FLORIDA SUNDAY EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

We begin our tour of the Florida editorial pages today in South Florida, where the Miami Herald recently focused on the misspending, cronyism, and general ineptitude at the Miami-Dade County Housing Agency. As a result of the series discovered, and the anger felt by the low-income families the agency is supposed to assist, the Herald is calling for a federal investigation, as well as reforms to bring transparency and accountability to MDHA.

Heading up I-95 to Fort Lauderdale, area lawmakers recently held a town hall meeting where residents' key issue was high property taxes. Today's South Florida Sun Sentinel lamented the fact that the legislators showed up with no new ideas or proposals, and reminded readers that they can --- and should --- address their concerns through participation in municipal budget planning.

A little further up the road, the Palm Beach Post tells us that there's still a long way to go to transform Florida's economy. According to a new Wall Street Journal listing of what it called the most innovative parts of the country --- places where smart, creative people are looking for the next big thing --- the only Florida community listed is Palm Harbor, north of Tampa...and it's only listed as in the "Up and Coming" group. The Scripps Research Institute Florida Campus brings a great deal of potential, but the Post opinion is that the state must invest more in education, including the university system.

Continuing up the Atlantic coast to Melbourne, Florida Today agrees with the Brevard County School Board's recent decision to "stay the course" and borrow an additional $214 million to fund it's seven year building plan. It said that while it's certainly no joy taking on new debt, the work is needed. The plan is to upgrade all 82 existing schools, plus building seven new facilities.

Nearly 30 percent of the Florida legislative seats up for grabs this election season have already been decided because only one candidate --- in many cases, the incumbant --- decided to qualify. The Orlando Sentinel reminds us today that the districts were in many cases rigged to protect incumbants, and that the system for drawing district boundries needs to be changed. While a ballot inititative was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court which would have addressed the issue, the editorial said it hopes the decision will not end the effort.

Today's opinion in the Daytona Beach News Journal looks at the issue of building heights, a growing debate in several Central Florida beach towns. The editorial notes that adding height limitations to city charters does not resolve the goal of "preserving community character", and urges those involved to examine all land-use options in investigating what would be most appropriate.

We continue up I-95 to Jacksonville, where the Florida Times-Union notes that while some could have slipped in without signing in, very few political or community leaders attended any of the four meetings held as part of the Jacksonville Community Council, Inc's study of the number of murders in the area. The Times-Union says that attendance actually could mean little, if those who weren't part of the study actively became part of the solution. It also included some interesting observations from the meetings.

Now heading west in I-10, the Tallahassee Democrat urges city and Leon County politicos not to allow what it calls "unrelated political agendas" get in the way of efforts to agree to revisit the funding plan for downtown redevelopment in Florida's capital city.

At the western edge of the Panhandle, the Pensacola News Journal notes the release of a report by the Center for Health Outcomes Research at the University of South Florida. The report does not offer, by design, offer solutions, as the PNJ says that is up to the community. The opinion page calls on area residents to attend one of two scheduled meetings to get a local effort underway to find solutions to Escambia County's health issues.

Making a U-turn and trekking down the west coast of Florida (and nearby inland areas), the Gainesville Sun does not have an editorial per se today, but an interview with Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Pam Carpenter to discuss what area voters should know going into the September 5 primary elections.

Just down the road a bit, the Ocala Star Banner gives a thumbs-up to the Marion County School Board's decision to give teachers there an eight percent pay raise. The newspaper's opinion is that the other big issue facing the district is finding a way to lengthen the school day or year to give teachers more time with students as well as allowing students to take more elective courses and offer more mainstream courses. It asks the teachers union to listen to that idea with open minds.

Here at home, the Lakeland Ledger takes note of the recent General Accounting Office report regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, especially the bit of advice the GAO included: Find out who disaster victims are, verify where they live and the losses they suffered before giving out financial benefits to avoid the type and amount of waste and fraud incurred last year.

With the recent scares over Mad Cow Disease, and a generally increased concern over the security of our food supply, the Tampa Tribune approves of an idea to establish a National Animal Identification System which could be used to track infectious diseases or quickly respond to a possible terrorist attack on the food supply. There is already a voluntary system in place which seems to work well, but there is resistance to talk of an eventual mandatory system.

Insurance can't wait. That's the headline to today's St. Petersburg Times editorial dealing with what many consider to be the state's biggest crisis. The opinion is that while some serious proposals to deal with the issues are beginning to surface, 1) A special session of the Legislature this year doesn't make sense without a proposal on the table which would make a serious impact to resolve the issue, and 2) The gubernatorial candidates from both major parties aren't being helpful...and the crisis can't wait until spring.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune opines that while Sarasota County's touch screen voting system seems to have worked rather well during the four years that it has been in use, it lacks an independent paper trail and likely won't be capable of such for awhile. A group has formed to advocate in favour of a optical scan paper ballot system (which Polk County uses), and the newspaper calls for the debate to begin and for county commissioners to begin the process to have the question decided by voters at the November general election.

Continuing down I-75, the Fort Myers News-Press uses it's editorial space today to announce that it's editorial board would endorse local and state candidates for public office in both the September party primary and November general election races. Endorsments will begin the week of August 13.

And the Naples Daily News opinion concerns the lack of affordable housing in the area. It says that while the space is available, there is a shortage of will to build for lower income home buyers. That is only one of several impressions based on it's contining series, notably last Sunday's installment entitled "The Demand for Land".

Make it a great --- and safe --- Sunday! Keep dry, and keep cool. In my case, that costs me a $300+ electric bill for a two bedroom apartment last month!