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http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/13/news_pf/State/44_of_eligible_childr.shtml
St. Petersburg Times
44% of eligible children in Pre-K
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 13, 2006
TALLAHASSEE - Forty-four percent of all eligible 4-year-old children in Florida have been enrolled in the state's voluntary prekindergarten program, now in its second year, state officials said Thursday.
Two months into the current school year, 97,000 children are in the program administered by the Agency for Workforce Innovation. That's more than the entire past school year, August 2005 through June 2006, when 96,295 children participated, agency spokesman Warren May said.
"We are very encouraged by the tremendous increase in enrollment," Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings said in a statement.
Children can be enrolled in the program at any time, although classes already have started. Officials are expecting the number to climb to 100,000 before January, the next heavy enrollment period. Another boost is expected for the 2007 summer program.
Children who were 4 on or before this past Sept. 1 are eligible.
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http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061013/CAPITOLNEWS/610130334
Article published Oct 13, 2006
Emergency-contact program a hit with Florida motorists
By Brittany Benner
FLORIDA CAPITAL BUREAU
Floridians can now provide emergency contact numbers that will speed notification of loved ones in the event of an accident.More than 77,000 people have taken advantage of the new, free program by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles since it began Oct. 2.
People can enter the names and phone numbers of one or more contacts.
By entering contact numbers on the department's Web site, law enforcement can quickly get in touch with loved ones chosen by drivers.
''If you are in an accident, this gives law enforcement immediate access to contact information that can help them find a loved one, in case of this emergency,'' said Frank Penela, spokesman for the department.
The new service was prompted by a fatal crash in December 2005. The Florida Highway Patrol said Tiffiany Olson was killed in a crash on U.S. 19 in Manatee County. Law enforcement was not able to notify her family until six hours after the crash.
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http://expressgaynews.com/2006/10-7/news/localnews/poverello.cfm
Poverello plans move at end of 2007
Center purchases building near Five Points in Wilton Manors
Saturday, October 07, 2006
The Poverello Center, a nonprofit organization that provides food and services to individuals living with HIV/AIDS, plans to move from its Shoppes of Wilton Manors location at the end of 2007, according to Thomas M. Smith, CFO of Poverello.
The organization just purchased a building on Dixie Highway just south of the Five Points intersection, Smith said. The building is larger than Poverello's current facility, and the monthly mortgage payment will be less than what the center is currently paying in rent, Smith said. The new Wilton Manors location is within walking distance of Poverello's current site.
The Poverello Center will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2007. It has been located in Wilton Manors for the past 12 years.
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/special_packages/5min/15750526.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
The Miami Herald recommends for Broward School Board, Group 1
Broward School Board member Carole Andrews surprised voters in SoutheastBroward by resigning her seat shortly after she was reelected by an 81percent majority in September. Ms. Andrews' health had taken a dramatic turnfor the worse, but she had remained on the ballot because she believed heropponent was unqualified.
So District 1 voters will choose a new representative on the Nov. 7 ballot,a race that has drawn two names well known in South Broward: long-time DaniaBeach City Commissioner Charles ''Mac'' McElyea, 74, and state Rep. EleanorSobel, 60, as well as veteran teacher Terry Snipes, 51, director ofpreschool for students with special needs who is making his second bid forthe board.
Each candidate has particular strengths, but our nod goes to Ms. Sobel, whocombines broad experiences in policymaking with a prior 17-year career ineducation. She was a Hollywood city commissioner for six years and a staterepresentative for eight. Her Tallahassee service included being on theHouse Education Choice and Innovation Committee. While there, she says oneof her roles was to combat the ''radical'' programs pushed by some Houseconservatives.
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http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061013/OPINION/610130641/1270/NEWS0101
Sarasota Herald Tribune
Article published Oct 13, 2006
U.S. Senate We recommend Bill Nelson
In January 2004, U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris staged an outdoor rally in Sarasota at which many people expected her to announce plans to run for the U.S. Senate. Surrounded by supporters, reporters and cameras, Harris said, "I'm here to announce my candidacy for the United States Senate." Then, letting the cheers subside, she added: "Just not this year."
Harris could afford to tease the public -- and wait a couple of years. She was a Republican Party hero because of the actions she took as Florida's secretary of state during the presidential election controversy of 2000. She had won a seat in Congress in 2002 and was confident she would win again in 2004 in her heavily Republican, Southwest Florida district. Politically, it seemed, she had nowhere to go but up.
By waiting until 2006, she would likely be taking on one-term Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, a low-profile moderate who had labored in the shadow of his revered Democratic colleague, Sen. Bob Graham. With Graham's retirement in 2004, and the election of Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, Nelson became the last Democrat in Florida to hold statewide office. While Nelson had earned good credentials -- as a congressman, as a state treasurer and insurance commissioner, and now as a senator -- Harris was, well, Katherine Harris.
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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2006/10/13/m1a_GOVRACE_1013.html
Democrats worry Davis lacks the cash, drive to catch Crist
By Brian E. Crowley
Palm Beach Post Political Editor
Friday, October 13, 2006
miami - Outside Miami Edison Senior High School, home of the Red Raiders, Jim Davis is walking toward his car, explaining why he remains behind Charlie Crist.
"The truth of the matter is a lot of folks still don't know who I am," Davis said.
That was September.
On Tuesday, Davis, the Democratic nominee for governor, was on a Miami radio station being quizzed by talk show host Jim DeFede, who was asking him about a new Quinnipiac University poll that showed Davis trailing Crist by 10 points among likely voters.
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http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/13/news_pf/Citrus/With_political_candid.shtml
St. Petersburg Times
With political candidates, follow the money trail
By CHRIS LLOYD
Published October 13, 2006
For those seeking political election, it is a well-known fact that monetary contributions are a key factor in eventual success. In the example of the highest office in the land, the president, it is helpful for a candidate to have pass keys to both Fort Knox and the Federal Reserve System.
In this race, we are talking billions of dollars when measured from end to end. Remember, much of this collateral never sees disclosure in the cold light of day.
Even in Florida races involving such "clean" candidates as Charlie Crist and Bill Nelson, we know that big money is still the big player.
Professional scammer and lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a self-confessed rogue, is now facing serious jail time. His successors wait in the wings for their calling to justice.
Katherine Harris, who is challenging Nelson for a seat in the U.S. Senate, is throwing megabucks into a campaign that looks to have shorter legs than an alligator. But Mrs. Harris has a considerable personal treasure chest in the range of several million dollars.
All of this has an immediate translation into the humble world of Citrus County politics.
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http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/CD/20061013/CAPITOLNEWS06/61013004/-1/capitolnews
Florida Today
Catholic Bishops plead with Bush to stop Fla executions
By Paul Flemming
Political Editor
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida's Catholic bishops have called on Governor Jeb Bush to stop the scheduled executions of two prisoners in the next two weeks.
Ten bishops signed an open letter to the governor asking that he commute the death sentences of Arthur Rutherford and Danny Rolling. On Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Rutherford's appeals for a new trial, clearing the way for his Oct. 18 execution. Rolling, scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Oct. 25, still has appeals pending before the state's highest court.
But the Catholic bishops asked Bush to stop the executions he has ordered.
"We implore the Governor to listen to the growing chorus of voices calling for a moratorium on executions in Florida and a careful examination of the State's death penalty system," the bishops wrote.
Some or all of the bishops have made similar calls in the past. Bush, himself a Catholic, has said in the past that it is his duty as governor to carry out the sentences of the state's judicial system. He also has said he supports the death penalty as appropriate punishment for heinous crimes.
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15745816.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Posted on Fri, Oct. 13, 2006
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Region gets 'F' for evacuations
Among 37 U.S. metro areas, South Florida ranked low in a study of capacity to evacuate during emergencies, but the state's emergency management chief was skeptical.
BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com
WASHINGTON - South Florida ranked 34th among 37 major U.S. urban centers for its capacity to evacuate its population in the face of an emergency, the American Highway Users Alliance, a group that lobbies for more highways, reported Thursday.
The study said only the New York, Chicago and Los Angeles urban areas fared worse than South Florida. Overall, 20 U.S. metropolitan areas with a population of one million or more -- including South Florida -- got an ''F'' grade. Only the Kansas City, Mo., area obtained an ''A'' grade.
But Florida's emergency management chief expressed skepticism over the study's findings.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-panderson13oct13,0,4587846.story?coll=sfla-news-palm
Poll notice on Foley replacement is sensible solution, elections chief says
By Josh Hafenbrack
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
October 13, 2006
Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Arthur Anderson said Thursday he's now leaning toward putting notices in polling locations letting voters knowhow their ballots will be counted in the unusual race to replace disgracedU.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fort Pierce.
After originally rejecting the idea, Anderson said a legal opinion putforward by the Florida Association of Supervisors of Elections looks like asensible solution. It would alert voters that a vote cast for Foley actuallygoes to substitute candidate Joe Negron of Stuart, and also say a vote forDemocratic candidate Tim Mahoney counts for Mahoney and a vote forunaffiliated candidate Emmie Ross counts for Ross.
"It does appear wise and desirable to have some information of a written nature that can be shared with [voters] at the polling location," Anderson said.
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/15745829.htm
Posted on Fri, Oct. 13, 2006
GOVERNOR'S RACE
Crist seeks traditional debate
Charlie Crist's campaign wants to avoid a talk-show-style debate with an MSNBC host and is seeking an alternative for a debate with Jim Davis.
BY MARY ELLEN KLAS AND BETH REINHARD
meklas@MiamiHerald.com
Republican governor candidate Charlie Crist, sitting on a comfortable lead in the polls, is so eager to get out of a freewheeling debate with the host of MSNBC's Hardball he has begun negotiating for an alternative on the same night.
Crist campaign manager George LeMieux said it's not that the candidate fears getting zinged by Hardball host Chris Matthews on statewide TV, but that the campaign doesn't like the ''conversation'' format. ''We don't want to have a talk show, we want to have a debate,'' he said.
A traditional debate is patterned after the presidential matchups, with a moderator and podium, LeMieux said: ``It focuses on the candidates, not the host.''
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/15745678.htm
Posted on Fri, Oct. 13, 2006
HOMELESS BEATING
Teen suspects restrained in court fracas
BY DIANA MOSKOVITZ
dmoskovitz@MiamiHerald.com
The three teenagers arrested in the beating of a homeless man in September became so boisterous in court on Thursday that they had to be restrained by court bailiffs, WFOR-CBS 4 reported.
They appeared before a juvenile court judge who was asked to rule on whether they should remain in prison until the prosecutor decides to try them as juveniles or adults.
The boys complained loudly about their treatment at the jail, so much so that a bailiff had to put a hand over one of the boy's mouths.
The episode comes as police on Thursday arrested a fourth teenager in connection with the beating. All four face charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. The teenagers range in age from 15 to 17.
The Miami Herald is not releasing the boys' names because they are juveniles.
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/15745668.htm
Posted on Fri, Oct. 13, 2006
BROWARD JAILS
$62 million for new jail to ease crowding pinch Broward Sheriff's Office and the County Commission have set aside $62 million to build a new jail in Pompano Beach.
BY TRENTON DANIEL AND NIKKI WALLER
nwaller@MiamiHerald.com
A year ago, Broward County leaders proposed innovative plans for a new jail designed to house and treat inmates with mental illnesses.
Now, amid concerns over the county's chronically overcrowded jails, those plans are on hold while the county and the Broward Sheriff's Office build a new, $62 million general-population jail in Pompano Beach.
With little fanfare, county commissioners last month approved money for the new jail, to be built near the North Broward Detention Center. The 1,000-bed facility should be completed in about three years, according to BSO.
The jail will be built on land that had been designated for the psychiatric jail, and the funding for the new facility was also formerly earmarked for that jail.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-ppublix13oct13,0,1564052.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
Food banks cheer in Palm Beach County as Publix reverses ban on food donations
By Ivette M. Yee
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
October 13, 2006
Publix will again donate meats, fruits and vegetables from its stores to local charities, reversing its two-week-old decision to end the practice.
The decision means a good meal for some 35,000 people in need when donationsresume.
Company officials met with major food bank Palm Beach Harvest and the UnitedWay late Wednesday to discuss the food-safety issues that prompted Publix tostop donations.
Publix donates more than 3 million pounds of food annually to Palm BeachHarvest, which distributes it to 80 agencies countywide. About half of thatwas perishable food, Palm Beach Harvest officials said.
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