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The state is honoring businesses that employ disabled workers, at a time when jobs are hard to come by. Close to one million Floridians are looking for work but as Whitney Ray tells us, the job search is tougher on people with mental and physical disabilities.

Michael Folsom earns his pay by cleaning and organizing rental equipment. He’s been working at In Tents Events, an event coordinating service, for three years. His boss Donna Smithey says he’s one of the company’s most dependable employees.

“He just asked me today, are you sure you don’t want to come in and work today, because it’s his day off today,” said Smithey.

But the job search wasn’t easy for Michael. He has a learning disability and spent years doing odd jobs.

“Janitor service on and off for years, but when I went with her I’ve been fortunate,” said Michael.

Businesses that make special efforts to hire physically and mentally disabled Floridians are being honored by the state. Walgreens and Wal-Mart are among the names who are creating opportunities for worker who face extra challenges in their job hunts.

But with more and more Florida businesses closing their doors, and a double digit unemployment rate, finding jobs for the disabled is becoming more of a challenge. Jim DeBeaugrine, the director of the Agency for Person with Disabilities, says the economic downturn is giving employers a chance to create jobs for the disabled.

“When it gets better we want to be there on the spot with a work force that’s ready and willing to go to work and make a contribution for our state,” said DeBeaugrine.

The governor and state cabinet honored the efforts of the disabled searching for jobs in Florida, highlighting the career of a Bay County man who was recently elected as property appraiser despite being wheelchair bound.

October is Disability Employment Awareness Month. On October 21st, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities will host job fairs around the state to match disabled job seekers with mentors working in professions they’d like to pursue. For more information on the job fairs go to www.floridadmd.org

Governor Charlie Crist is cleaning house at the state Public Service Commission.

Chairman Matt Carter and Commissioner Katrina McMurrian were not reappointed today. They were passed over after reports regulators and their staff were too cozy with utility executives. An aide to Carter had more than one hundred phone conversations with FPL lobbyists while McMurrian had dinner with their Chief Financial Officer. Chairman Carter says he never engaged in any unethical behavior and signaled that the decision to replace him was political.

Carter: “Let me just say this, I feel like there are some things that were not factual that was out, and I’ll just leave it like that. I try to accentuate the positive and this to will pass.”

Reporter: “were you a victim of circumstance since your appointment came up at a time when there was a lot of scandal surrounding the PSC.”

Carter: “Well it was fairly obvious that it was. You know these things happen. It’s a political season, political things happen during the political season.”

Commissioner McMurrian was tightlipped about being replaced.

Reporter: “Where you shocked by this decision?

McMurrian: “Not entirely.”

Reporter: “Because of the controversies?”

McMurrian: “I’m sure that was some sort of a factor. I don’t know how much that weighed into it. I think the governor probably looked at the applications. He spoke to people. He’s had a chance to get to know some of us to varying degrees and he made the decision he thought was best.”

Steve Stewart filed a motion to recuse McMurrian from the Florida Power and Light rate hearings after finding out McMurrian at dinner in New York with a FP&L Executive.

“The biggest message that it sends is there needs to be some change in the way they’re doing business and you know in the past this has been an issue and it hasn’t been addressed, but hopefully over the next few months with a new chairman at the commission next year, these things will get addressed, and we’ll have some policies that will once again promote credibility and impartiality of the commission,” said Stewart.

Governor Charlie Crist appointed David Klement of Bradenton and Steve Stevens of Pensacola to replace Chairman Matthew Carter and Commissioner Katrina McMurrian.

The Cash for Clunkers Program and an eight thousand dollar tax credit for first time home buyers pushed state revenues more than 40 million dollars above estimates in August. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, there are also some other positive revenue signs.

The state saw more money than expected from alcohol, cigarettes, home and car sales and even the sale of building supplies. The almost 41million dollar surplus has economists cautiously optimistic.

12 million of the cash came from real estate sales. Realtors credit an 8 thousand dollar first time buyer tax credit.

“Year over year, we’re up 28 percent and home sales have been increasing 12 months in a row,” John Sebree with the Florida Association of Realtors said.

The tax credit expires in November.

Realtors are lobbying congress hard, trying to get an extension of the 8 thousand dollar tax credit in hopes of keeping the momentum going.

There is also good news on this car lot.

Thursday morning we found three sets of buyers looking around.

“Definitely the economy is taking a turn for the better,” shopper Laurie Rhowe said. “You know, we have a ways to go though.”

“It can’t get any worse,” Laurie’s mother, Glady’s Rhowe said. “It cannot get any worse. It’s got to get better.”

Owner Bob Hudson says Cash for Clunkers wasn’t the only thing that drove state tax collections on car sales 15 million above estimates.

“September was OK for us,” Hudson said. “We came off, as you know, a banner August with Cash for Clunkers, which did very well for us. But we actually had a positive September, so we’re looking forward to an even better last quarter of this year.”

Not every tax category was up. Fees from new corporations were down. But overall, the news is positive.

Besides autos, tax collections were above estimates on other durable and non durable goods, indicating consumer confidence. Sales tax from tourism related activities was also over estimates by 5 point 3 million.