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State officials say state law forbids them from talking about Sanford Shooter George Zimmerman’s concealed weapons permit. Information about concealed weapons was taken out of the public domain in 2006, so we don’t know who has a concealed weapon, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, we do know a lot of people are carrying weapons in Florida.

One in every 20 Floridians has a valid concealed weapons permit. Sanford shooter George Zimmerman still has his. State law is very specific about when the permits can be suspended or revoked.

“If you’re charged with a felony crime, and the department is notified, we can certainly move to have the license suspended,” Sterling Ivey with the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “Once a conviction takes place, we can revoke that individual’s license.”

This past year, state lawmakers lowered the cost of a concealed permit by fifteen dollars. They now cost 70 dollars. Applicants must also pass a gun safety course. The Brady Project to prevent gun violence says concealed carry permits are too easy to get in Florida.

“You know, this man George Zimmerman, is a living example of that,” Brady Project President Dan Gross said. “This is a guy who had an arrest record, this is a guy who had a violent past. This is a guy who in numerous other states would never be offered a permit to carry a loaded, hidden, handgun.”

The NRA declined to appear on camera for this story. But they argue that statistics show only law abiding citizens get and keep a permit. State figures show 98 percent of all applicants receive a carry permit.

Since 1987, more than 2 million concealed weapons permits have been issued in Florida, and of those permits just three of every thousand have been revoked.

The Brady project counters that just one concealed permit in the wrong hands is an injustice.

In addition to lowering the license fee, lawmakers also reduced the renewal fee by ten dollars. Concealed weapons permits now cost about eight and a half dollars a year.

If lawmakers don’t act by Friday, Florida’s unemployment tax will more than double. The tax is going from 71 dollars an employee to more than 170. As Whitney Ray tells us, efforts are underway to reduce the increase, but lawmakers will have to act fast or they’ll run out of time.

Good food and great services are the ingredients for success for Brian Rowe and his BBQ business. Piggy’s BBQ employees 35 workers. The restaurant has added catering and a food truck, but the rising price of food and fuel presents a huge challenge.

“It hurts our bottom-line. I’m not going to do a price increase to our customers,” said Rowe.

It could get worse. Piggy’s is about to be hit with a 35-hundred dollar increase in state unemployment taxes. The tax is skyrocketing from 71 dollars to more than 170 per employee.

“It’s kind of a double whammy there. When you have all these increases that are affecting us, ultimately you will have to increase the prices or drop your staff and have fewer staff,” said Rowe.

And if lawmakers don’t act by Friday there will be an 817 million dollar increase to all business owners statewide. Legislation to cut the increase in half is being heard late in session. State Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff says the bill will make it across the finish line.

“I don not anticipate Sine Dieing before this thing passes. This is a priority of the governor and we have been working diligently to get it through,” said Bogdanoff.

The increase is needed to pay back the federal government. In 2009, the state ran out of cash to pay unemployment claims. Florida borrowed 2.6 billion dollars from Uncle Sam to keep the money flowing and now the bill has come due with interest.

Critics of the bill say delaying the increase will only prolong payment to the federal government, and since they are charging interest, in the long run businesses will end up paying more.

Out of date twentieth-century regulations are hampering job creation in the renewable energy market according top participants at last week�s energy summit in Orlando. A major push by the state�s retailers to be energy independent is being stopped by large power companies. And as Mike Vasilinda tells us, no coherent policy is on the horizon.

Most of the state�s large retailers want to install solar on their roof tops, then sell the excess power to other stores in the strip mall. But state law says no. Participants at an energy summit in Orlando say it is this kind of regulation that is hampering job growth.

�We ought to consider developing ways for entrepreneurs to participate in power generation in ways that don�t put reliability at stake,” Tom Larson with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said.

The energy summit was called by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. He says the state legislature has been better at killing an energy policy than passing one.

�The state of Florida is well positioned to produce more renewable energy, whether it�s from the sun, or from biomass,” Putnam said.

But Florida�s potential is being stymied by regulations and election year politics.

Rep. Scott Plakon is the fourth chair of the House Energy Committee in four years.

�We should try to look for solutions that go beyond the next election cycle or two and try to look to do things that affect generations,” Plakon (R-Longwood) said.

With no policy, Florida has no renewable goals, and burns more gas than 47 other states, sending billions to other states and foreign countries.

�We could keep a lot of that money circulating in Florida, providing jobs,” Larson said.

And renewable advocates aren�t asking for incentives. What they say they need is a free market environment that will let them compete. But competition is something opposed by large power providers.

In Europe, the country of Greece is embarking on a major solar effort as a way to provide jobs and erase the nations huge debt. And in California, where energy standards will require a portion of all energy to be from renewables, more than a half dozen major solar projects are underway.

Mental health advocates and economists say spending cuts in the senate�s budget plan would cost the state more in the long run. The Florida Senate wants to cut 210-million dollars from mental health and substance abuse programs. As Whitney Ray tells us, economists say those cuts would force the state to spend more on prisons, hospitals and emergency services.

140-thousand Floridians suffering from addiction, anxiety and other mental illnesses would lose services under spending cuts in the Senate�s budget. The Senate wants to cut 210-million from mental health and substance abuse programs.

Bob Sharpe, the president of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health, says those cuts will force the state to spend more down the road.

�Spend more for corrections, jail admissions; health care the child welfare system, more people will be homeless,� said Sharpe.

Rob Weissert, the Vice President of Research at Florida TaxWatch, says cutting programs that help former felons beat addiction increases the chances those who are denied treatment will end up back in prison.

�Addressing these issues up front can not only save money, but really can reduce future crimes, so it�s a very positive way that the state can focus resources to actually reduce the overall costs and enhance public safety,� said Weissert.

The state house holds mental health and substance abuse programs harmless in its budget. For the next two weeks they�ll be negotiating with the senate to keep those cuts from going through and if the governor has his way, he�ll side with the house. Governor Rick Scott says funding the programs is a priority.

�We�ve got to make sure we spend the money as wisely as possible, so when we put our budget together, we tried to allocate the dollars because that�s part of your job as governor to try to allocate the dollars to the biggest issues you have,� said Scott.

Monday the House and Senate start the budget negotiations. If the Senate moves to restore the cuts, something else will have to go. Mental health and drug abuse advocates say along with the loss of services, there will be a loss of jobs. They estimate 5-thousand people will be laid off if the Senate gets its way.

One in five Floridians is Hispanic according to the 2010 census statistics released this week. The figure may not bode well for immigration reform legislation; opponents believe would encourage racial profiling. As Whitney Ray tells us, some Hispanic Republicans say they�ll vote Democrat if the GOP led legislature passes the immigration reform bill.

250 Latinos, some legal, some not, were at the state capitol Thursday, angry over an Arizona inspired immigration measure they say would encourage racial profiling.

The immigration debate rages as the latest census numbers show the Hispanic population soaring. Now 22 percent of Floridians are Hispanic; up from 16 percent after the last census. And as Hispanics register to vote, few are registering as Republicans.

With one in three Hispanics registering as an independent their vote is up for grabs, and they are using their support or opposition as leverage in the immigration debate. Opponents say lawmakers better take heed.

�The decisions they are making now are going to have serious ramifications for the future of the state and the future of their politics,� said Subash Patel, an organizer with We are Florida a group organized against the bill.

Filipe Matos, who delivered petitions to the Senate President running for Congress, sees the growing numbers of Hispanics as a political bargaining chip.

�If he doesn�t stand with the Latino community, we will not stand with him in 2012,� said Filipe.

But not all Florida Hispanics side with Filipe. The immigration reform bill is being sponsored by Senator Anitere Flores a Cuban-American� and many in the Hispanic caucus have her back.

Republicans lost Hispanic voters between 08 and 10� while 96-thousand Hispanics registered Democrat.

In five year�s time natural gas could start phasing out diesel in Florida. NoPetro, a Florida based natural gas provider, is promising 12 fueling stations in strategic locations throughout Florida. As Whitney Ray tells us, natural gas is 25 percent cheaper and 30 percent cleaner than gasoline.

This is the sound of filling up your tank with gas (Nat) but in a decade�s time it could sound like this.

Compressed natural gas is being pumped into this Leon County school bus. The district built a natural gas station this summer and bought 14 busses to burn the fuel. The move will save money and the environment.

�Every compressed natural gas bus that we have is expected to save 5-thousand dollar a year per bus,� said Chris Petley, spokesman with Leon County Schools.

Leon County is the first school district to make the switch. Now two entrepreneurs from California hope to take Florida the rest of the way. Tuesday, Nopetro, announced plans to open 12 natural gas stations in strategic locations throughout the state with the first half opening by 2014.

�We will not only service the medium and heavy duty trucks transporting our goods, but we will also provide a supply of natural gas to the local population,� said Jorge Herrera, Nopetro CEO.

Nopetro hopes government vehicles sign up first, but their also negotiating with Florida trucking companies. But with just a dozen stations in the works it may be a while before Florida trucking companies are willing to make the switch to natural gas.

Still environmentalists are praising the experiment. They say natural gas could be the transition fuel Florida needs to move from gas to electric.

�Until we can go to all electric cars, or all electric trucks for a true clean economy, natural gas is a good interim product,� said Eric Draper with Audubon of Florida.

And if natural gas works in busses and diesels, in a decade�s time it could be available to all Florida drivers. Another advantage of moving toward natural gas is the domestic supply. The US has more natural gas reserves than any other country.

Right now natural gas stations are planned for Tallahassee, Pensacola, Gainesville, Daytona, Orlando, Tampa, Fort Pierce, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Florida hotel and restaurant owners want to give travelers a free ride and a half priced room to convince them to visit� And they want to do it on BP�s dime. The Gulf Oil leak has tourists gun-shy, but as Whitney Ray tells us, many think BP gas cards and hotel vouchers could be the nudge skeptical tourists need to Visit Florida.

A tank full of gas, a trunk full of luggage and a destination is how most road trips begin. But since oil began gushing into the gulf, fewer of those trips end in Florida.

To combat the impression that Florida�s beaches are covered in oil, Visit Florida is releasing waves of commercials, letting people know most of our beaches are clean.

But travelers aren�t responding in large enough numbers to keep hotel and restaurant owners above water. Carol Dover, the President of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, is asking BP to help fund people�s Florida vacations.

�”We have our hotels having to cut their room rates down just to get an incentive for people to come. We feel like that should be on the backs of BP,” said Dover.

The Association is also asking for 10-thousand BP gas cards. The cards would be for 50 or a 100 dollars worth of gas and go to traveler within driving distance of the state.

But the cards wouldn�t just fill up gas tanks, the hope is they�ll fill up restaurants and tourist attractions losing business because of the spill.

Visit Florida likes the idea. If BP is willing to finance the vacations, the state travel agency will spread the word. Visit Florida CEO Chris Thompson says the cards and vouchers could save BP in the long run if enough people take advantage of them.

�In BP’s perspective you can, I guess, either pay on the front end or back end and all of us are trying to litigate and minimize the negative impacts on the tourism department,” said Thompson.

The request is in BP�s hands and tourism officials hope the company decides soon enough for Visit Florida to start promoting the offers in time for the Fourth of July Weekend.

Issuing gas cards may help BP on two fronts; It prevents economic damages the company will be liable for but it may also help increase business at BP gas stations at a time when thousands of drivers are avoiding the company.

The governor is poised to call a special session to ban offshore oil drilling within ten miles of Florida�s coast. Most legislators are in favor of a ban, but they�ll need 60 percent of voters to go along with the plan. As Whitney Ray tells us, they don�t have the numbers yet.

Like a slow motion nightmare, the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico continues to grow. Millions of gallons are hovering near Louisiana and most experts agree Florida won�t remain unscathed.

The leak is beginning to change opinions about offshore oil drilling. The latest Mason Dixon poll shows 55 percent of Floridians oppose the plan

In 2008, when gas was four dollars a gallon 60 percent of Floridians supported coastal drilling. Audubon of Florida is happy to see support waning.

�The potential for a spill that is miles and miles off a neighboring state�s coast having very real potential to change that way of life for us, and Floridians recognize having a spill that far away could have those kinds of implications, what could a spill three miles off our coast do,� said Julie Wraithmell, with Audubon of Florida.

But there�s still not enough opposition to pass a constitutional ban on drilling. 35 percent of Floridians are still in support. Kelly O�Brien is one of them. O�Brien believes once the cause of the accident is fully understood, drilling will become safer.

�I think this is just a setback and it�s discouraging, but I think that it�s very shortsighted to say let�s give up drilling in the Gulf Coast,� said O�Brien.

If lawmakers do put a ban in front of voters in November and the appetite for drilling doesn�t change, the plan could die at the ballot box. Environmentalists say once people begin seeing an impact on Florida beaches they expect to see support for drilling to fall even lower.

A select house committee is moving ahead with legislation to allow oil drilling off the Florida coast. State Rep. Dean Cannon says it could be four or five weeks before specific language is drafted, but he says it is becoming increasingly clear that residents don�t want to see rigs off the coast.

�What are the different ways you can ensure that you can�t see it from the beach, basically,” Cannon said. “If it turns out to be five miles that�s fine, it may need to be further. There may be other ways to achieve that same goal but the main goal that I think there�s a pretty broad consensus on is make sure we don�t see this from the beach in a way that in any way blights the views cape from our coastline.�

The panel was also told that oil drilling and the environment can co-exist. A previous report by the Century Commission questioned whether there was enough oil in Florida waters to make a difference, but Cannon says we won�t know until someone starts looking.