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Stonewall Library Book Club Discusses "Brokeback Mountain" (Nov. 9)
The Stonewall Library and Archives' Book Discussion Group will hold its next meeting on Thursday, November 9, at 7:30 p.m. Book maven Jesse Monteagudo will moderate a discussion of "Brokeback Mountain": the short story by Annie Proulx, the movie by Ang Lee, the soundtrack album, the calendar . . . in short, everything Brokeback. The Stonewall Library and Archives is located at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida, 1717 North Andrews Avenue, in Fort Lauderdale. For more information phone Stonewall at 954-763-8565.
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/orl-miket1706oct17,0,7973714.column?coll=orl-news-col
GOP can't ask for a better foe than Democrats
Mike Thomas
COMMENTARY
October 17, 2006
I once listened to Jeb Bush give thanks for Florida Democrats, much asFlorida State fans once gave thanks for the ACC.
Inept competition goes a long way in covering up mistakes.
Bush confessed to being a lousy campaigner and felt he was vulnerable in his2002 re-election campaign.
"I could even beat me," he quipped.
But the Democrats blessed him with Bill McBride, a truly clueless politicalamateur. McBride had put little thought into the issues. He did not preparefor televised debates, an astounding blunder when going up against a policywonk like Bush.
Bush sliced and diced him, then handily won the election.
The Democrats had four years to learn from that and make a strong run at thegovernor's office this year.
Instead, their two candidates were Jim Davis, a man with the charisma of agopher tortoise, and Rod Smith, a lackey for the Everglades sugar growers.
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/education/15775887.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Till's final exam today
A majority of board members have evaluated the superintendent'sperformance, and their findings are not unanimous. Today they will decidewhether to fire him.
BY NIRVI SHAH AND HANNAH SAMPSON
nshah@MiamiHerald.com
Broward Schools Superintendent Frank Till has ''terrible written andverbal skills,'' but is a ``strong superintendent.''
He has shown ''excellent leadership'' and ``provides no leadership.''
And Till ''deserves credit for his successes,'' but high schoolstudents' reading scores are ``unacceptable.''
The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Till played out in School Boardmembers' evaluations of the superintendent, which were turned in on the eveof their vote on his future.
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http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20061017&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=610170469&SectionCat=&Template=printart
Anti-tax Republicans balk at Crist's plans
By JOE FOLLICK
H-T CAPITAL BUREAU
jfollick@earthlink.net
TALLAHASSEE -- Republican Charlie Crist's proposed $4 billion in tax cutsmay face opposition from an unlikely source if he's elected governor inNovember.
The conservative Florida House, a reliable bastion of anti-tax Republicans,already declined to pass the centerpieces of Crist's plan earlier this yearwhen they were offered by GOP lawmakers.
And fiscal leaders in the House said it would be very difficult to enactCrist's tax cuts while still paying for the voter-mandated limits on classsizes that must be in place by 2010.
Unlike Gov. Jeb Bush, Crist has said he won't lead efforts to revise theclass-size reduction amendment to make it less expensive.
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/columnists/orl-maxwell1706oct17,0,6591874.column?coll=orl-news-col-opinion
Davis vows to keep on fighting
Scott Maxwell
TAKING NAMES
October 17, 2006
Let's be honest here: Jim Davis has got problems.
Recent reports suggest that if you're surveying most any group ofFloridians, other than Davis' wife and kids, he's behind in the polls.
This is largely because Charlie Crist has the GOP money machine churning outchecks. So while Davis recently started airing 15-second clips that you canmiss during lengthy blinks, Crist has blanketed the airwaves for weeks andweeks this campaign season.
In other words, Davis needs money.
So the Democrats tried to help Monday night inside an expansive homeoverlooking Lake Osceola in the heart of Winter Park.
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15775885.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Shaw, Klein vie for indies, undecideds
As the campaign between U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw and Democratic state Sen. RonKlein enters its final weeks, both men are trying to land independent andundecided voters.
BY ERIKA BOLSTAD
ebolstad@MiamiHerald.com
WEST PALM BEACH - As their campaigns enter the home stretch, U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw and state Sen. Ron Klein have begun to refine their pitches for theelusive and undecided moderate voters remaining in the coastal district.
On Monday, Shaw and Klein gravitated toward the center on nearly every issueduring a lunchtime debate in West Palm Beach.
Klein, a Democratic challenger, used his time to continue to connect Shaw tothe widespread national unease over how Republicans have handled the war inIraq. But Klein also unveiled his support for a conservation bill that tiesnational security to energy independence.
Shaw focused on his bipartisan accomplishments -- such as welfare reform -- and touted his independence on such issues as an overhaul of the SocialSecurity system.
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15776034.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
State pushes to end judicial oversight of Glades
Lawyers for the state told a federal judge who has been overseeing the vastEverglades cleanup project that his job was essentially done.
BY CURTIS MORGAN
cmorgan@MiamiHerald.com
The state of Florida, rebuffed in a political push to end long-runningfederal judicial oversight of Everglades cleanup, took its case to court onMonday.
Lawyers for two state agencies told U.S. District Court Judge FedericoMoreno that his role was essentially done and to ''simply trust'' Florida tofollow its own laws for reducing pollution flowing into the Everglades fromfarms, ranches and suburbs.
''There's nothing further for you to do, unless we breach,'' said Departmentof Environmental Protection attorney Charles DeMonaco.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/sfl-ctill17oct17,0,738322.story?coll=sfla-news-education
Broward School Board will decide today whether to fire Superintendent Till
By Jean-Paul Renaud
South Florida Sun-Sentinel Education Writer
October 17, 2006
A day before facing a board that may fire him, the job evaluationsSuperintendent Frank Till received Monday from his bosses show that someSchool Board members are frustrated and distrustful of his leadership ofBroward County's public schools.
Six of the nine members turned in their annual assessments of Till'sperformance Monday. This year's evaluations, however, carry deeper meaning.
Member Stephanie Kraft, who turned in a scathing job review, will ask hercolleagues today to fire Till. She said his seven years as superintendenthave eroded the school system. Member Marty Rubinstein has joined Kraft inpublicly calling for Till's removal, while Benjamin Williams and MaureenDinnen have come out in support of Till. None of the five remaining membershave said how they will vote today.
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15776030.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
Civil court cases were kept hidden
A dozen civil cases have been hidden from public view in Miami-Dade County, according to a judge's letter.
BY DAN CHRISTENSEN AND PATRICK DANNER
dchristensen@MiamiHerald.com
A dozen civil cases in Miami-Dade Circuit Court have been concealedfrom the public since 1993, some in apparent violation of state law.
Miami-Dade Chief Judge Joseph Farina disclosed the existence of thosecases in a letter to Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis onFriday. Farina's office identified the case numbers but declined to make thenames of the parties public.
At the same time, Farina issued an order Friday that gives judges newauthority to hide cases completely by allowing them to seal both court filesand dockets -- a process known as ''super-sealing.'' A First Amendmentexpert predicted the move would lead to more instances of unconstitutionalsecrecy.
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