Former Miami Herald reporter starts new political blog
February 24, 2009 at 11:18 am by Wayne Garcia
Gary Fineout did a pretty good job as the capital bureau reporter for the Miami Herald and other state newspapers. (I remember his work being a pain in the ass to some of my Republican legislative clients, so he must have been good.) Now that he is out of the daily paper biz, he is starting his own blog, The Fine Print.
Fineout’s first post takes apart Charlie Crist’s proposed budget. Here’s a sample:
2. School recognition grants: Despite the fact that Crist got criticized by George P. Bush last weekend, the Republican governor decided to keep intact funding for one of the key elements of former Gov. Jeb Bush’s A+ education reforms. He has set aside $206.7 million for the program that rewards schools that show learning gains based primarily on results from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. It won’t take long for Democrats, many of whom who praised Crist for his budget proposal, to start questioning why the Legislature should fund this program during a fiscal crisis. The GOP will assert that getting rid of this program will hurt teachers since much of the money winds up as bonuses.
3. Sweetener for the U.S. Sugar deal: Crist has included $5 million in his economic development funding recommendations to be used for “areas impacted by the South Florida Water Management District’s acquisition of land from the U.S. Sugar Corporation. Impacted areas include Hendry and Glades County and the communities of Belle Glade, South Bay and Pahokee.”
4. Doctors and Medicaid providers are winners: Probably due in no small part to the influx of federal dollars, Crist has not only recommended keeping Medicaid intact he recommended paying more to Medicaid dentists and physicians that specialize in dermatology, neurology and orthopedic surgery. Crist also recommended spending nearly $800 million to rescue the state’s Medically Needy and MEDS A/D program – which helps the disabled and elderly. Crist also recommended spending $52 million more to add 46,000 children in the KidCare program.
You can find The Fine Print here.
