FLORIDA DIGEST April 8, 2008

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Ft. Lauderdale: VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED!!
To work the Dolphin Democrats booth this weekend at PrideFest.
We will be there on Saturday and Sunday from noon until 6pm
at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale.
If you can drop by for a couple of hours on either or both daysto meet people, extol the virtues of Dolphin membership,sign up voters for vote by mail or just otherwise be a charmingrepresentative of the Dolphins, please drop a note to:
treasurer@dolphindems.org


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Anthony Niedwiecki for Oakland Park City Commission
Volunteers Needed for Youth Day Parade!
Oakland Park is having its 51st Annual Youth Day parade and Festival thisSaturday April 12. Anthony needs some volunteers to walk in the parade withhim to pass out candy and information about his candidacy. The paradestarts at 10 a.m. at 1701 E. Oakland Park Blvd. Youth day is one of thebiggest events of the year in Oakland Park and the parade is the longestrunning one in South Florida. If you are able to help, email him atAnthony@anthony09.com or call him at (954)319-5249.


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OAKLAND PARK CITY COMMISSIONER SUZANNE BOISVENUE ANNOUNCES RUN FOR RE ELECTION
"It has always been my goal to go where I can make a serious difference in the lives of real people."
On April 7, 2008, Oakland Park City Commissioner Suzanne Boisvenue, filed papers with the City Clerk, which signified her intention to run for a second term for Oakland Park Commission - Seat 5 which she currently holds.
She is eager to pursue the issues she cares deeply about: preserving open space; smart growth that's responsible and compatible with the community; provide sewer systems for Rock Island , Garden Acres and Twin Lakes South, eighborhood safety, protection and preservation; and citizen involvement.
If you'd like to help with Suzanne's campaign or simply make a donation, just call 954-298-8899 or e-mail her at suzanneboisvenue@yahoo.com


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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Gun bill would allow one constitutional right to erode another
ISSUE: Gun bill gains steam.
You don't uphold one constitutional right by eroding another. Yet, that'swhat the Legislature is intent on doing.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-408editguns,0,2789451.story

-Financial stress, child abuse often go hand in hand
Recent newspaper articles and TV reports around the state have beencheckered with stories of horrific child abuse and neglect: In BrevardCounty, 3- and 7-year-old children suffered severe ongoing beatings with abelt. In Palm Beach County, a 3-month-old boy who suffered numerous earlierinjuries died of blunt force trauma to the head. In Orange County, a2-year-old girl was punished by her mother with blasts from a pressurewasher. In Hillsborough County, a 2-year-old boy was beaten with a t-ballbat. In Lake County, 5- and 10-year-old boys were beaten almost daily with abelt, leaving bruises and welts all over their bodies. And in SeminoleCounty, a 13-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy endured horrible physical andsexual abuse for more than six years. All of this was reported just withinthe last few weeks.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-children08forumsbapr08,0,3806144.story

-Hillsboro Beach residents: Don't let public use our beaches
HILLSBORO BEACH - When residents learned that commissioners consideredopening the town's beach to the public to gain tax dollars forbeach-widening projects, they let them know that the status quo was the wayto go.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbhillsboro0408sbapr08,0,2396436.story

-BrandsMart launches recycling service for cell phones, electronics
Consumers looking to make some money from discarded electronics now haveBrandsMart USA for help.
The South Florida retailer on Monday launched a recycling service thatallows consumers to exchange unwanted cell phones, MP3 players, cameras,gaming devices, global positioning systems and car audio players for storegift cards. Other products, including analog televisions, are expected to beadded later this year.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-48brandsmart,0,4506061.story


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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-CAMPAIGN 2008 | DELEGATES
DNC: Deal to seat Florida, Michigan delegates unlikely before June
WASHINGTON -- A deal to allow delegates from Florida and Michigan toparticipate at the Democratic National Convention is unlikely before summer,party chief Howard Dean said Sunday.
http://www.miamiherald.com/campaign08/story/485580.html

-STATE BUDGET
Rubio defends added budget wording
House Speaker Marco Rubio and state transportation officials are at oddsover budget language he has pushed for a friend that blocks a turnpike deal.
TALLAHASSEE -- House Speaker Marco Rubio said Monday he used obscure budgetlanguage that helped a friend and blocked a $265 million turnpike deal dueto concerns over the Department of Transportation's potentially ''cozy''ties to ''monopolistic'' contractors.
http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/486950.html

-Expand Broward mayor's reach
OUR OPINION: CHARTER CHANGES COULD INCREASE REPRESENTATION
A business group in Broward County wants the county's Charter ReviewCommission to approve a measure that would put the question of acountywide-elected mayor and one countywide-elected commissioner to votersin November. The panel should heed this call at its meeting Wednesday. It isa cry from the Broward Workshop for strong countywide leadership. Thenonpartisan group of Broward businesses and professionals is one of thecounty's most cohesive civic forces.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/487013.html

-Revolving door of mentally ill inmates
OUR OPINION: MIAMI-DADE TAKING STEPS TO IMPROVE ITS JAILS
The U.S. Department of Justice investigation of Miami-Dade County Jails putsa spotlight on problems that have been documented for years. The county hasbeen addressing corrections' problems, among them jail overcrowding, poormedical care and how mentally ill inmates are treated. New facilities andprograms require funding and take time to build. The challenge is to pressfor the needed resources and keep improving jail conditions, which isdifficult because of revenue shortfalls.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/487011.html

-STIMULUS PAYMENT
How to get your tax rebate
With costs going up on everything from gasoline to bread, an overwhelmingbipartisan majority in the House recently approved the Recovery Rebates andEconomic Stimulus for the American People Act. We were determined to actquickly, so that families could receive tax rebates of up to $1,200 percouple, plus $300 per child, as early as mid-May.
http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/485773.html

-Poll shows Pa. race tightening in Obama's favor
The Democratic presidential race in Pennsylvania: Hillary Clinton, 50percent; Barack Obama, 44 percent.
http://www.miamiherald.com/campaign08/story/487342.html


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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Soft landing possible for Florida economy despite housing's thud
Sean Snaith, 40, director of the Institute of Economic Competitiveness inthe University of Central Florida's College of Business Administration. Hewas interviewed by Sentinel staff writer Christopher Boyd.
Question: The U.S. economy has shed jobs for three months in a row. Is thisa clear sign that the economy is in a serious downturn?
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-talking0808apr08,0,5717709.story?track=rss

-Party bosses worry as split Dems smolder
The bitterness of the Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton Democratic presidentialnomination fight is starting to make some local Democratic activistsnervous.
"I hear people telling me if Hillary gets the nomination, I won't vote forher. If Obama gets the nomination, I won't vote for him. Or I'll vote for(Republican John) McCain. I'm hearing this from Democrats. This is soterrible," Mid-County Democratic Club Prez Allen Mergaman publicly lamentedat last week's county Democratic Executive Committee confab.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/04/07/s1b_geo_0407.html

-Anti-abortion tactic reflects politics at its most cynical
Since this is an election year, it's not surprising Florida legislators arepushing abortion restrictions.
This is politics at its most cynical.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-miket0808apr08,0,3026840.column?track=rss

-Number of mentally-ill felons has doubled in Florida according to DCF
The number of accused felons ruled mentally incompetent for trial hasdoubled over five years, crowding Florida institutions with the mostexpensive type of offenders at a time of severe budget restraints, accordingto a new legislative study.
http://floridacapitalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080408/CAPITOLNEWS/804080328


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