Just Flat Out Lie; Who Cares? "A group with ties to the sugar industry wants to thank its friends in Tallahassee for a job well done. And that's causing quite an uproar among environmentalists, who say the West Palm Beach-based group is misleading voters by telling them that state legislators are 'leading the fight for Everglades restoration.'" See "Group issues fliers praising legislators who weakened Everglades cleanup".
And here's and idea. "Now that Gov. Jeb Bush has signed a bill that will postpone the implementation of the Everglades Forever Act, maybe the legislation should be renamed the 'Everglades Forever Minus 10 Years Act.'"
Ode To Jim King - "A royal statesman in Tallahassee". An over the top guest editorial by a recent law graduate (who is apparently looking for a job).
Bush Continues To Exploit Abortion Issue - "Gov. Jeb Bush's administration has begun building its legal case for appointing a guardian to represent a fetus -- a case likely to be viewed nationally as a landmark in the battle over abortion rights. Bush's child welfare chief Jerry Regier said Tuesday that he and Bush -- who share an ideological opposition to abortion -- will pursue the case `as far as we need to.' The pair's insistence Tuesday on forging into court came as Circuit Judge Lawrence Kirkwood in Orlando for the third time rejected a call to appoint a guardian for the unborn child of a severely disabled rape victim. He wrote that he sees ''no basis'' for such an appointment, according to The Associated Press." See "Bush builds case on guardian for fetus". See also "Court refuses fetus guardian for a 3rd time".
Fed Money Infusion Becoming A Political Football - "The Senate's top Democrat urged Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday to use millions of dollars in recently approved federal aid to beef up Florida's lean $53.5 billion budget. Sen. Ron Klein of Delray Beach said the money could 'provide an immediate jump-start for our sluggish economy' if poured into public schools, universities, health programs or road-building projects, which have all undergone budget cuts. 'Floridians will soon begin to feel the impact of the cuts imposed by the budget we just passed,' Klein wrote in a letter to Bush. As part of its tax-break package, Congress has earmarked $20 billion in relief to states, with Florida in line to receive close to $1 billion."
"Bush has said he wants to hold that money in reserve for 2004, an election year, when the state budget is expected to grow even more austere. Alia Faraj, a Bush spokeswoman, said the governor had not yet reviewed Klein's letter. But she said it was unlikely to make him reconsider his stand. 'This is a very difficult budget year and we wish we could have done more," Faraj said. "But the governor thinks it is important that we have money in reserve going into next year.'" See "Democrat wants aid spent".
The "Wrong Medicine" - "Bush's prescription for ending the state's malpractice crisis is the wrong medicine. The centerpiece of the governor's plan, a cap on noneconomic damages, is seriously flawed. The proposed $250,000 cap on jury awards would have little impact on sky-high insurance rates, would do nothing to weed out bad doctors and would close off an avenue of recompense for some people who have been grievously injured by medical malpractice." See "Weak Medicine". See also "Waiting game" ("No good can result from the forthcoming special session on the medical malpractice insurance crisis if Gov. Jeb Bush insists on holding the Legislature to only four days"); "Insurance rollback is not enough".
They're Too Good, So Privatize 'Em - "Gov. Bush's real problem is that the state-paid lawyers have done their job too well. Florida leads the nation in releases from Death Row, which conflicts with the governor's view that the state never makes a mistake when it sentences someone to die. If the governor's real goal is savings, he could ask the Legislature to abolish the death penalty. Without Death Row, there would be no Death Row lawyers." See "No savings, no justice".
Predicted Shelf Life Of This Story: 21 Seconds - "A search of federal and state financial reports did not turn up any record of the contributions, and the amounts in question would far exceed donor limits." See "Catering for Jeb Bush rally may go beyond donor limits".