FLORIDA DIGEST - January 29, 2008

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~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

GLCCSF - Ft. Lauderdale

-Calendar of Events
STARS OF THE RAINBOW" - Honorees Announced - GALA March 1, 2009
Lavender Events for Women - Brunch Series - Sunday, February 8, 11:00 AM
Sponsor the GLCC - Florida AIDS Walk - March 15
GLCC Flea Market, February 6, 8:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Senior Coffee and Converstation - February 3 & 17, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
RISING ACTION THEATER - "Roll with the Punches", Jan 21 - Feb 1
Name That Tune - Tuesday, February 10, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Join the GLCC:
http://www.glccsf.org/membership/index.htm



~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

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

-McCollum won't pursue Florida's open senate seat in 2010
Aaron Deslatte
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum on Wednesday became the latest high-profile politician to take a pass on the state's open U.S. Senate seat in 2010. "Our team has made great strides combating internet child predators, gangs and mortgage and Medicaid fraud, and in providing consumer protection. But there is more to do," the Republican said, adding he would be seeing another four-year term as attorney general "unless circumstances change."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/orl-bk-mccollum-senate-012809,0,6291693.story

-Florida stands to gain billions from stimulus plan
Bill Kaczor
Florida stands to gain more than $12 billion from the U.S. House's stimulus plan including money that could help balance the state's budget, build highways and bridges, expand mass transit and modernize schools.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/orl-bk-stimulus-012809,0,53127.story

-Boyd one of 11 Democrats to vote against Obama stim plan
Posted by Lesley Clark
North Florida's Allen Boyd, who today took himself out of the running for US Senate, was one of just 11 Democrats to vote against the economic stimulus package. In a release the Blue Dog Democrat (who last week was tagged as one of 10 Democrats Barack Obama should look out for), questioned whether the package would create jobs, help small businesses, and "truly strengthen our economy in the short and long term.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2009/01/boyd-one-of-12-democrats-to-vote-against-obama-stim-plan.html

-Gallup: Florida's a blue state
Posted by Adam Smith
Not sure this sounds exactly correct, but Gallup has a interesting analysis of the partisan leanings of all 50 states. It included more than 18,000 interviews in Florida, concluding that Florida has a +9 Democratic partisan advantage. All told 35 states had a Democratic advantage of at least +5.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/01/gallup-floridas.html

-Florida shouldn't let State Farm walk out so easily, and state must recognize it still has insurance woes to fix
THE ISSUE: State Farm wants out.
State Farm's announced exit from Florida's property insurance market has understandably left its many customers fuming. After loyally paying premiums for years, they must resent getting dumped by the insurance giant.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editafstatefarmpnjan29,0,4607593.story?track=rss

-CIW to Crist: End Slavery
posted by Peter Rothberg
At The Nation we've written a lot about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. The CIW is a worker's organization comprised chiefly of Latino, Haitian and Mayan Indian immigrants who work in Immokalee, Florida, largely as tomato pickers. Founded in 1993 as a "community-based worker organization" by a small group of discontented fruit pickers in low-wage agricultural jobs throughout Florida, the organization has won unexpected victories, achieved international notoriety and established fruitful collaborations with an array of grassroots groups, notably the Student-Farmworker Alliance.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow/402332


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