Category: State & National News
State Roundup: Sunday editions
Miami Herald: Florida Republicans are on pace to dismantle regulations, cut jobs and adopt significant changes to Medicaid and abortion rights — because they have…
Rubio in the limelight
Florida’s junior U.S. senator, Marco Rubio, is taking led on the federal debt debate. According to the New York Times, in the space of 24…
Rhee strikes back at USA Today
Taking a lesson from Jeff Bergosh, former chancellor of D.C. schools Michelle Rhee says USA TODAY’s investigation of erasures found on standarized tests is an…
House bill wipes out most consumer protections
The Florida House leadership, of course, has a different, grander purpose for its vast deregulation bill, HB 5005. They say they are after “Job-killing regulations.”…
Scott pays his dept. heads more
Austerity, pay cuts and sacrifice don’t apply to Gov. Rick Scott’s new agency heads who are earning $20,000 more than their predecessors. Read Florida Tribune.
Manslaughter charges considered for BP managers
The Guardian is reporting that BP executives, including ex-chief executive Tony Hayward, may be charged by US authorities over the lost of lives caused by…
Scott and lawmakers set to put growth in local hands
The Florida legislature doesn’t want local governments regulating fertilizer (Rep. Clay “Cow Patty” Ingram) or shooting rangers (Sen. Greg “Lock & Load” Evers). However, the…
Scott’s advisor Rhee caught in possible cheating scandal
As the District of Columbia’s former public schools chief, Michelle Rhee rode soaring student test scores to a national reputation as a model education reformer….
Scott signs bill tying teacher pay to test scores, ends tenure
At KIPP Impact Middle School, a charter school in Jacksonville, Gov. Rick Scott signed Senate Bill 736, ironically named “Student Success Act,” into law. The…
At least Pensacola is not Detroit
The City of Pensacola shrank last decade, dropping 8 percent from 56,255 in 2000 to 51,923 in 2010. Detroit, Michigan saw its population drop a…
New Senate bill lets Escambia kids go to Santa Rosa schools
A bill that would expand the public-school provisions of the Opportunity Scholarship Program moved through committees in both Florida legislative chambers this week. Students would…
Ingram manure bill narrowly passes committee
Rep. Clay “What’s that Smell” Ingram’s bill to prevent local governments from placing restrictions on fertilizer use passed the House Community Affairs & Military Subcommittee…
Move over Wisconsin, Florida union bashing begins
The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that state lawmakers have proposed several bills that are nearly identical to those proposed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: SB…
Haridopolos stalls Senate ethics bill
Last year Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos co-sponsored a bill that would have cracked down on legislative voting conflicts of interest. This year, he had…
DOE Secretary resigns
Statement from Eric Smith who announced his resignation as the Secretary of the Florida Department of Education: This past weekend, I informed the members of…
Education is the target for state budget proposals
In Escambia County, County Administrator Randy Oliver has got his board eyeing the Sheriff David Morgan’s budget as a way to balance their budget. In…
GOP double-talk
I find it ironic that Gov. Rick Scott professes that his budget cuts will create jobs and revive our economy, yet most local officials will…
NPR sting producer refused to be videotaped
James O’Keefe, the conservative activist known for his hidden-camera videos that attacked ACORN and National Public Radio, refused last week to let a local newspaper…
Who guides Gov. Rick Scott
The St. Pete Times reports that Gov. Rick Scott is guided by three conservative think tanks: Cato Institute, Reason Foundation and Heritage Foundation. If you…
Truth about state pensions
Gov. Rick Scott wants the public to believe that teachers, law enforcement, firefighters and other public employees are getting rich off their pension benefits. The…
