FLORIDA DIGEST - October 27, 2008

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~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

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

-Miami court decision may affect a law barring gays from adopting
Florida is the only state that outright prohibits gays and lesbians from adopting. Now, those who support and oppose gay adoption are awaiting a decision in a Miami court case they think could provide ammunition to overturn the state law. The case involves Frank Martin Gill and his unidentified male partner. In 2004, the state encouraged the couple to provide a foster home for two boys. Gill hopes to become their adopted father. [...] Parker is an example of how gays can circumvent Florida adoption law. In 1994 she adopted her daughter Jahmerah in New Jersey, where gay adoption is legal. Parker had to get a New Jersey court to order Florida officials to conduct the required background check. Florida had refused because of Parker's lesbianism. "There's no clear reason why [Gill can't adopt] except he's gay," said Naomi Parker, a Wilton Manors diversity consultant and a lesbian who went out of state to adopt her now-16-year-old daughter. "It's a human rights issue, not a gay rights issue. There are responsible, willing and able gay parents. It's a shame children are being denied a home." [...] "I am strongly against gay adoption," said the Rev. O'Neal Dozier of the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach. "There's too much of a chance the children will become gay because they are exposed to it." Stratton Pollitzer, of Equality Florida, a gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual advocacy group, said there is no scientific evidence that children raised in gay homes become homosexual. "In fact, child welfare evidence shows that gay parents are as capable of being good parents as anyone else."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flbgayadopt1027pnoct27,0,6420569.story


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Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Video | Key West's Fantasy Fest packs political punch
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/


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Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Michelangelo Signorile: Florida Amendment Very Close. Wonder Why?
Source: The Gist
The Florida anti-marriage amendment is nearing the 60% needed for passage.
Michelangelo Signorile a shares a reader's email pointing to grievously biased language in the League of Women Voters Florida voters guide -- Excerpt: [.] It's not a surprise to me after getting an email from a listener to the show who went to vote in Florida, where early voting has been brisk. He told me he was outraged at the voter guide given out by the League of Women Voters, which is supposed to be non-partisan. Check out how
it describes Amendment 2:
Summary: This amendment protects marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife and provides that no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized. It tells us that it "protects" marriage, and does not say anything about banning gays. Then it gives the pros and cons of the amendment. Get a load of this:
PRO: The amendment would protect children by ensuring that only one form of marriage, between a man and a woman, would ever be celebrated in Florida.... CON: A statute already provides for a single form of marriage in Florida. Health care and pension benefit plans which cover unmarried couples living together and which are now legally valid may be adversely affected. So a vote for the amendment is about protecting children, and there's nothing in the "con" about how it would discriminate against gays and lesbians. Is it any wonder many people will vote for it when "non-partisan" groups describe it this way?
http://www.signorile.com/2008/10/florida-amendment-very-close-wonder-why.html

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Tonight!
Michael A. Albetta
President, Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus
PLEASE, join me Monday evening at the GLBT Get Out the Vote (GOTV) Call Center at 2040 N. Dixie Highway (rear) in Wilton Manors where we will call voters to make them aware of OUR candidates and issues. It is important that we protect our rights and convince voters to vote NO ON AMENDMENT 2. MAKE SURE THAT OUR GLBT CANDIDATES AND ALLIES GET OUR SUPPORT. With your support we can prove that we CONTINUE TO MAKE DIFFERENCE in Broward County and the State. I ask you as President of the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus to join me on the phones and make a difference. Thank you and I look forward in seeing you there.
MONDAY OCTOBER 27, 2008 - 6 PM TO 9 PM
PIZZA, SODA AND WATER WILL BE SERVED.
For More Info Call 954-630-VOTE


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

-Hundreds in Tampa rally against gay marriage ban
For Bobbie Hernandez, it's about knowing that her children would be taken care of if something were to happen to her. It's knowing that the home the 35-year-old has with her partner, Shar Ishee, would still be there for the family.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article873075.ece



~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

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

-Presidential race brings Rudy Giuliani, Cindy McCain, Matt Damon to South
Florida
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbvisits1027sboct27,0,3869241.story

-Sun-Sentinel Voter Recommendations
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/


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

-Biden to campaign in Florida through Wednesday
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/743077.html

-Miami Herald Voter Recommendations
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/recommendations/



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From Scott Newton for Wilton Manors Mayor Campaign
Wilton Manors Mayor, Scott Newton, has been recommended by the Sun
-Sentinel editorial board for re-election as Mayor of Wilton Manors. He has also been endorsed by "The Pelican," a highly respected Wilton Manors publication. This adds to his endorsements by the Broward County Police Benevolent Association(PBA) and the recommendation of The Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale. Mayor Newton has also been endorsed by past and current Wilton Manors officials including; Former Wilton Manors Mayor Jim Stork,Former Wilton Manors Commissioner Joe Angelo,Former Wilton Manors Councilman Bill Turner, and Wilton Manors Commissioner Diane Cline.
http://votenewton.com/


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

-Caroline Kennedy to visit The Villages on Wednesday
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, will be here Wednesday afternoon to campaign for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential bid, according to Democratic Party officials. Kennedy is scheduled to appear at the Savannah Center in The Villages, 545 Buena Vista Boulevard, at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20081026/NEWS/810260944/0/NEWS04

-McCain Is Ready To Be President, Lieberman Says In Tampa
Calling Florida a key state that Sen. John McCain needs if he is to become the next president, Sen. Joe Lieberman visited Tampa today to speak with voters and drum up support for the Republican ticket. McCain is "all about reaching out and bringing people in with him," Lieberman told an audience of about 40 at a meeting this afternoon with University of South Florida Hillel, a Jewish student organization.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/oct/26/mccain-ready-be-president-lieberman-says-tampa/news-politics/

-Disease, storms and development have shrunk Florida's citrus groves to new lows
Pete Spyke is doing everything he can to beat citrus greening. But within a stone's throw of his Fort Pierce grove is abandoned citrus acreage where the owner doesn't remove sick trees. And the dead and dying trees aren't sprayed to control the psyllid, the tiny insect that spreads the lethal greening bacteria. "Even though I am controlling greening, I am still picking up infection at my grove," said Spyke, president of Arapaho Citrus Management. "The only people who are being successful are large growers who control large areas of land." Increasingly, though, large areas of citrus aredisappearing.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2008/10/26/a1f_citrus_1027.html


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