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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2010
ATLANTIC/GULF:
Obama Wants to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling
Each year Sustainable Florida - Collins Center recognizes best practices that promote and implement sustainable development principles.
Whether you're tackling issues regarding water, energy, waste, construction and development, education or more, tell Sustainable Florida. Whether you are an individual leader, large company or non-profit organization, they have an award waiting for you.
Nominate yourself, a colleague, a vendor or partner. Awards will be presented in several categories, including Leadership, Small Business, Large Business, Non-Profit, Partnership, and Green Building. An independent blue-ribbon panel of experts in sustainable practices will review and score the nominees. Winners will be highlighted in Florida Trend's September 2010 issue.
Nomination forms are available online and are due April 7.
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The Obama administration is proposing to open vast expanses of water along the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic coastline and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling for the first time, officials said Tuesday.
The proposal -- a compromise that will please oil companies and domestic drilling advocates but anger some residents of affected states and many environmental organizations -- would end a longstanding moratorium on oil exploration along the East Coast from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida, covering 167 million acres of ocean.
[Source: New York Times]
Also:
STATEWIDE:
Connect Florida Launches First-of-its-Kind Statewide Leadership Institute for Young Professionals
Connect Florida introduced this month the Connect Florida Statewide Leadership Institute, a unique Florida-wide leadership development program to cultivate Florida's next generation of leadership, those currently between the ages of 21 and 35. This is the first program of its kind nationally.
Seeking the top young professionals from throughout the state, Connect Florida is partnering with top universities throughout the state. Applications are available online for the inaugural class, with a submission deadline of May 7th for the initial session beginning this October. For further details and to download the application form, visit connectflorida.org/institute, call (877) 352-5323.
[Source: Press release]
TAMPA:
PBS&J Off the Hook Despite Scam
One of Florida's biggest government contractors, Tampa-based PBS&J, has been making illegal campaign contributions since the 1980s, according to a lengthy investigation by the Federal Elections Commission.
The investigation found that at the company, which has designed and overseen construction of such projects as the Suncoast Parkway, such illegal contributions "were an important part of PBS&J's business strategy."
Current and former employees of the engineering company told investigators that PBS&J funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to politicians in seven states in order to "promote its presence in the community so that it could obtain more business," according to the report by the commission's general counsel. [Source: St. Petersburg Times]
Also from Trend:
SOUTH FLORIDA:
Foreclosure Fighters on Their Way Back
The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America is heading back to South Florida after drawing more than 24,000 desperate homeowners to a February mortgage-modification marathon in West Palm Beach.
The nonprofit group, which offers free counseling and face-to-face contact with lender representatives, will be in Miami Beach for five days beginning April 15.
As with the Save the Dream event at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, the program at the Miami Beach Convention Center will run 24 hours a day. It will be NACA's 14th event around the country.
[Source: Palm Beach Post]
Also:
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
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Gold Tempts Investors, Divides Advisers [Orlando Sentinel]
Whether or not prices have peaked, gold's record run has convinced some mainstream financial advisers that, at the very least, they need to have a sound strategy for investors who demand having gold in a diversified portfolio.
› New Law Nets FAMU, HBCUs Millions More [Tallahassee Democrat]
Florida A&M University and other historically black colleges in the state will get an additional $61 million over the next decade under legislation that President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday.
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Ray Sansom Seeks Dismissal of Criminal Charges [Times/Herald]
Ex-House Speaker Ray Sansom said it was up to the Florida Department of Education to make sure a building he got funding for in 2007 was not misused.
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Bud Day's Remarks Make Waves Nationwide [NW Fla. Daily News]
Retired Air Force Col. Bud Day’s comments regarding Barack Obama and Marco Rubio reverberated across the nation Tuesday. He made his remarks during an interview about his endorsement of Charlie Crist over Rubio.
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UF to Close Jacksonville Dental Clinic That Serves Uninsured [Times-Union]
The 23-year-old clinic is scheduled to close in mid-June, leaving thousands of patients, most of them uninsured, with no clear alternative for dental care in Northeast Florida.
A top official at UF’s dentistry school attributes the closure, in part, to the deteriorating condition of the clinic building. Tampa: Moffitt seeks to open outpatient clinic on airport property
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Teachers, Parents Flood Legislature in Opposition to Tenure Bill [T/H]
Teachers are focusing their energy on House members and Gov. Charlie Crist, who they see as their last line of defense on SB 6, which has passed the Senate and is pending in the House. Crist's office received 700 calls on the issue last week.
Also: Today's Legislative Roundup
› Panhandle Prison Embroiled in Political Fight [Times/Herald]
A costly symbol of Florida's budget crisis stands on a dusty country road in the Panhandle: a nearly completed private prison that cost the state $113 million and still sits idle two years later.
The fate of the empty complex is now the subject of an intense political fight in the Capitol.
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Legislators Propose Raiding Trust Funds to Balance Budget [Sun Sentinel]
Beginning today, the start of a two-day budget debate in Tallahassee, trust funds will be a key sticking point between the two chambers and a source of contention between Republicans and Democrats.
commentary
State, Teachers Unions Need to Work Together Next Time [Sentinel editorial]
Florida can re-apply for a grant under the second round of Race to the Top, but this time it will be eligible for about $700 million. |
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