For conservatives, Romney's support for a universal health care plan in Massachusetts has always been problematic. He's argued that it's a states' rights deal, and for Republicans who support Romney, that's good enough.

For the rest of the GOP electorate, that answer is pretty weak. The question has been why it's taken so long for some of his opponents to hammer him on the issue, though Rick Santorum did so with steadfast intensity at the last debate in Jacksonville last month.

But in an interview less than two years ago, Romney had lots of praise for the Obama health care plan, including the right's bête noir, the individual mandate.

So the clock ticks again for negotiators, who have a little over two weeks to get a deal done. Democrats want to cover the cost of the payroll tax for the rest of this year by imposing a tax on those making more than $1 million a year, as well as eliminating some corporate tax subsidies. Republicans want to pay for it by freezing pay for federal workers, cutting some pension benefits and raising Medicare premiums paid by wealthy seniors.

Regarding unemployment benefits, Republicans want to give states the option to require drug testing for recipients (a move that would be superfluous in Rick Scott's Florida), and require those collecting benefits without a high school diploma to enroll in a GED program.

As the sun set outside the inverted pyramid Saturday, around 75 people attended a forum on the third floor of the pier. Residents and business owners came to learn about the petition for a public vote on the pier.

• Arielle Stevenson
• Residents gathered to hear about a petition for referendum on the Pier Saturday.

Architectural Designs, Inc. of Tampa presented their plan to "renew" the Pier within budget and without closing it down. According to their architect, Ken Kroger, the Pier was actually designed to have additional floors, which could be an option. Kroger said the foundation and causeway need replacing but the base of the pyramid is fine.

"Right now you can't appreciate the full effect of this inverted pyramid," Kroger said. "It's diluted by the buildings underneath it. The one-story buildings that surround the structure have to be demolished in this plan."

• J.D. Alexander

But that arrangement never seemed to mollify Alexander, and last Wednesday the bill calling on the Polk County campus to acquire its independence immediately was slipped in at the last minute — bypassing the specific requirements that the Board of Governors listed as necessary.

There's now a new development in the ongoing drama: a letter sent by the Faculty Senate at USF-Poly on Saturday that expresses "great dismay" over Lynn's proposal, specifically for assuming that separate accreditation for the campus is now going to happen.

"This measure seems to have been introduced based on two primary assumptions," USF Polytechnic Faculty Senate President Sherry Kragler writes in a letter to Lynn and other members of the Florida Senate.
"1) that USF Polytechnic faculty and staff are NOT currently working toward separate accreditation and independence in a timely manner; 2) that achieving accreditation for the new university through Valencia College/University of Florida will be faster/easier than the current process for USF Polytechnic's separate accreditation. While we cannot speak definitively to the second assumption, we, as engaged faculty members, can attest that the first assumption is erroneous."