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With unemployment expected to reach 12 percent and lawmakers considering layoffs to help fill a three billion dollar budget hole, there seems to be little to cheer about. But as Whitney Ray tells us, economists have found a few bright spots in Florida’s economy.

More than a million Floridians are looking for work. Thousands of people are losing their homes and credit lines are drying up.

But Florida TaxWatch and the National Federation of Independent Business say better times are around the corner.

“The cost of living that was once above average in the nation, now with all the pain and suffering and the serious recession has actually brought cost down so Florida is more attractive,” said Dominic Calabro, the CEO of Florida TaxWatch.

Florida is expected to be one of the last states to recover from the recession, but economists say recovery in other states will boost tourism and home sales.

Another bright spot is that Holiday sales helped eat up excess inventory and now stores are starting to restock.

The increased demand for retail means more business for truck drivers, gas stations and warehouse workers.

“It may not be as high as it was in 2006, when we were at the peak of consumer spending, but it certainly will be better than it has been for the last couple of years,” said Rick McAllister, President of the Florida Retail Federation.

But demand could rise even more as other economies get on the right track and start to demand Florida goods. Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink says banks need to start lending to help businesses prepare.

“The number one problem I hear about from small business is access to credit, being able to borrow more money to expand their business and higher more Floridians,’ said Sink.

Although there are a few bright spots, the road to recovery is still a long one and it will likely take years for the state’s unemployment rate to reach pre-recession levels.

Housing sales could become the driving force of the economic recover. Prices fell 13 percent in 2009, making the state more attractive to retirees and people looking for a vacation home.

It’s snowing in Florida and actually sticking in some parts of the Panhandle. As Whitney Ray tells us, the weather has forced dozens of school closings.

The Panhandle saw its first snow since 1993, to the delight of many kids. An hour down the road, 8-year old Wyatt Roberts was still waiting for snow.

“I want to jump in it,” said Wyatt.

Wyatt won’t go back to school until after Presidents Day.

Fears that the freezing rain would turn into ice caused several schools in the panhandle to close.

At noon on Friday, Holmes County Schools were closed, even though not a flake had fallen. The sheriff says it was preemptive.

“We don’t want bus loads of kids driving around on slick roads. Someone could get hurt,” said Sheriff Tim Brown.

Road crews in Florida lack the heavy snow plows and salt trucks necessary to clear dangerous roadways, and very few drivers have experience on ice.

“It was March 1993 last time it snowed here,” said Pam Tucker.

Florida got just a dusting, but across the state line, snow stuck to cars and houses.

Today’s dusting marks the second time it’s snowed in Florida this year. Jacksonville and parts of Central Florida saw snow in January. It snowed a total of six times last decade.

Snow is in the forecast for some parts of the Panhandle, which is causing some problems for farmers and wildlife trying to rebound from last months cold spell. As Whitney Ray tells us, the January freeze is costing farmers 600 million dollars, and has cost 165 manatees their lives.

Frozen fruit and frostbitten fish were on the menu in January as two straight weeks of freezing temperatures wreaked havoc on Florida farmers.

“Overall it’s about a 30 percent loss, 600 million dollars in losses,” said Charles Bronson, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture.

The hardest hit farms are being offered low interest loans from the federal government to cover their costs, but their worries aren’t over.

Snow is in the forecast Friday for parts of the Panhandle. It’s rare in the Sunshine State.

On a February day in 1899, enough fell for lawmakers to take their fight outdoors and hurl snowballs at each other.

In February 1958 it snowed again. In 1977, the Palm Beach Post reported the area’s first snowfall in recorded history. Governor Charlie Crist remembers seeing snow in the 70’s.

“When and if it does come to north Florida, enjoy it. It’s beautiful to see and thank God we don’t get much of it,” said Crist.

The sentiment is shared by the state’s wildlife. Since the first of the year, a thousand sea turtles and more than 165 manatees have died of cold stress. Wildlife experts are pleading with boaters to keep their distance.

“Give the animals a wide birth when its cold like it is this week,” said Florida Fish and Wildlife biologist, Carol Knox.

The good news is the freeze isn’t expected to last as long as January’s.

Even if it doesn’t snow, temperatures across the state could still be deadly for plants, pets, and people living outdoors. Many shelters are making special arrangements for the homeless. Emergency workers are asking people to bring their pets and plants inside over night.

The state’s 24 regional workforce offices are preparing for another tough year.

The offices are located across the state. Their mission: help people find jobs. The state’s unemployment rate is at 11.8 percent and is expected to climb. Governor Charlie Crist addressed the Workforce Board of Directors in Tallahassee today. Crist says the economy is turning and the stimulus package is working.

“The stimulus package has helped immensely. The latest figures is around 87-thousand people would be out of work if it wasn’t for the stimulus. 20-thousand of those are educators in schools though out Florida. I dare say the impact that would have on children, so I think it is very important and very helpful,” said Crist.

Crist isn’t just relying on the stimulus package for relief. He’s asking lawmakers to approve more tax breaks for businesses and the film industry to help create more jobs in Florida.

There are now 60 more pairs of eyes making sure you’re not speeding.

The Florida Highway Patrol graduated its 118th Basic Recruits class today. The troopers trained for 27 weeks to earn their badges. Governor Charlie Crist congratulated the graduating class.

“It’s your graduation, your recognition, your day of honor, for the sacrifices that you have made to be here today. To wear the black and tan, to wear this great uniform that so many respect, revere, and hold close, and when you come up in the review mirror, they really respect it,”

The graduation ceremony was held in Tallahassee, but the cadets are joining troops across the state.

Three fourths of the state’s young adults are either too fat, too stupid, or have broken too many laws to join the military. The news comes as lawmakers consider cutting millions from Florida’s voluntary pre-k program and as Whitney Ray tells us, tens of thousand of students are opting out of P.E.

Florida’s youth are too overweight, undereducated, and have broken too many laws to join the armed forces. 1.4 million young Floridians are ineligible for service. Retired Army General Joseph Perugino pleaded with lawmakers to find a fix.

“If we don’t take action soon, I’m afraid we are going to find it harder and harder to identify and recruit the right people to do these jobs we need done,” said Perugino.

Criminal records excluded thousands from the service. One in three can’t pass the military entrance exams. 33 percent are too out of shape.

The news comes as tens of thousands of Florida elementary and middle school students are opting out of physical education courses. School administrators say healthy lifestyles have to start at home.

“I don’t think the mandatory P.E. program is really the issue that is going to address the problems we face with obesity in children. I think this has to be an educational push,” said MaryEllen Eila, a superintendent of Hillsborough County.

Pre-k classes could help combat some of the military ineligibility problems, but a surge in enrollment and budget cuts are jeopardizing the program. Representative Rich Glorioso says the legislature has to find a way fund early learning.

“Whether its VPK, Early learning, or K-12, all those tie in and that’s where we can be working at as the state, but it’s a team effort, if we don’t have parent involvement It makes it very difficult as a state to right this wrong,” said Glorioso.

But righting the wrong will cost money, at a time when the state has empty pockets. The report is also raising concerns over the number of young Floridians who will be able to meet the physical and mental demands of the civil service test to become, firefighters, police officers, and paramedics.

Snow is in the forecast for parts of the Florida panhandle later this week.

The freezing weather has farmers working double time to protect their crops. Last month a two week stint of cold weather cost farmers 600 million dollars. Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Bronson says the state is asking farmers to take extra precautions to save the crops they have left.

“Sometimes they can put dirt over some of these plants and keep the cold from getting too them, take the dirt off later. Sometimes they have to put water on them. It just depends on how they decide to attack the cold weather and we are hoping we can get through this one, but its going to be off and on over the next week with a freezing night here and freezing night another night or two down the road. Snow won’t hurt anything, but freezing cold and frost does,” said Bronson.

The cold weather is also killing manatees at a record setting pass. In January 200 manatees died in Florida waterways. 429 deaths is the record number killed in Florida in a single year.

Anonymous complaints against Florida’s largest power company are being investigated by the Public Service Commission.

Two unsigned letters alleging Florida Power and Light managers forced employees to manipulate data given to state regulators were delivered to the PSC. The data in question was given to the PSC during FPL’s rate hike hearing that ended earlier this month. Governor Charlie Crist, who appointed two new PSC members after reports of secret communication between regulators and FPL execs surfaced, says he doesn’t want to jump to the gun until the claims are fully investigated.

“An allegation doesn’t equate to a fact, but I think Florida Power and Light have done some very good things recently in Florida particularly in the solar energy area, so I want to complement them on that and hopefully they have been truthful in every other way, said Crist.“

FPL was seeking a 1.3 billion dollar rate hike before the reports of improper communication with regulators surfaced. In January the PSC granted the power company a 75 million dollar rate increase.

There are new rumblings tonight within the Republican Party of Florida over finances. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, Governor Charlie Crist has joined the bandwagon to ask the party to reveal how it has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on its credit cards.

State Representative Dean Cannon was so worried about the safety of the money he raised for House candidates, he transferred 650,000 dollars out of the Republican Party. New revelations, that Delmar Johnson, a 30-year-old, who earned more than 400,000 dollars, which included a secret contract for the take of fundraisng, has party leaders up in arms.

“On its face, it was a legal contract,” Attorney General Bill McCollum said. “Now, what turns up with other facts beyond the face of the contract, beyond the pages is to be determined.”

Even Charlie Crist is concerned.

“It doesn’t look good,” Crist said.

Flowers, massages, and even thousand dollar dinners show up in state reports, angering GOP donors.

“When they find out that the money has been squandered on the most ridiculous things, like massages, that infuriates them,” Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, said.

This GOP annual report paints a rosy picture until you open it up, and see that Delmar Johnson is already gone and the chairman is on his way out.

John Thrasher is running to lead the party. He won’t say if he’s going to release the records showing who was spending what, at least not yet.

“When I become chairman, I will have a set of recommendations on this issues after we have a thorough review of it,” Thrasher said.

The party selects a new leader February 20th, but it could take months or longer to restore the party’s image.

A surge of Haitian students into the Florida school system is costing the state millions. 15-hundred students who were displaced by last month’s earthquake have already enrolled in Florida schools with an estimated 2-hundred signing up daily. As Whitney Ray tells us, the state is asking the federal government for money to help to pay for the student surge, but many say the help can’t come soon enough.

Hundreds of Creole speaking students are entering the Florida schools systems. It costs an estimated 7-thousand dollars to educated each of the new Haitian students, adding to the financial burden already facing cash strapped schools. The governor is confident the federal government will foot the bill.

“They have been very corporative, primarily through Secretary Sebelius’ office in making sure that Florida is made whole to use her words,” said Crist.

With 15-hundred students enrolled and the number growing the burden could reach far beyond dollars and cents, and into the realm of school performance.

Legislation to exempt the test scores of new Haitian students from a schools overall grade is being debated.

Language barriers and a subpar education for some of the students will likely result in low scores. State Senator Dave Aronberg says it wouldn’t be fair to punish schools for opening their doors to the students.

“Teacher and the schools should not be blamed if the scores are lower because we have new students’ who don’t know English,” said Aronberg.

While the news is bad for the state’s budget, it’s good for any Creole speaking teachers looking for work.

The influx will also cause problems for schools trying to meet class size requirements. School administrators have to start hiring teachers and estimating cost connected with student populations in April. Many will have to find money for more teachers.

A bipartisan effort to end texting while driving is being pushed by state lawmakers.

There are already several bills filed that would make texting from the behind the wheel illegal. The newest effort would create a 30 dollar fine for drivers caught in the act. Texting while driving legislation has failed three years running. Representative Janet Long says the delay in passing a ban has cost drivers their lives.

“The fact of the matter is that over the years that these bills have been introduced, the significance and number of deaths that have occurred are rising, and they are rising at an alarming rate,” said Long.

Long and Senate sponsor Paula Dockery say a recent federal ban on texting while driving commercial vehicles and expected incentives offered to states with bans will help their legislation pass.

The state has access to your baby’s DNA. Since 2005, The Florida Department of Health has been storing blood samples from newborns. As Whitney Ray tells us, there’s no timetable for how long the sample will be stored.

Almost every parent agrees to genetic testing for their newborn. Some of those test results are kept by the state Department of Health. The DNA of babies with some genetic disorders are also kept on file, often without the parents knowledge.

Right now the DNA and blood samples are meant to be kept indefinitely. Dr. Joseph Chiaro says the Department of Health is rethinking the timetable.

“We’re currently looking gat the question of how long we should keep these specimens and we will probably decide that 5,6,7 years is plenty adequate,” said Chiaro.

The samples are identified by bar codes with the indentifying information stored separately.

Storing the information is raising concerns about privacy, because other states with similar databases have reportedly shared information with researchers. Chiaro says Florida isn’t one of them.

“We have a policy that we don’t share or sell any information like that. We’ve never shared it with any insurance company. The only one that the info is shared with is the physician who is listed as the baby’s doctors,” said Chiaro.

The Department Health says keeping the information allows doctors to know what diseases to test kids for as they get older. It also allows the state to see if their methods of testing are improving.

We spoke with parents this afternoon who were shocked their child’s blood samples, and in some cases DNA was being stored by the state. They asked not to be identified in our story, but said they were upset the state was storing the information without their knowledge.

Climatologist Eric Barron took over the helm of Florida State University today, becoming the schools 14th President. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, he arrives at a time of major challenges.
Eric Barron arrived for his first day at the FSU Tallahassee Campus after driving 33 hours. He came from his home in Boulder, Colorado, where he ran the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Students and staff who met with the new president are encouraged with the new focus on his background of research and students.

“He wants to make this more of a community, a student community,” student Ricky Bailey said. “Even though we are a large university he wants to make it feel more like home.”

“I’m just very excited that we have a new president and are starting a new era for Florida State,” student Allison Kibbey said.

The new president comes at a time when the challenges have never been greater. More than 80 million dollars have been cut from the school’s budget over the last three years. Tenured professors have been fired and more cuts are likely on the way.

Tuition will almost certainly go up again as lawmakers face a deficit of 3 billion dollars. Despite the challenges, the new president is optimistic.

“I think that it’s extremely important for people to hear, from the top of the university, to hear what the facts are,” Barron said. “Here’s the box we’re in, and here’s where we have room to push out of the box and where we don’t.”

One of the biggest challenges facing FSU was handled in the waning hours by the last president. That’s the ousting of legendary coach Bobby Bowden. That gives Barron a fresh start with alumni to make or break his tenure at the school.

Barron is a 1973 graduate of FSU who is still articulating his vision for the University.

We’re just five weeks into 2010 and already state employees have already been caught stealing, abusing travel privileges, and embezzling taxpayer money. The abuses have been uncovered by journalisms and inspectors general. While reporters are getting praised for their investigations, Whitney ray tells us the inspectors, who work for the state, sometimes get fired.

The Department of Transportation, the Department of Corrections, and Florida A&M University all forced out their top watchdogs after they uncovered corruption.

Each state agency has an inspector general who keeps watch over the office, but if they’re too good at their job they risk getting fired. Since 2003, four state inspectors have been forced to quit after uncovering corruption.

State Senator Dave Aronberg is sponsoring legislation that would take away an agency heads power to fire an inspector general and give the authority to the governor and state cabinet.

“I’m trying to give an added level of independence to the inspector general, to say the agency head can’t fire the inspector general, it’s up to the Governor and the Cabinet and there has to be good cause,” said Aronberg.

The legislation would also lengthen the window of time an inspector’s employment status hangs in the balance.

“It also creates 14 days for the Governor and the Cabinet to make a decision, so it creates the potential for a more deliberate process,” said Brad Ashwell with Florida PIRG.

The bill would also provide funding protection for inspectors so agency heads can’t cut their budgets to stop investigations.

The inspectors general legislation could have political implications. The bill’s sponsor is a Democrat running for Attorney General. One Republican candidate for the position is a former agency head who asked her inspector to step down after the watchdog critiqued a pilot program she supported.

State environmental officials are backing down on an outright ban of
plastic bags at the supermarket and other stores. Mike Vasilinda first
reported on the ban this past October, but now he tells us the state
will likely rely on voluntary efforts to keep the plastic out of landfills.

Gladys Cherry admits she sometimes forgets the canvas bags in her car
when shopping. She’s been using the canvas bags for at least five years,

“I don’t have to use plastic bags and I’m trying to be environmentally correct,” Cherry said.

Dog owners and others gave the state an earful after a proposed ban with
a tax on plastic bags was suggested in a draft report last October.

The final report, just out, makes no conclusion.

This environmental protection report lists 12 options to discourage the use of plastic bags, everything from taxing them to banning them or encouraging the use of recyclables like this.

Stores big and small are offering canvas alternatives. This Tallahassee specialty market gets five bucks for a sack with it’s logo.

“They love to have your logo on there, especially a small place like this,” Tomato Land’s Linda Reagan said.

And the nation’s big retailers are taking notice.

“Target recently began offering a five cent rebate to customers when they bring in their reusable bag,” Samantha Padgett with the Florida Retail Federation said. “CVS has employed an option where you buy their little tag and you attach it to the reusable bag and every four times you use it, they’ll give you a one dollar CVS extra care buck.”

Other states and countries that have opted for taxes on plastic bags
have used the money for environmental programs, but while money is tight here
in Florida, there may be no stomach for a tax on something just about
everyone uses.