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Governor Charlie Crist is finding himself defending his negotiations
with the Seminole Tribe over expanding gambling to card games like Black Jack,
even though he says he does not want more gambling. Critics like House Speaker Marco
Rubio are arguing the state does not have to grant the Tribe expanding
gaming rights. Christ disagrees.

“There is very sound legal argument that if the state of Florida does
not do it, the Federal government will allow it and the Florida taxpayer
will not benefit iota. And I’m concerned about that. My concern is if
it’s going to occur anyway, why not benefit the Florida taxpayer in the
process.” says Crist.

Under the negotiations, the Seminole Tribe is offering a 50 million
dollar up front payment and guaranteeing at least 100 million a year to
the state.

After 26 years of service with the Florida Highway Patrol, Col. Christopher A Knight resigned suddenly Monday. The fifty year old veteran officer had been under a six month investigation. It concluded the FHP director was negligent in his duties in falsifying records.

Details of the investigation were not available, but aFHP spokesperson Julie Baker said Knight did not fight the conclusions of the investigation.
“All I can tell you were there was an investigation completed on Friday. There was a meeting yesterday between Col. Knight and the executive director of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which resulted in Col. Knight tendering his resignation which was accepted by the department.” said Baker.

Knight’s resignation will not take effect until October, but he has already stepped down as FHP director.

With the special session scheduled to begin October 3^rd, House Speaker Marco Rubio met with reporters in Tallahassee answering questions about what he hopes gets accomplished.

He says some progress has been made in reducing the state’s one billion dollar budget shortfall but added funding for education is just one of a number of issues.

“On the issue of education and what will happen with the property taxes, I think funding education in the state is a priority. You’ll see that in the spending reductions I’m confident you’re going to see that reflected there. But I also think that everyone needs to understand that this state has very serious cost of living crisis, and one of the leading causes is property taxes. We need to deal with it in a meaningful way. That is what January 29h is about and I hope the next session will be about as well. “

Rubio was cautious about the possibility of adding PIP to the special session call, but admitted it must be fixed sometime.

In a push to improve Florida’s institutes of higher learning, Governor Charlie Crist has appointed Dean Colson of Miami as a Special Advisor.

Colson has served in various leadership roles at the University of Miami including chairman of the board of trustees since 2004 and chairman of the university’s capital campaign since 2003.

He also was on the board of directors for many charitable organizations in South Florida and was president of the Orange Bowl Committee in 2003.

In his role as Special Advisor, Colson will advise the Governor on all aspects of higher education and its governance. Colson believes more money is needed for higher education.

“ Higher education funding is an important problem and our schools and universities need greater funding to accomplish their goals. The finite problem of how to divide up a limited budget in the next thirty, sixty, ninety days is something I don’t have an opinion about because I have not been given the opportunity to get into all that and I have to defer to our governor and or Lt. Governor and the legislature on how to solve that problem on an immediate basis but I think everyone knows we need to invest more money in higher education in Florida.” said Colson.

Governor Crist continues to oppose a tuition hike for higher education. The governor has asked Colson to visit colleges and universities in other states to see what they’ve done to improve their collages and universities.

No Fault Auto insurance, which pays up ten thousand dollars in medical bills, no matter who causes an accident, is slated to go away on October First. But as Mike Vasilinda tells us, pressure is building at the state capitol to try and save the 30 year old auto insurance program.

Hear it Here: No Fault May Be Saved

If No Fault goes away October first, Florida will be just one of three states to not require some form of mandatory auto insurance. As the deadline nears, editorial boards and consumer groups are putting pressure on at the capitol to do something….so for the first time, everyone involved is talking.

So far there have been two full days of negotiation, and the good news, according to those who have been in the room, is that nobody has gotten up and walked out in a huff..…yet. Ralph Glatfelter of the Hospital association has been fighting as hard as anyone to keep no fault. He is optimistic “ “We’re having a lot of good discussion and agreement on some things..a lot of disagreement on other things. Whether this will all come together, I don’t know.” says Glatfelter.

On the other side, a consumer group funded in part by State Farm.
Allison North Jones of Floridians for Lower Insurance Costs thinks No Fault is done.

“As of right now, the two sides, and the House and Senate remain very far apart. House and Senate negotiators have not been in these meetings the governors office has held, and I think at this point I would still expect an October first sunset.” says North Jones.

Charlie Crist says If the talks keep progressing, he’ll add No Fault to the legislatures October special session

“You know,” says the Governor, “as we get closer, I’m certainly willing to add that to the call. I don’t know we’ll do that yet, or not.”

Everyone’s no fault coverage won’t expire on October first…But drivers should call their insurance agents now, so they know what to expect.

Three years after Floridians voted to allow slot machines in Broward and Miami Dade County‘s, and a year after the slots opened, the Florida Supreme Court today heard a challenge to the 2004 election. Opponents argue many of the petitions that put the slots on the ballot were fraudulent, and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, The courts decision could affect whether the Seminole Tribe gets new games.

Supreme Court Hears Slots Argument

The on again off again Special Session to cut the state budget is back
on. Lawmakers will meet at the Capitol beginning October 3rd to cut
more than a billion dollars from state spending. But as Mike Vasilinda
tells us, plans for making the cuts are still vague.

Session On Again

Blame the stagnant real estate market for forcing the budget cuts.
Initial plans called for lawmakers to dip into road construction money
to save schools and public safety from the budget knife, but that idea
is now all but scuttled. Lawmakers are moving closer to the idea that
every one, schools too, must share the pain.

All throughout this debate the governor has been saying he wants to hold schools and public safety harmless. Now he’s adding the words “as much as possible”. With his minor change in rhetoric, Charlie Crist is also reminding everyone who will listen that cutting the budget in most cases still means more money than last year.

According to Crist, “There are increases across the board I think you know your viewers need to know that the increases aren’t just quite as much as they as they would have been.”

The idea that all of government will see a rollback sits just fine with Harvey Bennett from Florida Taxwatch. “There’s every area of government service that can be cut, through economies, eliminating duplication; ways looking for ways to be more efficient. That do not effect core service, that do not effect service delivery. Do not effect in the case of our schools classroom instruction.”

Lawmakers are setting aside 10 days for the budget cutting session. Which means there is still plenty to be worked out.

More than a dozen police dogs from across the state were put through their paces this week at a law enforcement training academy just outside the state capital. The bloodhound trailing instruction is designed to teach the pooches not to stray from the human scent they are supposed to be following. When well trained the dogs can play a vital role in capturing robbery suspects and in searching for missing people. Luis Pratts of the Highland County Sheriff’s Office says his dog, named Blue,  wants just one thing for a job well done; praise.

“You never know it might be a kid being abducted from school and you want your dog to be able to do that. Go to a very contaminated area, and go scent out that kid and follow where he went and get that bad guy away from that kid,” says Pratts.

Several of the dogs were donated by the Jimmy Ryce Center for Missing
Children. Jimmy was 11 when he was kidnaped in 1995. He was found
murdered less than a mile from his home. At the time, a bloodhound was
not available to aid in the search.

New equipment arriving at the Florida National Guard Headquarters is
bringing the guard closer to its goal of having at least 85 percent of
the essential equipment it needs. The equipment index is important
because it measures the guard’s readiness to assist in natural
disasters. With new arrivals, the guard is at 63 percent equipment
readiness…up ten percent from April. Governor Charlie Crist says he’s
checked and is confident the guard is ready for anything.

“I just talked to the general the day before yesterday, General Brunette, with the National Guard and he said he was very pleased about the helicopters and the new equipment that came back. In the event we have a hurricane we’re well supplied and ready, “ says the Governor.

While the Guard is only at 63 percent of equipment readiness, it is at
92 percent of its manpower allotment.

Negotiations to bring Black Jack, Poker, and Slots to Seminole Indian reservations are on track. Governor Charlie Crist says the Tribe and the State are getting closer to an agreement every day. The negotiations call for the state to receive 50 million dollars up front and at least 100 million a year for the life of the deal. In exchange for the money, the state is promising the Tribe the exclusive right to have the games.

“We are negotiating in good faith we want to do what’s right for the future of Florida, says the Governor. “We want to make sure if the Federal Government is making us do this; that the tax payers don’t loose bias on negotiating, so that’s why we are negotiating.”

The Governor doesn’t need legislative approval to cut a deal with the
Tribe, but he will need legislative authority to earmark the gambling
money for schools.

There’s coming back after all. A Special Session is set to begin on Wednesday, October 3, 2007, and run through Friday, October 12, 2007. Read the memo: specialsession.pdf

The State Democratic Party is telling Florida Democrats their vote will count on January 29th, even if the party is forced to select a slate of delegates some other way. The national party is refusing to seat delegates from the January 29th Primary vote because the early date violates party rules. Instead, the State Party Chairman Karen Thurman  is considering a caucus, a mail in vote, or even a web based caucus to select delegates. The important thing, she says, is that the rest of the nation will notice what happens on January 29th in Florida.

“I can’t imagine anybody thinking if they took their time to go to the polls, to do the homework that they needed to do, to choose the candidate that they want as president.  That sends a message, not just across Florida but across the nation.  This is a large important state.” says Thurman.

The party expects to announce how it will select delegates to the national convention within a week.

Roy Brown, who’s daughter Amanda disappeared almost ten years ago, is angry tonight. A web site which he says glorifies killers and allows them to profit from their crimes is no longer selling a letter from the man who went to death row for her murder, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us Mr Brown is fighting to keep killers from cashing in on their fame.

Hear it here

Roy Brown and his wife Silvia placed a white rose near daughter Amanda’s picture earlier this week during a missing children’s day ceremony at the capitol. Amanda disappeared in 1998. Her body has never been found. Crabber Willie Crain got the max.  A letter from Crain showed up on this web site along with art work and personal items from other killers looking to cash in. Roy Brown says it’s wrong.

“We pay for this guy to breath.  It’s bad enough that he gets to see his daughter, I’ll never get to see mine.  Now he’s making money off my daughter!  There’s something wrong with this.” says Brown.

Florida’s law says killers can’t profit from their crime….Roy Brown says the web site has found a way around the law, and he wants it stopped.

“He gives them presents; he buys them shirts, pants, cigarettes, whatever, which is the same thing.  This website needs to be shut down” says the father.

Selling things like a killer’s handprint on a website probably isn’t illegal, but if that killer profits or his family profits from it through a gift, that might be. Roy Brown met with an aide to the governor. The Attorney General’s office says it also wants to know more about the web site.

Black Jack, Poker and big time Slots could be coming to a Seminole Indian Casino sooner than later. The tribe, the State, and The U-S Government spent 90 minutes on a conference call late yesterday, and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, an agreement to allow the games is very close.

Hear it here: mvpkg-sept-12.mp3

Florida has told the Seminole Indian tribe that it is willing to give them Black Jack and Poker, but not roulette, backgammon, or other class three games. The state will get a cut of the profits in exchange. The Indian Casinos will also get class three slots, but those slots are a foregone conclusion whether the state agrees or not. Barry Richard, the tribe’s lawyer, says adding the card games make the deal worth millions.

“Projections which are realistic projections are. Would get the state substantially and excess of 100 million dollars over the year over the life of the contract.” says Richard.

The deal is close, but not done yet. What the state willing to give away is exclusivity the Seminoles will get blackjack and slots at all seven casinos; but if the legislature ever authorizes those games anywhere else, any money from this deal would go away. According to those on a Tuesday conference call, the U-S Government made it clear the Seminoles will get class three slots, and perhaps more, with or without state approval. George Lemiux has been negotiating for the governor and says his hands are tied “They are not going to give us anything for going into a deal just to do slot machines. So they have to have something more, so we’ve talked about more expansive card games. But the Governor doesn’t want to go anywhere past that.”

State lawmakers have told the governor they want final say. But a memo from the tribe says legislative approval is not necessary.

Florida schools are $265,000 richer tonight thanks to a settlement by the Attorney General. The State accused CD distributors of inflating prices. The state sued the five largest distributors, and settled.  The funds will be going to Title I schools where more than 75% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch.  Commissioner of Education Jeannie Blomberg says teh money wil be used for equipment  “ We have 380 schools in the state with several thousand elementary students that will benefit by having additional equipment for their music program. And also it’s just the important recognition of to direct these dollars there, in supporting a program that is so important to our children.”

The state has already distributed more than 4 million dollars in free CD’s as a result of the settlement.