A list of the nine amendments proposed for the state constitution, Sun Sentinel

May 31, 2008


1. Property Rights/ineligible aliens:

Would remove provision that allows Legislature to bar "aliens ineligible for citizenship" from owning or inheriting property.

To read the rest of this story, click here.

Think the economy is bad? Wait until the states cut back, New York Times

By Louis Uchitelle
June 1, 2008

Struggling as we are with the housing bust, the credit crunch, shrinking consumption, rising unemployment and faltering business investment, we can be forgiven for thinking that all the big shoes have dropped. There is another one up there, however, and it is about to come down.

State and city governments have yet to shrink the economy; indeed, they have even managed to prop it up. They have quietly maintained their spending at pre-crisis levels even as they warn of numerous cutbacks forced on them by declining tax revenues. The cutbacks, however, are written into budgets for a fiscal year that begins on July 1, a month away. In the meantime the states and cities, often drawing on rainy-day savings, have carried their share of the load for the national economy.

To read the rest of this story, click here.

Charlie Crist is grilled on Florida's budget, CBS Channel 4 (Miami)

May 29, 2008

MIAMI (CBS4) ― From kindergarten to college, and from the courtroom to elderly care, the pain of Florida budget cuts threatens to be felt across our state in 2008.

Thursday Governor Charlie Crist today was defending the belt-tightening in the face of a poor economy, but democratic leaders say some of the pain did not have to happen.

To read the rest of this story, click here.

Selling of Florida may be tougher because of budget cuts, Orlando Sentinel

By Christopher Boyd
May 28, 2008

Florida's principal economic-development agency says a 5 percent cut in its annual operating budget next fiscal year won't hamper its efforts to lure businesses to the state.

But some economists and educators question that assertion. A slumping economy has meant less tax revenue to fund mass transit, operate schools and provide incentives to would-be corporate transplants. All of that, they say, will make the job of selling Florida more difficult starting in July.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

FAU salaries frozen again amid looming budget cuts, Palm Beach Post

By Kimberly Miller
May 28, 2008

JUPITER — Florida Atlantic University faculty and staff will receive no salary increases for the second year in a row as state budget reductions force a $9.6 million cut from school coffers.

The budget cuts, which were discussed by FAU trustees Wednesday, are also expected to mean a loss of 120 jobs, larger class sizes, and the elimination of degree programs from some campuses.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Unitended Consequences of State Merit-Based Aid, Inside Higher Education

May 29, 2008

It is by now well-established that the high profile and expensive merit-based financial aid programs that numerous states have established to keep their best and brightest in college within state borders are far from the panacea their supporters envisioned. While the programs have often accomplished the goal of encouraging top-notch high school students to attend local colleges and making college more affordable for state residents, they have been criticized for disproportionately favoring higher-income students over those from low-income backgrounds and doing relatively little to encourage students who might not otherwise have gone to college to do so.

A study presented this week at the annual forum of the Association for Institutional Research suggests that, at least in one case, a state merit-based financial aid program may be working directly at odds with another priority that is near the top of concerns of most state and federal policy makers and educators: increasing the flow of Americans into scientific and technological fields.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Turlington Halls to get face-lift, Gainesville Sun

By Sarah A. Henderson
May 29, 2008

A walk through the University of Florida's Turlington Plaza will require more maneuvering than usual this summer.

Scaffolding blocking off the majority of the plaza is due to a renovation project of the lecture halls. Rooms L005, L007 and L011 are each part of the project.

"Our goal is to freshen things up, turn it into a more modern space," said Jay Beckenbach, project manager with the Architecture & Engineering Department of UF's Physical Plant.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

For a related article, see That budget ax? It didn't fall on all.