"'Crist is bleeding Democrats to Meek'"

"Rubio is favored by 40 percent of likely voters, up from 38 percent last month; Crist's support has dwindled to 28 percent from 33 percent, according to the Mason-Dixon Research & Associates survey of 625 likely Florida voters. The margin of error: plus/minus four percentage points."

The poll found that Meek is gaining on Crist, with his support rising to 23 percent of likely voters, up from 18 percent. Nine percent are undecided.

"Rubio seems to be in a solid position to win, while Crist is fading,'' Mason-Dixon pollster Brad Coker said. "Crist is bleeding Democrats to Meek and independents to both Meek and Rubio.''

He said Meek could "pull off a major comeback, but it is largely predicated on his ability to convince Crist's new-found Democratic friends that the former Republican's campaign is hopeless and it is time for them to come back to their party.''

"That will be a tough challenge, but it is now the only apparent way for Rubio to lose,'' he said.

"Marco Rubio building on lead in U.S. Senate race, poll shows". Related: "Florida's Crist, once a golden boy, sees luster fade".




The "outsider" thing

"Democrat ex-banker Sink says she's an outsider, too".




Big business whines

"A federal plan to tighten ozone rules would more than quadruple the number of Florida counties in violation of air-quality standards and smother 47,769 jobs statewide, industry reports say." "EPA Ozone Rule Could Kill 47,769 Florida Jobs".




Early voting surge

"With thousands of Floridians voting early and by absentee ballot, political candidates must ramp up ads and perfect their message weeks before Election Day." "Early voting surges in Florida".




"Florida likely to gain two new seats in Congress"

"Florida is likely to gain two new seats in Congress after the once-a-decade reapportionment because of population growth, according to new population estimates released this summer, a study out Sunday finds." "Florida could get two new congressional seats". See also "Report: Florida Stands to Get Two New Congressional Seats".




Stark contrasts for CFO

"The top two candidates for chief financial officer offer voters a stark contrast — Jeff Atwater, the Republican Senate president and banker from North Palm Beach, and Loranne Ausley, a Democratic former House member and a pedigreed lawyer from Tallahassee." "Candidates for CFO provide a contrast".




State worker benefits

Bill Cotterell: "For 25th year, Cotterell translates state worker benefits".




"All-female contest"

"An all-female contest to succeed state Sen. Jeff Atwater could be one of the Democratic Party's few opportunities to convert a Republican seat." "Both Parties Chase SD 25 as GOP Nears 2/3 Majority in Upper Chamber".




RPOFers in action

"The number of Floridians on food stamps has dipped slightly over the past year, but Department of Children and Families workers are still seeing a load of about 57,000 cases per month." "Thousands of Floridians Still on Food Stamps".




That "'taking back' nonsense"

Thomas Tryon urges GOPers and teabaggers to "take back all that 'taking back' nonsense." "They don't own what they are trying to 'take back'".




The Week Ahead

"The Week Ahead for Sept. 27-Oct. 1".




"An unfamiliar spot"

"Positioned between Rick Tyler and Lewis Jerome Armstrong, Charlie Crist sits in an unfamiliar spot on the ballot for the Nov. 2 general election." "Crist in an unfamiliar spot on the Senate ballot".




Sink claims localized campaigning will win out

"Alex Sink said her endorsements and localized campaigning will win out over Republican Rick Scott's personal millions he is plowing into the race for governor of Florida." "Sink Says Her Grass Roots Will Triumph Over Scott's Big Bucks - The Ledger".




"Crist ad goes overboard"

"PolitiFact: Crist ad goes overboard trying to link Rubio to rowing earmark".




Study: Merit pay doesn't work

"[B]oth gubernatorial candidates support paying public school teachers based on their performance in the classroom."

But this area of common ground has come under new fire, with the release of a study showing that performance-based pay for teachers does not translate into improved outcomes for students.

Last week, researchers at Vanderbilt University's National Center on Performance Incentives released the results of a three-year study of a bonus program for 300 middle-school math teachers in Nashville. Half of the participating teachers were eligible to receive bonuses of up to $15,000 based on their students' performances on a statewide standardized test. The other teachers were not eligible, representing a control group.

The results: about one-third of eligible teachers received bonuses, the average being $10,000. But on comparison, the bonus offer for teachers did not raise students' scores.

Authors of the study claim it is the most scientifically rigorous examination of merit pay, to date. Matthew Springer, the center's director, said the study was important given the "currency" that merit pay has gained in politics and policy debates.

"Report hits issue Sink, Scott agree on: merit pay".




Meek touring his own "yellow brick road"

"Meek spent this past weekend touring what he called his own 'yellow brick road,' visiting labor unions, service worker conventions and airports and promising workers he will keep more jobs in Florida and prevent the privatization of Social Security if elected to the U.S. Senate." "Meek woos unions, undecided voters".




West on fire

"West, 49, is challenging two-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, and has turned his national notoriety — and an endorsement from Sarah Palin — into a fundraising juggernaut, collecting more than $4 million." "The colonel aims for a House upset".




Amendment 4

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Amendment 4, the so-called 'Hometown Democracy' amendment to the Florida Constitution on the Nov. 2 ballot, sounds appealing to voters coping with urban sprawl and traffic jams while irresponsible state legislators gut growth management laws." "Amendment 4: No way to control growth".

See also "Amendment puts projects on notice".




"Bravo, Your Honor -- and good luck with that"

"Last week's order by Federal District Judge Alan S. Gold directing EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to show up in his Miami courtroom -- or else -- is one more in a long series of attempts by frustrated South Florida jurists to make the government comply with its responsibility to clean up the Everglades. Bravo, Your Honor -- and good luck with that." "Foot-dragging over the Everglades".