By GARY FINEOUT and BRENDAN FARRINGTON - Associated Press - Wednesday, January 21, 2015

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The abrupt ouster of the leader of Floridas main law-enforcement agency could lead to a major shake-up in how the state Cabinet and the governor hire top officials.

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam on Wednesday called for an overhaul of how the state Cabinet approves agency heads. Putnam also wants to change how the governor and Cabinet oversee several departments.

Floridas other two Cabinet members, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, also expressed concerns about the appointment process after Gov. Rick Scott forced the resignation of Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey and then asked the Cabinet to name his hand-picked replacement to the job.

All three Republican Cabinet members last week approved Rick Swearingen to replace Bailey, but after the vote said they werent aware that Bailey, who had held the position since late 2006, was forced to step down. Bailey later told the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald about political interference and unethical requests from Scott, his staff and his campaign team.

The uproar over Baileys ouster has prompted calls for outside investigations and other state elected officials to question what happened. Democratic legislators this week said the states ethics panel should consider probing the incident, while outside watchdog group Integrity Florida said it has a sent a letter to a federal prosecutor and the FBI requesting them to look into Baileys allegations.

The recent process behind the appointment of a new FDLE Commissioner has raised serious questions, and those questions should be answered to ensure transparency, and the publics right to know, Bondi said in a news release.

She said she wants the matter to be addressed at the next Cabinet meeting Feb. 5.

Many agency heads, including those in charge of the states health department and prison system, report only to the governor. But a handful of agencies report to both the governor and the three Cabinet members.

Atwater sent a letter to Scott on Tuesday night saying he wants to do a new search for an FDLE commissioner. Scott replied in his own letter that a new search could be done, but then stated he wants to keep Swearingen in the job to prevent unnecessary turmoil. Scott then said he wants to discuss firing three other state officials, including Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty. He said government should frequently change leadership to bring in new ideas and fresh energy.

Original post:
Ouster of Florida's top cop could spark power shift

By JIM TURNER and MARGIE MENZEL

TALLAHASSEE Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater wants the Florida Cabinet to reconsider how it handled the controversial change in leadership at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

But Gov. Rick Scott is not backing the request. Instead, the governor would like the cabinet to discuss making additional leadership changes at the Office of Insurance Regulation, the Office of Financial Regulation and the Department of Revenue.

Atwater sent a letter Tuesday to Scott expressing concern with the way longtime FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey left the agencys top job. Atwater added that even though a replacement was approved last week, a search should be held for a new commissioner.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, left, and Gov. Rick Scott listen to a speaker during a meeting of the Florida Cabinet in 2013. (AP Photo / Phil Sears)

A professional search would give the residents of Florida a full and complete understanding of the qualifications of the person selected to lead one of the states largest law enforcement agencies, and help reassure the employees of FDLE that the agencys leadership will be in the hands of a highly qualified individual with an unimpeachable reputation, Atwater wrote to Scott.

But Scott rejected the request, responding in a letter to Atwater that he would not support replacing the newly named commissioner in order to avoid unnecessary turmoil within the FDLE.

The FDLE commissioner position is a cabinet-level appointment. The cabinet last week approved Scotts second-term recommendation of Rick Swearingen, the former head of the Capitol Police, as the new FDLE leader.

Cabinet members Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said after the meeting they had been advised that Bailey resigned but acknowledged they did not inquire into the circumstances.

Scott told reporters that Bailey had resigned. Bailey, however, disputed that, telling the Tampa Bay Times that I did not voluntarily do anything. A spokeswoman for Scott later that day issued a statement that the governor thinks its important to frequently get new people into government positions of leadership.

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Amid FDLE controversy, Scott wants more agency changes

TALLAHASSEE Florida Cabinet members are turning up the heat on Gov. Rick Scott over the botched removal of a top state police official, with Attorney General Pam Bondi raising "serious questions" about Scott's conduct.

Bondi on Wednesday became the last of the three elected Republican Cabinet members to distance herself from the ouster last month of Gerald Bailey as commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Bailey alleges that Scott and his aides meddled in law enforcement business and used strong-arm tactics to pressure him to resign.

Taking indirect aim at Scott on his preference for secrecy over transparency, Bondi said that she and the public have a right to know the truth and that she would insist that the Bailey matter be discussed "thoroughly and in the sunshine" at the next Cabinet meeting Feb. 5.

"The recent process behind the appointment of a new FDLE commissioner has raised serious questions, and those questions should be answered to ensure transparency and the public's right to know," Bondi said in a statement that held back on explicitly criticizing Scott or anyone in his administration.

The firing has mushroomed into the messiest controversy of Scott's governorship and tarnished the start of his second term. At the same time, Cabinet members, at least two of whom are expected to run for governor in 2018, are frantically trying to extricate themselves from an issue that they could have avoided.

By law, the head of the FDLE works for the governor and Cabinet. All three Cabinet members have said they did not anticipate Bailey's ouster, but not one of them publicly questioned the decision at last week's Cabinet meeting. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam was the first to fault Scott's actions.

Bondi's extended silence was watched closely by the state's close-knit law enforcement network because, as the state's chief legal officer, her office works with law enforcement officials at all levels.

"I take the rule of law very seriously, especially in matters affecting the safety and security of the people of Florida," Bondi said.

Her statement came a day after Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater broke ranks with Scott and fellow Cabinet members, calling for a new search for Bailey's replacement. Rick Swearingen, a 30-year FDLE employee, was Scott's handpicked choice for the job.

"We need a better process," Atwater said. "One that's transparent."

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Attorney General Pam Bondi joins Cabinet scrutiny of Gov. Rick Scott's actions in FDLE firing

TALLAHASSEE --

The controversy continues over the head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Gov. Rick Scott got rid of the old commissioner and has already picked a new one, but Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater wants him to reconsider that choice.

Atwater is a statewide elected official with an obscure title, but now he's becoming a powerful voice in a scandal brewing in the governor's office.

"The allegations that I've read, I think, are serious," he said.

When the Florida Cabinet voted last week to pick a replacement for long-time FDLE Commissioner Jerry Bailey, Atwater said he assumed Bailey retired voluntarily, so he voted yes.

It was only after Atwater voted that he learned Bailey was forced out by Scott. Bailey said he was let go because of campaign politics.

Atwater said that he wants a new vote now.

"You're right: we can always do better," he said. "Why don't you bring some recommendations to the Cabinet? Secondly, the Cabinet can open, revisit, the selection process of the commissioner."

On the state Cabinet, every member is created equal. It doesn't matter if you are the governor, the attorney general, the agricultural commissioner or the chief financial officer. That means that what Scott says isn't necessarily the final word.

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Scott, Atwater do battle over FDLE chief controversy

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said Wednesday that he does not believe the solution to the botched dismissal of former Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey is to start over and redo a vote on the new commissioner.

Our collective concern has been focused on the way Gerry Baileys dismissal was handled, not on the way Rick Swearingens hiring was handled, Putnam told the Herald/Times, a day after Chief Financial OfficerJeff Atwaterhand-delivered a letterto Gov.Rick Scottasking to reopen the search for a new commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Im not sure that this proposed cure matches the disease that were concerned with.

Putnam and his fellow Cabinet members, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Atwater, have been stung by their decision to let Scott and his staff mislead them into thinking that Bailey voluntarily resigned from the post on Dec. 16. Scott initially claimed it was voluntary and then, when pressed last week, admitted he forced Bailey out.

The Cabinet unanimously voted to replace Bailey last week with Scott's hand-picked choice, Rick Swearingen, a former FDLE agent who served on the governor's security detail often during much of the governor's first term.

Putnam said he is concerned about the disruption of a vote to backtrack on Swearingens unanimous election by the Cabinet last week. My primary focus is that we have strong leadership and stability at FDLE, he said. The proposal late Tuesday by Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater to backtrack the vote that elected Rick Swearingen with a candidate being pushed by Atwater is. Theyre a long way from that in terms of stability given everything thats going on.

We should be very cognizant about how we are managing and how we are empowering the leadership of that agency, and their work on a day to day basis, based on concerns, frustrations, anger about the way the previous leader was treated.

Now, Putnam said, he wants to see the governor and the three independently-elected members of the Cabinet exercise more authority, deliberation and transparency in discussing all decisions before the board.

He said Scotts response to Atwater,which indicated that the governor wants to clean house of three other agency heads appointed by the Cabinet, is an opening for a new discussion.

Scott responded to Atwater late Tuesday that he wants the Cabinet to consider discussing the removal ofKevin McCarty from his job as Florida Insurance Commissioner;Marshall Stranburgfrom his post as executive director of theDepartment of RevenueandDrew J. Breakspearfrom his job as Commissionerof theOffice of Financial Regulation.

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Putnam disagrees with Atwater: redo hiring Swearingen hire is too disruptive

(Courtesy photo)

A downstairs half bathroom, often called the powder room, is an excellent room to tackle when you want to spruce up your home without spending a lot of time or money. It is also probably the one room your guests spend more time in than you do, meaning it's easy to overlook, but its appearance has quite an impact on how visitors experience your home.

When we moved into our house, the half bath had ostensibly been recently remodeled (unlike the rest of the 1960s structure). For a long time, we let it be. But then, as often happens when you remodel the rest of your house, it started to look tired and outdated, so we set about giving it an inexpensive refresh with these four simple steps:

1. A lick of paint: A new paint job is the most straightforward way of updating any room. The theme of our half bath had been a "classic" green and gold. For a more modern look, I chose a red, silver and gray color palette. A coat of Sherwin Williams' French Grey ($40 a gallon) brought the room into the 21st century in one afternoon. Gray is a very hot color right now, especially in bathrooms, and I can see why: It's bright and airy in daylight, but adds some drama and style when lit up in the evening.

2. Refresh the fixtures: We removed all the old faux bronze fixtures and replaced them with chrome-and-white ones. It's important to pick your faucet first, since it's a focal point.

3. Look at your lighting: Lighting is a crucial part of any refresh, especially in the small confines of a half bath, where lighting can be tricky. We kept the lights positioned on either side of the mirror, which got its own update from a coat of red spray paint to take it from traditional to contemporary in minutes. This positioning helps diffuse the light and avoids those ugly shadows you get from direct down lighting. Light fixtures can be pricey, so we shopped around until we found these Progress Lighting Lynzie single fixtures for $40 each.

4. Replace the toilet seat: Of course, a whole new toilet will really refresh a bathroom, but when you're on a budget, switching out a toilet seat makes a surprisingly big difference. We spent $14 on a Glacier Bay wooden toilet seat with chrome hinges, which really pulls the whole room together.

In total, the refresher came in at just under $220.

(Courtesy photo)

The half bath is much more of a focal point than you might think, and by investing a small amount of time and money it's easy to transform it into something special.

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Refresh a half bath in four steps

By Deborah K. Dietsch January 22 at 5:30 AM

Now you see it, now you dont.

Homeowner David Sayles slides a lacquered wood door to close his kitchen from view. He pushes identical panels in the opposite direction to hide a built-in bookcase. Once closed, the row of 8-by-4-foot partitions blend into the similar white walls of the adjacent living room.

I dont like staring at appliances or dirty dishes in the sink, says Sayles, 48, a health-care specialist. I didnt want the kitchen and living room to be part of the same space.

Concealing everyday necessities is important to Sayles in maintaining his clutter-free home. Few furnishings take up space in the rooms, and most personal belongings are stashed out of sight. His two-level condominium showcases the abundant storage spaces and intensive level of detail required of super-minimalist design.

I like glass, metal, clean lines, Sayles says, pointing to his steel-framed dining table. This is the kind of aesthetic that I gravitate to. I find it relaxing, calming and serene.

The spare two-story apartment presents a stark contrast to its host, a Victorian townhouse near Dupont Circle. Sayles bought the unit in 1997 for $298,000 and waited until 2013 to remodel. I wanted a change and thought I would buy a new condo on 14th Street, but prices have skyrocketed, and I couldnt find a place I liked, he says.

At a friends recommendation, Sayles turned to Kube Architecture in the District to renovate his condo in a stripped-down style reflective of his taste. The remodeling required gutting the 1,350-square-foot interior to raise the ceilings to 10 feet, increase the supply of daylight and achieve the spacious flow of a loft.

The kitchen was expanded and fitted with Ikea cabinets, stainless-steel appliances, synthetic quartz countertops and the sliding doors. On the second floor, the back bedroom was opened to a sleek new bathroom shared with the master bedroom in the front.

New closets, their doors lacking visible hardware, stretch along one entire side of the upper level. Even the owners toothbrush and shaver and an electrical outlet are designed to disappear, all hidden within a small cabinet over the bathroom sink.

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A seamless, minimalist D.C. condo maximizes storage and lighting

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