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The biggest casualties of Tropical Storm Fay could be the state’s fruit and vegetable crops. Fay is dumping rain and flooding fields across central Florida. Some tomato plants are underwater. Sixty mile per hour winds are also snapping orange and grapefruit tree limbs. Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture said water logged branches and soaked fruit could ruin as much as 20 percent of the state’s citrus crops.

“The amount of fruit that’s been reported on these trees and now it’s sucked up all that water and you’re going to have some damaged limbs and the fruit is probably going to snap some of those limbs. You’re going to have a percentage of loss. We just don’t know what that is yet,” said Bronson.

Widespread damage could force farmers to raise prices on tomatoes and oranges.

Emergency managers continue to warn Floridians to be cautious as Tropical Storm Fay makes its way up the East Coast. The storm has already spawned 6 tornados. One man was injured earlier this week while trying to kite surf in the 60 mile an hour winds. Governor Charlie Crist is asking Floridians to continue tracking the storm and to keep their hurricane supplies close by. Experts expect Fay to continue north along the coast before heading west across the panhandle later this week. Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate said people living in the panhandle need to keep a close eye on the storm.

“If I live up here in the Big Bend area or in North Florida, What I’d really be looking for right now would be getting my plan ready, I’m monitoring the storm and if the storm comes here what am I doing and what do I need to get ready for,” said Fugate.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is connecting one death to the storm. A Highlands County man was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning while testing a generator in his garage.

Governor Charlie Crist could dip into rainy day funds to help plug a higher than expected budget shortfall. Last week economists estimated a state revenue decline of 1 point 4 billon dollars more than previous predictions. Lawmakers gave Crist permission to tap a billion dollars in reserves to balance the budget. Today Crist told reporters he’s looking at all his options to keep the state’s bank account out of the red.

“You’d rather not have to reduce, but we’ll do what we need to have a balanced budget. Again I want to emphasis we’ll have another estimate in November. Legislature comes back next March, and I’m very grateful to the House and the Senate for giving the executive branch the authority to deal with this so they don’t have to spend more money to come back and do a special session,” said Crist.

Over the past two years lawmakers have cut 6 billion dollars in government spending. Economists say the decline in state revenues could continue for another year.

The State Attorney General’s Office is investigating more than 60 reports of business owners jacking up prices trying to make a quick buck off Tropical Storm Fay. As Whitney Ray tells us, most of the complaints are about gas prices, but some say they’re seeing water prices skyrocket as well.

Hear it Here: Price Gougers Look to Cash in on Fay

Kim D’Amico gets paid to ask questions. Kim answers the state’s price gouging hotline. Monday she and her co-workers received twice as many calls as normal. The common complaint, some gas stations are trying to make a quick buck off Tropical Storm Fay.

“A lot of the complaints we’ve been getting are just gas stations that are only selling premium,” said D’Amico.

It’s not just gas people are calling about, reports of price gouging on goods like water and batters are also coming into the call center.

State law forbids business owners from drastically raising prices during or after a storm. Call center director Katherine Pennington said investigators will be busy after Fay passes.

“We have had a couple of calls about the price of water going up in a few places. We don’t know yet if that will actually constitute price gouging. Our Economic Crimes unit will do that investigation,” said Pennington.

While Fay may pass with few victims, business owners may try and claim a few of their own, but if they get caught, the fines could cost them more money than any storm damage they may have suffered.

Thousands are without power and Governor Charlie Crist has already visited Key West and Naples in the wake of Tropical Storm Fay. Damage is minimal, and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, that’s good news for your pocketbook.

As Fay inched across Florida, the state’s emergency operations center was buzzing.

“Most of the damage has really been limited to the heavy rainfall and not really structural damage,” State Emergency Director Craig Fugate said.

The lack of major damage is good news for every insurance customer in Florida.

Fay is the first storm to make landfall in Florida since the state took on 20 billion dollars in insurance risk.

Every policy holder is already paying for the storms of 2004 and 5. Insurance agents are worried a big storm could end up with claims being paid late and costing everyone more.

“Our fear is that our policy holders are going to face assessments because the state organizations are not well-capitalized,” Bob Lotane said.

Earlier this year CFO Alex Sink tried to get state lawmakers to reduce the state’s risk, but GOP leaders said no.

“And at the end of the day, we Floridians will be paying taxes for 30 years of pretty significant amounts to be able to cover those losses,” Sink said.

The ever-optimistic Charlie Crist noted costs are coming down and more companies are in business.

“You know, the fact that we have about 30 new businesses that have entered the Florida market in the past year and a half is testament to that,” Crist said.

Still the fact remains every Floridian could be on the hook for thousands of dollars if the big one hits anytime soon.

The governor has declared a state of emergency, the National Guard is on standby, and power companies are gearing up for Tropical Storm Fay. As Whitney Ray tells us, emergency workers are preparing for the worst and praying for the best.

Hear it Here: Bracing For The Storm

Governor Charlie Crist awoke to news that Florida’s two year hurricane dry spell could soon end.

“The National Hurricane Center expects that Fay will strengthen today and could reach a category one hurricane in the 24 hours or so,” said Crist.

The governor and emergency workers spent the day talking to city and county leaders in South and Central Florida, coordinating safety plans. About a hundred people crowded into the state’s Emergency Operation Center, watching storm models on huge plasma screens.

This will be the first real test for the newly remodeled operation center that was renovated in the spring. Twice as many people can work from the new EOC, but it was the Governor’s call to put the National Guard on alert.

“We’ve got 500 who are on duty and we have 9,000 at our disposal,” said Crist.

The troops are waiting on the predicted fringe. They’ll move in after the storm. Missions Coordinator Telisa Runyan is helping health workers gather nurses and supplies.

“I love it. It’s an adrenaline rush and the best feeling is to know you’ve helped someone in need,” said Runyan.

Whether or not the help will be needed will be left up to the weather. The state has activated its Emergency Information Line. People can call for the latest information on Tropical Storm Fay, including direction to shelters and health services. The number is 1-800-342-3557.

The first day of the school year for some Florida students was spent at home. Classes were cancelled in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties today because of the threat of Tropical Storm Fay. Florida Atlantic University closed its campus at noon today. Commissioner of Education Eric Smith said school superintends across the state will be monitoring Fay to see if they need to cancel classes on Tuesday.

“We anticipate many of the school districts will be making decisions this afternoon and early this evening about tomorrow’s status. Again we encourage all parents to stay tuned to their local news agencies for those announcements as they come forward,” said Smith.

More than a dozen school districts have in South and Central Florida have already decided they won’t be holding classes tomorrow.

Eight counties shut down early voting sights in preparation for Tropical Storm Fay. Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Lee counties will close early voting locations tomorrow. Election supervisors closed polls in order to keep voters off the roads. More than 120,000 Floridians have already early voted. Secretary of State Kurt Browning said election officials are watching the weather.

“We’ll continue to monitor and work with those counties and monitor the progress of early voting and we’ll suspend when we need to, to ensure the safety of Florida’s votes,” said Browning.

Election officials say closing the polls for a few days should not affect turnout. Early voting ends August 23rd. The primary is August 26th.

The war between the Office of Insurance Regulation and Allstate is over for now. State regulators reached an agreement with the insurer. This is good news for Allstate customers who will see a drop in rates, and more policies written. Allstate got in trouble after they asked the state for a rate hike last October and then failed to provide regulators with documents they subpoenaed. After several hearings the insurer was band from writing new business in Florida for about a week. Since then Allstate has been more cooperative with regulators. To make amends the insurer has agreed first of all to pony up 5 million dollars in fines, and secondly they’ll write 100,000 new policies in Florida over the next three years.

“50,000 must be homeowners policy, 50,000 can be condos, renters or other residential policies. Item number three Allstate agrees to further reduce their insurance rates across the board by an additional 5.6 percent,” said Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarthy.

Allstate has 30 days to pay their fines and lower rates and a September 15th administration hearing with the Insurer has been cancelled.

State economists are predicting more revenue losses for the current budget year. Florida’s number one in job losses, but As Whitney Ray tells, the housing market is doing better than predicted.

Hear it Here: State Revenues Drop, Home Sales On The Rise

Real Estate Agent Penny Herman’s optimism is starting to pay off. Penny said home prices in Florida are stabilizing. Sales for April through June out paced the first three months of 2008 by almost 40 percent.

“The world was lying low the first quarter then April, May, June, July hit and it’s just been great. People are realizing now is the time to buy,” said Herman.

Despite the spike in sales for the 2nd quarter, homes sales are down 6 percent when compared to the same time last year. Economists meet at the Capitol Friday to find out how much a drop in consumer spending will affect state revenues. Since he lost his job as a cook four months ago Adam Sears is spending less.

“They couldn’t afford to keep as many employees anymore, they had too many employees, they even had to stop opening for a day,” said Sears.

Adam spent the day job searching. He’s not alone. Nearly a hundred thousand Floridians lost their jobs last year. Until they find jobs state revenues will keep falling. Numbers released today show Florida leads all state in job losses. The state’s unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent, the highest jobless rate in Florida in more than 13 years.

For some kids in Florida getting the checkups and vaccinations required to go back to school is a struggle. Hundreds of thousands of children in Florida don’t have health coverage. As Whitney Ray tells us, a state program providing low cost health insurance is available for all Floridians, but some families still don’t know about it.

Hear it Here: State Offers Assistance For Back-to-School Check Ups

Tamara Campbell and Madison Geohegan are track athletes. Their mom Charlotte wants to make sure they’re ready to start the school year running.

“My children are needing physicals. I’ve come to have their bodies examined and their eyes looked at,” said Charlotte.

Pediatrician Judy St. Petery examines Tamara’s eyes and throat. St. Petery says it’s important for kids to have yearly check ups.

“We look in pediatrics at developmental issues. Does your child have any special needs like speech or hearing, we’ll look at is their growth normal. Can they hear? Can they see? Cause you’ve got to be able to do that to see the black board and learn,” said Petery.

But before kindergarten or 7th grade students can get in the classroom, they have to have several immunization shots. This year a 2nd chickenpox shot is required for kindergarteners. Some have a harder time paying for their shots than others.

There are more than 750,000 kids in Florida who don’t have health care coverage. A state program to provide health insurance to kids based on their parents’ income has been expanded to cover all uninsured children. Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink chairs the board that helps families sign up for KidCare.

“We can help these kids have access to regular doctor’s visits and dental checkups and immunizations,” said Sink.

The average monthly cost of for KidCare is about 20 bucks… Some families are eligible for free coverage. You can sign up for the KidCare program online at www.floridakidcare.org.

Governor Charlie Crist announced a new plan to boosted Florida’s Economy out of the recent economic downturn. The state has 30 million dollars earmark for construction projects that hasn’t been spent. This afternoon Crist unveiled a new public works program called Accelerate Florida that loose regulations and allow state agencies to begin spending the billions. The money would go to building more roads and classrooms. Crist hopes creating more construction jobs will save the state’s economy and generate more tax revenue. The announcement comes one day before state economist will report the latest budget deficit numbers. The latest shortfall is expected to be more than a billion dollars.

A state program helping provide low cost insurance to kids is changing leadership. Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink chairs the Healthy Kids Board. Sink appointed House Representative Loranne Ausley as her replacement. Ausley will take over in November when she finishes her forth term as a state representative. Ausley said the board needs to focus on keeping federal dollars in the program, even as the state budget dwindles.

“It is our goal, through the corporation and the various government programs, to make sure we reach out to all of those children and those families and make sure we can get them health insurance and quit frankly we can draw down federal dollars, at a very significantly strained budget time,” Ausley said.

About 250,000 kids rely on Healthy Kids for doctor’s visits and dental work.

Seniors gathered across the state today to celebrate 73 years of Social Security and to bash a presidential candidate who supports changing the program. On this day in 1935, Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. Today 6 out of every 10 seniors rely on Social Security for at least half of their income. Members of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans held a birthday party outside of the Tallahassee Social Security office. Alliance Secretary Barbara DeVane said John McCain’s support of partially privatizing the financial aid program could hurt seniors.

“We’re here today to say cut the cake, not our social security benefits. Do not privatize social security. And we think John McCain’s statement about Social Security being disgraceful. We think that is disgraceful,” said DeVane.

The Alliance for Retired Americans launched a television ad campaign about McCain’s position on Social Security.

A Circuit Court judge has removed a property tax cutting amendment from the November ballot after finding it misleading. The ballot summary for Amendment 5 promised schools would be held harmless but As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the judge found the amendment failed to live up to the at promise.

Amendment 5 promised to cut property taxes by a fourth. It did that by eliminating a portion of school taxes and replacing them with a yet to be determined source of funding or by  budget cuts. The language voters would have seen promised schools would be held harmless, but the Judge John Cooper found the language misleading because the promise was only good for one year. The Florida Chamber was one of the parties that took the amendment to court.

“Property tax is an issue in the state of Florida,” David Davis with the Florida Chamber said. “Everyone wants a 25 percent property tax cut. The problem is what is going to be taxed? And that is the question that was left unanswered by amendment five. So the problem with amendment five is the uncertainty it would create for both Florida business and the consumers.”

The battle is far from over, but the writing is on the wall.

The supporters of amendment five say they will appeal and that means the final decision will come from the Florida Supreme Court.

Governor Charlie Crist and Florida Realtors, have been pushing the amendment. They see it as a way to jumpstart the economy. After the ruling, the Governor expressed disappointment.

“It doesn’t mean anything. That’s why you appeal,” Crist said. “What really matters is, what the last ruling is, not the first one in any case.”

The Governor is already being asked to call lawmakers back to deal with property taxes. He says he’ll wait to see what the courts do.