Effects of global warming have already arrived in SoFla

"[T]he effects of global warming have already arrived in South Florida, as coastal cities flood more frequently and overheated corals turn white and die. " "Climate change begins to affect South Florida".




"The most partisan Republican in Tallahassee"

Adam Hasner is boasting "that Marco Rubio once called him 'the most partisan Republican in Tallahassee,' distanc[ing] himself from a state House campaign mailer describing Hasner as a 'moderate' and warned that the Muslim Brotherhood is trying to infiltrate America's legal system." "Hasner isn't quitting".




Occupy Florida

"Occupy Miami has wedding, feuds, nightly flicks and staying power".




"The gap between reason and whimsy is vast"

Carl Hiaasen: "Last week, Genting Americas traveled to Tallahassee to wow lawmakers with its plans for Resorts World Miami. A top executive from the firm made the kind of sky-high promises that might charitably be described as fanciful."

The president, Colin Au, predicted the casino bill would produce $1.7 billion in state revenues, along with 100,000 permanent jobs. A study commissioned by Genting said income from the combined three gambling resorts could be as high as $6 billion annually — more than all the joints on the Vegas strip put together.

Floridians accustomed to preposterous hype will hoot at these numbers. Even Bogdanoff cautioned the gaming company not to go overboard with its pitch.

The gap between reason and whimsy is vast. A recent report by state economists projected that the new casinos might generate $980 million in gaming revenues, which is only about $5.1billion shy of Genting’s sunny forecast.

Anticipating pushback from the theme parks, Au also guaranteed nonstop airline service to Miami from Asia, where the company is based and where much of the gambling business is expected to come from.

He added: “I’m even prepared to guarantee Disney 100,000 tickets that we will sell for them in our resort.”

What Au didn’t say, and will never say, is that Genting’s casinos have the same basic mission as Disney World and Universal: to separate tourists from as much of their money as possible before they go anyplace else.

By the time they get to Orlando, Dad might have a theme-park ticket in his wallet but little else. On the bright side, spending the night in a minivan at the Simba parking lot will be an unforgettable bonding experience for the whole family.

"In casino fight, all bets are off".




Rubio "playing all sides"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Finally, from Florida's junior U.S. senator comes some common sense advice to fellow Republicans about toning down the hostile rhetoric over immigration."

But Marco Rubio's admonishments to the GOP in recent weeks would be even more impressive if it was matched by action. As a politician who has relied heavily on his parents' legal immigration from Cuba in his own narrative, Rubio should feel an obligation to help sort out the country's immigration issues in a fair and reasonable manner.

"Instead, he's playing all sides."

Rubio was once considered a moderate on immigration issues ... But since running for the U.S. Senate in 2010, a campaign that led him to cater to the tea party movement, Rubio has all but retreated. He has backed away from his push for in-state tuition for immigrants' children and formally opposes the DREAM Act. And after initially objecting to Arizona's immigration law, he embraced it after it was modified but hardly corrected. He supports tweaking guest worker programs or trying to woo high-achieving foreign scholars through visa modifications. Those would be steps in the right direction, but it all looks more like political calculation than serious commitment to a solution.

"Marco Rubio needs to commit to solving immigration problem".




"BTU needs to move decisively"

The Miami Herald editorial board: "The BTU needs to move decisively to strengthen itself or let its enemies dominate the public debate." "An F in ethics".




"Dashed hopes are inevitable"

"Sponsors of a bill to bring 'destination resort' casinos to Florida make no revenue promises, but opponents warn that dashed hopes are inevitable." "Casino debate revives concerns over broken promises". Related: "Gambling in Florida may be set to explode".




"A perplexity peculiar to campaigning in Miami"

Fred Grimm: "Don’t worry Herman. When it comes to this Cuban immigration stuff, we’re all befuddled. ... Cain was flustered by a perplexity peculiar to campaigning in Miami. You could almost see the neurotransmitters firing blanks as Cain walked along, a gaggle of reporters in tow, wondering what the hell the aqueous state of someone’s tootsies had to do with foreign policy."

This time, Cain was flustered by a perplexity peculiar to campaigning in Miami. You could almost see the neurotransmitters firing blanks as Cain walked along, a gaggle of reporters in tow, wondering what the hell the aqueous state of someone’s tootsies had to do with foreign policy.

The answer is everything, at least in Miami. Poor Cain was making a campaign swing through South Florida, including that mandatory photo-op at Versailles, a Cuban food emporium favored by visiting politicians, perhaps because the famous decor allows a candidate to simultaneous sip café con leche and mingle with fervent ethnic voters while admiring his own inspiring image on the restaurant’s mirrored walls.

But in Little Havana what was supposed to be Cain’s great asset — his vaunted, no-nonsense, pizza magnate approach to government — collided with the strange and inscrutable contradictions that flourish down here in the subtropics. Like giant African snails or Burmese pythons or Hialeah elections.

Synapses misfired. He could only answer The Herald’s Marc Caputo’s query with a quizzical rephrasing of the question: "The wet-foot, dry-foot policy?"

"Herman Cain got off on the wrong foot at Versailles".




"School recognition" funds delayed

"Staffers at Florida's 'A'-rated schools shouldn't count on getting their 2011 bonus money by Christmas. 'School recognition' funds totaling more than $100 million have been delayed by the state's new grading formula for high schools, and the Department of Education will not release any award dollars until those calculations are complete." "'A'-School Recognition Dollars May Not Get Home for Christmas".




"Wealthy men who cheat on their wives"

Scott Maxwell: "If a Brevard County legislator gets his way, Florida will completely overhaul its alimony laws. And some of the biggest winners could be wealthy men who cheat on their wives." "In new alimony bill, wealthy, cheating men could pay less".




Hillsborough GOP "moving to the right"

"Once centered on the city of Tampa, the [Hillsborough] Republican Party has been moving east, and at the same time, moving to the right." "New Hillsborough GOP chief wants renewed city involvement".




"Brown, sewage-clogged water"

"Fish gasped for oxygen in brown, sewage-clogged water on Friday while white-bellied carcasses floated near the sea walls of residential neighborhoods." "Hollywood residents reel as waterways fill with raw sewage".




Entrepreneurs in action

"Fake food stamp websites scam poor Floridians, officials say".