But for the proposed SunRail commuter-rail system in Central Florida, the bill comes down to this: Will lawmakers go along with a legal agreement that is critical to the project?

The agreement would help shield railroad company CSX Transportation from financial liability if one of its freight trains collides with a SunRail commuter train.

Without the agreement, CSX won't sell 61 miles of tracks to the state. And without the state owning the tracks, SunRail won't happen. ...

Bills that called for similar legal protections died in the Senate in 2008 and spring 2009, jeopardizing the SunRail project that would ultimately stretch from DeLand to Osceola County.

But legislative leaders, in a special session that started Thursday, have offered a revised proposal to try to ease concerns about the CSX agreement.

"Still a 'dropout factory'"

"State claims lower dropout rate, but not all are happy".

Florida's jobless rate expected to climb into 2010

"A surprise dip in the national jobless rate in November has some analysts tweaking their forecasts upward, but most expect Florida's jobless rate to keep climbing into 2010." "In Florida workplace, more pain, then gain".

Crist's "political pals"

Scott Maxwell: "It's great that Gov. Charlie Crist got his wish for a grand jury to look into public corruption in this state."

Let's just hope Crist's own associates and appointees won't be excluded from the investigation.

One of them, after all, is Scott Rothstein, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer who was arrested this week, charged with running a $1.2 billion investment scam.

Maybe you don't know about Rothstein or care about the case. But what you should care about is Crist appointed Rothstein to a judicial-nominating committee down in South Florida.

He did so after Rothstein cut checks to his own gubernatorial campaign — and precisely four days before records show Rothstein gave $140,000 to the Republican Party of Florida.

Mixing politics with judicial appointments should sound familiar to Central Floridians.

You may remember that Crist also stocked a judicial-nominating committee in Seminole County with political pals — including the chairman of the Seminole County GOP and the wife of State Rep. Chris Dorworth.

The result? Seminole County residents got saddled with Mike Rudisill, a 33-year-old judge who was actually the least-experienced applicant on the short list and who had absolutely no courtroom experience handling some of the life-altering matters over which he can now preside. (Rudisill did, however, have a lot of political connections — including to several of those involved in his selection.)

'Glades

"Everglades restoration advocates hail beginning of Tamiami Trail bridge".

Political leadership required

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "On Friday, a little good news came from state economists who are predicting a slight increase in the state's general revenue — an estimate that indicates the end of four straight years of declining general revenue from sales tax."

The preliminary numbers, according to The Associated Press, included a potential increase of between $126.5 million and $481.3 million for the current $66.5 billion budget and a possible increase for the budget year beginning next July 1 of between $102.9 million and $452.6 million. ...

Floridians ought not take too much comfort in tiny upticks in revenue. In general, our state tax structure is lopsided and unfair in several ways. Heavy reliance on sales tax places the heaviest percentage burden on the lowest income households; the property tax caps that benefit longtime homeowners are still unfair to newcomers, owners of rental property and small businesses. We allow too many unwarranted sales tax exemptions and we don't successfully collect taxes on purchases that aren't exempted — specifically via online sales.

The result is unhappiness among taxpayers who know that there is an imbalance that hits them in one way or another. At the same time the revenues from various taxes and fees are inadequate to respond to fundamental state obligations and services ranging from education — public schools through universities — to health care to human services for the elderly, poor, disabled, children and juveniles.

These challenges require political leadership willing to tackle meaningful reform of our antiquated tax code, and also participation by citizens.

Hawkins passes

"Florida's ex-Sen. Paula Hawkins shook up 'boys club'". See also "From 'housewife' to Capitol Hill".

Frequent fliers cleared

"3 Florida officials cleared over use of state planes".

Never mind that law stuff

"Two campaign videos Pam Bondi posted on the internet Wednesday just after she filed to run for attorney general are drawing fire from her Republican primary opponents."

The issue: Florida law prohibits a candidate from spending any money or authorizing any campaign expenses before filing, but the videos were produced before Bondi filed.

"They clearly jumped the gun," said Rocky Pennington, political strategist for Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, one of Bondi's opponents in the Republican primary for attorney general. "If you're running for the top legal spot in the state, you shouldn't start off by breaking the law."

But the Bondi campaign said Friday the videos weren't illegal because they were produced using volunteers' time, to be used only if Bondi filed.

"We have abided completely by Florida law," said Brett Doster, political consultant for Bondi's campaign.

Bondi, a prosecutor in the Hillsborough state attorney's office for 18 years, is making her first run for public office. The videos were made by another campaign adviser, media consultant Adam Goodman of Tampa.

Temp employment rising

"Temporary work on the rise locally, around the nation".

Florida Commission on Ethics

"Before sealing its doors and windows to secretly consider three legal complaints made by citizens against high-flying state officials, the Florida Commission on Ethics voted Friday to seek power to start its own investigations — with 10 times the fines at stake and a lowered standard of proof." "Ethics commission seeks power to begin its own investigations".

Daily Rothstein

"Herbert Stettin’s latest Chapter 11 case management study offers intriguing details about what the top five officers and directors at the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm were reportedly paid: Rothstein, chairman and CEO, pulled in $35.7 million in 2008 and $10.5 million up to Oct. 31 of this year. Rosenfeldt, president and 50 percent partner, received more than $6 million in 2008 and $847,599 in the first 10 months of this year." "Records: Rothstein firm top dogs made big bucks". See also "Herald: Scott Rothstein paid himself $35 million last year".

Local politics

"Two suspended Levy County commissioners have been found guilty of federal bribery charges for approving of what they believed was a new development project." "2 former commissioners guilty of bribery charges".

"Foolproof"

The Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "There is a simple, foolproof way for politicians and public officials to eliminate 'confusion' when it comes to accepting gifts."

Officials are required by the state to file a quarterly disclosure report for any gift worth over $100. According to a Sun Sentinel analysis of of disclosure reports for the past five years, few officials even bother to file the form. And punishment for that failure is virtually non-existent, with only eight people statewide penalized for breaking disclosure laws on gifts in the past 18 years.

The solution is simple, even quaint. But it's effective. Just say no.

Florida is seeking about $2.6 billion in federal stimulus money to build a high-speed rail system that would start between Tampa and Orlando and possibly expand later to Miami. Crist and Atwater say lawmakers need to pass a bill to show the federal government that Florida is committed to rail transportation.

The measure is expected to easily pass in the House, which has supported SunRail proposals during the past two years. The House Economic Development & Community Affairs Policy Council voted 12-0 Thursday to approve the bill.

"GOP opponents of spending make exception for $3B in rail funding"

"Crist and other GOP lawmakers who have bashed federal spending are supporting drawing down federal stimulus checks of $2.6 billion for high-speed rail and an additional $300 million for SunRail, Central Florida's commuter-rail project." "SunRail vexes foes of federal stimulus".

As Crist sleeps on the job ...

... "State economists updating Fla. revenue estimate".

LeMieux toes party line

"Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida voted Thursday against a proposal to send a landmark health care reform bill back to committee over provisions that would cut Medicare spending."

He and 57 other senators voted against a proposal from Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona to send the health care reform bill back to the Finance Committee.

Republican Sen. George S. LeMieux of Florida was among 42 senators who voted for McCain's motion.

Stearns takes on Harvard

"Stearns, Grayson duel over health care study".

"Making government act more like business"

"For years, the Republicans in charge in Tallahassee have pledged to save tax dollars by making government act more like business. Now it looks like those leaders may be guilty of the same sense of entitlement that has led to outsized perks for corporate titans — and higher costs for taxpayers."

Florida is one of only seven states that still covers the entire health insurance premium for its elected officials and some state employees. The state shed the perk years ago for most employees when it realized, as most private employers have, that it couldn't keep absorbing double-digit increases. It's time for the Legislature to shed this double standard or risk losing all credibility on health care matters. ...

Only one Republican, Attorney General Bill McCollum — who opts for coverage under a plan for former members of Congress in which he pays part of the premium — was willing to state the obvious: All health plan participants should be contributing to their premiums like the vast majority of private sector employees.

Run government like a business, Republicans promised. That's the least they could do when it comes to health insurance.

Even The Trib gets it

"State Agriculture Secretary Charles Bronson and other opponents of a federal plan to decrease the pollution of Florida's rivers, lakes and bays say the restrictions would generate billions of dollars of costs for businesses and local governments."

They want Florida's congressional delegation to curb the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to limit nutrient pollution.

But the delegation, rather than heeding Bronson's scare tactics, should recognize nutrients are the leading cause of water pollution in Florida. Existing rules are inadequate.

This widespread contamination is a far bigger threat to Florida's economy than water-quality rules. And the feds would not have gotten involved if the state had addressed the situation.

The EPA ordered the state in 1998 to devise nutrient restrictions for its waterways and set a 2004 deadline. The state [read: the RPOF] failed to produce specific standards. When the deadline passed and [Dubya's] EPA did nothing, a number of environmental groups sued the agency, claiming it had failed to enforce the Clean Water Act.

Earlier this year, EPA [finally] agreed it would act to curtail nutrient pollution in Florida waters. Opponents challenged the agreement, but a federal judge last month approved it. This has Bronson and others in a dither.

Daily Rothstein

"New court filings show that some of Scott Rothstein's biggest investors stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in his Ponzi scheme." "Hedge funds sank $775 millions into Rothstein scheme". See also "Rothstein cedes homes, cars, businesses to government".

Never mind that silly constitution thing

"Class sizes in Florida's public schools crept upward this year for the first time since 2002, a reversal fueled by Florida's worsening budget crisis." "Class sizes grow amid state's fiscal woe".

Leeches

"A state Senate hearing into the business practices of blood banking in Florida — including the operation based in Orlando — has been postponed a month because of the special session on rail transit."

FBC's top administrator, Anne Chinoda, was compensated almost $600,000 and three other managers made at least $250,000 in 2007, the most recent year public compensation records were available.

[State Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Destin, chairman of the health-regulation committee] has been supportive of the agency's shake-up, but nonprofit expert Ken Berger of Charity Navigator is skeptical. Berger, who runs a New Jersey-based company that evaluates nonprofits and charities, said FBC should make a clean break with all the companies doing business with the agency that have an employee on the board.

As it stands, Darden Restaurants and the Holland & Knight law firm will retain lucrative contracts with FBC because the vice chairman, Brad Richmond of Darden, and the chairman, attorney Leighton Yates, are stepping down. FBC pays Darden $1.6 million annually for donor gift cards to its restaurants. Yates' firm has been paid more than $1 million by FBC since 2003.

"Are these truly competitive contracts that are in the best interests of the community?" Berger asked.

Berger also doubted the compensation committee would come back with credible recommendations. He maintains Chinoda is overpaid and that comparing her salary and those of FBC managers to those at other blood banks might not be the best method.

Blood banks tend to pay executives more than other comparably sized charities in unrelated fields, according to Internal Revenue Service forms known as 990s.

"This could appear to be an objective process when in fact it's still a scam," Berger said.

"Narrow interests of a few waterfront property owners"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Governments in Florida spend tens of millions of taxpayer dollars a year to restore beaches and protect the coastal property that is so critical to the state's tourism economy."

But a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court could throw sand into the gears of those efforts, if justices put the narrow interests of a few waterfront property owners ahead of the broader interests of the general public in Florida.

This week the high court heard arguments from a lawyer for six Panhandle property owners who contend they deserve compensation for losing their private waterfront access because of a beach restoration project. If they win, the cost of paying off property owners could make the already high price of restoring beaches prohibitively expensive.

'Ya reckon?

"FPL's chief said revelations of cozy relationships with regulators undermined his company's image. " "Boss: FPL's image has suffered".

Crist takes on foreign policy ...

... in cosmopolitan Pensacola ...

Parroting right wing talking points, Charlie "said he didn't like the president saying that he would begin to bring units home in 18 months."

"All that does is tell the Taliban and others over there how long they have to wait," Crist said.

"Keep those snakes out of Florida"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "However many exotic snakes inhabit the Everglades, they're not good for the Everglades. Today, a U.S. Senate panel hears a bill designed to keep those snakes out of Florida." "Keep snakes off the planes".

Missing Floridian

"The United States has called on Iran to help find Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent from Florida who has been missing for 1,000 days." "U.S. pressures Iran for answers on S. Florida man".

The legislation faces stiff opposition from labor unions that argue 95 union rail workers would lose their jobs or take pay cuts. That's because the plan calls for the state to purchase existing rail lines from freight hauler CSX, which now employs those workers. The state would hire contractors to fill the jobs.

The number of workers affected could grow into the thousands as additional commuter systems are developed, said Florida AFL-CIO spokesman Rich Templin.

Atwater said he's met with the unions and that talks will continue on seeking an accord.

Ferré

"Former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferré is turning to donors in his native Puerto Rico to boost his long-shot bid for the U.S. Senate. " "Ex-Miami Mayor Maurice Ferré turns to Puerto Rico for Senate bid funds".

Never mind the treason

Coming to a Florida road near you ...

... never mind the treason and slavery stuff ...

It won a legal battle this week when U.S. District Judge John Antoon II denied the state's effort to toss the lawsuit, which was filed earlier this year.

"We are very excited about it," said John Adams, lieutenant commander of the group's Florida division.

Deutch, Graber debate

"Democratic congressional rivals Ted Deutch and Ben Graber differed on the war in Afghanistan during a debate today while three Republican candidates offered varied evaluations of President Obama's call for 30,000 more troops and a U.S. withdrawal beginning in mid-2011." "Democratic rivals for Wexler seat split on Obama's Afghanistan plan".

Daily Rothstein

"The trustee in the bankruptcy case involving Scott Rothstein's former law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler has compiled a list of the 20 largest creditors owed money. The list is based on bank records and documents from the firm but may not reflect an accurate or complete picture, trustee Herbert Stettin wrote in the filing." "See who is claiming to have lost big in alleged Rothstein scheme". See also "Rothstein trial set for January".

Huh?

"Water managers and environmental regulators have acknowledged the state is in violation of a landmark legal agreement requiring Florida to halt the flow of polluted water into the Everglades. At the same time, however, they're urging a federal judge overseeing the progress not to declare them in violation or, in fact, do anything at all." "Florida water managers admit violations; seek more time to clean Everglades".

"Workers ... need affordable places to live"

The Orlando Sentinel editors: "Florida's sky-high unemployment rate means creating jobs must be a top priority for state leaders."

That argues not only for passing a plan to build and support rail systems during the special legislative session that begins this week. It also calls for lawmakers to renew a commitment to the state's landmark work-force housing program when they reconvene for their regular session next year.

At the urging of the Sadowski Housing Coalition — a remarkably broad-based alliance that includes business groups, local governments, growth-management organizations and advocates for the elderly and homeless — lawmakers created the program in 1991.

They raised the state's documentary-stamp tax on property purchases by a dime to create a trust fund. They dedicated that fund to state and local initiatives that would spur construction or rehabilitation of homes affordable to Floridians of low and moderate income, and provide down-payment, mortgage or rent assistance to help them stay in their homes.

Modestly paid workers like teachers and firefighters need affordable places to live in the communities they serve. So do workers in lower-paying service-sector jobs.

The state program to make this possible benefits those workers and their communities. It also delivers a huge boost to the economy.

McCain's man

"In a New York City hotel room in late 2007, Scott Rothstein arranged to meet the Republican frontrunner for president, John McCain."

"He kind of shocked the room by telling McCain, 'You're going to win the Florida primary, and I will ensure it. We will raise whatever it takes to win,' '' recalled political operative Roger Stone, who had a consulting business with Rothstein and introduced him to the U.S. senator from Arizona.

The following May, Rothstein hosted McCain at his Las Olas Isles home, and he and his wife donated $140,000 to the campaign. Rothstein's law partner Stuart Rosenfeldt and his wife contributed another $210,000, and a third lawyer at the firm, $10,000.

Rothstein cultivated an image as political rainmaker, pouring huge sums into local, state and national campaigns — money that federal authorities now say came from a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme he ran since 2005.

Arrested Tuesday on racketeering and fraud charges, Rothstein used his now dissolved law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, its employees and a web of corporations to conceal the source of the political contributions and get around legal limits on donations, according to federal prosecutors.

Laff riot

Mike Thomas claims he is "not anti-union", but has zero problem spewing the usual, uninformed anti-union talking points:

Organized labor wants no commuter train coming down our track unless there is a union worker at the throttle, a union worker maintaining the track and, if coffee and doughnuts are to be served, a union worker doing that too.

And given that Democratic legislators are beholden to the unions, this is the last remaining threat to approval of our choo-choo next week.

The Florida AFL-CIO supposedly is driving this hardball negotiation, but I think the big rail unions up North are the ones calling the shots here. The state union is merely a front for them.

The rail unions fear the Central Florida deal could set a precedent, jeopardizing union jobs in other states.

It is the South Florida Democrats who are most beholden to the unions. If they kill commuter rail here, they effectively kill it in Tampa and Jacksonville. They also take us out of the running for high-speed rail.

The payback will be that Central Florida Republicans not only will kill a planned expansion of Tri-Rail in South Florida, but also will start eliminating its existing state subsidies. Ironically, Tri-Rail uses union workers, which will mean a lot of lost union jobs.

It will be a high price for Democrats to pay simply to ingratiate themselves to union bosses.

Perhaps a different job?

"Vicki Kirsch, a third-grade teacher at Dixon Intermediate School in Milton, told a federal court Wednesday that an agreement to end officially sanctioned prayer in Santa Rosa County schools is at odds with her religious beliefs." "Teachers want to revamp school prayer decree".

"Funding shortfall"

"Taxable property values for school funding are falling even more than expected, meaning more deficits and the prospect of budget cuts." "Plunging property values will cause school funding shortfall".

Second try

"The Florida Supreme Court approved Gov. Charlie Crist's revised request for a statewide grand jury to investigate public corruption and recommend changes in state law Wednesday, just two days after rejecting his initial petition." "High court OK's Crist request for grand jury".

"Line in the sand"

"Florida's beaches have come under scrutiny before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could determine whether Florida's Supreme Court deprived property owners of their right to beachfront property. " "Beachfront homeowners draw line in the sand".

"I haven't ruled anything in or anything out of our future," says LeMieux, who simply laughed when asked about the possibility of serving with Crist in the Senate. LeMieux earlier this year rejected a run for attorney general in 2010 out of concern for his wife, Meike, and their three sons under the age of seven.

"The reason I didn't do it is because I didn't want to be away from my kids," he said.

But when Crist asked him to serve in the Senate, LeMieux left the chairmanship of the Florida law firm Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart — and a $1.65 million salary — to resettle his family in Washington.

"Below the radar"

Scott Maxwell: "The rail ruckus is making all the headlines right now in Tallahassee. But below the radar, your state reps have been busy filing a slew of bills for the spring session — about everything from gay adoption and term limits to both the designs and the costs of getting new license plates." "Look at what lawmakers are up to now".

"No more Mr. Nice Guy?"

Michael Putney: "No more Mr. Nice Guy? Nah, Charlie Crist is constitutionally incapable of not being a nice guy. But he's capable of getting P.O.'d at Marco Rubio and irritated with the media over what he sees as their kid-glove treatment of his GOP Senate challenger."

Just a couple of months ago the notion that Crist could be beaten in the primary, much less the general election, was laughable. Except for Rubio, a 38-year-old Cuban-American lawyer from Miami whose political career appeared to have peaked as speaker of the Florida House.

Now, thanks to a lot of hard work, a shrewd strategy and a message that resonates with disgruntled conservatives, Rubio is gaining ground. Crist, by his own admission, is going through a "rough patch.'' ...

Crist, as the whole political world knows, wrote ecstatic letters to the president praising the stimulus and gave Obama a big abrazo in Fort Myers last February.

That's one video clip Crist would like to see disappear. Along with all the photos of the governor and disgraced Ft. Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein. Especially the one showing the two of them blowing out the candles on the governor's birthday cake last year. That cost Rothstein a $52,000 contribution to the state GOP. It could cost Crist much more.

I asked Crist last week if he regretted getting so close to the alleged Ponzi artist. "Well, you know hindsight is 20-20,'' Crist told me, "and I wasn't the only one who got sucked in.'' ...

Crist and his campaign team need to reconnect with her and other disgruntled Republicans. To stop spending all their time raising money and get out on the hustings like Rubio. The governor also needs to spend more time governing. And take a firm stand on some tough issues. His current strategy isn't working. The guy once deemed unbeatable is looking a little vulnerable -- to the guy who had no chance at all. Now, he does.

Bad union

The Tampa Tribune editorial board wants to "say no" to the City's law enforcement officers, couching it in their typical anti-union drivel: "Just say no to police union".

"One more shot"

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "Lawmakers get one more shot on passenger rail". See also The Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "Lawmakers falling short in resolving state's rail problems" and "Lawmakers gear up for special session". Background "Rail-transit labor issue big factor for session" ("A special session on rail transit could be tied up over AFL-CIO concerns about union busting.")

Daily Rothstein

"Fort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein doled out large bonuses to his firm's lawyers, purportedly for exemplary work — but they would receive the awards only after they made fat campaign contributions in their names to political candidates of Rothstein's choice."

That allegation, tucked into federal racketeering charges filed Tuesday against Rothstein, says the employees' donations to politicians — including Gov. Charlie Crist — were illegal because they were bundled and funded with money from the lawyer's $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.

"(The) conduct was designed to conceal the true source of the contribution and to illegally circumvent campaign finance laws," according to the charges. ...

Except for Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who is running for governor, a few Democrats and a single $200,000 check Rothstein gave to the Florida Democratic Party in September, most of Rothstein's political contributions went to Republicans. The state's Republican Party has received at least $628,000 from Rothstein and his firm since 2005.

According to the racketeering charges, prosecutors sought to recover campaign donations made by Rothstein himself to Crist ($9,600), Sink ($6,000) and the state GOP ($145,000). All three voluntarily returned the money to the U.S. government, prosecutors said.

To the extent anyone cares ...

"GOP Senate rivals Crist, Rubio on Obama’s Afghanistan plan".

RPOFer ON THE RUN

"The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is apparently conducting an investigation into Alachua County Republican Remzey Samarrai's campaign for the Florida House District 22 seat currently held by House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala." "Lawyer: FDLE investigating House candidate Samarrai".

Yee haw!

"Shaking up an already unpredictable statewide campaign for Florida attorney general, Hillsborough County prosecutor Pam Bondi jumped in the race Tuesday, ... challenging Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and former Florida healthcare secretary Holly Benson for the Republican nomination." "Prosecutor seeks GOP nomination for Florida attorney general".

William March:

Brett Doster, a Tallahassee-based GOP political strategist who's working with Bondi, said he considers the race "wide open."

Bondi may have some top-tier political talent on her campaign.

Doster held high-level positions in both of George Bush's presidential campaigns in Florida and managed Tom Gallagher's 2006 campaign for governor. Media consultant Adam Goodman of Tampa, who designs advertising for Republican candidates nationwide, also has been working with Bondi.

Now, if it had been a Chamber conference ...

"A special legislative session scheduled for this week on Florida rail projects has raised the ire of black lawmakers because it conflicts with their plans for a national conference." "Black lawmakers: Delay session".

Parade of empty suits

"Grayson foe Gutierrez rolls out roster of top fundraisers".

To replace Meek

" U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek's campaign for the Senate has unleashed a torrent of candidates vying for his Miami-Dade congressional seat in 2010. Eleven candidates -- 10 of them Democrats -- are running in the predominantly black district." "Eleven candidates running for Meek's congressional seat".

House and Senate leaders are calling their members back to the Capitol that morning to begin a special session on state support for commuter rail. House Speaker Larry Cretul has scheduled the first meetings of the session in his chamber even though it conflicts with the National Black Caucus of State Legislators' conference. That long-anticipated event, which will take place this year in Fort Lauderdale, lasts tomorrow through Saturday.

Senate President Jeff Atwater has delayed most Senate action until next week, but House leaders maintained that their meetings must start this week to keep the rail session on track -- and without pushing it into the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which starts at sundown on Friday.

House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands blasted the "insensitivity" of the GOP toward the concerns of black House members, all but one of whom are Democrats.

Daily Rothstein

"Rothstein pleads not guilty - for now - to racketeering charges in Fort Lauderdale court". See also "Rothstein arrested on racketeering charge".

Publicity stunt ver. 2.0

"The Florida Supreme Court said Gov. Charlie Crist's request for a grand jury to investigate political corruption fell short of requirements, so the governor refiled the request." "Court rejects grand jury".

Time for a press conference

"Attorney General sues medical equipment firm".

Yee haw!

"Prosecutor Pam Bondi of Tampa jumped into the Republican race for attorney general today, saying she has the legal experience needed to be Florida's top attorney. She could be a serious challenger to Republican rivals Jeff Kottkamp and Holly Benson." "Pam Bondi enters state attorney general race".

"It may be tied up in fancy constitutional arguments ..."

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "It may be tied up in fancy constitutional arguments, but a Florida case before the U.S. Supreme Court today boils down to whether beachfront property owners can keep the public off a sandy strip of paradise." "Florida should win battle over beaches".

"Atwater is on to something"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater is on to something when he argues for shifting the state's transportation network from an obsession with roads to an investment in rail." "Atwater takes over the train". See also "High-speed rail in Fla.? Debate Thursday".

From the "values" crowd

"Libraries in danger of closing".

Why is this man laughing?

Jim Saunders: "For insurance executives such as Security First President Locke Burt, sending millions of dollars to far-flung companies is simply part of doing business in Florida." "Why a company in Bermuda can raise your rates".

Brilliant ... a lobbyist

"The Florida Public Service Commission picked former state senator and Tallahassee lobbyist Curt Kiser to serve as the agency's general counsel Monday, vowing to make a "clean break'' at the embattled agency." "Ex-Dunedin legislator will take job as PSC counsel".

Meek

"While two high-profile Republican candidates battle for headlines in the race for a Florida U.S. Senate seat, Democrat Kendrick Meek has the luxury of building a voter base from the ground up." "Democrat Senate hopeful visits Panhandle".

Goner

"Broward Schools construction chief out".

What goes around ...

"President Barack Obama intends to nominate former Tallahassee City Commissioner Allan Katz to serve as ambassador to Portugal." "Obama taps Katz for Portugal post".

Drooling union haters

The drooling union haters on the The Orlando Sentinel editorial board sing the same old song: "As expected, Florida's legislative leaders this week called on lawmakers to attend a special session in Tallahassee, where they'll vote on substantially expanding the state's commitment to passenger rail."

What's surprising — and nerve-racking for backers of SunRail, Tri-Rail and high-speed rail — is that Senate President Jeff Atwater and House Speaker Larry Cretul called the session even though there don't appear to be enough votes to make the trains run.

Blame the uncertainty on opposition from the state's labor bosses, who would rather see Floridians unemployed than working in non-union jobs. No wonder Americans are disillusioned with organized labor. ...

... the Florida AFL-CIO on Monday branded SunRail as anti-labor.

And because organized labor holds sway over so many Democrats, South Florida Sens. Dave Aronberg and Ted Deutch also are now on the fence right alongside Mr. Lawson, despite signaling earlier that they were leaning toward backing SunRail. Either is considered a contender for the 21st vote needed to pass the rail legislation.

Of SunRail, Mr. Aronberg last month said, "I would like to get it done. I think we can get it done."

It can get done if people like Mr. Aronberg, Mr. Deutch and Mr. Lawson show leadership by staring down the unions if labor continues to take an anti-jobs position in opposing SunRail.

SunRail is projected to create 6,700 construction jobs. It's needed before federal officials will entertain giving Florida as much as $2.5 billion for a high-speed rail line from Orlando to Tampa. That line would create another 23,000 construction jobs. That's about 30,000 construction jobs between the two lines, many of which could be filled in as little as two months. Quite an Rx for the state's 11.2 percent unemployed.

But the union says lawmakers need to promise in writing that the jobs of union members working the lines will be protected — even though they get those protections once the state secures money it's expected to get from the Federal Railroad Administration.

It's galling to think that a few legislators would grovel at the feet of Big Labor instead of standing up for Floridians everywhere.

Taxpayers have been stuck with covering the premiums -- at a cost of about $45 million a year -- even while lawmakers pledged to scrimp as they grappled with three straight years of budget shortfalls.

Florida doesn't limit the subsidies to statewide officeholders like Gov. Charlie Crist and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, or to legislators like Senate President Jeff Atwater and House Speaker Larry Cretul. About 27,479 state employees -- many of them high-level bureaucrats and political appointees -- also get the break. So do their families.

"I think it's appropriate. I think it's part of the compensation package for a public servant,'' Crist said. "It's a policy that has been supported by the Legislature and I'm comfortable with it.''

The governor plans to add his wife of nearly one year, wealthy businesswoman and philanthropist Carole Crist, as well as her two daughters from a previous marriage to his health plan on Jan. 1. The girls attend an all-girls private school in New York and live with their father, who owns a jet-rental company.

"There is not a residency requirement for coverage,'' explained Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey.

Only six other states offer free insurance premiums to some employees and their families, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Even members of Congress pay monthly fees for health benefits.

Crist's Republican rival for the U.S. Senate, former House Speaker Marco Rubio, also opposes the healthcare bills in Congress. He received premium-free insurance during his eight years in the Legislature and never proposed scaling back benefits to save tax dollars.

Rubio declined to comment for this story.

Grubbing for dollars

Scott - you're amazing! ...

... Charlie Crist

You call yourself a "conservative"?

"By a wide margin, Americans consider Rush Limbaugh the nation's most influential conservative voice."blockquote>Those are the results of a poll conducted by "60 Minutes" and Vanity Fair magazine and issued Sunday. The radio host was picked by 26 percent of those who responded, followed by Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck at 11 percent. Actual politicians — former Vice President Dick Cheney and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin — were the choice of 10 percent each."Poll: Limbaugh is most influential conservative".

"Wildly inconsistent"

"Are you a government official or an elected official looking for box seats to a sporting event? No problem. Need a new set of golf clubs? You got it. What about a fancy dinner for you and your spouse? No sweat."

There is a legion of influence peddlers just waiting to help out. And it's mostly legal. Officials are required only to file a quarterly Form 9 disclosure report with the state for any gift worth more than $100. And if they don't, they could be fined by the Florida Commission on Ethics.

Yet an analysis of the last five years of Form 9 data from the few officials who filed suggests that compliance with the law in Broward and Palm Beach counties is wildly inconsistent and enforcement is nearly nonexistent.

Meek

"U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek wants to be seen as more than a politician."

Meek is seeking the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Republican Sen. Mel Martinez. Meek hopes to collect the more than 100,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot.

"Better districts mean better representation"

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board:

You live in Daytona Beach near the mall. Your state senator, John Thrasher, lives in Jacksonville. One of your co-workers lives a few miles away in Holly Hill. Her state senator, Tony Hill, also lives in Jacksonville.

A third co-worker lives in Ormond Beach. So does Evelyn Lynn, his state senator.

Which lawmaker is more likely to take your concerns seriously? ...

The district lines for the state Legislature -- particularly the Senate -- and Florida's Congressional seats make no sense, except to the lawmakers who drew them in 2002. Take the state Senate map. It was drawn to maximize GOP control of the Legislature's upper chamber, giving Republicans an electoral advantage in 26 of the 40 districts.

don't blame Republicans. For decades, Democrats did exactly the same thing, crafting lines that secured the party's dominance of the state Legislature through the early 1990s. In the early days of Florida government, district lines also helped consolidate power in sparsely populated north Florida at the expense of central and southern regions.

Next year's census will kick off another round of redistricting in 2012. This time, things could be different.

For the past two years, a group called Fair Districts Florida has been collecting signatures on a pair of proposed constitutional amendments that would force more regularly shaped, compact districts. The amendments would ban districting plans drawn to favor incumbents or political parties and encourage the creation of districts that are compact and, when possible, follow county and city boundaries.

It's hard to say how the amendments would affect the redistricting process. But it seems almost certain that districts like the ones held by Thrasher and Hill -- which are more than 120 miles long but only a few miles wide in spots -- would be outlawed.

"Citizens is a political creature"

Jim Saunders: "Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is a bane to some people, a necessity to others."

But don't mistake Citizens -- a state program that has more than 1 million customers -- with other insurers.

Citizens is a political creature.

When lawmakers didn't want Citizens to compete with private companies, they required it to charge high rates. When lawmakers wanted to give relief to hurricane-addled homeowners, they suppressed its rates.

But here's something to think about the next time politicians or customers debate whether premiums are too high or too low: Citizens has never charged the proper rates to insure homes.

One result is that Citizens would likely run out of money paying claims after a major hurricane. That would force residents and businesses throughout the state -- including non-Citizens policyholders -- to chip in to cover the shortfall.

Another result is that the patchwork rate history has led to Citizens customers in some parts of Florida subsidizing customers in other areas.

Temporary thing

"Snowbirds a welcome flock to South Florida businesses".

A better neighbor

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Earlier this year, regulators made State Farm pay policyholders more than $100 million in credits and refunds because it failed to honor state rules requiring the company to tell customers about discounts they can get for hardening their homes against storms."

State Farm said it needed to impose a 47-percent rate increase on homeowners, only regulators and an administrative law judge found the request actuarially unsound and insupportable.

Then, because it couldn't get its 47 percent, State Farm said it would pack its bags, shed its remaining homeowner policies (it previously had cut loose thousands of loyal customers it considered too high-risk) and leave Florida.

But now the company's slowing its packing because…it's negotiating with Florida about possibly staying!

Hey, if State Farm wants to stay — something we thought it planned to do all along if it managed to wrest some concessions from the state — let it.

So long as state regulators continue to reject excessive rate hikes. And so long as they keep working to make State Farm a better neighbor.

4 sale

"Condo prices have fallen more in Orlando during the past year than in any other metro area in the state and, most likely, the country, according to state and national Realtor reports." "Prices plummet; Orlando condo market worst in U.S.".

It's not a pretty image, but these are not pretty times for Crist.

A 2010 primary expected to be a cakewalk for the governor is now being cast as a struggle for the soul of the state's Republican Party. Like the District 23 congressional race in New York, it has erupted onto the national scene, as über-conservatives try to nudge the party to the right. ...

The fight reflects the generalized anger of the GOP base and its long-standing, if low-grade, concern that Crist is not a true believer.

Convinced that the country is spiraling into socialism, some Republican voters have little interest in compromise and, instead, are looking for a scrappy, conservative fighter. That has never worn well on Crist, who has made a career of being affable and low-key.

"Florida's water glass is almost empty"

"Decades of rapid population growth left the state's water supplies dirty and critically drained, posing the biggest single threat to the environment and a monumental challenge for the well-being of people living the state." "What now for Florida's water supplies?".

"Sometime next year"

Aaron Deslatte: "Sometime next year, Alex Sink and Bill McCollum plan to get serious about creating jobs."

The crown jewel of Florida's push to create high-tech jobs is the Scripps Florida research institute in Jupiter. It cost the state cost $310 million in 2003 -- and has so far created 321 jobs, according to a state report out this month.

Hopefully, Sink and McCollum have some better ideas for revving the state's economic engines – whenever they get around to sharing them.

"That's not a tax. It's a tip"

The Daytona Beach News Journal editors: "Florida's unemployment compensation system is miserly, broke -- and broken. As unemployment rolls continue to grow, a special session of the Legislature that lawmakers are considering to address commuter rail's future in Central Florida, would present a good occasion to also reform the state's unemployment compensation system."

The maximum $275 weekly benefit check to the unemployed (not including a $25 federal supplement) is the fourth-lowest amount in the country after Alabama ($255), Arizona ($240) and Missouri ($230). Adjusted for inflation, Florida's weekly checks are almost $25 less than what they were in 1981.

Despite the stinginess, the state's unemployment trust fund is broke. Florida is borrowing $300 million a month from the federal government to write checks to its 1 million unemployed (including 35,000 workers in Volusia and Flagler counties). It's not just because of Florida's 11.2 percent unemployment rate. It's because the state's unemployment tax is inadequate and badly structured to build proper reserves and meet increased needs during recessions. Employers pay a maximum tax of 5.4 percent on only the first $7,000 of an employee's wage, or a maximum of $7.27 per week. The maximum rate applies to employers with a history of firings. New employers pay half the rate. And the minimum rate, which applies to employers with steady workforces, is 0.12 percent per employee, or 70 cents per month. That's not a tax. It's a tip.

"Spare me", Gov. Crist

Jac Wilder VerSteeg would "like to see Mr. Rubio win the contest."

It's not because I think that he'd be easier for the Democrat to beat. I'm pretty sure that the Republican has a good shot, whether it's Gov. Crist or Mr. Rubio. It all depends on whether support for the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress erodes further, which could happen if the GOP gubernatorial victories in Virginia and New Jersey are a bellwether. Or voters might be loving the Democrats about next Election Day if the economy has come back strong and they pass a good health care bill.

It's not that I agree with Mr. Rubio more on the issues. I'm not exactly simpatico with Charlie Crist, either. But — this is the meat of the thing — when Charlie says things I agree with, he still tends not to deliver or stand fast. Yeah, he's talked green and hosted a conference, but what has he done exactly on renewable energy? He's the guy who now is OK with drilling for oil off Florida's coast.

These guys are Florida's leading Republican candidates for what its members call the greatest deliberative body in the history of the world. Yet Gov. Crist is afraid to get in there and have a serious deliberation session with Mr. Rubio.

The governor was unforgivably dismissive about it, too. He didn't even mention Mr. Rubio by name. The governor's campaign put out a statement that said Gov. Crist eventually will debate "all of his primary opponents … but he still has an important job to do, as the governor of Florida."

Spare me. If Gov. Crist thinks that being governor is so important, why is he chucking a guaranteed second term in 2010 to run for the Senate, where he will have much less impact on our state?

Seems pretty clear that he's leaving because Florida's problems are beyond Gov. Crist's ability to solve, particularly come 2011, when the federal stimulus money will be running out and all the various and sundry trust funds that could cushion the blow already will have been drained.

Plus — and you can't discount this for a guy like Gov. Crist, who has been in one government job after another for decades — he'd be term-limited after 2014. The Senate, in contrast, lets people stay on long after they should have packed up and gone home.

Class size

The Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "Time to give class-size restrictions a breather". For something different, see yesterday's Mike Thomas column, "Leave class-size limits alone: They work"

Florida's gambling story

Mary Ellen Klas begins her lengthy piece on gambling in Florida this morning with this: "Gambling has not always been legal in Florida but it has always existed here."

A century before the state established the lottery, legalized slot machines, and opened the doors to casinos on Seminole reservations, Henry Flagler was enticing high rollers to the state.

Within months of opening his first hotel, the Ponce de Leon in St. Augustine in 1888, the pioneering plutocrat erected the exclusive and illegal Bacchus Club casino, a gambler's paradise of roulette wheels, craps tables and bookie boards nestled near the beach.

With every hotel, Flagler built both a house of chance and, nearby, a house of prayer. On the state's west coast, Henry Plant was building his own hotels serviced by railroads as well, which also steered wealthy patrons to local gambling houses.

Today, as legislators ponder whether to pursue the biggest expansion of gambling in Florida history by signing off on a agreement with the Seminole Tribe, Flagler's contrasting sides of mammon and morality mirror the debate. For decades, Florida's politics and people have alternately railed against the evils of gambling and then eagerly craved the revenues it can produce.

Pants on fire

"A Herald-Tribune examination found that the promises made by drilling proponents are largely empty" "Faulty promises in bid to drill off Florida?".

Where's Charlie?

Jane Healy: "There's nothing more important in Florida's economy right now than reducing unemployment. Nothing. Yet the urgency to attack this problem is missing." "Where is Crist's 5-point jobs plan?".

Daily Rothstein

"In his heyday, however, Rothstein, 47, amassed multimillion-dollar homes, cars and yachts. Disbursing millions in contributions, he attracted to his home such political luminaries as presidential candidate John McCain, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger." "Attorney Rothstein craved attention, psychologists say".

Race to the right

William March: "In the Republican primary for Florida agriculture commissioner, U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow seems like a natural."

One of the party's fastest rising stars, he reached a leadership position in Congress three years ago at age 31. He comes from a prominent Polk County citrus and cattle ranching family, and he was even state 4-H president in high school.

Political junkies considered him a shoo-in when he announced in February.

But state Sen. Carey Baker of Eustis intends to put up a fight against Putnam in the primary. Claiming the role of the true conservative, he hopes to turn the race into the kind of ideological battle that's becoming common in the Republican Party.

"This will shape up as a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party," Baker told The Tampa Tribune last week.

"I'm the true conservative in this race. Congressman Putnam had an opportunity to stand up for those values, and he failed to do so."

Baker acknowledged his strategy and language in the race echo the conservative challenge by Marco Rubio against Gov. Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate.

"He must undo more of what he did"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "In 1999, as lieutenant governor, Frank Brogan backed a move to break Florida's education system into separate fiefdoms for public schools, community colleges and universities. Mr. Brogan called this response to a 1998 voter-approved constitutional amendment 'streamlining.' Fortunately, that particular streamlining never took place."

Then in 2000, Mr. Brogan supported the move by then-Gov. Jeb Bush and the Legislature to abolish the Board of Regents that ran the university system. The Legislature's desire to control higher education led to another voter-approved amendment in 2002 that created the Board of Governors, which technically oversees public universities as a replacement for the Board of Regents. The true power lies with each university's board of trustees, which that 2000 law created, and the Legislature, which sets rules for tuition.

As the new university system chancellor, Mr. Brogan now wants the Board of Education, which oversees public schools and community and state colleges, and the Board of Governors to create a "seamless" education system. ...

And if Mr. Brogan were chancellor of the former Board of Regents instead of the Board of Governors, he might have even more power to exact the kind of change he wants to see. To do what he wants, he must undo more of what he did.

"Get the details right"

The Saint Petersburg Times editors: "Crist is right to want to move quickly. Federal officials will award the high-speed money within months, and they need a strong sign that Florida will invest in rail. But the terms of the deal shaping this would-be special session are half-baked. It would not limit the financial risks to state taxpayers. It would not provide the two commuter lines the stable revenue stream they need. Nor would it provide a strong signal that Florida is responsible and deserves the federal rail money. SunRail, Tri-Rail and high-speed rail are all important to commuters and the Florida economy. But it is important to get the details right."

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "A special legislative session, looming this week, to affirm support of urban rail systems would go a long ways toward keeping a $2.5 billion in federal grant money from evaporating, and that is not an insignificant reason to meet." "Commuter rails".

Travel time

"Florida's elder affairs chief has racked up nearly $70,000 in travel bills in less than three years, much of it by driving his car between the capital and Orlando, where Douglas Beach owns a home and where his wife lives." "Florida's elder affairs chief racks up $70K in travel bills".