Daytona Beach News Journal – A lack of oversight – The Florida Public Service Commission has all but made itself into an oxymoron. Regulators — particularly the commission staff — are far too cozy with the utilities they regulate. One official attended a party celebrating the Kentucky Derby at the home of an electric-company executive. Others shared backdoor communications channels with industry insiders. Many staff members are former utility-company employees — and vice versa.
Orlando Sentinel – Bagging a bad habit – It also won’t end if state officials take some dramatic but sensible steps to get Floridians to use far fewer paper and plastic bags than they habitually rely on now. Things actually could get a lot better — for businesses, consumers and the environment.
Miami Herald – Doing away with the widow’s penalty – Called the “widow’s penalty,” the policy allows immigration officials to annul spouses’ applications for permanent residency when their American husbands or wives die before the marriage is two years old. The U.S. government has long maintained that the marriage must last that long before the foreign spouse is eligible for a residency application, and that has put hundreds of widows and widowers whose mates died before that time period in line for deportation.
Tallahassee Democrat – Let’s tone down this craving for celebrity – Self-promotion, you may have noticed, has reached epidemic proportions in our easily bored, short-attention-span culture of celebrity and entitlement.
