Florida restores early voting days, moves back primary

By Bill Cotterell

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Still smarting from jokes about Florida's inability to run statewide elections, Florida lawmakers approved a package of revisions on Friday to give voters more time and locations to cast their ballots.

"We all took a lot of flak for elections last year," said Senator Jack Latvala, a Republican who chairs the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee. "We were the butt of jokes on late night TV."

Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith, a Democrat, said the package was an improvement over restrictions imposed in 2011, when the number of days polls were open for voting prior to November's Election Day was drastically reduced, but he said there was still a long way to go.

"This is only a start," he said. "We had a tremendous opportunity to do great things with this bill, but we stopped well short of the goal posts."

The bill, which Republican Governor Rick Scott has said he would sign, allows county elections supervisors to increase the number of early voting days to 14 from eight. To reduce waiting time at courthouses and election offices, they could also use more and larger sites for popular early voting, such as civic centers.

"This reform was essential for the people of Florida and the Legislature is to be congratulated for this bipartisan collaboration," said Deirdre Macnab, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, which lobbied for reforms.

The bill also moves the date of the state's presidential primary to conform with rules set by the national political parties, potentially helping Florida Senator Marco Rubio, considered a possible front-runner for the Republican Party nomination in 2016.

In 2012 the state was penalized and lost half its delegates to the national nominating conventions because the Legislature set the primary for January 30, ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire, which are favored by party rules with the first caucuses and primary elections.

Florida's procedures have come under intense scrutiny since the 2000 election, when George W. Bush carried the state by a mere 537 votes and won the presidency after 36 days of court fights and street demonstrations.

Last November 6 the limits imposed in 2011, coupled with an extremely long ballot, led to long voting lines in densely populated southeast Florida counties, where some voters waited until almost midnight to cast their ballots.

Scott refused to extend the eight-day early voting period through the weekend prior to Election Day. Democrats accused him of trying to "suppress" votes of blacks and college students.

After the election, the state took days to certify results, even though it was known President Barack Obama had won Florida's 29 electoral votes.

The law clamps a 75-word limit on all ballot summaries for constitutional amendments placed before voters. On November 6, Florida had 11 constitutional amendments, all produced by the Legislature, and some of them had extremely long and intricate summaries that took voters several minutes to read.

(Reporting by Bill Cotterell; Editing by David Adams and Eric Beech)

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Florida restores early voting days, moves back primary

By Bill Cotterell

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Still smarting from jokes about Florida's inability to run statewide elections, Florida lawmakers approved a package of revisions on Friday to give voters more time and locations to cast their ballots.

"We all took a lot of flak for elections last year," said Senator Jack Latvala, a Republican who chairs the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee. "We were the butt of jokes on late night TV."

Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith, a Democrat, said the package was an improvement over restrictions imposed in 2011, when the number of days polls were open for voting prior to November's Election Day was drastically reduced, but he said there was still a long way to go.

"This is only a start," he said. "We had a tremendous opportunity to do great things with this bill, but we stopped well short of the goal posts."

The bill, which Republican Governor Rick Scott has said he would sign, allows county elections supervisors to increase the number of early voting days to 14 from eight. To reduce waiting time at courthouses and election offices, they could also use more and larger sites for popular early voting, such as civic centers.

"This reform was essential for the people of Florida and the Legislature is to be congratulated for this bipartisan collaboration," said Deirdre Macnab, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, which lobbied for reforms.

The bill also moves the date of the state's presidential primary to conform with rules set by the national political parties, potentially helping Florida Senator Marco Rubio, considered a possible front-runner for the Republican Party nomination in 2016.

In 2012 the state was penalized and lost half its delegates to the national nominating conventions because the Legislature set the primary for January 30, ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire, which are favored by party rules with the first caucuses and primary elections.

Florida's procedures have come under intense scrutiny since the 2000 election, when George W. Bush carried the state by a mere 537 votes and won the presidency after 36 days of court fights and street demonstrations.

Last November 6 the limits imposed in 2011, coupled with an extremely long ballot, led to long voting lines in densely populated southeast Florida counties, where some voters waited until almost midnight to cast their ballots.

Scott refused to extend the eight-day early voting period through the weekend prior to Election Day. Democrats accused him of trying to "suppress" votes of blacks and college students.

After the election, the state took days to certify results, even though it was known President Barack Obama had won Florida's 29 electoral votes.

The law clamps a 75-word limit on all ballot summaries for constitutional amendments placed before voters. On November 6, Florida had 11 constitutional amendments, all produced by the Legislature, and some of them had extremely long and intricate summaries that took voters several minutes to read.

(Reporting by Bill Cotterell; Editing by David Adams and Eric Beech)

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Fashion designer Lily Pulitzer dies in Florida: company

By Ellen Wulfhorst

(Reuters) - Fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer died on Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida, at age 81, her company said.

Pulitzer was known for her bright, cheerful print shift dresses that were popular with socialites and evoked a lifestyle of affluence in Florida and New York's Hamptons resorts.

Her company, named Lilly Pulitzer, also made children's wear, men's wear and household goods, often based on the same prints and bright colors.

"Early this morning, Lilly Pulitzer Rousseau passed away peacefully in Palm Beach, surrounded by family and loved ones," her company said in a statement posted on Facebook. "Lilly has been a true inspiration to us and we will miss her.

"Lilly was a true original who has brought together generations through her bright and happy mark on the world," the statement said.

It did not disclose a cause of death.

Pulitzer's designs were born when she was running a juice stand in Florida and had a sleeveless dress made from colorful printed cotton to hide the juice stains, according to the company website.

She had eloped at age 21 with publishing heir Peter Pulitzer and moved to Palm Beach, "in the shadow of Peter's citrus groves," from New York City, it said. The couple later divorced.

The classic shift dress gained international attention when first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, a former classmate of Pulitzer's, was photographed wearing one of her dresses on vacation, it said.

Her company declared bankruptcy in 1984 but was relaunched in 1992.

She and Pulitzer had three children, according to People magazine. Her second husband was hotelier Enrique Rousseau who died in 1993, according to People.

(Editing by Sandra Maler)

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Florida officials push for answers at boys' school graveyard

By Bill Cotterell

MARIANNA, Florida (Reuters) - Florida officials said on Wednesday they will seek federal money for a forensic investigation into unmarked graves on the grounds of a shuttered state reform school for boys that has been the target of numerous allegations of abuse and mysterious deaths of children.

Dozens of unmarked graves have been uncovered at the Dozier School in the Florida Panhandle city of Marianna and investigators are trying to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths, which experts say probably occurred between 1914 and 1952.

"We really don't know exactly how many, or who they are," said Erin Kimmerle, a forensic anthropologist at the University of South Florida with a scroll-like map of spots where her ground-piercing radar spotted signs of human remains.

The Dozier School was legend among adolescents for about 100 years in Florida, as the state's major reform school, until it was closed in 2011.

Several years ago, former students told horror stories of sexual abuse and frequent beatings in a mausoleum-like building dubbed the "White House" where nine barren cubicles held boys accused of rules infractions.

Some died under unknown circumstances, according to relatives.

In December, researchers from the University of South Florida in Tampa said they found evidence of at least 50 graves on the school's property and more grave shafts in and around an area called "Boot Hill" across a major highway from the high, razor-wire-topped fences of the closed school.

Kimmerle's work also indicates there could be at least 50 bodies buried on the property.

"All the focus on exact numbers is not really the issue," she said. "Whether it's one or 20 or 40 or 60, we are talking about a child and families that are asking for information."

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and other state officials are seeking a court order to allow the remains to be exhumed.

The U.S. Department of Justice has a program that could provide up to $3 million for forensic sifting of the burial areas, said U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat, who toured the site on Wednesday.

A $200,000 appropriation is pending in the state legislature.

Nelson said he wants to find out as much as possible and let relatives know the truth. He noted that "the statute of limitation on murder never runs out," but said there is little chance of prosecuting anyone.

State Attorney Glenn Hess said only one or two employees from the era are known to be alive, and it's unlikely a trial could prove how a boy died or who was responsible.

"The question is, can we establish probable cause that a crime has been committed, and who did it?" he said. "That's the hard part."

Families could ask their legislators to file "claims" bills for civil compensation, if identity could be established from remains and if negligence might be established on the part of the state.

(Editing by Brendan O'Brien, Kevin Gray and Lisa Shumaker)

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Three killed in small plane crash in Florida

By Mark Lamport-Stokes INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal produced vintage form against an out-of-sorts Roger Federer, crushing the Swiss 6-4 6-2 in their heavily anticipated quarter-final at the BNP Paribas on Thursday. The Spanish left-hander, competing in his first hardcourt event since his return from seven months on the sidelines with a knee injury, outplayed his long-time rival with a sharp display at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. ...

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Florida lieutenant governor resigns in gambling probe

(Reuters) - Florida Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll has resigned because a firm she once consulted for has been linked to a racketeering case, the Miami Herald reported on Wednesday.

Neither Carroll's office nor the office of Governor Rick Scott could immediately confirm the report.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement scheduled an afternoon news conference in Orlando to discuss a racketeering investigation involving Allied Veterans of the World, a nonprofit organization that runs Internet cafes.

Carroll once owned a public relations firm that represented the organization and worked for the group while she served in the Florida House of Representatives, the Herald said.

Carroll, a Republican who had served in the legislature since 2003, took office as lieutenant governor in January 2009.

(Reporting by Jane Sutton; editing by John Wallace)

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Florida Medicaid expansion rejected by state Senate panel

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott's plan to expand Medicaid coverage to cover about 1 million more poor people suffered a potential death blow on Monday when the proposal failed to make it out of a key state legislative committee.

The Senate Select Committee on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act rejected the expansion, just as a House legislative committee had done last week.

Unless political leaders agree to present a new compromise bill, the legislative rejection of Scott's expansion of the state-federal program would now be final.

(Reporting by Bill Cotterell)

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Florida man swallowed by sinkhole under bedroom

SEFFNER, Fla. (AP) — A huge sinkhole opened up under a man's bedroom and swallowed him as he screamed for help. He was missing Friday and feared dead.

Officials lowered equipment into the sinkhole but didn't see any sign of life. Jeremy Bush, who was at the home near Tampa, said it took him only seconds to get to his brother's room about 11 p.m. Thursday. He jumped into the hole and dirt was quickly up to his neck.

"The floor was still giving in and the dirt was still going down, but I didn't care. I wanted to save my brother," he said. "But I just couldn't do nothing."

Jeremy Bush had to be helped out of the sinkhole by a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy. Bush stood in a neighbor's yard across the street from the house Friday and recounted the harrowing collapse.

"He was screaming my name. I could swear I heard him hollering my name to help him," he said of his brother.

Engineers worked to determine the size of the sinkhole. At the surface, officials estimated it was about 30 feet across. Below the surface, officials believed it was 100 feet wide.

From the outside of the small, sky blue house, nothing appeared wrong. There wear no cracks and the only sign something was amiss was the yellow caution tape circling the house.

Jeremy Bush's wife and his 2-year-old daughter were also inside the house. "She keeps asking where her Uncle Jeff is," he said. "I lost everything. I work so hard to support my wife and kid and I lost everything."

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy Douglas Duvall said he helped Jeremy Bush as the bedroom was still collapsing.

"I reached down and was able to actually able to get him by his hand and pull him out of the hole. The hole was collapsing. At that time, we left the house," Duvall said.

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokeswoman Jessica Damico said when Duvall arrived, there was nothing left of the bedroom.

"There was no furniture. All he saw was a piece of the mattress sticking up," she said.

"We put engineering equipment into the sinkhole and didn't see anything compatible with life," Damico said. "The entire house is on the sinkhole."

Neighbors on both sides of the home have been evacuated.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokesman Larry McKinnon said authorities asked sinkhole and engineering experts, and they were using equipment to see if the ground can support the weight of heavy machinery needed for the recovery effort.

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Florida hazing defendants to face manslaughter charges

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Florida prosecutors will charge former Florida A&M University band members with manslaughter in the 2011 hazing death of drum major Robert Champion in a decision that came as a surprise to defense lawyers, one defendant's attorney said on Monday.

Twelve former band members originally faced felony charges in the brutal hazing case, but two of the defendants settled their cases by pleading no contest last year.

All of the remaining defendants, who still face felony hazing charges, will now be hit additionally with the more serious charge of manslaughter, said lawyer Craig Wellington.

"We were certainly not expecting that firework," Wellington said of the decision, adding that defense lawyers were alerted via email to the manslaughter charges minutes before stepping into an Orlando courtroom for the start of a status hearing in the case.

Champion, 26, died in a hazing ritual during a band trip to Orlando on November 19, 2011. His death was ruled a homicide as a result of a hemorrhagic shock caused by blunt force trauma during the hazing on a chartered bus, according to the medical examiner's report.

Wellington said prosecutors were adding two new defendants to the case and would charge them with manslaughter too.

A clerk for the court said the charges had not yet been filed and a spokesman for State Attorney Jeff Ashton told Reuters the office would not comment.

Wellington said manslaughter is a second degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Felony hazing is a third degree felony, which carries a potential five years in prison.

"I think it's a travesty," Wellington told Reuters. "We don't think these kids should have to endure a manslaughter charge ... It was tragic but it was a doggone accident," he said.

Champion died after he collapsed due to what prosecutors have described as a savage ritualistic beating aboard a charter bus that drove the band from Tallahassee.

"We applaud the courageous leadership of Mr. Ashton," said Christopher Chestnut, who is suing FAMU and the school charter bus company on behalf of Champion's parents.

"We had been pleading with the prosecution from day one to appropriately charge this case," he said.

(Reporting by Barbara Liston; Editing by Daniel Trotta, Cynthia Johnston and Andrew Hay)

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Florida home where sinkhole swallowed man is partially razed

SEFFNER, Florida (Reuters) - A wrecking crew on Sunday partly razed a Florida house where a sinkhole had swallowed up a man as he slept but the demolition team went about its job as carefully as possible to preserve the home's contents for survivors.

Rescue workers had given up the search for Jeff Bush, a 37-year-old landscaper, on Saturday. He was officially declared "presumed dead" by county officials after disappearing into the hole, which opened up under his bedroom on Thursday night.

Sinkholes are common in Florida due to the state's geology and they are virtually impossible to predict.

With a crowd of a few dozen family members and others watching, a boom crane clawed at the one-story home in suburban Tampa for about two hours, demolishing about half of it. The job was due to be completed on Monday.

Jeremy Bush, Jeff's brother, who had jumped into the sinkhole in a futile attempt to save him, said the family was discussing plans for a memorial service and a possible marker at the site.

Asked how he was feeling, Bush, 36, told Reuters: "Just sad, sad that they couldn't get my brother out."

"He was a good guy. He would give you the shirt off his back," Bush said of his brother.

Five other people in the house, which is owned by the family of Jeremy Bush's fiancée, had been preparing for bed Thursday when they heard a loud crash and Jeff Bush screaming.

STABILIZING THE PIT

Once the house is torn down, efforts will begin to stabilize the sinkhole, said William Puz, a spokesman for Hillsborough County. The hole was about 30 feet (9 meters) wide and 60 feet (18 meters) deep and filled with clay and debris. It is unlikely that Bush's body will ever be retrieved, officials said.

The crane's bucket first removed the garage eaves from the house and a U.S. flag there, carrying it to the sidewalk. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue workers folded the flag and handed it to family members.

The crane then probed through the master bedroom and swept family memorabilia, boxes, luggage, dresser drawers, framed photos, a woman's purse and other items out of the house and placed them near the sidewalk.

Crane operator Dan Darnell had an "emotional meeting" with family members after the work was halted, Puz said.

Before the demolition started, Jeremy Bush, a landscaper like his brother, was escorted by a deputy sheriff to the entrance of the driveway where he knelt and put flowers on the ground, bowing his head for a few minutes.

Wanda Carter, 49, who grew up in the house, said she could not watch as it was being torn down.

"We have each other and that's all that matters," Carter told reporters as she clutched a large family Bible, its cover torn off and bearing marks from the crane's bucket.

Sinkholes in Florida are caused by the state's porous geological bedrock, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

As acidic rainwater filters into the ground, it dissolves the rock, causing erosion that can lead to underground caverns, which cause sinkholes when they collapse.

Two nearby houses have been evacuated because the sinkhole has weakened the ground underneath them, and their residents probably will never be allowed inside again, said Jessica Damico of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

They were allowed 20 to 30 minutes in their homes on Saturday to gather belongings.

(Writing by Ian Simpson; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Eric Beech)

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Florida man feared dead after sinkhole swallows him

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida man was missing on Friday after a sinkhole suddenly opened up beneath the bedroom of his suburban Tampa home, police and fire officials said.

Rescuers responded to a 911 call late on Thursday after the man's family reported hearing a loud crash in the house and rushed to his bedroom.

"All they could see was a part of a mattress sticking out of the hole," said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Chief Ron Rogers. "Essentially the floor of that room had opened up."

A sheriff deputy who arrived at the scene rescued a brother who had jumped in and tried to rescue the man. Four other adults and a child were in the house at the time the sinkhole opened up.

"I didn't see any part of him when I went in there," the brother told a local Tampa TV station on Friday. "I told my father-in-law to grab a shovel so I could start digging. Then the cops showed up and pulled me out of the hole and told me the floor was still falling in."

Authorities have not been able to contact the missing man in the sinkhole, which officials believe to be about 100 feet across. Sinkholes occur when the ground drops downward after underlying material below, like limestone, dissolves.

Rogers said officials had lowered listening devices and cameras into the hole but had so far not detected any signs of life.

(Reporting by Kevin Gray; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Kenneth Barry)

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