Crist’s belated embrace of gay adoptions, civil unions for gays and lesbians, and full, equal rights for gay soldiers makes him socially indistinguishable from Kendrick Meek.
Florida Legislature
Alex Sink and Rick Scott on Health Care: Sharp Clash of Opposites in Race for Governor
On health care, there are no blurry lines between Florida Gubernatorial candidates Alex Sink and Rick Scott. It’s a story of opposites.
In 5-2 Ruling, Florida Supreme Court Rejects Ballot Measure Banning Federal Health Reform
Citing “misleading and ambiguous language,” the court rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have banned mandated federal health insurance in Florida.
Florida’s High School Students Near Bottom in College Readiness; Flagler’s Do Worse
The college readiness scores, trending downward for the state and for Flagler, undermine the state’s contention that it is improving education on a nationally competitive level.
Florida Tax-Free Days: The Fine Print
The tax-free holiday in all its details: what’s tax-free, what’s not, according to Florida’s tax revenue department.
Move Over, Delbrugge: How Janet Valentine Shifted the School Board on a Tax Levy
New School Superintendent Janet Valentine quietly showed her political and parliamentary skills when she turned the board from opposing to approving a school tax referendum.
Food Safety Inspections End At Florida Hospitals, Child Cares and Nursing Homes
A new law designed to diminish duplication of services ends them instead, as food-preparation for children, the sick and the elderly will go mostly uninspected from now on.
State’s Largest Districts Find “Significant Anomalies” in FCAT Results and Demand Halt to Grading
In the latest FCAT testing scandal this year, superintendents want FCAT tests investigated before high-stakes school grades are released.
Spy-and-Snap Red-Light Cameras Will Enrich Private Company At Palm Coast’s Expense
The traffic cameras generated $1.7 million for Palm Coast since 2008. Most of that money will now go to a private company and to Tallahassee, while the cameras keep snapping.
Pressing for Raises, Teachers’ Union Holding District Hostage Over Class-Size Compromise
The union would approve a district plan to comply with class-size requirements in exchange for $2.4 million in raises.
Flagler Get Your Gun: Supremes Rule 5-4 That 2nd Amendment Extends to States and Locals
The ruling is more likely to confuse rather than clarify how state and local gun regulations may be written into law.
Citing School Board Flux, Conklin Opts Out of Taking on Thrasher Or Others Until 2012
Her eyes set on higher office in 2012, School Board member Colleen Conklin said she came close to running against John Thrasher but will let a Duval Democrat take him on.
How the Oil Slick Is Fouling Florida’s Government Budgets–And What To Do About It
The oil spill is Florida’s 9/11. People won’t die. A way of life will. The Florida Legislature should be in crisis mode, not in recess, anticipating what to do next.
Catch FlaglerLive on CNN
I’ll be on CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield during the 3 p.m. hour discussing the oil spill’s impact on local governments, and particular local school districts.
Crist, Rediscovering His Inner Moderate, Vetoes Anti-Abortion Bill
The veto continues Crist’s rejection of GOP hard lines against teacher unions and in favor of unregulated business.
Mica: Bunnell Still Has “Fighting Chance” for a Train Station; Data and State’s Will Are Key
In an interview with FlaglerLive, John Mica outlines what Bunnell has going for and against it as it angles for a train station.
Ten Things You Should Know About the $70.4 Billion Budget Crist Is About To Sign
Undermining Bright Futures, imposing ultrasounds on pregnant women, studying school funding, favoring bikers, and more curiosities from the state budget.
Florida Legislature’s Spending Misleadingly Labeled as Pork
Most of the spending called “pork” (or “turkeys” by Florida TaxWatch is of immediate and necessary benefit to senior health, care for the poor and transportation.
Florida Medicaid Audit Reveals Shockingly Poor Oversight
Lax state oversight of Medicaid is fueling runaway costs in the health program covering 2.7 million poor and elderly Floridians.
Florida’s Abortion Follies:
When Lawmakers Are Sexual Predators
Florida’s latest anti-abortion legislation shows that sexual predators aren’t just the monsters who assault and rape. They can also be men who control women and girls by subordinating them their moral assumptions, which usually have immoral results.
Florida’s Small-Business Health Insurance Exchange a 2-Year Bust
Two years after GOP lawmakers launched it as a way to deregulate the health-care market for small businesses, Florida Health Choices still offers no coverage and faces an uncertain future.
We Need Drilling. Just Not Where You Think.
The BP rig disaster will spill more oil in the Gulf of Mexico than the Exxon Valdez did in Prince William Sound. Time to cap the follies of cheering for more offshore oil-drilling in Florida.
The Liberation of Charlie Crist
Charlie Crist, never foreign to transgression, transgressed what’s left of the Republican Party, which has no room for moderates.
US To Florida: Health Care Opt-Out Is Not an Option
Hours after the Legislature voted on party lines to “opt out” of the new federal health law, the Obama administration said that will not be permitted.
Legislature’s Roadkill: Raiding Trust Funds
The Florida Legislature has balanced the budget by taking money from the transportation trust fund. It’s a short-sighted solution with dire consequences, argues Mark Wilson, president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
Students Fail. Cut Teachers’ Pay. Seriously?
The thinking behind Senate Bill 6 is rooted in the idea that teachers cause students’ success or failure. That’s wrong, argues Dave Riegel, a high school principal.
Crist Vetoes Senate Bill 6
Teachers are celebrating, but by vetoing SB6, Charlie Crist sent a message to Marco Rubio that the race for US Senate will be played out in the general election.
Blasting SB6: Teacher Rally Photo Gallery
If Gov. Crist had been in Palm Coast the afternoon of April 14, he’d have witnessed enthusiastic, dedicated anger at SB6 from a big segment of the county’s teachers.
Delbrugge on SB6: “Mean-Spirited” and Half-Baked Legislation
The Flagler school superintendent deconstructs the demerits of a proposed law that would, he says, be bad for students and districts alike.
Flagler Teachers Tell Crist: Veto “Horrific” SB6
Some 200 Flagler County teachers, supporters and children thronged a 150-yard stretch of sidewalk in the heart of Palm Coast Wednesday afternoon to protest Senate Bill 6 and demand that Gov. Charlie Crist veto it.
Conklin to Crist: Children Are More Than Test Scores
Flagler School Board member Colleen Conklin urges Gov. Charlie Crist to veto Senate Bill 6, which she terms “political” and “inappropriate” for children’s education.
Stolz to Crist: I Am Tired of Teachers
Peter Stolz, a former teacher from Palm Coast, urges Gov. Charlie Crist to sign Senate Bill 6 into law.