Cam Newton Panthers Jersey
Cam Newton Panthers Jersey
Double Dipping: Cons and Pros
Double-Di[[ing by state employees is in the news, and as a state employee myself I am wondering what are the perceived pros and cons of this issue.My initial reaction: double-dipping is bad state policy, because it in effect denies a job to another person (if you retire, it opens up your former position to another person, unless you come right bak to it). Another con is, a person working within an office can easily "put the fix in" to retire and be re-hired back, even though by law a search should be done for every new opening.wrong.
Then I talked to some other state employees, and they said double-dipping is done by many organizations, such as the Federal Government, and it is OK. I wonder: is that true?
Then the question arose: whatactually is meant by "double-dipping" as it has been used in the discussion regarding the Florida Legislature's consideration of banning it again (it was banned until a legislator in 2001 put in a bill to make it legal, to help him keep two jobs at the same time).
So I would like to hear some informed opinions on this subject.
Former House Speaker Jon Mills: Don't Create Chaos in Protection of Natural Resources
CIVIC Concern | | 
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Jon L. Mills is Dean Emeritus of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he founded and currently serves as director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility. Mills is the former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. Among his many legislative accomplishments was the passage of the Growth Management Act.
Former Speaker Mills wrote this guest column to oppose the Legislature's current plan to dismantle the Department of Community Affairs and weaken Florida's growth management process.
After you read his column, please share your thoughts in the comments.
Tution for out of state.
matrix4583 | | 0
Anyone know a place where I can get some info or a program to sign up so that I attend college cheap for out of state student?
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Industrial expansion exempted from DRI process in aquatic preserves
Isn't industrial development in Florida supposed to be watched closely? Isn't that particularly important on our coasts? What about in an area of the Gulf coast that is surrounded by aquatic preserves, wetlands, protected marshlands, conservation areas, archaeological protected areas and state parks and that constitutes one of the few really pristine areas of the southern Gulf Coast? They have some very powerful politicians behind it including Senator Bennett who just passed his own bill out of "his" Senate committee on Community Affairs--unanimously.
Five bills, SB 0424, SB 0856, SB 0932, HB 1021 and HB 0441 all have language in them that would exempt expanding port industrial facilities from the DRI process. The people behind the change are the folks at Port Manatee, and they want it because, while located in an area surrounded by aquatic preserves, wetlands, conservation lands and state parks, they would never be able to expand their port with DRI process oversight. This language is being hidden in the Senate and House Transportation bills as well as the standalone language being sponsored by the Senator (Bennett) and House member representing the Port Manatee area. The only thing they need for the exemption is to show that their industrial or commercial expansion is port-related.
wetlands, aquatic preserves, industry, exemptions, DRI, growth management (all tags)
FCAT A Requirement?
What if I were to tell you that you had to take a test to determine whether you keep your job or if you can graduate from college even though you have the right grades? As adults, we would think that this was a crazy scenario and wouldn't accept those conditions by any means. But children in our public schools here in Florida have to go through the FACT tests from elementary school all the way through high school and this determines if they can graduate.
Students are under a tremendous amount of pressure during these test days and if they don't pass they aren't allowed to advance to the next grade. Even though they are given the chance to retake these tests, I believe that this is unjust simply because a test shouldn't determine if your child is capable of moving on to the next grade. The FCAT tests a wide range of subjects including Math, Reading, Writing and Science. Students are required to score at least a 300 in these subject areas to pass, but the state average of students meeting the required score for sophomores in reading is only 38% and math 69%. This means that over half of our students are failing the reading portion of the test and they must do retakes before they can graduate. Even though students may have an "A" average throughout the year, there are no exemptions for this test and everyone must take it. So now this student with an "A" average has a bad day and scores below the required level and is not allowed to graduate until the score is met. While students are allowed to retake the test up to six times, this is a lot of extra stress on the students and not to mention more tax dollars being spent by all the taxpayers throughout the state. So now our students are not only required to take enough high school credits and maintain the required G.P.A. but they also have to score high enough in all the required areas of the test. The teachers and school boards throughout the state claim that they do everything in their power to prepare the students for this test, while this may be true, at times they are more worried about teaching ways to pass the test than they are teaching the material that the students actually need. This takes away from what our children should be learning just so they can pass a test. Schools want to make sure their students do well because the higher a school scores on the FCAT, the more money the school then receives the next year for funding.
Now I'm not saying that I think we should get rid of the FCAT completely, I just think that it should be used as an assessment rather than a graduation requirement. Anytime time you study and prep a whole year for one test, students are going to be so nervous and edgy that they are not going to be able to truly show what they have learned throughout the year.
WKoF initiative: Kitchen Table Economics
CIVIC Concern | | 1
From health care costs to gasoline prices, the housing slump, the credit crunch and hurricane insurance, Florida families are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. What do you think are the toughest issues facing Florida's households? What can the state do to strengthen the middle class and help the working poor? Policy changes? Public-private partnerships?
Share your thoughts here as we kick off "What Kind of Florida Do You Want to Live In?", our ground-breaking, two-year initiative that will mobilize citizens from around the state to come together in shaping policy proposals that can make a real difference in the lives of Floridians. To learn more, visit the What Kind of Florida? homepage.
