Welcome to

The Florida Retirement Fund lost five (b) billion dollars in value since Friday as US stocks continue to plummet. The state treasury also lost millions in write downs when Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. As Whitney Ray tells us, the losses are just a small portion of the state’s 140 (b) billion dollar investment pool.

Hear it Here: State Pension Fund Loses 5 Billion Dollars in Stock Value

The worst stock market dive since 9/11 has resulted in a 5 (b) billion dollar loss in value for the state’s 120 (b) billion dollar pension fund. The State Board of Administration says the fund is set up to weather such a Wall Street storm.

“When looking at a diverse plan like ours you build in periods of downturns in the market and periods of up turns in the market, but your object is a long term stable conservatively managed fund and that’s exactly what we have,” said SBA Spokesman Dennis McKee.

The state’s checking and savings account took a blow too. Lehman Brothers bankruptcy could cost the state 140 (m) million dollars. State finance managers say the losses will have a small impact on state coffers.

CFO Sink says the state treasury will gain on its investments despite the news from Wall Street.

Last year the state earned a billion dollars from its investments. The state treasury’s 24 (b) billion dollar investment pool is put into bonds, not stocks. CFO Alex Sink says the failing stock market could make bonds more attractive and spawn bigger returns.

“Some of these safer instruments we’re invested in are going to be valued higher because there’s more demand, it’s called the flight to quality,” said Sink.

A state policy limits investments in any one company to 2 and a half percent of its total investment funds. The state’s pension fund has 6 (b) billion dollars set aside for extreme losses.

US Marshals helped law enforcement officers across the state nab 2,500 fugitives. The 10 week sting operation funded by a federal grant focused on arresting Florida’s most wanted. More than 50 gang members and 250 sex offenders were arrested. 113 murder suspects were also picked up in the sting. Florida Department of Law Enforcement Assistant Commissioner Ken Tucker says Marshals were able to arrest people who’d evaded the law from more than a decade.

“We picked up people who have been wanted for 15 years or more. They’ve been out there, many of them have moved to other parts of the country and taken on new identities. When you look at those kinds of cases, it takes a great amount of leg work it takes a lot of intelligence gathering and not only the cooperation in the state of Florida but many leads were followed out to other states other marshal offices,” Tucker said.

Authorities also seized 76 weapons and busted a meth lab during the sting.

Ten companies and 15 individuals face lawsuits and possible criminal charges in a mortgage fraud scheme that stretched across central Florida.  The scheme bilked banks of 6 million dollars. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the scheme prospered in part because of lax state regulation.

With a flow chart at his side, Attorney general Bill McCullom explained how mortgage fraud artists inflated home values, used straw buyers and false loan applications to bilk lenders out of six million dollars.

“And they got the mortgage, they got the money, they got the cash,” McCollum said.

Not all of those involved had criminal records, but some did.  The Director of the Department of Financial record was fired a month ago because his office, among other things, did not conduct some background checks required by law.

“I don’t know if it could have been stopped. What I do know is that this was an ongoing criminal enterprise,” McCollum said.

The scheme was uncovered through an anonymous tip.

An audit of the woes at the office of financial regulation found that in addition to lax enforcement, nobody was paying attention to details.”

CFO Alex Sink pushed for the resignation of the department’s director. She sited a lack of attention to details.

“They had no way to really adequately handle the complaints or follow them. No tracking process, no follow-up process,” Sink said. “It looked to me like from the inspector general’s report that the complaints were just going into a black hole.”

Florida has the fourth most foreclosures in the nation, but it leads the country in the number of fraud cases.

Florida’s Attorney General is enlisting school resource officers in the fight against child predators. Five hundred resource officers have received training in the AG’s CyberSafety Education program. As Whitney Ray tells us, the goal is to train officers how to keep students from meeting sexual predators online.

Hear it Here: AG Enlist School Resource Officers In Online War

Attorney General Bill McCollum is asking school resource officers statewide to keep sexual predators from meeting your kids, and the officers are answering the call with a message to predators.

“We’re going come get you and when we do, this man right here is going to nail you… and that’s the bottom line… AG ‘I think your going to help us nail them,” said Jamie Meeks, Florida Association of School Resourse Officers’ President Elect.

Every day millions of online predators logon to meet children.One in seven kids has been contacted by a sexual predator online. More than 500 resource officers have been trained to teach the AG’s CyberSafety Course.

The officers watch as teenage victims of online predators give a video account of their abductions. Students were shocked after they heard the first hand accounts.

“It’s scary. I didn’t know there were that many predators out there,” said 15 year old Julie Greenberg.

“Teenagers always think, me included, I don’t think anything is going to happen to us. You know, it’s a really good thing to know that things do happen and people get in situations that can get you killed,” said 16 year old Jamie Lowstetter.

School officials hope having resource officers teach the safety course, will encourage students to go to the police if they’re solicited for sex online. Last year 8,000 kids who saw the program said they’d been solicited online. The AG’s office expects more kids to come forward now that school resource officers are teaching the course.

Reports of gas price gouging continue to come in from across the state. More than 2-thousand complaints have been processed by workers at the state’s two hotlines. Sixteen gas companies were subpoenaed by the state for info about why their prices shot up over the weekend. Attorney General Bill McCollum doesn’t think all of the companies are guilty of gas price gouging.

“There are quiet a few people who are getting subpoenas that will turn out to have invoices like McKenzie did here locally that will show the fact they had prices they’re simply passing on and that’s not price gouging, but I also suspect we’re going to find that some people when out and raised the prices too soon or raised them higher than they should have,” said McCollum

The companies have seven days to comply with the subpoenas.

In November Floridians will have a chance to vote for a tax break for landowners who agree not to develop their property. About 70 environmental groups are backing Amendment 4. Famed Wildlife Expert Jim Fowler was on hand to show his support for the measure which is meant to control growth, sustain agriculture and protect the natural landscape. Eric Draper, Policy Director for Audubon Florida, said people who don’t want to develop their land are going to great lengths just to receive a tax break.

“This would result in a tremendous private effort over millions of acres of land where people wouldn’t feel like they’d have to go out and plant pine trees or park some cows on a piece of land in order to qualify for a lower tax status,” said Draper.

Amendment 4 needs approval from 60 percent of voters to pass.

A state investigation confirmed reports that regulators were asleep at the wheel as hundreds of ex-felons wrote home loans in Florida. In July, a newspaper investigation found 10-thousand ex-cons were working as mortgage brokers from 2000 to 2008. Shortly after the report the head of the Department of Financial Regulation stepped down. The state is still searching for his replacement. Attorney General Bill McCollum said the state should take its time to find a leader for the agency.

“I have confidence however in the agency personnel. That report was critical or mainly a passivity of the office not of anyone doing wrong in the office, just that they weren’t aggressive and proactive and I think all of us want to find somebody in leadership to take on this job and be more proactive in overseeing and regulating this industry,” said McCollum.

Whoever takes the job will have a lot on their plate. Florida has the highest mortgage fraud rate in the nation.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is attacking what they call the state’s lackluster efforts to produce renewable energy. The Public Service Commission is still working on the plan… which according to the Governor’s 2007 mandate is suppose to meet 20 percent of the state’s energy needs with wind and solar power. The Alliance says the PSC’s early draft doesn’t go nearly far enough to wean the state off fossil fuels. Alliance Executive Director Stephen Smith said Florida’s plan is the worst in the nation.

“First the goals are so weak and anemic that it makes it the worst renewable portfolio or renewable energy standard in the United States. It is the weakest most anemic of anything that’s been proposed. Two, the timeline is so long that Charlie Crist will be over 90 years old by the time that his goal is met with his proposal, with this draft rule,” said Smith.

The Alliance will release television ads this weekend to encouraging Governor Charlie Crist to keep pushing his plan.

The state has 460 (m) million dollars invested in the bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers. State cabinet members say the investment is just small potatoes compared to the (b) billions Florida has in other stocks. As Whitney Ray tells us, state economic experts expect a minimal impact from the Wall Street slump.

The State has invested millions in the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers bank. The $460 million dollar debacle was the hot topic when the state cabinet was called to order. Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink told the governor the Lehman investment is just one egg in the state’s $140 billion dollar investment basket.

“Be sure you don’t have all of your eggs exposed in one basket,” said Sink.

The State Board of Administration says its eggs are also in many different baskets. State and local retirement funds have $323 (m) million in Lehman’s, less than half a percent of its overall portfolio.

“While there is certainly liability and there is potential for losses the severity of those losses because of the huge diversity of investment portfolios of the SBA are not something people need to be concerned about,” said SBA Director General Bob Milligan

The most noticeable impact the Wall Street woes will have on Florida could show up in the state treasury.

Last year the state treasury earned more than a (b) billion dollars on its investments. The Lehman Brothers fall could have a negative impact on this year’s returns.”

And anything the state loses in the market is money that will have to be cut from an already starving budget. Lehman Brothers seemed like a good investment for the state. Lehman is the 4th largest investment bank in the nation and has been in business for 158 years.

The Florida Attorney General and the Agriculture Commissioner are giving oil companies seven days to comply with their subpoenas. The AG’s office is requesting information from four gas companies. The Commissioner of Agriculture subpoenaed 16 companies. More than 2,000 complaints of gas price gouging have been reported to the state’s two hotlines. Governor Charlie Crist is outraged at the stories he’s hearing about gas price gouging.

“We are in a situation where people’s lives are at risk in Texas because of Hurricane Ike and some people are so damn greedy that they want to take financial advantage of that. It’s outrageous, especially after you see what’s going on on Wall Street. Enough is enough and we’re not going to take it anymore,” Crist said.

If it’s determined that some stations raised prices illegally, they would face a 25,000 dollar fine for every day they ripped off their customers.

Governor Charlie Crist isn’t giving up on the failed gambling compact he signed with the Seminole Tribe last November. Lawmakers took the governor to task for signing the compact without their approval. The agreement allowed the tribe to play blackjack and put Vegas-style slot machines in their casinos. The State Supreme Court ruled the compact illegal in July. Governor Crist said he’ll work on a new compact with lawmakers.

“The essence of what the court has said is legislative approval is an important component here. What we want to do is have an opportunity to talk with our legislative partners and see what their appetite is going forward,” Crist said.

Despite the court’s ruling, the Vegas-style games continue to be played in some casinos. The State’s Attorney General says he’ll do what he can to stop the games from being played.

Florida’s Department of Children and Families got a five million dollar bonus check from the Federal Government today. The Cash bonus is for improving performance in the food stamp program. DCF had fewer food stamp foul-ups in 2007 than they did in previous years. Now the department is well above the national average for its success in getting the right number of stamps to the right people. Interim DCF Secretary George Sheldon says he’s proud his department can help so many people.

“The need is very great and the reality is that we are now serving just shy of 1.6 million individuals who are getting nutrition and they’re not having to worry about where it is coming from. That’s the kind of thing in an economic downturn that I think is very important,” Sheldon said.

Florida now ranks 13th among states for its food stamp accuracy. The state with the most accurate food stamp program is South Dakota.

A total of more than 2,000 complaints of gas price gouging have been reported to the Attorney General’s office and the Commissioner of Agriculture. As Whitney Ray tells us, investigators will look at the complaints to determine if prices went up because of Hurricane Ike or if gas companies were breaking the law.

To report gas price gouging you can call one of two state hotlines. The Department of Agriculture’s consumer hotline number is 1800-HELP-FLA and the Attorney General’s price gouging line is 1800-9NO-SCAM.

The phones at two state hotlines are ringing off the hook. Right now there are more questions than answers as investigators try to figure out why some gas stations raised their prices by almost two bucks. Jack Hagadarn is gathering vital information for investigators. Jack said the price has gotten so high in some parts of the state, people can’t afford to drive.

“The ones I’ve had today tend to be the ones on fixed or limited incomes. Some retirees who are trying to survive and get around and are having trouble getting the gas,” said Jack.

In some areas people couldn’t get gas because stations sold it all. Over the weekend the price of a gallon of gas one Tallahassee station was $5.50 a gallon and they still sold out.

Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Bronson says stations sold out because people panicked, not because of a supply shortage. Bronson released a public service ad to calm fears. Bronson’s office has subpoenaed information from 16 gas companies in the state.

“We’re going to find out who jacked the price of fuel up or whether it was price gouging or not,” said Bronson.

If it’s determined prices where raised illegally companies could faces a 25,000 dollar fine for every day they ripped off their customers.

The Florida Lottery is doubling the prize money on one of its most popular games to try and increase sales. The Fantasy 5 E-Z Match game now pays top winners 1,000 bucks instead of 500. Lotto workers hope the increase will help boast sales. In July, sales fell by more than 20 (m) million dollars. Florida Lottery Spokeswoman Jackie Barreiros said the lotto is constantly reinventing itself.

“The Florida Lottery is 20 years old. We recognize that we’re a mature lottery and with that comes some challenges just because of the regular business cycle of any company or organization. We have a product to sale and the best way to continue to raise revenue is to continue to offer a fresh product mix and continue to provide new and exciting things for our players,” said Barreiros.

Over the past 20 years the Florida Lottery has paid more than 19 (b) billion dollars into the state’s Education Enhancement Trust Fund. This year was a little different, last week lawmakers had to pull money from reserves to fill the void in school funding left by declining lotto sales.

The State Energy Office says Hurricane Ike hasn’t affected gas supply in Florida, but that hasn’t stopped some stations from charging $5.50 a gallon. As Whitney Ray tells us, investigators are watching gas station owners like a hawk.

Hear it Here: Gas Prices Soar Above $5.49 a Gallon, AG’s Office Investigates Price Gouging Claims

Some gas stations around the state have jacked up prices on the fear that Hurricane Ike will disrupt supply. Gas prices at a Tallahassee station on Monroe Street is normally some of the cheapest in the state, now the price is five and a half bucks. We broke the news to people who didn’t see the sign before they pulled up to the pump.

“No I though it was $3.50, oh lord, oh lord, let me get back in my car,” said Kizzie McPhaul.

“You’re about to pump a lot of gas you might want to hit cancel. Yeah that’s what I’m doing right now… wow… I appreciate it fellas,” said BJ Lizotte as he cancelled his order.

The Attorney Generals office sent an investigator to check out the price hike… He wouldn’t talk, but a spokeswoman says more than 20 complaints of gas price gouging have been reported by two o’clock Friday afternoon.

“We have been receiving complaints by the hour and if we see something that doesn’t look right we want to make sure we get the information as soon as possible,” said Sandi Copes.

If gas station owners are found guilty of price gouging, they’d face fines as high as a thousand dollars per sale. To report suspicious spikes in gas prices you can call the Attorney General’s price gouging hotline at 1-866-966-7226.