Tuesday is Gray, But Also Awesome
Here are a few bright spots for a gray Tuesday morning:
- Sarah Brown on darlin. (Que Sera Sera)
I’ve always wanted to date someone who’d call me darlin. Of course, you can’t force that. The term of endearment has to happen organically. I dated a guy once who called me sugar, in an exaggerated Southern accent. Shuh-gurr. He wasn’t from the south. Not even close. I acted like I liked it, and at first I even thought maybe I did, but inside I’d cringe whenever he said it.
- Sky Blue Sky leaked. Of course, I'll still go out and buy that sucker like whoa fast. But 'til May... this'll do. I've been on a renewed Wilco love-kick lately. I was driving to Boise while listening to A Ghost is Born and I almost got out my cell phone and started calling people to ask, "DO YOU KNOW HOW GOOD THIS ALBUM IS?!?" (Stereogum [in comments])
- Charlie Crist has some great budget items for Florida - given that he's a Republican (albeit a more moderate one than Jebbo) and has been lambasted for some other budget issues, I'm really excited to see this stuff in there. This alone makes my day, y'all. (FL Progressive Coalition)
— $26 million more to hire 400 additional reading coaches.
— $3.9 million to continue implementing class size reduction.
— $295 million to double teacher merit pay bonuses to about $4,000.
— $1.4 billion more to increase public school spending by 7.5 percent including a $500 per student increase.
— $25.7 million more to provide an additional 12,673 Bright Futures scholarships.
— $100 million more to purchase sensitive lands under the Florida Forever Program, a 33 percent increase.
— $50 million to continue Lake Okeechobee cleanup and rehabilitation.
— $40 million to help implement rehabilitation of the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers.
— $100 million to fully fund Florida’s share of the state-federal Everglades restoration project.
— $68 million in new money for grants, rebates and tax incentives to encourage energy conservation.
— $40 million in new money to establish an Alternative Energy Incentive Fund.
— $750,000 in new money to create a public education program to encourage energy conservation and alternative energy use.
— $10 million to continue the state’s Renewable Energy Technology Grant Program.