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Florida’s Attorney General is asking the public for help to bust dog fighting rings. A hotline has been set up for people who see or suspect dog fighting in their neighborhoods.

Callers whose tips lead to the arrest and conviction of dog fighters will be eligible for a 5,000 dollar reward. The AG’s Director of Law Enforcement Relations Emery Gainey said callers don’t have to give their names.

“This is set up very similar to crime stoppers that it would maintain your anonymity by calling it in, and again if leads to the arrest and conviction you can be eligible for up to 5,000 dollars. We think this is going to be a great incentive,” said Gainey.

The hotline is operated by the Humane Society of the United States and is located in Washington D.C. To report dog fighting call 1-877-TIP-HSUS that’s 1-877-847-4784.

Governor Charlie Crist and his new bride brought  gifts of cookies and pointsettas to a Tallahassee Senior Center today. The first couple spent about 30 minutes personally greeting the seniors.

“I wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and a happy New Year,” Crist said. “It’s great to be here at the center with you and have the opportunity to celebrate God and all he’s given us.”

After the visit, the Governor and Mrs. Crist headed for their home in St. Petersburg.

Hear it Here:
Governor Charlie Crist is recommending the state use 135 million dollars from the Seminole Tribe’s gambling payments to the state to plug a hole in the state budget, But as Mike Vasilinda tells us, by making the recommendation, the Governor is throwing  state lawmakers a curve.

The legality of gambling on Seminole reservations has been in limbo since July when the state supreme court said the deal cut by the Governor needed legislative approval.

Legislative leaders have ruled out taking up the deal until at least March, and as recently as Sunday, Governor Charlie Crist was okay with that strategy.

“Which is fine, we can do that during the regular session,” Crist said.

Yet when it came time to recommend ways to fill a 2 billion dollar deficit in the state budget, the Governor recommended using 135 million the Tribe has continued to pay to the state.

What the Governor is basically saying to legislative leaders is: accept the deal I’ve with the Indians now, or risk losing it forever.

Lawmakers meet January 5th. If they don’t bite on the Gambling deal then, they face a 50-50 chance of having to give the Seminole Tribe its money back.

“The concern I have is that if the state doesn’t do it, the federal government may do it anyway, and then the Florida taxpayers would be left out in the cold,” Crist said.

And if lawmakers don’t go along with the Governor sooner than later, they’ll also have to find the 135 million someplace else, which may not be easy.

Hear it Here:
Pants on easy may be the gift for someone who has everything but the full use of their legs. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, necessity became the mother of invention for one Tallahassee man.

By day, Jim Longhurst is a code enforcement supervisor. But when he was off his feet for two months he decided there had to be an easier way to get dressed. So he invented Pants on Easy.

“I was just so fed up with attempting to try to get myself dressed,” Longhurst said.

A patent is pending.

The product’s simplicity is its strength. Suspender clips attached to a tube with a rope inside.

“My invention gives a person, I like to say, a leg up,” he said. “A little joke,  twist on the words, is that they can put their pants on both legs at the same time which makes them better than the average man. And I think that is a little something that might make people feel a little better about themselves.”

Longhurst is searching for a US manufacturer. And while he may have disproved the old adage that everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time, he has also reinforced another: Necessity is the mother of invention.

Governor Charlie Crist today recommended dipping into the state’s trust funds, including the Lawton Chiles Endowment, funded by the Tobacco settlement, to balance the state budget. Current year projections show Florida will take in 2.3 Billion dollars less than it was planning on spending. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, Crist is ruling our tax and fee increases for now.

Governor Charlie Crist is counting on 135 million dollars from Indian Gaming to balance the current budget. The move puts him at odds with state legislative leaders.

Crist’s plan moves hundreds of millions of dollars from trust funds with specific purposes  to cover general operating costs.

“Well, I think it’s a good idea because it’s the taxpayer’s money. It’s, in essence, what you could call a rainy-day fund,” Crist said. “And economically, it’s raining.”

At a small café in Havana, a bedroom community north of the capital, the governor also indicated he is counting on anywhere from 850 million to a billion dollars from Washington.

“Florida deserves her fair share,” he said. “I think it’s important to utilize that money to help our fellow Floridians in a time of need.”

Local officials already have plans for some of that cash. They say they need it to help with roads and bridges.

“These bridges were built in the late 40s and in the early 50s, and they’re literally crumbling,” Gadsden County Commissioner Doug Crowley said.

The Governor isn’t supporting any fee or tax increases during this budget cutting session, but that could change when lawmakers come back in the spring.

After the brief meeting, the governor went looking for a Christmas gift for his new bride. Someone recommended antique depression glass. His response: how about optimism glass?

State lawmakers return to the Capitol on January 5th to begin making cuts in the spending plan that runs through June. They will also be back in Tallahassee beginning March to craft next years budget.

Read the Govenrors Letter Here:2008-12-23-letter-2008-09-budget

Governor Charlie Crist is being criticized by some of the state’s top lawyers. They are accusing him of meddling in who an independent commission suggests for appointment to the State Supreme Court. Twice, the nominating commission sent a list of names that included a woman and a Hispanic, and the governor rejected the lists until the name of a former Jeb Bush attorney, Frank Geminis was included. Today the governor said there was nothing sinister in the ordeal.

“I think the people of Florida expect greater diversity on the Florida Supreme Court. I’ve asked for more names to have more choices,” Crist said. “It’s no more complicated than that and that’s really what it’s about, to try to have a court that reflects Florida.”

Crist is expected to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court early next year.

There have been reports from some counties that a voluntary moratorium on mortgage foreclosures has not worked. Manatee County, on the state’s west coast is showing the same number of foreclosures as last month. Asked about the trend, the Governor says he thinks the moratorium, on whole, is working.

“We have no indication that it’s not working,” Crist said. “So I certainly hope that it is.”

In early December, The Governor and the state’s bankers said they would hold off on foreclosures for 45 days.

Governor Charlie Crist visited a workforce center in Tallahassee today to listen to job seekers and offer them hope. At 7.3 percent, Florida’s jobless numbers hit a 15-year high on Friday. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the Governor is hoping a Federal stimulus package will help put some people back to work.

Construction continues to be the biggest job loser…followed by business services, transportation and jobs in the financial industry.

A steady stream of people are visiting workforce centers, looking for work as Christmas approaches. CEO Kim Moore says unemployment isn’t taking a holiday.

“25 to 30 percent increase,” Moore said. “Last year alone we served 75,000 people so we are certainly expecting to increase that number. I would suspect around 100,000 plus would be our number.”

Jobless numbers hit a 15-year high on Friday. 680 thousand Floridians are now out of work. 59 thousand were added to the unemployment rolls in November alone. Governor Charlie Crist says he visited the Tallahassee center to understand what people need.

“It gives me a better handle of what opportunities exist, how we might be able to make changes to help people who are unemployed and want to work,” Crist said.

Cameras weren’t allowed inside with the Governor, but job seeks coming out found his presence calming.

“He was telling me what type of job I was looking for,” Jerry Moore Jr. “He gave a pep talk, said good luck.”

“Well, he did offer me a hundred thousand dollar job…I’m teasing about that of course,”
Michael John Herz said.

The official website EmployFlorida.com lists some 200,000 jobs that are available. That’s about one for every three people who are looking.

Still, the Governor says it’s a great place to start.

“It’s about providing hope for people,” Crist said. “Giving them an opportunity to have a better life.”

Florida has 88 such job centers.

Construction continues to be the biggest job loser…followed by business services, transportation and jobs in the financial industry.

Governor Charlie Crist will make his budget cutting recommendations on Tuesday. The Governor is expected to suggest sweeping some cash from trust funds coupled with existing hold backs to cover most of the states 2.3 billion dollar revenue shortfall.
It does not appear the governor will be recommending any new revenue sources or tax increases.
           
“I think the policy of trying to keep taxes low is important to do, and I know that’s a policy that Florida has had for a long time. And I’m pleased about that,” Crist said. “I think we’ll need to continue with that as much as we possibly can because, if ever there was a time to make sure people have more of their own money in their pocket, that would be now it would seem to me.”

State lawmakers are due back at the state capitol on January 5th for a special budget cutting session.

Governor Charlie Crist and his new bride, Carole, made their first public appearance as man and wife today. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the new first couple spent the afternoon reading to foster children.

Here it here: mvpkg1221mp3

The Governor and his wife of 10 days sipped punch, held hands, and talked with foster families invited to the Governor’s mansion. About 30 foster kids were invited for an afternoon read along of “The 12 days of Christmas in Florida”.

Neither the Governor nor First Lady read to the children, but both listened intently and often exchanged glances as the kids read aloud such phrases as “6 gators grinning.”

Afterward the couple passed out gifts to each of the children.

In her first interview, the new first lady says she likes living in Tallahassee, is somewhat surprised by the hectic nature of the job, and says she is thinking about causes she might embrace.

“Well, I think as it relates to Florida whatever we can do, whatever I can do, to be of help to the governor’s office and administration’s agenda I am happy to help in any way I can, say the First Lady, who then added “Particularly children in Florida are very near and dear to my heart.”

and when asked about what words of wisdom she shares with the states chief executive…the Governor chimed in by saying “Okay…that was the last question….come on.

The new first lady won’t be spending Christmas here in the mansion she and the Governor will leave Christmas Eve for St. Petersburg.

Ironically, weather in the Northeast kept the first lady’s two children from being at the Governor’s Mansion.  The Governor says he and the first lady will take a couple days off for Christmas, and then he will start negotiating state budget cuts for a special session that begins Monday, January 5^th.

Unemployment in Florida inched up three-tenths of a percent in November. 680,000 Floridians are now out of work. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, there are now 200,000 more Floridians out of work than there were a year ago.

Fifty-nine thousand Floridians lost their job in November. At 7.3 percent, the state’s unemployment rate is more than half a percent higher than the national average.

For Gia Straw, being out of work over the holidays means not seeing her family.

“Most of my family has either been out of work or just having hard times,” Gia Straw, a medical technician said. “They know.”

This is the second Christmas truck driver Hakeem Shakur has been out of work.

“I have two young kids, so it’s kinda hard,” Shakur said.

What do you say to them?

“I had a little money saved up, so they’re going to have a good Christmas,” he said.

State economists expect the job market will get worse before it gets better.

“We still have gains in education and health services, primarily in the health care industry,” economist Rebecca Rust said. “That’s where we’re seeing the best job prospects.”

Workforce centers are packed with job seekers.

“One of the things we’re seeing here today is job-seekers helping other job-seekers”

For some, not having computer skills is making finding a job that much harder.

“So when I can help somebody who doesn’t know the computer, know the sites, I know the good sites to go to,” Norvis Edwards said. “It’s just from the experience of being here and using the resources.”

For the first time in this downturn, employment in the hotel industry declined, signaling a slump in the state’s biggest industry: Tourism.

If you are out of work you can search online at the state web site, www.employflorida.com.

Governor Charlie Crist is counting on both Federal and state economic stimulus packages to help boost job gains. Crist is also going to ask state lawmakers to make loans available to small businesses in hopes of creating jobs.  Some 2 hundred thousand jobs are being advertised on the state website. The governor says the web site is a good place to start looking for work.

“EmployFlorida.com is a great website to go to. I understand not everybody has a computer, but you can go to the unemployment offices around the state, through Workforce Florida, and utilize those computer,” Crist said. “There are opportunities out there and we’re going to continue to fight for the people as much as we can, and encourage them and try to bring about more hope.”

An estimated 680 thousand Floridians are out of work. 59 thousand lost their jobs in November alone.

Lawmakers are scrambling to reach an agreement on how to balance the budget as the countdown to a special session continues. Governor Charlie Crist says he wants programs that help the state’s most vulnerable protected from the budget ax. As Whitney Ray tells us, lawmakers may have to pass new taxes to keep those programs off the chopping block.

Hear it Here: Lawmakers Could Pass Taxes to Balance the Budget

As declining tourism, home sales, and consumer spending deepen the state’s budget hole, lawmakers are looking for ways to make up the lost revenue.

“This legislator personally is willing to look at every option possible,” said Republican Senator Victor Crist.

“We’ve got to look at all our options. We have to explore everything and we have to have the political courage to go where we haven’t been willing to go before,” said Democratic Minority Leader Franklin Sands.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers are using similar language, but there doesn’t seem to be a clear path to fill the two billion dollar void. Lawmakers are already looking for places to reduce government spending, but this time budget cuts may not do the trick.

Governor Charlie Crist says lawmakers need to keep programs that help the state’s most vulnerable off the chopping block. He also sent a signal taxes could be part of the discussion.

“I’m not going to stand in the way today of what the members of the house or senate want to discuss, whether it’s in the special session or the regular session. These are challenging economic times,” said Crist.

Lawmakers could vote to close tax loopholes like those on bottled water and dry-cleaning; further spending cuts could drastically change education, police protection and health care programs.

Lawmakers are being called back to Tallahassee on January 5th. Legislative leaders hope to already have a plan to balance the budget when they reconvene in order to keep the 40,000 dollar a day session short.

Opponents of expanded gambling in the Seminole Tribe’s casinos are coming out in numbers.

Thursday lawmakers began discussing a new deal to allow the tribe to continue playing blackjack and other Vegas-style games. A new compact could generate as much as 300 million dollars for the state. Christian and family groups say if lawmakers approve the games if could cause more harm than good.

“For us it always go back to holding the line, because what happens is every time you give an inch, there’s another inch. There’s always a fairness issue. There’s always another imbalance issue,” said Dennis Baxley with the Christian Coalition of Florida.

Gulf Stream Park Racing Association filed a complaint with the Florida Supreme Court today asking the court to stop the tribe from hosting blackjack and Vegas slots. Governor Charlie Crist said lawmakers need to form a new compact soon.

“The only concern I have is that if we don’t move in that direction, our friends on the federal level may allow that to happen anyway, and Florida taxpayers wouldn’t be able to benefit from it. I am encouraging that and whether its during January or March, I think the sooner than better if possible,” said Crist.

The Attorney General renewed his call for an end to the gaming. The AG sent a letter to the US Attorney in the Florida’ Middle District asking for his help to stop the tribe.

The state is one step closer to buying 180,000 acres of land in the Everglades.

Thursday Governor Charlie Crist praised a vote of by the South Florida Water Management District allowing the deal to move forward. The state plans to buy the land from US Sugar, for 1.3 billion dollars. While the purchase isn’t a done deal, Crist said getting the district’s approval is a big step.

“Without this bold first step taking place on Tuesday, this vote, this act of democracy in order to protect the environment, none of these other issues, that we will work on very hard together, would even be before us anymore, but they are,” said Crist.

US Sugar can still back out of the deal if the economy gets worse.