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Naked Politics

• Florida House Speaker Weatherford: changing the Electoral College is for sore losers

  Republicans in five states, notably Virginia, have discussed changing the way they award Electoral College votes in presidential races by apportioning them on each congressional district, rather than the state's popular vote.

  The reason: Republican Mitt Romney would have won the presidency despite losing the popular vote in states [...]

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• Seeking stadium redo, Miami Dolphins assemble familiar faces to advise, lobby for team

  The Miami Dolphins’ lobbying team looks like a reunion of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s campaign brain trust.

  To push for a $400-million stadium renovation funded in part with tax dollars, the Dolphins have enlisted three key figures from Gimenez’s recent election races: Marcelo Llorente, Brian Goldmeier and Jesse Manzano-Plaza.

  Llorente, who became [...]

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• Will botched transparency contract spawn reforms in how legislators govern themselves?

  A botched $5.5 million state contract for a transparency web site, signed in secret by the chief of staff of a former Senate president, may have an unintended consequence: forcing legislators to follow the rules they require of everyone else.

  Members of the Senate Government Operations and Accountability Committee declared the Transparency 2.0 web [...]

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• Will botched transparency contract spawn reforms of how legislators govern themselves?

  A botched $5.5 million state contract for a transparency web site, signed in secret by the chief of staff of a former Senate president, may have an unintended consequence: forcing legislators to follow the rules they require of everyone else.

  Members of the Senate Government Operations and Accountability Committee declared the Transparency 2.0 web [...]

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• Lawmakers say they’re keeping an open mind about online university options

  Rep. Marlene O’Toole, chairwoman of the House Education Committee, had a few words of advice today: Do your homework and keep an open mind about whether the state needs an online-only university.

  “Don’t just leave here and say, ‘Well I made up my mind. I like it or I don’t,’ ” the [...]

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• Scott faces big fight in Capitol over teacher pay raises

  Gov. Rick Scott's plan to give every teacher a $2,500 across-the-board pay raise is in for a rough ride in the Florida Legislature. House Speaker Will Weatherford and Senate President Don Gaetz on Thursday both reiterated their views that it's a great idea to pay teachers more money, but that [...]

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• Legislator for a day: Flat Stanley

  State Rep. Gayle Harrell, R.-Stuart, had a constant companion with her on Thursday who brightened her day. Just call him Flat Stanley, a cutout character crayoned with abandon.

  Harrell says her grandson, Tyler, who is 5 and in kindergarten, asked Harrell to bring Flat Stanley to the Legislature for the day.

  Clearly [...]

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• Orlando Sentinel: 200,000+ Floridians discouraged from voting by long lines, hassles

  Interesting report from the Orlando Sentinel, which puts a number (a rough estimate to be sure) on the number of Floridians who didn't vote because of long lines and Election Day hassles: 200,000 --and perhaps higher.

  Says the Sentinel:

  Analyzing data compiled by the Orlando Sentinel, Ohio State University professor Theodore [...]

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• Lawmakers urge action to improve state's ill-funded mental health system

  In light of the tragic shootings in Conneticut and Colorado, Florida legislators are taking a hard look at the state's mental health system, which ranks 49th among states and the District of Columbia when it comes to funding.

  "That's $39 per person per year," said Bob Sharpe, president and CEO of the [...]

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• Sheriff Israel's payout at Fort Laud p.d. was about $46k

  We wrote earlier this week about the six-figure payouts for vacation and sick time signed off by Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti after he lost the election to Scott Israel in November. There were 16 BSO officials who had payouts that totaled at least $100,000 -- one was about $340,000 [...]

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