FLORIDA DIGEST - July 27, 2008

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~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

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

-MIAMI: Director of Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival fired
Organizers of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival are starting from scratch in an effort to reinvent the event after losing key staff and sponsors.
http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/story/619337.html

-HAULOVER BEACH | 17TH ANNIVERSARY
Haulover Beach's nude stretch celebrates 17 years in the buff
Celebrating Haulover Beach's 17th year as a nude beach, devotees reminiscedabout their naked fun. The party continues on Sunday.
http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/619332.html


~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

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

-Uninsured doctors on the rise in S. Fla.
South Florida has become the nation's capital for doctors without medicalmalpractice insurance, experts say. South Florida has become the nation'scapital for doctors without medical malpractice insurance, experts say,leaving patients at risk of getting little financial help for care after amedical error. Nearly one-quarter of doctors in Broward and Palm Beachcounties, more than one-third in the Miami area, and one-eighth statewideopt out of malpractice insurance under a state law that lets them go withoutcoverage, a state physician database shows. That's about double the rates in2003, when uninsured doctors and medical malpractice became a state policycrisis.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flrxdocs0727sbjul27,0,2064189.story

-Obama camp still embraces Wexler
U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, remains in good standing withBarack Obama's presidential campaign despite a flap over the congressman'sresidency in South Florida.
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2008/07/obama_camp_still_embraces_wexl.html

-Churches extend religious tax exemptions elsewhere
It's a remarkable home, even in an upscale Coral Springs neighborhood:
12,000 square feet, manicured grounds, a guest house, five-car garage and apair of lion statues gracing the entrance. [...] In Broward, the value ofproperties considered tax-exempt for religious purposes totaled $1.8 billionin 2007, the last year for which complete data is available. While most weretraditional churches and temples, the tax-free properties also includedvacant land, parking lots and multimillion-dollar homes with golf course andwater views, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel found.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flbchurch0727sbjul27,0,6187197.story

-Congress comes to senses, passes Clean Boating Act of 2008
This past week Congress passed a bill that exempts recreational boaters fromonerous permit requirements of the Clean Water Act that were designed forlarge commercial ships. The Environmental Protection Agency had givenrecreational boats an exemption to the Clean Water Act in 1973. The EPA wasconcerned about vessels such as cruise ships, cargo ships and supertankers,whose ballast water could introduce invasive exotic species into U.S.waters.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/columnists/sfl-flspwaters07-27sbjul27,0,5284629.column

-Register by Monday to cast vote in Aug. 26 primary
The August primary features a slew of competitive races to pick judges,School Board members, a property appraiser and elections supervisor. But ifyou want a say in the action, act fast. Monday is the deadline forregistering to vote in the Aug. 26 primary. Two weeks after registrationcloses, early voting for the primary will begin. People can cast theirballots early at eight locations.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpvoter0728pnjul27,0,5787047.story


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

-Broward candidates build on war chests
With one month to go until the Aug. 26 primary, Friday's campaign financereporting deadline indicates who's going to have the most money for the homestretch
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/618603.html

-Will race sway state on Obama?
Joseph Hatchett is the only black candidate to win a statewide election inFlorida. His 1976 victory to keep his seat on the Florida Supreme Court washistoric. Not only did Hatchett, who was the first black justice onFlorida's highest court, set a historical precedent in Florida, his win alsosignified the first successful statewide election by a black candidate inthe entire South since Reconstruction.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080727/ARTICLE/807270346/2055&title=Will_race_sway_state_on_Obama_

-FIU hiring Rubio is an act of black magic
A miracle! Had to be a miracle. Admittedly, that won't jive with theuniversity's canon of rational inquiry. But no amount of rational inquirycan explain the unfathomable appearance of Marco Rubio on the campus ofFlorida International University. Out of nowhere. Out of a budget that wasin shambles. Rubio just materialized.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/fred-grimm/story/619343.html


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Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Crist must do more to help ex-cons leave prison stripes behind
A June 28 Palm Beach Post editorial stated, "More than 115,000 former felonswho have completed their sentences have had their civil rights restored ..." since Gov. Crist and the Florida Cabinet, acting as the Clemency Board,adopted certain rule changes in April 2007.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2008/07/27/a1e_iw_schlakman_0727.html


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

-State GOP outgunning Democrats in fundraising
It may be nice to be loved, but it pays to be in power. Across CentralFlorida, Republican legislative candidates are out-raising their Democraticopponents more than 4-to-1 so far, state reports show. Florida Republicanshave been on the fundraising circuit for the past two months, hoping tobuffer an apparent anti-incumbent voter surge with the cash advantages ofsafe majorities in both chambers of the Florida Legislature. AlthoughDemocrats have grown their voter pool five times faster than Republicanssince the presidential primary in January, the GOP has been able to commandmore dollars from donors.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-money2708jul27,0,7488511.story

-Florida no longer a given for McCain
Not so long ago, a lot of politicos were talking about Florida being acakewalk for John McCain, and Barack Obama writing off the state. Notanymore.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article741315.ece

-Fewer Florida parents give school vaccines a shot
The shining needle. The tiny speck of blood. The red face of tears. Noparent likes to see their child receive a shot, and a growing number ofFlorida parents are refusing to do it.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/jul/27/30gtparents-tell-us-what-you-think/

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