We Need To Get To The Bottom Of This - It was great to read that DCF has reinstated the six wrongfully ired workers; however, we strongly disagree with the Herald reporter's assertion that this "end[ed] a political scandal at the embattled Department of Children & Families, which fired the workers following a March complaint from an influential state senator." There now needs to be an independent investigation of this issue, including: (1) why a senator's assistant was, during working time, shuttling the senator's mother to a DCF office (the Governor of Mass. got hammered for using her assistant as a babysitter, didn't she?), and (2) what connections and communications were there between the senator's office and Regier's office about this issue. This outrage, that disrupted the lives of these working people should not be swept under the carpet.
And You're Being Generous - "It could be called the 'do-little' Legislature, and state lawmakers should be ashamed of their performance. Here's the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's capsule assessment of the regular legislative session, which ended Friday.". See "Shame On Lawmakers".
Everglades - "Gov. Jeb Bush's alliance with the sugar industry in softening water-quality standards in the Everglades has sparked questions from critics -- some of them in his own party -- about whether he miscalculated, imperiling federal money for one of the country's largest environmental restoration projects. The Legislature passed a measure -- all but guaranteed to receive his signature -- that would push back deadlines for cleaning up the polluted water that flows off farm fields and suburban lawns, forcing his administration into federal court Friday to defend the controversial measure before a skeptical judge who has overseen Everglades cleanup efforts since 1988."
"The issue is so explosive that leading congressional Republicans -- typically eager to flaunt their friendship with the powerful Bush family -- have not been shy about attacking the policies espoused by the president's brother and his leadership in a key political state." See "Bush criticized for compromise in Glades bill".
Who Knew? - "One of Florida's little secrets at the school bus stop is that children are hurting their own education by stepping aboard. The reason is that the state, while mandating transportation for public school students, won't fill the tank. Through an unseemly budgetary shell game, it forces school districts to take money from classrooms to operate buses each year. This past year, according to a recent report presented to the Legislature, school districts spent $725-million taking children to and from school but were reimbursed only $411-million. The shortfall, $314-million, came from the only budgetary source to which the districts could turn - the classrooms. Is this any way to treat schools?" See "Half-empty school bus tank".
We Need More Of This - "Maddox is getting some heat from his Republican counterpart for 'interfering' in the legislative process."
"Republican Party Chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan, in her first news release since taking office, blasted [Democratic Party Chairman Scott] Maddox for his recent disparaging comments about the Republican-led Legislature, in particular a recent remark that the difference between God and House Speaker Johnnie Byrd is that God doesn't think he's Byrd."