FLORIDA SUNDAY EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Starting this morning in Central Florida, the Daytona Beach News-Journal is concerned with the security and accountability of the new touch screen voting machines, and is asking the Legislature to end it's foot dragging and return some measure of accountability to the election process.

Here at home, the Lakeland Ledger hopes that lawmakers approve language being proposed by State Senator Burt Saunders (R - Naples) which would mandate $58 million in the state budget for anti-smoking initiatives before voters do it for them in November through a constitutional amendment.

Looking toward Washington this morning, the Orlando Sentinel says that the effort of U.S. Senator Russell Feingold (D - WI) to censure President Bush for approving a domestic spying programme is "an ill-advised political ploy" and diverts attention from the still unanswered questions about the programme.

While the Sarasota Herald Tribune notes that Charlotte County Commissioner Adam Cummings has been an outspoken advocate for his constitutents on water issues, it says that his recent actions show his judgement is clouded by his seemingly personal agenda to dismiss the executive director of the local regional water supply authority.

Today's St. Petersburg Times editorial calls an apparant effort by Republicans in the Legislature to offer a constitutional amendment which would foreclose the rule of expressio unius to eventually get through a school voucher law "seriously flawed and dangerous", not to mention possible unintentioned consequences.

Across Tampa Bay, the Tampa Tribune wonders what happened to the fiscal conservatives voters sent to Washington, as it mentions the 22 percent increase in social programmes in the past five years which does nothing to help solve future funding issues facing Social Security and Medicare.

In Jacksonville, the Florida Times-Union urges a citywide discussion on high rise buildings as part of what it calls a long overdue revamp of the current zoning codes.

Being the third anniversary since the beginning of our military operations in Iraq, Florida Today in Melbourne says that the specter of defeat hangs heavy, and that time is running out for finding solutions to avoid what it calls a "Pandora's box" of sectarian conflicts that threaten to turn into a regional conflict...and that Iraqis, not Americans, must find the answers to their own issues.

The Miami Herald also weighs in on Iraq, saying that while many Americans are fustrated the war is not lost. But the editorial mentions that U.S. policymakers and Iraqis who want a positive future are racing against the clock to avoid defeat, so it's make significant changes in their behaviour.

The Palm Beach Post editorializes that President Bush has been only offering speeches while the U.S. needs a plan for what to do about Iraq.

Sunshine Week across Florida is drawing to a close, and the Fort Myers News-Press warns that several bills being considered in the Legislature threaten Florida's tradition as a pioneer in open government and records laws. And the Pensacola News Journal mentions that work is needed by agencies across Northwest Florida, most of which failed to comply with requests for copies of public records by a University of West Florida class. And the Tallahassee Democrat reminds us that closed meetings that violate the Sunshine Law cannot be tolerated.

The Gainesville Sun comes out in opposition of President Bush's request to Congress for a line item veto. It answers the chief executive's claim that he needs it to put America on the fiscal straight and narrow by saying that "when it comes to fiscal responsibility, the President has a credibility gap wider and deeper than the Grand Canyon", and mentions there is nothing in his record to indicate he would do anything other than rewarding allies in Congress and punishing opponents.

Today's editorial in the Naples Daily News opines that citizens should not have to choose between components of infastructure to keep up with growth, but that Collier County needs to be cautious with it's proposal to seek out sites from surplus lands --- which the editorial reminds is usually code for enviromentally sensitive --- as possible locations for affordable housing.

While the Ocala Star Banner says the state's commitment to preserve Silver Springs is indisputable, it mentions that that "the granddaddy of Florida's 33 world-renowned first magnitude springs" is still endangered by encroaching development. Noting that Silver Springs and the Ocala Springs development cannot co-exist as planned, the editorial urges the state Department of Enviromental Protection to enter into serious talks with developer Avatar Holdings to purchase at least the most sensitive areas.

Finally, noise is the issue of today's editorial in the South Florida Sun Sentinel. It says that while Florida Turnpike officials are being reasonable to study the need for a noise wall in Coconut Creek to benefit a nearby retirement community, it should not be erected if state decibel levels are not exceeded.

Have a wonderful Sunday! And may your NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bracket not be messed up any more than it already is, considering yesterday's results.