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More than a thousand American Airlines workers in Florida will be laid off by the end of the year. The news doesn’t bode well for Governor Rick Scott’s plan to create 700-thousand jobs in seven years. Scott is stepping in and asking the state’s workforce boards to help the people losing their jobs.

“I’ve asked our workforce boards. I’ve asked down in Miami the Beacon Council. All the groups around the state to talk to these individuals to see how we can help them. Hopefully other airlines other air transport organizations will hire those same workers,” said Scott.

Florida’s unemployment rate has fallen more than two percent since Scott took office in January of last year. Recent reports claim the drop may be the result of people giving up their job search, not Scott creating new jobs.

A secret recording of Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney is being used against him by his political advisories. In the video Romney writes off voters who depend on the government for food, housing and health care. But is the recording legal? As Whitney Ray tells us, Florida has strict laws against secret audio recordings.

Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney is catching heat for a video captured by a hidden camera.

“There are 47 percent of people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them,” said Romney in the video.

The recording was made at a private fundraiser in Boca Raton in May. It was posted online by Mother Jones this week. The person who made the recording isn’t being named.

“These are people who pay no income tax, 47 percent of Americans pay no income tax,” said Romney.

The video recording is fine, but Florida has strict laws about recording audio. It’s illegal to record someone’s voice, but the statute says there has to be an expectation of privacy. I asked Florida politicians if they expect privacy at closed door events.

“I assume everything I say is public record,” said Governor Rick Scott.

Governor Rick Scott and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater are both Romney supporters. Both say they’re rarely off the record.

“If anyone of us believes that there is not a camera on or a recording device or a cell phone, you know you’re living in yesterday. I think everyone needs to be on game and on the same message all the time,” said Atwater.

Even though Florida’s law is stricter than most, it’s rarely enforced. From 2001 through 2011, just 10 people were charged with making an illegal recording.

We called the state attorney in Palm Beach where the recoding was made, to ask if he will pursue charges. He says as of right now, he hasn’t received any complaints. It’s a third degree felony to make an illegal recording.

The last of 80 changes to Florida’s controversial election law has just been approved by a federal court. As Whitney Ray tells us, the new law will impact everything from when you vote, to how you register and how quickly results are reported on election night.

The last time Florida voted the results were reported in almost record time.

“It’s going to be an early night,” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner, after the August Primary.

A new, controversial election law is to credit for the quick results. The law requires elections supervisors to report results every 45 minutes after polls close. But that’s just one change.

The law also created a committee to select the state’s presidential primary date. In total there are 80 changes in the law. Most were approved by a federal court with no fight, but several drew critics.

Chris Cate a spokesman for the Florida Division of Elections says the changes are aimed at preventing voter fraud.

“All 80 provisions are going to benefit Florida. Many will go unnoticed, but it’s going to improve our processes,” said Cate.

But critics argue there’s very little fraud to begin with and some of the provisions in the new law will keep college students and minorities from casting a ballot.

The NAACP fought the provision that cut early voting from two weeks to eight days.

“The people who are being impacted are people of color and African Americans,” said Dale Landry with the NAACP.

But the change was approved Thursday after the state reached a deal to allow 96 hours of voting in counties with past voting rights violations.

“You are going to have up to 12 hours a day now of early voting, which means you will have the opportunity to vote before work or after work, but there is also going to be many more hours than every before on the weekend,” said Cate.

In the past people who change their address at the polls, mainly college students who moved across county lines, were still able to cast a regular ballot. Now, if they wait until Election Day to update their voter registration information they’ll have to cast a provisional ballot.

The new law also requires third party voter registration groups to sign up with the state, but the League of Women Voters won a court battle that would have required them to turn in registration forms with in 48 hours.

Possible criminal charges tonight for 207 non-citizens found registered to vote in Florida.

It’s a felony to illegally register to vote. The names were discovered this week after the Florida Division of Elections relaunched its voter purge efforts. Spokesman Chris Cate says once the names are removed from the state’s voting rolls they’ll be handed over to investigators.

“We know that some of these voters that we found to be non-citizens have been voting in the past. We are going to be turning those names over to the supervisors of elections and once they’ve been contacted the information will be provided to state attorneys were they can do the investigation because it is a felony,” said Cate.

But the ACLU is saying not so fast. When the state tried to remove voters in April the data was flawed and the purge put on hold. Baylor Johnson, a spokesman for the ACLU says he’s not confident the state will hold legitimate voters harmless.

“Given the state’s less than competent record when it comes to voter purges, I think Floridians would be right to be skeptical of anything coming from this current purge,” said Johnson.

The ACLU wants to hear from any US citizen being told they can’t vote. Cate says there won’t be any because now the state is using a federal immigration database that should prevent any mixups.

State lawmakers will have to defend education cuts in court. A lawsuit filed three years ago claims the state doesn’t provide a high-quality level of public education as laid out in the state constitution. As Whitney Ray tells us, lawmakers unsuccessfully tried to block the suit, and this week the state’s highest court ordered it to move forward.

Florida’s constitution guarantees a “high quality” public education, but in 2009, Fund Education Now filled a lawsuit claiming it’s anything but.

“The Florida Legislature has cut funds to public education by four billion dollars,” said Kathleen Oropeza.

We spoke to the group’s co-founder by phone. For three years lawmakers have blocked her suit, but this week their luck ran out.

“We get to have our day in court. We get to present the evidence and we get to have this discussion in front of the people in the light of day,” said Oropeza.

The suit claims billions of dollars in spending cut by state lawmakers and below average pay for Florida teachers are making it impossible for schools to provide students with a high quality education.

Last year Governor Rick Scott and lawmakers increased education spending by a billion dollars. Democrats, say it was too little to late.

“We had cut a billion three a year before and so you do the math. Hopefully this year we will put two billion in to education,” said State Representative Darryl Rouson.

But Republicans say they did the best they could with dwindling state revenues.

“Among those advocates I don’t think there is enough money in the State of Florida to do it. You look at Chicago where you’ve got a union striking and they’re making 70-thousand dollar base salaries,” said State Senator JD Alexander.

At the center of the suit will be the definition of high quality and whether or not it’s available to all Florida students.

Lawmakers argued the lawsuit should be blocked because their responsible for the state budget and the judicial branch isn’t allowed to tell them how to spend taxpayer money. The argument was taken to the state’s highest court and failed.

The state’s war on prescription drug abuse is keeping people in real pain from getting the help they need.

About a dozen protestors were at the state capitol today because they can’t get pharmacies to fill their prescriptions for painkillers. Karen Stateler injured her neck and back 20 years ago, but just last year her pharmacist stopped carrying the methadone her doctor prescribes. She’s even had to be rushed to the ER for withdraws after going days without her medication.

“I think it’s particularly dangerous for seniors, because we have other health problems too and going through repeated withdraws month after month is not healthy,” said Stateler.

The group says they are being treated like criminals. Some of them spend all day driving from pharmacy to pharmacy just to fill one prescription. They’re asking Governor Rick Scott and state lawmakers for help.

For the first time in state history there is an organized effort to kick three Supreme Court Justices off the bench. As Whitney Ray tells us, a 2010 ruling on a health care ballot question is at the center of a scheme to reshape Florida’s Supreme Court.

Restore Justice 2012, is trying to make history. In Florida, voters have never used merit retention to boot a judge, but this November Justice Fred Lewis, Peggy Quince and Barbara Pariente could be the first.

Restore Justice is targeting the justices because they ruled against a ballot question aimed at banning the new health care law in Florida. The group claims it was a political decision. The justices say the ballot language was misleading.

During a conference call Tuesday, Members of Defend Justice from Politics defended the ruling.

Fueling the debate are these competing reports. This one from The Florida Bar gives the justices a 90 percent job approval rating among Florida attorneys, but this one from Restore Justices gives them all Fs.

Former American Bar President Sandy D’Alemberte says the failing grades are based on poor data. D’Alembert adds merit retention is a tool to remove incompetent judges, not a means to vote out judges you disagree with.

“There are people who disagree with their opinions, I disagree with some of their opinions, but that doesn’t mean they are not qualified to serve,” said D’Alemberte.

D’Alemberte says voting these justices off the bench will politicize the process and in Florida justice will no longer be blind.

Judges are up for merit retention every six years during the General Election. They have no opponent, but to keep their job they have to get a majority vote. Many Florida voters skip the merit retention questions. In 2010, a million people who cast ballots for governor left the merit retention questions blank.

If you think your gas bill is high, check out what the state spends on fuel. 50 million dollar from July 2011 through June of this year. That up five million dollars from 2010. As Whitney Ray tells us, rising gas prices may force the state to rethink how many vehicles it puts on the road.

Todd Hill does a lot of driving. He pastors a church and shuttles kids all over the state.

“We do a lot of transporting and carpooling and gas prices like they are it adds up quick,” said Hill

Todd spends more than six thousand dollars a year on gas.

Reporter: How do you budget for that?
Todd: Cross your fingers and hope nothing else happens when you get ready to fill it up.

The state has seen its gas budget soar to more than 50 million dollars this year. That’s up five million dollars from 2010.

State’s Gasoline Bill
FY 2011-2012 50.7M
FY 2010-2011 50.4M
FY 2009-2010 45.7M

There’s no policy forcing state workers to save gas, but there is a state law requiring agencies to buy fuel efficient vehicles and another statute requiring regular maintenance on cars.

The Florida Highway Patrol is cutting its part of the state fuel budget by shopping around for the cheapest gas, patrolling less and using radar more strategically.

“We use more stationary radar, laser detail, versus just driving around,” said FHP Trooper Ryan Martina.

Governor Rick Scott says he hasn’t directly addressed the issue with his agency heads, but he’s concerned about all spending.

“Gas is one of the issues, but in every agency we have to watch how we spend money,” said Scott.

In the coming months the state will begin exploring more ways to cut fuel costs. One option to save money on gas is selling some of the state’s 26-thousand vehicles.

Even though the state is spending a huge chunk of change on gas, it’s still less than one percent of Florida’s 70 billion dollars state budget.

Parents and teachers across the state will get a chance to tell Governor Rick Scott what they think of Florida’s public education system. Scott is on an education listening tour. He visited Jacksonville Monday. At the state capitol, before Scott embarked on the tour, he told reporters he wants to hear from everyone. But the meetings will be behind closed doors and unions are concerned their voices won’t be heard.

“I think it’s important to listen to everybody. I think everybody has ideas. I like talking to people and finding ways we can improve,” said Scott.

Scott will be in Palm Beach County tomorrow and Orlando on Thursday.

Governor Rick Scott is ignoring questions about a possible matchup against Former Governor Charlie Crist in 2014. Crist is still a registered independent, but he delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention last week. Rumors Crist will run for governor as a Democrat are circulating, but Scott is writing them off.

“Isn’t that a hypothetical? You know what I’m going to do? Everyday I’m going to do my job. I got elected on a campaign to get our state back to work. I’m going to focus on the education system, keep the cost of living low. That’s what I’m going to do every day,” said Scott.

Crist hasn’t said if he will register as a Democrat and run for governor in 2014. Polls show he would be Democrat’s top choice.

Kids suffering from mental and physical disabilities are being housed with seniors in Florida nursing homes. The findings are part of an investigation by the Department of Justice. DOJ says the kids civil rights are being denied because they often don’t have access to education and can’t socialize with their peers. In an exclusive interview with Capitol News Service Scott says he wasn’t aware of the situation until this weekend. Scott is ordering the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Children and Families to investigate immediately.

“I’ve asked agencies involved to get to the bottom of this now. We need to have swift action. I want them to visit all these homes and I want them to go visit all the parents. I also want them to reach out to the advocacy groups and make sure we are doing every thing we can to make sure these children are taken care of,” said Scott

The decision about how to care for a disabled child is the parent’s. Medicaid places some restriction on care. Scott says once investigators locate the kids, they’ll inform parents of all their options. None of the disabled children reportedly living in nursing homes are in the care of DCF.

“Of the nearly 20,000 children in the department’s care, not one is in an adult nursing home. In every situation, our first priority is always to find an appropriate, safe and secure family or home setting for any child in our care while providing for any special needs a child might have,” said Joe Follick, Communications Director for DCF.

A strong message for students at Florida A&M University. The school’s interim president Larry Robinson told the entire student body today reports of hazing will be met with “swift and decisive” action. As Whitney Ray tells us, suspensions made this week prove Robinson means business.

To mark the start of a new school year, FAMU’s Interim President Larry Robinson, gathered the entire student body and addressed the school’s hazing problem head on.

“If in fact they do occur, I just want everyone to know our actions will be swift and decisive,” said Robinson.

Robinson says the school is getting closer to hiring an anti-hazing czar, to help prevent rituals like the one last November that cost FAMU Drum Major Robert Champion his life.

The band remained suspended Friday as Robinson unveiled a new website where students can report hazing. A video on the site says hazing has no part in school activities.

It’s not just rhetoric. On Tuesday a university dance team was suspended, just hours after reports of members forcing freshmen in the group to drink alcohol and run up a hill.

Students we spoke to were impressed with Robinson’s quick action.

“The incident that happened over the weekend with the dance team, he took care of it. He was active on that,” said Senior Martez Hurt.

“I’m just happy that somebody is saying they are going to do something and sticking to what they say,” said Sophomore Jonathan Jones.

As a result of FAMU’s hazing problems and the bad publicity that followed, fewer students have enrollment this year. Enrollment is down by about a thousand and that’s affecting the school’s bottom-line.

“We may need to prepare ourselves for possible budget reductions,” said Robinson.

While students seem pleased with the direction Robinson is taking the school, his time at the top is waning. Robinson told students, the school’s search for his replacement is nearing an end.

Robinson also reported at FAMU’s Convocation today, the school is still searching for a new band director, but that search in narrowing.

Former Florida Republican Governor Charlie Crist is in Charlotte tonight preparing to address the Democratic National Convention. Crist became an independent in 2012 after it appeared he could not win a GOP Primary for the US Senate. Now with talk that he could run for Governor again as a Democrat, but the GOP is turning up the heat on Crist.

As a young State Senator, Charlie Crist was tasked with embarrassing the sitting Democratic Governor. The GOP elected Crist statewide three times to Education Commissioner, Attorney General and finally Governor.

But the now infamous bipartisan hug in Fort Myers lit a fire under the strengthening Tea Party, Crist was poisoned. Now a speculation he is setting his sights on a Governor’s Mansion again this time as a Democrat. The state GOP is firing back with a TV spot in which Crist is heard to say, “I’m a Jeb Bush Republican. President Bush he is a leader of courage and conviction”.

We asked party spokesperson Kristen McDonald if the party was afraid of Crist or just paying him back for deserting them. “It’s neither really. As I said it just that we are trying to remind Floridians and the people of America who Charlie Crist really is” she told us.

When Charlie Crist was a Republican, the party kept track of everything he said, wrote, TV, radio so they gotten an archive we are sure to see more of.

“I’m quite happy in the private sector” is what Crist told the national audience. He also said he isn’t likely to run as a Democrat, but he did leave the door open. Political Scientist Carol Weissert believes the GOP has more fear than anger when it comes to Charlie Crist. “I think they’re worried. I mean that would be how I would read it. Why would you spend money that you need to spend on a campaign against somebody who hasn’t even announced” says Weissert.

Crist would have to start making moves to run as a Democrat shortly after the first of the year, and with three other possible contenders, his success would be uncertain.

The former Governor contends he did not leave the Republican Party, but that it left him when it was taken over by the far right.

A chapter is closing on a year long battle over Florida’s new election law. The last of 80 changes in the controversial law is going unchallenged by the US Department of Justice. As Whitney Ray tells us, once it’s officially approved, early voting this November will be limited to eight days statewide.

A battle that started in the state legislature in 2011 is nearing an end. The state’s new election law requires voter registration groups to register with the state, forces elections supervisors to report results sooner and cuts early voting days.

The early voting reduction from 14 to eight days caused the most backlash. Black lawmakers and the NAACP tried to stop the changes saying it would affect minority voters because they’re more likely to cast an early ballot.

“The people who are being impacted are people of color and African Americans,” said Dale Landry with the NAACP in an August protest in the Governor’s Office.

The early voting changes are already in place in 62 of Florida’s 67 counties. Because of past discrimination, Collier, Hillsborough, Hardee, Hendry and Monroe counties need approval from a federal court to implement the changes.

The US Department of Justice dropped its challenge to the early voting reduction after the five counties agreed to offer the maximum number of early voting hours allowed under the new law.

Voters in those five counties will have 96 hours to cast a ballot, or 12 hours a day for eight days. Division of Elections Spokesman Chris Cate says there’s plenty of time to vote.

“There’s going to be more flexibility to vote before work and after work. They are going to be guaranteed a Sunday of early voting, which they weren’t guaranteed under the old law,” said Cate.

Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Harry Sawyer is the lone hold out on the early voting changes. He told the court he would abide by its wishes.

“I said that I would follow the law, period,” said Sawyer.

But he didn’t promise to be happy about it.

“The old plan was working really well. I still don’t know why they changed it,” said Sawyer.

Sawyer says cutting the number of days will disenfranchise voters and create long lines on Election Day.

Since the Department of Justice is no longer challenging the early voting provision, pre-clearance by the court is almost certain.

An all female dance troupe at Florida A&M University has been suspended pending an investigation into a weekend report of hazing. The report came from a parent who called the school on Tuesday afternoon. The group was suspended before the end of the day.

A promotional video from the FAMU Torque Dancers screams “Why Don’t You Love Me?

The all female dance group was suspended late Tuesday after a parent reported an alleged hazing over the Labor Day Weekend. Freshmen were reportedly forced to drink alcohol and run up a hill. FAMU police are investigating.

The anonymous police report says only that the incident happened on Jakes and Paterson Street.

The report came out on the same day FAMU Interim President Larry Robinson was beginning a series of anti hazing workshops. He told Boosters on Wednesday that the message must get out.

“The point that I want to make is that we will take swift and decisive action It is very disappointing, but at the same time there are a lot of students out there that have gotten the message” says Robinson.

There were mixed reactions on campus. Some students didn’t want to talk about it at all.

“I gotta. I gotta be somewhere really quickly” is what one camouflage clad student told us. Others, like Elizabeth Oyecora, called the alleged incident unforgivable. “They didn’t learn so they deserve what happened to them. So, I guess other organizations will learn from this” says the first year Pharmacy student.

FAMU’s reputation for hazing became national news with the death of drum major Robert Champion last November. Colin Johnson chose to enroll this fall anyway. “It’s like, sometimes certain individuals will make bad choices. But overall I still feel like FAMU is a good decent school to go to”, says Johnson.

The investigation may lead off campus and involve Tallahassee Police. Until resolved, the dance troupe will remain suspended.

An all female dance troupe at Florida A&M University has been suspended pending an investigation into a weekend report of hazing. The report came from a parent who called the school on Tuesday afternoon. The group was suspended before the end of the day.

This is a promotional video from the FAMU Torque Dancers.

NAT. “Why Don’t You Love Me?”

The all female dance group was suspended late Tuesday after a parent reported an alleged hazing over the Labor Day Weekend. Freshmen were reportedly forced to drink alcohol and run up a hill. FAMU police are investigating.

The anonymous police report says only that the incident happened on Jakes and Paterson Street.

The report came out on the same day FAMU Interim President Larry Robinson was beginning a series of anti hazing workshops. He told Boosters on Wednesday that the message must get out.

“The point that I want to make is that we will take swift and decisive action It is very disappointing, but at the same time there are a lot of students out there that have gotten the message” says Robinson.

There were mixed reactions on campus. Some students didn’t want to talk about it at all.

“I gotta. I gotta be somewhere really quickly” is what one camouflage clad student told us. Others, like Elizabeth Oyecora, called the alleged incident unforgivable. “They didn’t learn so they deserve what happened to them. So, I guess other organizations will learn from this” says the first year Pharmacy student.

FAMU’s reputation for hazing became national news with the death of drum major Robert Champion last November. Colin Johnson chose to enroll this fall anyway. “It’s like, sometimes certain individuals will make bad choices. But overall I still feel like FAMU is a good decent school to go to”, says Johnson.

The investigation may lead off campus and involve Tallahassee Police. Until resolved, the dance troupe will remain suspended.