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Voter suppression, Tallahassee style
"A federal judge today considers the case of thousands of would-be voters turned away because state computers couldn't verify their names and numbers. ... he U.S. Department of Justice also is scrutinizing whether Florida's voter match law disproportionately affects minority voters." "Federal judge to review Florida's voter match law".
Another "Palm Beach banker"
"North Palm Beach banker Jeff Atwater took the next-to-last step toward the Senate presidency this evening, winning the formal support of his Republican caucus." "Atwater picked as next president of Florida Senate".
Not so "incredible" after all
"The too-good-to-be-true 2006 third-grade FCAT scores were artificially high in large part because certain questions on the state's reading test were in the wrong place, according to a new report by testing experts at the University of Nebraska." The third-grade reading scores that year were the highest ever and touted by then-Gov. Jeb Bush as "just incredible." But when third-grade scores tumbled this year, state officials conceded that a testing error had contributed to the 2006 score jump on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. "Experts' report: 3rd-grade FCAT for reading in 2006 flawed".
"The state relies too much on a standardized test in judging the performance of public schools, students and teachers, testing experts said in a report." "Experts: State putting too much reliance on FCAT" ("Then-Gov. Jeb Bush and the department initially attributed an 8 percentage point improvement in the 2006 scores over the previous year to learning gains. That conclusion become suspect when 2007 scores dropped by 6 percentage points.")
"Financial mess"
"The state of Florida is launching an investigation into how the Local Government Investment Pool, a state-run cash fund for local governments, got ensnared in its current financial mess." "State to investigate Local Government Investment Pool". See also "State's CFO asks auditors to scrutinize investment-fund decisions", "Board to meet as state seeks investment answers", "State board continues to look for investment pool answers" and "Money continues to pour out of Fla.'s investment pool".
Stonewalling is "the kind of response to be expected from a political appointee such as Coleman Stipanovich. He probably never would have been selected as executive director of the State Board of Administration, which controls billions in state investments, if his brother, J.M. "Mac" Stipanovich, had not been former Gov. Jeb Bush's campaign manager." "High-risk stonewalling".
"Ideological whiplash"
"Americans who have tried following the Republican presidential debates are starting the week with a bad case of ideological whiplash. The candidates who showed up Sunday at the University of Miami didn't seem much like those who tangled over immigration in the CNN/YouTube debate two weeks ago. Wait a minute; that's it. Immigration explains everything." "GOP's split personality on illegal immigration".
Suit on the roof
"Crist dropped by a Fort Lauderdale roofing company Monday to stand on the roof and praise its Earth-friendly technology." "Crist sees green, lauds building's solar roof".
Good luck
"Alan Crotzer will ask the Florida Legislature for a second time to compensate him for his 24 years of wrongful imprisonment, and his backers are speaking out months before the regular legislative session begins." "Crotzer again asks for compensation for wrongful imprisonment".
"Groundbreaking proposal"
"A groundbreaking proposal designed to keep mentally ill people from winding up in jails and prisons will not result in dangerous patients being put back on the streets, a judge assured lawmakers Tuesday." "Judge denies that mental health plan will increase danger".
Florida Forever
"The Senate began working Monday on a successor to Florida Forever, the $1.8 billion environmental program that has preserved more than 500,000 wilderness acres since 2001." "Florida Forever survives cuts".
Raw political courage
"Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson toured a Bay of Pigs museum in Little Havana on Monday and then criticized rival Mike Huckabee for previously saying the Cuban trade embargo should be lifted." "Post: State House speaker supports Huckabee".
More grubbing for votes: "GOP presidential candidates are calling for the Castro brothers to be indicted for the 1996 shoot-down of two Brothers to the Rescue planes." "Candidates target Castros for indictment".
Saint Marco to the rescue
"Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee scored the much-sought endorsement of House Speaker Marco Rubio, a rising Republican himself and a key bridge to the Hispanic community." "Rubio throws support to Huckabee". See also "Rubio supports Huckabee".
Dopey disappointed
"Eighteen people who voted in both Florida and New York in the 2006 general election will not be prosecuted because they did not violate Florida law, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and local prosecutors have determined. ... Local Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein said he was stunned by the decision and believes politics trumped principle. According to a media study years ago, the majority of voters registered in both New York and Florida are Democrats, he said." "Florida won't try to prosecute two-state voters".
InBroganolia
"State lawmakers, after grilling a Florida Atlantic University representative Monday who they said didn't know the facts, want FAU President Frank Brogan and his attorney to answer to them in person about the $577,952 severance deal given to the school's former chief fund-raiser." "Irate legislators want Brogan to explain severance".
Crist flubs his first foreign policy foray
Let there be no misunderstanding, Charlie is a lightweight of the first order: "When Florida Gov. Charlie Crist led a trade mission to Brazil last month, all the talk was of improving commercial ties with the state's largest trading partner." Here he is, shooting off his mouth:"God bless sweet Brazil," Crist told his hosts, hailing the country's world-renowned biofuels program. Charlie would then proceed to set a world record for flip-flopping:So it came as a surprise on Crist's last day in Brazil when he abruptly announced the cancellation of a meeting with executives at the state-controlled energy giant, Petroleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras . . . [saying that Florida will not 'doing business with companies that sponsor terror'].
Crist had viewed Petrobras, the world's largest distributor and retailer of biofuels, as a potentially key partner in his plans to promote renewable energy. . . .
At the time, Crist's staff said it was entirely symbolic. While Petrobras had a modest $35-million invested in an Iranian oil drilling company, as far as they knew, Florida had no investments in Petrobras. Oops ... turns out Charlie was wrong; but of course it must have been someone else's fault:Now the St. Petersburg Times has learned that the Florida pension fund has $111,919,435 in foreign equity assets invested in Petrobras, according to the State Board of Administration, which manages the state's investments.
"I talked to the fund before I met with Petrobras to see what amount might be affected," said George LeMieux, Crist's then-chief of staff. "Perhaps someone missed it." Yet, and this isn't particularly reassuring, Crist actually did know: he just musta forgotten. You see,Crist knew about Petrobras' Iran ties two months before the trip, staff members [now] concede. . . .
The contract was signed on July 14, 2004, well before a recent intensification of concern [an unfounded concern as it turns out] about Iran's nuclear ambitions, Petrobras officials say. Charlie has really stepped in it:Petrobras officials were taken aback by the scolding from a politician on only his second overseas trip . . . .
Brazil's Consul General in Miami, Joao Almino, has contacted Crist's office to express his government's "surprise" over Crist's decision and the language used in his Nov. 7 statement. Brazil respects Florida's right to regulate its pension plan, officials say, but they deny that Petrobras is associated with terrorism. "State pensions, Brazil's oil and Iran". All this posturing about terrorism is particularly ironic when one recalls thatHalliburton Co., the oil company that was headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, signed contracts with Iraq worth $73 million through two subsidiaries while he was at its helm, the Washington Post reported.
During last year's presidential campaign, Cheney said Halliburton did business with Libya and Iran through foreign subsidiaries, but maintained he had imposed a "firm policy" against trading with Iraq. You see,Cheney has long criticized of unilateral U.S. sanctions, which he says penalize American companies. He has pushed for a review of policy toward Iraq, Iran and Libya. "Halliburton Iraq ties more than Cheney said". Is Charlie really ready to become the Veep? As Adam Smith wrote yesterday, and the Brazil imbroglio underscores, Charlie shouldn't keep his hopes up 'bout DC:Is he really ready? First and foremost we hope, a president wants someone who would be instantly ready to handle the most important job in the world. Charlie Crist has amazing political instincts and warmth, but that whole heartbeat away from being the most powerful person on Earth thing is a steep threshold. . . .
We're betting Crist can spell potato, but that wouldn't stop Democrats from making the Dan Quayle comparisons should the nominee pick a rookie governor who twice failed the Bar exam. "Sorry, Charlie, no veepstakes". That's our Charlie.
"It's a Wonderful Life"
"It is the modern-day version of It's a Wonderful Life. Depositors hear bad news. Too many want all of their money back immediately, and there's a run that makes the situation worse. Jimmy Stewart makes everything work out fine in the movie, but the final scene for Florida's troubled government investment pool has yet to be written. . . . This crisis provides an opportunity for Crist, McCollum and Sink to make improvements. First, they should conduct a national search for Stipanovich's replacement. This job is too important to be filled by political appointees as it has been in the past." "Draining risk from investment pool".
"And the problem is far from over: Alex Sink, the state's chief financial officer, who had pressed Stipanovich for the Nov. 14 finacial update that triggered the run, plans to ask auditors to probe what happened." "Sour state investments jolt local governments".
Will heads roll? "The Florida agency that manages billions of local tax dollars steadily decreased its safe investments in favor of riskier ones since 2003, an analysis by the Orlando Sentinel shows. The State Board of Administration essentially stopped buying such bedrock funds as U.S. Treasury bills and other federally backed notes and replaced them with less reliable commercial paper and private debt, some of which was linked to the subprime-mortgage crisis rocking the financial world." "Troubled Florida state fund shifted to risky investments".
The Sun-Sentinel editors on "the White House plan to prevent many more Americans from losing their homes to foreclosure [by] freezing interest rates for five years. . . . Unfortunately for South Florida's housing industry, it's too little too late, since many properties are already in foreclosure. The spike in the number of people losing their homes is one contributor to our region's housing slump, which has led to job losses for those in that sector as well." "Taxpayers shouldn't be asked to pay for bad lending practices".
More from Tom Blackburn: "Mortgage crisis: Everyone's problem".
Flip-floppers
"Addressing one of their largest immigrant audiences since the campaign started, Republican presidential candidates at Sunday's Spanish-language forum underscored their promises to stop illegal immigration, but also spoke more than usual about the importance of having compassion." "A softer tone on immigration". See also "Analysis: Republican candidates try civility in debate, for now" and "Republicans soften tone in bilingual debate".
"On the hot-button issue of immigration, the candidates largely stressed their support for stronger border security, with few firm proposals on how to handle the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants already living here." "At Univision debate, Republicans court Hispanics".
Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo boycotted the "Spanish-language debate with his fellow GOP presidential candidates in Miami on Sunday, saying it has no place in presidential race and accusing his rivals of 'pandering.'" "AP: Tancredo: GOP candidates 'pandering' at Spanish-language debate".
Yesterday, "Times: Giuliani duplicates his N.Y. success with Hispanics in Florida" ("Nowhere is Giuliani's support in Florida stronger than in South Florida, buoyed by high ratings among Hispanic Republicans.") and "Among Hispanic voters, GOP candidates look to Cuban-Americans for allies" ("The hard-line immigration stances taken by the Republican presidential candidates this year have stoked so much anger among Hispanic voters that the candidates are focusing their appeals almost exclusively on the reliably Republican Cuban-American community.")
"The need for change is obvious"
The News-Journal editors write that the growing gap between haves and have-nots. Florida lost its claim to a low cost of living long ago. Housing costs have rocketed -- the report's word -- in the past five years. A recent downturn in home sales could help correct the market, but Florida is not likely to ever return to the days when housing was considered cheap. Meanwhile, in many parts of the state, costs of living top national averages. Yet per-capita income still lags below national benchmarks.
While Florida has added jobs at a still-respectable clip -- 1 million new jobs since 2000 -- the heftiest growth has occurred in areas that are non-sustainable (construction) or traditionally low-paying (services). . . .
The need for change is obvious. More than 15 percent of Florida's workforce lacks a high-school diploma, and the state's high-school graduation rate ranks 46th among the 50 states. Nearly 75 percent of workers don't have college degrees. Florida ranks a dismal 48th in the number of doctoral degrees in engineering and sciences. While Florida can offer a pool of 9 million workers, those workers often don't have the skills needed to attract high-paying, high-tech employers.
Other states tackled the challenge of converting to a high-tech economy by pouring resources into educational systems, making long-term commitments to build research capacity at universities and improve the public education system. Florida has paid lip service to those goals . . . . "Florida can't thrive with its current work force".
You might call it "Rushing"
"South Florida and state officials will try a new tack next year to combat 'doctor shopping,' the growing practice in which a patient goes from doctor to doctor amassing pain pills for abuse or sale. They will launch a high-profile campaign for a statewide computer database to log every prescription for potentially lethal narcotic pills and antidepressants, to help doctors and officials spot multiple and suspect prescriptions." "Effort takes aim at 'doctor shopping' in Florida".
Thurman
"Thurman, a 56-year-old former congresswoman and state senator from Dunnellon, may need to use all of her political skills to mend differences between national Democrats, who are angry over Florida moving up its primary to Jan. 29, and state Democrats, who are miffed over what they see as excessive punishment from the Democratic National Committee." "Winning is paramount for Florida Democrat".
Court to resolve round one of the Crist-Rubio sandbox fight
"The stakes are high, politically and legally, and the side bets are plentiful as the Florida Supreme Court considers a clash between Gov. Charlie Crist and the Legislature over casino gambling". "High court weighs casino gambling".
"Teaching science from the Bible"
Robyn Blumner yesterday: Florida is also now in a dust-up due to the inclusion of evolution in its proposed science standards. Donna Callaway, who was appointed to the state Board of Education by former Gov. Jeb Bush, said she'll oppose the new standards because of it.
Really folks, in this information age when scientific innovation is the key to our nation's future, we don't have the time to be mucking around in this tired debate. You don't produce doctors and scientists by teaching science from the Bible. Period. "A reality-based look at science".
Will there be "'mass confusion and chaos'"?
"Lift the carpet that Florida is rolling out for this presidential election, and you'll find glitches, errors and bugs that are disconcerting to some of those charged with protecting your right to vote." "State scrambles as election looms; voting system hampered by glitches".
"A sweeping new elections law passed with great fanfare earlier this year is coming under the scrutiny of the U.S. Department of Justice, which wants to make sure parts of it won't discriminate against minorities."Buried in the lengthy 42-page law, which forced counties to switch to optical-can voting machines for the fall 2008 elections, are changes to identification requirements for voters as well as new requirements for groups that register voters.
Because of past discrimination in five Florida counties -- Monroe, Collier, Hillsborough, Hendry and Hardee -- the federal government must sign off on changes to election law. While the federal government can block the law or parts of it from taking effect only in those five counties, Florida law requires voting standards throughout the state to be uniform. ...
The Justice Department has also questioned a decision to eliminate a buyers' club card and employee badges as a form of identification and a decision to give voters two days instead of three to prove their identity if they vote by provisional ballot.
The department has also raised questions about a section that says a person cannot be registered if their voter-registration application information does not match driver's license records or Social Security numbers. This section is already the target of a suit by the Florida NAACP. "Feds question fairness of state's new voting law".
And then there's this: Leon SOE, IonSancho said his elections staff found that the state database had listed 3749 Club Dr., an apartment complex in Duluth, Ga., as the prior address for 16,646 voters in Tallahassee. One of those is the mother of Janet Olin, the assistant supervisor of elections for Leon County, who lives in Tallahassee and, Sancho said: ``has never set a foot in Duluth, Georgia.''
''It calls for investigation,'' Sancho said, warning that if 'incorrect information is being attached to voters' records'' there will be ''mass confusion and chaos'' during the Jan. 29 primary. "Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning defended Florida's voter database Saturday,"telling a journalists' forum that despite problems with 14,000 newly registered voters, ``There will not be mass confusion and chaos.''
Browning was responding to complaints from Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho that the state's database system inexplicably inserted incorrect information into his voter registration file, causing 16,646 people to have their previous address listed as an apartment complex in Duluth, Ga.
Browning ordered his staff to come into the office Saturday to investigate, and he said they found no evidence that the Duluth address was erroneously inserted into voter records. "Voter database given OK ahead of primary". See also "State ready, elections official insists" and "Forget the chad: We've got new bugs".
Hometown Democracy
The Palm Beach Post's Randy Schultz: "There are good reasons to be skeptical of Hometown Democracy. Voting on every land-use change could require phone book-sized ballots. Developers could be stuck with needless expense between approval of their project and a referendum. And as we saw with Save Our Homes, "fixing" big problems in the constitution can create more problems. Such skepticism may puzzle and annoy readers who believe that Hometown Democracy fits with the paper's support for managed growth." "Truth or dare on Hometown Democracy".
Water War
"Northeast Florida has launched a campaign to prevent thirsty Central Florida from pumping water out of the St. Johns River. A growing coalition of Jacksonville-area environmentalists and politicians hopes to shield the north-flowing river from proposals to divert as much as 250 million gallons each day to Orlando-area communities. It's an early salvo in what could become a bruising conflict over a waterway that flows mostly unnoticed east of Orlando but more than 100 miles downstream carves a dramatic riverfront through the heart of Jacksonville." "Whose thirst comes first? Orlando, Jacksonville areas face water war".
Sea cows
"If manatees could blow kisses, they'd send about 2,800 whiskery wet smacks to their new champion at the Governor's Mansion, and an equal number to Jimmy Buffett." "Manatees in paradise".
Enclaves
"Three South Florida communities showcase the tales of struggle and success among South Florida's immigrants." "Immigrant enclaves change face of South Florida".
Yaaaawnnn ...
"Mel adds to Charlie chatter -- No. 2 spot?".
Tax Panel
The Tampa Trib editors: "The state constitution wisely provides that every 20 years, a panel of experts must review how Florida collects and spends our money. This year the re-evaluation has begun with the state voters eager for fundamental change yet confused by a ballot measure that doesn't get the job done." The tax panel is better positioned to offer fixes that make sense.
Florida's property taxes have become an inequitable way of funding government, and along with increases in insurance, have become an obstacle to economic growth and family security.
If the tax commission can find a way to build an upright tax structure atop the warped foundation that gives longtime homeowners both lower taxes now and smaller tax increases in the future, it will have done the state a great service. "Tax Cuts Without Justice Don't Qualify As Reform".
Insulting
The Miami Herald editors: "The federal-court ruling upholding the Democratic Party's decision to ban Florida delegates from the national convention is a disappointment. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle relied on precedent in deciding that a political party has the right to set and enforce its own rules. Even so, the ruling doesn't justify the party's decision to deny Florida's four million Democratic voters a role in selecting the party's presidential nominee, which is nothing short of an insult." "An insult to Florida's voters".
"Putting children's education at risk"
"A new report by the state Senate Education Committee bears out what an Orlando Sentinel investigation unearthed earlier this year -- that Florida's lax regulation of charter schools is putting children's education at risk." "Our position: The regulation of the state's charter schools is way too loose".
"5 gears in reverse"
"The Republican presidential candidates sought to embrace Hispanics in a Spanish language debate Sunday, striving to mark common ground with a growing voter bloc while softening the anti-illegal immigration rhetoric that has marked past encounters." "Republican candidates soften anti-illegal immigration rhetoric".
"'Like vultures hovering over a wounded animal'"
"But like any good thriller, the tale of the once-$30 billion investment pool's flirtation with disaster is more than just a juicy plot. It also has led to a series of exciting action sequences and some astonishing performances from a cast of characters." A swarm of private financial advisers turned the state saga, which would make headlines around the world, into a sales pitch to persuade local officials to move their precious savings out from under state control and into the private money managers' welcoming arms.
"Over the last two weeks, I've got more interest from financial institutions than I've ever seen," said Fort Pierce Finance Director George Bergalis. "Some of them were never previously interested in bidding on our funds.
"It's like vultures hovering over a wounded animal."
Several government finance directors said they received solicitations from JPMorgan Chase & Co., which had sold the state some of the short-term debt that defaulted and contributed to the panic. A JPMorgan spokeswoman declined comment.
"We're involved in capitalism in its clearest form," said Sharon Bock, Palm Beach County's elected clerk and comptroller. "Private advisers lurk in state fund's drama of panic".
At the trough
"While lawmakers will dutifully take testimony and hear reports from state agencies on their priorities for 2008, the week really is all about money. A staggering 30 fundraisers are on tap this week as lawmakers race to stockpile cash in advance of next year's elections. They're also making up for time lost to the protracted duel over property taxes and having to cut $1 billion from the state's battered budget." "Lawmakers race to round up dough".
First
"Sunshine State absentee voters will be the first to vote in the presidential primary, according to a survey of elections deadlines across the country by Paul Gronke, an elections expert at Reed College in Oregon. Florida's deadline for sending out overseas absentee ballots is Christmas Day, though many supervisors are sending them earlier." "Florida's absentee voters will be first".
Not much for "the little people of Florida"
The Palm Beach Post gives Charlie a well deserved tweaking: "Crist supports the property-tax amendment because it will help the little people of Florida."To campaign for the amendment, he's taking money from that well-known little person, Donald Trump.
According to estimates from the Legislature, the average savings statewide if the amendment passes will be $240. When the governor toured the state for the formal signing to put the amendment on the Jan. 29 ballot, he visited a Port St. Lucie home that is assessed at about $100,000. The savings at Mar-a-Lago on Palm Beach, where Mr. Trump hangs out, will be a bit more than average. The Donald's annual tax bill is about $1 million, which adds to a lot of little people.
In visiting New York to beg money from Mr. Trump, Gov. Crist is going back to a familiar well. Early in 2006, Mr. Trump held a fund-raiser that took in about $1 million for then-candidate Crist. Just before the election, Mr. Trump held another fund-raiser at Mar-a-Lago. To get a picture with the host, guests had to donate $10,000 to Mr. Crist.
But maybe this relationship will work out for the state after all. If the amendment passes, the state is expected to lose nearly $3 billion for education over five years. In that case, Gov. Crist can ask Mr. Trump to hold fund-raisers to make up the difference. There wouldn't be any personal gain for Mr. Trump, but the little people who teach at the schools would appreciate it. "Trump's noblesse oblige". Florida's "little people" will be getting even less than promised becausethe gloomy housing market already is cutting deeply into projected savings of the plan.
State economists on Friday downgraded the five-year savings by $3.2-billion, or 25 percent. "The diminished size of the overall tax cut could spell further trouble for Gov. Charlie Crist and other backers of the plan, already straining to raise money to sell voters on the Jan. 29 referendum."Crist went to New York on Thursday for a $1,000-a-person fundraiser with Donald Trump. A Crist spokeswoman did not return messages seeking comment Friday evening.
The plan already was under assault from critics who said it offered meager savings - about $240 a year - to those who had no intention of moving while taking billions from local governments and schools. "Housing woes drain tax plan's savings". See also "Tax savings predictions lowered" and "Projected savings on Florida property-tax-cut plan to be less, economists say".
Here come the knuckle-draggers
"Board chairman T. Willard Fair, who heads the Urban League of Greater Miami, said he's never received more correspondence on a single issue, but he declined to discuss his views*. 'I'm keeping a fairly open mind,' said board member Donna Callaway, a retired Tallahassee middle school principal. She has a Southern Baptist background and her correspondence has been overwhelming against the evolution standards, but Callaway said she believes it [evolution?] should be taught in some manner." "Debate over teaching evolution moves to Florida".
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*Willard was probably too busy luvin' the Jeb! - recall his pronouncement that "'there is no greater person on this Earth than you (Jeb) ... I love you (Jeb)'".
Trib: "Ingenuous" farmworkers picking on Burger King
In their third anti-worker editorial in four days, the Chamber of Commerce shills Tampa Trib editors take a shot at Florida's "ingenious" farmworkers advocates: Burger King has refused to bargain with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), an alliance of farmworkers, and the company is today paying the price in bad publicity.
The coalition has the emotional advantage. Over a span of years it has ingeniously pitted the plight of poor laborers - mostly migrant workers, many here illegally - against the growers who supply the grocers and against fast-food companies that buy their produce. The CIW has the support of unions, churches, social justice advocates and former President Jimmy Carter. ...
We suspect most patrons of Burger King wouldn't mind paying an extra penny for the food they buy if the knew it would increase the wages of tomato pickers. No one denies the work is back-breaking and tough.
But is it fair to employ an anti-branding campaign in order to squeeze Burger King and force wage-rate negotiations with workers the company does not even employ? The strategy sounds a lot like extortion.
CIW is playing hard ball, saying this is a step-by-step process in a long-term struggle to raise wages and improve working conditions. Not coincidentally, the coalition's long-term survival necessarily depends on continued conflict.
The history is this. The coalition tried to convince growers to increase workers' wages, but when that failed, it went over the growers' heads and targeted the fast-food companies. ...
Burger King chose to draw the proverbial line in the sand - at least for now - aligning itself with the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, which represents 90 percent of the state's tomato growers. The exchange has threatened its members with $100,000 fines if they participate in the penny-per-pound deal.
Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the exchange, acknowledges the difficult conditions pickers endure but insists they are not mistreated. He points out that growers under the gun from foreign competition have had no trouble finding workers to harvest their fields. Not once has the coalition been able to execute a work stoppage. ...
The focus on the penny per pound - which does not seem an unreasonable request but would do little to improve the status of field workers - is misdirected.
If the two sides devoted as much energy to addressing the need for better housing, health care and education for workers, they might come up with with solutions that would have a far greater and lasting impact on the people who help put food on our tables. "Squabbling Over Pennies Won't Help Tomato Pickers". The farmworkers are engaged in "extortion"? Goodness gracious, what are they supposed to do - beg for an offering of noblesse oblige from their masters?
And, can you imagine a greater insult than this to the farmworkers and their advocates - the Trib editors spew the following sewage: "Not coincidentally, the coalition's long-term survival necessarily depends on continued conflict." To suggest that it is the goal of the farmworkers coalition - supported by evil "unions, churches, social justice advocates and former President Jimmy Carter" - to "survive" by keeping the "conflict" alive, as opposed to sincerely trying to improve the lot of farmworkers, is something we would expect from idiots like Rush Limbaugh; the Trib editors have proven themselves no better. And this from the delightful folks at theFlorida Tomato Growers Exchange is simply nutty: "Tomato growers pay pickers well, do not exploit them".
For more on the Trib editors' recent forays into workers' rights issues, check out "Union bashing, take 22891" and "Trib editors go off the deep end".
Kool Kidz
"Florida teen is documenting the 2008 elections".
Allen update
"Seven people, including a chiropractor, a real-estate investor and a former Cocoa Beach city commissioner, qualified Friday to run for the District 32 House seat that embattled state Rep. Bob Allen will vacate early next year." "7 candidates want Allen's seat".
"Early voting begins Jan. 14, and the special election primary will be Jan. 29, the same day as Florida's presidential primary. Once candidates are set, a general election to replace Allen will follow on Feb. 26. Regular session for the Legislature convenes March 4, six days after the vote." "7 dive into fast, 'dirty' scuffle for Allen seat".
Adult supervision needed
"Governor's new top aide an old hand at 31".
Nasty
"To win a lawsuit and overturn an election, a city councilman has turned his opponent's private life into a public spectacle." A two-day trial finished Friday afternoon, and a judge did not immediately rule on the lawsuit that could strip the winner, Harold Byrd Jr., of a seat on the Bradenton City Council. ...
The lawsuit is about money; specifically, whether Byrd could afford to pay a candidate qualifying fee.
Councilman James Golden's camp says Byrd could afford the $285 but chose not to pay it. Byrd's side says he could not pay the fee because his campaign -- backed largely by friends and family in traditionally poor neighborhoods -- had not raised it.
So Byrd used a little-known exemption to stave off the payment until after the election. Known as the "undue burden" exemption, candidates can hold off on the fee if they say it will hurt their chances to buy signs, pay for ads or hold campaign events.
But to prove that Byrd had the money, Golden's camp ordered him to unveil nearly all of his personal finances, including pay stubs, tax forms and checking accounts. "Election lawsuit remains in limbo". See also "" and "".
Not enough
The Palm Beach Post editors: "Since Florida doesn't need another dump of houses onto the market, President Bush's foreclosure prevention plan may do a little bit of good for the state. But at this point, Mr. Bush's plan won't end the real-estate slump, and may do little to make the next two years any easier." "Like so many payments, mortgage plan comes late".
Privatization follies
"The state is investigating the director of a live-in drug rehabilitation facility for alleged sexual misconduct with a female offender, prison officials said Friday." "Drug rehab chief suspended pending sex investigation" ("The company operates similar facilities for the department in Pensacola, Panama City and Ocala.")
Gray Friday
"Local governments withdrew about $560 million of their money from Florida's state-run investment pool Friday, but the beleaguered fund's managers were pleased that figure was about half the amount from a day before." "Managers say calm returns to state fund".
Battle of the empty suits
"State Sen. Burt Saunders announced Friday that he would challenge U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV in 2008 for his seat in Congress -- but with a twist. Saunders said he will have no party affiliation in his run against fellow Republican Mack. That means he will not have to beat Mack in the Republican primary to get a spot on the general election ballot in November. Saunders, a Naples attorney, said he will remain a registered Republican and, if elected, will caucus with the Republican Party and will support the Republican leadership in Congress." "Sen. Saunders is running for congressional seat held by Mack".
The Charlie for VP talk continues
"Calling Gov. Charlie Crist a 'fresh face,' U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez says it would make a lot of sense for the eventual Republican presidential nominee to pick the Florida governor as his running-mate." Martinez continued:“I think he’s interested. I don’t think he’s shying away from the notion,” Martinez said. “I’m not trying to put words in his mouth, he should speak for himself, but I don’t think there is any reticence on his part to have his name thrown around.” "Martinez: Crist for veep". More from The Hill: "Martinez touts Crist as veep".
Meanwhile, "Giuliani didn't do anything Thursday to jeopardize his status as Republican presidential front-runner in Florida. He ... said Gov. Charlie Crist would be a great running mate. Giuliani welcomed the opportunity to associate himself with Florida's hugely popular governor, whose 2006 election was one of the few Republican bright spots anywhere in the country." "Rudy Giuliani talks tough on national and world issues, makes nice on Florida priorities".
Coming home
"Hispanics are returning to the Democratic Party after several years of drifting toward the Republicans, with many saying Bush administration policies have been harmful to their community, a poll showed Thursday." By 57 percent to 23 percent, more Hispanic registered voters say they favor Democrats than Republicans, according to a survey by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center.
That 34-percentage-point Democratic edge -- which includes people who said they lean toward either party -- has grown since July 2006, when a Pew poll measured a 21-point difference. Then, 49 percent of registered Hispanic voters said they favored Democrats and 28 percent chose Republicans. "Hispanics shift back toward Democrats". See also "Poll: Hispanics Shift To Left". More: "Full report from the Pew Hispanic Center".
So, with the usual flash and lack of substance, "Republicans are jump-starting their outreach to Hispanics in Florida as they try to contain the erosion of those voters from their party." "Republicans try to win back Hispanic voters".
This won't help the Republican cause: "Republican presidential candidates will try to woo one of their most disenchanted voting blocs Sunday in a debate that will be translated simultaneously into the language of persuasion: Spanish." "Univision hosting first Republican debate".
Putting the brakes on another Jebacy
"The Agency for Health Care Administration announced Thursday that although it has fully implemented the state's Medicaid reform pilot project, the agency will not recommend during the spring legislative session that lawmakers expand the program statewide." The program, which transfers the care of state Medicaid beneficiaries to HMOs and other managed-care organizations, was a privatization initiative of former Gov. Jeb Bush and was intended to improve health care services while containing runaway Medicaid costs. Lawmakers approved the pilot in 2005 for five counties - Broward, Duval, Baker, Clay and Nassau - and retain final say over expanding it statewide. ...
Asked the reason for AHCA's reticence to move forward, spokesman Doc Kokol said the agency feels that issues raised this fall by AHCA's inspector general about the program need addressing. At the same time, Kokol said, AHCA awaits the results of an ongoing University of Florida study of the pilot.
"We're just not prepared at this point to make any recommendations," Kokol said.
Medicaid reform remains controversial among Florida's health care advocates, many of whom were ready to campaign this spring against it.
In September, AHCA Inspector General Linda Keen warned in a 74-page report that inadequate staffing and rushed implementation had compromised the program's success. Keen could not conclude whether the program actually meets either of its goals to contain costs or improve care. "Agency Puts Off Medicaid Reform". See also "Florida's push for more managed care in Medicaid to go slowly".
Although there is no evidence that the Medicaid Jebacy "actually meets either of its goals to contain costs or improve care", has anyone taken a look at whether it has succeeded in its other goal: has Jebbie's plan to hand the cash to HMOs "spawned a network of contractors who have given [Jebbie], other Republican politicians and the Florida G.O.P. millions of dollars in campaign donations"?
Laff riot
Florida Senator - - Mel "Martinez, the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said he favors one or two of the 'five principal candidates,' but declined to divulge who those lucky [sic] candidates might be."
And do not doubt the brilliance of "Bush's Mr. Cellophane" when it comes to campaigning in Florida: "Martinez, on the other hand, said he is happy to offer advice on how to win the state to those candidates who call. ... 'They need to spend a lot of money on TV,' he said." That, and attack your Republican opponent as "catering to the 'radical homosexual lobby.'" Then, mail fliers to voters in the Bible Belt of the Florida panhandle that label [your Republican opponent as] "the new darling of the homosexual extremists." Finally, when anything goes wrong, blame it on someone else: "We heart Mel (no matter what)".
"'Restore My Vote'"
"Florida civil rights organizations launched a Web site and hotline Thursday to help more than 250,000 ex-offenders regain the right to vote in time for the 2008 presidential election." Despite new rules instituted in April by Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet to streamline the restoration of civil rights for felons, roadblocks remain, the groups said.
For example, the Florida Parole Commission does not release to the public addresses of ex-offenders, thwarting advocates' efforts to locate them and help them register to vote.
The new effort is called Restore My Vote. The Web site is www.restoremyvote.com and the toll-free number is 1-877-60-RESTORE, or 1-877-607-3786. "'Restore My Vote' effort under way". See also "Group wants state help for felons" and "Group helping ex-felons get to polls".
'Glades
The Orlando Sentinel editorial board are "thrilled that Congress last month overturned President Bush's veto of a water-projects bill, which among ot
The run continues
"Local governments statewide pulled another $1.2 billion from a troubled investment pool Thursday after the fund was reopened for the first time since state officials froze it last week. Florida leaders also received a report Thursday that showed the subprime mortgage crisis had penetrated four other state-run investment funds, including 11 percent of Citizens Property Insurance investments and 3 percent of short-term holdings in the state Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. Officials played down those numbers, saying the hurricane season had passed and the assets won't be needed until the next natural disaster." "State fund loses $1.2 billion more, but pullout slows". See also "Agencies Grab $1.2 Billion After State Fund Reopens", "State: $1.1B withdrawn as investment pool reopens to Fla. govts" and "Governments withdraw $1.2B from fund".
"Charlie's Rove"
"The 38-year-old lawyer is viewed as the Crist administration's equivalent of Karl Rove, President Bush's former adviser, who was dubbed "Bush's brain."" "Crist's chief of staff, seen as his 'Rove,' is resigning". "George LeMieux will be replaced by a close friend and protege, Eric Eikenberg, 31, who now serves as one of four deputy chiefs of staff under Crist. He is the youngest gubernatorial chief of staff in decades." "Crist's top aide leaves; replacement is just 31". See also "Eikenberg to replace LeMieux" and "Crist's chief of staff -- and campaign 'maestro' -- quits".
Hardball
The Orlando Sentinel editors: "Most Florida voters may forget the DNC's hardball tactics by November, but even a small percentage with bitter memories could make a difference in a close race." "What did it win?".
Thanks, Dubya
"Bush mortgage plan won't help S. Florida housing market".
Will Cheney testify for Charlie?
"The Florida House, in new documents filed Thursday in the state Supreme Court, continued to insist that Gov. Charlie Crist had 'seized or encroached upon' legislative powers when he signed a gambling deal with the Seminole Tribe last month. 'The governor is not Florida's sovereign, and he cannot unilaterally speak for the state,' the documents said, adding that the state's Constitution does not authorize such broad powers for the governor." "House: Crist overreached on Seminole gambling deal".
Rudy
"Giuliani campaigns in Sarasota"
Charlie and the "high-rollers"
"In a room high above the street, Gov. Charlie Crist stood before a giant flat-screen TV on Thursday night, trying to sell his plan to cut property taxes." "Preserving the American dream is incredibly important," Crist said. "That's really what this is all about."
The governor charmed the room of some 40 high-rollers who sipped pinot grigio and munched on crab cakes and vegetable wontons. But the governor wasn't in Tallahassee or Miami or his home of St. Petersburg. He wasn't even in Florida.
Crist made his pitch on the 25th floor of Trump Tower in Manhattan. At his side was the building's namesake - the flamboyant developer, casino boss and star of The Apprentice.
"He's working hard on real estate taxes," Donald Trump told the crowd. "I like him. He's just a special guy." "Crist goes far for support".
The piece continues, "The splashy New York visit provided a strong indication of the lengths to which Crist must go if he expects his plan to win voter approval in a statewide referendum Jan. 29." It might have also been put this way: "The splashy New York visit provided a strong indication of the lengths to which Crist will go to burnish his image on the national stage."
More: "Crist joins with Trump to raise money for property tax amendment".
Thank goodness Dubya privatized airport security
"Two local Homeland Security vendors were arrested today, for an apparent conspiracy to defraud at least $400,000 on a federal contract." "Two local men arrested in scheme to defraud on federal contract".
"Good idea"
The News-Journal editors: "The push to downgrade manatees from endangered to merely threatened mystified and infuriated many Floridians. The gentle creature's numbers might be increasing -- but so are the threats to its safety." "Good idea to back off manatee plan".
BOG asserts itself
"The board that oversees Florida's public universities moved to increase its influence Thursday. Under a new plan approved by the Board of Governors, Florida's universities will be expected to boost the number of undergraduate degrees they produce and more closely scrutinize the value of their graduate programs." "Florida's public universities seek to grant more degrees, make the grade".
You go, Girl!
"Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite resigned Thursday from a bipartisan panel responsible for overseeing the teenage congressional page program, saying problems persist a year after the Mark Foley scandal helped propel Democrats into control of the U.S. House." The Brooksville Republican pointed to what she described as recent incidents of "serious criminal acts" involving pages and "inappropriate sexual indiscretions between the students," about which she says board members were "kept in the dark."
None of the incidents involved members of Congress. The criminal charges involved shoplifting, said Brown-Waite's spokesman, Charlie Keller.
The panel's only other Republican member, West Virginia Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, also resigned Thursday.
Last year's Foley scandal had erupted with revelations the then-Florida congressman had sent sexually suggestive electronic mail to former pages.
The fallout included allegations that then-House Republican leaders were negligent and in some cases "willfully ignorant" of Foley's improper advances to male pages. The matter is viewed as having contributed to the dismal GOP showing in congressional elections in November.
Now, with Democrats in charge of the chamber, Republicans Brown-Waite and Capito are accusing them of not done enough to fix the program. "Brown-Waite Quits Page Board".
Is this really "Top News"?
Check out this headline, the featured story on the "Top News" page on the Orlando Sentinel's web site today: Disney makes changes to Spaceship Earth" How about,"Fred's grocery store has a special on spam". The big business media in action.
What's a knuckle-dragger to do?
"Florida's socially conservative voters continue to scatter their support among several Republican candidates less than two months before the state's presidential primary."Quinnipiac University, which regularly polls Florida voters, estimates that more than one-third of state GOP primary voters are "white, born-again evangelicals." ...
The latest Quinnipiac poll, released Wednesday, shows Giuliani topping the Florida GOP race, with 30 percent support to 12 percent for Romney, 11 percent for Huckabee, 10 percent for Fred Thompson and 9 percent for Sen. John McCain.
Among the 35 percent of Florida Republicans who identify themselves as evangelicals, the same poll shows 22 percent favoring Giuliani, down from 30 percent in July, while Huckabee is second at 15 percent, up from 1 percent in July. "GOP choices leave social conservatives fragmented". For the "values" crowd, it is all about hate; they absolutely hate Hillary Clinton: "Many Republicans -- especially hard-core Republicans -- dislike her so much they're willing to overlook Giuliani's record on social issues if they think he can win." "Florida 'values voters' face difficult choices".
"Thousands of ex-felons to the polls"
"People For the American Way Foundation is launching a massive effort to get thousands of ex-felons to the polls." The group, founded by civil rights activist and former television producer Norman Lear, wants to take advantage of a decision earlier this year by Gov. Charlie Crist to automatically restore the civil rights of non-violent felons.
In a written statement, the group says it has identified 250,000 ex-felons who have had their rights restored, a population the state has been struggling to reach in the wake of Crist’s decision.
The issue is a critical one in a presidential election year and a swing state that in 2000 handed President George W. Bush the White House with an official 537-vote margin after the U.S. Supreme Court halted a recount and a 36-day legal batle. The announcement comes a day after Chief District Judge Robert Hinkle dismissed a voting rights suit by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and other congressional Democrats. "Movement hopes to register thousands of ex-felons to vote".
Trib editors go off the deep end
After yesterday's embarrassing display of big business media hackery (see "Union bashing, take 22891"), we get a second dose from the brain trust on the Tampa Tribune editorial board; consider this: The union has not brought up the need for additional staffing during negotiations. Its concerns have been winning bigger raises for deputies at the top of the pay scale, having two full-time deputy positions devoted to representing the union and easing disciplinary standards. Excuse me? Has the editorial board been at the bargaining table (other than in a figurative sense, where the editors benevolently sit at the right hand of every company negotiator)? Moreover, is there something inherently wrong about "winning bigger raises"? After all, that is kinda what unions do for the folks they represent. And isn't it kinda, sorta Milton Milton Friedmanesque (a philosophy the editors worship when it suits their ends) to pay higher wages to attract employees (and conversely not lose incumbent employees) viz. higher paying departments (like, say ... the City of Tampa Police Department).
Recognizing that the City of Tampa treats its law enforcement workers more decently than the County does (thus making it more difficult for other employers to depress the wages of their employees), the editors have an easy explanation:Alas, the city of Tampa has helped create unrealistic expectations by continually giving in to police union demands. Tampa now has one of the highest-paid forces in the Southeast, which is going to be increasingly difficult to maintain as the city is faced with major funding cutbacks. Yet the West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association, which represents both the Tampa police and Hillsborough deputies, continues to demand ever more generous raises. There's the rub: the City of Tampa made a policy decision to pay law enforcement officers decently, in an effort to attract and keep top notch cops, and to recognize the critical nature of the job (not to mention the risks), has - in the eyes of the mouth breathers on the Trib editorial board - somehow been bamboozled by, and caved in to, those icky "union" thugs. If you can stomach it, the rest of the editorial is here: "Union's Attack On Sheriff Conceals Financial Motive".
Perhaps the cocktail swilling swells on the Trib's editorial board should take a gander at this letter to the editor today (in another newspaper of course); "In response to Tuesday's 'My Word column' by Allen Kupetz", the letter writer opines that he issurprised that an executive-in-residence at a graduate business school would hold such a simplistic view of the labor market and the minimum wage.
His assertion that McDonald's would still have to pay a living wage, in the absence of a minimum-wage law, to retain a sufficient work force is naive at best. It assumes that unskilled jobs are more numerous than unskilled workers, which is clearly not true. ...
Businessmen such as Kupetz seem to long for an America where 95 percent of the population lives in abject squalor, permanently cut off from the capital that would afford them any hope of economic advancement, while only the rich would have the means to get richer. I challenge him and those like him to try living on the minimum wage for a year or two. Then see if they still think they would be better off at the mercy of a "free" labor market, which can only drive wages lower. "Work for as little as $1 an hour?" Now there's an idea.
"Looks like 'payback,'" imagine that
"A government watchdog is questioning the appointment of former Gov. Jeb Bush to the board of an Orlando banking company because a related company benefited from tax breaks pushed by Bush's administration." "Jeb Bush's board seat looks like 'payback,' critic says".
DNC lawsuit tossed
"A federal judge rejected U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee on Wednesday, ending what was probably Florida Democrats' last hope of having the Jan. 29 presidential primary count toward selecting delegates." "Florida has to comply with the same rules and procedures as everybody else, and does not get to have its own way," said U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle after an hourlong hearing.
Nelson's attorney, Kendall Coffey, said he was "disappointed" by the ruling but doubted Nelson would appeal.
"It is a Republicans-only primary on Jan. 29, and that's a crying shame," Coffey said, in reference to the fact that Republicans continue to campaign in Florida while Democrats do not because of pressure from the party and early primary states.
Nelson had hoped Hinkle would force the national party to count all of Florida's 210 delegates in next summer's nominating convention or, in the alternative, make the penalty a 50 percent loss of delegates, as the Republicans have done, rather than 100 percent. "Judge throws out suit against DNC". See also "Primary date suit dismissed", "Judge won't force DNC to seat delegates", "Florida Dems lose election lawsuit", "Judge tosses suit over primary" and "Florida Democrats Lose On Primary".
Good luck
"Florida lawmakers want Bush to pursue diplomacy with Iran".
Sea cows
"Sacred cow: Manatee keeps its status".
Smart?
"Florida university system chancellor Mark Rosenberg has struck the right balance with his plan to govern individual universities through compacts. The compacts would allow campuses their operational freedom while providing the necessary state oversight to set goals and limit costly duplication." "Smart plan for universities".
Open for business
"Florida's state-run investment pool for local governments reopened Thursday morning after being shut down last week amid a run in which nearly $10 billion was withdrawn." "State reopens frozen investment pool to local governments". The Tallahassee Democrat editors: "Trust factor: Unfreezing SBA fund just step one". Troxler: "On three, everybody panic!"
Oops!
"An innocent internal memo from the Division of Emergency Management on Tuesday flooded the inboxes of thousands around the state with scores of unwanted, and in some cases offensive, e-mails." "Thousands of state workers buried by unwanted, offensive e-mails".
Political pool
"Every investor knows that higher yields are good, right? Except that higher yields come from higher risk. Case in point: the Local Government Investment Pool." Properly, the pool has new management - the private firm BlackRock Inc. Coleman Stipanovich, whom Ms. Sink accused of "stonewalling" about the problem, resigned as the director overseeing about $190''billion in investments for the board of administration, including the state's $136''billion pension fund. Mr. Stipanovich, the brother of Republican lobbyist and consultant J.M. "Mac" Stipanovich, got the job in 2002. His predecessor, Tom Herndon, had been Gov. Chiles' chief of staff. Mr. Herndon was forced out because of a scandal involving state investments in Enron.
The state-run investment pool acts as an interest-bearing checking account for governments, so investment risk must remain low. Using politics to determine who runs the pool poses an unacceptable risk to the public's money. "Politics out of the pool".
What will people think?
Bill Cotterell wonders what people will think when they look back at present day Florida: What, for instance, will our far-distant descendants think of a society with an increasingly service-driven economy that bases its revenue on a rigid, regressive sales tax? Why would we cling to a constitutional ban on a state income tax enacted 80 years ago, when Florida was trying to get people to move here? ...
Back to the present, since computers make it possible to tabulate the sales tax for online shopping, and since some states already collect it, why do we continue to pass up a couple-billion dollars of revenue? That's money that's already owed, not a tax increase. ...
The tax and budget folks face a conundrum.
If they play safe, go for short yardage, they don't meet the needs of a state with about 1,000 new people moving in every day and a never-whetted appetite for smaller classrooms, bigger prisons and better environmental protection. But if the commission goes long, tries to really accomplish something, it'll never get 60 percent of the voters to approve.
That's another thing that will vex future scholars. ...
History will note that anybody who proposed unpleasant solutions got savaged in the next campaign, and we can blame only ourselves for electing the candidate or party with the best attack ads.
So legislators cut a couple-billion dollars out of state spending because of slumping revenue forecasts. They periodically come up with gimmicks, responding with short-term patches when the public gets angry about homeowner insurance or property taxes.
Maybe we could sell some bridges and highways, make them toll roads. How about an Indian gaming compact?
A quick fix, even one that falls far short of the mark, is always safer than looking even five or 10 years ahead and advocating permanent, stable sources of revenue and reasonable spending restraint. "Unless we make hard choices, future looks grim".
FAMU
"Sen. Al Lawson is asking that a $1 million task force investigating operational and financial issues at Florida A&M University be dissolved, citing recent successes by the school's new president to address problems." "Dissolving FAMU task force urged".
Whatever
"LeMieux was born and raised in Broward County and was twice elected the county's Republican Party chairman. He will practice law in Tallahassee. "I want to be close to help out," he said, adding that he will continue to advise Crist as needed [no lobbying for paying clients of course]. ... He will be replaced by Eric Eikenberg, who currently serves as Crist's deputy chief of staff. Eikenberg previously served as chief of staff to former U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw and has been a deputy executive director for the Republican Party of Florida." "Gov. Crist's chief of staff to step down to practice law".
Another shady deal for "Jeb!
"When an Orlando bank appointed former Gov. Jeb Bush to its board last month, it heralded his eight years in the governor's mansion."Bush would bring "tremendous talent, leadership and vision" to CNL Bancshares Inc., stated a news release quoting its board chairman, James Seneff.
What the release didn't mention was that four years before the appointment, Bush's administration approved a lucrative tax break for a company that Seneff heads.
Bush's office approved $3.1-million in state and local tax refunds to be paid over eight years to CNL Holdings, which has ties to CNL Bancshares. State records show the company has collected $181,875 so far.
Bush's administration also had another tie to Seneff. It championed a massive toll road that would have boosted the land value of property owned by a second company in which Seneff has a leadership role. "In light of this tax refund and road project, "Bush should have refused the appointment to CNL Bancshares, said Ben Wilcox, executive director of Florida Common Cause, a nonpartisan political watchdog group.
"It smacks of political payback," Wilcox said. "It's the appearance of a conflict that he should want to avoid."
Bush and CNL Bancshares wouldn't comment on how or why he was chosen for the board. Oh yeah, remember this:This is the second corporate board appointment for Bush. In May, Tenet Healthcare Corp. created a special board seat for Bush. Last year, Tenet directors other than the chairman were paid fees of $97,700 to $129,222. Bush will also get restricted stock worth $260,000. "Bush post raises eyebrows". Unfortunately, today's story neglects to remind readers that the Tenet is a, how do we put this .... less than upstanding corporate citizen:The Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. announced today that Jeb Bush has been chosen for a seat on the company’s board of directors. ...
The company recently was the subject of several investigations into Medicare overbilling. For many years, a high percentage of its revenue came from exploiting a loophole in Medicare regulations covering high-cost patients.
The company reached a $900 million settlement with the government last year on those charges.
Tenet also has been a major political donor in Florida. The company has given to candidates of both parties, but most heavily to the Republican Party. From 1996 through last year, Tenet contributed $162,500 to the state party. "Jeb Bush Lands Corporate Board Gig". See also "Tenet Settles Fraud Suits for $900 Million" and "That's Our 'Jeb!'". In the latter piece, we read that, according to TheStreet.com's Mutual Funds Columnist, Brett Arends, "Tenet's recent public filings read like a police blotter."
In any event, all this helps us answer this old question posed by the St. Pete Times: "what exactly does Jeb Bush do for a living?".
Hill "cruising" in Florida
"Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. is cruising in the polls in Florida and two other swing states, according to a poll released this morning by Quinnipiac University." "Latest Florida Presidential Poll". Nationally, "Polls: It's still anybody's race".
Union bashing, take 22891
In the course of praising yet another anti-union ruling by Florida's public employeesers Relations Commission, the jerks on the Tampa Trib editorial board give us this garbage: Now it's up to the Public Employees Relations Commission to exercise the same type of common sense and reject the union's excessive request for "gap insurance" to cover deputies and their families from the time they retire from the agency until they become eligible for federal coverage.
This is an excessive perk that taxpayers should not be required to help subsidize. When a worker retires and leaves an agency, that should be the end of providing insurance.
Union employees should have to do what many in the private sector do - secure their own outside health insurance until federal plans kick in. "Ruling On Deputies Union Is Right On The Money". That's our Tampa Trib, breathlessly getting the word out on uppity employees - after all, we wouldn't want too many employees unionizing and arrogantly asking* for commie stuff like, you know ... retiree health insurance.
- - - - - *Surely the editors are aware that Florida's unionized public employees can only make contract proposals at the bargaining table. If the public employer does not agree to the proposals, the employees of course have no right to strike in support of their contract proposals; and, further, if the parties do not reach agreement (i.e., they reach impasse), the public employer has the unilateral right to resolve and impose whatever terms it likes. What, then, is the big deal about a bunch of deputies - you know, the folks who get killed in the line of duty while protecting the cocktail swilling swells who populate editorial boards - having the audacity to propose retiree insurance in collective bargaining?
"One final attempt"
"The state's top congressional Democrats will make one final attempt today to breathe life into the party's all-but-ignored Florida presidential primary by pressing a federal lawsuit against national party leaders." "State Dems take presidential-primary dispute to court". See also "State Democrats take rules to court".
Kill 'em all
"Crist, who once sponsored a law allowing the death penalty for major drug kingpins, said Tuesday the state might want to make it easier to execute dealers." "Executing drug dealers may get easier".
Of course, we don't want to consider that Blacks are sent to prison at higher rates than whites after convictions in drug cases. And of course Florida would never engage in behavior like the folks in Tulia, Texas. Charlie may want to read this: "Tulia: Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town".
"Potentially larger problems"
"As Florida leaders took steps Tuesday to settle a troubled investment fund run by the state, they acknowledged potentially larger problems coming from the subprime mortgage crisis." After temporarily freezing the entire investment pool for local governments last week in response to a two-week run of withdrawals, Gov. Charlie Crist and other State Board of Administration trustees voted Tuesday to limit the freeze to about 14 percent of the $14 billion fund until the mortgage meltdown cools and to establish restrictions on governments' withdrawals from the rest.
Then the director of the board, which manages the fund along with 29 others for the state, resigned in hopes of restoring investor confidence. The 30 state investment funds total $187.5 billion in assets. ...
Sink said she talked with Stipanovich about resigning before his announcement. She said Stipanovich and his staff had "stonewalled" investors who raised questions about the downgraded securities, which contributed to the unprecedented two-week run of withdrawals once he reported Nov. 14 that some funds in the pool had links to companies tainted by the subprime mortgage crisis. "Investor pool's troubles run deep". See also "State revises fund's rules", "Local governments come up short", "Troubled state investment fund will resume business" and "Agency head quits as state fund reels".
Mike Thomas takes a shot at Charlie:"We have a higher duty not to just help local governments make a mound of dough . . . ," Crist said.
The governor says really stupid things sometimes. The last thing this is about is anyone making a mound of dough.
It's about not losing a mountain of it because of bad decisions by a fund that Crist helps oversee. "Florida's state fund freeze leaves local governments out in the cold".
"Obviously, just the opposite is true"
"Add another name to the list of those whom Florida owes compensation for wrongful incarceration." Results from DNA tests consistently excluded Mr. Heins. A bloody fingerprint at a faucet where the killer tried to clean up did not match that of anyone living in the apartment. On Tuesday, Duval County State Attorney Harry Shorstein dismissed all charges.
Jeb Bush once said of such an exoneration that the system worked. Obviously, just the opposite is true. The system failed, and the system had to be persuaded to look again at what the system had ignored. There is no way to adequately compensate Chad Heins, but he deserves more than the satisfaction of knowing that he was right. "How much for 13 years?".
'Glades
"The Army Corps of Engineers has revised its plan for Everglades restoration to show quick results and help persuade Congress to pay for the project over several decades." "Army Corps alters strategy on Everglades restoration".
That's our Gus
"GOP Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Palm Harbor is introducing legislation to beef up security measures for the U.S. student visa program." "Bilirakis Proposes Closer Watch On Foreign Students".
Believe it or not
"The government's legal adventurism against Guatemalan dishwasher Pedro Zapeta and his life savings will end up costing taxpayers far more than the $59,000 authorities have confiscated from him." In September 2005, Mr. Zapeta tried boarding a flight to Guatemala at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport with $59,000 he had saved over 10 years of washing dishes in Stuart. He intended to start a business back home. Federal agents saw the cash in his duffel bag, confiscated it and charged him with carrying drug money. Once Mr. Zapeta brought a lawyer to court, the government dropped the drug charges. Despite working overtime since then, authorities have not produced evidence that links him to any criminal activity.
Yet there is plenty of evidence about Mr. Zapeta's years of hard work. ...
Yes, Mr. Zapeta entered illegally, which is a misdemeanor. Aside from that, his most egregious offense is naivete. It was his first flight. He knew nothing about the law that requires passengers to declare cash amounts greater than $10,000. He has no passport and yet tried to board the plane, hardly the behavior of the drug mule the government claimed to have caught. In January, U.S. District Judge James Cohn ruled that Mr. Zapeta could keep $10,000 - the amount the law allows without declaration - but would have to forfeit the rest. ...
His appeal to the 11th Circuit for a fair punishment that fits the violation prompted [an] order for oral arguments. But Mr. Zapeta may not be around to hear them. He faces a deportation hearing in February, another waste of taxpayers' money. Mr. Zapeta was deporting himself two years ago, and bought his own ticket to do it. "Settle dishwasher's case".
On a related note: "MIA deportation flights accelerate U.S. policy", "Florida immigration agents increase arrests of illegal immigrants" and "Crackdown boosts arrests of fugitive immigrants in Florida".
Sex ed in St Lucie County
"So, what, the evil AIDS fairy strikes you with her wand?" "Sex education and misinformation".
Sea cows
"By any objective account, the outlook for Florida's manatees is shaky. Scientists divide the state manatee populations into four regions and in two of those regions - including the one that covers Tampa Bay - the marine mammal's survival rates are not sufficient to sustain its numbers." "State Should Not Let Wordplay Jeopardize Outlook For Manatee". See also "Protect the manatee", "Whatever the label, manatees in danger", "Protect the manatee", "State shouldn't even think about changing sea cows' status without better count" and "Gov. Crist sticks up for the sea cow".
Florida to embarrass itself yet again
"Coalition submits petitions to put marriage amendment on ballot".
Seminoles
The Sun-Sentinel editors: "Good governance benefits everyone. Bad governance costs everyone. The principle sticks no matter whether it is a municipality, a county, the state or federal government — or even the Seminole Tribe of Florida. U.S. taxpayers and Florida residents have a stake in the way money is appropriated by the tribe, much as the tribe has a stake in decisions made by its neighboring communities." "Questionable funding decisions by Seminoles deserves scrutiny".
Alcee
"U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings announced Tuesday he plans to resign from the House Intelligence Committee, but left the door open to serving on the select panel again in the future." "Hastings to quit intelligence panel".
Sequoia Voting Systems
"After months of balking, Palm Beach County commissioners Tuesday agreed not to consider other vendors and to purchase $5.5 million worth of optical-scan voting machines from the company that sold the county its paperless electronic touch-screen machines in 2002. The commission voted 6-1 to approve a contract with Sequoia Voting Systems to supply 1,001 optical scanners in time for the August 2008 primaries and November presidential election. The switch from electronic voting became necessary when the Florida Legislature and Gov. Charlie Crist this year approved a law requiring paper ballots after July 1, 2008." "Post: Voting-machine contract approved without competition".
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