FLORIDA DIGEST August 31, 2007

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Florida - Fairness for All Families
July/August 2007 Campaign Update
www.fairnessforallfamilies.org

The Fairness for All Families campaign is continuing to build momentum.Thanks for being part of our growing statewide team. We can defeat thismeanspirited amendment but it will take a diverse team of volunteers anddonors from every corner of the state. This is your campaign and this is ourmoment to stop a measure that will hurt real people, embed discriminationinto our state's Constitution and make it harder for people to take care ofloved ones by taking away essential benefits.

Help spread the word. Make a contribution today and volunteer in yourcommunity. With your help we will win.
Campaign Highlights

Student Organizing
We have a strong and growing network of student activists on 16 universityand college campuses statewide and our online student network has grown toalmost 6,000 in less than a month. Fairness is now identifying "CampusCoordinators" to build campus campaigns around the amendment. "CampusCoordinators" will galvanize students around this issue and use the nextyear to build grassroots infrastructure both on campus and in the communityto fuel campaign phone banks, canvasses, and other grassroots activities.-----If you would like to help with Student Organizing, send an email toinfo@fairnessforallfamilies.org.

Faith Organizing
The Fairness Coalition has built strong inroads into the faith community. Weare working closely with MCC statewide the Florida Unitarian Universalistcommunity and our recent focus has shifted to bringing clergy together toengage the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC). FloridaUCC is a mainstream Christian denomination that has the potential to take astand on this amendment and help galvanize leaders from many other religiousdenominations.
-----If you would like to help with Faith Organizing, send send an email toinfo@fairnessforallfamilies.org.

Fundraising
The Fairness Coalition has initiated a major donor program and we areplanning 16 receptions in cities across the state during August andSeptember. We have begun building Fairness for All Families FinanceCommittees in each of these 16 cities that are comprised of volunteerleadership from a broad range of organizations and individuals invested inseeing this dangerous amendment defeated.



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Campaign to End AIDS-FLORIDA in partnership with NAACP, Unite FortLauderdale and many other organizations will be hosting an organizingconference call to plan a spiritual response to Fort Lauderdale Mayor JimNaugle hate speech.

We encourage religious leaders of all faith to participate on this call.

WHEN: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
5:00 PM (Eastern Time)

CALL-IN NUMBER: 1 866 394-9509

PARTICIPANT PASSCODE: 7761180#

The action is planned for Saturday, September 5th at 5:30 on the steps of
Fort Lauderdale's City Hall.

For more information, please call:
Michael Emanuel Rajner
Founding Member - Campaign to End AIDS-FLORIDA
National Secretary - Campaign to End AIDS
Cell: 954 288-1999
merajner@gmail.com



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Sun-Sentinel Poll - Removing Naugle from TDC, Good or Bad?

Please review the sun-Sentinel.com online poll today.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle has been kicked offthe Broward Country's Tourist Development Councilfor making remarks that angered the gay community.What do you think about his ouster?

Link:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-82907poll,0,4444342.poll?coll=sofla_tab01_layout

Jeff Black
UNITE Fort Lauderdalededicated to making our City and Countya welcoming, inclusive, successful, andcaring community for people fromall walks of life.

For more information, visit:
www.UniteFortLauderdale.org



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/us/31coral.html?pagewanted=print

August 31, 2007
Coral Gables Journal
A City Defines Beautiful, but a Truck Owner and a Court Object
By ABBY GOODNOUGH

CORAL GABLES, Fla., Aug. 30 - Newcomers to this resolutely lush and lovelycity would do well to peruse its "Citizen's Guide to Code Enforcement"before settling in. They will find that pet snakes are forbidden, housesmust be painted a city-approved hue and residents cannot so much as screenin their pools without permits.

But last week, a state appeals court panel struck down one of this affluentcity's premier zoning requirements: a ban on parking pickup trucks indriveways and on residential streets at night.

Lowell Kuvin, an aspiring lawyer with an emerald-green Ford F150 pickup,sued Coral Gables in 2003 after being fined for parking on the street infront of his rented home. A trial court judge sided with the city, but apanel of the Third District Court of Appeal reversed his finding, rulingthat Coral Gables had "unconstitutionally crossed the line" into an"impermissible interference with the personal rights of its residents."



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The Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/v-print/story/220948.html

Posted on Fri, Aug. 31, 2007
In Jenne case, plea deal or no deal?

The big guns are gathering en masse at the Broward County Sheriff's officethis week. Former U.S. Attorney Thomas Scott. Former U.S. Attorney GuyLewis. Prominent defense attorney J. David Bogenschutz.

The official line is that all this legal firepower is a necessary, althoughuncoordinated, response to the federal criminal investigation of Sheriff KenJenne. Officially, this armada doesn't constitute an orchestrated defense bylawyers with insider knowledge of, and personal connections to, the SouthernDistrict U.S. Attorney's office, where both Mr. Scott and Mr. Lewis oncewere in charge.

Possible indictment

We're not buying it for a minute. Neither should you. Here's why:

Mr. Jenne is in big trouble. Federal prosecutors are looking to indict himon multiple fraud and corruption charges, each of which, upon conviction,carries a stiff penalty of five years or more in prison. The potentialcharges relate to how Mr. Jenne may have used his public position to getcontracts for his private consulting businesses. A deal could result in Mr.Jenne pleading to lesser charges and facing less jail time, in exchange forprosecutors winning a conviction and saving taxpayers the cost of a long,expensive trial.

As for money, Mr. Jenne surely is not looking after taxpayers' interest bypaying Mr. Lewis $650 per hour for work that many good lawyers would behappy to do for a more reasonable fee. So far, the tab for Mr. Lewis and acoterie of lawyers is more than $375,000.



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The Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/456/v-print/story/220950.html

Two Letters Below
Posted on Fri, Aug. 31, 2007
Naugle's comments

Re the Aug. 29 story Naugle cast off tourism board: Fort Lauderdale MayorNaugle says, ``It's strange that none of [the Broward County Commissioners]called me to get my side of the controversy.''

He must be joking. The drivel and hate that he has been spewing is his side.The commissioners had already heard from him. That's why he no longer has aseat on the tourism board. The commissioners asked him nicely to keep quiet.But Naugle chose not to listen. They didn't need to hear any more.

Naugle also says in the story that, ''In some ways, this will allow me to bemore involved in trying to influence the members of the Tourist DevelopmentCouncil in the future.'' Hardly. The council sided with the 9-0 decision ofthe Broward commissioners to remove him. Naugle's influence, as well as hiscredibility, are now zilch, and his influence will continue to wane.

Oakland Park

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The campaign against Jim Naugle by The Miami Herald and Broward CountyCommissioners, egged on by the gay and lesbian community, for trying toprotect local residents and visitors from being exposed to sexual acts inpublic toilets, whether between heterosexuals or homosexuals, convinces methat it's a matter of money over morals.

There is no proof that Naugle hates homosexuals, notwithstanding the factthat he hates sexual acts performed in public places. The negative publicityshould be of far more concern for causing a drop in tourism than forNaugle's attempt to make all tourists feel more comfortable.

Pembroke Pines



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The Palm Beach Post

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/08/31/s1c_binocol_0831.html

Primary bully Florida ought to be ashamed
By FRANK CERABINO
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 31, 2007

It's not a very proud time to be a Floridian.

We're looking bad again - and deservedly so. It's over voting. (Surprise!)And this time, a purely self-inflicted wound.

Unfortunately, there's no good way to honey-coat this.

Florida's transgression is something that people can understand, even ifthey have no interest in politics. It's one of those things you learn inkindergarten: Don't cut in line.

In this case, the national political parties have created a lineup of stateprimaries, spacing out the state-by-state votes on a schedule designed to bepolitically beneficial to the parties.

Does it make sense? You could make the argument that the early-votingstates, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada serve as a kind ofspring-training season, where candidates gain credibility, or lose it,before the bigger states with lots of electoral votes weigh in.


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