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Florida has some of the most affordable colleges in the county. Four Florida universities ranked in the top 20 of Forbes’ best buy list. As Whitney Ray tells us, holding onto the top spots may become more difficult as the state schools raise tuition and cut staff to balance their shrinking budgets.

Four of the top 20 universities on Forbes “Best College Buys” list are in Florida. The University of Florida ranked 11th. Florida State University ranked 13th. The schools were given high marks for low tuition, high graduation rates and experienced staff.

Senior Josh Robinson considered all those factors when he chose FSU.

“It’s not incredibly expensive, I never got that feeling,” said Robinson.

Junior Alex Griffel was considering a school in California, before he saw the price tag.

“It wasn’t worth the value of it to go out there and spend all that money, when I could just come here to a public school and instate tuition. It’s great. I love it here,” said Griffel.

The average cost of four years of tuition and fees at the ranked Florida universities is about 18-thousand dollars. But that’s changing.

The ranking come among tuition increases and budget cuts that are visible in the classroom. That has some students wondering how long can Florida hold onto those top spots.

“Once you’re in your major classes are still getting larger and it used to be about 30 students and now you can see anything from 40 or 50 plus,” said FSU Senior Rosa Mateu.

Mateu has notice changes during her three years at FSU. Since she enrolled tuition has risen 15 percent a year, her Bright Futures scholarship has paid less, and budget cuts forced layoffs.

“I hope that Florida State stays on the map, but I’m not sure at the rate we are going,” said Mateu.

Florida’s 11 public universities are among the cheapest in the country. In 2009 the state legislature gave the schools permission to raise tuition up to 15 percent a year until the state average meets the national average.

Other Florida universities making the top 100 list are, New College of Florida at 16th, University of North Florida at 19th, University of West Florida at 27th, University of Central Florida at 42nd, and University of South Florida at 51st.

Beginning at midnight tonight back to school items will be free of state sales tax.

The sales tax holiday lasts through Sunday. Items exempt from include clothing, school supplies and some athletic apparel. The holiday was created by the legislature to help parents safe money and help spur economic growth, but there are concerns the recent stock market plummet may have people afraid to spend money. Florida Retail Federation President Rick McAllister thinks the stock market shock will give people more of a reason to shop the holiday and save.

“I’m predicting a two to four percent increase over last year. A lot of what we buy over this spending period is things we need, not just things we want,” said McAllister.

Some of the “needs” on the list include gardening gloves, bowling shoes, and fishing vests. McAllister says they may seem weird back to school items but there are gardening, bowling and fishing classes. Not on the list this year… college textbooks.

Florida’s credit rating is holding strong despite S&Ps downgrading of the federal government. Florida has kept its AAA credit rating despite the trouble in Washington. But the state’s investments haven’t faired as well. As Whitney Ray tells us, the state pension has lost eight billion dollars of its value since the first of the month, but administrators say they’re not worried.

The federal credit downgrade and the enormous drop in the stock market are signs of a weak national economy, but Florida is hoping to buck the trend.

Governor Rick Scott says bucking the trend means making tough choices.

“The rating is a confirmation of what we all understand of what’s going on in our country. We are going to have to go through a process of making choices,” said Scott.

The state is holding onto it’s AAA rating even as the federal government falls to a AA+, but even though Florida is holding strong the national downgrade will be felt here. Many fear it will be harder to get home loans. Scott says the housing market will pick up once he reaches his jobs goal.

“I’ll be glad when we get to the 700-thousand jobs, when we get there, that’s when we are going to change the housing market,” said Scott.

Another place where the federal downgrade and subsequent drop in the stock market is having an impact is in the state’s pension investments. Since the first of the month the pension fund’s value fell from 127 billion dollars to 119 billion.

“We weather the short term volatility for the benefit of long term returns and we expect short term volatility,” said State Board of Administration Spokesman Dennis MacKee.

He says the goals are 20 and 30 years out, not day to day. In 2009, the fund dropped to 83 billion dollars, but the made full recovery and actually made gains. MacKee says people get worked up over the value drop, but the fund has more than enough money to pay its retirement obligations, and is so diversified that it traditionally yields a nearly nine percent return.

Florida’s two largest power companies are asking the Florida Public Service Commission permission to charge customers for nuclear power plants that have yet to be built.

Florida Power and Light wants to charge customers 196 million dollars, Progress Energy wants to charge 135 million. Both increases would amount to two dollars or less a month per customer. FP&L Spokesman Mark Bubriski says the power company needs to begin building now, to have enough energy for the state’s growing population.

“We are looking to the future now, both the near term future and the long term future and making sure we have enough power for our customers. The great thing about nuclear is it’s a low fuel cost source,” said Bubriski.

FPL will up upgrading two of its nuclear reactors and building two more with the money. Progress’s proposed rate increase would help the power company build a nuclear plant in Levy County.

For months Florida voters have been receiving robo-calls from Governor Rick Scott boasting of his accomplishments. Now the tables have turned. A progressive political group is recording messages from voters and as Whitney Ray tells us, they plan to tie up the governor’s phone lines next week delivering the messages.

Some are short and too the point.

“Recall Rick Scott,” Recorded Lois G.

Others are sarcastic.

“You’re a great success… as a crook that is,” recorded Michael V.

All give Governor Rick Scott a low job approval rating.

“On a scale of one to 10, with one being very dissatisfied and 10 being extremely satisfied, I rate you with a minus 10,” Diane W. recorded.

The messages are from voters who visit the website PinkSlipRick.com. The site is run by Florida Watch Action, a progressive political group that’s been hounding the governor since his early days in office.

They organized this protest outside Scott’s office during session, after Scott proposed laying off thousands of state workers. And last week when the governor sold donuts at a Tampa bakery they handed him pink slips.

Now the group is motivated by Scott’s push to remake his image. Scott’s been robo-calling voters for months. The group wants to return the favor. They’re pre-recording messages online and plan to bombard the governor’s office with phone calls next week.

Governor Scott says the attacks don’t faze him.

“That’s what’s great about this country. We are making a real decision about what type of government we want,” said Scott.

Each recording on the website has a link for listeners to report an inappropriate message, but in this case what’s acceptable and what’s not may be in the ear of the beholder. The attacks come as Scott is beginning to find more favor with voters. A Quinnipiac Poll released Friday, shows Scott’s job approval rating has climbed from the high 20s to the mid 30s.

There are an estimated 700-thousand kids in Florida with no health coverage, even though the state offers free and low cost insurance for kids.

The Florida KidCare program offers coverage starting at 15 dollars a month, based on need. The need has been growing drastically in the last three years due to the recession. Rich Robleto, the Executive Director of Florida Healthy Kids says the program has been reaching out to parents who’ve lost jobs.

“These are families that might never have though about what kind of a social program is out there, they might not ever have been aware that there are programs. So we put a lot of focus on trying to get our message to the newly unemployed,” said Robleto.

About two million kids are already enrolled in KidCare. You can apply online at www.floridakidcare.org.

Governor Rick Scott was greeted this afternoon by a very patriotic Jeep.

The Jeep stopped at the Governor’s Mansion today as part of “The Crossing of American Tour.” The tour is sponsored by the Spirit of Liberty Foundation, a group raising money for veterans. Governor Rick Scott was allowed to sit in the red, white, and blue driver’s seat. Scott says the group’s message is important.

“Organizations like this are great because it is highlighting what we all live for. We live for the freedom of our country and we are very appreciative that people are willing to sacrifice for the freedom of this country,” said Scott.

The Jeep is stopping in 43 states. Tomorrow it’s headed to South Florida. From there it will make a trip up the Atlantic Coast ending in New York on September eight.

The US Department of Justice says most of Florida’s new election law is legal. But the four most controversial provisions will need further review. Today Florida’s Secretary of State announced that the Department of Justice had signed off on 76 of the provisions. Last month the state asked a federal court to decide the legality of the four remaining provisions, an attempt to take politics out of the decision. Governor Rick Scott says it was the right decision.

“We wanted to make sure that it was decided by the courts, because ultimately the courts are going to make the decision, so it’s the right approach on the issues we went in on,” said Scott.

Still in question are changes to early voting that shorten voting from two weeks to one, but keep the same number of hours… and tighter regulations on third party groups that host voter registration drives. A panel of three federal judges will rule on those provisions before Florida’s presidential primary.

Advocates for seniors are trying to cut down on abuse and neglect in Assisted Living Facilities. A task force charged with creating solutions to problems that led to the deaths of 70 assisted living residents over the past nine years held its first of three meetings today in Tallahassee. As Whitney Ray tells us, the task force is taking on an industry that’s had success in lobbying the legislature to cut regulations and oversight.

Stories of abuse, neglect and starvation in some of Florida’s 3-thousand assisted living facilities have prompted action by the state.

A newspaper investigation found 70 people died of abuse and neglect in assisted living facilities since 2002, and many were left living in filth, with inadequate supervision.

The first meeting of a task forced charged with fixing the problems met in Tallahassee Monday. State Senator Ronda Storms is on the task force. She says the state needs tougher laws to shut down the facilities that are neglecting residents.

“Those facilities that are failing and people are dying and being hurt as a result of negligence or willful incompetence, then they need to be shut down,” said Storms.

The task force will develop methods to improve transparency and accountability. The ideas will then be debated in legislative committee meetings this fall. But the ideas will be challenged by an industry that historically gets its way in this building. Year after year lobbying to cut regulations and winning.”

Brian Lee, a former ombudsman for long term care turned Executive Director of Families for Better Care says it’s going to be tough turn things around.

“There are three different associations that represent assisted living facilities so their messaging is getting to the policymakers so it’s really has been one sided for a number of years,” said Lee.

Governor Rick Scott called for the task force. Scott, who is for less regulations overall, says neglect by a few bad facilities may be making the whole industry look bad. More than a dozen assisted living facility executives landed positions on the panel, a sign to advocates for residents that passing reforms will be a challenge.

This year it became harder for former felons in Florida to get their voting rights restored. Forty-seven states have a system to automatically restore a convicts civil rights, but not Florida. A move in March ended automatic restoration for nonviolent offenders, but as Whitney Ray tells us, a new study is giving ammunition for activists who say restoring civil rights could low taxes and makes the state safer.

There are a million Floridians who can’t vote, run for office, or serve on a jury, because they’ve lost their civil rights. They committed felonies but their punishment long outlasts their prison sentence.

In March, Governor Rick Scott and the state Clemency Board voted to end a four year old rule allowing automatic restoration of rights for nonviolent offenders.

But now a report from the Florida Parole Commission is shedding light on how that decision might affect crime and taxes.

One in three ex-felons in Florida commits new crimes within three years of their release. But once their civil rights are restored the recidivism rate drops drastically. The Parole Commission study found just one in 10 ex-felons reoffends after their rights are restored.

Still Attorney General Pam Bondi, a former prosecutor, says rights need to be earned.

“I still firmly believe having your rights restored should be earned not automatic. I’ve said that for years,” said Bondi.

Convicts can still have their rights restore. They just have to wait five years then plea their case before the state clemency board. Human Rights Activist Mark Schlakman says the process needs to be reviewed.

“The governor and cabinet have an opportunity to take another look at the policy they implemented,” said Schlakman.

Florida spends more than two billion tax dollars a year locking up criminals. Activists and fiscally conservatives say restoring their civil rights will save taxpayer money and curb the state’s crime rate.

The next Clemency Board meeting isn’t until September 22nd. There is still no word if the board will consider this new report then.

FSU’s head football coach Jimbo Fisher is breaking his silence today, about his son’s life threatening illness. In March, six year old Ethan Fisher was diagnosed with a rare blood disease called Fanconi Anemia. The disease only affects one in 300-thousand kids. Today Coach Fisher announced the launch of a new foundation to find a cure for the disease. He says he wants to use his position to raise money for research.

“God has given us this platform. We can find a cure no doubt. We’re on a quest for a cure,” said Jimbo.

OnaKwest is the name of the fund raising drive being run by the Jimbo and Candi Fisher Kidz 1st Fund. Jimbo’s wife Candi is heading up the efforts. She hopes to raise awareness of the disease and provide hope to families.

“I want parents who go in to a doctor’s office and hear the works Fanconi Anemia not to walk away scared not knowing and not understanding what they are facing,” said Candi.

The Fishers have enlisted the help of the University of Minnesota and the lead researcher studying the disease, Dr. Margaret MacMillian. She says research into Fanconi Anemia is falling behind because the disease is so rare that it doesn’t get a lot of attention and money.

“Money makes research happen faster. We don’t have time to wait, We need to make that change now. That’s why we need money raised,” said Bondi.

Kids with the disease need a bone marrow transfer around 11. They then are at a higher risk of cancer. The Fishers are asking anyone who can, to register to be a donor with the National Marrow Donor Registry. They’re also taking donations for research www.kidz1stfund.com.

Governor Rick Scott’s job approval rating has climbed from the high 20’s to the mid 30’s. A Quinnipiac Poll released today shows 35 percent of Florida voters approve of the job Scott’s doing. In May Scott’s job approval rating was 29 percent. Since then Scott has taken steps to improve his image. FSU political science professor Carol Weissert says the governor still has a long time to tweak his image.

“Politics has a really long time frame so he could be in a completely different spot in two years,” said Weissert.

Some of Scott’s more visible changes have come in the past week, after the poll was taken. This week alone Scott has held a cabinet meeting without a tie, hosted a hour long open house with reporters, and worked at a Tampa donut shop.

The Florida State University Film School is now taking applications for its new animation and digital arts program. FSU is teaming with Digital Domain Media group to launch the new program in West Palm Beach. Digital Domain has created CGI for award wining commercials and box office hits like Transformers. Students who enroll in the new program will take their first year of classes on FSU’s main campus in Tallahassee and then transfer to the West Palm Beach studios. Film School Dean Frank Patterson says students in the program will learn from the best CGI experts in the world.

“Our goal is to get our students in front of these professional in an educational setting and give them the tools and creative insight to create the next set of great digital images,” said Patterson.

The first classes will be held in West Palm Beach in the Fall of 2012. The Digital Domain building and FSU film school classrooms will be side by side.

President Barack Obama turned 50 today, but if his birthday wish is a 2nd term in office, he’s got some work to do. A Quinnipiac Poll released today shows 50 percent of Florida voters don’t think the president deserves a second term. But as Whitney Ray tells us, voters also don’t like his opponents.

Reaching a deal on the debt ceiling didn’t give President Barack Obama a boost from voters.

“President Obama’s Job Approval ratings dropped sharply over the past two months,” said Peter Brown, Quinnipiac Pollster.

A Quinnipiac poll released Thursday shows half the voters in Florida don’t think Mr. Obama deserves a second term in office.

“Last week Mr. Obama’s job approval was roughly 44 percent approve in Florida and 50 or 51 percent disapprove,” said Brown.

Pollsters blame the lagging economy for the president’s falling popularity… not the ugly debt debate.

Still FSU political science professor Carol Weissert says the squabbling over the debt ceiling wasn’t good for anybody.

“I think it’s a pox on both their houses; the presidency and congress,” said Weissert.

Weissert says the month spent on the debt debate would have been better used on jobs.

“If I was the president’s advisor I would be pulling my hair out because the president needs to talk about jobs and the economy and he’s really been sucked into this nightmare,” said Weissert.

Florida was key to Obama’s victory in 2008 and he’ll likely need to carry the state to win in 2012. The good news for the president is… the next election is 15 months away… and according to the poll, none of his GOP opponents have a higher approval rating.

Tomorrow Quinnipiac will release a poll highlighting Governor Rick Scott’s job approval ratings. The last the university release in May showed less than 30 percent of the electorate in Florida approved of the job he was doing.

A 33 year old sample of serial killer Ted Bundy’s blood was found last month, and now cold case detectives in half a dozen states can hardly wait to have it tested against the FBI’s DNA database. Bundy confessed to 30 murders, but there is reason to believe he killed many more. As Whitney Ray tells us, his DNA may prove that the serial killer’s rampage is far worse than history has reported.

From 1974 to 1978 Ted Bundy’s killing spree spanned the county. He admitted to killing 30 young women… but experts believe the death toll is much higher.

He was arrested in Colorado in 1977 and the killing might have stopped there… but he escaped… and headed to Tallahassee Florida where the massacre continued. In 1978, he killed two girls at a Florida State University sorority house. Then traveled to Lake City where he raped and murdered a 12 year old.

It was the last murder that did him in. Bundy was executed in Florida in 1989, and many believe he went to his grave withholding information about dozens of unsolved murders.

But now cold case detectives have new information that may link Bundy to more terror. A break came in January from this display case holing memorabilia form the Bundy investigation. That’s when a forensic expert got the idea to test Bundy’s teeth molds for DNA evidence after police in Tacoma, Washington asked the department if could get Bundy’s DNA.

David Coffman, a regional crime lab director for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had the molds checked… but nothing was found. That didn’t stop Coffman.

“We decided lets try again. Lets call around again and we got the person who knew what they had onsite,” said Coffman.

What they had was this. Two vials of Ted Bundy’s blood taken in 1978 before Bundy was convicted, discovered in Columbia County, where Bundy committed his last murder.

The tubes were given to Valecia Hickman an FDLE lab technician, but the blood was 33 years old.

“I was thinking it may be too degraded, so I sampled from the dried area around the tube of the blood and it worked,” said Hickman.

Now 22 years after Bundy’s death the state finally has his DNA and Friday so will the FBI. They’ll test it against their nationwide database to see if it matches evidence from unsolved murders.

Bundy’s DNA will be entered into the FBI database this weekend. If there are any matches, they’ll be released Monday.