Subject: POLITICO Florida Playbook: Q-poll shows swing-state nail-biter – Rubio-Trump endorsement watch – Polls, votes and medical marijuana – Welcome to America’s health-fraud capital
From: Marc Caputo <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 10 May 2016 05:00:48 -0600

05/10/2016 06:58 AM EDT

By Marc Caputo ([email-masked]; @MarcACaputo) with Kristen East ([email-masked]; @kristenicoleast) and the staff of POLITICO Florida

Good Tuesday morning. Donald Trump's poll numbers look pretty good in Florida, but awful in Miami-Dade, the only Florida county he lost March 15 to hometown son Marco Rubio. Speaking of the senator, is he going to pull a Paul Ryan and hold off on supporting Donald Trump as the party's nominee? We'll know at 4 p.m. when Rubio appears on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper." As a warm up for the show, Rubio yesterday announced he didn't want to be Trump's VP (which should be no shock to Florida Playbook readers)... 

--"Rubio shuts down Trump veep talk," by POLITICO's Nolan D. McCaskill: Rubio: "my previously stated reservations about his campaign and concerns with many of his policies remain unchanged. He [Trump] will be best served by a running mate and by surrogates who fully embrace his campaign ... [I will] focus my attention on representing the people of Florida, retaining a conservative majority in the Senate and electing principled conservatives across the country." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c87201eca459bdf847815f309fcea87d850ca6349526615a07b5

LIKE KELLY LIKE MARCO? - Rubio's carefully crafted statement clearly positions him to avoid endorsing Trump in the short term. And maybe even the long term. One of his friends in the Senate, Kelly Ayotte, has already plowed this ground by announcing she'd support Trump but not endorse him. Sure, Rubio signed a pledge to back the nominee. Can he "support but not endorse?" And if not and he breaks his word (as Jeb Bush and Lindsey Graham did) he'll have to live with that and the ire of Trump Nation. The "Never Trump" crowd will swoon, though. 

NEVER HILLARY -- What's probably more important to Rubio is that he's "Never Hillary." But he also wants Trump to be a "principled conservative" (not someone talking about temporarily banning Muslims from entering the U.S. or engaging in JFK conspiracy theories). It's unclear if Trump has met that bar in Rubio's eyes, will ever or if he even cares. And who knows? Maybe Rubio will just lance the boil and say today that he's supporting Trump in order to see what happens.

-- "Sen. Negron 'enthusiastically supporting' Trump, but Sen. Altman not yet ready," by TC Palm's Eve Samples: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c8721f83f4c338b55a45470a327ac87a981ad10547eca24d46ac

NAIL-BITER? - "Florida poll: Clinton, Trump in a virtual tie," by POLITICO Florida's Marc Caputo: "Hillary Clinton is essentially tied with Donald Trump, 43 percent to 42 percent, according to Quinnipiac University's latest survey of Florida voters. Quinnipiac found the exact same result in its swing-state poll of Pennsylvania and found Trump marginally ahead of Clinton in Ohio, where he leads 43 percent to 39 percent. ...

"If Clinton can get President Obama's coalition of minorities and young people to show in Florida, she'll likely win. If the presidential electorate resembles the whiter and older turnout of the midterm elections in Florida, when Republicans dominate, Trump is poised to be the first GOP presidential candidate to win the state since 2004. Whether it's a governor's race or a presidential contest, Florida elections have a history of being close. The past four statewide top-of-the-ticket elections were decided by 2.8 percentage points or fewer. And in 2000, George W. Bush claimed a win with just 537 votes." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c8721c85ad332b561eeaa0da5cebc34e049d4389f6cf22be957e

LOTS OF CASH -- "$30 M. spent against Trump in Florida," by POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon: The 30 second spot hit Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump as a false tough guy. 

With unflattering video of the New York billionaire playing in the background, a narrator spoke of Trump-owned companies filing for bankruptcy and his attempt to use eminent domain remove a New Jersey widower from her home to make way for a casino in the 1990s. "Trump picks on workers and widows," the ad's narrator says. "He won't do a thing to China or Mexico." The ad was seen in Florida. A lot. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c87243d1360ad142ea47b30f141227d14c57baad8f1e15218084 

MIAMI MAULING -- "Poll: Clinton hammering Trump in Miami-Dade," by POLITICO Florida's Marc Caputo: Hillary Clinton has a commanding lead over Donald Trump in the most-populous county of the most important swing state, a new poll of Miami-Dade registered voters shows. Clinton's 52-25 percent lead over Trump is fueled by outsized support from Democrats, independents and minorities - as well as a significant amount of crossover Republicans, 20 percent, who prefer her over their party's standard bearer, according to the 600-respondent poll conducted by Bendixen & Amandi International for Miami-based media organizations. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c87255cf2361db2fedc42e73dfdf9e47851eb83cbf9ea09eb2f9 

MIAMI MEDICAL MARIJUANA - "Poll: Medical pot scores high among Miami-Dade voters," by Miami Herald's Patricia Mazzei: "Voters favor allowing physicians to recommend pot for medicinal purposes by 61-36 percent, with only 3 percent undecided, the poll by Bendixen & Amandi International found. That's a fat enough super-majority to clear the state's 60-percent amendment threshold - but just barely." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c8728c74821a11b4d171bc6b5cf33fa79818277bfa7bade0c013

ORLANDO MEDICAL MARIJUANA - "Orlando tweaks pot ordinance ahead of final vote," by Orlando Sentinel's Jeff Weinger: Orlando tweaked its controversial marijuana ordinance ahead of today's final vote by the City Council, increasing the fines that offenders may face and creating a diversion program for those who can't pay. The changes were prompted by concerns voiced by Commissioner Robert Stuart and others before last month's narrow 4-3 vote to pass the ordinance at first reading. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872a9603fd51f4fbbdb45db840cf1068910911ac1aff94b5124

-- "Pot challenges continue despite the law," by CBS Miami: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c8724382eefc6cf1d7a79a165f297223393b2395b15769f22d65

IN PRAISE OF JEB -- "Jeb Bush as consumers of news media seldom saw him," by John Noonan in National Review: "Jeb Bush gave his last speech as a presidential candidate in Columbia, S.C., back in February. 'In this campaign, I have stood my ground,' he said as polls closed, 'refusing to bend to the political winds." Moments after he dismounted the stage, he grasped my hand and offered me a heartfelt 'sorry, John.' I was too caught up in the gloom to say what I thought: 'Sir - what the hell do you have to be sorry for?' This was the governor whom I came to know and respect. Leaders take responsibility." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872e260f371612125013faae808621b74e443975796a94381ac

TRAYVON TALK -- "Hillary Clinton to speak at Trayvon Martin Foundation event," by AP's Sergio Bustos: "Clinton will be the keynote speaker later this month in Fort Lauderdale during a conference organized by the Trayvon Martin Foundation. The foundation said in a statement that Clinton will address the third annual Circle of Mothers conference ... founded by Sybrina Fulton, whose 17-year-old son, Trayvon Martin, was fatally shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in 2012. Fulton is one of several mothers who lost their children to gun violence or in police custody, and then campaigned for Clinton during the Democratic presidential primary." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c8726197e0f4c6941c057379133a03f3c220cb9c0f93f94378dc

WHAT'S IN PLAY -- "Florida State House rankings, May 2016," by Steve Schale: "Almost every single Dade County Republican Legislative seat: I have felt for several years that one day, on the Wednesday after the election, we will wake up and the Democrats will have won several seats in Dade County that no one saw coming. This might be the year. These incumbents all live in seats Obama either one or lost in narrow margins: Trujillo, Oliva, Bileca, Artiles (Open), and Nunez. In the other two, Avila and Pepe Diaz, the voter registration and Presidential top of the ticket trend lines are working against the Republicans, though they are in far safer seats for Republicans than the other five. Right
 now, none of the above have Democratic candidates that merit inclusion on this list, though I have heard the Democrat getting into the Artiles open could be formidable. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't pay attention. In 2012, Jeff Soloman put a much closer than expected five point scare into Bileca -- and if the D's had thrown a candidate into almost any of the other seats, Obama might have pulled another Mark Danish or Carl Zimmermann across the line. If Trump loses Dade by 30 points or more -- which is extremely possible at this point -- I would bet lunch that at the wave carries one of the above to the Dem column." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872ba451fa01d954f12226c6ae84e0d54b0d0be4d65dba69453

MORE UNION SUPPORT -- "SEIU backs Murphy," by POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon: SEIU Florida, one of the state's largest unions, on Monday endorsed Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy's US Senate campaign. "Together, we'll fight for our shared progressive values - from protecting Social Security and Medicare and investing in our schools, to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour," Murphy said in a news release. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872ebd50ebfd524cc53e859e2a36baf4a739567cfe62274b964 

MARKING MICA -- "Democrats positive they will find a challenger to Mica," by the Orlando Sentinel's Steven Lemongello: For months, Democrats have been criticizing longtime Republican U.S. Rep. John Mica. There's just one problem: As of now, Mica has no Democratic opponent. And time is running out. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872ce2befe217389ced13c497244ae43fae35366b679fb6f1cd 

WHERE TO BEGIN? -- "What's the matter with Florida? Healthcare fraud flourishes despite enforcement efforts," by Modern Healthcare's Lisa Schencker: "Pauline Grant has a big job ahead of her as the new interim CEO of Broward Health. The Florida system's CEO committed suicide in January, the state is looking into allegations of fraud, waste and abuse, and the governor accused two board members of interfering with that investigation and suspended them. Last year, the system agreed to pay nearly $70 million to settle allegations that it gave doctors excessive salaries in exchange for referrals, although it did not admit any wrongdoing. Broward, a public health system with five medical centers
 and hospitals that had operating revenue of $971 million in 2014, is in South Florida." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c87235ba6ab4edc88583b61c07b97890115bc57360df00fe74b7

HIGH AND DRY -- "How Palm Beach County saved residents millions of dollars by fighting FEMA on flood maps," by the Sun-Sentinel's Ron Hurtibise: "Millions of dollars in flood insurance costs have been saved for Palm Beach County residents thanks to the alliance of local communities against faulty flood zone maps proposed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. And that alliance has emboldened the county and its partners to seize control of their own future flood map revisions by conducting their own high-tech elevation surveys." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872119b60618d0b6bee6247af6b353e1b6c9f41046430a601e9

FIELD OF SCHEMES -- "David Beckham stadium talks with Miami-Dade hit a snag," by Miami Herald's Douglas Hanks: "Efforts to negotiate a land deal for David Beckham's proposed soccer stadium recently hit a snag when negotiators for the celebrity athlete balked at some of the terms Miami-Dade wants in exchange for a county-owned parcel, according to internal documents. Already months behind schedule in assembling a nine-acre site in Overtown for a 25,000-seat Major League Soccer stadium, Beckham and his partners have yet to sign off on a string of hiring goals, employee benefits and local-business perks that Miami-Dade is demanding as part of the sale. Last week, a county lawyer emailed her
 counterpart on the Beckham side to inquire about deal documents Miami-Dade needed to finalize the negotiations." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872a397485c4c839bb8737200954b762813337105dfe533e485

CRISIS BREWS, CONGRESS STALLS -- "Mosquito season brings no urgency for money to fight Zika," by AP's Andrew Taylor: "The White House and Democrats are pressuring congressional Republicans to act on President Barack Obama's demands for money to combat Zika, but even the onset of mosquito season that probably will spread the virus has failed to create a sense of urgency. Republicans from states at greatest risk, such as Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Georgia, have been slow to endorse." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872f20769225b53e017fd69b1035e060722c7cac0c6ebec6ca5

DEBT WATCH -- "Congress says no Puerto Rico bailout, but tax deal beat it to the punch," by POLITICO's Brian Faler: "Lawmakers say they absolutely, positively will not bail out Puerto Rico, but here's the thing: The federal government already is bailing out Puerto Rico. The Obama administration effectively has been providing the beleaguered island with billions of dollars in aid through a little-noticed and convoluted tax arrangement. With the help of a Washington law firm, Puerto Rico in 2010 created a special corporate levy aimed at getting money out of the U.S. Treasury, and the IRS has refused to rule on whether it's legitimate. U.S. companies located on the island act as middlemen:
 First they pay taxes to the commonwealth, and then they are made whole when they claim foreign tax credits from the U.S." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c87275b150aa6b2776f204565f3916654e198aa676ec748943f6 

SUNNY DAYS - "Florida utilities installing solar as price drops," by POLITICO Florida's Bruce Ritchie: The biggest barrier for solar energy in Florida had always been the cost. But that's changing because, in many cases, solar is becoming as cheap for utilities as traditional sources of electricity generation. Florida's utilities are taking advantage of the lower costs. Florida Power & Light Co. is building a 74.5-megawatt solar facility at the Babcock Ranch housing development in Lee County, one of three FPL solar projects announced in February that together will generate a combined 225 megawatts. Combined, the projects will provide enough energy to power 45,000 homes. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872a2355683cbc7ca0efa811b5fffd0ecb38d8eefcd5d122131

CURTAIN CALL? -- "Armstrong takes a bow at mansion reception," by POLITICO Florida's Christine Sexton: In an event that had the feel of a farewell party, former Department of Health secretary John Armstrong was the guest of honor at a reception in the governor's mansion on Monday night. Surrounded by agency staff members who worked with him for nearly four years, Armstrong seemed relaxed, free from the criticism that had followed him for the last several months of his tenure as secretary. He also was glad to be free of the port that had been surgically inserted six months earlier so 12 rounds of chemotherapy could be injected into his bloodstream to treat his colon cancer. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872ff223daf9413c6a335a68740248c48b36c475f18e9227f1f

FLOWING WORDS - "Lake O mayors, Everglades Foundation, argue flow effects on Florida Bay," by POLITICO Florida's Bruce Ritchie: A group of mayors from towns around Lake Okeechobee have responded in a public advertisement to what they say are inaccurate statements about Florida Bay's seagrass die-off being caused by flows from the lake. But a representative of the Everglades Foundation is responding to the ad by saying that the mayors themselves are providing inaccurate information. The South Florida Water Management District has said drought conditions in 2015 caused salinity levels to increase and killed off nearly 22,000 acres of seagrass. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c87254c3e37ba9f80d465d0b38d15cb8e8ab6baa99dfb0c46299

ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN...

-- "Farewell, Shamu: Can SeaWorld reinvent itself in time without prancing orcas?" by The Tampa Bay Times' Robert Trigaux: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c8726412ea2073577eed01e47f4ad76fe18dc2a07468569c7053

-- "Florida's pre-K cuts hurt kids, ignore voters' mandate," by the Orlando Sentinel's Scott Maxwell: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872eb63d80842a2c2ad9de44efc5668e92e8ad5ab0a39052715

-- "Ben Rhodes and Cuba," by Capitol Hill Cubans: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c8723f5ab51e7ae01040e2ae8c9530d8c8c63d4c8a9d9489377c

-- "Florida police plan massive grid search for missing mom, Air Force vet," by Fox News: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872f40508842b62253226f837953e7b965c656da1a5e1e8f88c

-- "Donald Trump attacked for bringing in hundreds of foreign workers on H-2B visas at Mar-A-Lago," by PolitiFact's Joshua Gillin and Amy Sherman: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872237da9f69b4f1c59e037a93f37e49838ecd83538d8911c23

-- "Gov. Scott went to California, dreaming," by Miami Herald's Carl Hiaasen: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872992fb7107c0f70907e43e05333786b5a449c49bc5dd7b45f

-- "Jerry Brown's half true claim about California doubling Florida's job gains," by PolitiFact's Chris Nichols: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872c7ce2b9246a0be0a5ebaa8893d4b55c5cff78a7cff0d5637

-- "PBSO sarge suspended for letting Boynton cop off-the-hook in hooker scandal... wanted to avoid 'unfair media portrayal' of the officer," by Gossip Extra's Jose Lambiet: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c87266ac4795c26c7b10ced6318dcda49225474471a39705e725

-- "S. Florida Republicans lead their party from climate change denial," by McClatchy's James Rosen: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872024d3c1252c4d2f63444520b32be693755e57bd2bf6f48df

-- "Governor's 2016 Hurricane Conference begins today," by Palm Beach Post's Kimberly Miller: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872f984711029432a6065e707079988aae97ef7f43b52bf705b

-- "Miami suddenly has a glut of plus hotel suites," by Bloomberg News' Hui-Yong Yu: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872d671355394afce17a8ce6ccf7129bf00dd2e448a225cd2ce

-- "Corrections officer accidentally shoots self at school," by Panama City News Herald staff: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c87242ae5c6ac49e2a7d114ad411fad4511085145144aedc6b38

-- "20 cents may cost Miami lawyer a run for judge," by Miami Herald's David Ovalle: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c87242d2a778fc0117685483512954c5e2df2deb1d9d571ab067

-- "Stunt photo blamed for blaze that destroyed Monroe Station," by News-Press' Amy Bennett Williams: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c8728a78e01c3af65495dd408e7fcd2d59b253e28a942b40a53a

--@alangomez: "New Panama Papers data released, naming more than 360,000 people and companies exposed in the hack http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c8721d33f7a9b30ccf30326368b60b09f96c9fc561a7f298548d via @usatoday."

-- "DCF announces changes in top staff," by POLITICO Florida's Daniel Ducassi: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c8721fd70d9ba3879880ab2d95d59a025e65cf8ec51d8324bb12

FISH TALE --Craig Pittman @craigtimes: "#Endangered sturgeon jumps into boat during fishing tourney, knocks #Florida man unconscious http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872d48e518ca084d9443ffb2260b744bb7535059bfdfc0b83a4 via @LedgerTom."

GATOR TALE -- "FWC pulls over man who was driving with gator parts in truck," by WSVN's Brandon Launerts: "Florida Fish and Wildlife officials pulled over a man who, they said, was driving around with alligator parts scattered inside the cab of his truck. The first thing FWC officers noticed was a gator's foot in the dashboard, along with the scent of dead alligator. According to officials, the man told FWC officers he had hunted the gator a few years ago, but officers said the gator's scent hinted that the gator was recently hunted. The man eventually confessed to killing the gator a few days ago and was cited for hunting an alligator without a permit." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872389a971558c865981d4a05aa3f2db4c7af8bd41aac56a1d3

FOR MORE political and policy news, check out Politico Florida's home page: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e08ed34e26d1c872b869314af0125e5628aa3f1be370788dbad4d94d61c77f5a And please follow out staff @mdixon55, @christinesexton, @dducassi, @jessicabakeman and @bruceritchie on Twitter.

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