News Service of Florida - page 12

As the Trayvon Martin-inspired siege of the state Capitol closed out its second week, testing Gov. Rick Scott (and the patience of some Capitol denizens), there were plenty of other discussions about tragic fatalities, treatment of young people and tests. State agencies were defending Florida’s record of caring for children on at least two fronts, with the U.S. Department of Justice suing over the placement of children with disabilities in nursing homes and critics continuing to raise questions about whether…

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Saying the state needs another source of natural gas, Florida Power & Light on Friday announced plans for two new pipelines that would stretch more than 300 miles through the northern, central and southeastern parts of the state. Combined, the pipelines would cost more than $3.5 billion, bringing natural gas from a facility in Alabama to a hub in Osceola County and then delivering part of it to an FPL power plant in Martin County. Officials said the pipelines also…

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Department of Children and Families Interim Secretary Esther Jacobo on Friday ordered a complete review and analysis of recent cases in which children died from abuse or neglect after the department had been involved with their families, reports Margie Menzel of the News Service of Florida. “This analysis is the department’s number-one priority, and I want you to deploy whatever resources are necessary to accomplish this as expeditiously as possible,” Jacobo wrote in a memo to DCF Assistant Secretary Pete…

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Sen. Arthenia Joyner blasted suggestions from state elections officials that they plan to move ahead with an effort to remove suspected non-citizens from the voting rolls now that Florida no longer has to submit changes in elections laws to the federal government, reports the News Service of Florida. In a statement issued Thursday, Joyner suggested a renewed purge would be aimed at boosting Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election prospects in 2014. “If the governor wants to win re-election, he needs to…

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Legislative leadership wants to know where House and Senate members are when they say they’re at home, reports Jim Turner of the News Service of Florida. With Sen. Jack Latvala raising questions about a number of Democratic lawmakers living outside the districts they represent, the top attorneys for the House and Senate have been directed to recommend standards for residency.  Meanwhile, Secretary of State Ken Detzner will be asked to get a list of where all 160 legislators are registered…

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Two sitting members of the Florida Public Service Commission and a one-time member removed by former Gov. Charlie Crist were among 11 names advanced Wednesday to the next stage of the commission selection process, reports Jim Turner of the News Service of Florida. The Public Service Commission Nominating Council included commissioners Ronald Brise and Art Graham, whose terms expire in January, among the candidates deemed “most qualified.” The 11 will be interviewed by the council on Aug. 28 in Orlando.…

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In the wake of a fifth child death in little more than two months, a circuit judge Tuesday called for the Florida Department of Children and Families to stop doing child-welfare investigations and transfer that responsibility elsewhere, reports Margie Menzel of the News Service of Florida. “They need to get out of the child-protection investigation business,” Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman said of the department. Whether law-enforcement agencies or local community-based care organizations conduct the investigations doesn’t matter, Lederman said.…

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