FLORIDA DIGEST NOVEMBER 3, 2006

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http://www.sptimes.com/2006/11/03/news_pf/State/Will_he_go_hard_after.shtml


Will he go hard after frauds?
That question has become an issue for Bill McCollum in his attorneygeneral run .
Aaron Sharockman
Published November 3, 2006

In Congress, Bill McCollum filed a bill that would have protectedpharmaceutical companies accused of Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

One company under investigation later tapped McCollum as its lobbyist, andpaid his firm $60,000.

Now McCollum is running for attorney general, where he will be asked toprosecute fraud cases under the very laws he tried to change in Congress,against companies like the one he used to work for.

McCollum, a former 10-term congressman from the Orlando area, says hewouldn't hesitate to sue his old employer, AstraZeneca, or others if theybroke the law.




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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2006/11/03/m1a_ALLSTATE_1103.html


Allstate to drop 120,000 customers, but also trim rate hike
By Jeff Ostrowski

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, November 03, 2006

Allstate plans to shave its double-digit rate hike a bit, company officialssaid Thursday, but Florida's third-largest insurer also aims to drop 120,000customers.

The company, which dropped 174,000 policies earlier this year, said it wastoo early to say how many policies would be dropped in any county this time.

The good news and the bad news came at a public hearing Thursday inTallahassee, where state regulators grilled Allstate Corp. units aboutproposed rate hikes.



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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15916403.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


EDUCATION
Broward schools run like convenience stores, fired chief says

BY NIRVI SHAH
nshah@MiamiHerald.com

Outgoing Broward schools Superintendent Frank Till gave some candidanswers to student journalists on Thursday, saying he once thought theschool district was run with as little sophistication as a 7-Eleven.

He also compared School Board members to children and said he alwayshas to look clean in public, in response to questioning from Plantation Highjournalism students.

Till, facing teacher Jamie Aquino's 28 inquiring students during thelast class of the day, seemed relaxed, and even cracked a few jokes abouthis October firing by the School Board.

Till was invited to be interviewed well before he was fired, as one ofa series of guests the students practiced their interviewing skills on.



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tp://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-mpoll0306nov03,0,2769909.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-state

ELECTION 2006

Davis trims Crist's lead
But a poll shows the Democrat still faces an uphill battle in the governor'srace.
John Kennedy and Jason Garcia
Tallahassee Bureau

November 3, 2006


TALLAHASSEE -- Democrat Jim Davis has cut Republican Charlie Crist'sonce-sizable lead to 7 percentage points in the race for governor headinginto the final weekend before Election Day, an Orlando Sentinel poll showedThursday.

But the survey shows that Davis still faces a tough road to victory. Hisstrategy of tying the Florida race to the national political woes ofRepublicans doesn't appear to be taking hold. And he's still losing one ofevery five Democrats to Crist.

Davis had trailed by 11 percentage points in a similar survey taken morethan two weeks ago and by 16 points in July. But two statewide televisiondebates seem to have helped him attract more voters his way against thebetter-financed Crist.



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http://www.sptimes.com/2006/11/03/news_pf/State/Jones__charisma_draws.shtml


Jones' charisma draws admirers on campaign
By JENNIFER LIBERTO, Times Staff Writer
Published November 3, 2006



At campaign stops throughout the state, Daryl Jones exudes the kind of cool,confident presence that inspires clapping and whistling fans andgroupie-like gatherings.

The Miami Democrat is running for lieutenant governor alongside Jim Davis, aTampa congressman running for governor.

At a recent campaign stop in Tallahassee, meant to encourage early voting,Jones star-struck Tallahassee city Commissioner Andrew D. Gillum, apolitical presence in his own right. In 2003, Gillum was the youngest man,at 23, to be elected to serve on the commission.



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The Sun-Sentinel


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-cwater03nov03,0,1508838.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines


Broward may replenish underground water supply with treated sewage

By David Fleshler
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

November 3, 2006

Under pressure to accommodate growth without drawing water from theEverglades, Broward County is considering a plan to replenish undergroundsources of drinking water by discharging treated sewage into canals.

The county's environmental staff has drafted a proposal to lowerwater-quality standards for canals so they could accept highly treatedsewage without exceeding legal pollution levels.

But County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs and a group of environmentalists areprotesting the plan, saying it would pollute canals with nitrogen andphosphorus, ruin wildlife habitat and destroy fishing spots. They say thecounty should pay to better clean the sewage so it could be discharged intothe canals without impairing water quality.



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The Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-02forum56nov03,0,4838296.story


GOVERNOR'S RACE
Support for GLBT civil rights lacking

By William Butte

November 3, 2006


With Florida's 2006 gubernatorial race a virtual draw between Democrat JimDavis and Republican Charlie Crist, attentive voters know each man's view onissues ranging from skyrocketing property taxes and insurance rates toprescription drug costs.

Yet not much is known of their views on issues affecting Florida residentswith the fewest civil rights -- the GLBT community.

Where does each man stand on the issues most affecting the lives of theestimated 1.2 million Florida voters who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexualor transgender? And with the candidates' past records plus current positionsand comments, what might GLBT Floridians expect with either one as governor?



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The Miami Herald


http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15916100.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Posted on Thu, Nov. 02, 2006


2 Broward commissioners spar over penny tax

BY JERRY BERRIOS
jberrios@MiamiHerald.com



Broward County Commissioners Josephus Eggelletion Jr. and Ilene Liebermanfaced off early this morning in Fort Lauderdale to debate the proposed pennysales tax on Tuesday's ballot.

The extra penny would increase the sales tax charged in Broward County fromsix to seven cents on every dollar spent, raising an estimated $260 millionannually.

Initial plans for the money include nearly doubling the county's bus fleetfrom 320 to 596 buses, adding high-speed buses and synchronizing thecounty's traffic signal system.

Eggelletion said that light rail would make more sense than buying morebuses, and he questioned the county's plan to buy environmentally friendlyhybrid buses, which are more expensive than the lumbering diesels.

Compared with other metropolitan areas, Lieberman said, Broward has far toofew buses. According to Lieberman, Atlanta has 704 buses; Dallas has 968;Miami-Dade has 842; Broward has 265.



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Rally for Jim Davis

Jim Davis will join us on Friday, November 3 - 6:30 pm

Democratic Vote Center
1700 N. Andrews Ave.
Fort Lauderdale

Contact for more information:

Dan 954-581-4011 or dhardcastle@jimdavis2006.com
or
JD Camp, 954-763-1880




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