the muscle and bone that give structure to state government? Do they have the courage to make the tough decisions to keep the state's finances on solid footing and wean the state off revenue that depends on constant growth?

The answers to those questions hold deep significance for all Floridians. ...

In a report released last week, the Pew Center on the States included Florida among 10 states being driven to the "brink of insolvency," with real trouble looming in 2012, when federal stimulus money dries up. A weak housing market, soaring Medicaid costs and higher-than-average unemployment rate dim Florida's budget outlook. Grim times should embolden policymakers to make changes that will put Florida's budget on a more stable footing for generations to come.

Spoils system going strong

"A move to 'downsize' local-government boards and councils — something that's happening right now mostly in the state of New York — hasn't taken hold in Florida." "Trend of 'political downsizing' hasn't hit Florida".

The Loop

"Black Bear Byway, 'The Loop' get federal designation".

"Research contradicts the 'God gap' theory"

"A new University of Florida study finds the religious left is emerging as an alternative to the Christian right."

The research found that Christians who value being active members of a religious community tended to vote for Democratic candidates in 2006 and 2008. The research contradicts the "God gap" theory that white religious Christians are conservative and likely to vote Republican, Wald said.

[UF political science professor Ken Wald] said the religious left is becoming more influential with the election of Barack Obama and his experience in community organizing and expansion of a White House office on faith-based initiatives. At the same time, Wald said, young evangelicals are placing more emphasis on traditionally liberal issues such as addressing climate change.

"I think you're seeing the religious right erode a bit, and at the same time the religious left gets more aggressive," Wald said.

Daily Rothstein

"The FBI and IRS are urging investors to call or e-mail with information and verification of business dealings with Rothstein. Agents will then pore over the information and respond first to the biggest victims -- a process that could take weeks, Gillies said." "FBI seeking help from alleged Rothstein victims".

A microcosm of flawed, short-sighted policies

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Get a politician talking and it's clear how Florida created the real estate bubble that blew up in its face. As St. Petersburg Times staff writers Michael Van Sickler, Marlene Sokol and John Martin reported last Sunday, revenue-hungry local governments bear considerable fault for the collapse in the housing market. Elected officials promoted urban sprawl as the pathway to success and often were rewarded with campaign contributions from the home builders who were cashing in on the binge. What happened in Hillsborough is a microcosm of the impact of such flawed, short-sighted policies throughout the state. The solution is certainly not more of the same unbridled development that helped trigger the recession, yet state and local governments have not learned their lesson." "Lesson still not learned".

"Citizens' shotgun hire has raised eyebrows around the state"

"The board of state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. approved what is likely the largest no-bid contract in its history last month, awarding $60 million to a software company in Jacksonville."

The contract gives Inspection Depot Inc. responsibility for coordinating re-inspections of as many as 400,000 of the one million homes insured by Citizens, the state's largest property insurer.

The goal: To ensure that homeowners qualify for the more than $700 million in wind mitigation credits they receive annually. And to reduce those credits if a second inspection deems them unwarranted.

But Citizens' shotgun hire has raised eyebrows around the state, especially from competitors who challenge the insurer's claim that Inspection Depot has a unique ability to pull off the job.

Interviews with Citizens' officials reveal that the staff did only a cursory check of Inspection Depot's capability. And they were unaware of the owner's spotty track record doing wind mitigation inspections for a previous state program.

The Party of "no"

"Two well-known Hillsborough conservative activists have begun campaigning to defeat a one-penny sales tax for transportation, putting themselves at loggerheads with Republican county commissioners who support the measure."

Sam Rashid, a Brandon-area businessman and top GOP fundraiser, and David Caton, head of the Florida Family Association, are spearheading opposition to the tax.

'Sters

"FDA backs off oyster regulation".

Lie down with dogs

"For nearly four years, communications director Erin Isaac was a valued player on Charlie Crist's team. Now, with her sudden resignation, she looks like a sacrificial lamb — or is it a scapegoat? — for Crist's current image problems." "A scapegoat for Crist?".

'Ya think?

Jane Healy: "Will Nelson, LeMieux impact health care?".

"The Magic City will need more than a bag of tricks"

The Miami Herald editorial board: "With one Miami commissioner suspended by Gov. Charlie Crist and another who has resigned to Mayor Tomás Regalado effective Monday, the Magic City will need more than a bag of tricks to right itself. Unfortunately, Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones seems to want to play her own tricks." "Another Miami corruption mess". Myriam Marquez: "Shake-up at City Hall like the bad old days of 'all-drama My-a-muh'"