The wire for 06/06/08

Posey to quit state Senate in November
BY JOHN McCARTHY • FLORIDA TODAY • June 5, 2008
State Sen. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, said he will resign his legislative seat effective on Election Day.Posey, whose term expires in 2010, is running for the congressional seat held by Republican Dave Weldon, who is not seeking re-election.Though the law does not require him to give up his current office because of his congressional campaign, Posey said he was quitting to save taxpayers the expense of a special election if he wins in November. Read more http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/NEWS01/806050322/1006/rss01

Altman interested in Posey's Senate seat
Many positions likely to change
BY JOHN McCARTHY • FLORIDA TODAY • June 5, 2008
Bill Posey's early resignation from the Florida Senate to run for Congress could shake up November's legislative elections.One person who has expressed interest in Posey's legislative seat should it become vacant is state Rep. Thad Altman, R-Viera.Altman on Wednesday night said he was "definitely leaning toward running" for Posey's Senate seat. Read More http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/NEWS01/806050343/1006/rss01

Brevard's tax rolls show shrinkage
BY JAMES DEAN • FLORIDA TODAY • June 2, 2008
Voter-approved Amendment 1 is primarily responsible for a projected $2.9 billion decline in Brevard County’s tax base for 2008, Property Appraiser Jim Ford said today. Ford’s updated tax roll estimates are close to the more preliminary calculations he released in April, but his analysis of the numbers has changed. "Amendment 1 was a major contributor for the county," he said. Read More http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080602/BREAKINGNEWS/80602053/1086

Nine workers lose jobs as office closes
Move will save $500,000 a year, Ford estimates
BY JAMES DEAN • FLORIDA TODAY • June 6, 2008
In addition to closing his Merritt Island service center, Brevard County Property Appraiser Jim Ford announced Thursday he had laid off four full-time employees and five temporary workers. Ford said the actions would shave about $500,000 in expenses next year, reducing his proposed budget by about 5 percent, to $10.6 million. He said those cuts responded to voters' desire for lower taxes and the county's expectation of reduced tax revenue because of the passage of the property-tax-cutting Amendment 1 in January, falling property values and the weak state economy. Read more http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080602/BREAKINGNEWS/80602053/1086

School district disputes graduation report
Study says 69% graduate here
BY MEGAN DOWNS • FLORIDA TODAY • June 5, 2008
Every 13 seconds, one student is lost from the high school pipeline, totaling more than 1.23 million students nationwide who won't graduate from high school this year, according to a report released Wednesday. Brevard County, among the 50 largest districts in the nation, graduated only 69 percent of its students in 2005, according to "Diplomas Count 2008," a major report by Editorial Projects in Education Research Center in Bethesda, Md. Read more http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/NEWS13/806050321/1006/rss01

Cost of 2005 storms is getting bigger
by Aaron Deslatte Orlando Sentinel Jun 4, 2008 9:44:42 AM
Whether you realize it or not, you're still paying off the 2005 hurricane season every time you pay your auto and homeowners-insurance premiums.The bill is about to get a little steeper.Florida's hurricane-risk managers will ask Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet next week to authorize the sale of up to $625 million in bonds this summer to help pay claims still outstanding from the 2005 hurricane season, when three storms struck the state and a fourth brushed it. Read more http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/06/cost-of-2005-st.html

CBS 60 Minutes on Worker Safety
by Celeste Monforton Confined Space @ TPH, June 5, 2008
Set your wristwatch alarms or your VCR for this Sunday (June 7) at 7:00 pm (EST) to watch CBS’s 60 Minutes and a hard-hitting story on OSHA and its failure to protect workers and communities from combustible dust explosions Read more http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/

The Shameful Irony of McCain's New Orleans Speech
by Greg Saunders Huffington Post 4 June 2008
For all of the vitriol that I've thrown in Hillary Clinton's direction, it's nothing compared to my contempt for John McCain. I don't know if he's been a millionaire in Washington D.C. for so long that it makes him completely tone deaf to the experiences of others or if he's just a world class d###head, but it takes a superhuman level of gall for him to go to New Orleans, which still hasn't fully recovered from Hurricane Katrina, and say this: Read more http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-saunders/the-shameful-irony-of-mcc_b_105323.html