SUNDAY FLORIDA EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

I'm certain that many of us, after the havoc and destruction caused by Katrina and Rita this month, feel the lyric from the pop band Green Day's latest hit ring true:

Here comes the rain again
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are

As my memory rests
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends

We can only hope that October is much less eventful.

Checking out the editorial pages from Florida newspapers today, we begin with the Daytona Beach News-Journal, who makes their endorsements for two mayoral races. It recommends current city commissioner Darlene Yordon in the Daytona Beach race, and city commissioner Doug Horn in Deltona.

The Lakeland Ledger doesn't give an obvious opinion this morning, but it's editorial looks at efforts in Tallahassee to modify the class-size amendment, which Governor Bush says he would support if approved by the Legislature.

The editorial in today's Orlando Sentinel suggests that others in the Central Florida community should step up and match Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty's pledge to support a proposed medical school at the University of Central Florida.

Today's Sarasota Herald-Tribune is concerned that while the Save Our Homes constitutional amendment has worked and provided a public benefit, there are disparities that need to be addressed.

Today's opinion in the St. Petersburg Times is hopeful that Judge John G. Roberts, Jr., likely to be confirmed as the new Chief Justice of the United States, will guide the Supreme Court toward guarding individual liberties protected by the Constitution, especially in the case of Jose Padilla, an American citizen held without charges for over three years as an "enemy combatant".

Across the Bay, the Tampa Tribune says the state should be accountable and release individual test answers from the FCAT for parents to see what areas their children need help in, something it declines to do citing expense.

The Florida Times Union laments the fact that Jacksonville/Duval County has the highest murder rate among Florida counties again, the sixth year in a row it has held that dubious spot and 12 of the past 17 years.

Florida Today calls on continued teamwork between local and state officials to have Kennedy Space Centre selected for the work to build/assemble the new moonship, known as the Crew Exploration Vehicle.

The Fort Myers News-Press praises Dependency Court Judge James Seals for going farther than required in releasing confidential files of the Florida Department of Children and Families' handling of the case of a 14 year old human trafficking victim held as a domestic and sex slave in a Cape Coral home.

This morning's Gainesville Sun slams what it calls "fiscally irresponsible" President Bush and Congress for paying for Iraq/Afghanistan/hurricane relief and recovery while preparing to approve more tax cuts for the wealthy and failing to make other moves to offset the additional funding. The Miami Herald says that Americans are willing to sacrifice, as long as the burden is shared fairly.

The hurricanes' effects are also the concern in the editorial in today's Naples Daily News. As Lee County school officials are concerned about shortages caused by Katrina (and now Rita), the newspaper reminds us that neglected needs have a way of catching up with us.

The Ocala Star-Banner welcomes the selection of Robin Muse McClea as the new director of the Appleton Museum of Art at Central Florida Community College, a newcomer experienced with the Big City art world but not entangled with it's recent political and legal woes.

Today's Palm Beach Post opinion criticizes the Commission on Federal Election Reform for focusing on what it considers an unnecessary requirment for photo ID instead of other, more pressing, issues such as tightening the rules for absentee voting as well as same day and early voting.

The Pensacola News Journal editorial suggests that any official who has anything to do with hurricane rebuilding in the Pensacola Bay area should take a personal tour of the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Katrina, that they would realize just how vunerable their own area is. It would change their view of beach development.

Airline safety is the subject of the opinion in today's South Florida Sun Sentinel, supporting a new Federal Aviation Administration proposal to place cameras in airplane cabins so that pilots can look out for suspicious activity or potential threats.

And the Tallahassee Democrat endorses the petition drive sponsored by Common Cause and the Committee for Fair Elections to put a proposal on the ballot for a constitutional amendment which would form an independent, nonpartisan commission to redraw congressional and legislative district boundries.