Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Will Florida Govenor Charlie Crist pardon Jim Morrison

Read Here New York Times

As Charlie Crist walks on down the hall to the end, beautiful friend, of his term as governor of Florida, he still has a few items on his agenda. Among them: the possibility that he could pardon Jim Morrison, the lead singer of the Doors, for convictions stemming from a 1969 concert appearance in Miami.

In an interview with The Hill, Mr. Crist, a Republican turned independent who was defeated last week by Marco Rubio in his bid for a United States Senate seat and whose term as governor ends in January, said “stay tuned” when asked if he would consider pardoning Morrison.

Morrison, the bohemian rock star who held the self-appointed title of Lizard King, was arrested after a March 1, 1969, concert in Miami and charged with drunkenness and lewd and lascivious behavior after some concertgoers said he exposed himself during the show. He was cleared of those charges and instead convicted of indecent exposure and profanity and sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to pay a $500 fine, though he never served any time.

Asked about a potential pardon, Mr. Crist told The Hill: “Candidly, it’s something that I haven’t given a lot of thought to, but it’s something I’m willing to look into in the time I have left. Anything is possible.” In a 2007 interview Mr. Crist — who, like Morrison, attended Florida State University — said he might consider a pardon, adding that “there was some doubt about how solid the case was.”

The Hill said that Florida’s Board of Executive Clemency, which handles pardons, would meet on Dec. 9 before Mr. Crist and three other board members leave their offices.
Either way, a pardon for Morrison would be purely ceremonial, as he died in 1971.

Florida Republicans already pitching Medicaid overhaul

The wheels are already turning in a legislative plan to craft a Medicaid revamp that would include major limits on lawsuits, something that is firmly in line with Governor-Elect Rick Scott's proposed plan to make it more difficult for patients to sue doctors.
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, told the News Service Friday that he and fellow Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, will meet in the coming days to examine last year's legislation aimed at steering Medicaid patients into a managed care program, an expansion of a five-county pilot program......

Read more: Source

Florida Republicans already pitching Medicaid overhaul

The wheels are already turning in a legislative plan to craft a Medicaid revamp that would include major limits on lawsuits, something that is firmly in line with Governor-Elect Rick Scott's proposed plan to make it more difficult for patients to sue doctors.
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, told the News Service Friday that he and fellow Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, will meet in the coming days to examine last year's legislation aimed at steering Medicaid patients into a managed care program, an expansion of a five-county pilot program......




Read more: Source