Welcome to

Next Tuesday Floridians will be paying more for a drivers license.

Starting September 1st the price to renew a Florida license will go up from 20 to 48 bucks. Lawmakers voted to raise the fee to help fill a three billion dollars state budget hole. Governor Charlie Crist signed off on the deal. Crist cited semantics, saying at least it’s not a tax hike.

“I’d rather not do it but it is better than raising taxes and I think that we have an obligation to balance our budget and live within our means. At least we do that hear in Tallahassee. I wish they did it in Washington,” said Crist.

New car registration fees will also go up from 100 to 225 dollars.

Six and a half million electric customers across Florida could be paying substantially higher rates if the state’s two biggest power companies get their way. Florida Power and Light and Progress Energy are both asking for rates hikes in the 30% range. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, they have also picked up a powerful enemy.

The Public Service Commission will decide the fate of the rate hikes sometime in November, and if a hike is approved in either case, it would begin showing up on your January bill.

These boxes with thousands of pages are what Florida Power and Light is using to justify a request for a 30 percent rate hike.

FP&L’s hearing started Monday. Progress Energy’s hearing, which is asking for a similar hike, begins next month.

The state’s consumer lawyer is fighting back.

“Progress Energy is asking for 12.54 percent return on equity which is just a tad higher than Florida Power and Light. Either way you shake it, it’s just excessive and unreasonable,” public counsel JR Kelly said.

Listen to FP&L’s pitch:

“Prices are going down next year,” FP&L spokesman Mayco Villafana said.

What the companies are really saying is that we’re going to take less of your money because our fuel costs have gone down, and then you won’t notice when we raise your rates.

Here’s why: FP&L customers should see a 17 drop in fuel charges next year, while they’re asking for an 11-dollar hike in their base rates.

Governor Charlie Crist says both rate hikes are bad.

“People are hurting and I understand that and I don’t think it’s a great time to be raising their utility rates,” Crist said.

But at the PSC, FP&L’s President isn’t backing down.

“I’m not sure that there will ever be a time where anybody will say ‘great, increase our rates,” FP&L president Armando Olivera said.

Whatever happens in the FP&L case is likely to be a window into what will happen with Progress Energy’s request as well.

The Public Service Commission will decide the fate of the rate hikes sometime in November, and if a hike is approved in either case, it would begin showing up on your January bill.

The IRS is being asked anonymously to investigate members of the Republican Party of Florida who used party issued credit cards to spend 3.6 million dollars. If members didn’t reimburse the party for personal purchases or pay taxes on the spending, the IRS could seek charges. As Whitney Ray tells us, Republican Cabinet members deny any involvement with the scandal.

In just 18 months, 3.6 million dollars in charges were racked up on credit cards given to members of the Republican Party of Florida. Former House Speaker Ray Sansom charged 173,000 dollars on his card.

No one is claiming the rest of the bill, with includes a 4,000 dollar charge to a cigar store, 13,000 dollars for limousines in New York, and 20,000 dollars to a London hotel.

There was also 9,000 dollars charged at this Tallahassee seafood restaurant.”

Since the spending was revealed, Senators Jeff Atwater and Mike Haridopolos canceled their cards. Party Chairman Jim Greer cut his in two, but he isn’t revealing who had the cards.

Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp denies ever using a party card. So does Governor Charlie Crist.

“It’s not necessary. Who needs it? It’s a waste of money. We’ve got to save people’s money. That’s why I’ve never had a party card,” said Crist.

Attorney General Bill McCollum also denies having ever owned a card. State Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer cancelled all the cards, but isn’t answering questions about who had the cards and which purchases are valid and which need reimbursement.

You can still play the slots or black jack at a Hard Rock Casino being
run by the Seminole Tribe, but until the state and the Tribe reach a
deal, the casino’s remain in legal limbo. State negotiators and he
Seminole Tribe have until next Monday to reach a gambling deal. As Mike
Vasilinda tells us, the deadline was spelled out in legislation passed.

It has been almost 2 years since Governor Charlie Crist cut a deal with
the Seminole Indians to operate full blown Vegas-style casinos in Florida.

The games have been up and running, but the deal is in limbo. State
lawmakers challenged the original deal and forced new negotiations. Now
both sides face an August 31st deadline to reach a deal.

At stake: 3 to 5 hundred million in payments to the state each year and
whether the tribe gets exclusive rights to slots outside of south Florida.

The negotiations were taking place in this law firm just a block from
the Capitol. We caught up with House Rules Chairman Bill Galvano on his
way in to observe.

“My presence here is simply to provide some feedback, see where they
are,” Galvano said.  “I think they’ll get something together within the time constraints
set forth in the conference report.”

As the clock ticks, Governor Charlie Crist says he’s optimistic.

“My Understanding is that it’s going pretty well,” Crist said. “No immediate update in
the past couple hours, but I’m encouraged.”

The sticking point has always been exclusivity. The Seminoles don’t
want anyone competing with them.

Under the law authorizing a new deal, the Tribe could reduce payments if
slots are authorized at dog or horse tracks outside South Florida.

If there’s no deal by the August 31st deadline, Attorney General Bill McCollum is expected to renew his request to federal authorities to shut the gambling operations down.

Florida Fish and Wildlife officers rescued an injured Manatee in the St. Mark’s River near Tallahassee.

The eight-foot manatee had apparently been struck by a boat and was suffering from a punctured lung. Florida Fish and Wildlife Spokesman Henry Cabbage said boaters need to keep a close eye out to keep from injuring more manatees.

“They are big slow moving animals that can’t get out of the way of a speeding boat especially in shallow water so we urge boaters to keep an eye out and watch for signs of manatees in the water such as a shoe shaped swirl in the water, wear polarized sunglasses so you can see animals better,” said Cabbage.

The sea cow is recovering in Tampa at the Lowry Park Zoo. It is expected to make a full recovery.

The state Department of Health launched the Florida Flu Information line Monday. As Whitney Ray tells us, the information line is expected to ease people’s worries as the school year begins and a spike in cases is expected.

Just hours after launching the state’s Flu Information call center people began dialing in with questions about swine flu. Some callers are eagerly awaiting a vaccine.

“A vaccine against the H1N1 Swine Flu may be available in the coming months as an option,” said one call operator.

Others want to know how to avoid getting sick.

“I can go ahead and give you some tips if you would like to prevent the infection,” another offered.

It’s no coincidence The Department of Health launched the call center on the first day of class for many schools.

“You may wonder what are the symptoms of swine flu, what do I do if I feel that my child is sick. Certainly those are questions some questions that come to mind,” said Susan Smith, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health.

And those questions can be answered here from 8 AM to 8 PM Eastern. Seven days a week. During peak hours the call center will have 25 operators on hand to pick up the phones and answer questions. Some of the operators are bi-lingual

Jose Rodriguez can answer questions in Spanish and English… but serious health questions in either language get passed on to medical experts.

“Specific calls that require a lot of attention we are actually given the number for the Department of Health and we are actually giving them this number,” said Rodriguez.

and while the operators can’t answer every swine flu question, they promise to point people in the right direction. The number to the Florida Flu Information Line is 877-352-3581.

The state’s largest power company is seeking a 30 percent rate increase.

Florida Power and Light began making its case to the Florida Public Service Commission Monday. FPL provides electricity to 4.5 million households. The company hasn’t had a rate hike since 1985 and has the lowest prices in the state. Still, with double digit unemployment and thousands of Floridians losing their homes to foreclosure, now may not be the best time to ask for a rate increase. FPL Spokeswoman Jackie Anderson said with the falling cost of natural gas, customers will actually see a rate decrease, even if the company’s request is approved.

“We are mindful of the difficult economy, but the fact is that the bill is actually expected to go down starting in January so there has been a decrease in fuel cost and its also due to the efficiency improvements,” said Anderson.

FPL says it is now producing more power while using less fuel. Money from the increase would be used to further the company’s efficiency efforts. Attorney General Bill McCollum and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, both gubernatorial candidates, are opposing the rate hike request.

Several hundred thousand Florida college students returned to campuses today.  As Mike Vasilinda tells us, in addition to books the students were greeted with something new.

FSU and other state universities also have plans to ask students to use face masks if they are coughing, or are sitting next to someone who has a cough. The schools also plan to use Facebook, Twitter, and the big score board at football games to get the word out to practice sanitary behavior.

Dozens of hand sanitizing stations are now in place on college campuses across the state. At the FSU library, students walked by the station by the hundreds without stopping. Just when you thought one would, they moved on. Kelli Wheeler missed it completely.

“You walked by without using that hand sanitizer. Are you worried about Swine Flu?”

“Not too worried about it, no,” Wheeler said.

Did you even know it was there?

“Not really,” she said.

To her credit, Kelli has hand sanitizer in her purse. Each of the 11 state universities is coordinating education and communication messaging.

“So we can let people know this is not new artwork,” FSU Health Center Director Lesley Sacher said. “Not like a statue that’s there for your viewing pleasure. It’s something to be used.”

For campus health officials, it is a question of when, not if, someone comes down with the H1N1 virus.

This stand and about 2,000 doses of the hand cleaner cost about 130 dollars. The problem is there aren’t enough of them to go around.

Suppliers can’t deliver enough of the sanitizing stands. Refills are already sold out. While most students are walking by, that is likely to change when the first case of swine flu hits a campus.  Health officials say they don’t know how much sanitizer they’ll go through, but even in a tight budget year, they vow to keep the stands supplied.

FSU and other state universities also have plans to ask students to use face masks if they are coughing, or are sitting next to someone who has a cough. The schools also plan to use Facebook, Twitter, and the big score board at football games to get the word out to practice sanitary behavior.

The self-proclaimed fiscally conservative Republican Party of Florida is catching heat over 3.6 million dollars charged on credit cards given to its elected officials. Embattled Representative Ray Sansom racked up 173-thousand dollars on his card alone. As Whitney Ray tells us, the news of the extravagant spending isn’t sitting well with party donors.

Food, flowers, and airfare for his daughter are just a few things former house speaker Ray Sansom charged on a credit card given to him by the Republican Party of Florida. Sansom racked up 173-thousand dollars in charges on the card. Party donor and former Republican lawmaker Ken Plante is upset at the way the money was spent.

“When you read through it, there are some things that maybe you say, okay, I hope he can justify these things. There’s an awful lot of them that are going to be pretty hard to justify,” said Plante.

The laundry list of purchases was uncovered during a criminal investigation of Sansom. The former house speaker is facing charges for setting aside six million state dollars to build an airplane hanger for a political contributor. The Republican Party of Florida refused to discuss the spending, citing the ongoing Sansom case and its own confidentiality policy, as the reasons.

Sansom isn’t the only Republican politician with a party card. Over an 18 month period Republicans racked up 3.6 million dollars in charges. The state Democratic Party doesn’t issue cards to its members. Chairwoman Karen Thurman said she tells her donors how their money is being used.

“I’m very thorough in making sure they understand and appreciate what I am going to spend my dollars on because by the way, they are not my dollars,” said Thurman.

State Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer says he’s also willing to tell contributors how donations are being spent. Greer says he’s just a phone call away.

Since word of Sansom’s spending began to circulate two state Republican senators have given their credit cards back to the party.

The Florida Highway Patrol will be looking for drivers who aren’t following the state’s move over law.

When police or emergency workers are parked on the side of the road, drivers are required to move to the outside lane and slow to 20 miles below the speed limit. Florida Highway Patrol Captain Mark Welch said seven out of every 10 drivers don’t know the about law.

“Our members are going to be out specifically looking for people who violate the move over law, to raise awareness to this important lifesaving law, that helps protect the emergency workers out on our highways,” said Welch.

The fine for not following the move over law is 60 dollars, but with added court fees the cost can get as high as 160 dollars.

Florida’s unemployment remained constant last month at 10.7 percent, which is the highest it has been since October 1975.  Fewer jobs were lost last month, but fewer people are looking for work and when they are, they are facing tough competition.

The Capital Area Community Action agency helps people in trouble. With almost a million people out of work, Director Dot Inman Johnson says business is booming.

“Their mortgage payment is due and they can’t pay it, or they are about to be evicted because they can’t pay their rent, they are directed to us”.

When the agency advertised for a receptionist and a teacher, Johnson says the agency was flooded with applications.

“We have good applicants to choose from among, because so many people are out there looking for jobs”.

The state web site, Employ Florida lists 120 thousand active jobs. Brandt Information Services posted a highly technical job and advertised it for just two days. Information consultant John McGurk says applications were running twenty percent higher than a year ago.

“We got enough applicants, to be blunt about it. You can only interview so many people before you run out of quality”.

What the unemployment numbers aren’t counting are all those people who have gotten frustrated and just stopped looking for work. 10 thousand dropped out of the job hunt last month alone. State economist Rebecca Rust says higher than usual unemployment will be the norm for awhile.

“The unemployment rate will remain relatively high. It is not expected to drop below six percent till the fiscal year 2018″, says Rust.

The jobless rate is expected to peak at 11 percent but not until the middle of next year.

50 thousand people have dropped out of the workforce since the beginning of the year.

But 987,000 Floridians still out of work

Read the release herejuly-unemployment

The state is almost out of money to pay unemployment benefits to thousands of jobless Floridians. 650,000 Floridians are receiving unemployment pay. As early as Monday the fund to pay claims could be at zero. As Whitney Ray tells us, once the fund is dry the state will have to borrow money to pay claims.

The state has exhausted its ability to pay unemployment claims. Early next week the federal government will have to pump millions of dollars into the state’s unemployment trust fund; money that will eventually have to be paid back. The loan will be interest free through 2010, but the debt could reach a billion dollars or higher, forcing the state to pay millions in interest alone.

It won’t just be federal dollars keeping the fund in the black. The unemployment tax on businesses will go up January 1st. Businesses will have to pay unemployment taxes on the first 8,500 dollars of each employee’s salary; before only the first 7,000 was taxable. The Florida Institute of CPA’s says the tax amount could go up even more to pay back the loan.

“We do anticipate a rate increase, but we can’t quantify it at this point. Primarily because we don’t know the length of the recession, we don’t know how many employees will be remaining in the state after the end of the recession,” said Vicki Meyer, a spokeswoman for the FICPA.

Even though the state is out of money, people receiving benefits won’t notice. Checks will still go out as scheduled. On January 1st, 2008 the state’s unemployment compensation trust fund had a balance over two Billion dollars. As of Wednesday the fund was down to just 82 Million.

Thursday at the state capitol, anti-death penalty advocates gathered to remember John Richard Marek and his victim.

Marek was executed Wednesday for the 1983 rape and murder of a 45 year-old mother of two. The peaceful protesters prayed and sang hymns. Sheila Hopkins, a spokeswoman for the Florida Catholic Coalition, said the anti-death penalty movement is gaining support because of the high cost of the capitol punishment process.

“As we move forward I think that there is going to continue to people who speak out about the use of the death penalty, not just because of moral reasons, which is where we are, but also for the financial reasons. I think people are finding it is an expensive proposition,” said Hopkins.

The state spends 50 million dollars a year on average to execute two inmates.

Florida voters consider town hall protests patriotic and are giving the president his lowest approval rating in since he took office, according to a Quinnipiac Poll released Thursday.

47 percent of people polled say President Barack Obama is doing a good job, down from 58 percent in June. Florida voters support creating a government health insurance plan nearly six to one, but Pollster Peter Brown says respondents believe a total health care overhaul would increase the national deficit.

“Voters in Florida are more concerned that the health care solution will increase the deficit substantially than that nothing will get done. In other words they seem to be saying they would rather not have an increases in the deficit even if that means there’s no health care overhaul package,” said Brown.

According to the poll released today, six out of every 10 Florida voters don’t think Democrats in Congress should use their majority to push health care reform through without support from Republicans.