Welcome to

Retailers are optimistic this holiday shopping season, predicting a modest 3.5 percent increase in sales. But online sales are expected to skyrocket by as much as 15 percent. As Whitney Ray tells us, instate retailers are embracing the trend, they just want to make sure people buy from online shops with locations in Florida.

The Florida Retail Federation is asking Santa for higher sales this holiday shopping season. Retailers are predicting a 3.5 percent increase, and say the average Florida shopper will spend 700 dollars on gifts. With that in mind stores are putting up their holiday decorations and marking down prices. But fewer people may actually see them.

A growing number of purchases happen after people leave the store. Close to one in five holiday purchases, or 20 percent, is made over the internet and that number is growing five percent a year. Michelle Roberts plans to do half her shopping online this year.

“I look for stores where I can return items, so I shop there online and bring things back if I need to,” said Roberts.

The online shopping trend is rising amid increased efforts by Florida business groups to make online shops without stores in Florida collect sales tax. Right now major online retailers like Amazon.com don’t have to collect the tax.

Florida Retail Federation President Rick McAllister wants shoppers to look for online stores with locations in the state.

“You don’t want to be a tax scofflaw. So my suggestion is to pick those retailers, shop online, but find the ones that collect your sales tax for you,” said McAllister.

Their hope is to turn Ho, Ho, Ho into jobs, jobs, jobs this holiday season by keeping more money in state. Retailers say online shops that don’t collect sales tax have an unfair price advantage. But what shoppers may not know is, they still owe the tax even if the store hasn’t added it to the price.

The American Red Cross wants your help to send holiday cheer to US troops.

They were in the state capitol today collecting holiday cards from state leaders. The cards will be mailed out in mid-December and go troops serving overseas. Spokesperson Christy Rojas-Kasten says the messages lets soldiers know people back home are thinking about them.

“Even though they may never meet those people I think it’s a special sentiment to think that people back home are excited to see them come back,” said Rojas-Kasten.

The Red Cross will continue to collect cards at their local chapters and anything they receive postmarked by December 9th, will be sent overseas.

After weeks of groups announcing their distaste for the destination casino bill… one group is speaking up for the plan.

The Latin Builders Association says building three mega casino-resorts in South Florida would create 45-thousand construction jobs and 100-thousand permanent jobs. The builders were joined by the bill sponsors at a news conference in the state capitol today. LBA President Bernie Navarro says destination casinos are better than smaller gaming businesses because they target tourists instead of locals.

“We feel destination resorts are much better because it will not recycle our current money in our local community. It will bring money from other locations. It will bring tourism from other locations,” said Navarro.

The Florida United Businesses Association is joining the LBA in supporting the bill. Business groups against the legislation include the Florida Chamber, the Florida Retail Federation and the Florida Attractions Associations, which includes Disney.

Nearly a million and a half Florida homeowners who have the state run insurer of last resort are likely to see larger than expected increases in coming years. The insurer’s board is under fire to return more policies to the private market, which could mean higher rates.

Got a crack in your homes foundation from a suspected sinkhole? Citizens Insurance says it wants a ten percent deductible for sinkhole claims. The insurer  also wants to make it harder for people who can buy insurance in the private market from choosing Citizens because it is cheaper. Private insurers are thrilled. Sam Miller from the Flordia Insurance Council says Citizens rates are a problem. “If you are in South Florida and you can get Citizens coverage for 30 to 40 percent less than the private market, you;’re going to do that,” says Miller.

By law, Citizens rates are only allowed to go up by ten percent a year. But the company  says it would like a 25 percent cap. Insurance expert Don Brown says even private companies are already subsidizing Citizens low rates. “The emphasis should always be to get those people into the market where they are paying the full rate and not counting on their neighbors to pay part of the tab for them.” Brown is an insurance agent and former member of the Legislature.

All of the changes that are being talked about for Citizens have one thing in common. They’re going to cost Citizens customers more money. But there is opposition. State Senator Mike Fasano says the sinkhole deductible could be okay…if. “You know, allow people to make that decision. Allow homeowners to make the decision whether they want to have a ten percent deductible , but also, let it be reflected in their premium,” says Fasano.

The good news for Citizens customers. The 2012 election. Few policy makers have a stomach for huge increases. But, A failure to act will continue to shift  costs to everyone else.

Recognizing the potential difficulty in getting the legislature to do anything in an election year, Governor Rick Scott is asking Citizens to come back with recommendations it can accomplish without legislative approval. Those could include higher deductibles and higher rates for very large condo associations.

The Hurricane Catastrophe fund could cover up to twelve billion in losses, but it faces even bigger expenses if there was a very large storm. Current economic conditions make it difficult to borrow, so the fund says it wants to shift the risk to private insurers. Director Jack Nicholson told the Governor and Cabinet that shedding as much as five billion in risk could raise average homeowners rates by ten percent over the next seven years.

“What you’ve got is a tremendous risk,” says Nicholson, who explained it with this analogy  ”For example, if you had a car, and somebody said your brakes are bad, your front end needs an alignment, your tires are bald, it’s going to cost you a thousand dollars to get it fixed. You’re going on a long trip. The responsible thing to do is fix your car. that’s the situation we have., We have an insurance system that has a problem.”

The plan would result in higher rates for average homeowners because private insurers would have to purchase more re-insurance from private sources to replace funding from the Catastrophic fund.

State pension fund manager  Ash Williams is being cleared of any conflict in a 125 million dollar state investment in a project associated with a former Williams partner. An advisory panel to the state board of administration cleared Williams and said his friendship might have actually benefited state investors because of the trust level. Williams says it proved what he has known all along. “Our processes and policies are actually superior to those used by most institutions, number one. Number two, that there was no indication that those processes were not followed in a normal manner. No indication that I, in any way, injected myself into anything or had any conflict.”

Williams is up for reappointment to the job. He asked the Governor and Cabinet to hold off on the decision until they reviewed the final report. They will consider keeping Williams at their December meeting.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Governor Rick Scott are applauding the US Supreme Courts decision to hear the case on health care in March. Florida has been a leader among twenty five states in challenging the national patient protection act. Bondi says the five and a half hours scheduled for the hearing is unusual and welcome. “We need finality. We need a resolution. Again, the time that the court allocated is unprecedented for a modern day Supreme Court. That shows what we have all been saying. This is truly a case of great national importance,” says the Attorney General.

Bondi expects a decision in June. Both opponents and the Obama administration have been asking for a speedy resolution.

Governor Rick Scott unveiled a video detailing the kind of fraud gripping Personal Injury Protect insurance. The video shows passengers and the driver parking in the middle of a dark road, getting out, then another car hitting the first car. Flanked by law enforcement officers from around the state, Scott called on lawmakers to find a way to end fraud like that seen in the video that is costing consumers higher premiums. “People are fed up.” Says Scott. “And they are disappointed that people are taking advantage of an existing program that was set  up to reduce the cost of insurance and exactly the opposite is happening.”

After two weeks of touring the state, Scott still has no concrete ideas on a fix. The problem is that the number of claims has increased more than forty percent while the number of crashes in Florida is down and the number of cars on the road has remained stable. The fraud is estimated to cost almost a billion dollars a year.

Florida has three NFL teams, and all three are at the bottom of the list in attendance. When games don’t sellout the NFL can pull them off the air. The Tampa Bay Bucs have had four blackouts this year. The Dolphins and Jaguars have barely escaped the penalty; sometimes buying tickets themselves to sell out the games. As Whitney Ray tells us, soon teams could be forced make sure their games are sold out, or else they’ll be penalized by the state.

Jerral Stewart and Jonathan Pillow play football for the FAMU Rattlers. Jerral grew up near Miami and is a life long Dolphins fan. Jonathan is from Jacksonville and loves the Jaguars. Both can remember trying to watch games on TV only to discover they had been blacked-out.

“You turn to it and it says it’s been blacked out in your area, so it’s kinda bumin, because you want to see your team,” said Jonathan.

“Local teams should be played locally. If anything it should be blacked out nationally,” said Jerral.

If a game doesn’t sellout within three days of kickoff the NFL will take it off local TV. It’s called a blackout and here at the state capitol one lawmaker is trying to stop the practice. State Senator Mike Fasano filed a bill to fine NFL teams 125-thousand dollars every time there is a black-out.

“People have put their money over the years to help the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Miami Dolphins, the Tampa Bay Bucs and now it’s time for those owners to reciprocate and step up to the plate and make certain there are no blackouts,” said Fasano.

The money would be used to purchase tickets to be given to foster kids or the military in an attempt to stop future blackouts.

“A message to the NFL as well: I don’t care if it’s a 40 or 50 year policy in place. Change the policy,” said Fasano.

Fasano recognizes he can’t take on the NFL, but says the team owners are fair game, because the state gives each of them a two million dollar tax break every year. Fasano’s cause already has support from fans. Friday an organized group of NFL fans petitioned the FCC to stop the blackouts.

In 2008, voters told the state to issue tax breaks to people who strengthen their homes against storms or make their houses more energy efficient.

But nothing has been done. Lawmakers are dragging their feet, letting sit a bill to enable the voters’ wishes. Today the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee began discussing a bill to allow the tax breaks. State Senator Mike Fasano is on the committee. He says it’s about time.

“This isn’t a constitutional amendment that was passed last year or a month ago. This has been in effect for several years, but unfortunately it has not gone forward because the legislature has failed to pass the enabling legislation,” said Fasano.

The tax break would work like this: people who make their homes more energy efficient or storm proof would not have to pay taxes on the increased value. Instead; they would continue to pay taxes based on the apprised value minus the upgrade.

Convicted Killer Oba Chandler is set to be executed on Tuesday.  All twelve jurors unanimously agreed Chandler brutally murdered an Ohio woman and her two daughters and deserved death. But as Mike Vasilinda tells us, a panel of experts believes that Chandler is one of the rare cases in which all the jurors agreed.

Oba Chandler’s jury found his crime so heinous, that all 12 jurors said he deserved to die. But even Ted Bundy’s jury was split 10-2 on death. In most states that would have saved Bundy, but not in Florida.

Meeting in the shadow of the state capitol, judges, lawyers, prosecutors and others debated how the death penalty is imposed.

“It’s the least that we can ask, that before we give the ultimate sentence to someone, that we require a unanimous verdict,” Sen. Thad Altman (R-Brevard) said.

At 24, Florida leads the nation in death row exonerations. Faulty eyewitness testimony is often the blame.

“The mind is not like a tape recorder,” Mike Minerva with the Innocence Project said. “It does not retain whatever images the person thought that they had

The experts say one of the biggest determinants of who gets death is simply which county your tried in.

Judge O.H. Eaton is a retired circuit judge from Seminole County with doubts.  For 15 years he has taught a required class for judges that qualifies them for murder cases.

“That whether a person lives or dies has more to do with the judicial assignment than the facts of the case,” Eaton said. “Now, if that doesn’t show you that we’ve got a broken system, I don’t know what does.”

No one on the panel expects change to come rapidly, but they say it’s important to start a conversation.

Legislation to require unanimous jury verdicts has failed to get a hearing. And one effort to abolish the death penalty was voted down 117 to 2 last year.

Florida State University is pledging to become the most veteran friendly school in the nation, using Veterans Day to make the announcement. FSU already has a history of helping returning soldiers launch new careers. As Whitney Ray tells us, one vet made a brief stop at FSU… just months before being catapulted into the spotlight.

His sacrifice is written all over his face. An explosion in Iraq in 2003 left former Army Soldier JR Martinez scarred for life. He’s lucky to be alive.

But the Army vet didn’t let his disfigurement stop him. After years of surgery and rehab, Martinez found himself hoisted into the national spotlight; competing on a network dance show and landing a role as a soap star.

But before Martinez made it big in Hollywood, he made a stop at Florida State University. The school hosted a business boot camp to help injured soldiers find new careers.

“There’s another battle you have to face and that’s how do you get to the point where you chase your dreams,” said Martinez.

In June of 2008, Martinez was one of more than a dozen students who attended the program that offers nine days of business training and 12 months of online support.

“This program is a way for guys to broaden their ideas or take a step back and say maybe I’ll go in a different direction that is more suitable for my case and my situation,” said Martinez.

Martinez had no acting experience but off camera he told us, he would like to give it a shot. Three months later he landed his first role on a daytime soap opera.

On Veterans Day, FSU unveiled its plans to lead the nation in educating returning soldiers.

“Transform Florida State University into one of the most veteran friendly campuses in the United States,” said FSU President Eric Barron.

With the end of the Iraq war, more soldiers will be returning home and FSU hopes there will be more stories like JR Martinez.

More on FSU Vet Plan

Florida State University plans to become the most veteran friendly school in the nation. They advanced their plan in an afternoon new conference today. FSU will build a 35-thousand square foot Veterans Center. The center will assist veterans with federal aid, academic advising, personal counseling and rehabilitation. Today FSU President Eric Barron officially picked a director for the Center. Colonel William Francis, the head of FSU’s Air Force ROTC program will lead the center.

“My family and I look forward to serving the student veterans at Florida State University,” said Francis.

FSU is also launching a Veteran Film Festival. Today and tomorrow the school will screen the movie Hell and Back Again. It’s the story of a returning soldier injured in Iraq that was picked as the 2011 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prizewinner.

Oba Chandler is set to be executed on Tuesday for three murders he committed in 1989. Years of appeals have made his case news on a regular basis. And as Mike Vasilinda reports, for thousands of other families who have suffered losses, each appeal reopens old wounds.

Carol Broihahn and Cynthia Ward’s sister Mary was murdered in 1982. They had forgotten about the killer until they were told he was being released, and for the last three months they have been fighting unsuccessfully to keep murderer Clarence Frederick  behind bars. Carole says the fight has dredged up feelings they had forgotten.

“It’s been like crucified again, and again and again, and again.” Says Carole. “Over and over again, living the same nightmare.”

Six thousand other families are in the same situation. So are the victims families of death row inmates. Each time there is an appeal Florida State University grief scientist Sally Karioth says families are forced to relive their trauma.“Once more their name is in the paper. Once more its the reminder of how brutal it was,” says Karioth.

Next week, three time killer Oba Chandler is set to be executed.  His death warrant lists six different appeals in the last 14 years. It is unclear if the victims family will attend. Karioth says whether or not they do, it’s not likely to provide closure. “Give someone a sentence they are there forever, without chance of appeal, and they are not going to revisit in the newspaper every six years, We’re not going to hear about them. They are really gone.”

Karioth is quick to point out that grief never leaves families who have lost a loved one, But she says reliving the trauma that comes with each headline is possible to avoid.

In 1994, Florida lawmakers changed the law so that life in prison really does mean life with no chance of parole, but the change does not apply to most inmates sentenced before 1994.

A volatile stock market is fertile ground for scammers trying to scare seniors in to parting with their money. Today, a one day nationwide hotline to educate seniors about financial frauds is wrapping up its final calls. The free advice is designed to protect seniors from scammers who, as Whitney Ray tells us, can steal a lifetime of savings in just a few days.

Music keeps 95 year old Vera Nessen and 88 year old Paul Frohe young. It may also keep them sharp enough from becoming a victim of financial fraud. According to the Investment Protection Trust one out of every five people over 65 have fallen victim to some level of financial fraud.

The trust hosted a nationwide hotline Thursday to give free advice to seniors and their families about avoiding investment fraud.

AARP is also spreading the word about scams. Spokesman Dave Bruns says criminals are now using the turmoil in the financial market to rip off seniors.

“If they get inside those defenses, they will clean you out in a heartbeat and a lifetime of prudence and hard work can go, poof, like that,” said Burns.

Crooks also look for signs of cognitive impairments when selecting a victim.

As for Vera and Paul, they remain alert, and have family support to protect them from scams. Family involvement can be a big deterrent to scammers. AARP says if a deal sounds too good to be true it probably is. They say always get a second opinion before signing any investment deals and never giving banking information to anyone over the internet. For more tips visit www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/

After a 30 year battle to stay alive in Florida, black bears are making a healthy recovery.

In the 1970’s their numbers dropped to 300. Today there are more than 3-thousand. There are enough black bears now, that according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, they should be taken off the threatened species list. FWC Director Nick Wiley says it will give the commission more freedom to look at the bigger issues.

“Some of the rules and regulations that go with a threatened species, we can loosen up on some of that and we can now move toward looking at those habitat issues and looking at the bigger issue,” said Wiley.

The commission released its bear management plan in Tallahassee today. It includes creating seven bear districts, increasing informational campaigns, but hunting black bears is not part of the plan. The commission is now taking public comment on the plan. They expect to vote on it next year.