The Wire for 05/14/08

Amid probe, property appraiser to seek re-election
Ford: 'Compelled' to run by supporters, employees
BY JAMES DEAN • FLORIDA TODAY • May 13, 2008
Dismissing concerns about a state probe into alleged wrongdoing by his office, Brevard County Property Appraiser Jim Ford announced Monday he would seek a sixth term.In a statement, Ford said he was "compelled" to run this year by supporters and employees, and by "opportunistic" candidates he said have been telling donors he was not running Read More.....
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS01/805130322/1006/rss01

Beth Allen to run for supervisor of elections
BY JOHN A. TORRES • FLORIDA TODAY • May 13, 2008
Saying she was not "a shrinking violet," the wife of former State Rep. Bob Allen is running for supervisor of elections.Beth Allen announced her candidacy this week. "I could have just curled up and died or decided to go on," she said. "I’m Beth Allen. I’m an individual, and I’m going on." Read more......
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/BREAKINGNEWS/80513056/1086/rss07


Housing bill a fair bailout
Bush jumped to help bankrupt bank, but now won't help homeowners?
May 12, 2008 Opinion News-Journal Daytona
The housing bill the House of Representatives approved Thursday should be good news for large segments of the economy and the population of Volusia and Flagler counties. But don't celebrate yet. President Bush is threatening to veto it. He says the bill, which may entail a $2.4 billion federal bailout of bad mortgages, "will reward speculators and lenders." Bush never raised that objection when the Federal Reserve, using taxpayer money, tendered a $30 billion bailout of Bear Stearns, the nearly bankrupt investment bank, in March. But that's how absurd the congressional debate about the housing bill got this week. Read more.....
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/opnOPN91051208.htm

Brazilian airplane builder may come to Brevard County
BY WAYNE T. PRICE • FLORIDA TODAY • May 12, 2008
Gov. Charlie Crist and executives from Brazilian jet manufacturer Embraer are scheduled to be in Melbourne today to discuss details of a $41 million aviation project expected to create at least 200 jobs. The news comes after weeks of closed-door meetings with company executives and state and Brevard County economic development officials Read more....
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080512/BREAKINGNEWS/305130001/1086/rss07

Expanding Guest Worker Program Would Hurt U.S. Workers
by James Parks, May 12, 2008
With 7 million U.S. workers unemployed, why do employers clamor that they need to import foreign workers to work in low-wage jobs as dishwashers, hotel maids, crab pickers and landscape laborers? The answer is simple, according to Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI):
There isn’t a shortage of workers willing to do these jobs. There’s a shortage of employers willing to pay a decent wage Read More
http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/05/12/expanding-guest-worker-program-would-hurt-us-workers/

Mood improves at emergency shelter
FLORIDA TODAY staff reports • May 13, 2008
8:44 p.m.: Another 66 people sign up for shelter
PALM BAY – Despite another 66 people signed up to spend the night at the emergency shelter set up at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, the mood is significantly different from last night according to a volunteer. "Last night, there were a lot of people who were distraught," said American Red Cross volunteer Clayton Moore. "They seem to have gotten over that. Many people now are just here for basic needs. But they are not in shock like they were." Read More http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS01/805130343#pluckcomments

U.S. Senate approves Nat'l Cat Fund study
posted by Mark Matthews Orlando Sentinel on May 13, 2008 6:02:42 PM
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to study whether it’s feasible to create a national catastrophe fund, which would help states such as Florida recover from major disasters.
The provision was included in a larger measure to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program. Both Florida senators supported the measure, which passed 92-6. It now goes into conference with the House. Read more.....
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/05/us-senate-appro.html

Union Member-to-Member Walks to Reach Thousands This Weekend
by Seth Michaels, AFL-CIO Blog May 13, 2008
Around the country this Saturday, thousands of union members will get a visit from their fellow union members and have a chance to learn about the issues they care about in November’s elections.
This weekend’s door-to-door canvass is at the center of the AFL-CIO union movement’s effort to mobilize more than 6,000 union volunteers to knock on 200,000 doors and engage union members in 20 states this spring Read more......
http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/05/13/union-member-to-member-walks-will-reach-thousands-this-weekend/

Senate Takes Step to Approve Bargaining Rights for Public Safety Officers
by Mike Hall, AFL-CIO Blog May 13, 2008
The U.S. Senate today moved a step closer to approving legislation that would protect the collective bargaining rights of tens of thousands of firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and other public safety officers.
By a 69–29 vote, the Senate killed a filibuster led by several extreme anti-worker Republican senators against the workers’ rights bill Read more.. http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/05/13/senate-takes-step-to-approve-bargaining-rights-for-public-safety-officers/