FLORIDA DIGEST NOVEMBER 1, 2006

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http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/31/State/Defying_convention_is.shtml


Defying convention is candidate Linn's style

The Reform Party gubernatorial candidate revels in startling stunts andbrash remarks.


By JENNIFER LIBERTO, Times Staff Writer
Published October 31, 2006



Max Linn's appearance in the second televised gubernatorial debates Mondaywas a surprise, thanks to a last-minute federal court order, and theself-made millionaire and financial planner made the most of it.

Viewers got a taste of an unusual and outspoken - some would say brash -Reform Party candidate whose platform defies convention.

Linn, 47, is a millionaire financial planner from Treasure Island with apenchant for outrageous political stunts.

At a popular North Florida political event, the Wausau Annual PossumFestival, he tossed a possum into the air as a diversion so he could snatcha microphone and make a political speech. It worked until the organizersshut his power off.


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http://www.sptimes.com/2006/11/01/news_pf/State/Schiavo_issue_haunts_.shtml


Schiavo issue haunts Crist

Did Charlie Crist take a stand on the Schiavo case, or has he been tryingto please both sides, as critics say?

By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political Editor
Published November 1, 2006

Republican gubernatorial front-runner Charlie Crist says he was perfectlyclear in opposing governmental intervention in the Terri Schiavo case.

He spoke out loudly.

And he was silent.

Loudly silent.

The day after limping through a tough nationally televised debate, theRepublican attorney general wanted to talk about his plans to slash taxes.Instead reporters questioned him about his debate assertion that, "Yes, Idid'' speak out against Congress trying to force the reinsertion of theseverely brain-damaged woman's feeding tube in 2005.

Crist did not publicly express his opposition to the Schiavo interventionuntil April 2006, more than a year after the Pinellas woman's death. But hemaintained on Tuesday that he forcefully expressed his opposition from thestart.



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The Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/editorial/sfl-editdlarzanov01,0,492567.story?track=rss


Legislature

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board

November 1, 2006

ISSUE: Arza's antics become a problem.

State Rep. Rafael "Ralph" Arza, R-Hialeah, faces a difficult decision. Hecan go out gracefully, or be shown the door by his colleagues in the FloridaLegislature. Either way, Arza's got to go -- and soon.

His colleagues in Tallahassee have had their say. Incoming House SpeakerMarco Rubio stripped Arza from leadership after failing to persuade him tostep down. Gov. Jeb Bush said Arza should resign before the Florida House ofRepresentatives removes him.

The three-term Republican could face criminal charges for leavingthreatening messages, laced with a racial epithet and the repeated use ofthe "B" word, on the cell phone of state Rep. Gus Barreiro, R-Miami Beach.Barreiro filed a complaint with the House, alleging Arza used the "N-word"to describe Miami Dade County School Superintendent Rudy Crew.



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http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/nov/01/voters_will_decide_six_constitutional_amendment_tu/?print=1


naplesnews.com

Voters will decide six constitutional amendments Tuesday
By Michael Peltier

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - Voters heading to the polls Tuesday will be asked whether theywant to make it harder for local officials to condemn property and moredifficult for them to change the state constitution.

The two are among six proposed amendments to face voters Nov. 7, a list thatalso includes a proposal to raise the homestead exemption for low-incomeseniors and combat disabled veterans.

Arguably the most controversial proposal would require future citizeninitiatives to receive at least 60 percent of the vote before being added tothe state constitution.

Dubbed Amendment 3, the proposal was put forth by lawmakers last year aftera series of amendments, including reducing school class size and protectingpregnant pigs.



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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-soffender01nov01,0,3457716.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

Weston residents post security guard outside home of sex offender forHalloween



By Nicole T. Lesson and Joe Kollin
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

November 1, 2006


WESTON · A Weston homeowners association took the unusual move ofdispatching a security guard to monitor the home of a registered sexoffender on Halloween night.

The association posted one of its uniformed guards outside the home of ScottCagan, 1634 Sandpiper Circle, in the Savanna subdivision on Tuesday at 6p.m. Earlier in the day, guards at the neighborhood's gates distributedfliers to warn parents.

The measures were taken to assure the safety of the community's children,said the group's president, Matthew Zifrony.

"We want to put residents on notice of what he looks like and the fact thathe lives in Savanna," he said. "I have never heard of any association doingthis, but we have the resources to do things others may not get to do. Wecontrol our own security and have resources to make fliers to hand out atthe gates."



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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-pbmail753xnov01,0,7624425.story?coll=sfla-news-letters

Crist endorsement

Frieda Martey
Delray beach

November 1, 2006

Your endorsement of Charlie Crist is perplexing, and the superficiality ofyour reasons for your decision is troubling. Crist has no family and nohome, no property taxes and home insurance to pay, no children to educate.In order to compensate for these areas of concern, Crist selected as runningmate Jeff Kottkamp, an ultra-conservative who was in the forefront ofgovernment intrusion in the Schiavo case.




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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/15897687.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


U.S. SENATE DEBATE
Tonight may be Harris' last shot

Though it appears unlikely to change voters' minds, Sen. Bill Nelson andRepublican Rep. Katherine Harris go before the cameras in a debate tonight.

By LESLEY CLARK
lclark@MiamiHerald.com

Lagging 20 points behind in the most charitable polls, Rep. Katherine Harrishas one more chance tonight to make up ground in her flailing bid to unseatU.S. Sen. Bill Nelson as the two meet for a second and final debate.

But the 7 p.m. debate in Orlando, to be aired on NBC stations, may not givethe Sarasota Republican the unstructured platform she would like to attackNelson as a ``do-nothing liberal senator.''

The debate will be moderated by NBC's Meet the Press host Tim Russert, whotripped up Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill McBride in 2002 in thefinal governor's debate.



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The Miami Herald
November 1, 2006

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15901097.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Posted on Wed, Nov. 01, 2006


Broward School Board moves toward naming interim chief

By NIRVI SHAH
nshah@MiamiHerald.com

Broward School Board members today will outline their requirements for theperson who will be their temporary superintendent.

After their vote this afternoon, they'll begin accepting applications forthe job. Whoever is selected can't apply to permanently oversee thecountry's sixth-largest school district.

The interim superintendent will be paid at least $166,672, must work for thedistrict now and have at least 10 years experience in an administrative job.

The meeting begins at 4:30 p.m. at the school district headquarters, 600 SEThird Ave. in Fort Lauderdale.



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The Washington Post


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/30/AR2006103001311_pf.html

Campaign Gone South
Florida's Katherine Harris Continues Her Senate Race, Shedding Staff Alongthe Way


By Libby Copeland
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 31, 2006; C01


BARTOW, Fla.

Katherine Harris, who is trying to become a U.S. senator, says she iswriting a tell-all about the many people who have wronged her. Thisincludes, but is not necessarily limited to: the Republican leaders whodidn't want her to run, the press that has covered her troubled campaign,and the many staffers who have quit her employ, whom she accuses ofcolluding with her opponent.

She is vague about what, precisely, makes her a victim, but she says she hasit all documented.



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The Miami Herald
October 31, 2006

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15889493.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Public subsidy of jock excesses is a losing game

BY FRED GRIMM
fgrimm@MiamiHerald.com

Florida's underfunded public universities don't rate much academic glory. InAugust, the annual U.S. News and World Report rankings placed Floridaschools down among the mediocre.

The reaction was muted. Perhaps it's the state's scant pride in highereducation that makes its lavish pursuit of athletic achievements so damnjarring.

When The New York Times needed examples of college sports programs thatabuse their federal tax exemption with Hollywood salaries, luxuriousexpenditures and twisted priorities, the call was answered nicely by theUniversity of Florida and Florida State University.

UF, among other jock excesses, has joined Ohio State, the University ofTexas and Southern Cal in that heady club of colleges that each pay out acombined $4 million in salaries to football and basketball head coaches.





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