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Hundreds of Florida foster kids are being given psychotropic drugs without parental consent or a court order.

The Florida Department of Children and Families began investigating psychotropic drug use among foster kids after a 7-year old boy in Margate committed suicide. The boy was taking prescribed drugs at the time of his death, even though the state hadn’t received valid consent from the boy’s mother parents. DCF released a report highlighting the mistake that were made. DCF Secretary George Sheldon said the state will begin seeking permission for the hundreds of kids taking psychotropic with out valid consent.

“The first thing we have to do is bring every single case of a foster child in compliance of the law. Our current review indicates that about 16 percent of Florida’s foster children who are on psychotherapeutic medication do not have either parental consent or a court order,” said Sheldon.

DCF will also form a work group to find better ways of keeping tabs on foster kids who are taking mind-altering drugs. The report found that 13 percent of foster care kids take mind altering drugs. That’s compared to 4 percent in the general population.

Motor Vehicle fees in Florida are on their way up for everyone who owns a vehicle, but truckers face the steepest increases, as much as 35 percent. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, some of the increases hitting truckers will likely be passed along to consumers.

There are almost 900 thousand commercial trucks registered in Florida. Registration fees for every one of them are going up 35 percent. For the heaviest trucks, that’s a three hundred fifty dollars a year. The association representing the truckers says they are being hit harder than anyone else.

“When they go to pay these fees in December of this year, it is going to feel like a 35 percent tax increase,” Mary Lou Rajchel with the Florida Trucking Association said.

70 percent of the trucks are run by independent operators who will be unable to pass on the increased costs right away. But Grocery chains, produce dealers, rental trucks and delivery companies are free to build the increases into their costs.

“We depend on the trucking industry for from vegetables to furniture, to electronics to road building materials,” Jose Gonzalez of Associated Industries of Florida said.  “Everything. So it’s going to be across the board.”

Lawmakers who approved the fees are quick to point out that it’s been 36 years since they were last raised.

This trucker would only tell us that his name was Ernie, but he says 35 percent is just too much to absorb when he can’t pass it on.”

“That’s my business. I’d just go ahead and stop doing it,” Ernie said. “Because we’re running now, we haven’t got a rate increase, a freight rate increase, in years.”

The association worries the higher fees will cause even more operators to drive into the sunset for the last time.

The fee increases total 35 million dollars. Truck registrations in Florida are already down by about 50 thousand.

It must be. Florida’s Trucking industry says the 35% across the board increase in registration fees sure feels like a general tax increase.  Some companies will eat the hike, others will pass it on to consumers, and some may go out of business when the increase hits in December. Here’s a list provided by DHSMV on all of the new motor vehicle fees. dl-fees

With just five days until hurricane season, legislation to lessen the state’s exposure is still awaiting the governor’s signature. The bill will allow state run Citizens Property Insurance to raise rates 10 percent a year. As Whitney Ray tells us, charging Citizen’s customers more will lighten the burden on the state, and private insurance customers if a big storm hits.

The state has promised to back more than 400 billion dollars in hurricane exposure through Citizen’s Property Insurance, but Citizen’s customers only contribute two billion dollars in yearly premiums. Florida’s Chief Financial Officer says that’s a problem.

“Certainly a category 3 storm hitting a heavily populated area in our state is going to wreak havoc, cause billions of dollars worth of damage and then will put us into a financing situation,” said Sink.

If Sink’s scenario played out everyone will have to pay more.

Citizens policyholders could see their rates increase up to 45 percent and then assessments on everyone else’s homes, and even their cars, could go up by 18 percent. Part of the problem is Citizen’s rates have been frozen since 2007.

“Their rates aren’t actuarially sound, they’re too low. To raise them where they need to be would be too much it would be 40 to 50 percent possible,” said NAIFA Florida Spokesman Bob Lotane.

Legislation to cap the increase at 10 percent a year is awaiting the governor’s signature. Crist is likely to sign the bill, even though he thinks the risk to the state has been exaggerated.

“I think we are in pretty good shape,” Crist said.

A ten percent a year increase will slowly force people out of Citizens, and increase the chances Florida can keep its promise to the customers who remain. The legislation also allows the state to decrease the amount of money in the Florida Catastrophe Fund. Decreasing the fund would force insurance companies to buy reinsurance from the private market and pass some of the cost on to consumers

A third person has been indicted in the case involving former House Speaker Ray Sansom.

Wednesday a grand jury indicted political contributor Jay Odom. Sansom helped secure six million state dollars to build an airplane hanger for Odom. The hanger was disguised in the budget as classroom space for Northwest Florida State College. Now Sansom, Odom, and the school’s president Bob Richburg each face a felony charge of official misconduct. Today the Grand Jury also added a perjury charge for Sansom. State Attorney Willie Meggs said there’s proof Sansom lied under oath.

“’The charge will be that he testified that this was never going to be for private use and he testified to that numerous times over in the transcript and that’s why I’m a little hesitant to try to get into those areas because it may not be appropriate at this moment.’ Well, what did you find,’ asked one Reporter. ‘We found documents to the contrary,’” Meggs replied.

The six million dollars for the hanger is being returned to the state. The school has since fired Richburg, but he has asked for his job back.

Two out of every five Florida adults can’t name the three branches of government and more than half can’t name one of their US Senators.

Former US Senator and Florida Governor Bob Graham is on a campaign to education the public about how government operates. Graham was in Tallahassee Wednesday to award 20 middle school students for excelling in civics education. Graham said schools should begin teaching civics education early in a student’s career.

“If you wait until they’re in high school, they haven’t had foundational information about history, about government, about economics in elementary and middle school. They are going to be crippled in terms of their ability to fully understand what it means to be a citizen in a democracy,” said Graham.

Wednesday was the first time the “Bob Graham Award for Excellence in Civic Action” was handed out. Graham hopes the awards will encourage young and old to learn more about their government.

Governor Charlie Crist today signed a 66.5 billion-dollar state budget
that relies on a dollar a pack cigarette tax hike and raisers most
driver’s license and car tag fees. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the
Governor also canceled a 2 percent cut for state workers and a
six-million-dollar cut to a fund for concealed weapons permits.

Cigarettes are going up by a buck, raising almost a billion dollars. Car
tags and driver’s license fees will also go up, some by a third.

In signing the budget, the Governor axed just two items. The first cut
six million from a trust fund for concealed weapons permits. The NRA
asked for the veto, saying felons could have ended up with a permit
because of poor staffing.

Charlie Crist also canceled a two percent cut in state employee pay.

“These 28,000 people and their families are consumers too,” Crist said. “And I want
them to continue to have the ability to make purchases and help
stimulate Florida’s economy further.”

State agencies must still reduce their spending by 30 million to make up
for employees not taking the cut.

Because of the way lawmakers crafted the budget language, the
governor’s veto is legally suspect.

The pay cut was championed by House Republicans. Their leadership could
challenge the Governor’s action in court. For employees who thought they
were losing a minimum 900 hundred dollars, there is relief.

“I’m excited because my husbands been unemployed for over a year, so I’m
the bread winner right now,” Brenda Coleman with the Agency for Workforce Innovation said. “So, Lord, it’s good. I’m very excited.

Billions in federal stimulus cash plugged huge budget holes and
prevented massive teacher layoffs, early prison releases, and the
shutdown of state parks.

The Governor and state Cabinet members will all take a two percent cut
from their 130 thousand dollar salaries. State lawmakers will see a
seven percent reduction in their 30 thousand dollar salaries. The new
fees take effect July first.

Even with a six billion dollar shortfall lawmakers found a way to slip 15 million dollars worth of questionable spending into the state budget. TaxWatch, a government watchdog group, is asking the governor to veto the spending items that make up its annual “turkey” list. As Whitney Ray tells us, if the governor vetoed one turkey on last year’s list, the legislature may have avoided a lot chaos.

Armed with a turkey call and a stuffed bird Florida TaxWatch released it shortest list of budget “turkeys” since 1994. The 10 item list includes spending on nonprofit groups, African American history, and schools. The budget watchdog wants the items vetoed not because they are bad projects, but because of how they were passed.

“Turkeys are Items that bypass established selection processes,” TaxWatch Chief Researcher, Kurt Wenner.

If Governor Charlie Crist would have listened to TaxWatch last year and vetoed one specific turkey a lot of chaos in the House could have been avoided.

Former House Speaker Ray Sansom sneaked six million state dollars through the system to build an airplane hanger for a political contributor. TaxWatch put the hanger on its turkey list, but the governor approved it anyway. A few months later Sansom stepped down under mounting pressure and has since been indicted over the spending.

“People are innocent until proven guilty, but it does raise some questions about the integrity of budget process,” said TaxWatch President Dominic Calabro.

Governor Crist will review the list before he signs the budget.

“There may be a few, we’ll have to decide before tomorrow. I’m going to sign it tomorrow,” said Crist.

If Crist leaves the birds in the budget, the state’s spending plan would still have fewer turkeys than last year’s when TaxWatch identified 132.

Governor Charlie Crist is succumbing to pressure from the NRA to veto spending cuts to a gun licensing trust fund.

Lawmakers voted to take six million dollars from the state’s conceal-carry trust fund to help balance the budget. The NRA and the Commissioner of Agriculture say raiding the fund would slow down the licensing process and allow people to get certified without a background check. A NRA lobbyist met with Crist last week to ask him to for a veto.

“I had a very good meeting with her last week and as I said she is a tremendous advocate, and I am a strong supporter of the second amendment, so as I say, I am inclined that way,” said Crist.

The raid is part of the state’s 66.5 billion dollar budget. Crist said he’ll sign the spending plan tomorrow.

Governor Charlie Crist is promising a group of senior citizens he’ll do what he can to lower the cost of housing and health care.

Ten seniors from all over the state met with Crist at the Governor Mansion Tuesday morning. The group told Crist health care cost, utility bills, and a lack of public transportation make it harder for seniors to live on their own. Crist said lowering health care cost could help keep people out of nursing homes.

“My dad will be 77 years old on June 12th, and he still practices medicine, he’s a family doctor in St. Petersburg and I think having good physicians at reasonable prices to try to get insurance rates to be lower, especially health insurance rates, is something we can do to try and makes sure that all of us will be able to stay in their homes in the future,” said Crist.

Crist promised the seniors he would continue to work with home builders and health insurance companies to lower costs.

The state is joining AARP to prepare seniors for hurricane season.

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announced the awareness campaign Tuesday. It’s called “Operation Hurricane Prepare,” and it relies on neighbor helping neighbor. The goal of the campaign is to reminded seniors to prepare an evacuation plan and to stock up on hurricane supplies. Lori Parham, a spokeswoman with AARP said everyone can do something to help their neighbors prepare for the storm.

“With hurricane season just days away, its really time to get ready. So whether someone has 5 minutes, 5 hours, or longer, and that’s what is really great about this initiative. A few moments can really make a difference in talking to and engaging people who really need to prepare. We believe we can make Florida stronger through that preparation,” said Parham.

AARP launched a new website to help people prepare. The web address is www.aarp.org/hurricaneprepare. The site encourages shopping for seniors, helping them evacuate or things as simple as helping seniors pick up items in their yard.

180 National guardsmen are on their way to Iraq. They participated in a
deployment ceremony at the state capitol Tuesday then boarded a
plane to finish combat training before being sent overseas. As Mike
Vasilinda tells us, the 779th Engineer Battalion’s job will be to wind
down the U.S. presence in the mid east.

The 180 soldiers came from Miami, Pensacola, and all parts in between.
They will spend the next year in Iraq. Their deployment drew praise from
the Governor.

“You are truly heroes,” Governor Crist said. “Extraordinary heroes. And I thank you for that.”

Lt. Colonel Dwayne Jarriel asked family members staying behind to be
patient and loving.

“You play a major role, and believe me, without you, we would not be
successful,” Jarriel said. “So I ask for your continued support.”

This is the commander’s second tour of duty. He leaves behind a wife and
three kids, including a 13-month-old daughter.

“I tell you, I have a renewed respect for any single parent,” Penny Jarriel said. “Because it
is by far the hardest job.”

These soldiers will spend the next month in Wisconsin, doing advanced
combat training. Then to Iraq by July 1st.

The mission in Iraq, subject to change, is to dismantle US bases as
forces are reduced.

Sargent Amanda Curcio admits to being just a little nervous.

“Well, I mean, there’s always a fear of what’s to be expected,” Curcio said.
“Everything is always changing over there. But the people I’m with are
very competent, so I’m sure I’ll be OK.”

The deployment still leaves about 11 thousand active national guard
troops in the state for hurricane duty if needed.

In addition to having enough troops in the state for
hurricane duty, the Guard says thanks to Congress, it is never been
better equipped to carry out it’s mission.

There’s a small sign tonight, that Florida’s economy maybe turning around. For the first time in nearly three years the state’s unemployment rate has fallen. Statewide unemployment is at 9.6 percent down two-tenths of a percentage points from March. As Whitney Ray tells us, the drop is providing hope for the 885,000 Floridians searching for jobs.

They’re construction workers, theme park employees, and cashiers and they’re all looking for work. In March, Florida’s unemployment rate was at a 30 years high, but it’s turning around slightly.

“At least it hasn’t worsened as it had for almost three years the unemployment rates have been increasing every month,” said AWI Chief Economist Rebecca Rust.

While down only two-tenths of a percentage point, the change is providing hope for jobseekers.

“That’s great news because I really need a job,” said Ashley Jones who has been looking for a job for more than a year.

To put the good news in perspective, Florida’s unemployment rate is four percentage points higher than it was last year… and it’s still above the national average.

The monthly drop represents a 15,000 person change in the unemployment statistics. State Economists aren’t sure if the people found jobs or just stopped looking.

“Those who are unemployed are those seeking a job and so if the number of unemployed has declined it could mean they’ve found employment or it could mean they’ve left the labor force,” said Rust.

Economists call the change insignificant. They say in order to establish a trend the unemployment rate would have to continue to decrease over the next three months. The construction industry leads the pack in number of jobs lost, while jobs in private education and health care are growing faster than any other sectors in the state.

Since 1984, a statute of three Vietnam soldiers on the National Mall in
Washington has honored the soldiers who fought in Vietnam. As Mike
Vasilinda tells us, the only commissioned replica of the statute is in
north Florida, where it pays tribute to the men and women from the South
who fought in Southeast Asia.

It was a familiar newsreel scene. Small groups of young soldiers walking
through the jungles of Vietnam, and dying in battle.

In a state park in Apalachicola, a city know for its oysters, sits the
only replica of the Three Servicemen Statute in existence. A Vietnam
veteran from here and Jan Scruggs, the man behind the Vietnam wall, made
it possible.

“Little towns like this are the towns that have always provided the
people who fight in our nation’s wars,” Scruggs said.

A plaque on the site quotes the sculptor Frederick Hart.

They wear the uniform and carry the equipment of war; they are young.
The contrast between the innocence of their youth and the weapons of war
underscores the poignancy of their sacrifice.

Al Mirabella remembers the era well, and how so many young died.

“You had two choices when you graduated from high school,” Mirabella said. “You were
either going to be drafted when you graduated or you were going to college.”

The public never did accept Vietnam…so for those who served, Mirabella
says this statue is one way of acknowledging the sacrifices.

“It’s a way of letting the people know, to say thank you to them for
their service in Vietnam,” Mirabella said. “During the dedication, we had so many people
who came up and said thank you, because nobody ever said thank you to me.”

The statute was paid for entirely by private donations.

Residents in North Florida raised more than a quarter
million dollars for the statute.

885,000 Floridians are out of work, but the rate dropped two tenths of a percent, from 9.8 percent to 9.6 percent in April. The Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI) cautions that the drop, while good news, is statistically within a margin of error.  Read the release here: awi-april