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Governor Rick Scott is vowing to work with black lawmakers on issues important to their constituents.

Scott met with Florida’s Legislative Black Caucus today. They discussed problems with the 2012 election, Scott’s opposition to the Affordable Care Act and judicial appointments. The hour long meeting was tense at times, but there was a moment of levity when Scott promised he’s always available to hear their concerns, and Senator Arthenia Joyner called him on it.

Joyner: I called for you three times but nobody ever got back to me, but I’m going to say what we said last year, you and I will have to deal with that because I respect you.
Scott: and I respect you.
Joyner: We need to be able to talk. We differ on a lot of things.
Scott: You’re kidding.
Crowd: laughs.

Two other issues the caucus would like to see the governor focus on are minority graduation rates and the high minority incarceration rate.

Ten percent of the nation’s oysters come from Florida’s Apalachicola Bay, but there’s trouble on the Forgotten Coast. Drought, record low river flow and a battle with Georgia over waterways that feed the bay are threatening the industry. Today the Senate Agriculture Committee began exploring ideas to save the oyster industry. They listened to experts, including UF Professor Karl Havens who has been working with oysterman to try and find a way to save their industry and the ecosystem.

“We’ve been looking at what happened with the bay to cause the collapse and what are the things we can do to help with the recovery. To a large extent we’ve been working with the oyster industry to help them figure out how can they fish the oyster community in a more resilient way,” said Havens.

Havens hopes to develop a system that keeps the oysterman employed and allows the bay to recover and says having the state’s support is key.

Governor Rick Scott is catching, maybe some unwarranted attention over a dog he adopted in 2010. Scott adopted a rescue lab and let Facebook fans name it. They chose Regan, but according to a Florida newspaper article nobody knows where the dog is now. Scott was asked about the missing pooch while talking to reporters in Tallahassee this afternoon.

“During the campaign, we adopted a rescue lab. I think he was about seven years old and he was the sweetest dog you could imagine. When he got to the mansion he did not like everyone carrying things around so he barked loudly at people so I gave him back to his prior owner.”

Scott has since adopted a new rescue dog and named it Tallee.

For the first time tonight, we are getting an explanation directly from Governor Rick Scott about his controversial Medicaid expansion estimate. The expansion is optional for states under the Affordable Care Act. As Whitney Ray tells us, Scott’s figure is 23 billion dollars higher than an estimate released by health experts in his own administration.

Playing it safe or playing politics, however you explain Governor Rick Scott’s estimate of a Medicaid expansion one thing is for sure, it’s creating controversy.

State economists put a 10 billion dollar price tag on the expansion made optional by the Affordable Care Act. One figure from the Agency for Health Care Administration lowers the cost to three billion, but Scott made national headlines last week by touting a 26 billion dollar estimate.

Scott entered politics to defeat the new health care laws, but a failed lawsuit in the nation’s highest court and a defeat for Republican in the 2012 presidential election left him little choice but to play ball, except when it comes to extending Medicaid to an additional 900-thousand Floridians. Each state can opt out of the extension. Democrats think Scott is inflating the cost to build a case against expansion.

“By overestimating it, it will seem like a weight to the people of Florida and at the same time something that’s not sustainable and fundable,” said State Senator Eleanor Sobel.

Last week the women Scott picked to lead AHCA refused to explain the conflicting estimates. So Monday we caught up with the governor and asked why.

“The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has put out different numbers based on assumptions, now the questions is, is the federal government going to fund what they’ve said they are going to fund?” asks Scott.

Since the feds have already agreed to pay a huge portion of the expansion, to get to the 26 billion dollar mark, Congress would actually have to change the law. Scott cites the recent fiscal cliff battle as proof it’s possible.

Both the House and Senate held committee meetings today about how Florida will participate in the Affordable Care Act. Those committees will have to decide which estimate to accept before they make a decision about whether or not to expand Medicaid. And of course if lawmakers do choose to expand that decision would then have to approved by Governor Scott.

Call it rhetoric, spin, or just playing it safe, but whatever you call the 26 billion dollar price tag Governor Rick Scott is putting on the Medicaid expansion, one thing’s certain, it’s getting a lot of attention. The state now has three different estimates for the optional potion of Obamacare and as Whitney Ray tells us, Scott’s still touting the highest one, even after his administration released a much lower figure.

One of the harshest critics of the Affordable Care Act, Governor Rick Scott entered the political conversation with one goal in mind; defeating Obamacare.

But a failed lawsuit in the US Supreme Court and a Republican defeat in the 2012 presidential election left Scott with little choice but to play ball, or so it seemed.

Florida has to go along with most of the new health care laws, although Scott will have to decide whether or not to participate in a Medicaid expansion and this is where his math gets tricky.

Originally state economists put a 10 billion dollar price tag on the expansion over a 10 year period. Then Scott, through the Agency for Health Care Administration, released a new estimate; 26 billion dollars. The new figure caught the ire of health care advocates and, after some bad press, AHCA changed its estimate to 3 billion.

Reporters questioned AHCA’s secretary about the conflicting numbers, but no explanation was given.

“At this point in time we’ve put out our numbers, our assumptions are there and I really don’t have any more to say about it,” said Secretary Elizabeth Dudek.

Health Care advocates say Scott is using the highest estimate to build a case against expanding Medicaid, even though the federal government has vowed to pickup the lion share of the cost.

So how did Scott come up with 26 billion dollars? The expansion would allow an extra 900-thousand Floridians claim Medicaid benefits. Scott’s estimate assumes every eligible person will enroll, then accounts for extra operating costs and a reduction in the amount of money the federal government pays. By the way, it would take an act of Congress for the feds to cut the contribution rate.

The state is responding to criticism from the feds over the way it cares for disabled kids.

In September the Department of Justice chastised the Agency for Health Care Administration for allowing 220 disabled kids to live in adult nursing homes. AHCA responded by visiting all the children. They also met with the parents who made the decision to move their kids into the adult facilities. AHCA’s Secretary Elizabeth Dudek says the kids share a property with the adults, but their care is much different. To improve the situation Dudek says the department will enhance communication with the parents.

“Clearly it is difficult to have a child who has a medically complex situation. It’s clearly sometimes difficult to make decisions about what are we going to do and how are we going to do that. We want to have a personalized face they can talk to,” said Dudek.

The department is doubling the frequency of in person visits to the six homes where the kids live. There are also more case workers available to meet with the parents to advise them of their options.

Moderately severe; that’s how Florida Surgeon General John Armstrong is describing the state’s flu season.

Dr. Armstrong gave an update on the flu to members of the capital press corps this afternoon. Armstrong says it’s been 10 years since Florida experienced a flu season this severe, and already it’s worse than last year.

“Because that peak has shifted early we anticipate there will be increasing cases of Flu. So say the peak form last year has already occurred and so now we are going to eclipse that peak,” said Armstrong.

The flu season runs from October through May. Armstrong says there’s no shortage of vaccines. He’s says it’s not too late to get a flu shot.

Hunters grab your guns. The state is offering cash prizes to whoever bags the most Burmese pythons or kills the longest snake. As Whitney Ray tells us, The 2013 Python Challenge is an effort to help rid the state of the invasive species.

The state has declared war on Burmese Pythons and now it’s enlisting a militia.

On a recruitment video produced by Florida Fish and Wildlife tells the story of how the snakes are destroying the Everglades.

The Burmese Pythons were brought here as pets, but many grew too big and their owners released them into the wild. Now, with no natural predators, the snakes are taking over.

“Obviously they are eating something down in South Florida so we know that they probably are impacting our native wildlife,” said FWC Exotic Species Section Leader Kristen Sommers.

The solution; The 2013 Python Challenge. The state is offering 15-hundred dollars to the hunter who bags the most snakes, and a thousand to the person with the longest python.

But precipitants will have to be onguard, the snakes are huge and one misstep could turn the hunter into the hunted.

“Going out with somebody else is always a good option and making sure you are being cautions when you are out in these wild areas,” said Sommers.

More than 640 people have already signed up. Participants must pay a 25 dollar entrance fee and take a 30 minute online training course.

Despite the precautions, the hunt is already drawing the ire of animal rights groups. Rules are complete with a chart showing how to kill the snakes, X marks the spot where hunters should shoot. But the rules also allow for decapitation.

There’s no exact count on the number of Burmese Pythons in Florida, but experts believe there could be tens of thousands. The challenge is seen as a way to contain the spread of the species. The hunt begins Saturday with a kickoff event in Davie and ends February 16th with an awards ceremony.

The state is in the process of calculating yet, another estimate of how much a Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act would cost.

Originally state economists put a 10 billion dollar 10 year price tag on the expansion. Then The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration put the price tag at 26 billion. Governor Rick Scott has been touting the higher number. Social Service Advocate Karen Woodall says, Scott’s using the AHCA estimate deliberately to build a case against the expansion.

“It’s really not confusion, its intention change in the assumptions that the numbers come from,” said Woodall.

The number Scott is touting includes the assumption that everyone who qualifies for Medicaid will enroll and also allots for a change in the amount the federal government has promised to cover. This afternoon AHCA announced it will draft another estimate.

Casey Anthony is appealing four convictions for lying to police in the case of her dead daughter. Anthony’s attorneys were in Daytona Beach today telling an appeal court their client is innocent because she lied to cops before she was read her Miranda rights. As Whitney Ray tells us, those lies spawned new legislation creating tougher penalties for people who knowingly mislead police.

A free woman. This is video from 2011, when Casey Anthony was released from jail, acquitted of murdering her two year old daughter Caylee.

Anthony didn’t get off Scot-free. She was convicted on four misdemeanor counts of lying to police. She was sentenced to four years and released on time served.

Parents were outraged, and so were state lawmakers. They quickly drafted a bill stiffening penalties for lying to police.

In October, lying to police in the course of a missing child investigation became a felony carrying a five year prison sentence for each count. Had the law been in place during the Anthony trial, Casey could be in prison serving a 20 year sentence.

The bill was originally called Caylee’s Law, but legislators dropped the name to send the message that it would have a much broader impact. Since its passage the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has no record of anyone being charged under the new law. Investigators hope no one ever will.

Only time will tell if the changes save lives, but what is known is it’s too late for little Caylee. One of the lies Anthony told police was that her babysitter kidnapped Caylee. Of course there was no babysitter and the name Anthony made up, belongs to a woman who is now suing Anthony for damages.

The flu in Florida is at the highest active level available according standards set by the Center for Disease Control.

But the Florida Department of Health tracks outbreaks differently. The Department says flu activity is on par with last year. According to their data the state is experiencing a mild to moderate flu season. But DOH Dr. Carina Blackmore says people still need to be careful.

“It’s not too late to get vaccinate against the flu. Flu is a very important and very serious disease so to get vaccinated is something that is easy to do and very important,” said Blackmore.

The department doesn’t track flu deaths alone, but a one week count near the end of December showed 157 Floridians died of either the flu or pneumonia. Most of them were seniors. Two kids have died in Florida this flu season, which runs October through May.

Florida leads the nation in online education. Four out of every 10 Florida college students have taken at least one online course. There are 700 degrees programs available entirely online and now, as Whitney Ray tells us, there’s a push in Tallahassee to create a state university existing completely in cyberspace.

This laptop is the only tool FSU Freshman Seth Russell needs to complete one of his main courses this semester.

“Having an online class frees up a lot of time for other classes,” said Russell.

For the second consecutive semester Seth is taking an online class. It allows him to learn from home at his own leisure.

“It’s really convenient, just pull up my laptop. I don’t have to walk to class,” said Russell.

Florida leads the way offering more than 700 degrees online and thousands of classes.

The University System Board of Governors is exploring the creation of a state university existing completely in cyberspace.

“It’s not about keeping everybody online it’s about getting the state in a position to have the best online modality experience,” said Robert Lytle with Parthenon Group.

The board hired a research group, which priced the creation of an online state university at 70 million dollars.

And even though there’s a hefty upfront cost, in the long run the move could save the state and students money.

Ed Moore, the president of Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, says how much savings depends on the quality of the product offered.

“It depends on the institution. It depends on the degree program. It depends on the market. A lot of it is market driven,” said Moore.

Moore is against the state creating a new online university. He says creating an oversight board would be quicker and cheaper.

“My mantra is to use the assets that Florida already has first and then figure out what else we need,” said Moore.

The state legislature will also review the options when it convenes in March. Creating a stand alone state university is just one of four options being considered. The state could appoint one university to take the lead on online, encourage collaboration among the schools or just focus on improving online course at all Florida colleges.

The state’s most famous flamingo is getting a makeover.

Today the Florida Lottery unveiled its new logo at their Tallahassee headquarters. The Lottery Flamingo has been given a more animated appearance. The changes are all part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the state legalizing lottery games. Lottery Secretary Cynthia O’Connell was on hand for the unveiling. She put a lot of thought into the changes.

“It’s basically a transition from an older more static logo, to one that’s more engaging and enthusiastic with a lot of energy and that reflects the Florida Lottery today and the Florida Lottery of tomorrow,” said O’Connell.

Since it’s inception in 1988 the Florida Lottery has raised 24 billion dollars for education, that’s almost one billion dollars for every year of its existence.

A man, some say saved the Florida Supreme Court, was memorialized in Tallahassee. Former Chief Justice Ben Overton was lying in repose in the rotunda of the Supreme Court at noon today. Justice Overton died December 29th. He was 86. Former President of the American Bar Association and longtime friend Sandy D’Alemberte says Overton was appointed to the court during a very tumultuous time.

“He stepped on the court at a time when it was in great distress and in my judgment he’s the justice who saved the court,” said D’Alemberte.

The court had been caught up in scandals and politics in the early 70s. Overton was the first justice appointed under the current Merit Retention system. The system was set up to keep politics out of the judicial process. There were attempts to overthrow the system in November, but they failed. Overton served on the court from 1974 to 1999.

If your New Years Resolution is to quit smoking, then this next report is for you and if you’re a nonsmoker… you should be concerned with how much money smokers are costing the state. As Whitney Ray tells us, there is free help for people trying to kick the habit, all paid for by the forced hand of the tobacco industry.

Tobacco Free Florida offers classes on kicking the habit, a 24 hour hotline for quitters who feel their willpower fading. There are even nicotine patches, all free of charge.

Shannon Hughes is the Bureau Chief of Tobacco Free Florida. The program is operated through the Department of Health and funded by the 1997 tobacco settlement.

“We receive 15 percent of tobacco settlement funds,” said Hughes.

This year the budget is 64 million dollars, which is small compared to the toll smoking takes on Florida’s economy.

According to the Department of Health, smoking costs 20 billion dollars a year in lost productivity and early deaths. There’s 1.2 billion dollars in Medicaid expenses alone.

“Tobacco illness and death takes a tremendous toll on our state’s economy and the health of people and so it works in favor of all of us to decrease, to reduce smoking as much as possible,” said Hughes.

Smokers flood the Tobacco Free Florida website and hotline every January looking for help with their New Years resolution. But statistics show for first time quitters, they’ll fail between eight and 11 times before they finally kick the habit.

and to get started with stopping visit tobaccofreeflorida.com or you can call the hotline at 1-877-U-CAN-NOW. Since the programs inception smoking is on the decline. Right now about 20 percent, or one in five Floridians, is a smoker.