Welcome to

213 schools in Florida have gotten a pleasant surprise. Their school grade has been recalculated and they moved up one grade. Grades for schools in forty counties have been recalculated higher. 116 schools moved from a B to an A; 7 from an F to a D. The changes have superintendents across the state scratching their heads. The State Board of Education earlier this year lowered standards for the FCAT writing test because too many children did poorly. Leon County School Superintendent Jackie Pons says the latest revisions are proof the state needs to set a standard and stick with it.

“We need to find a nationally normed test,” Pons said. “We embrace accountability as superintendents. I support having the highest standard in the nation. But once we set the standards, leave them alone, and let the teachers get us over the bar.”

The change affected eight percent of the schools in the state.

The state is trying to silence accusations against Florida’s Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll. Today prosecutors filed a gag motion in the case of Carletha Cole.

Cole is the former Carroll employee charged with distributing an illegal recording. Earlier this month Cole’s attorney filed a motion alleging Carroll carried on a sexual relationship with a female employee and covered up a fire in Cole’s office. Prosecutors say those claims have nothing to do with the criminal case. They want the defense to stop talking about them. But Cole’s attorney Steve Webster says the allegations show his client was bullied and setup and he’s speaking out to protect his client’s reputation.

“I stand by it 100 percent and I’m going to fight doggedly to show, to bring to light these motives and biases that exist and clearly exist and are corroborated by public records.”

The judge is expected to rule on the gag motion tomorrow morning after a nine o’clock hearing. In the state’s motion, the prosecution claims an internet search of Cole and Carroll returns more than 235 news stories, signally the jury pool could become contaminated.

Democrats are outpacing Republicans in the battle for new voters, but as Whitney Ray tells us, the real challenge may be getting the newly registered to show up on Election Day.

After a year long hiatus, the League of Woman Voters is back in action, signing up new voters.

The nonpartisan voter group ceased registration efforts after a 2011 law put a 48 hour deadline in place for turning in forms. New voter registrations fell by 80-thousand. A judge threw out that provision. Now the league is playing catch-up.

“At this point we have over 180 volunteers who have signed up to do voter registration with the League of Women Voters,” said Jessica Lowe-Minor.

And with voter drives back in full swing, Democrats are pulling further ahead in the fight for new voters. In June, Democrats signed up 18-thousand new voters, Republicans, 13-thousand.

“Not only have Democrats out-registered Republicans for five months in a row, but we’ve also out-registered them with key interest groups,” said David Bergstein, a spokesman for the Florida Democrats.

But Democrats have traditionally outpaced Republicans when it comes to signing up new voters. In fact they have about a 440-thousand voter advantage over Republicans in Florida. So the problem for Democrats becomes getting those voters to actually come out and cast a ballot.

The Republican Party of Florida isn’t worried about the recent surge in new Democrats.

“We focus a lot of effort on getting out the vote efforts. We want to make sure we not only register people to vote but they actually show up on Election Day,” said Kristen McDonald, a RPOF Spokeswoman.

If the latest presidential polls are any indication, every voter, newly registered and the party loyal, will be needed for either side to claim Florida. Up for grabs are the 2.3 million Floridians who’ve registered with no party affiliation.

Those no party affiliated voters make up more than 20 percent of the state’s electorate. Democrats make up 40 percent, Republicans 36 and about three percent of registered voters are affiliated with minor parties.

Most college’s student records are private under state and federal law, but an appellate court decision here in Florida has created an exception. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, students who put complaints in writing can have their name released.

State and Federal law protects most college students’ records. But when a Gainesville Community College student wrote the school that instructor Darnell Rhea was unorthodox and humiliating, Rhea asked for the students name. The school said no.

“A person can be accused of something and they don’t have the right to know who the accuser is? That just seems totally un-American to me,” Rhea said.

Rhea sued and won on appeal. Florida’s First District Court of Appeal ruled that the written complaint wasn’t a student record, but directly related to the teacher.

At Florida State, Junior Jessica Nwasike found the ruling troubling.

“I’m kind of scared to do it then, because what if the teacher decides to punish me by changing my grade or something like that,” Nwasike said.

Lauren Hutson from Ft. Myers is already unhappy with a professor.

“I definitely would not want her to know if I did complain,” Huston said.

“There’s nothing in a ruling that will prevent a student from showing up here in person, and then going into the dean’s office and voicing their complaint with nothing being written down.”

Students can also use the website rate my professor to check out a class before they take it.

“That’s my holy grail, right there,” Tyra Brune, a sophomore from Coral Springs, FL said. “I always use rate my professor before I take a class.”

Ironically for Darnell Rhea, his only ranking on a Rate My Teacher website called him the best teacher ever.

To prove their candidate has strong moral values, supporters of state senate candidate Rachel Burgin are slinging mud at her opponent. With less than a month until the primary election, the political infighting is getting ugly. But, as Whitney Ray tells us, finding out who is financing the mudslinging can be difficult when political action committees are involved.

She’s may be the most socially conservative representative in the state legislature. Representative Rachel Burgin is running for state senate as a moral leader, and a political outsider.

But when her campaign looked doomed, it was the insiders who came to her aid. A political committee started by a lobbyist and funded by special interests, mailed this flier about Burgin’s primary opponent, shining light on his divorce and asking “Three women in 10 years, are these the family values of the Republican Party?”

The ugliness of the campaign and Burgan’s claims she knew nothing about the flier are raising question about where these committees are getting the money and why the public isn’t allowed to know.

“It’s as if the candidates are getting legal advice from the law firm of Winkin, Blinkin and Nod, when it comes to whether they are coordinating or not with all these secret committees,” said Dan Krassner with Integrity Florida.

Integrity Florida is trying to follow the campaign cash.

“We are seeing record level spending and more secrecy that ever before,” said Krassner.

Many political committees don’t have to report contributions until after the election.

“We need to get back to a level of accountability in campaign finance,” said Krassner.

Krassner is pushing for finance reform. He wants all committee contributions posted online within a 48 hour period.

Individuals can contribute five-hundred dollars to a campaign, but they can give unlimited amounts of cash to political action committees, and those committees often do the candidate’s dirty work.

It’s a hard pill to swallow, but state insurance leaders who opposed the Affordable Care Act are now discussing how to implement it. The US Supreme Court ruled most of the new regulations are non-negotiable, but as Whitney Ray tells us, insurance experts plan to use their wiggle room.

This room full of Florida bureaucrats and health insurance providers are meeting for the first time since the US Supreme Court ruled the Affordable Care Act constitutional.

They’re discussing what the new law forces them to do, and what parts are optional. Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty says there are still a lot of unknowns.

“It’s really to discuss what happened in the aftermath in the court’s decision, what are some of our options and what are some of those things Florida has done is to create options for Floridians,” said Kevin McCarty.

Before the high court ruled Governor Rick Scott turned down a million federal dollars to set up health care exchanges. Now the Florida Health Insurance Advisory Board has to make a recommendation by November about whether or not to set up exchanges.

The board’s recommendations will go to state lawmakers who can then put any changes into a bill to be voted on next year, but there are strong opponents of the Affordable Care Act in the state legislature. Plus the Governor has vowed to oppose any new regulations he legally can.

That includes a massive expansion of the state’s Medicaid rolls. Nearly two million more Floridians will soon qualify for the entitlement. But the court ruled states can’t be penalized for not providing coverage, and the board isn’t likely to make that recommendation.

“No we won’t be discussing Medicaid expansion. I think the Governor’s been pretty clear on his position on Medicaid expansion.” said McCarty.

We asked people if the governor should embrace the changes or fight what he can. Opinions were mixed.

“I think he should embrace it and put it in force,” said Charles Judah.

“I believe he can take some things from it. You know, I don’t know if it can be a whole blanket case,” said Philips Haynes.

Despite the Supreme Court ruling, the fight’s not over. The board expects a clear picture of the future of health care in November after the country picks a president.

If the state did expand Medicaid, the federal government would send two billion dollars to Florida to cover the cost, but overtime more of the cost would be shifted to the state.

The Fall semester begins at Florida A & M University next month. The famed marching band will be on the sideline, suspended over the death of Drum Major Robert Champion. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, incoming freshmen are hoping the school can change its reputation.

Rikki Wills is one of eleven people facing felony charges in the death of his roommate, Drum Major Robert Champion. Wills says he got his first taste of hazing on his very first day at band practice.

“Oh I called my mom the very first day, and I said, ‘look, mom, I gotta go. I don’t want to be here,’” Wills said.

But Wills persevered, finally making the choice to submit himself to the ritual of Crossing Bus C.

“It’s a political move,” Wills said. “If you want respect from the percussion section, which is the largest section in the band and probably the most difficult to control, you would do Bus C.”

The Marching 100 remain suspended, but the music program lives on. Former band members who did not want to be on camera said hazing took a turn for the violent in the late 1980’s.

Hundreds of freshman are exploring the Florida A and M campus this week for orientation.

The one thing that these incoming freshman will have that no one has had before them–there’s someone here whose only job is to prevent hazing.

The anti-hazing czar has yet to start, but incoming freshman Nicholas Polite from Jacksonville thinks the school is headed in the right direction.

“They seem like they have a pretty good plan put together in place for that, and, well, you just gotta believe in them,” Polite said.

Enrollment is expected to be down this fall, the result of higher requirements and bad publicity.

One of eleven FAMU members charged in the death of drum major Robert Champion is speaking out tonight. Rikki Wills was Champions roommate. He is charged with felony hazing but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, Wills says he was on the bus that fatal night to try and protect his fellow drum major.

Rikki Wills agreed to meet with us at his attorney’s office. Inside we spent more than a half hour going over the fatal night and the culture of hazing at Florida A&M.

Robert Champion had steadfastly refused to go through the process know as “crossing bus C.” Until November 19th, the night of his death. He made the decision late. Wills says all of the drum majors, had they known, would have been on the bus helping Champion get to the back. Instead it was just Wills.

“What the drum majors get on the bus to try to do is to try to help each other,” Wills said. “Basically, I’m trying to stop him from getting as many hits.”

Rikki also says Robert Champion was hit as many as three hundred times. Wills broke his own hand trying to pull a band member off Champion.

“I can remember me trying to find and peel her fingers off and her arms off, because she just had him, like, locked up,” he said. “Basically, a full-nelson. So he was just opened up as people were trying to get at him.”

Afterward, he says Champion was like everyone else who goes through Bus C–tired and out of breath. It wasn’t till moments later that things took a turn for the worse.

“Then he started complaining that he couldn’t see,” Wills said. “I mean, his eyes were wide open, he was looking directly at us, and he was complaining that he couldn’t see.”

Rikki says that when the band director and police chief talked to band members about hazing, no one paid attention. Or in his words, it went in one ear, and out the other.

And Wills says FAMU faculty and administrators should have know what was going on because everyone else did.

“It’s either that they completely just ignored it, or didn’t care to know what it was,” he said.

Wills faces felony charges, although he claims he was only there helping Robert Champion get to the back of the bus.

Opponents of Governor Rick Scott’s voter purge efforts say they have proof tonight Scott’s actions are politically motivated. Their proof, as Whitney Ray tells us, an email touting Scott’s efforts that’s being circulated by the Republican Party of Florida.

A year long battle between Governor Rick Scott and the feds ended this month when the state was granted access to an immigration database. The database will be used to remove non-citizens from the state voting rolls, but progressives, like Damien Filer, say there’s a Republican motive to the purge.

“This is about politics; it’s not about trying to keep people who shouldn’t be able to vote from voting. It’s about keeping people who they don’t want to vote from voting,” said Filer.

The state began to remove non-citizen voters from the rolls in May using this list. Caught in the mix were hundreds of legal voters, some of them war heroes.

Voter rights groups cried foul and claimed the purge unfairly targeted minorities and would intimidate some from casting ballots. The purge was put on hold while the state fought the feds over access to an immigration database, with more accurate information.

The state was granted access to the database this week and the Republican Party of Florida responded with this email to supporters touting the victory.

“When the political party steps in, basically what it is, is an acknowledgment that this was really about politics all along,” said Filer.

Republican Party Chairman Lenny Curry says that’s nonsense.

“It’s a ridiculous claim. Any of the success or wins that the governor has had we’ve pushed historically. That’s always happened in political parties,” said Curry.

We found emails the party sent about the falling unemployment rate as well as Scott videos about fraud and education. But critics say this issue is different. They point to the fact that the state isn’t re-launching it’s the purge until after the primary as proof the goal has always been to suppress votes in the presidential election.

We asked the governor’s communications team about claims that Scott’s efforts to remove non-citizens from the voter rolls are politically motivated. Press Secretary Lane Wright issued this written response.

“Making sure our citizens’ right to vote is protected by removing non-citizens from our voter rolls isn’t a partisan issue. It’s the law,” said Wright.

One and a quarter million Floridians will share in more than 123 million dollars health insurers are being forced to return to policy holders because the companies were not spending enough on caring for patients. The refunds are a result of the national health care act that sets limits on how much profit health insurers can earn. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, Florida initially sought to let the companies keep more profit.

The Affordable Care act sets what is called a Medical Loss Ratio. It requires health insurers in Florida to spend at least 80 cents of every dollar they take in providing care.

So letters like this one are on their way to more than a million consumers and businesses telling them they are getting a refund or a rebate. 18 companies in Florida will return more than 123 million. Single families can expect an average 240 dollar refund; small business, 190 dollars per insured employee; and large group companies will see an average of 94 dollars for everyone they cover.

Activist Barbara Devane, who demonstrated in favor of the health care act, says the refunds are proof the law is working.

“Well, I’m just very happy that small businesses are reaping the rewards of the Affordable Care Act,” Devane said.

The state initially asked for a waver to this 80 percent requirement, asking instead that insurers be required to spend only 68 cents of every dollar providing care.

The request was denied in December of last year.

Governor Rick Scott told Fox News the state would continue to block the creation of health exchanges in Florida.

“If you care about patients, this is devastating for you,” Scott said.

But Devane says the savings could be even greater if the Governor would change his mind.

“When the exchanges are set up, people’s rates will go down,” Devane said.

Some checks are already in the mail.

In some cases, insurers will apply a rebate to premium charges, which could take place as early as August.

New information in the case of Carletha Cole. Cole is the former employee of Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll charged with distributing an illegal recording. We are breaking news tonight, that Cole was offered a plea deal that would have kept her out of prison and left her with a clean record. She turned it down and now as Whitney Ray tells us, the prosecutor in the case is considering bringing new charges, this time for recording the conversation in question.

A one minute and 20 second recording, captured sometime in the summer of 2011, is at the heart of a controversial criminal case rocking the state capitol.

The quality is poor, but in it you can hear John Konkus, Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll’s Chief of Staff, and Carletha Cole, a Carroll employee fired in September.

The conversation is about a rift between Carroll’s office and the governor. It was given to a journalist after Cole was fired. After its release, Cole was charged with distributing the illegal recording. She wasn’t charged with making it.

That’s because Cole claims Konkus made the recording. She says he carried around a smart-pen that, with a click, would turn into a microphone, and secretly tape anyone within an ear shot.

According to a motion filed by Cole’s attorney, Steve Webster, the Governor’s Office instructed staff to “covertly record communications within the Lieutenant Governor’s Office.”

“The circumstantial evidence as it is right now, would suggest that Konkus made this recording. We know that he had the smart-pen. He boasted about the smart-pen that could digitally record,” said Steve Webster.

The difficulty in brining charges for the recoding is that no one can pinpoint exactly when and where it was captured. Once the state has that information Cole could be facing another felony.

“I predicted this to several reporters, ‘once we point out the fatal flaws, mark my words’ and I put this in writing, the state attorney’s office will amend the charges and add the recording charge even though there is no new evidence in the case,” said Webster.

Plea Deal Rejected

Cole was offered several plea deals, including diversion, which means if she took the deal and didn’t committee a crime for 180 days, all would be forgiven: no prison time, no charges on her record. Now she could be facing up to 10 years in prison and a felony record.

Sources close to the governor’s office say Cole didn’t take the plea deal because her goal isn’t to beat the charges; it’s to embarrass Carroll. Webster says that’s nonsense. He says his client’s reputation is on the line, and that’s why she’s willing to risk prison to fight the case.

“My client is innocent and she refused to take any step that can be construed as her acknowledgement of any guilt or responsibility for violating the law. This is a grandmother, an AME (African Methodist Episcopal) minister,” said Webster.

We asked the state attorney for an on-camera interview about the possibility of new charges. He denied our request, because he’s considering asking the judge for a gag order and doesn’t want to seem hypocritical in his request, by talking to reporters.

Cole’s Next Move

Webster plans to ask the US District Attorney to investigate the fire in his client’s trashcan. The travel aide Cole accuses of carrying on an inappropriate sexual relationship with Carroll admits to accidentally starting the fire. FDLE investigated and ruled the fire was an accident. Webster says the fire was stared on purpose and says it proves his client was targeted and harassed. He asked the state fire marshal to investigate. On Monday, that request was denied. Wednesday Webster plans to ask the feds to get involved.

Response from the Governor’s Office

For two days we’ve asked the Governor’s office for comment about all the new developments. We’ve also made a public records request for all emails concerning Cole. So far no one from the governor’s communications team has responded. A representative from the governor’s public records department confirmed they’ve received my request and will be back in touch.

Over the weekend Carroll denied the claims, telling reporters they are more than allegations, they are ‘outright lies.’

The Florida Fire Marshal is denying a request by the attorney for Carletha Cole, that the Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll should take a lie detector test. The request comes in connection to a fire started in Cole’s Capitol office before she was fired. Read the Fire Marshal’s response here:

Fire Marshal Denys Request for Capitol Fire Investigation

Cole’s Attorney’s responded with this statement. “The FDLE documents don’t square with their statement issued today. All of the documents that were provided to us and purported to be the entire file indicates that the evidence was destroyed on March 17, 2011 or no later than March 18, 2011. The computerized case related report indicates that only pictures of the evidence were retained. Ms. Ramos, according to FDLE was not interviewed until the 21st. We are disappointed that the Fire Marshal declined to investigate this matter. It is understandable based upon the fact that the evidence has been destroyed. I was hopeful that Secretary Atwater would look at this case in a fresh light but it is understandable that his agency has passed on this mess even though Ms. Ramos confessed.”

Cole’s Attorney will now ask the US District Attorney to intervene.

The state has won a year long battle for access to a federal database that will help prevent noncitizens from voting. But as Whitney Ray tells us, the victory comes too late to change who votes in Florida’s next statewide election.

For nearly a year Governor Rick Scott has fought the feds for better information in the state’s efforts to prevent noncitizens from voting. Saturday, the feds gave in, granting the state access to a Department of Homeland Security immigration database. Chris Cate a spokesman for the Division of Elections says it’s a huge win for the state.

“I’m really excited about the process and we hope that our efforts that we’ve already accomplished are going to help other states do the same thing and be able to remove non-citizens in other states. So it really isn’t just a big deal for Florida but it’s a big deal for the entire nation,” said Cate.

But getting access to the database isn’t the final step. The Division of Elections will still have to develop its policy before it can begin checking names and that could take weeks.

That makes the likelihood of the purge picking back up before August 14th primary unlikely.

The delay is just fine with Ron Labasky, an attorney for Florida’s elections supervisors. When the supervisors were given the original list of voters in May it was flawed, and US citizens, some of them war heroes were caught in the mix.

Labasky says, when the purge resumes, supervisors will go above and beyond to make sure no legal voter is cast off the roles.

“We want to protect their rights and be very diligent and very thorough in ensuring that if we remove somebody that clearly by the preponderance of the evidence they should have been removed and weren’t legally on the voter’s rolls,” said Labasky.

Scrutinizing the entire process will be voter rights groups. They’ll be watching the state and the election supervisors and are ready to sue if voting rights are violated.

Opponents of the purge who believe the state’s efforts are politically motivated say the powers that be don’t care about keeping voters from casting primary ballots. They believe the goal is to discourage minorities from voting in November. The state refutes those claims. The Division of Elections maintains, it’s a nonpartisan governing body and is only concerned with the sanctity of the election.

The State Fire Marshal is confirming tonight that he’s received a request to give Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll a lie detector test. The request comes from Carletha Cole. Cole is the former Carroll spokesperson, fired in September and facing criminal charges for allegedly leaking an illegally recorded conversation to reporters.

Before she was fired, a fire was started in Cole’s capitol office. FDLE investigated and concluded the fire was an accident, started by a travel aide for Carroll trying to dispose of a cigar. Cole is accusing the aide and Carroll of carrying on an inappropriate relationship. She says her trouble began when she caught the two in a “compromising position.”
Cole’s attorney, Steve Webster, believes the fire was set in Cole’s trashcan to intimidate her, and the FDLE investigation was flawed. Now he’s calling on the state fire marshal to investigate and to hook Carroll up to a polygraph machine. Some of the questions Webster wants asked involve a letter of recommendation Carroll wrote for the FDLE investigator a day after the case was closed.
“What level of involvement did the lieutenant governor have? How often does she write letters of recommendations for law enforcement officers? Are they a form letter or are they specifically designed for the officer because this one seemed to have a very personal touch to it. And why did the lieutenant governor feel as if she should get involved? How did she know about the fire?” asks Webster.

Webster says if the state doesn’t launch an investigation by 5:00 Tuesday, they’ll ask the US District attorney to investigate.

We asked the governor’s office and the state fire marshal to comment on the request. Neither provide comment before our news deadline.

Florida A&M University has a new “interim” President tonight. 58-year-old Dr. Larry Robinson was given the job, subject to confirmation in August, of cleaning up problems at FAMU while a permanent search takes place. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, FAMU trustees waived a 90-day notice for out going Dr. James Ammons resignation and want to move forward quickly with fixing problems at the University.

Surrounded by portraits of previous presidents, Provost Larry Robinson listened expressionlessly as the FAMU Trustees debated whether he should be named interim president immediately, or if other names should be considered. Trustee Rufus Montgomery questioned why the board was moving so quickly.

“We haven’t made any monumental decisions like this,” Montgomery said. “We couldn’t make a decision when someone was killed.”

Calling the situation an emergency, the compromise was to name Robinson Interim President immediately, subject to an in person vote by Trustees in August.

Trustees want a ten day, thirty day and 90 day plan from Robinson. He calls it a good idea and says his presidency will not maintain the status quo.

“There’s going to be a lot of things we do that are fairly aggressive, that are going to be different from the way we have done them in the past,” Robinson said.

Robinson was interim president for three months in 2007. He has been at FAMU since 1997, and has the backing of both students and faculty.

“I know that he is a very, very capable leader,” Faculty Trustee Narayan Persaud said. “Plus, I know that he is very deliberate and is not afraid to make the hard decisions.”

The former president will continue to receive his salary for the next year while he is on sabbatical. After that, he has the option to become a tenured professor.

The search for a new president is expected to take about a year.

Trustees say making the change now will allow the new president to have an imprint right away, rather than waiting until after the school year begins to change leadership.