Like Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Walker has pushed to cut government spending, curb union power and create jobs, taking on teachers, firefighters and state workers in the process.

The political blowback sparked a recall movement for Walker. Though the recall option isn't available to Florida voters, Scott has suffered from low public approval ratings during his first year and a half in office.

His Republican colleagues in the Legislature have tempered some of his more ambitious policies, including deeper spending and tax cuts and higher payments from public workers for their pensions.

Last November, Kasich was rebuked when Ohio voters rejected a new state law that sought to curb the power of public unions.

Now Walker, who drew thousands of protesters to his state capital by joining with a Republican Legislature to all but end collective bargaining for public workers, must win a recall vote to stay in office. Independent polling shows Walker with a lead over his Democratic challenger.

A Walker loss — coupled with Kasich's setback last year — could bolster Scott's critics, who contend the second-year governor, like his Midwestern political allies, is trying to turn Florida too far to the ideological right.

But if Walker wins, it could boost Scott's argument that his policies aimed at limiting government and the power of public workers are key to an economic turnaround as he seeks re-election in 2014.

"Overreaching elections law"

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "All Floridians, especially Gov. Rick Scott and state lawmakers, should consider the sensible findings of U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, who last week threw out part of an overreaching elections law. The law's intent, to prevent voter fraud, was worthy. But it was so broad and clumsily written that it appeared to be aimed more at discouraging voters than safeguarding the process. ... Scott's and the Legislature's haphazard efforts went beyond sensible safeguards and needlessly jeopardized Americans' right to vote." "Judge stops assault on democracy".

Less than half of voter registration groups have registered a single voter

"In a recent opinion piece published in the Orlando Sentinel, Republican Party of Florida chairman Lenny Curry added his voice to those championing Florida's elections reform."

Lenny Curry argued that more than 250 groups are actively registering voters from across the political spectrum, and "are registering voters right now."

Curry is basically correct about the number of groups that signed up with the state to register voters and continue to file monthly paperwork to stay active.

But he's wrong to say they're actively registering voters.

Less than half of those groups have registered a single voter since the law took effect, and six groups have registered nearly 90 percent of all voters so far.

Furthermore, the statement's intent was to illustrate the ease of complying with the law, a measure that won't be clear until election season is in full swing.

On balance, we rate this claim Half True.

Driving the false equivalence bus over the cliff

In his effort to create a hot story, Marc Caputo drives the false equivalence bus over the cliff:

Gov. Rick Scott’s administration created a mess by trying to get rid of noncitizen voters.

And President Barack Obama’s administration helped him do it.

First, Obama’s Department of Homeland Security stonewalled the state’s noncitizen voter hunt for almost nine months by refusing Florida access to an immigration database. Then, on Thursday, Obama’s Justice Department ordered the purge to halt, in part because time had run out.

None of this is to say the feds have reason to trust Florida or Scott or give them the benefit of the doubt, however.

Scott and his fellow Republicans tried to change elections rules with a new law, passed last year, that cracked down too hard on voter-registration rules and that removed Sunday-before-Election Day early voting when African Americans have flocked to the polls. A federal judge Thursday struck down major “onerous” parts of the law, which DOJ is fighting as well.

Also, Scott campaigned in 2010 for an Arizona-style immigration law that could require local police to start hunting illegal immigrants. Obama is challenging the law in court, and the Homeland Security Department probably isn’t too keen on giving Scott’s administration access to its immigrant database.

And overall, this former Confederate state has had a shameful history when it comes to race and voting. There’s a reason five Florida counties — Monroe, Hillsborough, Hardee, Hendry and Collier — are specifically targeted by the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which protects minorities.

Broward heats up

"Election season starts to heat up in Broward".

Jebbie's failed education policy never goes away

"Former Gov. Jeb Bush is six years out of office, but his influence over the state's education policies may be greater than ever."

The Foundation for Florida's Future — a million-dollar educational incubator Bush founded in 1994 that's led by his former deputy chief of staff — is widely considered the single most influential voice over the state's educational policy, far surpassing either teachers or parents.

And the issues that it focuses on — creating more charter and virtual schools; ending tenure and instituting merit pay for schoolteachers; strengthening the state's FCAT and other standardized "accountability" tests — have surged to the top of the agenda espoused by the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott. Opposition from teachers' unions and some parents has been drowned out or ignored.

•One year after then-Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed the bill, merit pay for teachers — including elimination of tenure for all newly hired instructors — easily passed the Legislature with the backing of Scott. It topped the Foundation's bill list.

•An internal copy of Scott's legislative agenda for the 2012 session said the foundation would "take the lead" on a controversial school-voucher initiative. The so-called "Education Savings Account" would have seen the state pay part of its per-pupil expenditure direct to parents to spend on anything from private-school tuition to textbooks or curriculum for a home-schooling program. Ultimately, it went nowhere.

When only 27 percent of the state's fourth-graders earned an acceptable score on FCAT writing last month, Levesque's staff helped lead strategy sessions with the Department of Education on how to respond. They even offered the department the help of a public-relations company that she worked with through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

•While public-school funding has been cut — it peaked at $7,126 per student in 2007-08 and will be at $6,375 for the next year — programs such as the corporate-income-tax scholarship program have expanded. Lawmakers this year raised the cap on the program — established while Bush was governor — from $140 million to $229 million, with the option for further expansion.

Finally, though this year's budget had no construction money for public schools, it included $55 million in construction dollars for charter schools. Bush has been a strong proponent of school choice, including charter schools.

From the guy who can't pay his mortgage "quickly and decisively"

Here's a surprise - Marc Caputo is impressed with Rubio:

Rubio, though, still adheres to the party line.

His praise of President Obama is sparse — even amid seeming foreign-policy triumphs like the overthrow and death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in October. At the time, Rubio and other Republicans gave Obama relatively little credit.

“Let’s give credit where credit is due: it’s the French and the British that led on this fight,” Rubio, echoing the Republican Party line, said at the time in a video clip mocked by The Daily Show’s John Stewart, who essentially accused Rubio and others of being neither gracious nor statesman like.

Asked Stewart: “What the f--- is wrong with you people? Are you that small?”

When asked about the lampooning on the popular liberal comedy show, Rubio said he stood by his criticisms, which were aimed more at Obama for not acting more quickly and decisively.

"Authentic conservative"

"After Mike Haridopolos, Adam Hasner and Jeff Atwater successively bowed out of the GOP race for U.S. Senate, ex-U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon says he is taking his turn as the 'authentic conservative.'" "Dave Weldon: I'm the 'Authentic Conservative' in U.S. Senate Race".

"Election cycle formally kicks into gear next week"

"Despite voter-approved changes to the way Florida’s legislative and congressional districts were redrawn, the makeup isn’t showing much of a shake-up as the election cycle formally kicks into gear next week." "Legislative, Congressional Qualifying Begins Monday". Related: "State's political season moves at a brisk clip".

"Broken-record talk"

Nancy Smith: "It's true, we're in the fourth straight year of budget shortfalls, we need money for education, for roads, for social services. But to hear some in the media and in government talk, the only way Florida is going to survive this sour economy is with a massive overhaul of its tax structure. This is broken-record talk. It's the same fiscally reckless refrain I've heard since the day I arrived in Florida 35 years ago." "Word of Appreciation for Florida's Tax System".

Now it should be clear even to Gov. Rick Scott that barriers to voter registration drives and the state's heavy-handed purge of the voter rolls are unconstitutional. The governor should start encouraging all Floridians to vote and quit putting up barriers to the polls that disproportionately affect the poor and minorities.

The federal backlash, coming in separate moves Thursday, is the most powerful rebuke yet of a Republican governor and GOP-controlled Legislature bent on disenfranchising Florida voters by using measures that primarily marginalize African-Americans, Hispanics, poor people and other reliable Democratic constituencies.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle threw out restrictions on third-party groups that register voters, calling them "harsh," "impractical" and "plainly" illegal.

The question of whether Scott and his fellow Republicans overreached is not even close. In tossing parts of the 2011 election law, Hinkle sounded incredulous about the lengths that Republicans went to erect new hurdles to voting.

Democrats cry voter suppression. Republicans insist they’re simply trying to prevent voter fraud. Who’s right?

The problem is the way state GOP leaders in Florida (and various other GOP-led states) are going about it. They want to “prevent” a problem that there’s no evidence even exists. It carries the stench of voter suppression in a presidential election year when Florida is among a handful of swing states key to victory for either President Obama or his Republican opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Back in the contentious presidential nail-biter of 2000, the integrity of Florida’s voting system was challenged by butterfly ballots and dimpled chads and a purge of thousands of voters the state deemed to be ineligible felons when, in fact, they were eligible to vote. Those structural problems were fixed years later by federal and state laws, with new ballot scan machines in Florida and rules that made early voting possible days before the official Election Day. The point was to have access to voting and transparency.

But now, Florida seems to be heading back to those “Flori-duh” days of purging voters who have every right to vote and finding ways to limit young people, immigrants and minorities — who typically lean Democrat — from voting with onerous rules on voter-registration drives, restrictions U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle called “risky business” for those groups that faced $1,000 in fines if they submit new voter forms past the 48-hour rule.

Florida's "phantom" votes

"Almost half of Florida's voters will have their ballots counted this November by machines that can malfunction in as little as two hours and start adding votes."

A New York study found that the precinct-based vote counter added votes in some races on a ballot, which can invalidate some or all of the votes.

Although not used in Palm Beach County, Election Systems & Software's DS200 scanner will count votes in some of the most populous counties in Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward and Orange.

State elections officials stand behind the scanner, which they say has been thoroughly tested.

Even so, the manufacturer issued a nationwide bulletin warning that the scanner needs to be carefully cleaned to avoid adding "phantom" votes.

The addition of extra votes can generate overvoting - instances where two or more candidates are chosen on a ballot in the same race. If a voter doesn't correct the ballot, his or her vote in that race is thrown out. In 2008, overvoting rates were so high in Florida counties using the scanner that an estimated 11,000 people lost their vote for president, an analysis by the nonprofit watchdog group Florida Fair Elections Coalition concluded. Miami-Dade County precincts with large numbers of minority and non-English­-speaking voters were especially hard-hit.

Ballot design was part of the problem, the coalition said. However, the group requested that the state Division of Elections temporarily remove the DS200 from its list of authorized voting equipment.

That didn't happen.

Florida Voter Purge to Continue

"Despite a Justice Department letter, objections from county elections officials and evidence that a disproportionate number are voters of color, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner's office planned to continue scrubbing the election rolls, a spokesman said Friday. Gov. Rick Scott (R) ordered the search for potentially ineligible voters." "Florida Voter Purge Will Continue, Defying Federal Warning".

"Road to the future of Florida Senate goes through Tampa Bay"

"The road to the future of the Florida Senate goes through Tampa Bay in November."

Some of this year’s fiercest state election fights are likely to occur in the region, mainly because of a job held by someone that’s rarely a household name — the state Senate president.

“After the election this year, you will probably get a sense of the Senate leadership for the next six years,’’ said Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, who is running to be Senate president from 2016-18.

That’s because, due to redistricting, every seat in the 40-member chamber is up for election, and the winners will determine who holds the clout for the next decade.

Latvala, who returned to the Senate in 2010 after being termed out in 2002, wants to make sure that enough returning and newly elected Republican senators support him. He even held a fundraiser to raise money for his political committee, proclaiming the money would go to “the first Senate president from Pinellas County.”

Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, is also lining up support for the 2016-18 presidency, albeit more quietly. And Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, says he, too, remains a candidate.

The men are all Republicans but they differ in philosophy. Thrasher and Negron are conservative; Latvala is a moderate. Thrasher forged his reputation as a dominant House speaker who forcefully pushed through former Gov. Jeb Bush’s agenda. Negron began his career in the House and moved to the Senate where he has become a budget and health care expert. And Latvala is a maverick who relishes challenging leadership and forging consensus on thorny issues.

Latvala helped secure the 2014-16 Senate presidency for Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, when Thrasher and Negron lost confidence in Gardiner and attempted to hoist Thrasher to power instead. Now Gardiner, and Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, the designated Senate president for 2012-14, can help determine which candidates align with whom in 2016. The battle is fiercest in Tampa Bay.

"Get tough on the unemployed, and go easy on employers"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "If there were any questions about where loyalties lie among Florida lawmakers, consider what they've done to the state's unemployment compensation system: made it harder for the jobless to collect benefits and eased the burden on businesses of paying for them." "Florida's jobless crackdown shows skewed priorities". See also "Workers: State blocks unemployment benefits".

"Time-out-from-testing"

"'I don't agree with the system, and I don't think it's working,' said Terry Andrews, Osceola County's school superintendent, a day after the much-lower-than-expected scores were released."

"I'm not against testing, but when we test kids for 48 days out of the year, there's something wrong," Andrews said, referring to his district's testing calendar. "And when we have five third-graders who are so upset, they throw up on their tests, and we have to put them in plastic bags to grade them, it's time to look at what we're doing."

Even before the writing scores were released, however, there were signs of an increasing frustration with Florida's stable of standardized tests and how the state uses test scores to make promotion, class-assignment and graduation decisions for students, grade schools A to F and, starting this year, help judge teacher quality.

Two Florida school districts have signed a national "time-out-from-testing" resolution. The Central Florida Public School Boards Coalition has put together a white paper on the negative "ramifications" of testing, which in its view dominates too much of public education.

The Florida School Boards Association will take up the paper, and its findings, at a meeting this month.

Those upset with the system argue it puts too much stress on students and teachers, costs too much, eats up too much time and limits creativity in classrooms.

But state education leaders say the accountability plan, adopted in 1999 when Jeb Bush was governor, has improved student achievement, boosting Florida's showing on both state and national tests and increasing the number of students graduating from high school.

Florida has had a "meteoric rise" because its accountability plan measures student achievement and holds schools responsible for improving it, said Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson.

Before then, the state was a bottom feeder on most academic measures.

"Tampa strippers get ready"

"Tampa strippers get ready for a really big party -- the GOP".

Deutch "wants to find out how the purge originated"

William March: "U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch of Boca Raton has filed a public records request for documents related to the state's attempted voter roll purge, which is targeting alleged non-citizens illegally registered to vote. ... Deutch spokeswoman Ashley Mushnick said he wants to find out how the purge originated, and how people's names got on the list. The Associated Press reported that Gov. Rick Scott initiated the purge, despite advice against it by former Secretary of State Kurt Browning." "Deutch seeks records on state voter purge".

"Transferring public education money to private companies"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is angry that the Legislature forced Florida school districts to keep providing private tutoring for low-performing students at high-poverty schools. "

Mr. Duncan's department just gave Florida a waiver from that and other No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements, saying research shows that such tutoring doesn't improve academic performance.

But the required spending does something near and dear to the hearts of Florida legislators: It transfers public education money to private companies. In Palm Beach County last year, roughly 100 outside groups were eligible to provide private tutoring. They billed the district $60 to $70 a session for individual tutoring, and could collect up to $1,254 per student.

"The location is hardly a coincidence"

"Just weeks before the nation's Republicans gather in Tampa to make Mitt Romney their presidential candidate, the state's Democrats are in town to choose delegates for their convention. The location is hardly a coincidence." "State Democrats gather in Tampa to select delegates for convention".

PBC Dems could get whipsawed on immigration

The Palm Beach Post editors: "If Palm Beach County Democrats don't handle complaints about party official Clarence Shahid Freeman carefully, they could get whipsawed on immigration the way Republicans already have been."

Florida's GOP courts Hispanics, particularly Cuban-Americans, but concocted a voter-roll purge that flagged legal Hispanic voters.

As Post reporter John Lantigua revealed in a two-part series [last] week, immigration lawyers Aileen Josephs and Cynthia Arevalo have filed a complaint with the Florida Bar accusing Mr. Freeman of the unlawful practice of law. Mr. Freeman is president of the Boynton Beach Democratic Club, is on Palm Beach County's Democratic Executive Committee and was an officer of the Brazilian American Democratic Club based in Boca Raton.

The lawyers say Mr. Freeman, who is not a lawyer, improperly took money from immigrants to intercede in immigration cases and used his Dem

Florida's "shady officials" leave a cloud of ethical suspicion

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "Shady officials have, in copious numbers, left a cloud of ethical suspicion over Florida's state and local governments. In the most recent 10-year period for which records are available, Florida leads the nation in corruption convictions by the Public Integrity section of the U.S. Department of Justice. The 781 convictions are averaging more than six each month since 2000." "Please pass the sunshine".

Next time, read up on the First Amendment

The Sarasota Herald Tribune editors: "Next time Florida lawmakers are tempted to meddle with voter registration drives, they might want to read up on the First Amendment and the freedoms it protects. Thursday, a federal judge cited those freedoms as a reason to suspend the state's onerous new restrictions on groups mounting voter registration drives." "Reprieve for voter drives".

Young faces credible Dem challenger

Adam C. Smith: U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young "faces another credible Democratic challenger, St. Petersburg lawyer Jessica Ehrlich, 38, who ... makes clear she will try to wrap the Paul Ryan budget proposal revamping Medicare around Young's neck." "Challenger Jessica Ehrlich criticizes Rep. C.W. Bill Young".

To replace Rod Smith

"Florida Democratic Party chairman Rod Smith has made it clear he will not seek another term as chairman after November's election. So who is his likely replacement? So far, we hear mainly about three contenders for the next party chairman: Hillsborough State Committeeman and Democratic National Committee member Alan Clendenin; Palm Beach Democratic chairman Mark Alan Siegel; and outgoing state Rep. Scott Randolph of Orlando." "For party chairman".

"Assault on state's fragile environment by Scott administration"

Daniel Ruth on the "assaults on our state's fragile environment by the Scott administration."

The Scott administration, with its zeal to give businesses carte blanche in dealing with our natural resources, seems to hold the anachronistic view of wetlands as being peat bogs that breed mosquitoes and other vermin, dirty and dangerous places that should be drained and backfilled for development and agriculture.

The governor and his aides need a primer on the intrinsic value of wetlands. They should log on, for example, to the St. Johns River Water Management website. They would learn that wetlands benefit us by:

• Cleaning, or filtering, pollutants from surface waters.

• Storing water from storms or runoff.

• Preventing flood damage to developed lands.

• Recharging groundwater.

• Serving as nurseries for saltwater and freshwater fish and shellfish that have commercial, recreational and ecological value.

• Providing natural habitat for a variety of fish, wildlife and plants, including rare, threatened, endangered and endemic (native) species.

Why, then, would anyone — especially the state's highest elected official — tolerate dissembling when the welfare of the state's wetlands is at stake? Scott and his DEP appointees should be the lead stewards of our environment, always protecting our treasures from irresponsibility and greed.

The audacity of retirement

"It's actually a better deal for the state to have a retiree return to work since they are not entitled to further retirement benefits whereas a new hire would be."

In any event, "New hires must now work eight years to become vested in the system and will receive a retirement based on their highest eight years of earning instead of five. The new retirement parameters for calculating benefits are now set at age 65 instead of 62, or 33 years of employment instead of 30 if younger and all employees are required to contribute 3 percent of their earnings to the retirement program - although that is being challenged in court." "2nd retirement no more an option for state workers".

But, then again, we are talking about Florida, the state of Bush v. Gore infamy and the one that will celebrate the birthday of Jefferson Davis, the only president of the Confederacy, with a statewide holiday on Sunday.

Few states in the union have done more in recent years to restrict and suppress voting — particularly by groups who lean Democratic, such as young people, the poor and minorities — than Florida.

In May 2011, the state’s Republican-led Legislature passed and the Republican governor, Rick Scott, signed a sweeping election law that cut early voting short and imposed onerous burdens on voter registration groups by requiring them to turn in registration applications within 48 hours of the time they are signed or face fines.

The threat of fines has meant that many groups that traditionally registered voters in the state have abandoned the effort, and it appears to be contributing to fewer new registrations. According to a March analysis of registration data by The Times, “in the months since its new law took effect in May, 81,471 fewer Floridians have registered to vote than during the same period before the 2008 presidential election.” ...

Recently, the state announced that it would begin another round of voter purging to ensure that no ineligible voters were mistakenly on the voter rolls. Seems noble enough. But the problem is that Florida is notoriously bad at purging.

As the New York University School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice pointed out last week: “In 2000, Florida’s efforts to purge persons with criminal convictions from the rolls led to, by conservative estimates, close to 12,000 eligible voters being removed” from the rolls. As most of us remember, George W. Bush beat Al Gore in the state of Florida that year, after the recounts and the Supreme Court stepped in, by 537 votes. ...

“So far, Florida has flagged 2,700 potential noncitizen voters and sent the list to county elections supervisors, who have found the data and methodology to be flawed and problematic. The list of potential noncitizen voters — many of whom have turned out to be lawful citizens and voters — disproportionately hits minorities, especially Hispanics.” ...

Florida has more electoral votes than any other swing state, and the battle to win it — or steal it — will be epic because the election is likely to be another nail-biter, both nationally and in the state.

Weekly Roundup

"Weekly Roundup: Should I Stay or Should I Go?".

"Plenty to bolster talk of voter-suppression conspiracy in Florida"

Fred Grimm: "Dark mutterings about voter suppression and underhanded politics have been dogging Florida’s bungled campaign to excise non-citizens from the voter registration rolls."

Of course, someone — someone in a charitable mood — could shrug off this mess as innocent ineptitude.

While some non-citizens indeed seemed to have cast votes in past elections, a discomfiting percentage of the 2,631 supposedly illicit voters that the Florida Secretary of State told county elections supervisors to zap from their rolls this month turned out to be actual citizens (including a 91-year-old Brooklyn-born veteran of the Battle of the Bulge). Ken Detzner, best known as a beer-industry lobbyist before Gov. Rick Scott picked him to take over as secretary of state in February, admitted Thursday that his office’s “ability to validate a person’s legal status as up-to-date was limited.”

Perhaps his office should have thought of that earlier. The Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections found the discrepancies so disconcerting that it on Friday it advised members to suspend the purge. “We’re erring on the side of voters,” said Associated President Vicki Davis.

And it could have been just another unhappy coincidence that Detzner’s office also forgot about the state’s obligations under the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, before going ahead willy-nilly with his voter purge, particularly a voter purge based on a list that was 58 percent Hispanic. On Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sent their least favorite beer lobbyist a letter, reminding him that federal law requires that major voting changes must first be reviewed by the U.S. Attorney General or a federal judge.

The letter from Justice also warned that the 1993 law requires that a state “shall complete, not later than 90 days prior to the date of a primary or general election for federal office, any program the purpose of which is to systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters.” With the state’s congressional primary election set for Aug. 14, Florida has blown the deadline. The error-plagued list of potentially illegal voters went out May 8, but the deadline (counting 90 days back from Aug. 14) to finish up Detzner’s purge would have been May 16.

But Detzner was a beer lobbyist (though he did hold this same job briefly, back in 2003), not a math whiz. His office’s flubs might have been utterly innocent. Small beer, as they say in the business.

Someone, feeling charitable, might conclude that none of voter problems necessarily indicate some underhanded plan by Florida Republicans to game the November elections. Except that on the very same day that the letter from the Justice Department showed up in Tallahassee, a federal judge across town issued an injunction against another bit of state meddling with the voter rolls. He said aspects of the state’s controversial 2011 law aimed at voter-registration groups were “harsh and impractical.”

But somebody, feeling charitable, might think that the beer lobbyist charged with safeguarding our elections was only inept. Maybe all he needed was a little civic lesson (along with a federal court injunction) from Judge Hinkle.

"Abortions Tumble in Florida"

"As Year-Old Laws Take Hold, Abortions Tumble in Florida".

"All 5 water management district chiefs gone within 16 months of Scott taking office"

"New Northwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director Jon Steverson on his first day on the new job on Friday said he's heard the "conspiracy theories" about a DEP takeover of the water management districts but they're not true."

Steverson, 36, was special counsel and chief of legislative affairs at DEP before being picked in May to replace Douglas Barr, who was not reappointed by Gov. Rick Scott. Steverson worked closely with the districts during the Legislature's past two regular sessions as key legislation affecting the districts' budgets passed.

An avid hunter with a stuffed duck in his new office along with photos of his family, Steverson is the second DEP official in the past year to lead a water management district after Melissa Meeker's move to the South Florida Water Management District. He will earn $165,000 a year.

"I'm a guy who applied for a job," Steverson said. "I was not put anywhere (by DEP). If you called the secretary (Herschel Vinyard) today, I'm sure he'd say, 'I'd like to have Jon out here still.' At least, I hope that's what he'd say."

Also, Anne Shortelle, director of DEP's Office of Water Policy, is the top pick for a search committee to lead the Suwannee River Water Management District this month following the resignation of executive director David Still in February. With Barr's departure in April, all five water management district chiefs were gone with 16 months of Scott taking office.

Conservatives go after Pariente

Kenric Ward: "Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente may have gotten a bit more than she bargained for at Temple Emeth last month."

Taking a rhetorical shot at Gov. Rick Scott, the Lawton Chiles appointee warned the synagogue conclave that a failure to keep her on the bench would "give Governor Scott the right to make his appointments, which will result in partisan political appointments."

Free speech and political differences are great, but in the world of lawyerly canons of ethics and judicial conduct, Pariente sounded like just another partisan tub-thumper -- the kind that high-minded judges typically revile.

Pariente, who has been on the court since 1997, opened herself up to several questions (which deserve forthright consideration):

- After openly impugning Scott's conservative politics, can she reasonably sit on any cases in which the governor is a party?

- Can she fairly rule on any cases involving the Florida Bar now that the Bar has committed an unprecedented $300,000 for a retention "education" campaign that can be perceived as aiding her?

- Amid the political grandstanding, how does Pariente shake the label of being an "activist judge"? Or does she even acknowledge it?

Pariente, along with fellow Justices Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince, already believe they're under political assault; their attorney, Dan Stengle, has stipulated as much to the state.

"Jeb!" has his derrière handed to him

"A top House Democrat slammed Jeb Bush on Friday for criticizing President Obama's economic policies while not condemning those of his brother, former President George W. Bush."

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, noted that hundreds of thousands of Americans were losing their jobs in the months before former President Bush left office in 2009, and said Bush's policies tipped the scales toward the wealthy and Wall Street.

“I’ve searched the record, and as far as I can tell, during that eight-year period you did not challenge the Bush administration’s handling of the economy, criticize the excessive spending or the rising deficits,” Van Hollen told Jeb Bush, a former Florida governor, at a morning hearing.

“It lifted the yachts, but the rest of the boats ran aground,” Van Hollen said about the former president's economic policies during his opening statement.

Van Hollen noted that dozens of Republicans on Capitol Hill supported the Wall Street bailout in 2008, then opposed the stimulus package and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bills under Obama.

Jeb Bush, who was testifying at a hearing on removing barriers to economic growth, appeared taken aback by Van Hollen’s criticism.

Bad math

"59 percent of Florida algebra students pass state exam". See also "Statewide algebra test trips 52 percent of 9th graders".

"FCAT validity questioned"

"FCAT validity questioned after scoring changes, lowered marks".

Charter madness

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board point out that Florida's legislators "largely have muzzled local districts regarding charter expansion. And state officials routinely overrule school boards' charter rejections — even over shoddy standards." "Charter schools and districts".

"Rivera is playing a dangerous political game"

Fabiola Santiago on "the cultural and political divide between generations of Cuban exiles that has led to the move, once unthinkable, by Miami Republican U.S. Rep. David Rivera to sponsor a bill aimed at curtailing the benefits of the Cuban Adjustment Act."

The adjustment act was enacted to ensure legal status, after one year of living here, to Cubans fleeing the Castro regime. Rivera’s bill would keep Cubans from visiting the island during the first five years of arrival, or risk losing residency.

The change doesn’t sound that ominous, but at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment in this country runs at an all-time high, Rivera is playing a dangerous political game. The entire adjustment act could end up reformed or revoked and the victims of the dictatorship left unprotected.

Recent arrivals don’t want to suffer the family separation that the early exiles endured, so they travel to Cuba to see their relatives as soon as they can, and take with them all the goods and supplies they can legally carry. Whether it helps the regime or not, their motivation is to help family, and that’s not a crime.

Gun-nuts square off against Dyer

"Gun-rights advocates are squaring off against Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer for hiring a new city employee to spearhead the city's fight against illegal guns. Dyer said the city is simply targeting so-called 'crime guns' that end up in the hands of felons. But a gun-rights group argues that public employees shouldn't be trying to erode the Second Amendment right to bear arms." "Gun advocates take aim at Orlando gun-law staffer".

"Shameless hawking of the 'Florida Formula'"

"A Colorado think tank has described the research of former Gov. Jeb Bush’s top education advisor as “nonsensical, confusing and disingenuous.”"

Matthew Ladner received a 2011 Bunkum Award from the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado-Boulder for the research he has published while working as a senior policy and research advisor at Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education, a nonprofit whose mission is to encourage Florida-style education reform in other states.

The National Education Policy Center, a nonprofit that produces peer-reviewed research on education policy, presents the award annually to honor what the center views as shoddy education research.

“We’ve never before found someone with an individual record of Bunkum-worthy accomplishments that just cries out for recognition,” said Kevin G. Welner, director of NEPC. “Dr. Ladner’s body of Bunk-work is focused on his shameless hawking of what he and the governor [Jeb Bush] call the ‘Florida Formula’ for education success.”

Bush couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday because he was traveling.

Ladner, who has a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Houston, mocked the Bunkum Awards last year when a report he co-authored with Lindsey Burke won the honor. He did not respond to an interview request Thursday.

Ladner, who has testified before Congress and state legislatures, previously served as vice president of research at the Goldwater Institute, a conservative think tank that supports school choice. He was also the director of state projects at the Washington, D.C.-based Alliance for School Choice.

Since last year, Ladner and Bush have given a series of presentations around the country using Florida as an example to promote the types of education reforms Bush implemented during his eight years as governor. These reforms include creating and implementing standardized tests, providing greater choice with charter schools, extending vouchers for special-needs programs and offering a tuition tax credit for private schools.

Ladner argues that because Florida students’ test scores have increased during a period of school choice and grade retention, these policies must be responsible for the scores.

However, the National Education Policy Center cites evidence that links grade retention to increased dropout rates, not to improved academic achievement.

While Florida’s recent student test scores are unimpressive, Ladner still supports the education reform policies. He blames the poor scores on a slide in real estate values and other outside factors.

Campaign Roundup

"Campaign Roundup: Feds tell Florida to hold its rolls, more fallout in Tampa Senate races and no echo Chambers in Jacksonville".

Deadline to pay the state

"Next week the Agency for Health Care Administration will wrap up its meetings with the final three of the state's 67 counties, which will also a face a deadline to pay the state for the first round of monthly bills." "State accommodates counties on Medicaid billing, but sticking points remain".

Shrinking Citizens

"Insurance companies think higher rates are necessary to entice the private market to pick up Citizens policies, but Realtors and some lawmakers say it could discourage home buyers and they wonder whether private insurance carriers will swoop in to take on policies from the state-run insurer." "Insurers, agents see rates as key to shrinking Citizens; others wary". See also "Insurers push for higher Citizens rates".

Aaron Deslatte: "It's hurricane season -- and it may cost you".

Jebbie rewrites history

Jebbie Bush is in the midst of an extreme makeover. "Jeb Bush Takes On Debbie Wasserman Schultz During House Budget Hearing"; "Jeb Bush goes to Washington to speak his mind — not politics"*.

"Jeb!" wants us to forget that he governed as a failed extremist, and left Florida "first in the nation in mortgage fraud, second in foreclosures, last in high school graduation rates", and despite billions in tax cuts for the wealthy, had "the lowest job-creation rate of any Florida governor dating to 1971".

Let's also not forget that "Bush's back-to-back terms were marred by frequent ethics scandals, official bungling and the inability of the government he downsized to meet growing demands for state services, including education and aid for the infirm and the elderly." Indeed, "basic competence has been an issue for Bush".

No wonder he's not interested in the VP slot..

- - - - - - - - - -
*And then there's Jebbie's strange repudiation of Grover Norquist: "Jeb Bush rejects Grover Norquist tax pledge". "Norquist defends tax pledge following Jeb Bush remarks".

We say "strange" because, while Governor, Bush cultivated the "image as a tax-loathing populist". Moreover, and consistent with the Ryan-Romney view of the world, "A review of tax cuts enacted during Bush's terms show the bulk of the cuts have aided businesses or investors, with cuts on estate taxes and investments accounting for nearly half of the tax cuts and cuts for businesses also well into the billions of dollars.".

DOJ also said that Florida’s voter roll purge violated the National Voter Registration Act, which stipulates that voter roll maintenance should have ceased 90 days before an election, which given Florida’s August 14 primary, meant May 16.

Five of Florida’s counties are subject to the Voting Rights Act, but the state never sought permission from either the Justice Department or a federal court to implement its voter roll maintenance program. Florida officials said they were trying to remove non-citizens from the voting rolls, but a flawed process led to several U.S. citizens being asked to prove their citizenship status or be kicked off the rolls.

Detzner blames Obama

"Secretary of State Ken Detzner wrote again to the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday in an attempt to obtain what would be more updated citizenship information than the state currently has. Detzner is trying to remove noncitizens from the list of registered voters." "Ignored by Obama DHS: Florida's Request for Citizenship Database to Review Voting Lists".

Federal judge tosses "unintelligible" suppression scheme

In the second dramatic development regarding alleged voter suppression in Florida, "a federal judge on Thursday blocked a controversial Florida law signed by Gov. Rick Scott that sharply curtailed third-party groups’ ability to register voters and forced many of them to discontinue their voter-registration drives."

In a 27-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle said there was little justification for a “harsh and impractical” 48-hour deadline for organizations to deliver applications to a voter-registration offices. Granting a preliminary injunction, Hinkle said such restrictions “effectively prohibit an organization from mailing applications in” and “impose burdensome record-keeping and reporting requirements that serve little if any purpose.”

“The short deadline, coupled with substantial penalties for noncompliance, make voter-registration drives a risky business,” Hinkle wrote. “If the goal is to discourage voter-registration drives and thus also to make it harder for new voters to register, the 48-hour deadline may succeed. But if the goal is to further the state’s legitimate interests without unduly burdening the rights of voters and voter registration organizations, 48 hours is a bad choice.”

Hinkle said the statute and rules regarding third-party voter registration were “not well crafted” and “virtually unintelligible, close to the point, if not past the point, at which a statute — especially one that regulates First Amendment rights and is accompanied by substantial penalties — becomes void for vagueness.”

Romney faces a daunting reality in must-win Florida

The "after all, he is black" crowd is back in action.

"As Mitt Romney ramps up his campaign in must-win Florida, he faces a daunting reality."For 10 months, President Barack Obama has been steadily building a voter mobilization army here and now has about 100 paid staffers, 27 field offices and thousands of volunteers working almost every day to deliver Florida’s 29 electoral votes. A click on Romney’s Florida campaign website Thursday found no upcoming events in the state, while Obama’s site showed 121 events within 40 miles of downtown Miami.

Even in the face of that Obama campaign juggernaut, however, optimism abounds among Republicans across Florida. Veteran activists see the start of a Florida campaign operation far more robust than John McCain’s anemic effort four years ago, and they see a Republican electorate fired up to defeat Obama. ...

In a departure from past presidential campaigns in Florida, the Romney campaign and Republican National Committee are basing their headquarters for turning out voters in Tampa, rather than in Tallahassee with the state GOP. The “Victory” headquarters on Harbour Island just opened and is a two-minute drive from the Tampa Bay Times Forum, where Romney will accept the nomination in August. ...

Obama won Florida by less than 3 percentage points in 2008 after mounting the largest statewide campaign operation ever seen here. The effort promises to be even bigger in 2012, but Republicans are banking on a turnout operation more like George W. Bush’s formidable 2004 campaign than McCain’s."Mitt Romney campaign ramping up in Florida to enthusiasm of Republicans".

Thrasher has easy path in 2012

"With Easy Path in 2012, John Thrasher Can Focus on Other Races".

No mention of elephants

"Rick Scott Quietly Signs Four Bills for Law Enforcement".

Weldon slams Mack to Villagers

"Former Congressman Dave Weldon says he entered the Senate GOP primary because he doesn't think Rep. Connie Mack IV would be a good senator. He told a small crowd in The Villages retirement community that there were two candidates he liked in the race — Senate President Mike Haridopolos and former state Rep. Adam Hasner — but both dropped out." "Weldon says Mack wouldn't be a good senator".

Insurance industry fantasy

The Tampa Bay Times editorial board: "Another hurricane season starts today, and so do the annual rituals. Floridians check their hurricane supplies and evacuation zones. The governor and state emergency officials offer assurances that they are prepared to respond to a major storm. And legislators and the insurance industry spin the fantasy that the solution to Florida's property insurance crisis is free market competition and drastically higher premiums." "Florida needs bold insurance fixes". Related: "Political storm looms as hurricane season begins Friday" and "Critic: Citizens summit snubs consumers".

Feds investigate Florida's Dickensian unemployment benefit scheme

"Labor Department investigates Florida's tougher unemployment benefit system".

FCAT failing

The Palm Beach Post editors: "Speaking in Palm Beach County last week, Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson was busy defending the FCAT - nearly a full-time job for him these days - when he said that, to him, the letter 'F' stands for 'Future.'"

We're betting that "future" wasn't the first F-related word students and parents thought of when results from this year's Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test starting coming out last month. So many kids got a "Future" on the writing FCAT that the state board of education took a quick trip into the past and reverted to lower standards. Instead of just 27 percent of fourth-graders passing the writing FCAT, the state pretended that 81 percent passed.

Mr. Robinson has been in Florida less than a year. He got his job not because he's familiar with Florida schools but because - like the politicians who dictate state education policy - he believes that charter and voucher schools are the future of education.

Mr. Robinson wasn't around during the past decade while those politicians twisted the FCAT into a tool to bring about a future in which traditional public schools wither. Labeling public schools as "failing" based on FCAT results was a key feature of the strategy. It backfired when parents blamed politicians and education bureaucrats for putting too much weight on standardized testing.

Mr. Robinson insists that the state is sticking with the FCAT-based school grading system. But what good is a standardized test when the education commissioner resorts to platitudes to explain away poor results? If the state doesn't use the FCAT regimen for its original purpose - to identify areas where students need help - it doesn't belong in Florida's future.

"Yes, you need a scorecard"

"With the flurry over a property appraiser porn scandal and an attorney general's wedding-that-wasn't, you might have missed other intriguing political news, about state Sen. Jim Norman and his future in Tallahassee."

You might have thought him unstoppable. He is, after all, the guy who made the leap from the Hillsborough County Commission to the Senate despite all those headlines, despite a federal investigation and ethics questions about that vacation home bankrolled by a businessman friend for Norman's wife.

You might have assumed a smooth ride to a second term with the full support of his party, Florida politics being what they are.

But here's Norman in a real race and a fight for his political future — without, it seems, the full and fierce party backing that incumbents traditionally enjoy.

Who would have thought it? No less than House Speaker Dean Cannon and Sen. Mike Fasano confirmed this week that they are endorsing not Norman but the newcomer to the race, state Rep. John Legg. More endorsements are expected to follow. (Though interestingly, no word from Norman's former commission pal Sen. Ronda Storms, who is running to replace the property appraiser in the porn scandal. Yes, you need a scorecard.)

Crap in the water

"In an issue that pits some environmentalists against industry groups and state officials, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle grants the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency until Nov. 30 to develop new numeric criteria for nitrogen and phosphorus. Environmental groups had objected, and Hinkle warned the EPA not to expect any more extensions." "Judge extends deadline for federal agency to issue new pollution limits".

Empty suit strides world stage

"Marco Rubio Calls for 'Coalition of the Willing' Against Syria".

Secret, secret

"A Florida Department of Environmental Protection wetlands expert wasn’t suspended for refusing to issue a wetlands credit permit as a newspaper contends, the state agency announced Thursday. In fact, the DEP states, the permit application has yet to be completed. However, the reason wetlands expert Connie Bersok has been put on paid leave, with an internal investigation under way, wasn’t revealed." "DEP: Permit Brouhaha Not Why Wetlands Expert is on Paid Leave".

Disbarred attorney files complaint over Justice's remarks at synagogue

"A gadfly, disbarred attorney has filed an official complaint over state Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente's partisan remarks at a South Florida synagogue. In a letter to the Judicial Qualifications Commission, Jack Thompson, of Coral Gables, called Pariente's speech 'partisan, issues-related, evocative of her religion, and violative of various judicial canons.'" "Judicial Retention Battle Builds With Complaint Against Barbara Pariente".

GOPer free-for-all

"The business community this week offered a split decision in one of the most competitive and compelling Republican primaries in the Sunshine State -- the battle to replace term-limited state Sen. Steve Wise, R-Jacksonville. With Wise facing term limits, three prominent Republicans -- former Rep. Aaron Bean, Rep. Mike Weinstein, R-Jacksonville, and attorney Wyman Duggan -- are competing to represent parts of Nassau and Duval counties." "Business Community Offers a Split Decision in First Coast Senate Race".

Florida "in 'grumpy voter' territory"

"Of the five states examined by POLITICO, Florida is the only one that Moody’s [Analytics] electoral model currently suggests will flip from Obama to Romney. That’s largely because the state is expected to lag behind the national unemployment rate and remain very much in 'grumpy voter' territory."

The state-wide economy, crushed by the real-estate collapse and a drop in tourism during the recession, is recovering more slowly than the rest of the nation, according to Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness.

“Gross state product grew about 1.4 percent in 2010 and not much more than that in 2011,” Snaith said. “It’s been spotty. We’ve seen some bursts in activity in the labor market in leisure and hospitality that’s been driven by pent-up demand from the recession, people who had been scared to go to Disney or to the beach. But it’s been very intermittent.”

The real-estate market in South Florida has been boosted by international buyers, especially from South America, but it remains deeply depressed.

Still, Romney runs into the awkward problem of having Florida’s Republican governor, Rick Scott, touting the state’s dropping unemployment rate and improved economic conditions. Romney might also boost his prospects by picking GOP Sen. Marco Rubio as his running mate.

Head in the sand

"Sen. Marco Rubio on Thursday sounded a note of confidence on Mitt Romney’s standing with Hispanics, predicting that the Republican candidate’s poor polling among Latinos is 'going to change.'"

A recent Pew Research Center poll gave Obama a large lead over Romney among Hispanics — 67 to 27 percent.

Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa and Colorado.

Look at that map, and current polling, and it’s clear Obama has far more room for error than Romney.

How so? Obama could lose both mega-battleground states of Florida and Ohio (combined 47 electoral votes) and still have multiple paths to the 270 electoral votes needed to win. And if Romney loses Florida, where polls currently show a dead heat, it’s all over.

Romney, meanwhile, needs to win back three states that Obama won in 2008 and George W. Bush won in 2004: Indiana (which looks safe for Romney), North Carolina (a dead heat) and Virginia (Obama leading slightly). On top of that, he would have to pick off a state in the industrial belt, say Ohio or Pennsylvania. Even then Romney needs to win another state won by Obama four years ago — perhaps New Hampshire or Colorado.

The battleground map is sure to change. But as things stand, the map strongly favors Obama.

"Florida leads the nation in government corruption"

"An upcoming study by the new Integrity Florida watchdog group says Florida leads the nation in government corruption."

The study, to be released in about a week, will show that Florida had 781 federal corruption convictions from 2000 to 2010, the most of any state, executive director Dan Krassner told the Tampa Tribune editorial board.

In five of the last 12 years, the study shows, Florida led all states in at least one category: It had the most criminal convictions among people in government. ... The study looked at convictions won by the Public Integrity section of the U.S. Department of Justice, a data source that allows for state-by-state comparisons.

DEP Secretary under siege

"Some environmentalists are grumbling after the Tampa Bay Times reported that wetlands expert Connie Bersok was suspended with pay after she said her boss was trying to bend the rules to issue a permit for construction in wetlands. And the federal EPA is requesting more information following DEP's denial of accusations that Vinyard isn't qualified under federal law because of his previous employment with a shipyard subsidiary in Jacksonville." "Governor praises DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard amid controversies, criticism".

Teacher merit pay challenged

"The state's largest teachers union argued before an administrative law judge Wednesday that the state Department of Education has exceeded its authority with the rule it set for how school districts should evaluate teachers for merit pay." "Teachers' challenge of rule implementing Florida merit-pay law goes to judge". See also "Teachers' union spars with state over merit pay rule".

Romney's strategy to win over Latino voters flops

Andres Oppenheimer: "If presumptive Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s first major speech to a Hispanic audience in this campaign was an indication of his strategy to win over Latino voters, he is in big trouble."

During his May 23 speech to the Latino Coalition, a group of Hispanic small businesses owners, Romney didn’t mention even once the word “immigration,” according to his prepared remarks published by The Washington Post’s website. Instead, he devoted his entire speech to his plans to revive the U.S. economy and improve U.S. education standards.

After the speech, Democratic strategists noted that Romney — who clinched the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday after winning the Texas primary — is trying to sidestep the hard-line immigration stands that he took during the primaries. In his quest for conservative Republican votes, Romney alienated many Hispanics by enthusiastically backing Arizona’s draconian immigration law, and by calling for the “self-deportation” of illegal immigrants.” Many Latinos interpret that as making the life of undocumented Hispanic immigrants impossible until they leave the country on their own, which some fear could lead to harassment of all Hispanics regardless of their legal status.

In addition, Romney has opposed the Dream Act, an Obama administration-backed bill that would give a path to large numbers of undocumented college students who were brought to the country as infants by their parents, and who grew up as Americans.

According to a new national NBC/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll of Latino voters, 61 percent of Hispanics plan to vote for Obama in November, while only 27 percent plan to vote for Romney. By comparison, former Republican candidate Sen. John McCain won 31 percent of the Hispanic vote in the 2008 election, and former President George W. Bush won 40 percent in 2004.

Most Romney advisers seem to believe that Romney can win in November by sticking to his anti-immigration rhetoric when speaking to conservative audiences, and focusing on the economy and education when speaking to Latino audiences.

"Just another Rivera money mystery"

Fred Grimm: "It seems almost impolite to bring up David Rivera’s orphaned $50,000 — money we’re not sure from where, spent on we’re not sure for what — given the extent of the Miami congressman’s financial shenanigans."

Another 50 grand of peculiar origins on Rivera’s account sheets was like finding loose change under the sofa cushions for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, whose investigators spent 18 months sorting through strange consulting contracts, dummy shell companies, undeclared loans, peculiar campaign expenditures and confounding financial-disclosure declarations.

The FDLE, for example, had to trace some $500,000 back through a “company” that basically consisted of Rivera’s mother, who received the money from a Miami dog track that had hired Rivera in 2008, at the time a state senator, to run its pro-slot machine campaign. The money went to Momma, who, apparently would make David the occasional loan. The FDLE reported that her do-nothing company, Millennium Marketing, once lent him $132,000, a transaction that slipped his mind when the candidate filled out his financial declaration forms.

Before he was elected to Congress, state Sen. Rivera’s haphazard bookkeeping suggested he seemed to live off his campaign contributions, as if his very existence was no more than a perpetual campaign. State law doesn’t seem to endorse such behavior, but state law — lucky for Rivera — has a two-year statute of limitations for prosecuting campaign contributions.

“By the calendar year 2011, the statute of limitations had eliminated the possibility of charging the subject with any violation....” the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office concluded. “The overwhelming majority of the possible transactions available for prosecution as misdemeanors were barred because of the statute of limitations.”

Except this relatively piddling bit of accounting perfectly illustrated Rivera’s pattern of obscure, downright byzantine financial reporting. Herald reporters Patricia Mazzei and Scott Hiaasen noticed that on the very same day in 2006, a little known organization called Republican National Hispanic Assembly (either the central Florida version or the Miami chapter — it’s hard to tell) paid Rivera’s mother’s company $25,000. Same day again, his very, very close political consultant gets another $25,000. All this on the same day that the Republican Party of Florida transfers $50,000 to an organization called the Republican National Hispanic Assembly. Except the Republican National Hispanic Assembly has no record of receiving the money.

Rivera told Mazzei and Hiaasen that the money financed a voter outreach program in the 2006 elections. He produced some records indicating absentee ballot materials had been mailed to Miami voters. Who knows? Voter outreach, Miami style, doesn’t generate so many receipts.

Charter madness

"SCF trustees want charter school to pay back millions".

"Heavy political clout of investor-owned utilities"

The Sarasota Herald Tribune editorial board hopes "the PSC sides with consumers; it is the Public Service Commission, after all. But a customer-friendly outcome is far from assured, given the heavy political clout of investor-owned utilities, of which FPL is the state's largest." "Keep the 'public' in PSC".

A booming industry with rogue operators

The Orlando Sentinel editors: "Another legislative session has come and gone. And ... still — somehow — nothing was done to beef up safeguards for the more than 80,000 Floridians residing in assisted-living facilities."

Unbelievable.

Well, not really, considering the state's historically poor track record for protecting its most vulnerable citizens. And an equally sorry score card for reacting with all deliberate speed to remedy problems that come to light.

When it comes to strengthening protections for senior citizens from abuse, neglect and sickening or dangerous conditions in the facilities to which families entrust their care, what's it going to take?

Couldn't be that lawmakers are ignorant of the atrocities. The Miami Herald revealed that over the past decade at least 70 assisted-living residents have died as a result of neglect or abuse.

And both a Miami-Dade grand jury and Gov. Rick Scott's Assisted-Living Facilities task force concluded that the state must do a better job overseeing a booming industry in which rogue operators manage their elderly clients with illegal restraints, powerful sedatives and violence.

Yet, after the Senate crafted and overwhelmingly passed a strong plan with regulatory bite and sensible standards for upgrading safety and staff training in assisted-living facilities, the House recklessly let the plan gather dust.

What's next, fluoride?

"Recent efforts by Congress to eliminate a lengthy U.S. census survey — which some lawmakers view as costly and intrusive — have distressed a wide range of Florida researchers who see the comprehensive questionnaire as essential to their work." "Webster's effort to abolish annual census survey draws flak".

The best he could do?

"State Attorney Angela Corey, now in the national spotlight for her role in the Trayvon Martin case, announced that she is backing former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux for the Republican nomination to challenge Nelson." "GOP Senate Candidates Unveil Major Endorsements".

"Rewarding value – good outcomes, cost-effective practices"

"Critics of the Affordable Care Act have focused on the “individual mandate” to buy health coverage. But industry leaders say the most far-reaching and incendiary part of the health law could be its shift in the way Americans pay for health care."

Rewarding value – good outcomes, cost-effective practices – is likely to have the most potential long-term impact, say experts meeting in Orlando this week.

Digital technology will make it possible to track performance and report it to both the payers and the public. Woe be unto those health-care providers who do either too little or too much—their pay will get dinged.

“This is a revolution, not reform,” consultant Michael Millenson said at Tuesday’s opening of the 2012 Florida Health Care Symposium. “This is a complicated future, not an easy one. But it is better for all of us – patients, payers and for our country.”

Because it involves a shift of power and money away from specialists and toward primary-care groups, it will generate a huge backlash and lobbying effort. But those entrenched interests will run into an equally powerful force: the desperate need to cut health-care spending.

"There's only one group bigger and more powerful than the health-care industry," said consultant Brian Klepper of Atlantic Beach. "That's everybody who's not in the health-care industry."

FCAT follies

"The School Board unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday opposing standardized testing as the primary means for evaluating schools, students and teachers. They say there is so much focus on students doing well on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test that it's thwarting teacher creativity and hindering students' ability to learn." "Broward school board passes anti-FCAT resolution".

Welcome to Tampa

"Scott wants a state ethics panel to say it's OK for him to greet visitors with recorded messages at Tampa International Airport." "Gov. Scott seeking OK to greet Tampa airport visitors by tape".

GOPer scramble

Kevin Derby: "With Storms choosing to offer a primary challenge to Hillsborough County Property Appraiser Rob Turner, two prominent Republicans moved quickly to enter the race, while a third is expected to make an announcement later in the week." "GOP Hopefuls Scramble to Run for Ronda Storms' Senate Seat".

Blue Ribbon yawner

"The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Higher Education held its first meeting by telephone Wednesday. The group is charged with suggesting changes to improve the governance and efficiency of the state university system." "Funding a factor as Scott's higher education panel gets to work".

Entrepreneur in action

"A retired Florida businessman has pleaded guilty to filing a false U.S. tax return in a case involving millions of dollars in secret Swiss bank accounts." "Fla. man guilty in tax case with secret accounts".

Why did an obscure Republican organization pay $25,000 in 2006 to a defunct company founded by Rivera's mother? Why did a political consultant with close ties to Rivera receive another $25,000 on the very same day? And where did the money come from in the first place?

Further adding to the mystery: The Republican Party of Florida reportedly made a $50,000 payment to a Central Florida nonprofit group — money the group never received — on the same day the payments went to Rivera's mother and consultant. Are the payments connected?

These questions are among many left unanswered after an 18-month investigation of Rivera's finances by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, a probe prosecutors concluded last month without filing charges against the Miami lawmaker.

Investigators suspected Rivera of misusing campaign funds and concealing money he received while working as a consultant for a dog track seeking voter approval for slot machines in Miami-Dade County. Rivera, who was elected to Congress in 2010 after eight years in the Florida House of Representatives, has denied any wrongdoing, and lambasted the investigation as flawed. He remains under investigation by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service.

In a statement issued through his campaign, Rivera said the $50,000 was spent on a "voter outreach program" coordinated by the Miami chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, a little-known Hispanic group. Rivera also provided records of absentee-ballot materials mailed to voters under the Hispanic Assembly's name.

However, neither GOP officials nor Hispanic Assembly members recall such a campaign. And Rivera's mother told prosecutors in a sworn statement that her company — described by prosecutors as "non-existent" — never did any work that she could remember.

Never Mind

Update: "False alarm! Jeb Bush still not interested in VP job".

"Jeb Bush has been mostly dismissive to endless questions about him becoming Mitt Romney's vice presidential nominee but in an interview in Italy, he sounded wide open to that prospect. Here's the answer the former Florida governor gave to the online Italian newspaper Linkiesta:"

"If Romney would offer me the post of vice president, I would consider the proposal with great interest. But I don't think he will choose me. I have a lot of respect for Mitt, and it would be a duty to help him defeat (Barack) Obama.

"Landowners make millions at the environment’s expense"

The Tampa Bay Times editorial board: "Wetlands are fragile things, and in recent years Florida has done a horrible job of protecting them. But under Gov. Rick Scott, there are no limits to how far the state will go to change the rules to help big landowners make millions at the environment’s expense." "Failed stewardship puts Florida wetlands at risk".

Yesterday's Tampa Tribune editorial: "Scott's planning decisions invariably show he is a relative newcomer to the state. While he continually lambasts planning rules, he seems unaware that for decades lack of such standards proved costly to taxpayers, harmful to neighborhoods and destructive to the environment. Sensible state planning policies curtailed much of the abuse. The regulations, to be sure, sometimes could be excessive and occasional streamlining was justified, as with any government endeavor. But last year the governor and Legislature essentially abandoned the state's growth management responsibilities." "Scott ignores value of proper planning".

Scott's purge list dominated by Democrats, independents and Hispanics

Florida's "Division of Elections, which initially identified roughly 180,000 potential noncitizens by searching a computer database from the state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. But the drivers' license list doesn't automatically update when someone becomes a citizen."

The state whittled that list to more than 2,600 voters and forwarded those names to counties. A Times/Herald analysis of the list found it was dominated by Democrats, independents and Hispanics. The largest number were from Miami-Dade, home to the state's highest foreign-born population.

In Miami-Dade, 359 voters have provided proof that they are citizens. The county determined on its own that an additional 26 were citizens, while 10 others either admitted they were ineligible or requested to be removed.

Voters have 30 days from the receipt of the letter to provide documentation of citizenship or they will be removed from the rolls.

Any effort to remove names from Broward's voting rolls draws particular scrutiny because it is the most Democratic county in the state. It has more than 500,000 registered Democrats and could play a pivotal role in the outcome of a close presidential or U.S. Senate contest in November.

[Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton] and Hastings wrote a letter to Scott Tuesday questioning the timing of the voter roll drive just three months before the primary.

"Providing a list of names of questionable validity — created with absolutely no oversight — to county supervisors and asking that they purge their rolls will create chaotic results and further undermine Floridians' confidence in the integrity of our elections," stated the letter also signed by Florida Democratic Rep.'s Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Frederica Wilson, Corrine Brown and Kathy Castor. They asked Scott to "immediately suspend the purge of voter registration lists" in order to "ensure not one Floridian finds his or her legitimate voting rights callously stripped away."

Chris Cate, a spokesman for the state Division of Elections, defended the state's actions. "It's very important we make sure ineligible voters can't cast a ballot," he said in an email to the Herald on Tuesday.

He said the state continues to identify ineligible voters, saying the state Division of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has agreed to update information using a federal database that the elections division couldn't access directly.

"We won't be sending any new names to supervisors until the information we have is updated, because we always want to make sure we are using the best information available," Cate wrote. "I don't have a timetable on when the next list of names will be sent to supervisors, but there will be more names."

Republican Party of Florida chairman Lenny Curry slammed Nelson for practicing the "worst kind of politics."

"Sen. Nelson not only asks our public servants to ignore the threat to electoral integrity, but he implies those who meet their legal obligation to ensure honest elections are being discriminatory," he said in a statement. "Nelson's distortions and willingness to pit people against each other based on race demonstrates the worst kind of politics."

"First Class" for ever'one

"Charter flights to increase at St. Pete airport during RNC".

Anybody but Scott

"May 23-25 statewide poll of registered voters by Florida Opinion Research, asking about a Charlie Crist vs. Rick Scott gubernatorial matchup in 2014. This assumes the former Florida governor challenges the incumbent Republican by running as a Democrat — and survives a Democratic primary:"

Crist: 48.1 percent

Scott: 34.1 percent

Don't know/Refused: 12.8 percent

Other: 5.0 percent

The poll has a 3.46 percentage point margin of error.

While 60.3 percent of Republicans said they would support Scott, only 21.6 percent of independent voters backed him. Crist won 74.2 percent of Democrats and 52.2 percent of independents.

The former Republican governor-turned unaffiliated personal injury lawyer won support from more than 88 percent of African-Americans surveyed, while Scott and Crist were effectively tied among Hispanics.

Crist led among men, 45 percent to Scott's 39 percent, and among women, 51 percent to Scott's 30 percent. Crist also led among all age groups.

GOPers in a dither

"U.S. and Cuban scientists work to save turtles and sharks".

Privatization follies

"Leon County Circuit Judge Kevin Carroll on Tuesday heard arguments on the Legislature's attempt to order the outsourcing of health care services in the state's prison system in the state budget. He said he intends to rule by next week. Lawyers for the state said Carroll should allow the Department of Corrections to issue the contracts even if he finds the budget language unconstitutional." "Ruling could be imminent on prison health care privatization".

Siplin fined

"State Sen. Gary Siplin has agreed to a $3,000 fine stemming from violations during his 2008 campaign, the News Service of Florida reported. Siplin is accused of leaving out information on campaign-finance reports and accepting an illegal contribution." "Siplin draws $3,000 fine".

The best Mack could do?

"U.S. Rep. Connie Mack announced co-chairs for his U.S. Senate campaign: Allan Bense; Jeb Bush Jr.; Charles Bronson; Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos; Bill McCollum; Miya Burt-Stewart; Stanley Tate; and Sen. John Thrasher." "Mack taps campaign co-chairs".

Frankel v. Jacobs

"With U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, decamping for a different district, the open Broward-Palm Beach county district he's leaving behind is vital to Democrats' hopes of taking control of the House."

U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House ... wouldn't state, hint or signal who he favors in the primary between former West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel and Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs.

Obamanomics

"Consumer confidence in Florida jumps in May".

Randolph to seek party chair

"Rep. Scott Randolph, an Orlando Democrat who has been an outspoken partisan in his six years in the Legislature, won't seek re-election, he said Tuesday. He said he's leaving the House because his redesigned District 47 is composed mostly of people he has not previously represented. He endorsed fellow Democrat Linda Stewart as his successor." "Randolph is leaving House". See also "Democrat Rep. Randolph announces bid for party chair; rivals say they're focused on 2012".

"Battle royal among East Hillsborough Republicans"

"A battle royal is shaping up among East Hillsborough Republicans as state Rep. Rachel Burgin, and possibly Rep. Rich Glorioso, will challenge former state Senate President Tom Lee for the area's state Senate seat. Some insiders view Lee, probably the biggest name in East Hillsborough GOP circles, as the man to beat in the race, which is likely to be decided by the Republican primary. But both Burgin and Glorioso have substantial support bases and can't be dismissed." "Burgin, possibly others to run against Lee for state Senate".