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State Senator Dan Gelber is throwing his hat in the ring for US Senate in 2010. Gelber will face off against Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek who announced his candidacy earlier this month. Gelber and Meek want to replace Republican Senator Mel Martinez who announced he’ll step down at then end of his term. Crist said Gelber will be a good candidate.

“I like Dan. I think Dan is a fine public servant. He’s been a great member of the Florida House. A new member of the Florida Senate and I look forward to working with him in the Florida Senate.”

“Could you see yourself running against him,” asked a reporter. Crist said “not today.”

Crist is among several popular Florida Republicans being discussed as a possible candidate. Attorney General Bill McCollum is another possible replacement. McCollum said he’s not ready to make a decision about running in 2010.

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners insured by State Farm will have to start looking for a new insurance company. The state’s largest commercial insurer told state regulators it would stop selling homeowners policies completely over the next two years. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the company says its rates didn’t match the risk.

Hear it Here: State Farm to Stop Selling Home Insurance to Floridians

703,000 State Farm policy holders need to start looking for a new insurance company. State Farm told the state it was pulling the plug on selling homeowners insurance because the risk didn’t match the rates the company was allowed to charge.

“The plan is so newly in our hands that we haven’t had the opportunity to fully review everything, and once we do, we’ll see what the next steps could be, but at this point right now, their plan is to pull out of Florida,” Ed Domansky with the Office of Insurance Regulation said.

The company refused to make a spokesperson available. The announcement caused immediate concern for homeowners.

“It’s going to cost everybody in the long run,” State Farm policy holder Gerald Thursby said.

State Farm writes almost 2 million auto policies.

State Farm wants to keep selling auto policies, almost two million of them in Florida. But that’s something that will be up for debate in the state legislature.

At a budget news conference the Governor said good riddance.

“Well, they probably charged about the highest rate in the state anyway. I think Floridians will be much better off without them,” Crist said.

Afterward, we asked what he would say to the company president.

Florida CFO Alex Sink says the pullout is serious.

“What I want to do is ensure that the policy holders of State Farm are handled in the right way and they understand where they can go to get other insurance,” Sink said.

State Farm collected just over a billion dollars last year from insuring Florida homes.

Attorney General Bill McCollum wrote to Trustees at Northwest Florida State College today, telling them they violated the Sunshine Law when they held a meeting in Tallahassee. Specifically, McCollum told the board they erred when they met a private club.  In the letter he sited Flordia Statute 286, which says meetings must be accessable to the public.

There’s More. Read the letter here: letter-to-college

At his morning briefing, Governor Charlie Crist says he will act on the budget reductions passed by lawmakers this morning. Crist says he will restore funding for some items cut by lawmakers, but the spending will not exceed a 300 million cushion lawmakers left in the state piggy bank.

Crist also says Florida will be the winner of the Superbowl, refusing to pick either Arizona or Pittsburg as a favorite. He did note his hometown, Altoona, is near the Steel City.

Asked about Dan Gelber getting into the US Senate race, Crist called Gelber a good house member and new State Senator. Asked it envisioned himself facing Gelber for the seat, he replied “Not Today”.

A Grand Jury has agreed to investigate Florida’s embattled House Speaker. The 21 member jury decided this morning to look deeper into Speaker Ray Sansom’s relationship with a college in his district. The college hired Sansom after he secured state money for the school. As Whitney Ray tells us, it could be months before the Grand Jury sorts out if there has been any criminal wrongdoing.

Hear it Here: Grand Jury Moves Forward With Speaker Investigation

Fifty Potential Grand Jurors walked into a Leon County Courtroom Monday morning. Twenty-one were selected to decide if Florida’s House Speaker should be investigated for a job he took with a college in his district and later quit. By 1:30 the Grand Jury gave State Attorney Willie Meggs a thumbs up.

“My job at this point is to present evidence that we obtain to this Grand Jury and we’ll go out and start doing it. I try not to pre-judge an issue and just gather facts,” said Meggs.

The same day Ray Sansom became speaker, he took a six figure job at Northwest Florida State College. Just months earlier Sansom helped the school secure 25 million state dollars, six million to build an airplane hanger on a contributors leased land.

Two complaints from citizens sparked the move to take the case to the The Grand Jury. Orthopedic Surgeon Ray Bellamy filed one of those complaints.

“I think that if they do a through investigation and decided there was absolutely no wrong doing and no corrections in our system need to be made, I’ll be very surprised,” said Dr. Bellamy.

The Grand Jury will have to decide if there’s probable cause that Sansom abused his position as a lawmaker to get the college job, used state dollars to build a hanger for his friend or tried to hide information from the public.

After the decision came down Sansom released this statement.

“I have acted honestly in all matters, including in my work as a state legislator. The complaints are based on news articles, not personal knowledge of the facts. Once the facts are fully aired, I expect the outcome of this inquiry will be positive. I will cooperate fully and look forward to a speedy conclusion,” Sansom’s statement reads.

The state will begin gathering evidence in the case this week. The Grand Jury will meet again in on February 17th, to begin reviewing the evidence. It could take months for the Grand Jury to reach a decision in the case.

House Rules Chairman Bill Galvano is also calling for an investigation. Galvano will ask a special investigator to look into a complaint filed with the House regarding Sansom.

The roads in Florida are getting safer.

Road fatalities are at an eight year low, according to a preliminary report released today by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Last year 2,986 people died in wrecks in Florida; that’s down 235 from 2007. Florida Highway Patrol Captain Mark Welch is excited about the decline but said more needs to be done.

“The bottom line is that one death on the highway is one death too many. Our goal is to get everybody educated and do our education campaigns to make our highways as safe as we can,” said Welch.

The Department credits an increase in safety campaigns for the decline, but admits four dollar a gallon gas over the summer may have played a role by changing people’s driving habits.

Saying that government must work with the states — not against them — on tougher fuel standards for cars and trucks, President Barack Obama today called on the Environmental Protection Agency to allow states the right to regulate emission standards for cars. Florida is moving toward tougher standards in 2013 and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the President’s action removes a major hurdle.

Hear it Here: Tough Emissions Standards One Step Closer

New cars in Florida will have to meet tough new tailpipe emission standards by 2013 under a proposal waiting for state legislative approval . The state says the standards are the  equivalent of requiring new cars get at least 35 miles per gallon.

“This rule saves consumers money, this rule helps Florida’s energy security by reducing our reliance on foreign fuel, and this rule protects the environment,” Dept. Of Environmental Protection Secretary Mike Sole said.

Car makers fought the change at a regulatory hearing in December, arguing it is too expensive when business is already bad.

“Vehicles will go up in price,” Ron Book with Auto Nation said. “Is that 3,000 dollars? Is it 5,000 dollars?”

The car makers lost 6-1 in December, but state lawmakers must also approve the change, and that’s going to be a tough sell.

Car makers have already started a full scale lobbying effort against the tougher standards.

Car makers have been using the argument that Florida couldn’t move ahead without federal approval that they would never get. Environmentalists say the car makers have now lost one of their strongest points.

“Well now, with what Obama has done, Florida can have its own rule,” Eric Draper with the Fl. Audubon Society said. “And one of the objections the legislature has is now swept out of the way.”

Car makers will continue to argue a change is bad for the economy. But regulators say the cars will pay for themselves in 6 years, while reducing dependence on foreign oil.

Next week a grand jury will be selected to decide whether or not Florida’s House Speaker Ray Sansom will face criminal charges. Ethics complaints have also been submitted to the legislature and the state’s ethics commission. As Whitney Ray tells us, it could be months before we know if Sansom broke the law.

Hear it Here: Sansom Faces Investigations

The Grand Jury will be selected Monday morning. The complaint submitted to the State’s Ethics Commission could be heard when the board meets again in March.

House Speaker Ray Sansom has been surrounded in controversy since his very first day as House leader. Two months and two ethics complaints later, The speaker finally answered questions about the six figure job he took at Northwest Florida State College.

“Once the controversy started I committed our members that the Florida House was more important to any job I might have,” said Sansom.

Sansom resigned the college job under mounting pressure. Investigations are also underway into a six million dollar hanger once sought by a big contributor and possible sunshine law violations when college trustees met in Tallahassee.

In an attempt to keep the meeting private Sansom and the college’s board of trustees held a meeting here at Florida State University.

The March meeting was advertised in a Destin newspaper. Governor Charlie Crist is a champion of open government, but won’t personally criticize Sansom.

“It’s the people’s government. If they can’t see it, watch it, analyze it and criticize it that’s not a very good place to be,’ said Crist. ‘Does it give you concern,’ asked one reporter. ‘Everything gives me concern.’”

Enough people in Tallahassee were concerned about the issue, to persuade State Attorney Willie Meggs to call for a Grand Jury Investigation.

Florida had 255,000 fewer jobs at the end of December than when 2008 started. 64 thousand people lost jobs in December alone, pushing the state’s unemployment rate to 8.1 percent. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the jobless numbers haven’t been this high since September 1992, when the rate was 8.9 percent.

Hear it Here: Unemployment Hits 8.1 Percent
The parking lot is full at this Workforce office. Donnie Morrison is one of December’s job casualties, joining 752 thousand Floridians out of work.

“I’m part of that number,” Donnie Morrison, an unemployed cook, said. “It’s hard right now. I mean, I’m here right now at Workforce, looking for a job everyday.”

Inside, computer terminals are packed with job seekers. Orion Raybon isn’t even part of the statistics yet. He got his pink slip Friday morning.

“They came to me today and just basically said you know we have to let you go, “ Raybon said. “I asked them for a reason and they basically said I wasn’t meeting their expectations, when I was giving my all.”

This staff at this Agency for Workforce Innovation call center is slammed with people on the phone looking for help.

What’s the most common thing people say to you?

“The most common thing? Thank you or God bless you,” Unemployment claims agent Ericka Jones said.

Even with a thousand phones lines, patience is required.

The call wait today is about 30 minutes. But call Monday, and it could take you about an hour to get through.

Florida’s unemployment continues to outpace the nation’s and economist’s predictions.

“Well the economic estimating conference had forecasted a peak of 8.1 percent in August of 2009,” state economist Rebecca Rust said. “So we’ve already reached that peak for the year.”

64 thousand Floridians joined the jobless ranks in December.

Florida’s unemployment rate is now 8.1 percent, which is nine-tenths of a point higher than the national average. There are now 255,000 more Floridians out of work than there were a year ago.  A staggering 752,000 people are looking for work in the Sunshine State. Florida’s December 2008 unemployment rate is the highest since September 1992, when the rate was 8.9 percent.  Read the release here, including county by county numbers

december-unemployment-release-2

Florida’s Embattled Speaker of the House is finally speaking. For two months Speaker Ray Sansom dodged the media while a storm of ethics complaints and possible criminal charges began to brew. As Whitney Ray tells us, Sansom says he did nothing wrong and claims several ongoing investigations will clear his name.

Hear it Here: Speaker Speaks

Under mounting pressure for funneling 25 million state dollars to a college before taking a six figure job at the school, House Speaker Ray Sansom finally broke his silence.

“I trust that once people have had a chance to review the facts, they will say that I have done nothing wrong,” said Sansom.

Northwest Florida State College is keeping the money Sansom helped it secure, but the embattled speaker is quitting his administrative job with the school.

“Speaker, if everything with the college was on the level, why did you step down,’ one reporter asked. ‘That’s a good question. I didn’t do anything wrong when I took the job. Every speaker I know has had a job.’”

But Sansom’s leadership job with the legislature may have been compromised as the speaker took extra measures to avoid questions.

Sansom says the controversy surrounding his dealing with the college hasn’t affected his ability to lead the house, but some lawmakers disagree.

House Minority Leader Franklin Sands said he never spoke to Sansom during the recent special session.

“If I as minority leader didn’t speak to the speaker, I’d say it could have possible had an affect on it,” said Sands.

Whether or not Sansom can lead in the future may be left up to a grand jury who will decide if anyone should face criminal charges.

The 21 member grand jury will be selected Monday in Tallahassee. Two complaints against the speaker are also being considered by the state’s ethics commission.

Governor Charlie Crist is getting closer to a decision on what spending cuts he wants to put back in the state budget.

Lawmakers cut 2.6 billion dollars in spending The package includes a billion dollars in spending reductions for schools, hospitals and social services. Education will take the brunt of the budget ax blow, with lawmakers voting cut 500 million from education. 66 probation officers lost their jobs a day after lawmakers passed their budget plan. By vetoing the cuts Crist can restore some positions.

“It shouldn’t shock you that as a former attorney general and a former education commissioner, that public safety and education are very near and dear to me. So I’m looking most closely at the public safety arena. The probation officers you mentioned and also the education as it relates to higher pay for our public school teachers,” said Crist.

Crist is poised to veto a proposed 11 million dollar cut to a teacher merit pay program.

Governor Charlie Crist may use his veto pen to save some Florida wildlife. Lawmakers voted to cut four million dollars from the Florida Forever program. The program uses state money to buy land and keep it from being developed. Crist will look over the proposed spending cut and see if the state can afford to spare the program.

“I’m concerned about Florida Forever, and I’m looking very closely at what level of change we can bring to bare with what the budget was coming out of special session as it relates to restoring Florida Forever. Obviously my heart and soul are in the environment and if there’s a way to get there I want to do it,” said Crist.

Since 2006, the state has purchased more than half a million acres through the Florida Forever program.

Governor Charlie Crist and the state’s legislative leaders answered tough questions about taxes and budget cuts from editors and reporters today at the state capitol. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the speeches had a common theme.

Hear it Here: Taxes

From the House Speaker
“Let me say that I think everything is on the table,” Ray Sansom (R-Destin) said.

To the Minority Leader
“The whole thing is on the table,” Franklin Sands (D-Weston) said.

And even the Senate President
“Is there room on the upside for a cigarette tax? I believe that there is,” Jeff Atwater (R-Palm Beach) said. “Looking back on the burden that we’re placing on property taxes, through the RLE, required local effort, I think all those things are going to be on the table.”

The talk is of finding money to balance the budget.

Despite all the rhetoric, the state income tax isn’t really on the table. What is here is higher revenue from gambling, higher cigarette tax, maybe a tax on stocks and bonds, some alcoholic beverage taxes are on the table, even a tax on bottled water, and dry cleaning.

“You know, we’ve plucked a billion here and a billion there and pretty soon, as they say, we’re going to be talking about serious money,” Sands said.

Everyone at the state level is looking for help from Washington Governor Charlie Crist told editors.

“It’s important to have a level of optimism,” Crist said.

A new poll shows 72 percent favor a cigarette the tax. But those numbers aren’t persuading the Governor…yet.

“It doesn’t change my mind about it,” the Governor said.

But he conceded it’s more likely than ever that a cigarette tax hike, along with the smorgasbord of other fee increases, is going to get to his desk.

“I think what we’ll do is see what the House and Senate do with that issue and give it thoughtful review,” Crist said.

And that’s when tough choices will have to be made.

Claudine Ryce, mother of Jimmy Ryce, died today at age 66 of a heart attack. Claudine was instrumental in pushing sex predator legislation and has for the last twelve years served on The Missing Children’s Information Clearing House and Advisory Board.  She has advocated tirelessly for the use of bloodhounds in tracking missing children and often provided the dogs free of charge to law enforcement agencies.

On September 11, 1995, 9 year old Jimmy Ryce was abducted, raped and murdered at the hands of a sexual predator. For three months, his parents led a massive search. Little Jimmy was “every-one’s son.” On December 9, 1995, Juan Carlos Chavez was arrested. He was later found guilty by a jury and sentenced to death. He is now on death row pending appeal.

After Jimmy’s death, the Ryce’s founded the Jimmy Ryce Center and have worked to teach children how to escape from predators. At their urging, on January 19, 1996-President Clinton signed an Executive Order in the Oval Office of the White House allowing pictures of missing children to be posted.