FLORIDA DIGEST - October 09, 2008

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~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

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

-Florida voters leaning toward ban on gay marriage, poll shows
Floridians look poised to pass a constitutional ban on gay marriage next month but seem less enthralled with other amendments that range from offering tax breaks for public marinas to raising taxes for community colleges. Of the six constitutional changes headed to voters Nov. 4, only Amendment 2 -- enshrining Florida's ban on same-sex marriage -- is close to the 60 percent threshold needed to pass, an Orlando Sentinel poll shows.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-poll0908oct09,0,4508301.story?track=rss

-Florida gay-marriage ban draws wide support in poll
A statewide poll shows voters favoring a gay-marriage ban but narrowly rejecting an amendment that would allow higher sales taxes for community colleges. Florida voters look close to passing a gay-marriage ban and rejecting a community college tax, and are largely undecided about a handful of property-tax issues, according to a new statewide poll on the state's proposed constitutional amendments.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/718887.html


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You are invited!
Dean Trantalis for Mayor of Fort Lauderdale
Grand Opening Campaign Headquarters
2597 N Federal Hwy. (Corner of 26th Street)
Tuesday, October 14 - 6-8pm
www.deanformayor.com


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Artist Keith Clark at Meyerhoefer Gallery this Saturday, October 11
"Reach" by Keith Clark, 2008
Patterns and Portals:New Works by Keith Clark and Stanley Brundage
Meyerhoefer Gallery - October 1-26
Artist Reception Saturday, October 11, 2008 6-9pm
Meyerhoefer Gallery
608 Lucerne Aves
Lake Worth, Florida, 33460
www.meyerhoefergallery.com


~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

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

-Global economic mess heightens concerns about U.S. Sugar deal
The global economic lurch has heightened concerns among architects of the state's ambitious plan to buy U.S. Sugar Corp. for $1.75 billion and use its 187,000 acres to fix the Everglades. Three of the 11 investment banks listed as potential underwriters of the deal have collapsed, forcing South Florida water managers to redraw their roster of lenders. Falling real estate values mean the income stream intended to help pay off the mortgage on such a deal has thinned. And typical interest rates for such projects in the nearly frozen credit market have risen between 0.75 and 1 percentage point, an uptick that could add tens of millions of dollars to the cost. Leaders of the South Florida Water Management District insist that the deal is not in trouble. But they called it helpful that negotiations on the massive government land buy are still under way and will drag on past the original, Nov. 30 deadline into next year.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flpsugar1009pnoct09,0,7180595.story


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

-Many Floridians lack health insurance, study says
South Florida and the state have an uncommonly high percentages of people without health insurance, says a Census study being releasedAlmost one-third of people under 65 in Miami-Dade and one-fourth in Broward lacked health insurance in 2005, according to Census Bureau figures [...] Only Texas and New Mexico had higher rates of uninsured people under 65.
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/health/story/718866.html

-A constitutional win
Guantánamo decision rejects arbitrary expansion of executive power
Federal courts appear to have had enough of this administration's high-handed and unconstitutional approach to individual rights. In a breakthrough ruling, a district court in Washington this week ordered the release of 17 detainees at Guantánamo Bay after determining, based on the record, that they did not represent a threat to U.S. security. It's about time. Late Wednesday, an appellate court stayed the order, giving the administration what should be only a temporary reprieve. The Supreme Court should decide the case.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/718912.html


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

-Critics question Florida voting laws
Civil-rights groups say Fla. voters could be disenfranchised
Eight years after Florida became synonymous with recount, county election supervisors are bracing for a Nov. 4 turnout that could hit 85 percent and voting-rights groups are warning that thousands of voters could be disenfranchised. Also reminiscent of the days of butterfly ballots and hanging chads, South Florida Democrats have vowed to blanket the state with as many as 5,000 volunteer attorneys on Election Day.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/CD/20081009/CAPITOLNEWS/810090328/-1/capitolnews

-Elections chief says he has cancer, will not resign
In less than 24 hours, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Arthur Anderson received two pieces of devastating news - one of them life-threatening. On Aug. 25, the day before voters overwhelmingly rejected his bid for a second term, Anderson's doctor told him he has incurable blood cancer.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/local_news/epaper/2008/10/08/1008anderson.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=76


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