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Seniors gathered across the state today to celebrate 73 years of Social Security and to bash a presidential candidate who supports changing the program. On this day in 1935, Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. Today 6 out of every 10 seniors rely on Social Security for at least half of their income. Members of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans held a birthday party outside of the Tallahassee Social Security office. Alliance Secretary Barbara DeVane said John McCain’s support of partially privatizing the financial aid program could hurt seniors.

“We’re here today to say cut the cake, not our social security benefits. Do not privatize social security. And we think John McCain’s statement about Social Security being disgraceful. We think that is disgraceful,” said DeVane.

The Alliance for Retired Americans launched a television ad campaign about McCain’s position on Social Security.

A Circuit Court judge has removed a property tax cutting amendment from the November ballot after finding it misleading. The ballot summary for Amendment 5 promised schools would be held harmless but As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the judge found the amendment failed to live up to the at promise.

Amendment 5 promised to cut property taxes by a fourth. It did that by eliminating a portion of school taxes and replacing them with a yet to be determined source of funding or by  budget cuts. The language voters would have seen promised schools would be held harmless, but the Judge John Cooper found the language misleading because the promise was only good for one year. The Florida Chamber was one of the parties that took the amendment to court.

“Property tax is an issue in the state of Florida,” David Davis with the Florida Chamber said. “Everyone wants a 25 percent property tax cut. The problem is what is going to be taxed? And that is the question that was left unanswered by amendment five. So the problem with amendment five is the uncertainty it would create for both Florida business and the consumers.”

The battle is far from over, but the writing is on the wall.

The supporters of amendment five say they will appeal and that means the final decision will come from the Florida Supreme Court.

Governor Charlie Crist and Florida Realtors, have been pushing the amendment. They see it as a way to jumpstart the economy. After the ruling, the Governor expressed disappointment.

“It doesn’t mean anything. That’s why you appeal,” Crist said. “What really matters is, what the last ruling is, not the first one in any case.”

The Governor is already being asked to call lawmakers back to deal with property taxes. He says he’ll wait to see what the courts do.

The police shooting of a 17 year-old St. Petersburg teen sent some 30 protesters to the state Capitol today. The death has already been ruled justifiable, but as Whitney Ray tells us, the angry protestors want the Governor to take another look at what they say was a racially motivated shooting.

Hear it Here: Crist Orders FDLE to Look Into Police Shooting

Armed with signs, tee shirts, and a mega phone family and friends of a slain St. Petersburg teen stormed the state Capitol.

“Jail the killer cop,” protesters chanted.

The group protested the Pinellas State Attorney’s decision not to prosecute a police officer who killed 17 year-old Javon Dawson. State Attorney Bernie McCabe said the officer was acting within the law. Group organizers say there’s a conflict of interest.

“Since Javon was murdered by the police, Bernie McCabe has taken witness testimonials from the same St. Petersburg officer with whom he is working on 100 cases currently,” said group organizer Diop Olugbala.

The activist crowed the Governor’s Office demanding to speak with Crist, and after waiting five minutes the group began chanting loudly. A spokesman for the Governor allowed four of the activists to meet behind close doors.

The group met with the Governors Chief of Staff of about 15 minutes. They came out with this letter asking the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to look into the case.

“FDLE will take the appropriate time to do a through and exhausted review of the case,” said Sterling Ivey, a Spokesman for the Governor

Although the activist never saw the Governor, they left the capitol satisfied. The irony is that the St. Pete group couldn’t meet with the Governor because the Governor was in St. Petersburg.

Groups hosting voter registration drives may soon face deadlines and penalties. A Federal Judge upheld a law setting a 10 day deadline for groups to turn in registration applications after they have been signed. Several groups, including the League of Women Voters, sued to keep the state from setting a time limit. Secretary of State Spokeswoman Jennifer Davis said people who register at a drive should be guaranteed their application will be processed quickly.

“What happens when a 3rd party voter registration group accepts someone’s registration, they’ve accepted someone’s right to vote and if they don’t turn it in time for an election, they’ve basically block that person from voting. They’ve taken away their right,” said Davis.

The Secretary of State is still working out the details of the rule. Davis says the deadline won’t be in place in time to affect groups registering voters for the November election.

A judge will decide whether voters are being mislead by a controversial amendment on the November ballot. The so called Tax Swap promises a reduction in school taxes but not a reduction in school spending. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the amendment only promises schools will be funded for the first year.

In 1987, Florida gambled on a tax on services. It created a national uproar. Advertisers and conventions boycotted the state. It stayed on the books just six months.

Now voters are being asked to tell the legislature to bring back the service tax. In exchange they get a reduction on their property taxes.

The problem is there is a big gap between what’s being cut and the alternatives being offered as a replacement.

The wording voters will see on the ballot says school budgets won’t be cut. But deep in the actual language, the guarantee is for just one year. Whether the wording is misleading is now before a judge.

“It indicates that the loss of the required local funding and that the reduction in the available millage is balanced out by an equal requirement for state funding to replace it. That’s not true,” Barry Richard with the Coalition to Protect Florida’s Economy said.

Supporters say it will be up to the legislature to figure out how to fund schools

“There are other ways to pay for it and we’re providing the legislature, in this amendment, two years to come up with alternative sources,” John MacKay with Yes On 5 said.

The amendment is likely to be the most fraught over idea, both in court and on the airwaves, this election season.

Governor Charlie Crist and Florida Realtors are supporting the amendment as a way to revive the economy.

State Regulators are trying to decide if State Farm needs to raise rates by 47 percent to stay in business. State Farm says it needs a rate hike to prepare for a big hurricane. As Whitney Ray tells us, regulators are trying to figure out if the insurer is overstating its risk.

Hear it Here: State Farm on Hot Seat

State Farm executives swore to tell the truth. Then were grilled by regulators… who want to know why the company thinks hurricanes will bankrupt the insurer.

“Why is it you take into consideration that there’s going to be greater frequency and you don’t take into consideration that that’s not correct?” asked OIR General Counsel Steve Patron.

State Farm says they’re not prepared to adequately protect its one million Florida policyholders if big storms hit. They want a statewide average 47.1 percent rate hike. In some Florida counties the rate would go up almost 90 percent.

Tina Risley has been a State Farm customer for 36 years. If the rate hike is approved the insurance on her St. Petersburg home would go up 70 percent.

“I’m approaching retirement age and will I be able to maintain my home in St. Petersburg, or will I be forced to move out of the state,” said Risley.

State Farm says if the rate hike isn’t approved dropping policyholders is a possibility.

“We’ll be reviewing all our options with what ever decision OIR makes,” said State Farm Spokesman Justin Glover.

If the outcome was left up to the governor, State Farm wouldn’t get a rate hike.
“Because the profits they’ve made nationally have been extraordinary,” said Governor Charlie Crist.

Whether or not an extraordinary storm can wash away those profits is up to regulators to decide. People who couldn’t attend the hearing and want to comment on State Farm’s request can email the Office of Insurance Regulation at ratehearings@fldfs.com.

Moments before he was about to be fired, the state’s top mortgage regulator resigned. The office has been under fire for being slow to react to fraud and for licensing felons. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, new rules will also determine when someone with a criminal past can help broker mortgages.

As many as 4 thousand former felons may have been licensed to write mortgages in Florida. The office of Financial Regulation also failed to conduct required Federal background checks on applicants for more than 18 months.

Regulator Don Saxon arrived at a state Cabinet meeting with a detailed fix in hand.

“For crimes we have designated as Class A crimes, the applicant will not be eligible for licensor,” Saxon said. “These crimes include all felonies involving an act of fraud.”

The new plan was approved quickly.

“A new type of leadership culture,” Florida CFO Alex Sink said.

Then there was another motion: to fire Saxon for being asleep at the switch.

When the Governor seconded the motion. Saxon knew he was a gonner and resigned.

“I’ll go ahead and submit a letter to you today, indicating my desire to leave and go into other areas if you will,” Saxon said.

The Governor and Cabinet also ordered auditors to spend the next 30 days taking a serious look at the office.

Saxon left quickly after the meeting, we followed him into an elevator, where he defended his office.

“I Think you’re going to find once the audit is complete that we were not having a systemic process of licensing people with criminal backgrounds,” Saxon said.

After 33 years on the state payroll, the soon-to-be former regulator says he doesn’t know what he’ll do next.

While the state Cabinet took action to limit who can write a mortgage, it may not have the legal authority to enforce all of the restrictions. The Governor’s attitude: Take us to court. In the meantime, those with felony convictions not related to financial crime will have to be crime free for at least 5 years before becoming a mortgage broker.

Governor Charlie Crist named a new executive director to one of the most troubled agencies in state government. The Agency for Persons with Disabilities was 9 million over budget last year and has a long, 17 thousand person waiting list. The list includes people with cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and autism. In making the appointment, the governor says Jim DeBeaugrine up to the task.

“Jim has extensive experience in serving the people of Florida,” Crist said. “He served the legislature for 19 years as an analyst and staff director for the House of Representatives.  There Jim gained considerable experience with Florida’s programs that deal with persons with disabilities.”

“Well, the first thing we have to do, is take care of the budget deficit,” DeBeaugrine said.  “Whenever resources become available, then we’ll be able to take people off the wait-list.”

The agency is facing a 13 million-dollar deficit this year that could grow wider. After a year at the agency, the new director says he knows what he is getting into.

If you lived in Florida between 2000 and 2004, and you still register a vehicle, you might be in for a discount next year. The Governor and Cabinet approved a plan today to discount registrations by a dollar for about 10 million vehicles when they come up for renewal in 2009 or 2010.  The refund is a result of a court suit over the way Florida sold public records. Highway Safety Executive director Electra Bustle says the problem was corrected in 2004.

“You had to exempt out your records. For instance, all records are public in Florida unless you say, records to be held as exempt,” Bustle said. “Federal law in 2000 changed, and said you actually had to opt in, everything’s confidential unless you authorize it and there were 16 exemptions. So our opt-out law, was not in compliance with the federal opt-in law.”

The plan must still be approved by state lawmakers.

About half a million people have signed up to vote in Florida since January. Democrats are winning the push to sign up voters, but as Whitney Ray tells us, Republicans are banking on the new Democrats not making it to the polls.

Hear it Here: Democrats Register More New Voters Than Republicans, But Will The New Voters Show Up At The Polls

Twenty six year-old Ryan Giroux has never voted.

“The previous two, I wasn’t really into voting for either of those gentleman, and now there’s a guy I’d like to vote for,” Giroux said.

About half a million Floridians registered to vote so far this year. 290,000 of them are under 35. Democrats are out pacing the Republicans in the push to sign up new voters. They’ve registered about 150,000 more since January. Florida Democrats credit Presidential hopeful Barack Obama for the spike.

“It’s hard to find anybody really, except Charlie Crist, excited about John McCain in this state, unlike Barack Obama, you go out on the street and talk to just about everybody and they’re really excited about change,” said Eric Jotkoff, a spokesman for the Florida Democrats.

Talking is one thing, voting is another. The Republican Party of Florida says even though they’ve signed up fewer new Republicans, they believe more of them will go vote.

“We look back at previous years, Republicans consistently turn out more voters on Election Day and also more of the new voters that we register,” said RPOF Spokeswoman Katie Gordon.

Jonathan Smulevich said he’ll cast a ballot on Election Day, but he’s not as confident about his peers.

“I think some will. You can never say everyone’s going to show up,” said Smulevich.

With Florida up for grabs in November, the election won’t be won by the party that signs up the most voters. It will be decided by who shows up at the polls. Democrats and Republicans weren’t the only ones seeing a large increase in voter registration. About 50,000 Floridians registered with no party affiliation.

The clock is ticking for Florida Democrats to select people to cast the states electoral votes next January when the Electoral College meets to decide the Presidential Election. The selection committee met Saturday in Tampa, but didn’t have enough members present to vote. The party has until September 1st to select people to cast the state’s 27 Electoral College votes if Barack Obama wins Florida. State Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff said despite Saturday’s low turnout, the Democrats will meet the deadline.

“Members of the executive committee are going to turn out in huge numbers, because they know its one of their few duties in the presidential campaign process and they’re committed to electing Barack Obama as the next President of the United States, to do that they are going to come out to ratify the slate of electors,” said Jotkoff.

Florida Democrats have scheduled another meeting on August 20th to select their electors.

Floridians have already began casting ballots in the August 26th Primary. Early voting began today. Elections supervisors statewide opened sites for early birds to vote. Voting will continue at select sites through August 23rd. Absentee ballots are also being collected. John Hedrick made up his mind early and couldn’t wait until the 26th to vote.

“More people may choose to do this because they can just get their ballot, and get in and out and not wait a long time and or get an absentee ballot, which will allow them to do it from the means of their own home,” said Hedrick.

Florida Secretary of State Spokeswoman Jennifer Davis said opening the polls up early helps thin out the crowds on Election Day.

“It’s more convenient. It helps with the supervisor to regulate the traffic, between Election Day and early voting, so it helps with managing the traffic and flow, and it’s easier for voters. They can pick the location and vote within any of their voting locations within their county,” said Davis.

Starting this year state law requires all voting precincts to use optical scan machines, although even in a close election, the law does not permit all of the ballots to be counted manually.

High gas prices have caused state troopers to change the way they look for speeders. The pain at the pump is taking a huge chuck out of the Florida Highway Patrol budget. As Whitney Ray tells us, troopers are patrolling less and run more check points.

Hear it Here: State Troopers Diving Less, To Save Gas

Since gas prices hit four dollars a gallon truck driver Ron Spears has seen more state troopers watching Florida’s roads and fewer driving them.

“Sitting on the side of the road, sitting up on the overpasses and underneath the over passes,” said Spears.

The Florida Highway Patrol is asking its 1,600 troopers to drive fewer miles.

“Do stationary enforcement efforts where they can, stationary radar, driver’s license check points, things of that nature,” said FHP Captain Mark Welsh.

Troopers are also being asked to stay on top of their cruiser’s maintenance schedules. Troopers are taking a page out of Presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s playbook. They’re keeping their tires inflate to increase fuel efficiency.

Troopers are also paying closer attention to gas prices. Patrolman Will Grissom knows exactly where to fill up.

“We drive around a lot and that gives us an opportunity to see a lot of prices at gas stations,” said Grissom.

Grissom spots a speeder. He’ll write the driver a ticket but won’t call for backup unless things get out of hand. With gas prices so high using two cruisers for non-emergencies is too expensive. Troopers are also slowing down to save gas. Troopers we spoke with say they try to drive between 60 and 65 miles per hour on the interstate.

Police agencies across the state are taking advantage of today’s date to catch drunk drivers. In Florida it’s illegal to drive if your blood alcohol level is .08 or higher. Playing off the 8/8/08 date, the Department of Transportation is working with police agencies statewide to setup DUI check points. Some colleges will have graduation ceremonies tonight and many happy couples will take their vows. DOT Traffic Safety Administrator Randall Smith said it doesn’t matter if you’re a newly wed or a new graduate, if you drink and drive you’re going to jail.

“If you’re driving in Florida tonight and you have an alcohol continent of .08 or above you will be arrested. Zero tolerance. No Excuses,” said Smith

Law enforcement officers will also setup check points Saturday.

Two Florida fraternity brother accused of beating another student in a hazing incident will have another day in court. An Appeals Court ruled a judge made a mistake while giving instruction to the jury in the trial of FAMU Kappa Alpha Psi members Michael Morton and Jason Harris. Harris and Morton were both convicted to two years in prison for their part in the hazing ritual that sent one man to the hospital. FAMU Dean of Students Henry Kirby said the case has help make Greek life safer on campus.

“I don’t know whether it has changed it for the worst. I think students particularly Greek organizations are more cognizant of their responsibilities in terms of intake process and adhering to university procedures and state laws,” said Kirby.

A court date hasn’t been set. This will be the third trial for Morton and Harris.