— The $70 billion state budget was dropped on his desk on Friday. He has until April 21 to act on the annual spending plan, which takes effect July 1.

Last year, Scott staged a campaign-styled rally in The Villages retirement community in Central Florida as he slashed $615 million in spending from the budget — a record amount.

Scott will aggressively use his line-item veto power this year. But he has already signaled that lawmakers may be able to make a case for keeping some of their hometown projects intact. As an example, on Friday in Sarasota Scott said he was open to the idea of using $5 million in state funds for an international rowing facility — a project he vetoed last year.

— Florida Polytechnic University. Senate Budget Chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, pushed through the bill to create the state’s 12th university by converting the University of South Florida’s polytechnic facility in Lakeland into an independent university.

Alexander has personally lobbied the governor on the bill and Scott said he likes the idea of creating a school focused on degrees in technology, science, engineering and math fields — all of which Scott sees as linked to Florida’s economic future. But he also said he is concerned about creating a new school while the state still faces major fiscal challenges.

— Tuition. The presidents of the University of Florida and Florida State University are scheduled to meet with Scott this week to make their case for a bill that will give those schools the ability to charge “market rate” tuition. The added tuition would be used by the schools to boost their top-performing programs.

Again Scott likes the idea of bolstering higher education if it is linked to job creation. But he has repeatedly raised concerns about making tuition unaffordable for students and their families.

— Renewable energy. Tea party groups and other conservative organizations are calling on Scott to veto a bill that will provide tax credits for companies expanding renewable energy sources in the state. The Americans for Prosperity group said the bill picks “winners and losers in the marketplace” and could lead to “a Solyndra-type boondoggle in Florida.”

Yet, the bill is strongly backed by state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam — a leading national conservative when he was in Congress.

Putnam has defended the bill by saying it doesn’t pick favorites since all types of energy projects would be eligible. He also said the companies would not receive the credits until they spent money, created jobs and produced energy.

Scott has not taken a position on the bill.

Grubbing for teabaggers

Has come it to this? "LeMieux tries to convince tea party he's no Crist".

"Not just anyone can run an election"

Randy Schultz: "In ancient times, before 2000, Florida elections supervisors had profiles lower than mob guys in witness protection. Then came the butterfly ballot and Bush vs. Gore and the realization that not just anyone can run an election - or at least run an election well."

Palm Beach County is on its third elections supervisor since then and next year may have a fourth. Meanwhile, the Legislature has made two major revisions in how the state conducts elections and another big change designed to make voter registration harder.

Point being, the workings of elections never have been under more scrutiny. Sadly, 12 years after the biggest election fiasco in U.S. history, Palm Beach County remains unable to produce a string of trouble-free elections, no matter who is in charge.

Yaaawwwn

"Chamber Survey Finds Hiring Optimism in Florida Business".

"Florida gun law creates a 'national embarrassment' around RNC"

"NYT editorial: Florida gun law creates a 'national embarrassment' around RNC in Tampa".

Political stunt

"Congressman and Senate candidate Connie Mack launches a petition to get a controversial pipeline approved. Will voters believe that it will help lower gas prices?" "Connie Mack launches pipeline petition, bashes Bill Nelson over gas".

Scott vetoes market-based approach to controlling greenhouse gas emissions

"Scott has signed a bill repealing a cap and trade law designed to control power plant emissions in Florida. ... It was intended as a market-based approach to controlling greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to global warming. The concept, though, has fallen out of favor among Republicans who control the Florida Legislature." "Scott signs Florida cap and trade law repeal".

The best he can do?

"Gov. Scott brings Google, Intuit to Tampa to get business on the Web".

"Creepy" GOPernet

"A Republican congressional candidate in Southwest Florida is questioning what he calls an opponent's "creepy" purchase of personal Internet domain names." "CD 19 Candidate Questions 'Creepy' Purchase of His Domain Names".

Obama Florida bound

"Obama headed to FAU on Tuesday to tout recovery".

Another fine budget cut

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "The Legislature's surprise decision to cut $31 million from the budgets of the state's circuit court clerks deserves the governor's veto." "Don't weaken arm of courts".

Florida's fealty to the NRA "started in 1987"

"Gun rights supporters and gun control activists alike see Florida as one of the nation’s gun-friendliest states."

Its reputation as the “Gunshine State” is rooted in politics, culture and the seemingly irresistible force of Marion Hammer, a soft-spoken grandmother who parlayed her gun rights advocacy in Florida into becoming the first female president of the National Rifle Association.

The Feb. 26 shooting death of unarmed Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Sanford has cast a national spotlight on Florida’s first-in-the-nation “stand your ground” law, which allows individuals who feel threatened to use deadly force to defend themselves in any public place where they have a right to be.

But that law is just one of a slew of pro-gun laws that Florida has put on the books in the past 25 years.

It started in 1987 when Florida became the first state to create a “shall issue” concealed weapons license. ...

Villages packs them in

Republican mecca "The Villages and surrounding Sumter County experienced strong growth from 2010 to 2011, with a 4.6 percent population increase." "The Villages booms, drawing thousands of new residents".

And low wage service jobs to boot

Scott Maxwell: "So SeaWorld posted record earnings last year — yet didn't have to pay a dime in either federal income or state corporate taxes." "SeaWorld gets whale-sized tax breaks".

Week in Review

"The Week in Review for April 2 to April 6". See also "Weekly Roundup: Trayvon Martin; $70 Billion Budget".

Rubio's DREAM Games

"Prerna Lal of DREAM Activist writes Thursday: "

“I realize that the bill is a careful political calculation from the GOP to try to win back some Latino support,” and “I also understand that this entire charade ultimately has to do with the fact that the GOP does not want to grant citizenship to 12 million undocumented immigrants.”

Lal adds: “The GOP is driven by its anti-immigrant and white supremacist fringe, the Democrats are yet to develop a moral compass on immigrant rights but take us for granted nonetheless, our advocates in the non-profit industrial complex keep earning a paycheck due to stalemate on the issue, and undocumented youth continue to serve as mere political football to be tossed from side to side.”

"Strings attached"

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune editorial board: "The vast majority of Florida's multibillion-dollar settlement with the nation's five largest mortgage servicers comes with strings attached." "Help for troubled homeowners".

Try this

"Florida Fair Districts groups release own Senate map".

Funny that

"Scott has vetoed a bill that would have let nonviolent felons get sentence reductions by completing rehabilitation programs. ... Scott says the prisoner rehabilitation bill would have been an injustice to victims." "Scott vetoes Fla. prisoner rehabilitation bill".

Injustice to victims? Funny that ... considering that Rick Scott headed up a company involved in defrauding $1.7 billion from federal Medicare and Medicaid programs: "In July 1997, FBI agents raided Columbia/HCA accounting offices in seven states, including Florida. Within days, Columbia’s board of directors ousted Scott, but gave him a nearly $10 million severance package, including stock shares worth $300 million and a $1 million a year consulting contract." More here. See also "Ex-Employee Details Fraud in Rick Scott's Health Care Firm".

Charter madness

The Tampa Bay Times editorial board: "With its finances in disarray and its students at a daily risk of falling behind, the ineptly administered and bankrupt Life Force Arts and Technology Academy charter school in Dunedin has become a community embarrassment that cannot be shut down soon enough. It should serve as a clarion call to Florida lawmakers to tighten up oversight of privately run schools that receive public money." "Bad charter can't close soon enough".

The chamber survey of likely voters, conducted by telephone March 22-25, found that 35 percent of Floridians believe the state is heading in the right direction, up 3 percent from a month earlier.

Usual suspects already bankrolling Scott

"A political committee that played an important role in Gov. Rick Scott's 2010 election raised $910,000 in contributions during the first three months of this year, according to state records."

The Let's Get to Work Committee also has started quickly in April, reporting on its website that it has already brought in about $438,000 --- with large contributions coming from private prison operator The Geo Group Inc., and a Florida Optometric Association political committee.

With a possible Scott re-election campaign still two years away, the committee has stockpiled cash. The committee spent only about $25,500 between Jan. 1 and March 31, with most of that going to consulting, catering and accounting costs.

A handful of large donors have shelled out most of the contributions, including some people and businesses with stakes in state-government issues.

Developer Gary Morse and other people and a company associated with The Villages community in Central Florida gave a total of $180,000 in March, according to the records. Morse has long been a major Republican donor, and The Villages has become a frequent campaign stop for GOP candidates, including Scott.

Miami-Dade health-care executive Miguel Fernandez, meanwhile, contributed $125,000 in January. Fernandez heads Simply Healthcare Plans Inc., an HMO that was established in 2010 and is part of the Medicaid and Florida Healthy Kids programs.

Other large contributors during the first quarter included Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida and United Group Underwriters Inc., which each sent $100,000 to the committee. ...

United Group Underwriters is affiliated with United Automobile Insurance Co. With auto insurers complaining about fraud and increased costs, Scott and legislative leaders in March pushed through changes in the personal-injury protection insurance system. ...

The list also indicates developer Donald Trump contributed $50,000.

Buchanan’s alleged shady business dealings

"In a deposition given on Jan. 9 and obtained by The Florida Independent, a former employee of Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, alleges that he reported Buchanan to the U.S. government in 2008 for tax evasion and conspiracy to evade U.S. income tax, and that he has been in contact with federal officials about Buchanan."

According to his deposition, which was taken under oath, Rosa first started working for Buchanan in 1998, when he was hired as CFO of Sarasota’s Buchanan Automotive Group. Rosa says in the deposition that he also acted as treasurer for many of Buchanan’s other organizations during the span of his employment.

But his tenure with Buchanan ended only five years later, in December 2003. And throughout “virtually the entire period” of his employment, according to Rosa, he was witness to “fraud and crime” that led him to request an IRS investigation into Buchanan.

The January deposition, which was given to the Independent by Duane Overholt, a consumer fraud advocate, was taken as part of a lawsuit filed by William Brooks (who owned a car dealership eventually bought by Buchanan’s company) against Mark Ornstein, Buchanan’s lawyer. Though Buchanan himself isn’t a party to the case, Rosa makes several references to Buchanan’s business dealings throughout the deposition.

“There was a fraud and crime that predated my employment and went on through virtually the entire period of my employment,” Rosa says in the deposition. “I’m going to reference to one incident, which was an evasion of U.S. income tax, also a conspiracy to evade U.S. income tax. I reported it to the federal government. I’ve received recent correspondence that the matter has not been terminated by the federal government. And this federal crime predates my employment and went on virtually the bulk of my employment with Buchanan.”

According to an email sent by Rosa to law enforcement officials in June 2011 (also given to us by Overholt), his former employer “described during the employment interview process what [Rosa] later came to understand (and also has confirmed through the review and concurrence of his two legal counsels) to be a scheme which Employer should have known to be a tax fraud, and that such scheme was implemented by Employer through a conspiracy to commit Federal income tax fraud.”

"Florida as one of the 'five worst' worst states"

"The Center for American Progress released a report today on voter suppression efforts carried out by Republican-led state legislatures around the country, listing Florida as one of 'five worst states for voting rights in 2011.'"

The organization listed Florida as one of the “five worst” worst states because state lawmakers enacted some of the worst voting restrictions all at once.

According to the group, Florida’s new law:

- Succeeded in placing onerous new restrictions on nonprofit organizations that help register new voters. The group explains that “voter registration drives by groups such as the League of Women Voters have been a staple of our democracy for years, helping thousands of citizens to register, regardless of their political affiliation.”

- Sought to eliminate the long-established practice of early voting on the last Sunday before Election Day. According to the Center, “substantial evidence points to Sundays as a day when African-Americans vote in proportionately far greater numbers than whites.”

The group also reported that Florida lawmakers “took away the right to vote from ex-felons who had completed their sentence” last year.

A report from the NAACP found that, as of last year, Florida actually has the “most restrictive” felon disenfranchisement “laws in the country.” According to the report (.pdf), Florida is one of only four states in the country that “denies the right to vote permanently to all individuals convicted of any felony offense.”

Per the Voting Rights Act of 1965, five counties in Florida currently require federal preclearance whenever the state passes a new voting law that could affect the voting rights of minorities. Typically the U.S. Department of Justice is tasked with reviewing the law, but Florida officials instead asked a D.C. court to preclear new rules. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice filed documents with the court panel reviewing the law, claiming that the state did not meet the “burden of proof” for its effort to crack down on voter registration and impose other onerous restrictions.

There are reports that the court panel reviewing the law will not reach a decision before Florida’s August primary, however.

A court in Tallahassee is also currently considering a challenge to the law by the League of Women Voters of Florida, Rock the Vote, Florida PIRG and others. The groups filed a lawsuit this past December charging that the law “unconstitutionally and unlawfully burdens their efforts, and the efforts of other individuals and community-based groups, to encourage civic engagement and democratic participation by assisting Florida citizens in registering to vote and exercising their fundamental right to vote.”

Circular firing squad

"In a sign of Democratic struggles in Florida’s biggest county, Republican U.S. Rep. David Rivera’s main opponent dropped out, leaving no clear replacement to challenge the ethics-hobbled incumbent."

State Rep. Luis Garcia, who had struggled to raise money and accused top Democratic leaders of double-crossing him, left the congressional race for a Miami-Dade County commission bid at the urging of a top financier.

Garcia said he’s planning to leave the Democratic Party following a dispute with Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Steve Israel, who both recruited former Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas to jump into the race. Wasserman Schultz, a Weston congresswoman, disputed Garcia’s suggestion that she was rude or mean to him. She added that she didn’t betray him.

Meanwhile, Penelas hasn’t jumped at the chance to get back into politics. There are no other big names weighing a bid, putting Democratic leaders in a bind.

“They’re going to revive a couple of political cadavers that have lost other elections,” Garcia said. “They missed a big opportunity to take that seat back.”

Garcia wouldn’t name names, but at least one perennial candidate is weighing a Rivera challenge. Joe Garcia, no relation, who ran unsuccessfully against Rivera and Rivera’s predecessor, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, said Tuesday that Garcia’s exit has “forced” him to reconsider seeking the seat.

Saunders, Weinstein in crowded primaries

"Count state Reps. Ron Saunders, D-Key West, and Mike Weinstein, R-Jacksonville, among the latest House members to go after the seats of term-limited senators. Both lawmakers, who had earlier hinted at a run, officially filed for their Senate races Monday, and both find themselves in crowded primaries." "Reps. Saunders, Weinstein make Senate bids official".

Fasano, Legg swap?

"Mike Fasano, John Legg Hoping to Swap Seats in Florida Senate, House". See also "Sen. Fasano wants to head back to the House".

Rat contractor runs up the public's tab

"The largest [nonunion] contractor building Orlando's overdue VA Hospital told Congress on Tuesday that red tape and design errors could add $120 million or more to the original $665-million price tag – an overrun that ultimately would fall on U.S. taxpayers." "Orlando VA hospital delays could cost $120 million".

Republican National Convention protest rules

Daniel Ruth: "Alas, political conventions also attract all manner of malcontents ticked off over stuff like wars, poor people being poor, women being treated as if they were vassals, rich people paying $1.25 in taxes and if global warming isn't for real why is it 90 degrees in Fond du Lac in January?"

For the sake of public safety, demonstrators will be prohibited from carrying knives, axes, clubs and Mace. That probably means any effort to coordinate a Renaissance festival is out of the question.

Oddly enough, because of Florida's dippy gun culture, while protesters would be barred from bringing their personal samurai sword to Buckhorn's "Clean Zone," if they have a valid concealed weapon's permit (and who doesn't?) they could probably feel free to show up locked and loaded.

So don't even think of bringing your Super Soaker squirt gun to downtown Tampa. But your TEC-9 ought to be okay as long as you keep it in your pants.

Whew, feeling so much safer, aren't we?

The ordinance proposed by Mayor Bob Buckhorn would in many ways expand the rights the public has under current city rules to gather and demonstrate. But several proposed restrictions are too broad and would violate free speech rights. Others are pointless and impractical, and the council should suggest some changes.

GOPers spend tax dollars at rate of "$695 an hour plus expenses"

"After being slapped by the Florida Supreme Court for creating a redistricting map that "was rife with indicators of improper intent," Senate Republican leaders have hired former Supreme Court justice and Miami lawyer Raoul Cantero to handle the case when they return to the court."

Cantero, who was appointed by former Gov. Jeb Bush to serve on the Supreme Court, was a member of the bench from 2002 to '08 and is now with the White & Case law firm. He will be paid $695 an hour plus expenses. Last summer, the House and Senate had spent close to $1.2 million on legal fees on redistricting, and that was before the public hearings were held and the maps were drawn.

Cantero's contract says he will be representing the Senate on its "remand from the Court and advising the Senate on how to draw legislative districts that comply with the court's opinion."

West yawnnneeerrr

"Allen West entered seemingly enemy territory Wednesday, bringing his brand of fiery conservatism to Century Village, a left-leaning retirement community near West Palm Beach." "Allen who? Conservative firebrand U.S. Rep. West braves Dem seniors at Century Village". See also "Allen West for VP? He has Sarah Palin's vote".

Get a job

"Florida's feuding citrus cousins, JD Alexander and Baxter Troutman, reached a settlement over the weekend over the failed merger of two family-owned companies. ... It does not appear to end the blistering feud between the two grandsons of citrus magnate Ben Hill Griffin Jr., however." "JD Alexander settles lawsuit".

Mack steps in it

"Criticizing the Republican House budget isn't just for Democrats, anymore."

Republican Congressman and Senate candidate Connie Mack called the budget plan, drafted by fellow Rep. Paul Ryan, a "joke" during a weekend Orlando Tea Party forum. Mack, who missed the Ryan plan vote in Washington last week while he was fundraising in Florida, later said through a spokesman that he would have voted for it anyway.

Mack spokesman David James also sought to clarify that Mack didn't mean to criticize the conservative plan itself — which President Obama roundly bashed Tuesday in a campaign-style speech.

"The vote was the 'joke,' as in the process being a joke, not the Ryan plan itself. And Connie said the vote was a joke," James said in an e-mail. "He supports the Ryan plan but the process is a joke when the GOP House continues to do the right things and the liberal Senate under [Majority Leader Harry] Reid and [Florida Sen. Bill] Nelson continue to kill fiscally responsible measures."

Still, Mack clearly criticized the Ryan plan itself when he was asked about a string of missed votes in Congress, including the budget plan.

“I was here in Florida campaigning," Mack said Saturday, according to an undisputed quote reported by the conservative Florida Political Press. "You know that budget was a joke, doesn’t balance the budget for years.”

Comments like that can be deadly to Republicans this campaign season. Last year, conservatives were outraged when Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich dissed the first Ryan plan.

TeaBagger Kerfuffle

"Last week, the Tea Party Network of Florida called on Gov. Rick Scott to veto HB 7117 because it picks 'winners' in the marketplace. Putnam also disagreed with an Everglades Foundation report that shows 76 percent of phosphorous pollution entering the Everglades comes from agricultural operations while that sector pays only 24 percent of the cleanup cost." "Putnam says tea party lacks good information in opposing energy bill".

Papers please

Fabiola Santiago: "For top law school grad, a dream dashed".

'Ya think the NRA is pulling Scott strings?

"State Sen. Chris Smith, frustrated by what he calls 'stalling' by Gov. Rick Scott following the shooting death of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin, is launching a task force to review the controversial law at the center of the case." "Democratic senator forms 'stand your ground' task force". See also "Democratic Senator Forms Own Task Force to Review Stand Your Ground".

Billy's political stunt

"Seven minutes after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in March 2010, then-Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum filed suit in Pensacola. Last week, McCollum watched arguments in the case from a seat in the Supreme Court." "McCollum's moment at high court".

"Lawmakers trump courts"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board on how Florida "lawmakers tr[y] to force their way into an ongoing court case." "Activist? Sometimes Fla. lawmakers trump courts".

Another 6th congressional district candidate

"The chairwoman of the St. Johns County School Board is the latest candidate to declare for the race to serve the newly drawn 6th congressional district, which includes all of Flagler and St. Johns counties as well as most of Volusia and Putnam. Bev Slough, a Republican, bills herself as the only candidate 'to live, work, raise a family, and to hold elective office within the district.'"

Among Democrats, candidates include Heather Beaven of Palm Coast, who ran for Congress against John Mica in 2010 when the area was part of District 7, and Vipin Verma, an attorney in Daytona Beach.

Official qualifying takes place in the first week of June.

State Rep. Fred Costello, R-Ormond Beach, has said he would run so long as neither Mica nor Sandy Adams, the Republican now serving District 24, switch to the race. Costello said he would make an official announcement in the middle of the month.

GOPers open their wallets

"Congressman Connie Mack will report he raised more than $1 million in his first full quarter since entering the Senate race."

His campaign announced the figure Wednesday. Mack entered the race in late November and reported after the end of the year he started the race with about $750,000 raised, including about $300,000 transferred from a House account.

Former Sen. George LeMieux, who raised $1.7 million in 2011, hasn't released his fundraising totals for the first three months of 2012.

Right-winger takes over as Florida Chief Justice

"Generally considered one of the more conservative members of the court, Polston replaces current Chief Justice Charles Canaday, a former Republican congressman whose two-year term comes to an end." "Ricky Polston to Take Over as Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Florida". See also "Polston chosen as next Chief Justice".

That much we knew

"Rubio: 'I'm not going to be vice president'".

Meanwhile, "Oddsmaker Makes Marco Rubio the Favorite to be Mitt Romney's Running Mate". See also "Sen. Rubio in Palm Beach Gardens: GOP primary is over".

said the military budget had been "eviscerated" by spending cuts, "a dangerous game of chicken" with national defense.

His speech bounced from the need for Medicare reform and criticism of business regulations to the use of military force in Grenada and praise for Ronald Reagan.

"Foreclosure fiasco"

"Courts clogged with fallout from foreclosure fiasco".

The "Gunshine" State

"Last month’s shooting of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., brought an avalanche of criticism directed at Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. Yet the controversial 2005 law was just one of dozens of pro-gun laws that have gotten their start in Florida — forging the state’s 'Gunshine' reputation — before spreading to other parts of the country."

From bring-your-guns-to-work laws to all-out bans on local gun restrictions, Florida has become a haven for Second Amendment enthusiasts. Statistics show the pro-gun agenda has triggered more gun sales, more permits and a sharp rise in justifiable homicides.

• Florida has about 900,000 licensed concealed weapons carriers, far more than any other state and nearly twice as many as Texas.

• The number of annual applications for concealed gun licenses has grown from 26,800 to 123,000 since 1998 (February was a record month for application requests, with 53,835).

• The number of “justifiable homicides” — typically shooting deaths deemed legal under Stand Your Ground — has tripled in the last seven years.

A representative for the NRA, which has given millions of dollars in political donations, did not respond to requests for comment. Florida’s top NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer declined to comment, citing “media bias and slant” against gun rights.

Why is this man smiling?

"Today, at $393,873 a year, Stuart Rogel of the Tampa Bay Partnership is paid a salary, bonus and other compensation approaching the levels of the top public officials in Tampa – exceeding, for example, the $355,000 that Tampa International Airport chief Joe Lopano receives." "At Tampa Bay Partnership, high pay but debatable results".

West on the move

"U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, is holding two official town hall meetings on Tuesday. ... He's also kicking off a series of town hall meetings in the district he hopes to represent starting next year. He's leaving his Broward-Palm Beach county district for a new district in northern Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties that gives him a better chance at winning a second term." "Allen West sets town halls in district, starts campaigning".

Integrity Florida

"Here are some of the types of problems the founders of a new state watchdog group would like to solve or prevent:"

A $34.7 million road project that would benefit state Sen. JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, despite the state's budget shortfall.

Fines levied against former state Rep. Frank Peterman, D-St. Petersburg, for taking taxpayer-paid trips home.

For the fifth straight year, failure of a bill outlawing financial conflicts of interest for Florida lawmakers.

All are cited on the "State Integrity Investigation" report — a collaboration of the Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International — which recently gave Florida a C-minus on a nationwide study of accountability in state governments.

But the national group only rarely looks at state or local governments.

Who plays the same role in Tallahassee, Tampa and county offices throughout Florida?

Nobody, said Dan Krassner, a veteran public issues and communications consultant in Tallahassee.

Krassner hopes to remedy that with a new nonpartisan, nonprofit organization called Integrity Florida, which will research government accountability and money in politics.

Krassner has what some think is a sound idea, and he has a bipartisan board of directors with credible names — former newspaper executives Rosemary Goudreau and Martin Dyckman; former Common Cause Florida chief Ben Wilcox; former Gainesville Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan and others.

Week in Review

"The Week in Review for March 26 to March 30".

"Uphold healthcare reform"

The Miami Herald editorial board: "The Obama administration devised an imperfect but workable and comprehensive solution to a pressing national problem. The Republicans offered none. Unless the court has a solution of its own, it should not turn back the clock." "Uphold healthcare reform".

What is Publix's problem with Florida tomato pickers?

"Farmworkers, students and community leaders are protesting Publix's refusal to participate in a program that helps raise the wages of Florida tomato pickers. Protesters gathered outside the opening of a new Publix in Miami Saturday. They chanted, held signs, and a delegation went inside to speak with the store management and deliver letters from students." "Farmworkers, students protest outside Miami Publix". See also "Farmworkers, students protest outside Miami Publix".

Battlin' for Teabags

"Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux aggressively pointed out differences between himself and GOP Senate frontrunner Connie Mack IV at a Saturday night forum with tea party organizers, drawing a sharp response from Mack." "Mack, Lemieux draw contrasts in GOP Senate race".