House Speaker Ray Sansom - Very Bad State Representative

Magistrate backs Miami-Dade school district decision to deny teacher raises - January 30, 2009 - The Miami-Dade school district should not have to give teachers the raises guaranteed in their contract, a special magistrate said. The final decision is up to the School Board.

Homelessness surges as funding falters - January 30, 2009 - Providers to the poor try to stretch meager resources to meet growing need

Study: Fla. Gets C-Minus in Keeping Good Teachers, Removing Bad Ones - January 29, 2009 - WASHINGTON | Most states, including Florida, are not doing what it takes to keep good teachers and remove bad ones, a national study found.

Baby Girl Dies When DCF Fails At Job - January 29, 2009 - PORT RICHEY | The mother couldn’t care for her babies because she was in prison. The father was a petty criminal himself with no clue how to care for newborns.

Gain from Chiles' fund could end in state loss - January 26, 2009 - Temporary budget fix could lead to more woe in future

'Angry moms' riled over state cuts to education - January 25, 2009 - With Tallahassee likely to embark on a new round of cuts in school funding, parents are rebelling in a variety of ways and could help tilt the political balance.

Budget Cuts Lead Schools To Offer Early Retirement - January 23, 2009 - The Miami-Dade School District is one of many looking to cut back on spending, and now they're looking to offering early retirement to offset the budget deficit -- something they haven't done in nearly two decades.

Metrorail North Corridor extension derailed another year - January 23, 2009 - For the second year in a row, the Metrorail North Corridor received low marks from federal regulators. But the long-sought project is not quite dead yet.

Troubled Miami-Dade reform school may be forced to close main campus - January 24, 2009 - A troubled South Miami-Dade reform school could lose its main campus after the state announced it would lose its funding in March.

Florida job offices feel the squeeze, too - January 23, 2009 - Applying for unemployment benefits in Florida can't be done in person. Either go online, or do it by phone and wait.

Legislature Passed Over Loopholes When Working On Budget - January 21, 2009 - TAMPA - While the Florida Legislature slashed budgets for schools, children's health care and living assistance for the elderly in its recent special session, it ignored a couple of easy fixes – loopholes in corporate tax law -- that could have produced revenue to avoid some of the worst cuts.

Florida driver's license settlement: $2.9M for lawyers, $1 for you - January 16, 2009 - Cash-strapped Florida will shell out $10.4 million to settle a suit that reimburses state drivers $1 each.

Florida Budget Cuts Hammer Schools & Healthcare - January 14, 2009 - State Senate Approves $2.8 Billion Budget Plan

Ten years later, family of slain Aventura doctor waits for justice - January 10, 2009 - It's been 10 years since Dr. Bradley Silverman was gunned down in his office. After a long wait, his accused killer is still awaiting trial.

Lawmakers plan to cut $491M in school budgets - January 7, 2009 - TALLAHASSEE - The impact of the Florida Legislature's budget-cutting special session will hit hardest in the classroom, as school districts learned Tuesday how deep a cash crunch they would face under plans legislators will formalize today.

Crisis getting worse, lawmakers are told - January 6, 2009 - Lawmakers returned to Tallahassee to cut the state budget and close the deficit but were greeted with more bad financial news.

Miami-Dade schools' finances draw state scrutiny - January 5, 2009 - The Miami-Dade school district has increased its reserves, but additional budget cuts are likely needed, meaning more layoffs and program cuts.

Editorial: Stop raiding trust fund to balance budget on backs of needy children - January 3, 2009 - Health of children essential in keeping Florida's economy, finances sustainable

s the Integrity of Florida's Judiciary in Question? - January 1, 2009 - Over the last month, the drama played out over the most recent nomination to the Florida Supreme Court has sparked sharp criticism of the judicial nominating process.

An Irresponsible Budget - - December 31, 2008 - House Speaker Ray Sansom and Senate President Jeff Atwater on Tuesday officially released their call for the special budget-cutting session set to start next week and it closely mirrors the trust-fund raids and cuts Gov. Charlie Crist recommended.

Liquor, tobacco shielded from lawmakers' special session - January 1, 2009 - The Legislature meets for special session next week to figure out how to close a $2.3 billion budget hole in this fiscal year's $65 billion budget. House Speaker Ray Sansom and Senate President Jeff Atwater have proclaimed that any fix to Florida's sales-tax-dependent budget can't include increasing taxes on booze or cigs or even giving the nod to the governor's deal with the Seminoles to get more than $100 million from their casino operations. Read the actural order.

Dania city manager's farewell letter leads to his firing - December 31, 2008 - Dania Beach's city manager was fired over a letter that offended some commissioners, the latest -- and final -- friction between the two sides. Read the Letter, I read the letter and the Dania Beach's Commissioner's should be Fired for this type of actions

Floridians get four hours to make budget suggestions - December 31, 2008 - TALLAHASSEE — The state Legislature will give the public a fleeting chance to sound off next week before making deep cuts in programs to patch a $2.3-billion budget deficit.

Alexander tells senate to ignore Crist budget solution - December 29, 2008 - IIgnore Gov. Charlie Crist’s budget recommendations that count on Seminole gambling money and make one-time cuts to day-to-day programs to cure Florida’s $2.3 billion budget gap, Senate budget chairman J.D. Alexander is ordering fellow senators.

Gov. Crist removes mosquito control commissioner (with DOCUMENT) - December 29, 2008 - A commissioner for the South Walton Mosquito Control District who had been on suspension since last December has been removed from office.

School has a friend in Legislature - December 29, 2008 - E-mail shows close ties between House Speaker Ray Sansom and Northwest Florida State College, where Sansom landed a job.

Lawmaker: End tax money for candidates - December 27, 2008 - UMATILLA - State Rep. Alan Hays wants Florida to end the practice of giving public money to statewide candidates to help finance their campaigns.

States slash Medicaid amid economic woes - December 26, 2008 - States from Rhode Island to California are being forced to curtail Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor, as they struggle to cope with the deteriorating economy.

Miami-Dade poor defendants face court delays - December 25, 2008 - Miami-Dade's poor defendants will face longer court delays in most cases, as the public defender tries to cope with high caseloads and shrinking budgets.

Gov. Crist : Chiles fund will be repaid fast - December 25, 2008 - Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday he tried to make budget cuts as painless as possible in his proposal to plug a $2.3 billion hole in the state's spending plan.

No 'right to know' at nursing homes - December 24, 2008 - TALLAHASSEE - Florida's "right to know" constitutional amendment that lets patients check records of medical mistakes by doctors and hospitals doesn't apply to nursing homes, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

Florida lags in school funding - December 24, 2008 - Florida ranks below the national average for teachers' pay and per pupil spending, according to the 65th annual report from the country's largest teachers' union.

Up is Down, Down is Up - December 22, 2008 - According to the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy, here were some of our state's rankings in 2007:

Some South Florida elected officials exploit loophole in law to live outside districts they represent - December 21, 2008 - Vague residency rules for elected officials make the question hard to answer

Florida wears U.S. corruption crown - December 21, 2008 - Tired of seeing Florida constantly at the bottom of national rankings? Take heart. The Department of Justice says we're No. 1 in one category: corruption.

Lawmakers cash in with campus jobs - December 21, 2008 - Former and current lawmakers are finding employment at community colleges and state universities, even in times of cutbacks and curbs on enrollment.

Judge Allen to face reprimand by Supreme Court - December 19, 2008 - Rebuke marks end of conflict involving Judge Michael E. Allen

Where's the Leadership?- December 18, 2008 - It's a question every Floridian should be asking themselves about our state government these days. We're facing a $2 billion dollar deficit, with an economy that isn't predicted to recover until 2010.

DeFede: Hooray, Florida Still #1 For Corruption - December 18, 2008 - Ever since Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested, there has been a lot of talk about whether Illinois is the most corrupt state in the country.

Successful insanity defense stuns Miami-Dade attorneys - December 15, 2008 - A Miami-Dade jury reached an extremely rare verdict, finding a Miami man not guilty by reason of insanity of murdering his parents.

Lawmakers seek to postpone vote on sugar deal - December 11, 2008 - Miami-Dade lawmakers, with a litany of concerns over state's sugar land-purchase deal, asked for a legislative review.