Many of the state’s editorial writers and columnists have expressed despair at the possibility the Legislature will OK drilling for oil a short distance from Florida’s shorelines, including Derek Dunn-Rankin of the Charlotte Sun.

Here is what he said:

It does seem ironic that the Florida Legislature should propose drilling for oil 3 miles off our beaches while the nation is celebrating Earth Day. If there is a prize for lobbyists, the equivalent of a moviemaker’s Oscar, it should go to the band of professional persuaders who managed to craft the bill and sneak it past the normal hearing and debate process at a time when both the House and Senate are tied in knots over unprecedented budget challenges. Lobbyists and legislators moved in secrecy and managed to keep both reporters and members of the Legislature itself ignorant of their grand plan. A radical departure, the bill passed out of committee 12 hours after first being made public. It was disappointing that local Rep. Paige Kreegel was one of the disciplined majority that voted the bill out before organized opposition could coalesce.

Liberal or conservative, the reaction of the state’s editorial pages were articulately angry, shocked and indignant.

Click here to read more.

BY HOWARD TROXLER

Yachts! The Florida Legislature is going to pass a new tax break for buying luxury yachts and private airplanes.

Let’s hope this passes in the same year that the Legislature hurts the K-12 schools, guts the universities, makes it harder for Floridians to vote, drains the Lawton Chiles tobacco trust, kills Florida Forever, weakens wetlands protection, repeals a quarter-century of growth management law, deregulates the telephone companies and tries to paper over the indictment of the immediate past speaker of the House of Representatives and a damning grand jury investigation.

Click here for the rest of the story.

By BRENT KALLESTAD

ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

TALLAHASSEE – An elections bill introduced by Republicans that could make it more difficult for thousands of Floridians to vote was condemned Monday by public interest groups and legislative Democrats who decried the measure as “draconian” and “unconscionable.”

Democrats were further angered by how the House version zipped through its first committee stop on Friday, only hours after it was written and without any public scrutiny.

“I look at it as group of folks who do not want to accept the fact that a Democratic president won the election in Florida,” said Rep. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville. “That is the bottom line. Get over it. Get over it.”

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Examiner.com writer Derek Newton blasted the Legislature’s attitude about a grand jury’s presentment criticizing the way Tallahassee handles budget proposals. Here is what he said:

Yesterday I wrote about the indictment of Republican former Speaker of the Florida House, Ray Sansom and how newer, greener Republican Legislators are already following his example. 

Today, two leading Republicans offered comments about the scandal in their house. Did they express regret? Outrage at the culture of corruption in their party? Optimism for a better, more ethical future?

Um, no.

Representatives David Rivera (Miami) and Kevin Ambler (Tampa) blamed us – Florida’s citizens and taxpayers who patriotically serve on grand juries – for not understanding the way they do things in Tallahassee.

Click here for the reset of the story.

St. Pete Times columnist Howard Troxler added his comments to this sorry state of affairs on Sunday, saying, “This is the Legislature that the people of Florida want?” Read more of his criticism of the Legislature by clicking here.

This letter to the editor appeared on tcpalm.com

Michael Lannon, superintendant of St. Lucie County Schools, stated recently, “We’re going to become a Third World country here in Florida. People should consider leaving Florida for their children.”

I was appalled that I, a native Floridian and a Realtor welcoming people to our beautiful state, should even consider fleeing. This statement sends the message that the leader of our schools has given up hope on our kids, our schools and our state.

It is typical politics to blame others for our messes, but we have to stop shifting the blame. To point at the Florida Legislature as the sole source of our problems is not acceptable.

Yes, it is very true that the education system is well underfunded here in Florida, but we also are undertaxed, and we cannot have it both ways. We have to stop equating more dollars to better education. Read the rest of this entry »

It appears that Congress wants Florida to tap into the federal stimulus money, too,
according to a story in the Miami Herald.
Democrats in the Florida delegation criticized some House Republicans in Tallahassee
who have been reluctant to spend about $444 million to extend unemployment 
benefits because the state may have to boost unemployment spending at
Florida businesses to qualify for the money.

The Democrats argued that the money should be used to help jump-start the economy.

''I don't know what part of missing out on $440 million the Florida Legislature doesn't
 understand,'' the story quoted Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar.

Click here to read the entire story.

In an editorial today, the Miami Herald blasts the idea of a 1-cent sales tax hike as regressive. According to the Herald: “As to K-12 funding, legislative leaders have said they will consider everything put on the table. So far they have been lukewarm to: raising the tax on tobacco products; lifting any sales tax exemptions; imposing sales taxes on Internet purchases.”

To read the rest of the editorial, go to: 

This is a note sent from Liz Crane, president of the Clay County Education Association, the negotiating arm for the Clay County teachers:

 Liz Crane and Lea Rhoden made the trek to Tallahassee yesterday with three bins of pennies. Thank you to the schools that participated and donated pennies. 

The display of pennies were originally to be placed on the Capitol steps however there was a ’concern’ that the weight of the pennies would be too much and the display was moved to a Read the rest of this entry »

Rep. Steve Wise, R-Jacksonville, has a proposal in the Legislature for a constitutional amendment to raise the state sales tax by a penny, from 6 percent to 7 percent, to fund education.

The idea is to let state residents decide by vote whether they want to tax themselves an additional penny to pay for the shortcomings in education. It would better if the Legislature would tackle the issue head on and try to bring the state education funding out of last place in the U.S. but that is probably not going to happen any time soon.

I am OK with a vote on an increase in sales tax — especially if the increase can be specifically directed to education spending. We have seen what the folks in Tallahassee can do when they get their hands on money intended for other uses, aka the Lottery. If Floridians truly want the improvements in education funding that they say the do, then the amendment should pass with flying colors. Don’t look for it to be a slam dunk in Clay County, however, where a local option sales tax increase has gone down in flames in the past, albeit under difficult circumstances.

In a brief comment on the subject, Rep. Jennifer Carroll, R- Green Cove Springs, said that as long as school districts were top-heavy with administrators she didn’t see much relief coming. She couldn’t have been referring to Clay County because the local district has reduced its administrative positions significantly over the last few years. Is there room for more administrative cuts in Clay? Possibly, but not to the extent that cutting more vice principals would make a dent in its huge budget shortfall.

Carroll also said she was not in favor of raising taxes.

I don’t sense there is any interest in Tallahassee in doing anything about education funding this year. Or maybe any year for that matter. There just seems to be a disconnect between Tallahassee and some of the desperate needs in Clay County. 

Lamar Thames

School districts across the state of Florida are wrestling mightily with the tasks of making draconian cuts in their budgets. School Board members are losing sleep, superintendents are visibly depressed and teachers are all on edge, wondering if they will have jobs in the coming months.

But what are the parents saying? In one county, at least, we don’t know publicly what the parents are saying, except for those who have called their school board members. While Clay County school officials have urged teachers and parents to send them their ideas on how to cut the school budget and to contact their legislators to appeal for more funding for education, there hasn’t been that uproariously loud voice from the community protesting the cuts. At least not yet.

And there may not be. The School Board will hold a workshop at 4 p.m. Monday, Read the rest of this entry »