In an interview with the Tribune on that subject Friday, Rubio called Crist "a believer in man-made global warming."

"I don't think there's the scientific evidence to justify it," Rubio said.

Asked whether he accepts the scientific evidence that the global climate is undergoing change, he responded, "The climate is always changing. The climate is never static. The question is whether it's caused by man-made activity and whether it justifies economically destructive government regulation."

Rubio hasn't previously denied global warming outright in published statements on the issue.

Enough to make a RPOFer cry

"Scott Rothstein auction: Next up, the exotic cars and yachts".

"An elephant of an entirely different color"

The Tampa Tribune editors: "Folks who donated to the state Republican Party have reason to wonder how much of their money was used to help defeat Democrats and how much was squandered on personal luxuries for the leadership cabal and favorite friends."

The editors point out that Florida’s Chief Law Enforcement Officer would like to sweep the latest RPOFer scandal under the rug:

Whether to release credit card receipts for everyone who jumped on the gravy train conducted by outgoing party director Jim Greer has divided party leaders. Is a clean sweep worth the probable embarrassment?

Attorney General Bill McCollum appears to think not. The candidate for the Republican nomination for governor says the party's internal financial business is private and should not be shared with a critical press and curious public.

it looks like something might have been going on beyond lax accountability. That's why we believe all party money spent by all elected leaders should be public record.

No one should be ashamed to admit buying a plane ticket at the party's expense to attend a state party function or even charging a cup of coffee to the party while waiting for the flight. That's reasonable.

It would be much harder to explain a weekly massage, regular flowers for your wife or a new TV for your den.

Such expenses suggest payment, probably reportable on your income tax return, for something other than legitimate party business.

Reining in excessive spending by Greer and other party employees is a job for party leaders and one that Gov. Charlie Crist has neglected.

Voters may be appalled by the extravagances, but at least the party spends voluntary donations, not state revenue. Taxpayers needn't lose sleep over the expenses.

But how donations are spent by sitting lawmakers, and why they were given the money, is an elephant of an entirely different color.

Running government like a business

"Florida's state government workforce now includes about 5,500 positions that have been vacant for at least a month – jobs that Floridians pay to keep open even as legislators hit them with billions in fee and tax increases." "Florida taxpayers pay for vacant state government jobs".

From the "values" crowd

"The culprit: State budget cuts rippling through all of Florida government as the 2010 legislative session looms, with revenue shortfalls projected as high as $3 billion." "Child-care center a casualty of budget cuts".

Welcome back, Donna Arduin .

"A hypercautious candidate without a potent message"

Adam C Smith: "Veteran political pros and Democratic party activists across Florida increasingly fret that the woman once viewed as a sure winner for governor is proving to be a hypercautious candidate without a potent message or viable political operation."

Alex Sink is the first Democratic gubernatorial candidate in two decades to raise more money than the leading Republican, and that matters enormously in a state as vast as Florida. But money and a lackluster Republican opponent are about the only things her campaign has going for it at the start of an election year shaping up to be tough for Democrats everywhere.

"There's certainly time to turn it around and get it on the right path," said Democratic consultant Jeff Garcia of Miami, "but the campaign appears to be behind the eight ball and a little bit slow in developing.''

HD 58

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Cruz for state House District 58". The Tampa Tribune editorial board agrees: "For House District 58, Janet Cruz".

For Crist, "three possible political scenarios"

Steve Bousquet asks: "Is it the scary poll numbers? The chorus of critics in the Republican base? The bad-mouthing by columnists and pundits?"

Whatever it is, a subtle but unmistakable shift is evident in the way Gov. Charlie Crist is acting.

Now trailing Marco Rubio in polls for the U.S. Senate Republican primary, the governor seems more focused on his job.

• Crist doesn't know it yet, but the ball game is over. As he sinks in the polls, it's becoming clearer he can't possibly beat Rubio. So he might as well focus on being governor and accept that his political career, for now, is over.

• Rubio is peaking way, way too early. It will eventually dawn on people that he has positioned himself too far to the right to win the November general election.

• The race is still wide open. Republicans may be more likely to "come home" to Crist if he can show them he's serious about moving the state forward.

CD 21 and CD 25 remain "solid Republican"

From The Cook Political Report: "Ever since GOP Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL-21) had been under consideration for a Senate appointment last year, rumors swirled that his brother, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), would run for his seat."

[T]he fact that Lincoln Diaz-Balart's heavily Cuban-American district is slightly safer GOP turf doesn't mean Democrats can make a strong play for Mario Diaz-Balart's district, which stretches from Miami's faster-growing Cuban-American outskirts to more diverse territory around Naples. Both districts voted narrowly for GOP presidential nominee John McCain, and Democrats' blockbuster play for the Diaz-Balarts' seats in 2008 proved a bust. The Diaz-Balarts have picked the best year possible to try this handoff, and look for GOP state Rep. David Rivera to take the inside track for Mario Diaz-Balart's seat. Even if well-connected Democrat Joe Garcia, who took 47 percent against Mario Diaz-Balart in 2008, were to run again, he would have to raise another $2 million to have an outside chance of overcoming the GOP tide in a very expensive media market. For now, both seats remain in the Solid Republican column.

"Florida taxpayers punished by high incarceration rate"

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "Florida's crime rate dropped by 7.9 percent during the first half of 2009 -- and the declines were across the board, with lower rates of felonies and violations of probation."

But you'd never know that by looking at Florida's prison population, which passed the 100,000 mark last year and is projected to hit 115,000 by June 2015. The state's prison system is near capacity, and new facilities will be needed.

The primary reason for swelling prison populations (and costs) is a brace of policies adopted during the past 12 years by lawmakers seeking to look tough on crime. ...

Those statistics carry a high price tag. Gov. Charlie Crist is recommending a $2.5 billion corrections budget -- $20 million more than last year, and $127 million less than the Department of Corrections says it needs to operate the state's prison and probation systems. ...

In 2008, the Legislature ordered the formation of a commission to investigate the state's sentencing guidelines and policies. But lawmakers didn't fund it, and the commission never met.

For too long, lawmakers have relied on tough-on-crime gimmicks and slogans instead of facing the root causes of crime, and especially recidivism.

Impact fee fuss

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Nine counties and three groups representing local governments filed a court challenge this week of a 2009 law that tipped legal leverage toward developers who fight paying impact fees. Good for the plaintiffs."

The law was one of several the Legislature adopted last year under the guise of easing growth management rules to jump-start the economy. Many of the changes -- deservedly -- have ended up in court.

In 2009, lawmakers ignored the escalating foreclosure crisis, slowed construction and glut of vacant housing stock and claimed easing growth restrictions would spur development. A year later our economy is no better, and unemployed construction workers are filing jobless claims by the thousands.

Now cities are saddled with the onerous new growth rules. In the case of impact fees, levied on new growth to pay for increased demands on services like roads and sewer systems, state law has historically put the burden on developers to prove that local governments miscalculated the price of new infrastructure or applied fees unfairly.

The new law shifted the burden of proof to local governments. It also raised the standard of proof and added limitations on how courts can review a challenged fee.

This will increase impact fee challenges and, thus, cities' litigation costs. It's essentially an unfunded mandate.

RPOFers on a rampage

"Backers of two constitutional changes that would make it harder for Florida lawmakers to gerrymander their political boundaries got a long-anticipated tongue-lashing Thursday from a testy legislative panel charged with overseeing next year's redistricting process."

FairDistrictsFlorida.org collected enough signatures to place Amendments 5 and 6 on the November general election ballot. They would require lawmakers to draw legislative and congressional districts to be more compact, mindful of existing city and county boundaries and not favoring or disfavoring political parties and incumbents. Currently, the maps can look like modern art masterpieces.

The group's chair, Miami lawyer Ellen Freidin, told a joint House-Senate panel Thursday that dozens of other states had rules similar to what the amendments would require for the once-a-decade redistricting process, "and they all manage to get their maps drawn."

Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon, R- Winter Park [have] held several hearings keying on whether the amendments would prevent lawmakers from following federal mandates to draw political boundaries that ensure minorities are elected to the Legislature and Congress.

They have also roundly criticized the Fair Districts group for refusing to defend its work.

On Thursday, a succession of GOP lawmakers grilled Freidin on how the amendments would impact the redistricting process, which starts in earnest later this year when new census figures are published.

Rep. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, questioned whether the amendment "enshrined" the federal Voting Rights Act protections for minority access or "enhanced" them. She and Frieden engaged in a technical back-and-forth that ultimately saw Hukill accuse her of making conflicting statements.

"I am not going to be badgered by this," Freidin said.

That drew the ire of several lawmakers who told her to "toughen up" and prepare for a "rocky road."

"The Florida Way"

Mark Lane reminds us that "this is Florida, so we take for granted that there's always some big tract of woodland on the far edge of town being sliced, diced, resurveyed, remapped and replatted for the next big new development that's only one business cycle away from being the area's next prestige address."

But what's striking this time around is the certainty on the part of both local government and builders that there will be another Florida land boom. That this boom will happen sooner than you think, and everybody needs to be on the ground floor.

This is an article of faith. It's The Florida Way.

You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who'd say out loud that the state may be in a long-term leveling off of growth that might outlast the Great Recession.

No surprise. A Florida with just-average growth is not the kind of place most people with long memories have ever experienced.

This makes a regular-growth Florida hard to imagine. But that doesn't mean it can't happen. Migration patterns are changing. The Baby Boom generation is getting older and less mobile. Hard times are making people stay put. And Florida's job market is not something anyone wants to experience on purpose.

Yet the push to build and permit continues. Everybody wants to get their plans approved early in case the Hometown Democracy Amendment is passed this November and it will take a political campaign to amend a growth plan.

Now, these are all fine, next-generation, New Urbanism-influenced, conservation-land set-aside-heavy projects. There's not another Deltona in the bunch. But they all are built on a faith that the next boom is inevitable.

A faith that is either inspiring or alarming, depending on your vision for the future here.

Local election laws

A major Florida Supreme Court election law case: "Local governments have a right to pass their own laws when it comes to conducting elections as long as there is no conflict with state laws, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in connection with a Sarasota County case. The ruling stems from the successful effort by the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, or SAFE, to win voter approval that paper ballots be used in Sarasota County elections. The measure passed in November 2006 in the same election featuring the contested Florida 13th Congressional District election that spurred the state to eventually ban touch-screen voting machines in favor of a voting system that used paper ballots."

The high court noted that the main aim of the ballot question requiring paper ballots is now moot, since Florida law has since banned the use of touch-screen machines except for those who cannot use the paper ballot system because of a handicap.

But the court did take the opportunity to overrule a lower court decision that had found against the Sarasota political action committee.

"It's a huge victory for the citizens of Florida," said Tom Shults, the attorney for SAFE. "It confirmed the ability of the people at the county level to enact law that would ensure the accuracy of elections."

While the Legislature does not have an exclusive right to make election laws, state law does trump local law when there is a conflict, the court noted. And there is a conflict between state law and a provision of the charter amendment regarding recounts and certifications of elections. That part of the Sarasota County law was struck down as unconstitutional.

Oops!

"State Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, who's bucking to become Florida's House Speaker in 2014, had his drivers license suspended in November for failing to have auto insurance, according to state records."

On Thursday, it was reinstated.

Dorworth, 33, a land developer, said Friday that he would never let his auto coverage lapse and the state got it wrong.

"I went down yesterday and showed them I had proof of insurance," he said. "It was wrongly suspended two months ago."

Dorworth said the mix-up may have come when he and his wife, Elizabeth Shale Dorworth, 31, ended their joint auto coverage in September. They now have separate addresses.

Chris Dorworth would not say whether they have separated.

"We seem at best to be treading water or drowning ..."

Stephen Goldstein thinks "something's seriously out-of-whack. In crass terms, we ain't gettin' an adequate return on our investment. Poverty rates, health insurance coverage, educational achievement —none of these and other important indicators are improving at rates that equal all the time, energy, and money invested in them. Year after year, we seem at best to be treading water or drowning in a sea of failed opportunity. Our problems get bigger; our answers, less and less effective at meeting challenges." "Fighting poverty: Florida needs to make better use of resources".

TPS

"A South Florida non-profit group and community volunteers have processed more than 1,000 applications for Haitians seeking Temporary Protected Status since a Jan. 12 earthquake tore apart the Caribbean nation." "More than 1,000 local Haitians file for TPS".

Score one for the entrepreneurs

"In a stunning move, a federal judge on Friday acquitted former Miami drug agent Tom Raffanello of shredding documents to protect now disgraced banker Allen Stanford, saying prosecutors failed to prove their case against the ex-lawman." "Judge acquits both ex-Allen Stanford workers in document shredding case".

"Brian Feldman Marries Anybody"

"It's not hard to get married in Florida. Just ask Brian Feldman and Hannah Miller, two almost-strangers who were wed Friday, two days before Valentine's Day, to make a political point."

Before a crowd of 30-some onlookers, Feldman and Miller took their vows just because they could — and because two people of the same sex cannot.

Feldman saw it as a performance-art piece, Brian Feldman Marries Anybody, devised to protest the fact that, while two strangers can marry in Florida as long as they're of the opposite sex, committed same-sex couples must be turned away.

In fact, visual artists Rachel Gardiner and Nicki Drumb tried to apply for a marriage license Friday just before the Feldman-Miller nuptials at the Orange County Courthouse — and a marriage-license bureau staffer turned them down, just as they had been turned down the year before.

Feldman, a familiar face on the quirky end of Orlando's arts community, chose Miller to marry by spinning an Aquafina water bottle Monday afternoon at the marriage-license bureau, where three young women, all of them more or less strangers, showed up to offer themselves to the project.

No Czar needed

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "State needs no 'Haiti czar'".

Yee haw!

Marco rakes in $860,000 via a money bomb: "The donations were timed to the one-year anniversary Wednesday of Crist appearing at a rally with Democratic President Barack Obama to support the president’s $787 billion stimulus plan." "Rubio’s $860,000 week".

State sanctioned dogfighting

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Mention hunting dogs and you might think of hounds baying in the woods or a retriever diving for a duck. But that image doesn’t fit with the type of dog hunting on the agenda of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. When the agency considers the fate of fox pens, it should ban them. ... These pens are, in essence, dogfighting arenas sanctioned by the state. Operators build a sturdy fence around a tract of land, stock it with foxes, coyotes or both, and turn loose a pack of hunting dogs to chase them down." "Put an end to inhumane hunts".

Diaz-Balart has held the 21st district since 1992 when it was created in redistricting following the 1990 census. Diaz-Balart had few competitive races but in 2008 Democrats targeted him and former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez raised and spent better than $1 million. Diaz-Balart, however, tripled that spending and won easily 58 percent to 42 percent even as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was carrying the district by a far more narrow 51 percent to 49 percent margin.

The seat -- thanks to the Republican lean of most Cuban Americans -- favors the GOP. Although McCain won narrowly, George W. Bush carried the district with 57 and 58 percent in 2004 and 2000, respectively.

Mario Diaz-Balart's seat, in turn, quickly piqued the interest of a number of state legislators and Miami-Dade officials.

To the list of marquee statewide contests on the 2010 ballot, add a spirited congressional race in South Florida. At least five of Florida's seats in Congress are expected to change hands.

"Seats are going to be open and that gives a chance to other public servants to run,'' Mario Diaz-Balart said. "It opens the door for new blood.''

Mario Diaz-Balart -- whose anemic fundraising for his reelection had sparked rumors of his retirement -- called his brother's seat a "natural move,'' noting that he has represented many communities in the district and that he would also represent a slice of Broward County, where he was born.

Now she's shy

"Sarah Palin will make two high-profile, big-ticket appearances in Central Florida during the next month — but she doesn't want any media coverage." "Sarah Palin to speak in Daytona Beach, at Orange County GOP event -- but media glare isn't welcome".

"Toughen ethics standards"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Clean up Tallahassee, too: Toughen ethics standards for politicians statewide".

Outa here

"The poor economy was cited as the main reason why Florida is the only state with fewer undocumented immigrants now than 10 years ago." "Economy pushing many from Florida".

"e-mail is as dated as Florida's open-record laws"

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "In the world of electronic communications -- a world of micro-blogs, Twittering, texting, social-networking sites -- it's no longer an exaggeration to say that e-mail is as dated as Florida's open-record laws as they apply to electronic records."

An elected official will readily accept that anything he writes in an e-mail about public policy is a public record. But some officials will bristle at the suggestion that their texts or Facebook postings should be open to public scrutiny, should those contain matters of public concern.

Daily Rothstein

"Lawsuits aim to recover nearly $18 million paid to Rothstein's partners".

Billy sittin' on his hands

"Two Democratic candidates for attorney general are asking the current GOP officeholder to press for a state investigation into the use of credit cards at the Republican Party of Florida."

Specifically, state Sens. Dave Aronberg, D- Greenacres, and Dan Gelber, D- Miami Beach, want the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate whether the state party got around a 2005 ban on gifts to lawmakers by handing out credit cards to them.

The two legislators, each seeking the Democratic nomination for attorney general, sent a letter Thursday to Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum, claiming the weeklong series of media reports about lavish spending and secret fundraising deals by the party's former leaders "demand a criminal investigation" of the state GOP's spending practices.

McCollum has been in the middle of attempts to deal with the party's internal scandals, as a candidate for governor and the de facto head of the party. He was a driving force in ousting former chairman Jim Greer and executive director Delmar Johnson after finding found out last month about a secret fundraising contract between the two.

But on Thursday, he said any talk of an investigation should await the election of a new party chairman on Feb. 20.

Never mind

"Senate leaders backing off effort to replace consumer advocate".

Clean water

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "The clean water standards the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed for Florida are good for public health and the state’s economy." "Cleaning up Florida waters can't wait".

Sansom

"A Republican U.S. Senate candidate, a Democratic Palm Beach County Commission candidate and the next Florida Senate President could all be forced to testify if a state House investigation into whether its former leader betrayed the public trust goes forward as scheduled." "Fla. House readies for potentially explosive hearing to decide fate of ex-Speaker".

She's back ...

"Donna Arduin, formerly budget director for ex-Gov. Jeb Bush and adviser to then-House Speaker Marco Rubio, will lead the new Senate Budget Office to shape state spending and economic policy." "Conservative budget adviser for Gov. Bush to head Fla. Senate Budget Office".

Time to attack ...

... public employees. The Zell Corporation employees on The Sun-Sentinel editorial board go at it hard this morning: "Can't give state workers generous benefits while axing important programs for Floridians".

FairDistricts

"Florida's two most powerful legislators challenged the head of the FairDistricts Florida campaign Thursday to draw a legal congressional map under the terms the group's proposed constitutional amendment would require if passed." "Redistricting proposals under fire".

"Nothing criminal"

"Susan Bucher did nothing criminal under Florida's vague standards when she was a state legislator, state attorney's office says." "Supervisor's residency claims questionable".

Voucher madness

The Tampa Tribune editorial board is at it again: "Voucher bill will help kids, taxpayers".

Death by government

Paul Flemming: "Advocacy groups are calling for Gov. Charlie Crist to stay Grossman's execution and allow to be heard what they say is further, compelling evidence that Grossman should be punished with life in prison, not death. Grossman has a low IQ. His supporters say he is mentally ill."

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is among those groups. FADP is consistent. With every execution, it raises its objections.

The Florida Catholic Conference and the Roman Catholic Church bishops of the state always, without fail, contact the governor and oppose executions.

Grossman's pending lethal injection is also opposed by The National Council of Young Israel, the Orthodox Union, Agudath Israel of America, the Israel Law Center and Lubavitch International.

"I'm not clear on why this particular execution has brought so many people forward," said Mark Elliott, executive director of FADP. "It's hard to predict which executions are going to provoke an outcry and from whom."

Elliott is not complaining.

Neither am I, not yet.

I've got my own reasons for being against capital punishment, as I'm sure the Jewish groups have theirs for opposing Grossman's execution.

For one thing, I presume, he's Jewish. Representatives for the Jewish groups were set to hold a press conference after my deadline. Calls I made to various contacts for the groups were not immediately returned.

Robert Sechen, a Tallahassee lawyer who served as the party's general counsel and chief financial officer from 2002 to 2004, said he would not have signed off on the contract because it required keeping a secret from the party's own governing panels.

"I would never approve that because of the secrecy clause," he said, when contacted by the Sentinel. "Everything the party does is technically secret. But for a document to say, 'You can't share with the RPOF Finance Committee,' that is violative of the constitution of the RPOF itself."

Sechen said it might also run afoul of a state law governing Florida political parties that makes it a third-degree felony for a chairman or treasurer to knowingly make "a false or improper accounting for" political money.

"The issue is the attempt to deceive here," said Sechen. But, he conceded, "There is no case law on any of this stuff."

On Tuesday, McCollum said he asked another former RPOF lawyer, Richard Coates, for a legal opinion and that his first-blush legal take was that the contract appeared legal, if "outrageous." To break the law, the two men concluded, the contract would have had to result in money being diverted without being disclosed, and the payments to Victory Strategies were disclosed in the party's federal election reports.

Rubio tea-party

"Senate candidate Marco Rubio reveled in support from conservatives looking for a voice Wednesday in a part-fundraiser, part-pep rally that brought full circle one of the most stunning reversals in Florida politics."

"From tea parties to marches, from New Jersey to Virginia, from Massachusetts and soon even here in Florida . . . all across this country people are making it very clear,'' Rubio told more than 300 people at the so-called hug rally sponsored by FreedomPAC, a conservative network group led by former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey. "What they're going to choose in 2010 are leaders who will stand up to this agenda and offer a clear alternative.''

Armey was home sick, and the audience was significantly smaller than the 1,500 people who attended Obama's town hall-style meeting at the same venue last year. Though it was far from a raucous crowd, the mostly white, middle-aged people in the audience showed their enthusiasm, carrying American flags and signs that read "Attention Washington, I am not your ATM'' and "Prescription: Our Gov't Needs A Bi-Partisan Enema.'' ...

Rubio has remained popular among national conservative Republicans who help fund campaigns. He was endorsed this week by U.S. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, the No. 3 Republican in the House, and by Republican anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist.

"Florida Republicans slide into credibility gulch"

Bill Cotterell: "Whatever is in the Florida Republican Party's financial records probably can't be as bad as its refusal to, as one candidate for governor put it, 'come clean.'"

For Florida Republicans, the slide into credibility gulch started last August, when Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer publicly cut his American Express card in half — announcing he had recalled all party-issued charge cards. State Attorney Willie Meggs had subpoenaed records of former House Speaker Ray Sansom, who ran up some $173,000 in tabs during two years as speaker-designate — including some items at Best Buy and Starbucks, along with hotel and airfares that seemed hard to explain as party business.

Greer resisted calls for his ouster, due to the financial quagmire and his decision to take sides in party primaries for governor and the Senate, but finally gave in, effective Feb. 20. It was disclosed this month that Greer signed a secret fund-raising contract that paid nearly $200,000 to Delmar Johnson, the party's former executive director, who drew more than $400,000 in total salary, commissions and expenses.

Then this week, we learned that House speaker-designate Dean Cannon pulled $665,000 out of party coffers at about the time of Greer's resignation and stashed it in a separate political fund. The clear implication was that he didn't want money he'd raised for electing Republicans to be spent on massages, lavish dinners and first-class jet tickets by party officers.

Top foreclosure rate

"Broward has Florida's top foreclosure rate".

Debt settlement vendors

"Three Southwest Florida legislators are aiming to secure the economic climate by empowering a state agency with tighter control over debt settlement vendors and international banks and trusts." "Three Southwest Florida lawmakers seek to rein in financial groups".

Whatever

"Growth expert critical of Amendment 4 on November ballot".

Potential "bombshell"

"It has the potential of a bombshell: Some of the biggest names in Florida politics, including U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio, raising their hands and swearing to tell the truth about what they knew of state Rep. Ray Sansom's dealings with a Panhandle college."

Meantime,

private talks were being held on a settlement in which Sansom could accept some level of responsibility in damaging public trust in the House.

The move would avoid a highly embarrassing trial not just for Sansom, R-Destin, but scores of other officials who would be exposed to intense media coverage.

Lawsuit challenges restrictions on impact fees

"Local governments filed suit to overturn new restrictions on local impact fees Wednesday, saying the Legislature unconstitutionally forced them to prove their fees are accurate." "Local governments file suit over state's new impact-fee law".

Your Chamber dues at work

"Sarah Palin -- who was slated to sign copies of her book "Going Rogue" in Daytona Beach this weekend -- will instead be autographing on Monday morning. There are also more tickets available to hear her speak at a Chamber of Commerce dinner that night." "Palin book signing changed; tickets available for speech".

Related: "Palin Unqualified To Be President, Says Vast Majority Of America".

Trial lawyers hire Schale

"In an effort to regain credibility, the powerful trial lawyer lobby hired one of the state's top Democratic campaign consultants to guide its political strategy. Steve Schale, 35, the Obama campaign's Florida director, will serve as political director for the Florida Justice Association, which is limping into the 2010 legislative session after an embarrassing mea culpa last year." "Trial lawyers hire Obama campaign boss".

Blame the unions

The Miami Herald editorial board does what editors do best - blame the unions:

As it is, only non-union workers -- about 11 percent of the city's employees -- have taken pay cuts since the budget passed last fall. City Manager Pete Hernandez continues to negotiate with the unions for them to take their share of cuts. So far, zilch.

Every day that passes puts Miami in a bigger hole -- projections of a budget shortfall for this year vary from $22 million to $45 million, which would deplete already thin reserves. And another $101 million hole is anticipated for next year.

Fixing this without fundamental changes to the city's pensions and union contracts simply can't be done.

No oil drilling, please

"Beachside communities and environmentalists have planned a statewide protest against offshore oil-drilling for Saturday." "Florida beach towns plan anti-oil drilling protest".

"Spare residents, boards expensive legal battles"

"Many Florida homeowners pay more in homeowners association fees than they do in property taxes to local governments. The associations, set up to preserve community standards and maintain common property, can wield tremendous authority. Like local governments, associations (known as HOAs) have significant power to govern the lives of their members and can levy fines on rulebreakers." "Watching the watchdogs".

A party spokeswoman said Tuesday that Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer approved the money transfers and one of the lawmakers, incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos, called them "common practice.'' ...

But the size of the money transfers and their timing are the latest signs of disorder in the traditionally united Florida GOP.

The turmoil is prompting some state legislators to reconsider a decades-old law that bans them from earmarking pots of party money they raised for their own use. With the party in disarray, so-called "leadership funds'' would allow top legislators to keep tabs on the donations they collect -- and steer them to their political allies.

Legalizing leadership funds "would legitimize the process by which a few members of the Legislature consolidate power and hold their members in line,'' said Ben Wilcox, a board member of Common Cause Florida.

Outlawed more than 20 years ago, leadership funds are now being cast as campaign finance reform. Instead of legislators quietly tracking the money they raise for the party, proponents say, leadership funds would allow legislators to identify the party donations they collected and direct how they are spent. ...

But Atwater and other Republican leaders are only willing to go so far in the name of transparency. Few are taking up the call from some grass-roots activists for the party to release credit card statements that would expose itemized spending by top staffers and legislators.

Sansom's about to get a pass

"Attorneys have begun settlement negotiations in the House inquiry into former Speaker Ray Sansom to avoid a full trial-like hearing late this month." "'Initial discussions' held in possible Sansom settlement of House inquiry".

"Exhibit "A" for the FlaDems

Adam C Smith: "The former executive director of the Florida GOP was known as a charmer, but his generous salary has become an example of state party excesses."

A giant beach ball of a man, Delmar Woodrow Johnson III is boisterous, always gushing with enthusiasm, and treats everybody as a best buddy. It makes perfect sense that such a friendly, outsized personality would be elected president of the student government association at Florida State University.

Or that he would cheerfully don a goofy duck costume to mock Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride in 2002. Or that a few years later Johnson would charm Crist and get hired as one of Crist's first gubernatorial campaign staffers.

It made a lot less sense in January 2009 when state party chairman Jim Greer promoted Johnson, 30, to be executive director of the Florida Republican Party. And it was downright outrageous for party leaders to learn that Greer and Johnson entered into a secret contract that brought Johnson's overall pay from the cash-strapped party to more than $400,000.

Today, fairly or not, Johnson is Exhibit A for how a state Republican Party once widely seen as the strongest in the country could turn into a nearly insolvent mass of dysfunction punctuated by excess spending and misplaced values.

"When he was working in Governor Bush's operation he was a young man with a bright future. I think he's gone astray,'' said Kathleen Shanahan, Bush's former chief of staff who knew Johnson as an enthusiastic junior staffer in his legislative affairs office. "This is where the leadership of the party led a whole group of young people astray with a complete disregard for the value of every donor's hard-earned dollar.''

It hands opponents fodder that has nothing to do with the mission of the GOP; it cedes to its critics the moral high ground.

Cutting up credit cards, as Mr. Greer flamboyantly did last year when the first hints of these excesses were leaked, or even vowing to clean house internally now, will not stop the bleeding or the speculation.

Yes, the credit card bills and party expenses may be "internal matters," but knowledge of their inappropriate use has spread externally to become a major embarrassment and huge contradiction of the conservative fiscal stance.

Fess up. Reform. Move on. Floridians have bigger problems to solve.

High flyer

"Dr. Ana Viamonte Ros, Florida's top health official, has spent nearly $130,000 on taxpayer-funded travel in her first three years on the job and has spent at least a third of her weekends in her hometown of Miami." "Florida surgeon general's travel questioned". See also "Florida's top health official averages $3,600 monthly travel tab".

Malfunction junction

"With opposition mounting to a proposed 1 cent sales tax for transit projects, Hillsborough County commissioners have yet to establish clear guidelines on how the tax money will be administered." "Commissioners to consider transit tax revenue oversight".

Sink's "public scolding of Thomas Cardwell"

"Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink lambasted the state's top financial regulator at the Cabinet meeting Tuesday for not aggressively pursing litigation against Bank of America — her former employer — for its deal with Merrill Lynch."

"I'm not really impressed with the comments you made," Sink said bluntly. "The last commissioner lost his job because he hid behind not having the powers or not having the resources. My main frustration … is the sense of do-nothingness and inaction in the face of all sorts of scams in our state."

The public scolding of Thomas Cardwell, the commissioner of the Office of Financial Regulation, stood in stark contrast to the typical decorum in the Cabinet room, where the state's top four officials meet twice a month. And for another reason: Cardwell was Sink's pick for the job.

And the sponsors are ...

Scott Maxwell writes that "the concept of political sponsorships is an interesting idea. So allow me to suggest a few more advertising deals for the rest of the major players in the two top races."

The candidate: Charlie Crist, Republican for U.S. Senate

His problem: Florida's economy has transformed from robust to apocalyptic under his watch as governor

He should sponsor: ...

The candidate: Marco Rubio, Republican for U.S. Senate

His problem: Although the former state House speaker has the conservative talking points down pat, he doesn't have a track record to back it up.

He should sponsor: ...

The candidate: Alex Sink, Democrat for governor

Her problem: She looks weak — dodging punches from rival Bill McCollum, rather than delivering them. Even some of her supporters have been troubled by her reluctance to answer basic questions about her beliefs.

She should sponsor: ...

The candidate: Bill McCollum, Republican for governor

His problem: He's a two-time loser in statewide elections whose current campaign consists of little more than Republican Party talking points.

He should sponsor: ...

Race to the bottom

"Broward schools brace for possible layoffs, furloughs, fewer electives".

"Atwater...in a sticky spot"

"The bank-backed move to speed up foreclosures has agitated Democrats fighting back in the Legislature."

State Sen. Dave Aronberg and Rep. Darren Soto are proposing a "Foreclosure Bill of Rights" in opposition to a yet-to-be filed measure that would let mortgage lenders get their properties back without giving homeowners their day in court.

And the battle puts Senate President Jeff Atwater, a North Palm Beach banker, and other lawmakers in a sticky spot with more than 500,000 Florida homes now in the foreclosure process.

"Rubio's dilemma" - he's a "darling of the tea-party set"

"Marco Rubio has become a darling of the tea-party set."

With their help he has transformed his insurgent campaign, which once seemed like a fool's errand, into a serious conservative challenge to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

When CNBC's Larry Kudlow referred to him as a "tea-party senator" in a recent interview, Rubio responded, "Let me back you up on that for just a second. When you talk about the tea party, remember, I'm a Republican." ...

So far, Rubio has pulled off a neat political trick by capitalizing on the enthusiasm of the tea partiers while also managing to keep some distance. He has attended eight tea parties throughout Florida, hoping to harness the mixture of antigovernment anger and red-blooded patriotism that prevails at such gatherings. ...

Yet when asked directly about his ties to the tea party, Rubio strives to cast the anti-establishment movement as very mainstream. "The tea party is widely misunderstood by the media," he insists, choosing his words as carefully as any standard politician would. It's "an important part of a bigger movement in America united behind the idea that you don't have to get rid of everything that's right about America to fix what is wrong about our country." (Is there anyone who would not unite behind that idea?)

"Definition of 'disingenuous', Tallahassee dialect edition"

A must read editorial from the Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board today: "Here's the Florida definition of disingenuous, Tallahassee dialect edition: Don Gaetz; Will Weatherford."

Sen. Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, and Rep. Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, introduced the proposed "right size class size" amendment to the Florida Constitution last week. The lawmakers say the amendment won't change what voters approved in 2002 -- an amendment to gradually reduce class sizes at all levels in public schools. If Gaetz and Weatherford are right, there'd be no need for another amendment. But they're flat wrong. They're proposing to stop the implementation of the 2002 amendment in its tracks and scrap its third and, to parents and students, most meaningful requirement: classroom-level limits.

A decade of reckless tax cuts and unregulated private sector speculation in the housing market left Florida's budget facing a $2.8 billion deficit last year. That was offset by $5 billion in federal stimulus funds. This year's deficit is projected to be larger, and stimulus money will fall to $4 billion. The state can't count on stimulus money next year, and lawmakers continue to reflexively reject tax increases to pay for voters' mandates and other government services. Stopping the class-size amendment is not wise policy. It's a cop-out.

Instead of couching their proposals in fears and falsehoods, Gaetz and Weatherford should at least be up front with voters: The new amendment is necessary because the state doesn't have the political guts to pay for the original class-size amendment. Instead, the new amendment's advocates are playing up fears and fabrications

Tea-baggers in a dither

"Florida's embattled ban on adoption by gay people suffered another setback Tuesday, when state child welfare administrators agreed to provide health insurance, college tuition and other benefits to the adopted son of a gay Key West man. For more than a year, the Department of Children & Families had refused to provide the adoption subsidy to the adoptive son of Wayne LaRue Smith, a Key West lawyer whose request to adopt a boy he was raising in foster care was approved by a Monroe County judge in the fall of 2008. On Tuesday, DCF lawyers did an about-face". "Adopted son of gay Key West man gets state subsidy".

Entrepreneurs in action

"The shredding reportedly took place last year as Stanford's financial empire was collapsing in what authorities call a $7 billion Ponzi scheme. Stanford is jailed in Houston awaiting trial." "Closes arguments expected in shredding case".

Big of him

"Republican Party of Florida assistant treasurer says he's not resigning".

Sink takes Billy on

"Things got a bit testy at a Florida Cabinet meeting Tuesday as potential gubernatorial rivals Alex Sink and Bill McCollum sparred over whether the state should sue the Bank of America, where Sink was once a top executive."

Moments before the meeting began, Sink responded sharply to a McCollum campaign statement saying that her call last week to sue her old bosses was a public relations stunt.

"That's a bunch of bull," said Sink, the state's chief financial officer.

Chain gang Charlie

"Crist made a lunchtime appearance to address lawmen at the Florida Sheriffs Association 2010 Mid-Winter Conference." "Crist visits Florida sheriffs’ conference".

Chamber of Commerce

"Palin to autograph books Saturday".

Crist's "juvenile references"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board writes this morning that "to please far-right primary voters, Gov. Crist's campaign statements have begun including juvenile references to the "Democrat Party" that are standard on talk radio."

Daily Rothstein

"15 years after Plantation blast, Joe Alu in spotlight as Rothstein bodyguard".

Expect a "Jeb!" endorsement at any moment

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "If Marco Rubio is willing to make his election a higher priority than his state, he isn't qualified to represent Florida in the Senate."

In his attempt to run far to the right of Gov. Crist in the Republican primary, the former Florida House speaker's campaign wheels have left the pavement when it comes to immigration. Last week, Mr. Rubio abandoned his earlier, sensible attitude by shrieking that the census count for Florida should include only those immigrants here legally. The comment may get Mr. Rubio votes from some anti-illegal immigrant conservatives, but his position is irresponsible.

Dead people

"Fla. justices refuse to halt execution".

"A bidding process infested with political influence and lobbyist money"

Fred Grimm: "A year or so back, a cash-strapped school board saying no to $34 million in federal funds would have been only perplexing. Now, with one board member facing trial and a couple of others under investigation, and with the public trust pummeled by scandal, the Broward School Board's rejection of the Race to the Top funds looks more like pathology than sound fiscal policy. Like Broward's race to the bottom."

But this board's credibility has been shattered by scandal and its stubborn reluctance to clean up a bidding process infested with political influence and lobbyist money.

Stop the madness

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Florida is crying out for such reforms, particularly in early-childhood education where state quality-control for day-care workers is less than stellar. With all we know today about the research-based importance of a child's first three years, the move toward more training of childcare workers in an effort to close the achievement gap between rich and poor kids is all the more urgent. Of course, this makes so much sense that it's now imperiled in the U.S. Senate. The banking lobby and Sallie Mae are crying, Job losses! Government takeover! And senators are buying this red herring?" "Remove middle man from college loans".

To replace Wexler

"Three congressional candidates vying to replace Robert Wexler differed on terrorist trials, tax cuts and immigration reform during a debate west of Boca Raton this morning." "Congressional hopefuls differ on terror trials, taxes, immigration at debate".

Texting-while-driving

"After failing for two years, proponents of a state texting-while-driving ban are optimistic a measure will pass this year." "Florida slow to halt texting drivers". See also "State lawmakers propose fine for texting while driving".

Donors and party activists are livid over newly revealed records that suggest outgoing chairman Jim Greer used the party as a personal slush fund for lavish travel and entertainment.

The records also show that executive director Delmar Johnson padded his $103,000 salary with a secret, $260,000 fundraising contract and another $42,000 for expenses -- at the same time the once mighty Florida GOP was having to lay off employees amid anemic fundraising.

But even the biggest critics of Gov. Charlie Crist's hand-picked chairman were stunned by revelations that he entered into a lucrative secret contract with a stealth company set up by his most loyal aide de camp, 30-year-old Johnson, a former Crist campaign aide. ...

Greer made a show of rescinding the party credit cards of top elected Republican officials and publicly cutting up his American Express card last summer to stem criticism of party spending.

But internal records obtained by the Herald/Times show heavy spending continued -- on Johnson's card: $100 flower arrangement for the wives of Greer and Gov. Crist; thousands of dollars in meals, $15,000 to charter a jet to George LeMieux's swearing in as U.S. senator, and another $1,800 for in-flight catering services.

The spending helped Johnson rack up more than 1 million American Express points. Greer declined to talk about the matter, but said in a message he was proud of his three years of leadership with the state party. ...

Attorney General Bill McCollum, the Republican gubernatorial front-runner, has been deeply involved in the controversy, while trying to keep it quiet.

Public records show the money was transferred into a separate political committee called Florida Liberty Fund created by the Winter Park Republican last November.

The move is yet another example of how Greer's spending, fundraising woes and subsequent ouster have left the party in a financial pickle even as the GOP brand nationally and in Florida is on the upswing.

"Double down on everything that is wrong with Florida"

Mike Thomas: "The newest plan to save Florida involves turning it into Nevada."

Line the state with casinos, rake in the billions and live tax-free ever after. It's enough to make the conservatives in Tallahassee swallow their principles and sit down to deal.

It spares them from making responsible choices about taxes and budgets.

It would double down on everything that is wrong with Florida.

Rep. Alan Hays even wants socialized gambling, with the state owning the casinos. If Charlie Crist loses his U.S. Senate race, I can't think of a better door-greeter.

Hays says we could fund schools — just as we did with the lottery money.

And then in the next recession, we could legalize medical marijuana and Rep. Hays could set up pot clinics next to the casinos. Or do what a leading Nevada lawmaker proposed: slap a $5 tax on all acts of prostitution.

With gambling, Hays says, we could cut taxes. Shrink the tax base even more. Make us even more dependent on tourism. Keep those low-paying jobs flowing in. Make the next budget crisis even worse than this one.

These people are dangerous. There is no light at the end of their tunnel vision.

'Glades

"South Florida's 2,000-mile grid of canals has proven too efficient at draining the landscape. The Everglades is now half its original size. Water is increasingly scarce. Every time it rains, the canals flush billions of gallons into the sea. Now the water that so tormented Florida's early ranchers could become a cash crop for hundreds of Central Florida landowners, if an unlikely alliance of ranchers and environmentalists gets its way" "Farming water: new plan for Everglades restoration would pay ranchers to use land for storing water".

"Hands Across the Sand"

"Black-clad opponents of offshore oil drilling hope to mount the biggest protest in Florida history by joining hands along the coastline Saturday." "Offshore drilling opponents to join hands in protest Saturday".

Pass the tea-bags

The Tampa Tribune editorial board loves their Charlie - heck, according to them, President Obama should be listening to that economic giant, Charlie Crist: "Simply cutting taxes for everyone is the most visible, direct way to encourage more spending and more production."

That's why Gov. Charlie Crist's straightforward proposal to reduce the state corporate income tax is a reasonable, if necessarily small, step in the right direction.

In contrast, several of the job-growth ideas pushed by President Barack Obama are quite complicated and unlikely to help the economy. ...

It would be smarter and simpler to follow Crist's example. Crist is asking the Legislature to cut the state corporate income tax by one percentage point, from 5.5 percent down to 4.5 percent, on the first $1 million of a company's taxable income. It's "a pretty good stimulant," Crist says, with his usual optimism.

Gotta do what you gotta do

"Kendrick Meek hopes to get his name before a new segment of the electorate by paying to have his name splashed on a NASCAR race car Saturday. " "Meek adds name to NASCAR race car".

"Rubio smashes Crist"

"For a while there, it looked as if U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio might win over the right-wing activists in Brevard County but not rank-and-file Republicans. That appears to have changed. ... Rubio beat Crist 321-45 in balloting at the local GOP's annual Lincoln Day Dinner at the Radisson at Port Canaveral, which Watchdog reporter Jeff Schweers attended. It was at least the 18th such poll Rubio has won in recent months among local executive committees, loyal party donors and members of various Republican clubs." "Rubio smashes Crist in straw poll".

Bobbing and weaving

"Crist, who has proposed a $500 million increase in spending on state schools, declined to acknowledge that the increase depends largely on voters in counties, including Hillsborough, approving a property tax increase." "Governor ducks talk of schools tax hike".

Yaaawwwnnn ...

"Rove was in Vero Beach on Monday as part of the Riverside Theatre’s Distinguished Lecturer series, giving his opinion on the Obama presidency, partisanship in Washington and the 2010 mid-term elections." "Rove says he's "still wired" for politics".

Dockery

"Republican gubernatorial candidate Paula Dockery will address the Bay County Republican Roundtable on Tuesday night." "Governor candidate to speak in PC".

Tea-Party flops

George Bennett: "South Florida Tea Party Chairman Everett Wilkinson predicted in December that conservative activists would make a national statement in the April 13 special congressional election to replace “fire-breathing liberal” Democrat Robert Wexler."

But Wilkinson and conservative fellow-travelers are sounding more cautious after the sobering math lesson of last week’s primaries.

Democrats, who begin with a 2-1 voter registration advantage in District 19, outnumbered Republicans more than 3-1 at the polls last week. The Dem primary was a landslide win for Wexler’s handpicked successor, Boca Raton state Sen. Ted Deutch.

In a GOP primary in which all three candidates aggressively courted the tea party/
9-12 vote, only 7.4 percent of Republicans voted. Ed Lynch eked out a 40.7 percent win over low-budget rookies Joe Budd and Curt Price, who criticized Lynch’s business dealings and didn’t endorse him after the primary. ...

"I was disappointed in the Republican voter turnout," Wilkinson said. The squabbling over Lynch’s tax liens and the court judgments against his contracting business weren’t productive, Wilkinson said."If the Republicans are going to win, they’re going to have to focus on issues and what the American people care about.”

Ed Fulop of the Glenn Beck-inspired South Florida 9-12 group was “really surprised with how lousy the turnout was. I was expecting at least twice as many voters as that."

Daily Rothstein

"Russell Adler, a name partner in convicted lawyer Scott Rothstein's former Fort Lauderdale firm, was sued Monday for more than $1.2 million by bankruptcy attorneys who claim the money was the fruit of Rothstein's massive investment scam."

During his tenure with the firm, Adler and his wife Katie also gave about $185,000 to state and federal politicians. Among them: former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for his presidential bid and later John McCain, when he became the Republican nominee for the White House.

FPL

"State utility regulators and Florida Power & Light's parent company said Monday they would investigate anonymous allegations that FPL managers broke the law and committed fraud by forcing employees to provide inaccurate and misleading information to regulators and shareholders." "Claims of misconduct at FPL prompt investigation". See also "PSC, FPL vow to investigate anonymous claims of fraud".

Beer tax?

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "Raising the tax just 14 cents a gallon (which works out to less than 2 cents for a 12-ounce can of beer) would produce an estimated $72.5 million. Unlike other alcohol taxes, which are simply swept into Florida's general fund, any alcohol-tax increase should be devoted solely to addiction prevention and treatment."

Florida lawmakers are averse to raising taxes -- but they should not have a hard time explaining this decision, in terms of money and lives saved.

Florida lawmakers, facing the onerous task of building a 2010-11 state budget with the glimmer of modestly increasing revenue but fast-growing expenses, have largely dismissed Gov. Charlie Crist's proposed spending plan. They've balked at its $69.2 billion size, roughly 4 percent higher than the current year, and lamented his use of creative financing. Yet Crist is right that the state should start investing again in improving education and protecting the environment — even if he is on shaky ground about paying for it.

FCAT follies

"There are only four weeks left before the reading and math portions of the FCAT — the writing test begins Tuesday — and more than 9,500 struggling students in Palm Beach and Broward counties are each receiving up to $1,500 worth of free tutoring."

That adds up to more than $14 million in federal funds that the school districts pay local tutoring firms.

We agree, "Run, Sarah, Run!"

"'America is ready for another revolution!' she told the gathering. ... All she offered was a smile when a moderator asking her questions used the phrase 'President Palin.' That prompted most in the audience to stand up and chant 'Run, Sarah, Run!'" "Sarah Palin tells 'tea party' crowd that 'America is ready for another revolution'".

Have they "taken leave of their senses?"

Bill Cotterell: "State Sen. Mike Bennett and state Rep. Dwayne Taylor have introduced a bill requiring the state's expert policy analysts to do a study of having a full-time Legislature."

This raises several questions, not the least of which is, "Have state Sen. Mike Bennett and state Rep. Dwayne Taylor taken leave of their senses?" Their bill (SB 1732 and HB 863) is subject to amendment in the committee process and might be broadened to include a study of whether there's a constitutional way to stop those two guys from introducing any more bills.

No, seriously, this is an idea that merits serious study. We're the fourth-largest state, soon to be the third-largest, and the issues our lawmakers deal with are too complex and expensive to cram into a 60-day session. That's especially true the way they do it, using the first five or six weeks on routine matters and committee hearings, then ramrodding the budget and all the mega-issues through in the chaotic final few days.

An election year

"Fewer Florida politicians are flying on the taxpayer's dime, as charges for flights on state planes have dropped 63 percent over two years. In 2007, nearly $1.1 million was spent, compared to $407,420 in 2009." "Fewer politicians flying on Florida's dime".

At the trough

"Lobbyists and legislators munched hors d'oeuvres and sipped scotch in a rooftop ballroom with a nice view of the Capitol last week in an annual ritual as important to Florida politics as mass mailings and attack ads. Forbidden to raise money when the Legislature is in session, members are passing the hat now for a hot summer campaign season costing millions. For all the money that will be spent, Republican control of the House or Senate is unlikely to change." "Lawmakers gear up for fundraising".

LeMieux's good question resonates

"The Senate's lead Toyota investigator, West Virginia Democrat Jay Rockefeller, credits himself with lobbying Toyota to build a factory in his state."

Strickland has such close relationships with Rockefeller and other senators that Republican Sen. George LeMieux of Florida asked Strickland at his confirmation hearing two months ago whether he could disagree with Rockefeller, his former boss: "The oversight for you in your role will be from the committee that you once served on," LeMieux told him.

"I will be honest with you, sir," Strickland answered. "I've had disagreements with the chairman personally. But he signs the paycheck, and he wins. But I will have no problem with that all, sir."

Rockefeller sees no reason to step aside from his committee's investigation. Consumer protection is a cornerstone of his work as chairman and that is reflected in the steps he and the committee are taking, including NHTSA briefings and plans to hold hearings and seek recall-related documents, Rockefeller spokeswoman Jamie Smith said.

"Harder to find fat to trim"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "This is the third year of budget cuts for local governments, so it is harder to find fat to trim."

Voters passed Amendment 1, the Legislature capped allowable increases in local property taxes, and the recession triggered a steep decline in property values. Pinellas city and county officials already have eliminated open positions, laid off employees, reduced library and park hours, canceled programs, frozen salaries, raised health insurance premiums, limited travel and cut energy costs. Still, millions more must be cut before Oct. 1.

With the mission of local governments pared down by economic conditions, state spending limits and voter demands for lower taxes, there are going to be fundamental changes to popular programs that once would have been off-limits.

On the cheap

Here's an idea: why doesn't Florida do everything on the cheap, and when the infrastructure collapses every time it gets a bit chilly, beg the federal government (read: other states) to subsidize our failure to do things properly in the first place.

Consider: "The recent cold snap that resulted in more than a week of below-freezing temperatures took a toll on Tampa's aging infrastructure, and its finances. For the past two weeks, city workers and private contractors [likely without health insurance or retirement plans] have been busy repairing more than 1,600 breaks in water distribution pipes throughout the city." "Cold snap wreaked havoc on Tampa's water pipes".

And we're not talking a minor slipping-off-the-tracks, tip-over-the-caboose kind of wreck. We're talking a head-on collision.

The party chair has been ousted, he and his deputy exposed for credit-card spending sprees so extravagant, they'd make the Real Housewives of New York City blush.

The previous House speaker is embroiled in scandal and facing charges.

And here in Central Florida, Republicans are in such disarray, they are going through congressional candidates like Kleenex, trying to find one they like. ... the Sunshine State GOP is suddenly one of the nation's biggest jokes ... only it's the Dems who are laughing hardest.

perhaps the best example of Republicans causing themselves problems can be found in the party's inability to consistently back their own candidates in either of its two most coveted congressional races — when they can find a candidate, anyway.

The GOP routinely calls freshman Democrat Alan Grayson one of the most vulnerable incumbents in America. But just about every time the GOP makes that claim, another potential Republican challenger is caught running away with his tail between his legs.

Last week's tail-tucker was 28-year-old Armando Gutierrez. A few months ago, Republicans described the Central Florida newcomer as the next big thing in local politics. He snagged endorsements from everyone from a former head of the state GOP to one of Jeb Bush's sons. Gutierrez was in it to win it … until something else flashy caught his eye. He dropped out last week, saying he was more interested in baseball.

And he's not alone. About a dozen Republicans — everyone from Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty to House Speaker Larry Cretul — have talked big about taking on Grayson, only to slink off into the shadows when asked to back up their talk with action.

Bad unions

Another liberal "journalist" explains why unions are bad.

"Crist is depending on more money from the feds"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Florida lawmakers, facing the onerous task of building a 2010-11 state budget with the glimmer of modestly increasing revenue but fast-growing expenses, have largely dismissed Gov. Charlie Crist's proposed spending plan. They've balked at its $69.2 billion size, roughly 4 percent higher than the current year, and lamented his use of creative financing. "

Yet Crist is right that the state should start investing again in improving education and protecting the environment — even if he is on shaky ground about paying for it.

Underlying Crist's budget premise is his belief that the state economy is finally turning a corner. Home sales were up in 2009 and Florida is adding residents — 70 per day — after losing them for a period last year. The growth is expected to increase sales taxes and real estate transaction fees, but not nearly enough to cover the higher cost of state government without more revenue. ...

To finance a bigger budget, Crist is depending on more money from the federal government, both in stimulus dollars and money for Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the state's low-income people, the disabled and children. ...

Daily Rothstein

Michael Mayo: " Mom of Rothstein's daughter: 'He left us high and dry'".

It is just a matter of time

"Picture a Vegas-style Bellagio on the beach. Rows of neon-lit slot machines, blackjack dealers and craps dice."

In Florida? It might not be as unlikely as it seems.

For the first time, the Florida Legislature's conservative, anti-gambling façade is showing cracks.

As Gov. Charlie Crist pushes his Seminole gambling deal yet again, legislators are beginning to think bigger — with even anti-gambling conservatives weighing the idea of trying to use Florida's tourist appeal to create lucrative casino complexes.

Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, who strongly opposed the expansion of slots in South Florida, now says that since gambling is everywhere in Florida, she supports a "free market" approach. She is pitching a "Gaming Equalization Act" to lure a half-dozen gambling executives to build beachside hotel-casinos.

One of the Legislature's staunchest conservatives, Rep. Alan Hays, says he wants the state to get into the gambling business directly by owning casinos and hiring private operators, similar to the state Lottery.

Not tuff enuf

The Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "Legislature's plans to toughen ethics laws overdue".

Rockin' the free world

"Did Gov. Charlie Crist determine the leader of Free World in 2008?"

It's really not that crazy a notion given the importance of Crist's surprise endorsement of John McCain on the eve of Florida's presidential primary. And as journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin note in their bestseller Game Change, Crist welshed [sic] on his earlier plan to endorse Rudy Giuliani, who based his entire campaign on winning Florida.

"Without (Crist's) support, Giuliani would not have pursued the strategy he did, and in the end without the governor's support for McCain it's quite possible Mitt Romney would have won ....

Not your daddy's RPOF

"As the event officially kicked off at noon, the protest paused as 'The Star-Spangled Banner' played over the loudspeakers. Attendees then recited the Pledge of Allegiance before breaking out into 'Happy Birthday' for former President Ronald Reagan, the hero to conservatives who would have celebrated his 99th birthday Saturday." "Naples Tea Party draws hundreds with Rubio support, counterprotest from Obamarmy". See also "Gainesville Tea Party rally draws more than 1,000".

FCAT follies

"For the FCAT, a retooled approach to writing instruction".

A Nixon man

Frank Schwerin "took over this past week as chairman of the Collier County Republican Executive Committee, filling the slot vacated by Carla Dean. ... Schwerin’s first real political activity was cheerleading for President Richard Nixon in 1972. Schwerin was in prep school and organized a Nixon re-election pizza party, Schwerin said." "Daily News: Collier’s new GOP leadership sees exciting future for Republican Party".

Jebama

Emptywheel has been

puzzling all week since this happened last Saturday (January 30, from the pool report).

President Bush 41, with former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush rolled up to the White House at 9:35 for a meeting with POTUS. At 10:09, the two emerged to fat, driving snow flakes. Responding to a called question, 41 said only, "Good meeting. Good meeting."

But it does intrigue–nay, concern–me that Jeb! started preaching the gospel of bipartisanship shortly thereafter.

"Florida has more students in its classrooms than other states"

"After spending almost $16 billion to implement Florida's voter-approved plan to reduce class sizes, Gov. Charlie Crist and the Republican Legislature are now talking about reining it in. But a leading Democrat [House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands of Weston] says the idea would leave the state not much else than a big bill to show for the investment."

His broader point -- that Florida has more students in its classrooms than other states -- is largely true, as measured by pupil/teacher ratios.

But Sands said "Florida still averages more students in its classrooms than any other state in the Southeast,'' and there are at least three caveats to his statement ...

"Old Folks at Home"

Mark Lane: "Last Tuesday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, pitching his sad, bankrupt shell of a super-state at the Next American Economy Conference, dissed the competition as boring places known only for one thing each."

"Like one state is known for its potatoes, one state is known for its oil, and another state like Florida is known for the old people," he said.

Florida, obviously, is known for much more than "the old people." Even though our state song is "Old Folks at Home." Even though a surprising number of Florida drivers appear to be centenarians whose heads may not be spotted over the back of their driver's seat. ...

Old people -- or the chronologically enhanced, as we prefer to say -- make up only a small part of this complex equation.

And the Alex Sink for Governor campaign was quick to be the first to register its umbrage.

"It seems that Florida, one of the most beautiful, diverse and business-friendly states in the nation, with no state income tax, has intimidated the 'Governator' -- given that his state may be best known for its high taxes and ballooning deficits," scolded the state CFO.

Note how she worked in that state income tax part without actually addressing the too-many-old people part of Schwarzenegger's putdown.

"South Florida tea-party activists stayed away"

"South Florida tea-party activists stayed away from the national gathering in Nashville, with local leaders preferring to work locally."

Hundreds of attendees convened for the tea party's first national convention in Nashville, Tenn., last week -- without movement leaders from South Florida.

"It's expensive. It's not grass-roots. It's more bureaucracy. And it's for-profit, and I just don't think that's what the tea party is supposed to be about,'' said Danita Kilcullen, co-organizer of the weekly tea-party protest in Fort Lauderdale. "It piqued my interest at first, and then the more I read I had this sinking feeling.''

Money is one issue. The event costs $549 per person plus a $9.95 processing fee and travel and lodging costs. Someone who wanted to attend just the keynote speech Saturday night featuring Sarah Palin, the unsuccessful 2008 vice presidential candidate, paid $349 plus $9.71.

And the convention is a profit-making event for its sponsors.

"11th-hour legal cover"

Aaron Deslatte: "In two weeks, the RPOF executive committee will meet in Orlando to choose either Broward National Committeewoman Sharon Day or state Sen. John Thrasher to finish out Greer's term this year."

Meantime,

The facts are now flooding out in embarrassing detail, with a report in the Orlando Sentinel of credit-card bills showing hundreds of thousands of dollars for chartered planes, fancy dinners and big-time meeting costs. There was also the Sentinel story detailing former RPOF executive director Delmar Johnson's $408,000 in compensation, thanks in part to a secret fundraising contract he signed with Greer.

Greer seems to have tried to give himself some 11th-hour legal cover on the matter.

After Hoffman got a dozen angry major donors to sign an anti-Greer letter in late December, House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon, R- Winter Park, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Indialantic, and McCollum had seen enough.

Cannon and Haridopolos were livid that the RPOF was essentially paying its bills and salaries with "millions of dollars" they had raised to support House and Senate candidates. After convincing Thrasher, a former House speaker and lobbyist, to serve as the placeholder chairman, they pressed Greer to resign.

In a hastily arranged conference call on Jan. 5, Greer announced he would leave and accused his critics of trying to "burn the house down" to drive him out.

But at the same time, Greer had RPOF Treasurer Joel Pate and Vice Treasurer Allen Miller travel to Tallahassee to sign off on a one-page document dated that day attesting that "all expense reimbursements of any kind, American Express account expenditures, consultant fees, fundraising fees, agreements, service fees, traveling and dining expenses were proper and authorized and otherwise ratified by RPOF."

Reached at his home in St. Lucie County, Miller, a financial planner, would say only he had looked through the books "in conjunction with the chairman's resignation." He declined further comment. Pate, a Washington County commissioner, would not comment either.

Booting Floridians onto the sidewalk

Under their plan, owners no longer would have their day in court. Out they would go without so much as a goodbye from a judge.

The Florida Bankers Association hopes legislators and Gov. Charlie Crist will sign off on this in the upcoming session. The day this bill passes is the day I beat Tim Tebow in arm wrestling.

We are in a huge election year. Voters hate bankers.

So this is not going to happen, even if it should.

would argue there is a good case to be made for a law like this.

NASA

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "Obama inherited a dysfunctional economy. He also inherited a dysfunctional NASA aiming to be all things to all explorations only to lose its focus and, possibly, its relevance." "Low-Earth budgets: Recalibrating NASA's mission".

Legitimate question

The family of a man shot dead in January — by Orange County deputies who fired more than 100 times — wants the state attorney to investigate whether his death was justifiable.

Tiffanye Breedlove said Saturday that she wants answers about what happened Jan. 5 when nine Orange County deputies killed her younger brother, Torey, in what the deputies said started out as an attempt to apprehend him in a stolen sport utility vehicle. ...

He was unarmed when he died.

"Voters are angry"

"Voters are angry. And the most audacious among them are deciding they can help fix the country."

The number of first-time candidates running for Congress in Florida is larger than in any election year in recent memory, says Susan MacManus, political science professor at the University of South Florida.

Thirteen challengers are vying for the seat held by Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, including 10 Republicans.

National analysts view Kosmas' seat as one of the two "toss-ups" in Florida. The other is the seat held by Democrat Alan Grayson, who earned fame last year by summing up Republicans' health care plan as "don't get sick. And if you do get sick, die quickly."

Kosmas, 65, snatched a formerly safe Republican seat in 2008 by riding Barack Obama's coattails and hammering at the incumbent's connection to a scandal-ridden lobbyist but angered Democratic supporters in November by voting against the House health care reform bill and drew a primary challenger, former Winter Springs Mayor Paul Partyka.

In the 3rd District, eight-term Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, has five challengers: three Republicans, a no-party candidate and a Florida Whig. ...

Eight-term 7th District Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park usually defeats his Democrat challenger easily in the heavily Republican district that snakes through six counties.

This year he faces newcomer Heather Beaven, a Palm Coast resident and CEO of a state-funded work force development agency for at-risk students. Beaven, 41, says Mica provides "20th century leadership" and vows to help develop 21st-century "green" jobs in the bio-medical and alternative energy fields.

No raids, please

The Tallahassee Democrat editors: "Last spring, before the Legislature convened,"

the state court system cried "help," with Chief Justice Peggy Quince at the time expressing dismay over a 300 percent increase in foreclosure cases in some areas of the state. A huge backlog was being created because "children's cases and criminal cases are a priority." These are matters of public safety, she said, and must be handled swiftly.

It isn't better this year in terms of foreclosures with Florida having the nation's second highest foreclosure rate in November. That's one in every 165 homes in Florida in some stage of foreclosure, translating to some 400,000 foreclosure cases in 2009, a deluge that threw the court system into near dysfunction. ...

Last session lawmakers did show the courts a little mercy, creating a dedicated court funding stream through the State Courts Revenue Trust Fund. It is fed by fines and filing fees and has helped make the courts far more self-sufficient, relying less on general revenue funds than ever before.

Somewhat ironically, perhaps, that is trust healthier than expected precisely because of those foreclosure filings that are piling up in courthouses far and wide. ...

The courts are the best bargain lawmakers have, being funded with less than 0.7 percent of the entire state budget of some $67 billion. The trust fund has helped make the courts even more self-sufficient, less of a drain on general revenue, and all the while winning accolades as one of the best state court systems in the nation in terms of performance and accountability, fairness and openness, according to a report by Florida TaxWatch.

Lawmakers have seen the value of helping the court system, even in dire economic times, pay some of its own way. It would be a mistake to raid these funds and set back the judiciary even more.

Poor Charlie ...

"Crist has not had a good year. Florida's economy stinks, his job approval and poll numbers have dropped. A race many experts thought would have been easy is now in doubt and the politician who has long been considered to have great instincts has sometimes seemed to be lost." "Crist still giving hugs in Senate run".

Rubio's folly

Beth Reinhard: "Yes, there's a long, storied tradition of Florida politicians using the Census and redrawing of voting districts to advance their political careers. If practice, practice, practice is the way to Carnegie Hall, then redistricting, redistricting, redistricting is the way to Capitol Hill."

Look no further than Republicans Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami and Tom Feeney of Oviedo who, as leaders of the Florida Legislature, drew themselves friendly congressional districts after the 2000 census. (Attention please: Non-stop Flight #2371 from Tallahassee to Washington, now boarding.)

But here comes Rubio marching through the terminal, proposing to exclude illegal immigrants from the Census formulas that determine Capitol Hill clout and federal aid. He supports a proposal by Louisiana Sen. David Vitter (yes, that David Vitter of the D.C. Madam client list) to add a citizenship question to U.S. Census forms.

If a question about citizenship status was added to the Census, wouldn't illegal immigrants be even less likely to fill out a form with their name, address and annual income?

Regardless, the debate is largely theoretical. The 2010 Census forms were printed long ago, and the statewide campaign got under way this week.

Crist supporters see the cooked-up controversy as a way for Rubio to continue stroking the staunch conservatives who tend to dominate Republican primaries.

``He'll say anything to get elected,'' said Rep. Juan Zapata, chairman of the Miami-Dade legislative delegation. ``It may play well in a Republican primary, but if he cared about the state of Florida, he would want everyone to count.''

"An alarming thought"

"As the popularity of social networking sites like Twitter.com and Facebook.com increases, public officials are faced with the need to monitor the content. That's the same challenge they faced when the e-mail craze began to sweep the world."

How will officials track and store all the public documents they create? What can be done to educate officials about how the state's Sunshine Law applies to the technology? Did they jump in too soon? Can they afford to be onboard? Can they afford not to be?

"Technology is changing so quickly and we have all of these new means of communicating. But that does not change the fact that if you're blogging about public business, those blogs are subject to public records laws and the Sunshine Law," said Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee.

It's an alarming thought for some local officials who believe their social networking pages are private and hadn't considered that open public records laws might apply to them.