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Today’s Live Wire: Quick Links
- Bunnell Lobbies Tallahassee
- Internet Cafe Ban Advances
- Gingrich Losing in Rout
- The Muppets vs. Fox News
- St. Johns Schools in $9 Million Deficit
- America Drops Out of College
- Ennio Morricone, Master
- When Adolescent Girls Are Possessed
- Stradivarius My Ass
Feb. 2, 4:34 p.m. From Bunnell’s Dan Davis, the city clerk: “More than 100 elected officials attended the annual Florida League of Cities Legislative Action Days event in Tallahassee January 24-25 to lobby and speak directly with state senators and representatives regarding key issues impacting cities in Florida. By being in attendance, elected officials are armed with knowledge and know-how when speaking face-to-face with lawmakers. As a united front, the municipal delegation visits the Capitol, where they meet with numerous legislators on issues ranging from pension reform to economic development to water policy and many more priorities. The two-day advocacy-centered program is designed for discussions and idea-sharing between city officials and legislators. Bunnell City Commissioner Daisy Henry had discussions with Sen. Audrey Gibson and Representative Leonard Bembry. These conversations allowed her to gather relevant information on matters of importance to the Bunnell City Commission and the citizens of Bunnell. Legislative Action Days is a call to action to elected officials and requires them to keep a fast-paced schedule packed with opportunities to learn, network and make a difference at the Capitol. Not only do elected officials have a chance to make their voices heard, they get a first-hand view of happenings in Tallahassee and the opportunity to speak directly with those who make decisions that impact their communities and citizens.”
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Internet Cafe Ban Advances in Florida House
Click On:
- Bill To Ban Internet Cafes Advances in Florida Legislature as Opponents Call It a Job Killer
- With Pill Mills and “Internet Cafes” in Sight, Palm Coast Prepares Stricter Regulations
- Don’t Ban Internet Cafés. Regulate Them.
Gingrich Losing It in Florida, in a Rout
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The romance with Florida voters is over. Gingrich, whose appeals to Saul Alinski are not working anymore, is losing it. From the Christian Science Monitor: “Gingrich appears headed toward a big defeat in Tuesday’s GOP primary in Florida. Five polls out Monday show Mitt Romney ahead of him by at least 5 percentage points (Insider Advantage) and as much as 20 points (Suffolk University). In the Real Clear Politics average of recent polls, Mr. Romney leads Mr. Gingrich by 12.5 points. The polls reflect a stunning reversal of fortune for the former House speaker, who trounced Romney in the South Carolina primary only nine days ago by nearly 13 points. Gingrich is reacting defiantly, insisting that the Republican nomination race will go on all the way to the party’s convention in August. Candidates in trouble always say they’re in it for the long haul. After all, why telegraph to your supporters that you may be a lost cause? And after Tuesday, only a tiny fraction of convention delegates will have been awarded. But in Gingrich’s case, he may mean it. He has long dreamed of becoming president, and at age 68, this is likely his last chance to be taken seriously as a presidential candidate. But first, there’s the question of money. […] Enter Sheldon Adelson, the Nevada casino magnate, and his wife, who have already pumped $10 million into a pro-Gingrich super political-action committee that has funded ads highly critical of Romney. If the Adelsons re-up with another donation to Winning Our Future, that signals to potential Gingrich campaign donors that he’s still in the game.” The full story.
See Also:
- Who The Hell Is Saul Alinsky?
- Florida’s Disgraceful New Limits on Voting
- Bloodied Candidates Stumble Toward Florida Finish as Gingrich Wilts and Romney Adjusts
- Gingrich Lead, Short-Lived, Vanishes in Florida
- New poll shows Romney surging in Fla.; Gingrich looks to future primaries
- Newt’s promise: No reporters as moderators
Yes, Fox Business took on the Muppets last month over their supposed anti-oil agenda. Here’s how the Muppets struck back. You can catch up on Fox actually arguing with Muppets in the clip below.
St. Johns Schools in $9 Million Deficit
From the Record: “St. Johns County education officials say the district will be $9 million in the hole even with the $10.4 million it would get from the state as part of the $1 billion in additional education funding the governor and Florida House leadership propose. That shortfall means the school board likely will face some tough decisions for next school year as budget reserves shrink. […] The district is looking at least at a $9 million shortfall because a large federal stimulus package is running out and the student population is continuing to grow. […] In 2009 the federal government threw Florida a lifeline in the form of a $3 billion stimulus package for K-12 public schools. The money helped offset some of the state funding cuts in education brought about by the ongoing financial crisis. The stimulus package was for only two years and the funding is coming to an end. In St. Johns County that means about $6.3 million will be off the table. […] Unlike most school districts St. Johns County is expected to grow. More than 900 new students are predicted for 2012-13 in St. Johns. For the entire state, about 30,000 new students are predicted. […] The budget will take two other “really big hits,” Degutis said. Both have to do with the Florida Retirement System and could cost $4.8 million. The Florida Legislature last session required the contribution to Florida Retirement System to go up 1.6 percent. Here, that translates to about $2.3 million. The other hit would be if Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal to fully fund Florida Retirement System at 100 percent is approved. The district’s share of that is estimated to be up to $2.5 million. […] Three other major expenses in St. Johns County include textbook upgrades as required by the state ($520,000), start up costs for Elementary School L in Palencia ($1.39 million) and increase in electricity costs after FPL announced it’s going up 8 percent on rates ($480,000). […] In 2007-08 the base allocation per student was $4,163.47. In 2011-12, the amount was $3,479.22. Based on the governor’s budget, the amount for 2012-13 would be $3,564.64. In St. Johns that would be about $85 more per student next year, but the district will have about 940 more students and those new students will mean additional costs. In the past St. Johns County has used the reserve fund balance to help maintain programs and teachers. That option is running out.” The full story.
See Also:
- Maintaining Low A, Flagler School District Is 29th in New Florida Ranking; St. Johns Is 1st
- House Releases $69.2 Billion Budget, Including 9.5% Increase in Pre-K-12 Funding
- Flagler School Board Defends Its Own Budget Cutting, Batting Down Most Alternatives
- Conklin: Time to End the Legislature’s Betrayal of Florida’s Promise to Our Children
- Last-Minute Budget Deal Reduces Districts’ Dollars and Oversight of Charter Schools
From the Wilson Quarterly: “[T]here is strong evidence that America needs more people to earn college degrees, not fewer. The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce has projected that if current trends continue, the nation will produce three million fewer college graduates by 2018 than the labor market will require. That’s because the economy continues to reorganize itself in ways that favor people with the knowledge and skills that college degrees represent. As economists Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz have argued, America’s economic dominance during the 20th century stemmed in significant part from educational investments that began in the 19th century. “The nation that invested the most in education,” they wrote, “was the nation that had the highest level of per capita income.” Other nations have noticed. Data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show that highly industrialized competitor nations have increased college attainment faster than the United States in recent decades. A few nations, including South Korea, have even surpassed us in the proportion of the national population from ages 25 to 34 that holds a bachelor’s degree. When associate’s degrees are included, we fall to ninth place in college attainment. Meanwhile, America’s population is becoming increasingly diverse, with the greatest growth occurring among Hispanic citizens who have below-average college attainment rates. Helping new generations of Americans graduate from college will be crucial to the nation’s future prosperity. […] According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, high school math and reading scores have been flat for decades. One reason for this poor performance is that there has never been a serious effort to establish consistent high standards in America’s secondary schools and to hold schools accountable for achieving them. The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and its antecedents focused primarily on elementary and middle school, requiring only one round of tests in high school. […] The years between grades 10 and 14 are also the leakiest segment of the education pipeline, a time when students drop out of high school, fail to enroll in college, and drop out of college by the hundreds of thousands every year. Many colleges could also be characterized as “dropout factories.” Among students who enroll as first-time full-time freshmen in four-year universities, less than two-thirds graduate within six years. Among all new college students, the on-time graduation rate is less than 50 percent. In 2009, more than 350 four-year colleges and universities reported a six-year graduation rate of 30 percent or less. […] We could begin by extending the public subsidy for education all the way through grade 14.” The full essay.
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Has there ever been a greater master of movie soundtracks? Here he is, Ennio Morricone, conducting a bit from “Cinema Paradiso,” which won the best foreign film award in Reagan’s last year. Please don;t confuse the film’s marvelous elegy to nostalgia with nostalgia with those years. The trailer is below Morricone’s bit. We should get the Flagler Youth Orchestra to try one of his pieces.
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When Adolescent Girls Are Possessed
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Stradivarius Violins Get Dissed
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Begonia says
If I had any money to give to Gingrich, Santorum and Paul, I would. State party here is only carrying Romney materials.
Do they think we’re not going to notice?
Went to what they call Republican central here and it was all Romney. Why should we bother to vote? Anybody wondering why the gop and media are trying so hard to kill gingrich?
That is the bigger story than the gingrich campaign. The rpof thinks they know best. If the rpof were doing their job, both state parties actually, there would be no Tea Party here in FL.
tjm says
With Romney we get another NOBAMA. Socialist forcing medical and what ever else he can down our throats. With Newt we at least have a man who has been there and done that. The EU is also nervous about Newt. That s why the POWERS to be don’t like him. Paul I like most of what he says but he gets a little nutty and Santorum. Its just not his time.. I really like him and the values he stands for… PLZ come back again MR. SANTORUM…