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The 11 state institutions of the State University System of Florida received a record number of graduate school applications for the fall semester.  54,065 applied to graduate programs this fall.  That compares with 47,674 who applied in fall 2006, an increase of 13.4 percent.  53 percent were accepted in 2007.  In 2006, the acceptance rate was 56 percent.  State leaders believe the economic downturn is partly responsible.

“We have more prepared students competing for the same or fewer number of seats, said Chancellor Mark Rosenberg of the State University System of Florida.  “So we’re spending a lot of time to figure out here at the Board of Governors how we can grow our access to our students without diminishing the quality.  They need quality because they need to be competitive, not only on I-95 and on I-10, but globally.”

For the fall semester, overall enrollment in the state’s 11 public universities went up 2 percent, to 299,570 students.

Thinking about buying an animal for Christmas? The state says think again.

Here’s the audio from this mornings interview with Terry McElroy at the Department of Agriculture. We’ll have more later today.

Hear the Interview Here

Zach Bonner started collecting water for the victims of Hurricane Charley when he was six. Today he walked the last mile of a 280 mile journey to shine a light on the problem of homeless children. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, you haven’t heard the last from this amazing youngster.

Here It Here

It is a journey that started 23 days ago in Tampa. Zach Bonner has walked all of the 280 miles to the capital for a cause. Finding help for the 20 to 40 thousand kids that are homeless on any given day in Florida. He says no children deserve to be homeless.

“It’s been really tiring and exhausting,” Bonner said.”But whenever I get really tired I just think of all the homeless kids that have to live through all the bad weather.”

Zach turned ten on the journey. His mother Laurie says keeping up with him is a full time job.

“He started when he was six, when Hurricane Charley hit,” Laurie Bonner said. “He wanted to collect water from the neighborhood and he kept going for four months.”

On stage, at the end of his journey, he speaks like a pro, glancing only briefly at prepared index cards.

“I do what I do because it makes me happy,” Zach Bonner said. “It makes me happier than any other thing that I do.”

Zach doesn’t lack for goals. Next thing on his list: dinner for a thousand families hurt by Katrina. And then next year, building a house for the homeless.

Some might call him amazing. Others committed. He is certainly an individual wise beyond his years…with a heart that knows no bounds.

Zach believes you can blame a lot of people for being homeless, but says you can’t blame children. As Mike Told us, Zach is planning to walk from Tallahassee to Atlanta next year to raise awareness for the homeless issue.

The high cost of apartment rental, fueled in part by a large student population, is one of the leading causes of homelessness in the area. Kay Freeman of the Big Bend Homeless Coalition says those making minimum wage have long workdays to make ends meet.

“In Tallahassee, in order to afford an apartment, you need to earn about $13.03 an hour because of the rental costs,” Freeman said. “That’s pretty tough. Let’s say you’re a single woman and you have two children, if you’re earning minimum wage, you’re working 97 hours a week to just pay for your apartment, let alone food and utilities and childcare and that kind of thing. And then what happens if you get sick?”

The lack of health insurance is also a leading contributor to becoming homeless .  When those living on the edge of solvency get sick because they have no health care, they lose their jobs and apartments and begin a spiral down.

For the last 23 days, Zach Bonner, his mother and sister, have been walking from Tampa to Tallahassee. Zach came up with the idea for the 280 mile journey because he wants to draw attention to homeless children. His mother Laurie says he has been an activist since he was six.

“He started when he was six, when Hurricane Charley hit. He wanted to collect water from the neighborhood and he kept going for four months,” Laurie Bonner said. “And then he worked with Extreme Home Makeover, collecting money for one of the families that they were building a house for and then after that is when he got the idea that he wanted to help homeless people, build houses for them. I said well, maybe scale it down a little bit and we came up with helping homeless kids.”

In addition to walking, Zach has been giving out backpacks to homeless children. The backpacks contain personal toiletry items and usually a book. On any given day in Florida, there are between 20 and 40 thosuand homeless children.

Ten year-old Zach Bonner walked 280 miles from Tampa to Tallahassee because one in five homeless in Florida are children. On any given day, there are 20 to 40 thousand homeless kids in the state. Two factors that lead to being homeless are the high cost of renting an apartment for a single mother and health care issues. Kay Freemen of the Big Bend Homeless Coalition says the quicker the coalition can intervene, the less likely someone is to remain homeless.

“Frequently, what happens is that someone in the family becomes ill or they lose their job or there’s a lay-off,” Freeman says. “Then they can’t pay their rent, they can’t pay their mortgage and the next thing you know, they’re homeless. The chances are it’s their first episode of homelessness in their lives. So what we know locally is the longer someone is homeless, the more likely they are to remain that way.”

Estimates on the number of homeless are hard to come up with, but various reports have pegged the number in Florida as low as 55 thousand to as high as 200 thousand.

Zack Bonner just completed a 280 mile walk from Tampa to Tallahassee to shine a light on the problem of homeless children. The state says there are anywhere from 20 to 40 thousand homeless kids in the state.

We have sound with him, as he was walking his last mile. Also, there is sound with his Mom, Laurie Bonner as well as Big Bend Homeless Coalition Director Kay Freeman. Sound is in that order.Hear it Here: Walking for the Homeless Kids

As you sit down to enjoy your Thanksgiving meal, you may notice that it cost more to put the food on your table. Rising energy costs are driving up food prices. But as Mike Vasilinda tells us, those cost are also squeezing the farmers who produce the food.

It’s feed time for the beef cattle on the Spears-Wilkerson farm. The land has been in the same family for more than 100 years.

“This land has always been used for cows and pasture,” farmer Lovelle Wilkerson said.

The Wilkersons have 30 head of cattle here; another 100 on two other farms. A cow is usually ready to go to market in 7 to 9 months and it can fetch 575 dollars at auction.

Rising energy costs are driving up the cost of fertilizer and that means it costs more to feed the cattle. The fertilizer the family uses is nitrogen based. It’s price is expected to jump by a third next year.

“Is our food going up a third? If a farmer don’t get paid that third, there’s going to be less of them in business,” Bob Wilkerson said.

It’s not just beef. Government figures say it’s produce, it’s milk., it’s poultry. All up 23 percent in the last year. All because of higher fuel prices.

Despite the challenges, the Wilkersons love what they do.

“It’s harder physical work but you don’t notice it because you’re working for yourself,” Bob Wilkerson said. “ You don’t worry about the time too much, because like I said you’re working for yourself.”

And while family farms are dying out, Bob and Lovelle Wilkerson have hope for the future of their farm. One of their grandsons will likely take it over…but not until he finishes college.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services designated the Spears-Wilkerson farm a Century Pioneer Family Farm.

The holidays are often a time people who should know better end up behind the wheel after having too much to drink.  Don’t risk hurting yourself or someone else. Two to go is a program of the AAA motor clubs. Brenda Smith of triple A says  From now until New Years day, you can get a free ride home for both you and your car.

“If you’ve imbibed too much to drink, you can simply call the AAA, 1-800-888-HELP,” AAA Spokesperson Brenda Smith said. ” We will dispatch a driver and a wrecker to tow the driver and the vehicle home at no charge. That’s offered to the public as well as AAA members. ”

The number to call for a free tow is 1800.888.HELP

Florida A & M says it has asked the US Attorney to take over the investigation into grade changes. Here is the full release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   Contact:        Sharon Saunders
November 21, 2007                                       (850) 599-3413

The high price of gas is not keeping holiday travelers off the road this year, but it may have an impact on what else they buy. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the high prices are also sending more people to pawn shops.

Attorney General Bill McCollum spent the day in a Tallahassee high school warning students about the dangers of cyberspace. McCollum recently added 50 people to a internet task force. Their only job is to track down people on the internet propositioning kids for sex. The Attorney General’s message to the students…be skeptical..be safe.

“There are sex predators out there who want to go after them and they give out information about themselves personally, their location, things about themselves that will entice a predator, give them an opportunity,” McCollum said. “So we go in and tell the kids what they need to know about the dangers of the internet, that who they may be speaking to might be a 40 year-old man instead of a 12 year-old or a 14 year-old or a 15 year-old girl or boy.”

Parents who want to know more should check out the web site www.safeflorida.net/safesurf.

Another lawsuit has been filed against the state for moving its primary to January 29^th. This one is from Florida Democratic National Committeeman Jon Ausman. Ausman contends that Florida voters are not being equally protected because democrats stand to have no delegates at their convention, while the republicans are willing to allow half of the delegates selected.

“Florida is entitled to four percent of all the delegates, roughly, at the Republican national convention and the Democratic national convention,” Ausman said. “For Republicans, they’re going to have two percent, which is under representation of our people. And the Democratic side will have zero percent, which is a gross under representation. That’s no representation whatsoever.”

Ausman also calls the disenfranchisement a infringement on free speech.

Governor Charlie Crist is taking a wait and see attitude with the law suit filed against the gaming pact the governor entered into with the Seminole tribe. Yesterday, House Speaker Marco Rubio asked the state Supreme Court to Invalidate the agreement. Today Crist said he respects the speaker, but says he believes he is on strong legal ground.

“I think there’s a 40 day window for the federal government to act,” Crist said. “We’re reviewing it right now, as you might expect, from a legal prospective and I would encourage you to stay tuned.”

The House Speaker is opposed to the Seminole agreement. He is also considered a potential challenger to Crist in the 2010 GOP Primary.

Governor Charlie Crist unveiled a new state website today that he says will help Floridians communicate with their state government. The site, www.FloridaPerforms.com , will have red and green up and down arrows to indicate how Florida is doing in selected areas. For categories where progress is flat, a sideways yellow arrow will be used. The governor says citizens will also be able to communicate with state agencies, offer suggestions, and criticism.

“I believe you cannot manage what you cannot measure. That is abundantly clear to me,” Crist said. “With input from our bosses, we’ll do a better job for the people of Florida. And that’s the purpose of this website. To do better, to work harder, to be more accountable, to be more responsible. And to provide them with the services that they expect, deserve and should have.”

The Governor did acknowledge that some of the statistics being used to create measurement are of the state’s own choosing, which may result in higher rankings, such as graduation rates, than are recognized nationally, but says the governor, “We can do better”