In a stinging rebuke of Gov. Rick Scott’s interpretation of his powers, the Florida Supreme Court, in a 5-2 ruling, declared the governor’s attempt to blunt and circumvent state agency rule-making invalid.
Florida
In a Case With Implications for Palm Coast and Bunnell, Polk Sheriff Shuts Down Internet Cafe
The Internet cafe–or gambling parlor–shut down in Davenport Monday is similar to those in Palm Coast and Bunnell, where local officials and residents are debating whether and how to regulate (or ban) the businesses.
Publix and Winn-Dixie Recall Ground Beef Sold in Flagler and St. Johns Over E. Coli Alert
The E. coli-contaminated ground chuck was produced by a Dodge City, Kansas-based meat packer and distributed to Publix and Winn-Dixie. Publix stores in four states and 17 Florida counties are affected.
UF Survey: Political Acrimony and Economic Ills Hurt Real Estate’s Outlook in Florida
The University of Florida’s quarterly Survey of Emerging Market Conditions concludes that economic and political worries are holding back spending, except by foreigners. Tourism is the state’s strongest bright sport.
This Week in Flagler and Tallahassee: The Cost Of Elections, Garbage and Redistricting
The County Commission has another close encounter with Supervisor of Elections Weeks, the Palm Coast City Council talks garbage, the school board talks redistricting, Bunnell talks special events, and in Tallahassee, the governor and the cabinet meet while several redistricting hearings are held around the state.
In a Florida Case, 2nd U.S. Appeals Court To Rule on Health Law Strikes It Down (It’s Now 1-1)
A divided panel of the conservative 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, in a case from Florida, ruled health reform unconstitutional, saying it is “unprecedented, lacks cognizable limits and imperils our federalist structure.”
FPL’s $18 Billion Nuclear-Reactor Plans Leak Unanswered Questions Before Florida PSC
FPL’s plan to pass along almost $200 million in nuclear construction costs to consumers in just one year raised a question at the Public Service Commission: why charge customers if the $13 billion to $19 billion nukes plants may never be built?
To Ward Off Senility, Make That Bed: UF Researchers’ Advice to the Medicare Generation
University of Florida researchers have used laboratory-based methods to objectively measure the amount of energy older adults use up as they go about their daily activities. Activity means less senility.
Continuing Charm Offensive, Rick Scott On C-Span for 45 Minutes; Watch Video
Scott has been giving media interviews every day for the past two weeks in an effort to pull his approval rating from the abyss. He is trying to raise his likability.
Refusing Other Federal Health Care Aid, Florida Welcomes Abstinence-Only Cash
Florida has been against taking federal health care money until being for it–as long as it sustains abstinence-only sex classes.
This Week in Flagler and Tallahassee: Garbage, Jobs and Nukes
The Flagler County Commission discusses Enterprise Flagler’s future, the Palm Coast City Council takes on garbage hauling, Bunnell debates adult video arcades, and the PSC takes on nuclear power construction costs.
Florida’s Nuclear Energy Scamming: It’s Not Rickover’s Atomic Power Program Anymore
Customers should not have to pay decades ahead of time for Florida Power & Light’s and Progress Energy’s future nuclear power plans, especially when they may not be built, argues Darrell Smith.
FPL and Progress Energy Again Asking To Pass Along Ghost-Nuke Plant Costs
Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy Florida are seeking to pass along about $335 million in nuclear costs to customers next year, largely to cover costs of nuclear plants that won’t be built for 10 years or more.
Rick Scott’s Poll Numbers Go From Dismal to Merely Bad in Latest Quinnipiac
Rick Scott remains among the least popular governors in America, with pronounced, and unusual, dislike of him as a person, and 61 percent of Floridians are dissatisfied with the way things are going.
Grim, Doleful Post-Mortem as State School Board and Educators Wonder What’s Next
A daylong meeting of the State Board of Education drew dozens of school officials from around the state and dismal assessments of what they’ve been left with after compulsive budget-cutting.
Gunning for Immigration Reform Again, Rick Scott Divides Business Groups
Divisive immigration reform failed during Florida’s last legislative session. Gov. Rick Scott favors another go at it, but business groups, Hispanics and immigration advocates are just as leery.
Tropical Storm Emily Not Expected to Shake Up Flagler This Weekend
Tropical Storm Emily may be closest to Flagler County by Saturday, but even then the National Weather Service isn’t predicting much of a change from the usual summer storms.
His Poll Numbers Diving, Rick Scott Seeks Help From Snubbed Estate: The Press
After refusing to meet with all but one editorial board during his campaign, Gov. Rick Scott is putting on a media-charm offensive in an attempt to reverse his 27-29% approval rating.
Public Employees Retire in Droves as Florida Pension System Narrows Incentives to Work
About 10,100 people chose to enter retirement or exited the state’s deferred retirement plan ahead of new laws kicking in on July 1, an increase of more than 900 people from the same time last year.
The Week Ahead in Tallahassee: Florida Cabinet, School Financing and Nukes
The Florida Cabinet meets for the first time since June 2, the Village Square takes on Florida’s post-Fukushima nuclear energy future, the State Board of Education takes on school financing. The week’s full line-up.
GMAC Mortgage Machination: Don’t Have Document to Foreclose? Make It Up
When GMAC, one of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers, sought to foreclose on a homeowner last year and lacked a crucial document, the company just made one up, pointing to a pattern of deceptive filings to foreclose on homeowners.
Students as Customers, Universities as Businesses: Scott’s Plan To Texify Higher Ed
Gov. Rick Scott is following Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s lead in higher ed: merit pay for professors, tenure reform, and generally a greater emphasis on business-like measurement of whether professors are turning out students that meet certain goals.
Attorney General Bondi’s Motive Questioned in Firing of Mortgage Fraud Investigators
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi fired two assistant attorneys general who were heavily involved in investigating alleged mortgage fraud, including focusing on one firm that had contributed to Bondi’s campaign. Bondi says they had “shortcomings.”
Gov. Rick Scott on Impending Federal Government Shutdown: What, Me, Worry?
Rick Scott is unconcerned about the federal shut-down, saying its impact on Florida will be “minimal.” Much of the evidence says otherwise as millions of Floridians’ including Social Security and food stamps recipients, may be affected.
Florida Supreme Court Stubs Out Big Tobacco Appeals of Multi-Million Dollar Verdicts
The Florida Supreme Court this week rejected four appeals by tobacco companies fighting verdicts ranging from $3.35 million in Escambia t $1575 million in Alachua, each including R.J. Reynolds. The companies plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Unemployment Again Rises in Flagler, To 14.6%, and Stalls in Florida at 10.6%
The number of unemployed people in Flagler County jumped from 4,526 in May to 4,779 in June, a 5.3 percent increase, while the county workforce has decline by 2.3 percent over the year.
End of “Medicaid Tax Gimmick,” a Deficit Drag, Would Cost Florida Nursing Homes Millions
Medicaid payments to nursing homes were cut by $187.5 million this year. The end of the Medicaid “gimmick” would reduce nursing home budgets further, but help balance the federal budget deficit.
“Unsustainable” Florida Retirement System (Says Gov. Scott) Has Best Gains in 25 Years
The Florida Retirement System pension plan gained $19 billion in the fiscal year that ended on June 30. The 22 percent gain is the biggest in 25 years. The total value of the pension plan has soared to $128.4 billion, among the best in the nation.
Dixie Check: Judge Orders Commandments Removed from County Courthouse Steps
A businessman had paid for the 6-ton monument, but a judge said its message was a clear government endorsement of religion, violating the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
Pass-Through Crock: How Progress Energy May Once Again Nuke Its Customers
Progress Energy is already charging Florida customers $5.53 per month for non-existent nuclear-power plants slated for construction at unknown dates in the future. The Public Service Commission and the Legislature allow the scheme.
Flagler Rep. Bill Proctor: Public University Tuition Should Go Up by More than 15% A Year
Bill proctor, the St. Augustine Republican and private-college president, says tuition increases at public universities should be greater than 15% so Florida’s tuition costs can reach the national average faster.
City Commission Cheers Flagler Beach Turtle Patrol
The Flagler Beach City Commission’s Alice Baker recognized the city’s Turtle Patrol volunteers, whose work from May to September ensures protecting for nesting turtles.
They Feel Your Pain: Florida Legislature Home to 51 Millionaires
Millionaires make up almost half of the 40-member Florida Senate and nearly one-third of the 120-member Florida House. Legislators are paid $29,697 a year, with presiding officers making $41,181 a year.
Despite Shelving Desalination, Palm Coast Clings to “Low Pulse” Plans–for $213,000
The $213,000, left over from $1.7 million budgeted for desalination project’s latest phase, would keep a consultant working through quarterly meetings, and Palm Coast hoping to draft new partners for the now-defunct, $200 million project.
Water Management District Tax Rate Cut 26%, Reducing Revenue and Gutting Services
The tax bill on a $200,000 house will be $50, down from $62, but the district is laying off employees and reducing conservation, management and partnership projects in line with a new law approved by Gov. Rick Scott.
Super-PACs and Dark Money: The New World of Corruption-Ripe Campaign Finance
Super-PACs, anonymous donors, foreign donors, unlimited corporate donations, political fronts masked as non-profit charities: the new world of campaign finance opens the way for scandal and corruption.
BP Calls Gulf Recovered and Looks To Quit Payments to Businesses Over Economic Losses
BP paid more than $4.6 billion to private citizens and businesses since the Deepwater Horizon spill. The Gulf economy is on the mend, the oil company claims, justifying a cut-off, though it still faces billions in civil and criminal penalties.
Space Shuttle Launch Schedule: Atlantis’s Last Voyage
Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral’s Kennedy Space Center at 11:26 Eastern Daylight Time on Friday, July 8. Weather may delay it. Watch video of the countdown.
It’s Not Just Flagler: Across Florida, Schools Contend With $1 Billion Less for Education
From Broward’s elimination of 1,400 teaching positions to Marion’s reduction to a 4-day week to Duval’s cuts in sports programs, school districts have been finding various ways to make shriveled ends meet.
Adagio for Scott: Governor’s Net Worth Drops by Half, to $102 Million
Scott reported 2010 income of $11.5 million, up 46 percent from the $7.9 million he posted in 2009, and almost all investment income. His wealth topped that of all other Cabinet officials combined.
Why Help at Your Nursing Home Will Be More Scarce, and Other Elderly Care Retreats
Florida just rejected a federal grant that would have allowed elderly patients to get care at home instead of in nursing homes, where staffing levels may begin to drop this month, thanks to a new Florida law.
Drawing Widespread Criticism, Rick Scott Discovers the Joys of SunRail, and CSX
Gov. Rick Scott’s approval of SunRail triggered criticism from Republicans and Scott’s tea party base while sharpening a contrast with his earlier rejection of a federally funded high-speed rail initiative.
3% Pension Contributions by Public Employees Begins as Judge Rejects an Injunction
The state’s teachers union is suing over the 3 percent requirement, and was hoping to delay its implementation until the case is settled. That case is still going forward, but 3 percent contributions begin today.
Executive Overreach? Supreme Court
Considers Rick Scott’s Rule-Making Powers
In oral arguments today, justices seemed unconvinced by the case of a blind woman on food stamps. The case speaks to Scott’s rule-making power–and where the Legislature’s power ends.
When Florida, Like New York State, Joins the Ranks of the Civilized on Gay Marriage
New York State is celebrating the legalization of gay marriage. We should celebrate along. Where can such baseless assertions as marriage being the “legal union of only one man and one woman” have so much as a throb of credibility other than in the harebrained fictions of scriptures?
Florida’s Betrayal of College Students: Sticking It to the Young, Pandering to the Old
Between Florida public universities’ tuition increasing almost 140 percent in 10 years and Bright Futures scholarship losing half their value, the state is betraying its future while pandering to older, more selfish voters.
Tuition Increases Another 15% at Florida Universities, Up 130% in 10 Years; Aid Drops
Tuition will approach $6,000 next year. For Flagler County’s 750-some students attending college on Bright Futures scholarships, that aid will cover barely half the bill, after covering it in full just a few years ago.
Florida’s Death Penalty Ruled Unconstitutional
Judge Jose Martinez, a George W. Bush appointee, relied on a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision barring judges from interpreting “aggravating factors” independent of juries’ explicit findings.
Adding to Mounting Legal Challenges for Scott, Public Employees Sue Over 3% Pension Hit
The class-action lawsuit is filed on behalf of 556,296 public employees, including state workers, teachers and police officers. It echoes frustrations that led the Flagler County School Board to talk lawsuit last week.
Charter, Voucher Advocate Gerard Robinson Is Florida’s New Education Commissioner
Robinson, a Jeb Bush protege, was Virginia’s secretary of education and president of the Black Alliance for Educational Options, a pro-school choice group ideologically aligned with Republican reforms.