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A guarantee that allows community college students a spot in a State University may be broken. The agreement may not survive the latest budget cuts. As Whitney Ray tells us, community college students looking to transfer to a state university may be out of luck.

Hear it Here: Community College Guarantee May Be In Jeopardy

Admission to a state university is a promise that could soon be broken. The Articulation Agreement all but guarantees community college graduates a spot at one of Florida’s state universities, but the agreement may not survive the latest budget cuts. The Board of Governors made some tough decisions to meet the demands of a projected 147 million dollar budget cut. Board members voted to raise tuition. They also decided to admit fewer students. Chancellor Mark Rosenberg said the cuts will limit space and staff.

“We can’t have students in the university where there are no seats and no faculty,” Rosenberg said. “That’s taking their money and they’re not getting a value.”

Students at Tallahassee Community College are outraged.

“We’ve worked hard here to get there and that’s kind of the reason for the community college, to help the people who couldn’t get in before,” said Sophomore Brandon Dalrymple

About half of the students in Florida’s state universities transferred from community colleges.

Florida’s University System may soon take extra measures to protect students. Last September, a University of South Florida student died of meningitis. USF changed its policy on vaccinating against the disease to require all on-campus students to get shots. Now, the Board of Governors will decide whether or not to make off-campus students get vaccinated as well.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Tallahassee Community College Sophomore Joshua Tarf. “I was on crew at Leon and somebody on the team got meningitis and I got scared because it’s highly contagious.”

“I’m kind of torn because I’m not living in a dorm,” TCC student Michelle Campbell said. “I shouldn’t be obligated, but at the same time I don’t want to be the one infecting or get infected by someone who’s not living in the dorms.”

If the final measure is approved it would go into effect in July.

Voters in 14 counties will be using electronic voting machines for the last time on Tuesday. The machines were scrapped by lawmakers after problems arose in the last election in Sarasota County. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, officials are hoping the machines’ last day on the job is uneventful.

Hear it Here: Can You Trust Tuesday’s Outcome?

The deal to toss electronic voting machines was sealed when 18,000 votes weren’t cast or mysteriously disappeared in Sarasota County’s 2006 congressional election. Last spring, lawmakers and the governor made replacing the machines a top priority.

“The have made sure that the most precious thing we do in democracy, the most cherished right that we have as Americans, that we have integrity in that process in the state of Florida,” said Gov. Charlie Crist in May 2007.

Sarasota has already dumped their machines. 14 other counties still use them. Half of Tuesday’s voters will still cast their ballot
electronically. Secretary of State Kurt Browning expects the day to be uneventful.

“We need to do whatever it takes to restore voter confidence,” Browning said. “And if it’s having a piece of paper, i.e. the ballot, then that’s what we need to do and that’s what we’ve done.”

By the primary in August, every county will be using optical scan systems similar to these. Voters will fill in ovals with a pen and
insert their paper ballots in a computer to be counted. Charlie Crist says be patient, even if it doesn’t come soon enough for everyone.

“Well you want to make progress as quickly as you can, but not too quickly that you might not do it right,” said Gov. Crist. “So having it in November, the way we really want it to be, forever, I think is prudent.”

Some electronic machines will be used through 2010 to help disabled voters before being totally scrapped.

While the machines are being scrapped, many counties have not fully paid for the old touch screens yet. The state estimates $32 million is still owed on the soon to be scrapped systems.

More than 500,000 voters have already cast a ballot for Tuesday’s primary. The Secretary of State’s office says that 361,000 people have taken advantage of early voting. Another 211,000 have already mailed in their absentee ballots. Secretary of State Kurt Browning is predicting a higher turnout for this election cycle compared to 2004.

“I think that it’s a convenience,” Browning said. “I think that’s really the only reason people vote is because they can vote on their time schedule and not some given date in a 12 hour period.  I don’t think it’s really been proven that it doesn’t do anything for voter turnout. These people that vote early are going to be the ones who voted on January 29th. But I do think that with the numbers we’re seeing that we will probably meet or exceed the 20 percent turnout that we had in 2004 for the presidential preference primary.”

Early voting ends Saturday.

Half of the states voters will be using electronic voting machines on Tuesday, even though the state has scrapped the devices for the fall. Remember the missing 18 thousand votes in Sarasota?  The state says the problem is perception and that everything will be fine come Tuesday night. Hear our interview with Kurt Browning here.

For the first time in state history Florida’s public universities could cut enrollment. The Board of Governors met today to discuss a proposed budget cut of 147 million dollars. Whitney Ray tells us how the cuts will affect current students and teens waiting to be accepted into any of Florida’s 11 public universities.

Hear it here: Universities Facing Cutbacks

Facing a second round of budget cuts in less than a year, an already struggling University System’s Governors met to discuss how to make ends meet.

“It’s very difficult to compete with the great systems of this country when we don’t have the financial backing to do that,” said Board of Governors Chairperson Carolyn Roberts.

Florida already has the worst student to faculty ratio in the nation, with one tenured professor to every 30 students. The proposed cuts would affect both. Faculty members would likely be laid off and fewer students would be accepted into Florida Universities. Governor Charlie Crist has already voiced his opposition to another tuition increase. University presidents think a tuition hike may be the only option.
University of Florida President Bernie Machen fears that if something isn’t done his school will have to cut programs.

“We are being squeezed to the point where we are going to have to stop doing things unless we find a way to get more money,” said Machen.

Despite the Governor’s opposition, the board voted to pursue an eight percent tuition increase next fall. The increase discourages FAMU Freshman Jazmine Bowman.

“I’m already in debt,” said Bowman. “Raising tuition even more would just cause more debt.”

Governor Charlie Crist remains on the most popular Governor’s of recent times, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us he is staking much of his political capital on the property tax vote that is on Tuesday’s ballot.

Here it here: Crist Popularity Riding on Election

By most accounts, Governor Charlie Crist works a room better than just about any politician. His approval ratings are astronomical….but he is betting much of his political capital against powerful foes on a vote to cut property taxes.

Crist is the lone spokesman for Yes on 1. Lawmakers who put it on the ballot have stayed in the background or walked away. The only Democrat elected to a state office quietly opposes the tax amendment. A spokesman for the Democratic party says Crist’s credibility is on the line.

“He could be in some trouble, I think,” Democratic party spokesman Mark Bubriski said.

Even Republican insiders are willing to admit the governor has staked a lot of his reputation on what happens Tuesday.

Two politically savvy voters split on what affect the governor will have on the tax vote. Republican Steve Seibert who worked for Bush, says Crist didn’’t sway him one way or another.

“No. Absolutely. But I respect Crist immensely,” Seibert said.

Mark Neimeiser lobbies for a union and believes Crist wins no matter the outcome of the vote.

“He’s out there pitching and he keeps pitching and people will like that,” Neimeiser said.

So we asked the governor what he thought.

“I have no idea,” Crist said. “I don’’t know. But what’s riding on Tuesday is…”

And he immediately pitched his pet cause. Win or lose, Wednesday will come and Crist will still be governor.

60 percent of voters have to approve Amendment 1.

Ten days after Allstate Insurance was ordered to stop selling insurance until it turned over documents, some of the documents are in state hands. The company went to court and was given the go ahead to keep selling new policies, but state regulators have appealed. The same day of the appeal, Allstate turned over between 10 and 12 thousand pages know as the McKinsey Documents. The Documents allegedly paint a sour picture of the company’’s business practices. State Insurance Spokesman Ed Domansky says for now, the documents will remain shielded from the public.

“The McKinsey documents right now are part of an ongoing investigation so they would not be public documents,” Domansky said. “And we’ve also been told that they most likely have labeled them as trade secret. So in that case, they would not be available at this point to the public.”

What do you hope to learn from them?

“We’re hoping to see what’s in there,” Domansky said. “I mean, one of the things to keep in mind is that the investigation is also looking at Allstate’s business practices. So, those documents may have things in there that are relevant to what the commissioner needs to see about how they are handling claims and how they are conducting business in Florida.”

Allstate already owes the state of Missouri 2.5 million for refusing to turn over the documents there. Florida regulators say it wasn’t until they took drastic action that the company started complying with their subpoena. The documents were due in state hands January 16^th.

A Clearwater woman who claims she was refused service in a bar may be the first test case of a new state law. In July, lawmakers made it a crime for bars to refuse to serve non alcoholic beverages to designated drivers. The one catch is that patrons must tell the bartender they are a designated driver. Cindy Hill is the chief of the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages for the state, and says if true, the bar could be punished.

“Theoretically, if an administrative case were filled, which is what we’d be looking at against licensing, there are violations that could be sanctioned,” Hill said. “And in this particular case, if our investigation proved that this in fact did occur and was a violation of law, your looking at a first offense of a thousand dollars.”

The law was created after a bar in Pasco county threw out a designated driver and refused to serve non alcoholic drinks.

Top Florida Democrats are making a last-minute plea to the party’s presidential candidates with the primary just days away.  The leading contenders signed a pledge not to campaign in Florida and the state lost its Democratic delegates because the primary was moved to January 29th. As Chris Casquejo tells us, the state’s elected Democrats say two days of campaigning are better than none.

Hear it here: Top Florida Democrats Ask For Forgiveness

Democratic presidential hopefuls signed a pledge not to campaign here after the national party penalized the state for its early primary. But now the top elected Democrat in the state, CFO Alex Sink, is asking for forgiveness, and for the candidates to campaign here after the South Carolina primary on Saturday.

“They understand what’s at stake here in Florida,” Sink said.  “The power of the media, and the opportunity to get their message out about their agenda.”

National party rules allow 4 states to hold nominating contests before February 5th.  Florida is not one of them.  Voters say the ban on Democrats campaigning hurts the state.

“It’s not doing a lot of good to get the voters involved, let’s put it that way,” said voter Bob McGuire.  “If you feel like you’re vote doesn’t count now, it counts even less.  And that’s not a good message to send to voters.”

In this case, even the state’s top Republican agrees with Democrats.

“My preference for my fellow Floridians, regardless of party, is that they have the opportunity to see candidates up close,” said Gov. Charlie Crist.  “I think it’s a shame that they’ve made this ruling and I wish they were here.”

To punish the state for the early primary, Florida was stripped of its delegates at this summer’s Democratic national convention.  The GOP is losing half its delegates over the early primary date.

The Democrats will hold their nominating convention in Denver in August. The GOP will pick its candidate in Minneapolis in September.
 

Four powerful groups are now aligned against the property tax amendment on next Tuesdays ballot. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, Florida’s police chiefs joined the fray today.

Hear it here: Police Chiefs Join Tax Battle

The firefighters and the cities were the first to say no to amendment one, when Bob Carver of the Professional Firefighters came out against the amendment January 8th.
“IF you can’t build a new fire station, your response to the emergency is going to be delayed.” Carver told a news conference.

The teachers union leader, Andy Ford, wasn’t far behind. “Programs will have to be curtailed. We’re looking at layoffs in some areas.” says Ford.

And now Florida’s police chiefs are asking you to say no. “The worst fear is that we cannot provide the level of service that we’re used to providing for the communities and that the citizens of the state are expecting.” says Gulf Breeze Police Chief Peter Paulding

Opponents say their polls are unreliable and all over the place. And the outcome may rest on who turns out at the polls. The governor says his tracking polls show support hovering right at 60 percent.

“Vote yes on one…” says the latest ad. With a new TV spot on the air, money is also becoming an issue in the final hours, with both sides lashing out against each other. Karen Woodall of Florida is Our Home took aim at the Governor “The proponents, led by the governor, have been bombarding the airwaves, running around the state in state planes.”

The governor’s chief booster, Senator Mike Fasano, is taking aim at the League of Cities. “They are advocating and asking people to vote against a tax cut. But they’re using, not their own money, but they’re using tax payer money and that’s wrong, ” Says Fasano.

Ironically, both sides also say no matter what happens Tuesday, the vote is only the beginning of tax reform. Both sides of the tax debate are counting on the Tax and Budget Reform Commission, whose report is due in May, to make recommendations on how to make the tax system more fair.

State prosecutors and law officials are warning that crime could rise if they are forced to cut their budgets because of falling state revenue.  Tampa alone could see a projected $1.2 million in cuts.  State Attorney Mark Ober and others are concerned that the shortage could mean layoffs for an already overburdened system.

“That’s trouble,” Ober said. “That means people are going to home and not work and that meansthat the caseloads are going to increase.  They’re already at a record high. And the only thing that can happen to public safety if that occurs, and I speak for the state attorney and the other circuits generically, the only thing that can happen if that occurs is bad.”
 
Mark Lunsford, the father of child murder victim Jessica Lunsford, says his daughter’s case, and the success he had passing the get tough on sex offender legislation is an example of how citizens can make a difference by speaking out.

“I do it because I’m mad,” Lunsford said.  “You pissed me off and so now I’m going to come at you and I’m going to fight with you. And I found a way to be a vigilante and it’s okay. You be a vigilante with the legislators and you can get away with it and you can say the things that need to be heard.”

State Attorney’s offices across Florida have already lost 2% in funding this year, or about $400,000.

An increasingly bleak revenue outlook for the state has legislators wary of any proposed bills that ask for money. But increasing gang violence may be cause for opening the state purse.

Gang violence would be considered organized crime under legislation introduced in Tallahassee on Wednesday. The expanded definition would allow more arrests, but up police costs. Sponsor William Snyder of Stuart says it would be money well spent.

“The infrastructure and public safety are one of the primary reasons government exists. We have to protect the citizens of Florida and my message will be as we work this bill that we really have no reasonable alternative but to commit the funds to fight this problem. That we just have to do.”

The bill proposes to increase penalties for s convicted gang member who fails to register with law enforcement once released from prison. It will also give life sentences to gang leaders. The hope is to reduce and stop the growth of gangs.

More than 20,000 people in Florida have signed up for the state’s discount drug card program.  Governor Charlie Crist rolled out the program a month ago.   He says users have had more than 3,000 prescriptions filled and saved more than $58,000.  More than half of the people who have signed up are older than 60.  The governor hinted that his administration is about to do more for the state’s 4 million people without health insurance.

“The uninsured in the state of Florida need help,” he said.  “This provides help.  And we want to continue to do that.  Hopefully, during the session we’ll be able to roll out some more initiatives in the health-care arena to do just that.”

To find out if you are eligible and sign up for the card, go to www.FloridaDiscountDrugCard.com.

Florida ranks second only to California in the number of homes in foreclosure.  This afternoon, the state attorney general filed a lawsuit against a South Florida based company, National Foreclosure Management, that is accused of defrauding 80 homeowners out of $1.7 million in equity.  As Chris Casquejo tells, lawmakers are promising to get tough on mortgage fraud.

Hear it here: Lawmakers Target Mortgage Fraud

Florida had 245,000 homes in foreclosure during 2007.  Attorney Marc Taps represents about 30 homeowners in mortgage fraud cases in North Florida.  He says dishonest companies charge sky-high consulting fees, then provide little or nothing in return to homeowners who turn to them as a last resort.  One 76-year-old man got scammed in a practice called equity skimming.

“They got an inflated appraisal of $180,000 in a home that no one would pay that much for,” Taps said.  “They closed this loan at McDonald’s.”

The FBI ranks Florida as one of the top 10 mortgage fraud hotspots in the nation.  State leaders say the problem is reaching crisis levels in the Miami and Tampa areas.

Two lawmakers are sponsoring legislation that would protect homeowners when they deal with foreclosure rescue companies.

Under the proposal, homeowners would have 5 days to cancel any agreements.  They have no grace period now.

“They get all their information over the phone, collect their money,” said Rep. Clay Ford, a Republican from Gulf Breeze.  “And then they’ll call the loan company, try to negotiate with them.  If they can’t, fine.  The homeowner’s still lost 25 hundred in consulting fees.”

14 states already have similar mortgage fraud laws in place, another 5 are considering legislation.