FLORIDA DIGEST - June 22, 2008

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

-Delray teacher quits, admits kissing student
A teacher at Atlantic High has resigned amid an investigation into herrelationship with a graduating senior.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpteacherkiss0621pnjun21,0,7570359.story

-Activists allege neglect of black high school in Lauderdale Lakes
Some Broward County activists and a former school district administratorworry that the school system is again shortchanging a predominantly blackschool but doing right by a school with fewer black students. A grass-rootsgroup sued the school system 13 years ago for neglecting to provide older,black schools in eastern Broward with the same facilities, programs andquality teachers as newer, predominantly white schools out west. A judgesaid if disparities exist, you should be able to tell by walking into aschool and snapping a picture.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbnewschool0622sbjun22,0,4947747.story

-Local teens determined to defy grim report about black males in Florida
David Reece Jr. is sitting in a City Furniture training room on a Saturdaymorning reading a report about black males in Florida, and he's not happy."African-American males are at the bottom of everything," he says. "Inlow-income African-American communities, the incarceration rate is high.Health care is not good, and the dropout rate ..."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flrndblackmales0622sbjun22,0,7175909.story

-Homes might need costly new water devices
Little-known state water rules could lead to big-time hassles for SouthFlorida homeowners. Residents with sprinkler systems that tap wells, canalsor retention ponds could be required to install expensive contaminationcontrol devices - a move utility officials in Palm Beach and Browardcounties consider unnecessary.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpbackflow0622pnjun22,0,7403609.story


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Steve Rothaus
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/steve_rothaus/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Photo gallery | Celebrities at the Stonewall Street Festival Parade inWilton Manors
Thousands -- including dozens of South Florida celebrities -- braved therain and turned out Saturday night in Wilton Manors for the Stonewall StreetFestival Parade on Wilton Drive. The festival continues all day Sunday.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/


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

-OPINION | ANA MENENDEZ: Crist ditching his scruples for McCain's favor
And now it's time to play, ''Who is the real Charlie Crist''? Does the manhave any conviction aside from the fervent need to be loved by John McCain?Florida's governor (he's still Florida's governor, right?) seems to havemisplaced his gravitas. He's against offshore oil drilling. He's foroffshore oil drilling. He's -- wait -- McCain's now changed his mind? Noproblem. Whatever the man says, that's what Crist believes.
http://www.miamiherald.com/418/story/579031.html


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From Transgender Equality
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article

-TODAY is the Stonewall Street Festival on Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors.10am - 5pm
TERI will have a booth with the GLCC. Try to stay a while at our booth andlend a hand. I hope to see you all there.
Cheers! Jacqui


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

-Crist risks green, bipartisan monikers with drilling stance
Republican Gov. Charlie Crist's newfound openness to offshore drilling, themost significant policy reversal of his 18 months in office, has givenDemocrats their first opportunity to score political points off theaggressively bipartisan governor. It also gave an opening for his topRepublican rival, state House Speaker Marco Rubio, who said it was"disingenuous" to argue that new oil rigs in the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexicocould help ease pressure at the gas pump.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2008/06/21/m1a_oil_0622.html

-Offshore drilling gains new Fla. GOP supporters
Opposition to offshore oil and gas drilling, once a virtual requirement forany Florida politician, is evaporating in the state's 16-member RepublicanHouse delegation. The crumbling opposition comes as the average price ofgas tops $4 a gallon and after three high-profile Republicans disavowedprevious opposition to offshore drilling.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080622/NEWS/806220309/1002/NEWS&title=Offshore_drilling_gains_new_Fla__GOP_supporters

-FDA visits farms in Florida, Mexico over tainted tomatoes
There might be a break in the salmonella case -- or not. Food and DrugAdministration inspectors headed for farms in Florida and Mexico on Friday,as new clues emerged to the possible source of salmonella-tainted tomatoesthat have sickened more than 500 people.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-tomato2108jun21,0,3910500.story

-Attorney general takes issue with proposed redistricting amendment
Attorney General Bill McCollum is taking aim at a proposed constitutionalamendment that could force lawmakers to more fairly draw the politicalboundaries of legislative districts. In a letter to the Florida SupremeCourt on Friday, McCollum suggested that the summary of the amendmentdoesn't adequately explain that it would require that congressionaldistricts comprise "contiguous territory" -- in other words, requiresingle-member districts rather than the multi-member districts that arecurrently allowed.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/state/orl-redistrict2108jun21,0,7472552.story

-Former President Clinton set to speak at mayors conference
Former President Clinton is scheduled to speak in a session about energyefficiency at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami. PennsylvaniaCongressman Chaka Fattah and Toronto Mayor David Miller also are scheduledto speak in the same session Sunday, focusing on local efforts to reduceglobal warming. Democrat Barack Obama spoke at the conference Saturday. Hetold the city leaders that he would be their partner and appoint the firstWhite House Director of Urban Policy to help them cut through federalbureaucracies.
http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/579150.html

-California speech a step backward for Crist
The first reviews are in on Charlie Crist's performance as a high-profilestump speaker on the Republican circuit. It ain't pretty, and it's why theVeep-O-Meter swings backward this week.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/article637471.ece

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