South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 10

tmi'i't i i i iumi' H1 i' i' i i i 9 iff 2B Tuesday, August 8, 2000 MS LOCAL SUN-SENTINEL, SOUTH FLORIDA UNIVERSITY CLASSIFICATIONS Here's how the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Bush's approval rating climbs classified some Florida colleges and School 1994 Research I Jeb Bush's job approval ratlng rra 70.. 7J3 1 L'H University of Florida Florida State University University of Miami Florida International University University of South Florida Florida Atlantic University Nova Southeastern University Research I Research I Doctoral II Research II Doctoral II Doctoral I He recovers from criticism of One Florida By LINDA KLEINDIENST Tallahassee bureau Chief Goy. Jeb Bush, whose job approval rating slipped as he sought to curtail Florida's affirmative action programs, is on the political rebound. ASun-Sen-tinel poll shows that Florida voters not only have warm, personal feelings about the Re SUN-SENTINEL POLL publican governor they are getting more comfortable with the job he is doing. "We're well beyond the honeymoon period," said Jim Kane, editor of Florida Voter, which con- Intense battle for Mack's seat expected Officials at 'delighted' COLLEGES Continued from page 1 "For me to be able to say 'the Carnegie Foundation has classified us in the top research category for universities it's an external validation of the first order done by an organization that is the gold standard of university classifications," Maidique said.

But the listings, begun in 1970 and updated periodically, were never meant as a stamp of approval, Carnegie officials say. To discourage that perception, the foundation made changes to its system this time. The list, which will be finalized in October, does not use research funding as a factor. The foundation also consolidated the categories for schools that award doctoral degrees from four to two. Carnegie went so far as to change the names of the categories.

Once called Research Research II, Doctoral I and Doctoral II institutions, they are now known as DoctoralResearch-Extensive and DoctoralResearch-Intensive universities. FIU, a Doctoral II institution in 1994, falls into the DoctoralResearch-Extensive category. Florida Atlantic University, which had the same ranking as FIU in 1994, is a DoctoralResearch-Intensive institution, which means it awarded fewer doctoral degrees than FIU. ducted the survey of 608 registered voters. "Consider ing he had little 1 political experience before this, he's done remarkably well.

He's managed to find his groove" Bush The gover-nor's popularity is surpassed only by Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Graham. When voters were asked to rate a list of politicians from zero to 100, with 5 1 to 100 indicating a favorable and warm feeling, Bush got a 6 1 Graham, a former governor, got 64. Bush also has a 57 percent job approval rating.

His disapproval rating, which hit a high of 3 1 percent in April, dropped to 24 percent. Bush, never hesitant to voice his opinion, came into office in January 1999 as one of the state's most popular politicians. Within the first ABOUT THE POLL The Sun-Sentinel poll was conducted by Florida Voter, an independent, nonpartisan polling firm, from July 1 7 through July 26. Florida Voter interviewed 608 people with a history of voting in statewide elections; they were randomly selected from a list of registered voters with working telephone numbers. At a 95 percent confidence level, the margin of error for this size sample is plus or minus 4 percent.

Theoretically, in 1 9 of 20 cases, the results based on such samples would differ by no more than 4 percent in either direction from what would have been obtained by interviewing all voters statewide. ballot four times and a lot of it is name recognition," said Shannon Gravitte, McCollum's spokeswoman. "The polls show us well positioned and we feel confident. We have a united party and the momentum is building behind us." While a Democrat leads in the race to replace Mack, Republicans so far have the edge in two as yet low-profile Cabinet races that will be on the fall ballot. Gallagher, who gave up his U.S.

Senate bid in June and announced he would instead run for his old Cabinet post of insurance commissioner, has a more than 2-to-l lead over Democratic challenger John Cosgrove, 54 percent to 25 percent. In the battle to replace Gallagher as education commissioner, Republican Charlie Crist holds a 6-point edge over Democrat George Sheldon, 35 percent to 29 percent a span that could actually be narrower, considering the poll's 4-point margin of error. Sheldon will face fellow Democrat James Bush III of Miami in a September primary, but Sheldon is expected to significantly outraise Bush and already has the support so I One Florida Plan 30 announced' 20 10 Feb. March June 199 Nov Jan. April July 2000 month, he had a 59 percent job approval rating and only 5 percent of the voters disapproved of his work.

His approval ratings inched up hitting a high of 63 percent last summer but stalled in the fall, after the unveiling of his One Florida plan to end gender and racial preferences in state hiring, contracting and public university admissions. Bush promised to institute programs that would bring more minorities into state universities and state contracting jobs. Still, his popularity continued to dip after two prominent black legislators of the state teachers' union. Some of Gallagher and Crist's advantage could come from early name identification by the voters. Gallagher, a former Miami legislator, has run several statewide campaigns, including two unsuccessful bids for governor, in 1 986 and again in 1994.

He served six years as Florida's insurance commissioner, 1988 to 1994, and was elected education commissioner in 1998. He has a 77 percent name recognition. Crist, a onetime state senator from St. Petersburg, challenged popular Democratic U.S. Sen.

Bob Graham in the 1998 election. Soon after Crist's lopsided loss, he was appointed to a high-paying state job by Republican Gov. Jeb Bush. By comparision, neither Cos-grove nor Sheldon has ever run statewide. Cosgrove has been elected to the House nine times from Miami; Sheldon served several terms in the state House from Tampa.

"There's a simple rule of voting. You vote for someone you know over someone you don't unless it's someone you don't like," said Kane. "The problem for the Cabi- net candidates is that the presidential race and U.S. Senate race are going to suck all the political life out of everything else on the ballot." Paul Grey of Fort Lauderdale is one of those voters who hasn't yet focused on the battle for the state Cabinet jobs. He's a registered Republican who has already decided to support George W.

Bush for president and McCollum for U.S. Senate. "But I havenjt made up my mind in the Cabinet races," said Grey, 41. "I'll probably start to focus on them in the next couple of weeks." Both Republican Cabinet candidates are expected to get strong support from Bush, whose popularity among Florida voters is rising. universities in iyy ana in uuu: 2000 Doctoral Research-Extensive Doctoral Research-Extensive Doctoral Research-Extensive Doctoral Research-Extensive Doctoral Research-Extensive Doctoral Research-Intensive Doctoral Research-Intensive university with rating A complete overhaul of the list due out in 2005 is aimed at making it more difficult for schools to use the list as a ranking system, although foundation officials (ton-cede they may be fighting a losing battle.

"It's been going on for years, and there's not much we can do about it, but we're trying to be at least a little less complicit with the idea that it's a pecking order," said Alexander McCormick, a senior scholar at the foundation. "We have a very complex'and very heterogeneous university system. The classifications are making no statement about equivalency across institutions in anyway." Putting too much weight on any ranking can be dangerous, even if your school does well, said Nathan W. Dean, vice provost at FAU. "When your school does well you're always tickled with the results, and I think we did well, but none of these rankings tell you anything about the quality of an individual program," Dean said.

"One university could be extremely good in physics and not quite as good in comparative literature. Which is better? Neither is better. They're just Karla Schuster can be reached at or 954-356-4515. actions in this case, I presented the facts to the State Attorney's Office and they did not feel that he was culpably negligent," Bogen said, adding she thought he should have been charged with manslaughter. But Assistant State Attorney David Gilbert, head of major crimes who is assigned to the case, nixed her request several months ago.

Gilbert had no comment on Monday. He would not reveal who signed off on the final decision not to charge a county employee. Rhonda Barnett, spokeswoman for Miami-Dade, said the filing of criminal charges fell on Fernandez Rundle's office. 1 "The State Attorney's Office looked at the evidence and they decided not to file charges. and we respect their decision," she said.

Hudek said on Monday he had no idea Bogen had pointed the finger at him. "I talked to her several times, but I was never jtold that I would be charged." Hudek said he inspected the bus bench in April 1998, six months before the accident. "What I saw at that time looked fine to me, but other work was done after I inspected the bench." His department no longer does bus bench inspections. The responsibility has returned to the building department, in compliance with the code. Alan Goldfarb, the attorney representing the boy's mother in her wrongful-death lawsuit, said he was unaware a county employee had also been strongly implicated in the boy's death.

For now, only those criminally charged are named in his lawsuit. He would not reveal the amount of money the boy's parents are seeking. "We are considering naming other defendants, and at this time, that could include the county." Luisa Yanez can be reached or 954-35-7920. staged a 25-hour sit-in at his Capitol suite in early January to protest One Florida. It slid again after more than 10,000 marchers flooded the Capitol on the Legislature's March 5 opening day to protest the plan.

By April, a Sun-Sentinel poll showed the governor's approval rating slipped to 54 percent. The same poll showed a majority of Florida voters favoring a constitutional guarantee that affirmative action programs would continue. It's not known what impact the Bush plan had on minority enrollment in the state university system, but last week the governor announced the state spent a record $1.03 billion with minority-owned businesses this year. "The governor withstood the crisis over affirmative action, and he's bouncing back," Kane said. "The voters have pretty much forgiven him." Linda Kleindienst can be reached at or 850-224-6214.

Florida voter Commissioner of education If the election were held today for state commissioner of education, whom would you vote for if it were between Charlie Crist, a Republican, and George Sheldon, a Democrat? Crist 35 Sheldon 29 know if'Hi-t 36 Commissioner of insurance If the election were held today for state commissioner of insurance, whom would you vote for if it were between Tom Gallagher, a Republican, and John Cosgrove, a Democrat? Cosgrove 25 Gallagher 54 :4 Don't I know 21 SOURCE: Florida Voter Staff graphic Still, Democrats are encouraged, especially that Sheldon, who entered the education commissioner's race only a week before filing, polls only six points behind Crist and that one out of three voters is still undecided in that race. "It's close, considering that George Sheldon is just out of the block in this race," said Tony Welch, a spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party. "I think this is going to be a referendum on education and education has been a Democratic issue." Linda Kleindienst can be reached or 850-224-6214. Attorney's Office asked the judge for a recommendation, and Ross gave a glowing one. "In my opinion, she has all the tools to make her an effective prosecutor," Ross wrote on official judicial letterhead.

"The lady is attractive and would present a good appearance before any jury, as well as maintain the proper image outside of the office." "On a personal side, I believe Ms. Holley has the proper values to be a credit to our profession," Ross' letter continued. She really has her 'head screwed on The letter, dated Oct. 26, 1990, was released Friday by the State Attorney's Office in response to a public records request. In the e-mail and interviews, Marilyn Tobkin said she doubted she could ever have a legal career.

"I'm supposed to be strong-minded and strong-willed and help other people get out of their problems, and I have to admit to my school and my community that I got myself involved in this?" Paula McMahon can be reached at or 954-356-4533. I Court records implicate: Miami-Dade in death SENATE CONTINUED FROM PAGE IB Meanwhile, the independent bid by maverick Democrat Willie Logan has stalled and remains only a blip on the voters' radar screen. Logan now has support of only 5 percent of likely voters down from 6 percent three months ago. Of the three candidates, Nelson gets the highest favorable rating. Nelson's support has grown as the undecided ranks have dwindled and McCollum lost his only Republican challenger, Education Commissioner Tom Gallagher.

Some Republicans who had supported Gallagher, considered the more moderate of the two, have switched their support to Nelson because of McCollum's conservative leanings including his leading role in the impeachment fight against President Clinton. The survey shows McCollum now getting votes from just more than half 59 percent of his own party. Nelson, however, grabs 76 percent of the Democratic votes and 22 percent of the Republicans. Nelson a former congressman from Melbourne, also holds a lead in most regions of the state, even outpolling McCollum 43 percent to 39 percent in Republican-heavy Central Florida. They run head-to-head only in North Florida, a region extending from Jacksonville to Pensacola, with each taking 25 percent of the vote.

"McCollum is still seen as a little ideologically extreme," said Kane. "The Panhandle is much more conservative. A lot of those Dixiecrats haven't voted for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964." But McCollum's staff expects the dynamics of the race to change, especially as the candidates take to the airwaves this fall. "We're running against someone who has been on a statewide Husband: Judge TOBKIN CONTINUED FROM PAGE IB the relationship she said she had with the judge when she interned with him as a judicial clerk. But she decided to speak about it because her husband made it public.

In the e-mail and subsequent interviews, Tobkin said that while she was working for Ross he showed up at her apartment several times, banged on the door and intimidated her into having sex with him. Later he told her that if she ever disclosed their relationship and it threatened his position, she would be hurting herself because it would be her word against his, she said in the e-mail. "If I went to my professors at law school with it, I had no way of knowing if they'd believe me and protect me, or if they would turn on me and kick me out of law school," Tobkin said in an interview on Monday. She repeatedly referred to the power Ross wields in the county's legal community. "Since there were no witnesses, I just simply went along with it," she said.

"Even if other women came forward and people believed me, it would still reflectfbadly on me and who was wife's interfered with divorce case DEATH CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18 he realized the mistake in the wake of the accident. The bus bench tragedy unfolded after the boy argued with his mother about doing his homework and sneaked out of his west Miami-Dade home. She reported him missing at 9 p.m., police said. The next morning, Cabrera's body was found lying next to the bus shelter at Southwest 108th Court and Coral Way. The boy's right foot had apparently come in contact with the bus bench, electrified by faulty wiring.

The boy was turned into a human conduit. The jolt of electricity killed him instantly, court records say. While the county remains clear of blame, Eller Media, along with former employee Victor Garcia, 40, who last worked on the bench, and Frederick Neville, 50, the company manager who supervised the bus benches, will be tried for manslaughter. The trial is set for Jan. 21.

Lead homicide detective Anne Bogen said she wanted Hudek to be tried, too. She said Hudek gave the shelter its final inspection and the go-ahead to Florida Power Light Co. to allow electricity to flow to it. This despite the fact Bogen said the bus bench had a cornucopia of problems, including a combination of electrical malfunctions, modifications, omissions, code violations and the improper installation of components. In short, the aluminum shelter was a tragedy waiting to happen.

To put a stamp of approval on the bus bench was criminal, according to three electrical experts Bogen consulted. In her deposition, an attorney for one of the defendants asked Bogen about Hudek's role. "Is there any reason Mr. Hudek was not charged with a crime?" asked Mark Seiden, who is representing Garcia. "When reviewing Ir.

Hudek's hurt future possibilities of marrying. I was already a single mother and divorced." 4 But she said she told her husband, Donald Tobkin, about the relationship after they were married in 1993. She sent the e-mail to her husband's lawyer to explain why he refused to attend counseling ordered by Judge Lawrence Korda, at which Tobkin thought he would have to talk about the Ross relationship. A copy of that e-mail became public last week when without her knowledge, she said Tob-kin's husband included it in papers he filed with the appellate court in an attempt to avoid the counseling sessions. The appellate court is allowing Donald Tobkin to forego the sessions, at least until his accusations that Ross might have tried to influence Korda can be investigated.

Marilyn Tobkin, a stay-at-home mother of three who is a trained attorney and nurse, filed for divorce against her husband in April, around the same time police filed a misdemeanor domestic violence charge against Donald Tobkin, a doctor and medical malpractice attorney. A police report, court documents and a court transcript detail Marilyn Tobkin's allegations that her husband hit her in her recently sutured abdomen because she refused to file a malpractice complaint against her physician. It was the latest of a number of domestic violence allegations she has made against her husband, which include a claim that he pushed her down steps and denied her medical attention when she was late in her pregnancy with one of the couple's three children. The couple reconciled and Marilyn Tobkin, formerly known as Marilyn Byrd Holley, tried to dismiss the criminal complaint and the divorce case. Prosecutors had to drop the criminal case last month because they could not locate Marilyn Tobkin, the sole witness against her husband.

Tobkin said the sexual contact with Ross ended around the time she got seriously involved with her husband. She said after that, Ross phoned her a number of times. "He kept calling me and calling me to remind me to keep my mouth shut," she said. In the fall of 1990, when Tobkin was applying for a job at the Broward State Attorney's Office, she listed Ross as a reference. The State.