The boys are back in town

"Today In Tallahassee: Lawmakers back in town for more redistricting, other committees".




"The Affordable Care Act is working"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board points out some of the successes of the Affordable Care Act:

As various elements of the law have gone into effect, the benefits are becoming even more obvious. Health insurance security for young adults has markedly increased, and the nightmare scenario of insurance costs rising for seniors in private plans has failed to materialize. The Affordable Care Act is working, and the proof is in the numbers.

It has been a year since the Affordable Care Act allowed parents to keep adult children on their health insurance until age 26. This single change has led to more young adults being covered by health insurance than the law's supporters even envisioned. A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the country had 900,000 fewer uninsured adults ages 19 to 25 in the first quarter of 2011 than it had in the first quarter of 2010. The only valid explanation is the change in law, since the spike comes despite youth unemployment in double digits. ...

Another health care reform bright spot is news that premiums for Medicare Advantage insurance plans will tick down next year by an average of 4 percent, and insurers project enrollments will increase 10 percent. This is in stark contrast to predictions by Republicans and the insurance industry that seniors would leave in droves if health care reform passed.

"Public officials who continue to fight health care reform will soon face a public accustomed to its benefits. Keeping young people on their parents' policies and policing costs is just a small sample. As the leading GOP presidential hopefuls campaign calling for health care reform's repeal, they are racing against the clock. The more the public knows about what health care reform means to them, the less politically viable repeal will be."

Gov. Rick Scott, state Attorney General Pam Bondi and other Florida Republicans who have gone to court to overturn the landmark law are waging a political fight on thin legal theory and putting health care at risk for all Floridians. The Supreme Court should uphold the law and let the reforms continue.

"Health care reforms are working".




Teabaggers don' like them laws 'bout those "contract" things

"A Palm Beach County woman has won a $1,251 breach-of-contract judgment against tea party activist Everett Wilkinson. Susan Smith sued Wilkinson and his South Florida Tea Party, alleging that he failed to fully remunerate her for a three-month fundraising and business-development contract." "Palm Beach Woman Wins Case Against Tea Party Activist Everett Wilkinson".




Wingers want more

Lloyd Dunkelberger: "After a bitter debate this year, state lawmakers mandated that 655,000 state and local government workers [who had not had a raise in years] contribute 3 percent of their annual salaries to the state pension fund."

Now, as Florida heads to its next annual session, which begins in January, there are signs that another pension battle may loom.

"Pension Battle Looms for Legislature".




Blaming public employees

"Pay for shrunken Palm Beach County staff up 83% in past decade".




Dead roofers...

"Newly enforced rules meant to make construction crews working on roofs safer are fueling a competition between those contractors who are following them and passing on the costs to their clients and those who are skirting the rules and scooping up business." "Roofers blast new safety rules as bad for business".




Hasner veers right

"On Friday, Hasner unveiled the backing of one of the most prominent social and religious conservative organizations in the country -- the Family Research Council Action PAC."

The Family Research Council is one of the leading national organizations for social and religious conservatives. The group was founded in 1983 by prominent evangelical leader James Dobson and has been led by prominent conservative activists including former Republican presidential hopeful Gary Bauer and Ken Connor, who was with Florida Right-to-Life and ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1994. The organization supports traditional marriage, the pro-life cause and a greater role for religion in the public square. ...

Earlier in the month, Hasner won the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll in Orlando, beating out three of his rivals for the Republican nomination.

"Conservative FRC Action PAC Backs Adam Hasner to Take on Bill Nelson".




Puffing Bondi

"Casual in jeans, but still put together, Pam Bondi comes to the Nola Café as breezy as she was when she worked for the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office."

Now, nine months into her new job as Florida's attorney general, Bondi doesn't want to go on camera for an interview or be photographed Friday morning because she doesn't have time to get all made up.

Although her schedule was supposed to allow for 30 minutes with a reporter, she winds up staying nearly three times that long, talking about her public and private priorities as she munches on beignets while an aide waits in an SUV. ...

Here is an edited transcript of a part of the conversation ...

"Bondi: 'Focused on doing what's right'".




"Obama might need Nelson's little-appreciated charisma"

"With the economy lagging and his approval ratings sagging, President Obama might need the little-appreciated charisma of Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and the continued unpopularity of Republican Gov. Rick Scott to carry Florida in 2012, said U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar." "Hastings sees help for Obama in Nelson's popularity, state GOP's poor ratings".




Rubio angling to be VP

"Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has a new book out. Florida's Sen. Marco Rubio and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley also are writing books. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell raised eyebrows by speaking in politically important New Hampshire, Rubio and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie by popping up at the Reagan Presidential Library in California." "Angling to be VP: GOPers run — without campaigning".




Sierra Club blues

Nancy Smith prattles on that "every now and then an organization comes along to show that often enough, one person's sacred trust is another's spending disaster. So it was last week with Free Market Florida (FMF), an Orlando-based free market watchdog group that works with a coalition of business and civic leaders. FMF launched a new ad criticizing the Sierra Club and EarthJustice for what it calls 'standing in the way of job-creation, energy independence and a common-sense water policy for Florida.'" "Somebody Tell Sierra Club: Money Doesn't Grow on Trees".