June 19, 2011 - 6:00pm
House Dems Backing FEA in Lawsuit Against Pension Reforms
Submitted by Kevin Derby on June 20, 2011 - 11:23am
With the Florida Education Association (FEA) suing to prevent reforms to state pensions passed by the Legislature earlier in the year and signed by Gov. Rick Scott, House Democratic Leader Ron Saunders of Key West made no secret of where his caucus stood on the matter.
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FEA Files Suit Over Pension Reform
Submitted by Kevin Derby on June 20, 2011 - 10:17am
The Florida Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union, filed a lawsuit Monday to prevent the 3 percent salary contribution from state workers that lawmakers passed and Gov. Rick Scott signed into law last month.
Florida is one of the only states in the nation that does not currently require employee contributions to their pensions, but the FEA contends the law violates the state Constitution.
Here is the FEA's release in full:
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Barack Obama Snubs Big Hispanic Meeting
Submitted by Nancy Smith on June 20, 2011 - 1:58am
President Barack Obama's re-election camp keeps talking about the need to corral Hispanic votes in 2012. So, how come the president is going to skip the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Conference for the third year running? The conference begins Thursday in San Antonio.
He even promised the group, as a candidate in 2008, that he would come roaring back to speak at their meeting.
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In a Public Records Showdown, Pam Bondi Will Be the One Wearing the White Hat
June 19, 2011 - 6:00pm
In this country, the people own the government. Its ours. Argument over.
Washington Week
June 19, 2011 - 6:00pm
The House of Representatives came back off its one week recess to resume the debate on various appropriations bills.
This week saw the House pass the military construction/VA appropriations bill as well as the agriculture appropriations bill. These are the funding bills that were completely ignored by the Harry Reid/Nancy Pelosi-led Congress of last year.
Pam Bondi on Public Records, Her Respect for Transparency in Government
Submitted by Nancy Smith on June 19, 2011 - 10:12am
Transparency in state government has little hope if the attorney general isn't on board.
Florida is fortunate. Pam Bondi, the Sunshine State's attorney general, most definitely is. She was anxious last week to talk about her respect for the First Amendment and Florida's open government laws. And her conversation with me about them (video below) is central to my "Heroes and Zeroes" column in Monday's Sunshine State News. Stay tuned in the morning.
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Another Recession Likely Just Ahead: Yale Economist
Submitted by Nancy Smith on June 19, 2011 - 9:14am
While most economists look for signs the United State is climbing out of bad times, Yale University Professor Robert Shiller claims chances are "substantial" that the country is heading right back into another recession.
Economist and author Shiller points to a weak U.S. housing market and a murky global economy, and he claims the country is at a "tipping point," at the edge of "a fresh economic contraction."
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SunRail Analysis: No One Will Notice Any Fewer Cars on Highways
Submitted by Anonymous on June 18, 2011 - 11:40pm
Mass transit skeptic Wendell Cox tackles what he calls "exaggerations" by SunRail advocates in an article in New Geography.
Shooting down claims of large-scale job creation and healthy ridership, Cox concludes that the planned 61-mile commuter line is a financial boondoggle that won't make a dime's worth of difference to Central Florida's clogged highways.
"Every cent of the likely cost overruns will be on a blank check drawn on the account of Florida taxpayers," Cox predicts.
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Government Looks to Past, Free Enterprise to Future
June 19, 2011 - 6:00pm
Two years ago, in June 2009, the American economy emerged from recession, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. But as this week's Economist noted, with typical British understatement, "The recovery has been a disappointment."
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