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The Seminole Indians are moving closer to being able to offer black jack, poker, and full blown slot machines in the tribe’s seven casinos. During a conference call with state and federal officials yesterday, it became clear the Seminoles will get expanded gambling, whether the state agrees or not….With hopes of getting some revenue, the state is offering to allow black jack and other card games in addition to slot machines. George Lemieux is negotiating for the governor. He says, “Now that the government is going to give the Seminoles slot machines, since they are going to get that anyway 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, and he doesn’t want to go into craps or roulette or anything beyond that. So, we already have card games in Florida we already have poker we have to give the Seminoles something. That’s what the federal government is making us do.”

The deal would pay the state 50 million up front and guarantee at least 00 million a year every year the deal is in effect. The tribe would be iven exclusivity, so if state lawmakers expand gambling, revenue from he tribe would decline. The deal is likely to be signed in the next few weeks.

     Support is slipping for the so-called super homestead exemption plan, according to the latest statewide poll.  The constitutional amendment would change property tax law in Florida if voters approve.  But as Chris Casquejo tells us, the poll suggests voters aren’t sold yet.

Hear it here:  Super Homestead Exemption Support Slipping 

     On January 29th, voters must decide if they want to increase their homestead exemption by up to 75% of the first $200,000 in home value.  If they do, they will be giving up a 3% cap on future increases.  The amendment needs 60% to pass.  New poll numbers show less than half of the state’s voters are supportive. 
     Damien Filer is a consultant who helped pass the class size amendment.
     “Historically in Florida or any other state, you see a tightening, a decrease in support for amendments as they go along, Filer said.  “So if you have to meet a 60 plus one threshold you want to start at 70.  And if you’re under 50, then you’re in real trouble.”
     The poll shows nearly two-thirds of voters want more information about the property tax amendment.  That gives both supporters and opponents more than four months to get their messages across.
     Peter Brown is the assistant director of Quinnipiac University’s Polling Institute.  He says the amendment is not dead, and suggests that Governor Charlie Crist could put his 65% approval rating behind the measure.
     “He’s the obvious person,” Brown said.  “He has very good name ID.  He has very good approval ratings.  Charlie Crist is the person, one assumes, who’d be most able to change these numbers.”
     The governor says he’s planning to make a strong push and take the lead on the tax change.
     “I think it sells itself,” Crist said.  “Who doesn’t want a property tax cut in Florida?  All we have to do is frame it right.”
     Whether he can bank on his popularity to get the amendment passed, is up to voters.

     Governor Charlie Crist continues to enjoy soaring approval ratings, according to the newest statewide poll.  65% of voters approve of the job the governor is doing, while 17% disapprove.  The poll suggests that the Republican is succeeding in connecting with Democratic voters.
     “He still has a more than 60% job approval rating from the opposition party,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of Quinnipiac University’s Polling Institute.  “I mean, Charlie Crist has very little to worry about politically at this point.  The fact that he was over 70% for so long is unusual.  That just doesn’t happen in a big state like Florida.”
     “65?  If I’m depressed about the that, there’s something wrong with me,” Gov. Crist said.
     Back in July, the numbers from Quinnipiac University showed Crist with a 73% approval rating.

     Florida and the Seminole Tribe are closing in on a deal that could help bring in $50 million right away for the state.  But as Chris Casquejo tells us, lawmakers want the final say in approving the deal.

Hear it here:  Seminoles and state near gambling deal 

     The Seminole Tribe and Florida are near a deal to allow slot machines and some table games in Indian casinos.  But a tribe spokesman says not roulette or craps.
     “The tribe would agree to pay the state an upfront payment of $50 million dollars, guarantee that the state would receive a minimum payment of $100 million ,” said Barry Richard, the attorney representing the Seminole Tribe.
     Richard says the deal will likely bring in a lot more, maybe $1 billion over five years.  And he says nothing in the current compact that’s being negotiated will prevent lawmakers or voters from expanding gambling.
     Key lawmakers say don’t bet on that happening.
     “I personally have never been one to want to balance the budget on the backs of people gambling or what I would call maybe the weaknesses of people,” said Rep. Ray Sansom.
     Sansom and Rep. Dean Cannon are among Republican lawmakers who signed a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist, saying that a compact will not be valid unless lawmakers ratify it first.   Crist says a deal is no guarantee. 
     “I look at it as opportunity, but not a necessity,” Gov. Crist said.  “And I think that needs to be clear as we negotiate.”
     The Seminole Tribe’s attorney is more optimistic.  He expects a deal in place by the end of this week.

      Florida A&M University, the state’s only public historically black university, is suffering from dropping enrollment, accounting irregularities and the threat of losing its accreditation.
But the new president says he’s close to getting the school’s financial house in order.
      Inside a packed house, the new president of Florida A&M, Dr. James Ammons, delivered his state of the troubled university address Friday.
     “This chapter is over,” Ammons said.
     Dr. Ammons, a FAMU graduate, laid out a 10 point plan for the school. The top priorities, getting rid of accounting problems and keeping academic accreditation.
     Ammons says the school will turn in its financial statements on time this month. He expects a clean bill of health by 2009.
     “It’s priority one. The accreditation is tied directly to the financial condition of the university.”
     Florida A&M students are confident that their new president is already making a difference. And they’re confident in the value of their degrees when they enter the real world.
     Corean Shelton is in her last year at FAMU. She majors in business.
     “I got a positive vibe from his speech,” Shelton said.  “I’ve been on 3 internships. After each one, I have received positive reviews. I do not find myself lacking from any other student who’s attended any of the Ivy League schools. I’m right there where they are.”
     Kristofer Smith, another FAMU student, agreed.
     “FAMU students are known all around the country, especially in the pharmacy program,” Smith said.  “It’s highly respected around the country.”
     While hopes are high, Ammons has to deliver if the school is to be saved.
     More than 11,000 students attend Florida A&M University.

      A day after lawmakers delayed a special session to cut more than $1 billion from the state budget, Governor Charlie Crist unveils his own plan to deal with the shortfall.  As Chris Casquejo tells us, the governor is banking on a better economic outlook next year.

Hear it here:  Crist’s Budget Proposals 

     State lawmakers and the governor are at odds on how to cut more than a billion dollars from the state budget. The disagreement has postponed a planned session in September and created more uncertainty among agencies.  Democrat Curtis Richardson is disappointed in the delay.
      “Our only constitutional responsibility is to develop a state budget,” he said.  “And it’s our job as legislators to accomplish that and not wait for the executive branch.”
      A day after the postponement, Governor Charlie Crist suggested a roadmap for shaving spending.  One suggestion, letting workers at Motor Vehicle offices stop wearing uniforms.  The savings $350,000.  But that’s not all he has in mind.
      “What we’re suggesting is that we spend about a billion dollars that’s just sitting in reserve right now,” Crist said.
      The governor is banking on a better economy next year, which he believes will spare education, programs for the poor and public safety from the budget ax.
      Democrats in the House hope that when lawmakers finally do meet, they look at ways to increase revenue, not just cut programs.
      But except for a tuition hike, tax increases aren’t likely.  The real challenge is for lawmakers to decide whether to make cuts, or dip into the state savings account.

      A woman is free after passengers overheard her talking selling a baby at a Greyhound bus station.  Tallahassee police are not saying much about their investigation.  But as Chris Casquejo tells us, police are wondering if they’ve stumbled upon a cross-state baby-selling ring.

 Hear it here:  Baby-Selling at Bus Station?

     Tallahassee Police were called to the Greyhound bus station downtown around 10:30 Monday night.  A woman in her 40s and a 5-week-old girl were traveling from Texas to south Florida.  Someone overheard the woman talking about selling the baby.
     “And in this case, I think we avoided a tragedy,” said Tallahassee Police Dept. Officer David McCranie.  “We could have had a child who was sold.”
     Police say the woman and the baby are not related, but are saying little else.
     “The child appeared to be in okay health.  We took the child to a local hospital to be sure of that,” he said.
     The infant girl is now in the care of the Department of Children and Families.
     The investigation is crossing state lines.  Police want to know if they’ve stumbled upon a baby-selling ring.
     “It’s from Texas all the way to Florida,” McCranie said.  “So were delving into all the different facets that can be taken.  Is it a part of a bigger organization?  Is it a one-time event?
     Many questions, yet few answers.  The woman is not in custody.  She was released after talking to police.

      Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum unveiled a cyber safety program designed to keep middle and high school kids safe from internet predators.  The 50-minute program gives students real-world examples of what to avoid, how to act and who to alert when they encounter a suspected predator using instant message programs, e-mail and social networking sites.
     “When we put a scary image of somebody’s picture who’s an adult they might be talking to.  It might not be at all who they’re thinking they’re talking to,” McCollum said.  “It wakes them up a little bit.  They get to thinking, well maybe if I’ve got 4 to 500 friends out there, if I really don’t know these people, if I’ve never met them, how do I know that it’s actually another child I’m talking with?”
     A new law passed earlier this year increases penalties for offenders who misrepresent their age to seduce a child over the internet, a practice known as grooming.

     With hurricane season already upon us, representatives from 20 state agencies are encouraging their workers to sign up for disaster response duty with the American Red Cross.  Florida law gives career state employees up to 15 days in leave every year to volunteer for the Red Cross during a major disaster.  But first, they must take Red Cross disaster training courses.
     “In 2007 for us, we started out with tornadoes the early part of the year, we rolled into wildfires in the late spring and we’re into hurricane season,” said Chris Floyd of the Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross.  “We always have a threat of some sort of national calamity tracking us here in Florida.  So it’s very important for us to be constantly pushing the message out.”
     Gov. Charlie Crist has declared September as Florida Preparedness Month.  You can find more information about volunteering for disaster relief training by calling your local American Red Cross chapter.

     State lawmakers are just two weeks away from a special session to slash more than $1 billion dollars from the budget.  A plan to hike tuition by as much as five percent could be revived despite an earlier veto from Governor Charlie Crist.   As Chris Casquejo tells us, the governor and student leaders from Florida’s 11 public universities sat down to talk about ways to keep higher education a priority in these times of cutting.

Hear it hear:  Student Leaders Meet with Gov. Crist 

     “Classes are filled,” said University of South Florida student president Barclay Harless.  “You have students sitting the floor, they’re taking classes at University Mall.”
     Harless says 80 percent of his classmates take longer than 4 years to graduate.
     “Students that are in the science and engineering field where they are required to take courses one after the other often can’t get a course or can’t get it in time,” he said.
     More time in school equals bigger debt for many students.  And they know that a tuition hike in January is a very real possibility.
     Student leaders say that tuition only represents a small amount of what it costs to attend college each year.
     “That’s because there’s mandatory health insurance at FSU,” said Joe O’Shea, Florida State’s student president.  “There’s mandatory meal plans at the dorms and housing is very expensive.”
     Governor Charlie Crist offered California’s higher education system as a possible model for Florida to keep college costs down.
     “We talk about many times a tiered system where you have an opportunity at the community college to pretty much assure access,” Crist said.
     But students say, even that has a price.
     “They’ve made a priority of access into their system, from the amount of need-based financial aid they’ve pumped into their system,” O’Shea said.
     And in these lean times, students realize that getting more state funding for financial aid is a long shot.
     Florida ranks near the bottom in tuition rates nationally.  The student meeting was part of the governor’s “Tallahassee Tuesdays,” informal gatherings where the Governor and citizens can exchange ideas and discuss Florida’s future.