Welcome to

Embattled former House Speaker Ray Sansom has lost failed in his attempt to keep his voluntary Grand Jury testimony secret from House investigators. A legislative committee will begin hearings later this month to decide if Sansom can finish out his term, and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, investigators needed the testimony because Sansom has said he won’t appear.

In addition to criminal charges, former House Speaker Ray Sansom faces censure or even expulsion for sending 25 million dollars to Northwest Florida College for a leadership institute, and then taking an unadvertised 110 thousand job to run it. He is also accused of sending another 6 million to build a hangar for a contributor at the Destin airport. The former speaker is refusing to testify before a house panel January 25th, so the special counsel was in court seeking the release of his grand jury testimony.

“The House does, in fact, have a particular need for the grand jury testimony,” special counsel Melanie Hines said.

Sansom’s lawyer fought the release.

“There’s not precedent for it,” Steve Dobson, Ray Sansom’s attorney, said. “There’s no law for it.”

Judge Terry Lewis wasted little time deciding the House prosecutors could have the testimony.

Why did you not want that testimony released?

“Because I really believe that, under the law, grand jury testimony should remain a secret,” Dobson said.

We are told that Sansom spent about 30 minutes before the grand jury. Now, the judges ruling won’t make the record public right now, but we will learn  more about what he said at a Legislative hearing on January 25th.

Even if the former speaker is acquitted in the criminal case, his house colleagues can expel him for causing the public to lose confidence in the integrity of the legislature.

2009 was the deadliest year in state history for manatees. 429 were found dead in Florida waterways, about a hundred were victims of careless boaters. 2010 is also getting off to a shaky start for the mammals. As Whitney Ray tells us, the cold weather has manatees fighting for their lives.

Manatees are making a comeback in Florida. A quick counting expedition early last year found 38-hundred in the state, a record high. There are even large herds being found in the Panhandle.

But along with the record high numbers comes a spike in deaths. Last year 429 manatees died in Florida waterways. Boaters claimed a hundred lives while the cold weather is being blamed for 56 deaths.

This week’s freezing temperatures have put thousands of manatees in a fight for their lives. When manatees find a warm spot they hunker down for hours. Wildlife experts are asking people to stay away from manatees they see lingering.

“Even if they are leaving to go out and get a little food they are going to be coming back because it will be cold through next week. So please do whatever people can do to stay away and be quiet and leave them alone,” said Carol Knox, a biological administrator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation.

And for gawkers not willing to mind their own business, wildlife officers will be on hand to write citations or arrest anyone breaking the law. Patrols in areas with large populations of manatees will be beefed up throughout January. Wildlife officers are taking a zero tolerance approach to speeding.

An unexpected exodus from private schools is leaving public schools with more students, but less money.

The student surprise is costing schools 14 dollars for each new student. More than 12-thousand students left private schools and enrolled in public schools this academic year. School funding for next year’s budget will have to account for the cost of teaching the students. Governor Charlie Crist is optimistic that money will be found to make up the difference.

“I think we are going to be in good shape. I just came out of a meeting with our budget director and this was the issue we were talking about, to continue to be able to fund education. And it looks like right now, keep your fingers crossed, but it looks like now we will be able to continue to that,” said Crist.

Crist will release his budget proposal at the end of the month. The state legislature will begin working on the state’s spending plan in March during the 2010 legislative session.

Embattled former House Speaker Ray Sansom will be in court again Friday in Tallahassee, where he will likely be arraigned on two new charges, Conspiracy to commit grand theft, and grand theft itself. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the House of Representatives will also argue for the release of his Grand Jury testimony to be used against him in a legislative disciplinary hearing.

The Special Prosecutor for the House of Representatives is seeking the release of former Speaker Ray Sansom’s grand jury testimony. In a filing, she said it’s needed to pursue disciplinary charges that could include expulsion.

Because Sansom’s lawyers have already said they will invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to testify, House lawyers want his Grand Jury testimony to go forward with an evidentiary hearing later this month.

Sansom is also likely to be arraigned on two new charges filed this week: Conspiracy to commit grand theft, and grand theft itself. The charges were filed after an official misconduct charge was thrown out.

“Official Misconduct is a very weak statute in the sense that it has to be a falsification of a document,” states attorney Willie Meggs said. “And of course our trial court judge has ruled that the appropriations act can’t be falsified.”

The charges stem from a legislative appropriation allegedly engineered by Sansom to build an aircraft hangar for a friend disguised as a college building at the Destin airport. Meggs says the conduct was just plain wrong.

“We can’t do a lot of things, but we can find money to build an aircraft hangar for a college that doesn’t have any airplanes,” Meggs said. “That’s wrong.”

The House committee pursuing disciplinary charges is set to meet January 25th.

Even if Sansom is found not guilty of the criminal charges, he could still face censure or expulsion from the Legislature for embarrassing the House and undermining confidence in the institution.

Businesses across Florida are bracing for five hundred and even one thousand percent increases in the cost of their unemployment compensation taxes. Notices of the hike went out in December, and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, a small business association says the jump in taxes could hurt an economic recovery.

Florida ran out of money to pay unemployment claims in August. Since then it has been borrowing from the federal government and owes about a billion dollars. Forms like this one went out in late December informing businesses they would have to pay more for unemployment compensation. The minimum rate for employees is going from just over 8 dollars to just over a hundred dollars per employees.  Randy Martin calculates his bill will go up from 41 hundred last year, to over 21 thousand this year.

“I realize there is a tax because the state has gone bust,” Martin said.  “However, my tax has gone up 545 percent. I think that is a bit exorbitant.”

In 2009, unemployment taxes were paid on the first 7 thousand dollars of wages. In 2010, it will be on the first 85 hundred.

The tax is due March 1st, but it isn’t late until April 30th. Small business lobbyists are pushing lawmakers to delay the increases this year.

“We need that money so that we can go back to some of those employees we had to lay off last year and say, please come back in 2010,” Bill Herrle with the National Federation of Independent Businesses said. “It’s a real jobs killer.”

Martin says he will delay purchasing new vehicles and other items to avoid layoffs, but he says the tax payment is going to hurt.

“it’s affecting our profit margin by 20 percent,” Martin said.

Meanwhile, Florida continues to borrow about 300 million dollars a month to pay unemployment claims.

Florida’s unemployment rate continues to climb and isn’t expected to level out until April.

Statewide, 2500 National Guardsmen are being deployed for a year long tour in Iraq and Kuwait, marking the largest Florida National Guard deployment since World War II.  In Tallahassee, 100 guardsmen participated in their activation ceremony this afternoon. Jennifer Miller’s husband Rick is one of the men headed for Iraq. She says she isn’t looking forward to the next year.

“Reality is actually starting to hit, that he’s actually leaving, that he’s going to be gone for all this time,” Miller said.  “I’m proud of him, but I’m worried. I’m worried with kids.”

The guardsmen will receive additional training at Fort Hood, Texas before being deployed in Iraq. Their mission will be base and convoy security.

The Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida stepped down today under mounting pressure from GOP leaders. Chairman Jim Greer’s resignation  comes after scrutiny over early endorsements and reckless spending. As Whitney Ray tells us, an hour before Greer’s announcement a paper shredding truck was parked outside of party headquarters.

It was a quiet and somber day outside the Republican Party of Florida headquarters, the only noise was traffic, and the sound of a paper shredding truck.

The driver came out wheeling an empty cart and a blue bag, one hour before embattled chairman Jim Greer made this announcement, on a conference call with reporters

“Effective in six weeks, approximately February 20th, I will step down as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida,” said Greer.

Later Greer agreed to go on camera.

“There are people who want to tear the fabric of the Republican party apart and I’m not going to be a part of that,” he added.

The move comes a day after nine former House Republicans called for his resignation.

“I think you could say mission accomplished,” said former House Republican Ron Richmond.

Nine State Senators were organizing a similar call. Greer upset party faithful by endorsing candidates before voters had a chance to cast primary ballots.

“Jumping into these and trying to control I think was offensive to a lot of long time Republicans,” said Former State Senator Ken Plante.

The next more is appointing a new chairman. The search is well underway. Governor Charlie Crist, as well as the incoming Senate President and House Speaker are supporting State Senator John Thrasher as the next party chairman. As for the paper shredding truck, Greer says it’s just a coincidence.

Two new Public Service Commissioner were sworn in today and a new chairwoman was appointed as the utility watchdog hopes to reshape its image.

Two former commissioners were denied reappointment in October after reports of secret communications between PSC staffers and utility executives began to surface. The secret communications were uncovered as Florida Power and Light asked the commission for a 1.3 billion dollar rate increase. New Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano says its time to revamp the commission’s image.

“The public felt that the Public Service Commission was not maybe doing a fair job or the perception was bad. There are a lot of good commissioners who served in the past and there are some that maybe shouldn’t have served, but what it comes down to is that we now hopefully will move in a direction where the public can regain some trust,” said Argenziano.

The shake up in the make up of the five member commission comes just weeks before the vote is due on FPL’s rate hike request. The vote is scheduled for January 29th.

There are new calls tonight for Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer to step down over party finances and his premature endorsement of the Charlie Crist campaign. Nine former Republican leaders in the state House now say Greer must go, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the chairman has the support of one key individual who could keep him in the job.

Ray Sansom, the indicted former House Speaker, ran up 173 thousand dollars on a GOP credit card.  Party chairman Jim Greer, who allowed the spending spree, bought limo rides and expensive dinners. Now nine former House Republican leaders say it is time for Greer to go.

“A lot of people are not giving because Greer is the Chairman,” Former House Republican Leader Ron Richmond said.

And they think he misspent money?

“They really believe that he misspent money,” Richmond said.

Greer has personally endorsed Charlie Crist’s bid for the US Senate, angering many in the party. Political Scientist Bob Crew says the noise level inside the party is unusually high.

“It’s indicative that there is more than the average level problems in the party, it seems to me,” Crew said.

At state Republican headquarters, bumper stickers for GOP candidates sit on the front desk. Missing, though, is one for Crist opponent, Marco Rubio.

We are told that Governor Charlie Crist views this fight as a personal attack, and for that reason has been the embattled chairman’s most ardent supporter.

Greer was in the GOP office Monday but refused comment via a spokeswoman. Former GOP leader Richmond says the call for Greer to resign has nothing to do with the US Senate race.

“Forget about Rubio-Crist.” Richmond said. “There are Rubio supporters and Crist supporters, and then some of us who haven’t decided between the two in our group.

A group of former state senate leaders is also expected to join the call for Greer’s ouster on Tuesday.

Greer faces a bitter debate about his leadership at a GOP meeting in Orlando on Saturday.

The prosecutor who charged former House Speaker Ray Sansom with official misconduct is not giving up.

The charge was dismissed by a circuit judge. The state appealed, and was told last week there was no basis for the appeal. Now, State Attorney Willie Meggs says he has an undisclosed plan to bring Sansom to justice, but has not says what he has in mind.

“The bottom line is the former Speaker of the House was building an aircraft hangar for Jay Odom to use over in the Destin airport, and he was using mine and your money to do that with,” Meggs said. “And there’s just something inherently wrong with that. I’m not going to rest until I either get kicked out of court or he gets convicted of that wrong conduct.”

Sansom is accused of improperly steering six million dollars for a Destin aircraft hangar that developer and GOP contributor Jay Odom wanted to use for a corporate jet business. Sansom has claimed innocence and said the money was for an emergency operations and training center for Northwest Florida State College.

Florida drivers trying to renew their licenses are running into some new road blocks.
Today was the first day the state began requiring extra identification in order to renew a license or ID card. As Whitney Ray tells us, drivers unfamiliar with the new requirements are being sent home to get more identification.

Renewing a drivers license just became more demanding. Florida is one of the first states to enact Real ID regulations. Real ID is a federal program passed after 9/11 to make it harder for people to lie about who they are.

Kimani Franklin wasn’t aware of the new requirements and was sent home to get more information.

“It’s getting to the point where you have to have a filing cabinet in your car,” said Kimani.

To get a Real ID you need four forms of Identification; a passport, social security card, or birth certificate will verify who you are, bills or a W2 form will verify where you live, but what will no longer work is an old Florida drivers license

Brenda Green showed up at the DMV worried she didn’t have enough documentation. After rummaging through her purse she found an old utility bill, and got her Real ID.
She calls the new process taxing, but understands why the government is asking for more.

“I think it’s really crap, but I understand too that there are so many things going on now in the world so you don’t really know,” said Brenda.

After Kimani returned, he qualified for the new ID, but didn’t leave with it. The DMV doesn’t take VISA.

“One word, frustrating,” said Kimani.

A pain in the neck for drivers, but comfort to national security workers who says the new standards could help keep terrorists off planes and out of the country. For a more detailed list of what you need to get a Real ID, go to www.gathergoget.com

Parts of Florida are already experiencing below freezing temperatures and some experts are predicting snow. Farmers are preparing for the freeze and praying it won’t last long. Strawberries, Oranges and tropical fish may be most at risk. Department of Agriculture spokesman Terry McElroy says a short freeze shouldn’t make a big impact on orange growers.

“Citrus guys are doing what they can with their crops and they are hoping that it doesn’t get below 28 degrees for an extended period of time which is what it takes to damage citrus. They are a bit more cold-hearty than tender vegetation in the ground,” said McElroy.

Floridians may see the effects of the freeze well into February. Valentine’s Day flowers could be killed if gardeners don’t take the proper precautions or if it gets too cold.