Social Policy

Politics, Pandering, and Punch Lines

Federal "Race to the Top" Funds Used to Build More Florida Charter Schools in Poor Areas

​This week's cover story about Mavericks in Education Florida explores the pitfalls of a for-profit charter school company that promises to help at-risk kids. Florida has been especially friendly to charter schools, allowing private companies to continue opening them using taxpayer dollars, e ... More >>

Democrats, in General, Win PolitiFact's "Lie of the Year" for 2011

​The thought that Rep. Paul Ryan and Republicans wanted to "end Medicare" is now as legitimate as using the phrase "death panels" or "government takeover" when referring to Obamacare, thanks to Democrats winning PolitiFact's "Lie of the Year."The "end Medicare" idea apparently started with Rep ... More >>

Florida's Pee-Test-the-Poor Law Temporarily Blocked by Federal Judge

floppingaces.net​It looks like Gov. Rick Scott never met a constitution he couldn't violate.This time, it was likely the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, according to a federal judge who temporarily blocked the state's new welfare drug-testing law the governor loves so much.The lawsuit o ... More >>

Allen West Says He's Harriet Tubman, Promises to Get Black People Off the "Plantation"

Harriet Tubman​Always a fan of skewed historical references, Rep. Allen West went on Fox News yesterday to proclaim he's the "modern-day Harriet Tubman," and says he's the one that will get the nation's African-Americans off the "21st century plantation."The "plantation" isn't a new reference ... More >>

Rick Scott Thinks It's "Inappropriate" for Journalists to Do Their Jobs

Family Man?​Gov. Rick Scott, whose administration has continually drawn the ire of journalists for its culture of secrecy and unwillingness to process public records, said it's "inappropriate" for reporters to report.During a 60-minute question-and-answer session at the capital Monday morning, som ... More >>

Poll: Conservatives Are the Anti-Crist; A Ham Sandwich Could Defeat Rick Scott for Governor

topix.comHam, a viable gubernatorial candidate.​As Gov. Rick Scott's disapproval rating keeps climbing, pollsters have run out of people to compare him with -- that's why Public Policy Polling says a hypothetical gubernatorial race between Scott and a ham sandwich would be a runaway for the lunch ... More >>

Obama Keeps Slight Edge in Florida

via Fort Report​Despite resistance to federal health care reform and the governor's refusal of a federally funded high-speed rail project, President Barack Obama maintains slightly favorable approval ratings among Floridian voters. And the most formidable of his potential Republican opponents is a ... More >>

Drug Testing for Welfare Checks

​Looks like state employees aren't the only ones who will have to pee in a cup before they get a check.On Thursday, a bill that would require welfare recipients to pass a drug test before they could receive state benefits advanced in the Florida Legislature. The proposed law also requires that tho ... More >>

While Enabling Pain Clinics, Rick Scott's Team Proposes Eliminating Funding for Real Clinics

​While it may be exaggeration to say he wants Florida's "pill mills" to stay open, Rick Scott has smacked down a whole bunch of rules that would regulate and monitor their activity. First he announced a freeze on new rules that would help the state crack down on fly-by-night clinics, then he disba ... More >>

Bruce Grant, Drug Czar to be Sacked by Rick Scott, is Concerned about Pill Mill Enforcement (Updated)

​Bruce D. Grant is the director of the governor's Office of Drug Control, and he found out by e-mail last month that Rick Scott's transition team had decided to eliminate his four-person office to save half a million dollars a year. Meanwhile, the state is still struggling to finalize the Prescrip ... More >>

Whose Dole Is It, Anyway?

​Bruce D. Grant is the director of the governor's Office of Drug Control, and he found out by e-mail last month that Rick Scott's transition team had decided to eliminate his four-person office to save half a million dollars a year. Meanwhile, the state is still struggling to finalize the Prescrip ... More >>

Palm Beach Faces First Mosquito Advisory in Years; Infected Sentinel Chickens Are Lovin' Life

via Palm Beach Department of Health​Since invading public consciousness years ago, the words West Nile instantly make people shudder. In fact, some of the most cautious people in Palm Beach have probably been wearing pants and long sleeves in the balmy days since October 26, when the county's heal ... More >>

What the New "Pill Mill Bill" Will (and Won't) Do

​Broward County's thriving experiment in free-market health care -- pain pill clinics -- faces tougher regulations as of last Friday, when a piece of statewide legislation went into effect. The real title of the "Pill Mill Bill" is two single-spaced pages long. Suffice it to say that while the law ... More >>

[UPDATED] Timing of Broward Health Proposal Raises Questions About CEO's Motive

From BrowardHealth.orgFrank Nask​The pending changes at the North Broward Hospital District have been advertised as a way to make the hospitals more profitable and adaptable in the era after health-care reform. But a far more recent news event may have played a bigger role in the move: Florida's R ... More >>

Ronnie's Kids

Today, amnesty is a dirty word. So what happened to the immigrants given a fresh start by Reagan in 1986?

Palm Beach County "Hate Groups" May Influence Local Policy

Even a board specifically appointed to promote harmony and mediate opposing viewpoints has a rough time getting residents -- or themselves, for that matter -- to see eye-to-eye in Lake Worth. Harsh words were exchanged Monday night when the Lake Worth Community Relations Board heard from activists a ... More >>

Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Congressional Dems Hugging; GOP Members Looking "Deflated"

Photo: C. StilesDebbie Wasserman Schultz​Just got off the phone with Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who stepped off the House floor to describe the scene at the center of the political universe."If you look at our side of the chamber, there's a frenzy of activity, members hugging and smil ... More >>

Pompano-Based Anti-Immigration Group Sounds Alarm About Haitians

Flickr: British Red Cross​One week after an earthquake that devastated the Haitian capital, the Floridians for Immigration Enforcement (FLIMEN) are trying to pull off a very delicate public relations maneuver: stating their sympathy for the Haitian people, while also communicating in no uncertain ... More >>

South Florida Immigration Officials Under Fire After Targeting Guatemalans in Jupiter

Flickr: anita gtThe government of Guatemala has issued a public protest based on immigration officials' actions in Riviera Beach.​A Guatemalan immigrant in Jupiter is facing deportation after Federal Express employees in Riviera Beach opened a package, inspected its contents, then reported a possi ... More >>

Wasserman Schultz on Fox News: Insurance Companies "Rape and Pillage" American Consumers

As you can see, Debbie Wasserman Schultz is quite comfortable on the cable news circuit; so comfortable that the otherwise circumspect West Broward Congresswoman is willing to describe in vivid terms exactly what deviant metaphorical acts the insurance companies are inflicting upon us virginal Ameri ... More >>

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Now a Lightning Rod in Party Politics Over Health Care

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the EconomyMove over, Alan Grayson. There's another Florida Democrat who's not afraid to ruffle Republican feathers -- West Broward Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. In yesterday MSNBC segment (roughly 3:15 of the video above) she w ... More >>

John DeGroot Digging Into Case of Gabriel Myers, the Foster Child Who Hung Himself

I'm dashing off for Halloween weekend, but as long we're giving props to gritty journalists who've gone blog-happy, here's some fantastic, in-depth reporting, courtesy John DeGroot, about the case of Gabriel Myers, the 7-year-old foster child in Margate who hung himself with a rubber hose in April.T ... More >>

Lake Worth Commish Hopeful Scott Maxwell Tied to White Supremicists?

Maxwell: The crusade temporarily suspended​The Lake Worth elections slated for November 3rd just get weirder by the minute. As if the flap about Mayoral candidate Rene Varela's role in the sales of wild dolphins to a marine park in Dubai weren't scandal enough, now the Palm Beach County Environmen ... More >>

Embattled Coral Springs Physician Refuses Settlement in Wrong Side Surgery Case

Flickr: Alphafish​Last week, we told you about Dr. Bernard Zaragoza, the Harvard-educated surgeon who in 2007 operated on an 83-year-old man who had an inflamed gallbladder. Zaragoza was supposed to remove the gallbladder but took out the man's kidney instead.However innocent the mistake was, the ... More >>

Let's Talk About Sex Education

Flickr: Alphafish​Last week, we told you about Dr. Bernard Zaragoza, the Harvard-educated surgeon who in 2007 operated on an 83-year-old man who had an inflamed gallbladder. Zaragoza was supposed to remove the gallbladder but took out the man's kidney instead.However innocent the mistake was, the ... More >>

Swine and the Seniors: A Frightening Couple

flickr user: Brent and MarilynnSwine fear has arrived.​South Florida's senior citizen population has had a rough few months. What with the fear-mongering about death panels in Obama's health care plan, and worries that cuts in Medicare will leave them penniless on bingo night, the news has not bee ... More >>

You Deserve a Laser to the Groin

flickr user: Brent and MarilynnSwine fear has arrived.​South Florida's senior citizen population has had a rough few months. What with the fear-mongering about death panels in Obama's health care plan, and worries that cuts in Medicare will leave them penniless on bingo night, the news has not bee ... More >>

In Overhaul of U.S. Immigration Facilities, More Will Resemble Broward's Facility

Photo: geogroupinc.comThe Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach​The Obama administration has plans for kinder, gentler immigration holding centers to be located in nursing homes and hotels. This new generation of facilities will be less like a prisons, more like the immigration facility in ... More >>

Obama Reacts to Ted Kennedy's Death

Flickr: diggz6873​A few moments ago, President Barack Obama released this statement about the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy: Michelle and I were heartbroken to learn this morning of the death of our dear friend, Senator Ted Kennedy. For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to adva ... More >>

Wagging the Dog at the Klein Forum

OK, so maybe it's not the most riveting video of this month's clashes between congressional Democrats and health care reform opponents, but this is a perfect illustration of the media echo chamber we've entered. Below, a woman shooting a video after yesterday's Ron Klein forum in Boynton Beach.  ... More >>

Bless This Mess: Is Miami-Dade Really Desperate Enough to Copy Broward Health?

As the bearer of so much bad news for the North Broward Hospital District, we should acknowledge its recent note of favorable publicity. Despite recent scandals about the commissioners' ethics, their district is in far better financial shape than the public health care district in Miami-Dade, Jackso ... More >>

Well of Support

As the bearer of so much bad news for the North Broward Hospital District, we should acknowledge its recent note of favorable publicity. Despite recent scandals about the commissioners' ethics, their district is in far better financial shape than the public health care district in Miami-Dade, Jackso ... More >>

Broward Health Chair Speaks on Cobo Case

browardhealth.orgBroward Health Chairman Mike FernandezAfter allegedly mingling public responsibilities with private consulting work, Broward Health Commissioner Joseph Cobo faces an uncertain future. A week after those charges came to light, Board Chairman Mike Fernandez is seeking to protect the p ... More >>

Flobots

browardhealth.orgBroward Health Chairman Mike FernandezAfter allegedly mingling public responsibilities with private consulting work, Broward Health Commissioner Joseph Cobo faces an uncertain future. A week after those charges came to light, Board Chairman Mike Fernandez is seeking to protect the p ... More >>

Response To Hospital District CEO's Goodbye

browardhealth.orgBroward Health Chairman Mike FernandezAfter allegedly mingling public responsibilities with private consulting work, Broward Health Commissioner Joseph Cobo faces an uncertain future. A week after those charges came to light, Board Chairman Mike Fernandez is seeking to protect the p ... More >>

Shadow Boxing

Write me some comebacks, Mex

Gray Lady's Glass Chin

Write me some comebacks, Mex

Slick Trouble

The government's determination to deport old-school rapper Slick Rick knows no bounds

Dangerous Designs

That temporary tattoo could be with you for a long, long time

Best Scandal

North Broward Hospital District Readers' Choice: Miriam Oliphant

All Work and No Pay

For two years single mothers have tried hard to switch from welfare to workfare. But the WAGES program keeps getting in the way.

Night & Day

January 21 - 27, 1999

Enough to Make You Sick

The CDC is trying to determine what the residents of downtown Belle Glade already know -- that poverty, drugs, and prostitution are bad for your health

Waste-Case Scenario

While negotiating a $21 million contract with Broward County, Unisys swept a $100 million health-insurance mess right under the rug.