Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times - page 6

A round-up of Sunday editorials from Florida’s leading newspapers: Tampa Bay Times — Kids can’t learn in unsafe schools Children cannot be expected to learn when they fear being bullied or physically attacked by other students. Yet for years, students in five of St. Petersburg’s poorest, predominantly black elementary schools struggled in often violent classrooms as teachers received little training and even less help in keeping order. While some progress has been made in restoring discipline, the Pinellas County School…

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A round-up of Sunday editorials from Florida’s leading newspapers Tampa Bay Times — Open up Florida primary elections Florida’s political system is broken. Few congressional or legislative districts are competitive for both Democrats and Republicans, and the closed primary elections shut out voters with no party affiliation, the fastest growing group of voters. The system discourages centrist candidates and encourages extremism from members of both political parties in Congress and the Florida Legislature, and the time is ripe for reform.…

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A round-up of Sunday editorials from Florida’s leading newspapers: Tampa Bay Times — Legislature’s last chance to get congressional districts right The third time had better be the charm for the Florida Legislature this week as it opens a two-week special session to redraw congressional districts. The redistricting assignment should be taken over by the courts if lawmakers again fail to draw districts that meet constitutional requirements that the lines be drawn without favoring political parties or incumbents. If legislators…

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A round-up of Sunday editorials from Florida’s leading newspapers: Tampa Bay Times — Pinellas should be flexible with resort tax With Pinellas tourism hitting record levels, it’s a good time for the county to raise the resort tax by an additional 1 percent. But when the County Commission takes up the issue Tuesday, it should be careful about dictating how the resort tax money should be spent. The emphasis should be on remaining flexible rather than on locking in specific…

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A round-up of Sunday editorials from Florida’s leading newspapers: Tampa Bay Times — A better plan for disciplining Hillsborough students The Hillsborough County School Board should agree Tuesday to accept the recommendations from district officials and a task force that would overhaul the district’s discipline plan. The proposals address issues ranging from out-of-school suspensions to the reclassification of zero-tolerance offenses. The proposed changes strike a healthy balance between handing out appropriate discipline and addressing the root problems that often lead…

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A round-up of Sunday editorials from Florida’s leading newspapers: Tampa Bay Times — St. Petersburg council should embrace study of Trop site Leaving Tropicana Field’s vast parking lots vacant and regularly unfilled even during baseball games is an extraordinary waste of valuable public land, so it is encouraging that City Council member Jim Kennedy has proposed an Urban Land Institute study of alternative uses. Kennedy and three other council members are blocking redevelopment of the stadium site by refusing to…

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A round-up of Sunday editorials from Florida’s leading newspapers Tampa Bay Times — Better planning for end of life While most medical care focuses on keeping people healthy and alive, a proposed change in Medicare payments also recognizes the importance of assuring a humane death. For the first time, Medicare would reimburse medical professionals for holding formal end-of-life discussions with patients and their families. This prudent and proper change will help ensure that those difficult but necessary discussions take place.…

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