Welcome to

The nation’s unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent today. Unemployment could skyrocket if the country’s three biggest automakers fold. Congress is still debating a bailout package and as Whitney Ray tells us, more than 76,000 Floridians who work at car dealerships are keeping their fingers crossed.

Hear it Here: Florida Car Dealers Watching Washington

Many Floridians depend on car sales to feed their families. There are about a thousand new-car dealerships in Florida, and they employ 76,000 people. Declining sales forced this Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep Dealership in Gadsden County to cut staff.

“I usually employ about 30 people, we had to cut that by probably 15, 20 percent minimum, we’re probably expecting more cuts just because we’ve got to survive the down fall here,” said the dealerships owner operator Wayne Chandler.

The state budget also suffers when car dealers struggle. Car sales generate about 20 percent of total retail sales in Florida. The drop in sales has helped spur Florida’s two billion dollar budget shortfall, but economics professor Randy Holcombe says the state could survive.

“Car dealerships are important to a degree but the big three automakers from Detroit could sell the same amount of cars with fewer dealerships,” said Holcombe.

But fewer dealerships mean fewer jobs at a time when the state’s unemployment is at a 15 year high.

Car dealers aren’t just cutting positions; they’re also lowering prices. The dealership we visited in Gadsden County lowered prices on some of its newest cars by 50 percent.

For just the second time in its history, Florida’s University faculty members are supporting a tuition hike. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the United Faculty of Florida say funding for state universities is approaching an emergency situation.

Hear it Here

At 14%, faculty turnover at Florida’s universities is the highest in the nation. Facing even more budget cuts, the faculty union, for just the second time in its history, is supporting tuition increases of up to 15 percent a year for the next 6 years.

“Last year 30 percent of the faculty said they were looking for another job. 40 percent said they would be looking for another job this year,” Jack Fiorito, United Faculty of Florida, FSU President said. “So when you lose faculty, you can’t offer classes, students can’t get classes.”

In the end, not being able to get the classes you want, could end up extending your college career and costing more than higher tuition.

Music major Kyle Gilcher says he is already finding some non-major classes hard to get.”

“If it doesn’t work out with getting classes in need right away, then I will probably need to stick around for a semester or two to finish the minor in business, which would be unfortunate but then I get to stay in college longer,” Gilcher said.

Universities can also expect to see less cash from their foundations next year. The FSU Foundation has seen its investment decline by over 100 million dollars, a 25% drop.

“If you look at the state economy, it’s not good and it’s beginning to have an impact on higher education,” FSU Foundation president Charles Raspberry said.

The plan to hike tuition 15 percent a year would double the cost over six years, but it would still only raise the tuition rate to the national average.

Florida currently ranks 46th in tuition nationally. The only other time the faculty union has supported a tuition hike as last year.

Florida State University’s Foundation has lost more than 100 million dollars this year. The fund is now at 318 million dollars, down from 424 million. The foundation gave 14.7 million to the school last year. Foundation President Charles Raspberry says the decline could mean less money going to the university next year.

“It’s for scholarship support, to support faculty who are in endowed positions, some of it goes to build facilities,” Raspberry said. “The new Student Success Center came from private support, then got matched by the state. That’s where a lot of it goes. This past year we gave the university 14.7 million from the endowment that we had. So I’m hoping in coming years that won’t go down significantly.”

The Foundation says it will not concentrate on large gifts this coming year, but will instead focus on gifts in the one hundred dollar to one thousand dollar range.

For just the second time in its history, Florida’s University faculty members are supporting a tuition hike.  Jack Fiorito, President of the United Faculty of Florida FSU Chapter says funding for state universities is approaching an emergency situation. You can hear the interview here: Jack Fiorito

250,000 unemployed Floridians, who turned to the state for help finding a job, now have to worry about their credit. The State Agency for Workforce Innovation is blaming a computer security breach for exposing the job-seekers names and social security numbers online. As Whitney Ray tells us, the state is investigating the computer security breach.

Hear it Here: State Investigates Computer Security Breach

Johann Warren, a chef by trade, is struggling to pay his bills.

“I’ve got a light bill coming up and I’m out of work,” said Johann.

For months Johann has been visiting this job center, entrusting his personal information to the state. Now Johann is second guessing his decision to give the state his information.

And that’s because the names and social security numbers of 250,000 Floridians were published online.”

Weak security on a backup test server allowed Google to gather the data of people who used a state job center during the past six years. The Agency for Workforce Innovation is investigating the security breach.

“This information has only been made available to one individual outside our public domain, so I think we’re in good shape,” said AWI Director Monesia Brown.

Still the state set up a search engine for people who are worried about their IDs. We helped Johann with his search.

“I don’t want anyone getting my social security number without me knowing, because things are already hard enough for me already,” said Johann.

The state promises to respond to the searches within 24 hours and let people know if their information was posted online. To see if your information was published online visit www.floridajobs.org/security/security.htm

The official state Christmas tree is now on display in the Governor’s Office.

Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson delivered Christmas trees to the governor and other cabinet members today. The trees were donated by the Florida Christmas Tree Association. Association member Toney Harris grew the trees and said real trees are better than fake ones.

“A fake tree doesn’t smell at all. Have you every smelled one? You’ve got to have the smell of Christmas at your house. That’s what you need. A live tree helps keep a lot of people employed and makes for better Christmas all around as far as I’m concerned,” said Tony Harris, owner of Ergle Christmas Tree Farm.

Commissioner Bronson used the occasion to warn Floridians about holiday scams.

“If you’re going to give money to charity make sure it’s a legitimate charity; don’t get taken advantage of. If you’re going to buy pets for family members and others, make sure the story you’re buying from is reputable and you have the health certificates and those types of things and know the pet lemon law,” said Bronson.

Inspectors from the commissioner’s office are checking out pet stores statewide to make sure the animals they sell are healthy and meet the state requirements.

Gas companies may be getting a present from the state just in time from Christmas.

Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Bronson plans to finish his gas price gouging investigations next week and hand out Christmas present fines to any company that ripped off customers. The investigations started in September after drivers began complaining about five dollar a gallon gas. Gas stations blame the price hike on Hurricane Ike disrupting supply in the Gulf. Commissioner Bronson said he has problems believing that excuse.

“Can you imagine almost five dollar gasoline just a few weeks ago and now it’s down to $1.80. I find that kind of hard to believe that if it’s really worth five dollars it could have dropped this fast. So it tells me that somebody was manipulating the system after an emergency was called and we take that seriously,” said Bronson.

The state’s Attorney General is also investigating complaints. In October the AG’s office settled with a Quincy gas station for overcharging customers a total of 1,500 bucks.

The buzz over who will run for US Senate in 2010 continues and Florida’s Chief Financial Officer isn’t doing anything to quiet the speculation.

Republican Senator Mel Martinez announced earlier this week that he’s not seeking reelection. Almost immediately after the announcement some of the biggest names in Florida politics were being tossed around as possible replacements. CFO Sink threw her hat in the ring, and she doesn’t plan to take it out anytime soon.

“My goal is to serve our citizens and use my background and experience to help run our state better and to also look at the options of going to Washington potentially and serving our state from a Federal perspective. There are lots of people to talk to. There are many, many family considerations that I have. It’s a challenge but I’ll be making a decision sometime in the future,” said Sink.

Sink said she’ll wait until January to make a decision about running for US Senate.

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer says lawmakers shouldn’t rule out taxes as a source of revenue to balance the budget. Florida is facing a two billion dollar deficit.

Lawmakers could be called back to Tallahassee as early as January to fill the budget hole. CFO Sink said lawmakers should look at eliminating tax loopholes and other tax options, but only after they cut state spending.

“I think we should do like any family would do: sit down around the kitchen table and say ‘what are the bills we have to pay.’ What are the ones that are discretionary and what are the luxury items and be sure that we cut out all the luxury items and have some conversations about the things that are discretionary and impact people,” said Sink.

Governor Charlie Crist says he’s waiting on an agreement among legislative leaders before he makes a decision about a 40,000 dollar a day special session.

CFO Alex Sink continues her push for a special session. But she’s not embracing any tax hikes just yet. She likes the idea of a Federal stimulus and she says she will decide on the US Senate race around the first of the year. You can hear it here: Alex Sink12.04.08

Governor Charlie Crist says Jeb Bush is a “Great Floridian” when asked about his possible candidacy for the Senate. He also says he’s focused on the wedding and Florida…so he didn’t really rule the job out for himself. You can hear the full gaggle here: charliecristraw1203

A state hotline, for low income families try to change their Medicaid coverage is flooded with calls. People dialing into the call center are often greeted with a busy signal. As Whitney Ray tells us, staff and hours have been added, but right now the demand is exceeding the state’s resources.

Hear it Here: Medicaid Hotline Flooded with Calls

Once a month 82 year-old Frances Hyatt visits her senior center for a free medical check up.

“For people who can’t afford to pay for having it done they can come here and it won’t cost them,” said Frances.

Frances has her medical expenses covered through Medicare and the Capital Health Plan, but around the corner at the center Pearl Fuller relies solely on Medicaid.

“I would really be in trouble without it because it helps a lot,” said Pearl.

The number of Floridians relying on Medicaid for health care coverage has skyrocketed. 100,000 people were added to the state’s Medicaid rolls this year alone. The increase is bogging down the state hotline for people trying to change their plan. We called the hotline five times, and five times we received a busy signal.

The Agency for Health Care Administration has added operators and extended hours to keep up with the demand.

“Please be patient. Continue trying the line and at various times through out the day and if at some point say they’ve tried continuously in the morning and that’s unsuccessful try in the afternoon or maybe even try on a Saturday,” said Fernando Senro, a spokesman for AHCA.

People who can’t get through to the call center are assigned a plan; it just may not be the coverage they want. People automatically enrolled in a Medicaid plan have 90 days to switch their coverage.

Florida’s First District Court of Appeals has ruled a state commission given the authority to approve charter schools is unconstitutional.

The Florida Schools of Excellence Commission was created in 2006, and was immediately challenged by several local school boards. Attorney Ron Meyer represented the School Boards in the case and successfully argued local school boards have the constitutional power to approve or deny a charter, not the state.

“When you simply set the school board aside and run over it like this commission had the potential to do, you offend the constitution and that’s what the First District Court of Appeals said,” said Meyer.

For now local school boards will have control over granting charters but the decision could be appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.

The guessing game over who will run in place of US Senator Mel Martinez continues. Martinez announced yesterday he won’t seek reelection in 2010. Some big names in Florida politics haven’t taken their names out of the mix of possible replacements. Speculation about Governor Charlie Crist running for the seat has circulated, but Crist said he’s happy being the governor.

“I’m love being the governor of Florida. It’s a privilege. To be honest with you the only things I’m thinking about over the next two weeks are Carol, the impending wedding and Florida,” said Crist.

While the Governor Crist said he is focused on Florida and his December 12th wedding, Former Governor Jeb Bush hasn’t taken his name out of the mix. Attorney General Bill McCollum and Florida’s Chief Financial Office Alex Sink are also leaving their names in the pot.

New House Speaker Ray Sansom is catching a lot of heat for his new job at Northwest Florida State College.

Last year Sansom steered 25 million state dollars to the school. Now the school is paying the high ranking Republican 110,000 dollars a year for part time work. The state’s Democratic Party is calling on Sansom to resign from the state legislature or quit his job at the college. Spokesman for the Florida Democrats Eric Jottkoff said Sansom is setting a bad example.

“He’s making more money on the state’s budget and it’s ridiculous and that’s why he should step down from one or both and show true leadership in this time of economic crisis. Show that he’s making sacrifices such as not accepting this 110,000 dollar paycheck for the part time job with our taxpayer money,” said Jottkoff.

Sansom fired back saying his focus is on the state’s needs, not partisan politics.