BP went "cheaper, quicker"

"Oil company BP used a cheaper, quicker but potentially less dependable method to complete the drilling of the Deepwater Horizon well, according to several experts and documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel." "Documents show BP chose a less-expensive, less-reliable method for completing well in Gulf oil spill". See also "Oil-containing boom makers feel boom", "Florida Keys take advantage of time to craft oil response", "EPA chief to return to Gulf Coast to monitor spill", "Loop current's shift seen as just a reprieve for Florida" and "Bob Graham vows to give BP, big oil a fair hearing".




"Like opium dens of old"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Florida's latest tourist trend is nothing to boast about."

Like opium dens of old, pain management clinics lure locals and travelers from across state lines seeking an altered state. Pinellas and Hillsborough counties have banned any more pain management clinics from opening, and state regulations expected to take effect later this year should also curb clinics' business. But a dark shadow will remain over the Sunshine State until it's clear that new regulations are slowing the flow of illegal prescription drugs.

"Stopping the wrong kind of Florida tourism". The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Make last pain-clinic push: In a special session, close one more loophole".




Giving RPOFers what they want

"New Rick Scott TV spot blasts McCollum on immigration, pledges to bring Arizona law to Florida".




Teacher endorsement

"Florida's biggest teacher union backs Meek — and Crist" and "Florida teachers union supports Crist, Meek".

The full AFL-CIO endorsement will be announced later today. The question is whether they, like the FEA, will split it, or give it outright to loyal soldier Meek.




"Florida's topsy-turvy U.S. Senate race"

"30% Crist, 27% Rubio, 15% Meek and 23% undecided".

"Charlie Crist's declaration of independence is paying off — so far. The governor narrowly leads Florida's topsy-turvy U.S. Senate race, despite nearly half of the voters saying he made a 'purely political' decision to bolt the GOP and run as an independent candidate in the Nov. 2 general election". "Crist narrowly leads U.S. Senate race, new Times/Herald /Bay News 9 poll finds".




LOST in Florida

Howard Troxler gives us the Florida version of "LOST":

- For the role of Jack, Marco Rubio. ... He's been transformed into a man of faith, a believer in destiny, with himself as the chosen one.

- That probably means Charlie Crist has to be Locke, the early, sort-of-hapless Locke.

- Alex Sink, sorry to say, does not get to be Kate or Juliet. She might be Sun, destined (in one time line, at least) to share a common doom with her husband.

- Bill McCollum is Frogurt.

- The Legislature is the Smoke Monster — inchoate, bellowing, terrifying.

- The state of Florida, of course, is the Island itself.

The rest of the story here: "LOST (the Florida politics edition)".




Entrepreneurs in action

"Analysts expect lenders to file a tidal wave of lawsuits against homeowners who foreclose or short sale in the next few years, which could prolong the pain of the housing crisis." "Troubled homeowners may face lender lawsuits to recoup mortgage debt".




Bigger ballot

"Added Proposals Means November 2 Ballot Just Got Bigger".




Yee haw!

"Up to 30 shots blazed between two groups of men in a late-night 2008 street skirmish, killing a 15-year-old boy. Last week a Tallahassee judge decided Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law forced him to dismiss charges against two of the combatants."

Michael Jackson died on Holton Street two years ago, his fate wrapped up in the vagaries of an exchange of bullets among young men in an ongoing dispute. Jeffrey Brown and Andrae Tyler were found immune from prosecution after a Leon County mini-trial, their legal fates decided by the state Legislature more than five years before.

State Attorney Willie Meggs said the Legislature should repeal "that stinking law." The judge who made the decision wrote that the law created an environment "very much like the Wild West." Gun-rights advocates say the law, working as intended, protects innocent people from prosecution.

"'Wild West' in Fla. streets?".




Political Strategists

Tampa's "Mark Nash and Mitch Kates are hoping to have the same success with Linda Saul-Sena they had with Kevin Beckner." "Strategists thrive on political challenges".




Hiaasen has fun with teabaggery

"Every red-blooded patriot should aspire to a life that's more or less free of government, which apparently can't do anything right."

- Let's begin with health care. President Obama should immediately abandon healthcare reform and turn the whole confusing mess back over to the insurance companies, with no federal rules or supervision.

- Now let's talk about this so-called ``financial reform'' that the President keeps pushing. Big Guv'ment has no business meddling with our venerable Wall Street banks and brokerage houses, even though they brought the country to the brink of a catastrophic depression. Heck, everybody makes mistakes.

- The same hands-off philosophy should guide our national energy strategy -- where does Big Guv'ment get off telling the oil and gas companies where it's safe to drill?

- Then how about that pesky Food and Drug Administration, huh? Say your child comes down with the flu. Is it really necessary for government to hassle the pharmaceutical companies over which cough syrups are safe and which are dangerous?

- We might as well add the Coast Guard, which rescued hundreds of people during Katrina and is now scrambling to contain the BP oil spill.

- As for the rest of Big Guv'ment, get your shiftless boot off our hard-working necks and let us be -- at least until we're old enough for Social Security.

"Get Guv'ment off our backs ... but not yet".




"Wrongfully convicted and imprisoned"

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "Florida's judicial system and its taxpayers will both have something to applaud if Supreme Court Chief Justice Peggy Quince orders creation of the much-needed Florida Innocence Commission, and if Gov. Charlie Crist signs off on a small appropriation to get it running. Both need to do their part right away."

In recent years, at least 11 innocent Florida citizens have been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned; nationwide, some 248 inmates were exonerated by DNA evidence.

"Innocence now".




Thank you, Mr. Obama

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Everglades National Park has a welcome friend in the White House, as the Obama administration continues to jump-start long-stalled projects to clean up and restore historic water levels in the River of Grass." "A Glades friend".




Time to gut firefighter contracts

"Each year Miami-Dade County government spends $1.5 million on car allowances for more than 400 employees. But top county leaders have reserved special treatment that includes a car allowance equaling $800 a month, unlimited gas at the county pump, free insurance and maintenance." "Budget crisis or not, Miami-Dade leaders are keeping luxury cars".