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.
small government
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.
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.
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.
When Congress Is a Child Predator: Head Start Targeted for $1 Billion in Cuts
Head Start has given 20 million Americans a positive start in life since 1964. Marian Wright Edelman argues that continued success is in jeopardy as Republicans aim to decimate the program in the name of budget cuts.
Florida’s Juvenile Justice Eliminating 1,200 Jobs and Closing 3 Youth Prisons
The budget Gov. Rick Scott signed into law last week reduces juvenile justice’s budget 11 percent, and eliminates 700 jobs in addition to 500 vacant positions that will be abolished. The Legislature singled out youth prisons for closure.
Calling PBS a “Special Interest,” Rick Scott Vetoes $4.8 Million in Public Broadcasting Aid
The veto means that each one of Florida’s 13 public radio stations, including WMFE in Orlando and WJCT in Jacksonville, both of which can be heard in Flagler County, is losing $61,715. Every TV station is losing $307,447.
Gut Choke: State Eliminates 780 Jobs at Department of Children and Families
DCF Secretary David Wilkins claims front-line workers won’t be affected, but the cut represents a serious set-back in an agency responsible for children’s welfare and oversight.
Per-Student Funding Dropping $572, or 8%; Flagler District Poised for Severe Cuts
As state lawmakers cut school budgets by $1.3 billion, the Flagler school district already has plans to cut its budget by 3.5 percent through teacher layoffs and other means. It’ll make up the difference by using more than a third of its $9 million reserves.
Last-Minute Budget Deal Reduces Districts’ Dollars and Oversight of Charter Schools
Charter schools that have received an “A” or “B” rating in the last three years would be given the ability to expand enrollment or add new grades without having to wait for approval from the school district.
College Drop-Outs: Florida Lawmakers Cutting Bright Futures Scholarships a Further 20%
Once a scholarship that covered almost 100 percent of a student’s tuition and fees and half the cost of books, students entering UF next year will see their Bright Futures scholarship covering less than 50 percent of those costs.
Corporate Tax Cut Out, Privatizing Prisons and 3% Public Pension Contributions In
As the Legislature’s 2011 session veers uncertainly toward its final days, lawmakers struck deals Saturday on privatizing prisons and compromising over public employees’ pension contributions, but no deal yet on health care and education cuts.
How Slashing Water Management Districts’ Budget 25% Endangers Our Way of Life
Allan Milledge, a former water management district chairman, asks: Do you want to jeopardize protection of our rivers, lakes, springs, and wetlands and the protection of our water supply to save an average less than $20 dollars per household per year?
Bogus Government Shutdown, Real Anti-Government Senility
The nation could use a government shut down, but a real one–including “essential services”–to give those who think they can do without government a taste of what they claim to want.
School Employees Facing Steep Increases in Health Insurance Costs, Further Eroding Pay
Premiums are rising by up to 37 percent for many of the 1,337 school district employees who seek health coverage, particularly for those with family coverage. Employees also face another pay cut next year if retirement contributions are expected of them.
But Should They Be Paid? Flagler School Board Members Defend Their Salaries
A Florida Senate proposal would replace school board members’ salaries with a $100 per-meeting stipend. Retirement and health benefits would be eliminated, too. Savings would exceed $10 million a year.
They Bring Good Schemes to Life:
How GE Pays Little Or No Corporate Taxes
GE’s tax department is a company in itself: some 1,000 people working to minimize GE’s corporate tax liabilities, with huge success. In 2010, GE paid no taxes on $14.2 billion in profits. GE claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.
Flagler Commissioners Endorse SunRail As Gov. Scott Prepares to Derail Commuter Line
SunRail would have connected DeBary and Tampa as a commuter rail line, which the Legislature approved in December 2009. Gov. Rick Scott is likely to kill the project by summer, ending Central Florida’s brief flirtation with alternative transportation.
Lobbying for Corruption: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Attacking Anti-Bribery Law
Even as anger over governmental corruption has exploded into protests across the Middle East, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been working to weaken the law that bans companies from bribing foreign officials.
Gov. Scott Vows to End “Oxycontin Express,” Yet Legislature Weakens Pill Mill Regulations
Gov. Rick Scott gave no details on his assault on the “Oxycontin Express,” and a Senate committee approved eliminating a ban on doctors dispensing more than a three-day supply of drugs to patients who pay with cash or credit cards.
How Grim Are State School Spending Cuts? Try 7 to 10% Per Student, Layoffs to Follow
Florida House and Senate proposals would cut from $447 to $473 per student, or close to 7 percent, a little less than Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal to slash per-student spending by $680 in addition to recent reductions.
Florida Lockups Lite: Closing Prisons and Boot Camps, Privatizing Inmate Healthcare
The Department of Corrections plans to close three prisons and two boot camps, a bill would privatize inmate health care and cut top salaries 5 percent while ending numerous positions.
From 5% to 2%: Retreat from Extra Pension Contributions; All Salaries Below $40K Exempt
A Senate committee backed off considerably from a proposal to require state workers to make 5% contributions to their pension fund, exempting most state workers, and cutting back the amount others would have to chip in.
Despite 4 Million Uninsured, Florida Senate Approves Opt-Out Amendment on Health Law
Senators voted 29-10 to approve the proposed constitutional amendment, which would allow people to opt out of the “individual mandate” requirement that they buy health insurance or face financial penalties.
End of the Line for Rail Brawl As Supreme Court Ruling Sends $2.4 Billion Elsewhere
The Florida Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Gov. Scott could not be bound to spend $2.4 billion in federal high-speed rail money. That money will now go to New York or California.
Governor and Senators’ High-Speed Rail Brawl Crashes a Skeptical Florida Supreme Court
Judging from Justices’ questions, the legislators’ case to force the governor to accept $2.4 billion in federal funding for the bullet train looked slim after Thursday’s arguments before the high court.
Florida Department of Health Would Cut 1,600 Jobs and Move Out of Primary Care
The plan doubles the original estimate of job losses at the department. Of those jobs, almost 1,050 would be outsourced or privatized, for budget reductions of $185 million.
Florida’s Drug Database Targeted for Destruction as Lawmakers Swallow Pill Mills
Florida’s drug database, even if caopable of fighting pill mills, is “Big Brother” to Rob Schenck, Republican House Health and Human Services Chairman. Others are joining him to do away with the drug database.
Reality Check: Rick Scott vs. Florida
It’s become one of Governor Rick Scott’s favorite clichés: “Government has no resources of its own. Government can only give to us what is previously taken from us.” He’s in the wrong country.
Medicaid Changes For 2.9 Million Floridians: Fewer Choices, More HMOs
A Florida Senate proposal would vastly increase the role of managed care in Florida’s $20 billion Medicaid program, and pull out of the federal system if the federal government doesn’t approve it.
From Flagler’s Washington Oaks, Fla. Audubon Launches Campaign to Save 53 State Parks
Some 65 people gathered at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park Monday to kick-off the campaign to save endangered parks, including two in Flagler County, as Gov. Rick Scott was pledging to cut $5 billion from the budget.
Skipping Specifics, Scott Calls for $5 billion in Spending Cuts, $4 Billion in Tax Cuts
Gov. Rick Scott today unveiled to a tea party crowd a budget that would cut an unprecedented $5 billion and provide for $4 billion in tax cuts, $1.4 billion of which in property taxes. Scott’s details are few.
Washington Oaks Gardens and Bulow Ruins Among 53 State Parks That Would Close
Similar proposals have been made before, but the state must close a $3.6 billion budget gap, and Gov. Rick Scott is not as friendly to the environment as Charlie Crist was.
Pill Mill Regulation Price Tag in Florida: $65 Million; Medicine Board Approves New Rules
The $65 million cost of the proposed pill mill rules would be due to urine test requirements on patients and other minor costs that would be spread out among 1,300 pain management clinics and tens of thousands of patients.
Mica and Scott Derailing High-Speed and Jacksonville-Bunnell-Miami Rail Lines
Despite billions in federal subsidies, John Mica’s and Florida’s governor are effectively killing two major rail projects, including one that would have run through Flagler, by shifting the financial burden to non-existent private interests.
Legislators Bash Pill Mill Crackdown Delays They — and Gov. Rick Scott — Provoked
Florida senators are complaining about the state department of health’s slow implementation of pill mill crackdowns. But the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott are to blame for the delays.
Bleeding Dangers: Has Your Dialysis Clinic Been Inspected Lately? Not Likely
The United States spends $20 billion a year to care for some 400,000 Americans who rely on chronic dialysis to live. Inspection rates vary from higher than 40 percent per year in some states to lower than 10 percent in others.
State’s Small-Government Plan to Scale Back Food Inspections at Child Cares Backfires
Weeks after a new state law removed Florida Department of Health inspectors from child-care centers in hopes of saving money, they’ve quietly been welcomed back into a few centers, with more to come.
Florida Leads States’ Failures in Reporting Problem Caregivers
Florida leads the nation in ignoring federal database reporting of health professionals who have been disciplined on the job, undermining background and safety checks on frontline caregivers.
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.