Critics seek to stop Florida's Medicaid handoff
As Florida nears the Aug. 1 deadline to submit to the federal government its blueprint for shifting 3 million Medicaid patients into managed care plans, opponents are busy asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to turn the state down flat. After Florida lawmakers voted to expand a controversial five-county pilot project statewide in hopes of stemming runaway Medicaid costs, health care providers and advocates knocked the idea at workshops across the state. The Elder Law Section of the Florida Bar especially criticized the intention to start with elderly long-term care patients, who were not even part of the pilot. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Education is more than textbooks
Before the bust, St. Lucie County was best known for hyper-growth, high-profile biotech recruitment and retirees. Less well known is that seven of 10 public school students live in families below the federal poverty line. To address the education issues associated with poor children, the school district and textbook publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt recently inked a unique five-year partnership that the school system hopes will boost student and school performance. The Boston company, meanwhile, hopes the effort will be a model for similar ventures in Florida and the nation. Read more...
 Seventh-graders at Palm Pointe Educational Research School at Tradition test conductivity in a biotechnology lab. The school is a partnership between the St. Lucie school district and Florida Atlantic University. [Photo: Janice Karst/St. Lucie County School District] |
Florida's "Great Colleges To Work For"
Six Florida colleges were selected as "Great Colleges To Work For" by The Chronicle of Higher Education in their fourth annual report on "The Academic Workplace." The survey is based on responses from nearly 44,000 people at 310 institutions. Each institution was asked to submit a list of full-time employees randomly selected across three categories: administration, faculty, and exempt professional staff. See the full list from The Chronicle of Higher Education and read an announcement from one of the "Great Colleges," Florida International University.
Florida bringing bumper avocado crop
A larger crop has retailers running longer and bigger promotions of Florida avocados. Grower-shippers say retailers should expect strong volume through August and into September. Bill Brindle, vice president of sales management for Brooks Tropicals Inc., Homestead, Fla., estimates late July volume is 30% higher than normal.
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Florida Legal Elite 2011 The 8th annual edition of Florida Legal Elite recognizes a prestigious list of esteemed attorneys chosen by their colleagues—lawyers listed exemplify a standard of excellence in their profession, and have received endorsement from their peers. Named by their Peers |
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Bidding begins to privatize prisons in South Florida
The fastest privatization venture ever undertaken by the state of Florida took a big step forward Monday when the state formally sought plans from private firms to operate all prisons in an 18-county region in South Florida.
In an effort to cut costs, Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature set a Jan. 1, 2012, deadline to privatize 30 state prisons, road camps and work release centers.
Despite the accelerated pace, vendors must provide a mass of documentation and are required to make site visits to all 30 prisons being privatized by Aug. 16, according to a bid document released by the Department of Corrections.
The private vendor is required by law to run prisons for at least 7 percent less money than the state, and vendors must offer an array of programs to inmates designed to ease their return to society and reduce the chance they will commit new crimes and return to prison.
[Source: Times/Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Proposed Miami-Dade budget would gut funding for agriculture
There's a long way between County Hall and the avocado groves of Redland, the rows of tomatoes in Homestead and the plant nurseries of deep South Miami-Dade.
But more than miles seem to separate county government from the county's $2.7 billion agriculture industry, growers say.
The budget proposed last week by Mayor Carlos Gimenez guts or completely eliminates services to farmers, nursery growers and others in South Dade.
Agriculture folks say the dramatic reductions reflect how out-of-touch County Hall is when it comes to farming in Miami-Dade.
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Florida can turn over a new (Nissan) Leaf
Folks in Florida and Georgia willing to go green on the road had their chance Monday to order a new Nissan Leaf electric car - but only if they were among the 20,000 who made $99 deposits during a fall online reservation period.
Nissan has sold 4,000 of the all-electric sedans since February in its first market phase in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington State.
Now the ordering process opens to consumers with reservations in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Deliveries of the electric car were delayed earlier this year due to production problems followed by the devastating Japanese earthquake after the first reservations filled up two months early.
› State delays probe of Workforce Central Florida contracts
A state inspector general will delay an investigation into the contracting practices of Workforce Central Florida, citing a similar U.S. Department of Labor inquiry and an ongoing probe of the agency's purchase of a fleet of vehicles.
The inspector general for Florida's Agency for Workforce Innovation had notified Central Florida's workforce board in June that his office would review the board's policies for awarding contracts to board members. But that investigation would start only after the inspector general completed two other probes of the agency.
› DOH to speed up suspensions
The Department of Health is streamlining the process of getting dangerous health professionals out of practice -- and it may already be paying off.
Several simple, common-sense steps have been introduced for high-priority cases, Surgeon Gen. Frank Farmer said in an interview.
For example, he said, an employee is now in charge of flagging important complaints as they come into the Consumer Services Unit. And when those cases zip up to prosecution, they are on bright yellow paper, to set them apart.
After a doctor is arrested on a matter concerning medical practice, it should take only days, not months, to issue an emergency suspension order, Farmer said.
› Some Citizens sinkhole rates could rise thousands of dollars
The state-run property insurer is proposing to increase sinkhole insurance premiums by more than 2,000 percent in some parts of the Tampa Bay area, and an average of more than 400 percent across the state.
The rate hike — which could cost some customers an additional $4,000 per year — is necessary because current premiums don't cover payouts for sinkhole claims, according to Citizens Property Insurance actuaries.
The proposed increase, released Monday, comes after the Legislature lifted a 10 percent rate hike cap on sinkhole premiums as part of major insurance reforms passed during the 2011 lawmaking session.
› Spirit Airlines offers fare break as airline taxes expire
Miramar-based Spirit Airlines is one of several carriers offering fliers a break on fares after the federal government's ability to collect certain airfare-related taxes lapsed over the weekend.
Most airlines are adding to their revenue by keeping the amount that normally would be sent to the government.
The affected taxes include a 7.5 percent sales tax on domestic air transportation and 7.5 percent sales tax on purchase of air miles, according to FareCompare.com, an airfare comparison website.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› Mississippi plume could threaten life in Gulf
More than a trillion gallons of polluted water — a volume equal to Tampa Bay — cascaded from the flood-swollen Mississippi Delta watershed into the Gulf of Mexico daily during May. Now, scientists say, the vast plume could trigger toxic algae blooms and harm sea life as far away as Southwest Florida and the Florida Keys.
Some of that dirty water is circulating in a large 10,800-square-mile eddy about 150 miles west of Sarasota. Another smaller, but more concentrated slug is flowing southeast toward the Florida Keys.
Loaded with nutrients, pesticides and other land-based pollutants, the contaminated water may feed blooms of toxic algae or create marine-life-killing "dead zones."
› Should USF Polytechnic become Florida Polytechnic?
Senate Budget Chairman J.D. Alexander said Monday he is in support of USF Polytechnic being designated as a state university, rather than an offshoot of the University of South Florida.
"I believe USF Polytechnic needs to become Florida Polytechnic,'' he replied when asked what he wanted to see transpire during his last term in the legislature. Alexander was the guest speaker at Tiger Bay in Bartow.
A community letter is reportedly in circulation asking the state university system's board of governors to provide designation to USF Polytechnic that would cut its proverbial umbilical cord from USF.
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USF Polytechnic Survives the Veto Pen
› Many retailers are rethinking self-service checkout lanes
Walmart made April Hubbard's day by replacing its perpetually backed up do-it-yourself checkout lanes this month with six express registers staffed by real people.
"This is faster, easier and provides some jobs," said the St. Petersburg cook and Walmart regular. "It's aggravating when people in front of you cannot figure out how the machine works."
After spreading like a weed for a decade, self-service checkout is being rethought by mass merchants who once saw automation as a cheaper way to handle peak-hour rushes.
› Many seek new start with Legoland
Cypress Gardens, founded in the 1930s, ranked as one of the nation's leading tourist attractions in its prime, luring royalty and celebrities and providing a backdrop for TV shows and movies. Nearly two years after it abruptly closed and left 200 employees out of work, the property is undergoing a wholesale transformation, with feverish construction leading toward the inauguration of Legoland Florida in October.
› Miami-Dade's construction industry might actually add jobs
Miami-Dade's construction industry is moving closer to doing something unusual: adding jobs.
Devastated by the housing crash, Miami-Dade's building industry last added jobs in October 2007, as a real estate slump approached a depression. But the June employment numbers hinted at a bottom. Compared to 12 months earlier, Miami-Dade builders shed just 300 positions, less than a 1 percent drop. It was the best showing (or should we say "the least bad showing") in 44 months. It was also a switch for 2011, which saw construction jobs drop between 3 and 5 percent each month.
› Gas prices continue to rise in Florida
Remember two weeks ago when analysts predicted gas prices would stabilize after a 15 cent jump?
So much for their crystal ball.
Retail gas prices in Florida surpassed the national average this week, rising another 4 cents over the last week and 10 cents above the high two weeks ago.
The average price for a gallon of gas in the state reached $3.70 this week, just under a penny more than the national average. The Tampa Bay area average has also risen to $3.63.
And don't expect the price to drop anytime soon.
› Alachua County in dispute with design firm over jail project
Alachua County is in the midst of a billing dispute with the Melbourne-based firm designing a major jail construction project.
Advantek Consulting Engineering, the company designing the replacement of the jail's roof and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, says the county owes about $41,000 for three unpaid invoices covering work in April and May.
Company officials say the county has breached the contract by not paying invoices within 15 days of receipt. Advantek subsequently has ceased design work on the jail project.
› Brevard Art Museum gets $1M gift, new name
Florida Tech surprised supporters of the Brevard Art Museum earlier this year with the announcement that it would take over beginning July 1.
Now, another announcement has stirred the excitement even further: With a Foosaner Foundation contribution of $1 million to benefit the museum, the 33-year-old institution will become the Foosaner Art Museum.
"I hope it resonates in a way that it inspires others to contribute," said Cocoa resident Dee Negroni-Hendrick, foundation director and only child of its founder, Samuel J. Foosaner.