FLORIDA DIGEST December 14, 2008

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~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

-Gay South Florida
http://www.gaysofla.com/
Complaint Calls into Question Miami Beach Commissioner Ed Tobin's Ethics
In the 2007 Miami Beach City Commission election, Ed Tobin beat Michael Gongora by a thin margin of 33 votes by painting Gongora as an ethically challenged gay party boy. But if an ethics complaint filed against Tobin with the Miami Dade County Commission on Ethics last week is true, the old adage that says "That's like the pot calling the kettle black!" has never been more apropos.
http://www.gaysofla.com/content/view/433/50/


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You're Invited! An "Evening of Fine Wine" with Dean Trantalis - Candidate for Mayor of Fort Lauderdale - Tuesday, Dec. 16 - 6-8pm - 648 NW 29th Street - Wilton Manors. RSVP requested, but not required - 954-315-0296.
Please consider a contribution between $25-$250.
www.deanformayor.com


~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

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

-Boat parade celebrates holidays South Florida-style
The first in a trifecta of upcoming area boat parades - in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Boca Raton - weighed anchor Saturday evening and embarked on a rollicking passage down the New River, up the Intracoastal Waterway and into Lake Santa Barbara.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbparade1214sbdec14,0,4229043.story

-Broward County Supervisor of Elections has Web site to check votes
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbvoters1214sbdec14,0,6167571.story

-Is the GOP becoming the anti-worker party?
By Douglas C. Lyons
Is "Screw the American worker!" the new plank of the Republican Party?
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/theslant/blog/2008/12/is_the_gop_becoming_the_antiwo.html


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

-HOLLYWOOD: 'Nutcracker Ballet' to feature classical dance pros
A traditional holiday show, The Nutcracker, will spotlight classical dance and music in downtown Hollywood.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/communities/story/800313.html


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

-Sansom's credibility gone
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom, R-Destin, just doesn't know when it's time to quit. Seriously.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2008/12/14/a12a_sansom_edit_1214.html

-Is the goal more prison cells or fewer criminals?
By Howard Troxler, Times Columnist
The way to deal with crime is to put criminals in prison. If we need more prisons, we will build them. The purpose of prison is to punish and to protect society - not to rehabilitate.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article937144.ece

-Everglades at a crossroads as vote nears on U.S. sugar deal
By PAUL QUINLAN
It's ground zero in the battle to save the Everglades: 700,000 acres of marsh south of Lake Okeechobee, drained during the last century to create a farmland empire. Former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham made reclaiming the Everglades Agricultural Area one of his "homework assignments" for saving the dying ecosystem. Before her death in 1998, the Everglades' patron saint, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, frustrated by the lack of progress in taming the sugar companies that dominate the region, offered a seemingly far-fetched solution: Buy them out.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/12/13/a1a_sugar_1214.html

-Our views: Save our schools
More cuts to education will imperil Florida's children and state's economic future
Florida's lawmakers face tough choices in a gloomy economy, but must stand up now for public schools or do grievous damage to the state's future. Superintendent Richard DiPatri made that clear last week when he said the effects of a projected $30 million revenue loss for the 2009-10 year are going to be devastating for Brevard County schools, requiring staff layoffs, school closures and other deep impacts.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20081214/OPINION/81212032/1004&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL


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