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The Electronic Retailing Association estimates that shoppers will spend $24.6 billion online this holiday season.  The Florida Retail Federation says online shopping continues to grow, but federation president Rick McAllister says the state is losing out on several billion dollars in sales taxes that aren’t rightfully being collected. 

“Over the past three years, probably 6 or 7 billion dollars in lawfully owed sales taxes were not collected and used in the state of Florida because of this internet issue,” McAllister said.  “So it is a very important issue, not only to Florida, but to every state that we get this fixed.  The only people who can fix it is Congress.”

A recent Forrester Research survey found that 80 percent of consumers plan to purchase at least one item online this year.

A University of Florida Study says Florida has the 6th highest rate of teen pregnancy and the 2nd highest rate of HIV infection for teens. Planned Parenthood blames poor sex ed in schools, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, opponents say the problem is too much sex education.

Hear it here: Teen Pregnancies Up

Jessica Harris loves six-week-old Logan, but says he has turned her life upside down.

“I wish I would have waited,” Harris said. “About ten years down the road, it would have been perfect. I’d be established, out of school. That’s what I wanted.”

The 21 year old unemployed high school graduate says a lot of her friends also got pregnant..none of them trusted birth control. She says what sex education she got at home or school was useless.

“They don’t really get into it and tell you the consequences,” Harris said.

When asked whether she was told to abstain from sex entirely, she replied,

“Yes, of Course. It doesn’t work.”

But a lot of teens are interested.

There are 50 thousand podcast subscribers to something called the Midwest Teen Sex show. It features risqué sketches, explicit language and hard facts.

But abstinence advocates blame planned parenthood and videos like the teen sex show for increases in pregnancy and disease.

“Their job right now is learning in school,” Carole Griffin with the Eagle Forum said. “It’s not learning more about sex. They get enough of that through television.”

“You’re gonna need diapers,” Harris said.

And Jessica says her life would be better if she knew then what she knows now.

Jessica is taking two college courses online, but longs for the life of a coed. Instead, she lives with her father and is looking for work.

State lawmakers met to look at possible changes to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT.  Issues related to class size were also talked during the legislative committee meeting.  Some lawmakers say they’re not looking to overhaul the current system, but make some minor changes.
 
“It’s good for what its intended use is to be,” said Rep. Bill Heller, a St. Petersburg Democrat.  “Can it be improved?  Yes.  But is there something else that should replace it, for the purpose it is?  I would say probably not.  You know, I’m not one who wants to do away with the FCAT.”

Last school year’s FCAT exams were made available to the public Tuesday to help students study for the exams. 

The federal government has told Governor Charlie Crist that he and the Seminole Tribe have until November 15th to negotiate a gambling compact.  If that deadline passes without an agreement, the U.S. Department of the Interior says it will take steps to allow Las Vegas style slot machines at Indian casinos.  The state would get no money if the feds step in.  Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum says he’s prepared to sue if that happens.

 “Because Indian gaming laws say that the governor of a state has a strict responsibility to negotiate compacts with Indians,” McCollum said.  “It doesn’t say that the Department of Interior has that responsibility.  It says if there is a situation like we have here in Florida, it’s up to the governor of the state to negotiate that compact.”

The lawyer representing the tribe says the major points of a compact have already been worked out.  In addition to slots, tt would grant the Seminoles limited table games, but not roulette or craps.

The California fires that destroyed thousands of homes may end up providing some lower cost insurance against hurricanes for Florida homeowners. The fires have spurred new interest in the creation of a national fund to help cover losses from catastrophic events. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the idea of a national cat fund has been on Florida’s front burner for some time.

Hear it here: National Cat Fund Gaining Momentum

The Florida Catastrophic Fund was created to keep private insurers writing coverage in Florida. It was created after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and provides low cost back up wind insurance when there are big losses from a storm.

Insurers see movement toward a national fund in Washington, and for the first time concede there may be a need for a limited Federal role.

“If you’re going to put the federal government into this arena, you also need to make sure that the states are acting responsibly, that the states are not repressing rates,”  William Stander with Property and Casualty Insurance Association said.

Losses to Florida’s Cat fund from the busy 2004-2005 storm season are still being passed on to people who are buy insurance today through assessments on their renewals.

In an attempt to keep private insurers writing here, the state has assumed a whopping 28 billion dollars in risks. State CFO Alex Sink thinks that’s is too high. She is in London meeting with Lloyds, looking for alternatives.

A national fund to share the risk would minimize the costs to Florida homeowners in the event of a big storm season.

“We haven’t been able to spread the risk sufficiently enough in order for companies to be able to lower those rates,” Rep. Curtis Richardson said. “And if we can do that nationally, I think it would benefit all of us.”

But Richardson believes the insurance industry has been blocking real reform. He says it’s time for them to come up with solutions, not higher costs.

Several Presidential candidates have been supportive of a national fund to share large risks, or as an alternative, a consortium of states who would voluntarily promise to cover losses.

Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice interview on Florida and the death penalty.

Cheif Justice Fred Lewis Interview

Seven of the ten cases on the state Supreme Courts Oral Argument calendar this week deal with the death penalty. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, despite years of trying, there seems is no way to hurry an execution.

Hear it Here: Death Delays

There are 386 people on Florida’s Death Row. It is a number that changes little.

One estimate is that the Florida Supreme Court spends half it’s time on death cases, 70 percent this month on oral arguments. Many sentences are thrown out after lawyers argue correctly that inmates didn’t have a lawyer at trial who knew what they were doing. Attorney Harry Brody made the argument Tuesday morning. “The case just hasn’t been investigated and prepared below.” Brody told Justices.

In a rare interview, Chief Justice Fred Lewis says death cases are different and time consuming.
“But certainly, you can sense from working on them, that each of the death cases involves more issues than they typical Supreme Court case would contain.” Lewis says.

Make no mistake about it, there are few, if any, good guys whose cases get before this court. No one disputes that description of Gary Ray Bowles, yet his case has been through the Supreme Court twice.
Justice Charlie Wells noted “This man had been involved in six murders.”

The ACLU says attempts to speed up death cases don’t work because each change brings new challenges and delays that aren’t present in non death cases. But Larry Spalding says lawmakers are starting to show interest in examining other alternatives “The courts and legislatures are finding very, very troubling the number of people on death row who have been found to be innocent as a result of the DNA process.”

And with each release, the courts become more careful about allowing an execution, knowing if they are wrong, there is no second chance. Florida does have an execution scheduled for child rapist and killer Mark Schwab on November 15th, but most legal experts expect it to be stopped by the U-S Supreme Court.

Voters in Sarasota County went to the polls today for a contest municiple election, and  several county wide ballot initiatives. It is the first time the county has used new optical scan equipment ordered by state lawmakers after touch screens in the county din not record up to 18 thousand votes in the 2006 Congressional election.  State elections chief Kurt Browning told reporters today that all was going well.

“I hope that the voters are more confident than they were before, not that there was anything to be less confident about. We believe that by having a ballot on a piece of paper that it will provide a greater level of confidence to our voters in Florida.”

Ironically, the legislation that ordered optical scan machines instead of touch screens was House Bill 537, the same number of votes that gave George Bush the Presidency.

Opposition to the January referendum on property taxes is growing, but one non fan, House Speaker Marco Rubio, says he would not advise people to vote against the measure.  Rubio told reporters he would have liked bigger cuts.

“It’s kinda what we expected. It’s a small solution to a big problem. There’s no reason, I mean I don’t advocate people vote against it. I’ve made it a practice not to vote against property tax cuts in general. I don’t think anyone should vote against it. But I think everyone recognizes that there is a lot more to do. I think there’s a general recognition that we missed an opportunity to come up with a big solution to a big problem and some level of frustration at the inability of the political process to arrive at big solutions to big problems.

Lawmakers are now looking to the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission for the next round of tax cutting measures. Recommendations made by the Commission in May go directly to the November Ballot.

It looks like Florida voters will decide next year if they want a ban on gay marriages written into the state constitution.  The group pushing the amendment, Florida4Marriage, says it only needs 13,000 more signatures to put the issue before voters in November 2008.  But as Chris Casquejo tells us, opponents worry that domestic partner benefits could face legal challenges.

Hear it here: Gay Marriage Debate

A group called Florida4Marriage is closing in on its goal to gather more than 611,000 signatures.  It needs just 13,000 more signatures to ask voters to ban gay marriages.
Early Dawson and his new bride Janet support the petition drive.

“A man shouldn’t marry another man and a woman shouldn’t marry another woman, because it wasn’t meant for that,” Dawson said.

In 2004, 11 states adopted constitutional bans on same sex marriages.  Gay marriage is already illegal in Florida because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.  A constitutional change  prevents judges from overturning the law to allow gay marriages.

A coalition of 25 groups is fighting the amendment.  They say men and women who aren’t married could lose partner benefits. Peter Rosen, who’s been with his partner for 14 years, is raising money for the effort.

“This is just mean-spirited,” Rosen said.  “We can’t afford to lose this fight.”

60 percent of voters would have to approve the amendment for it to become law.

Massachusetts is the only state to recognize same-sex marriages.

Just over a year remains in George W. Bush’s administration, but how he
won the Presidency is being debated again this week on the streets of
Tallahassee by some pretty big names. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, Laura
Dern and Kevin Spacey are staring in a made for cable movie recounting
the 2000 election.

 Hear it here: “Recount”

The Movie “Recount” stars Kevin Spacey as the former chief of staff to vice president Al Gore. Laura Dern is cast as Florida’s wayward Secretary of State. Someone not depicted in the movie is Mac Stipanovich…he advised the inexperienced Harris hour by hour. “My goal was not to be fair, it was to follow the law,” Stipanovich said.

The saga of the 2000 election is once again playing itself out on the streets of Tallahassee. But this time, it isn’t the Presidency that’s at stake, it’s box office receipts.The made for HBO movie stars Kevin Spacey as Al Gore’s advisor and Laura Dern as Secretary of State Katherine Harris. Called “Recount” it strives to tell the behind the scenes story of how strategy was developed. Bush Lawyer Barry Richard is an advisory to the movie, but has no part.

Florida’s School Boards are on their way to court. They want to challenge a law that takes away their power to authorize and regulate charter schools. Passed in 2006 the legislation give the power to the state. Florida School Boards Executive Director Wayne Blanton says the change is wrong.

New numbers show bad news for Florida’s economy.  Consumer spending has been declining every month since last November.  It’s the first time that sales tax collections have been down 12 straight months since 1992.  But as Chris Casquejo tells us, retailers remain hopeful for the holiday season.

Hear it here: Economic Slump Bad Omen for Holiday Shopping?

Florida sales tax collections in September were off by 41 million dollars from the same time last year.  Collections have been below estimates for the last 12 months.  Despite the bleak numbers, Nashon Williams, who sells TVs and appliances, is optimistic about the weeks ahead.

“It’s time for Christmas, it’s time for the holidays and a lot of people want things for their home,” Williams said.  “It is down for the year, but we do believe we will do well.”

The holiday season is still weeks away.  But many stores already have deals that they wouldn’t normally offer until after Thanksgiving.

Stores are counting on customers like Tia Vaughn, who’s not planning to pinch pennies this year compared with last.

“Probably more because I have a child,” Vaughn said.  “The older she gets, the more expensive she gets.

But the big picture for the state isn’t so bright.  The Florida Retail Federation projects holiday retail sales will grow by only 3 percent.  Rick McAllister, the president of the Retail Federation, believes customers buying for themselves are key.

“When we’re out shopping, there’s an item that we want, that we’d like to have,” he said.  “And so we buy it, too.  Will they do that this year?  I don’t know.  That’s going to be the question.”

Slow sales have already resulted in the state cutting its budget once.  And more cuts may be on the horizon.

Some economists predict Florida’s economic slowdown could last through the fall and early next year.
 

Governor Charlie Crist and the governors of Alabama and Georgia have agreed to meet again in December in Tallahassee.  They hope to settle a 17-year-old water battle.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it would recommend cutting the water flowing into the Apalachicola River by 16 percent, holding more back to provide drinking water for Atlanta.  Mark Ferrulo of Environment Florida worries about the impact on the Apalachicola River and Apalachicola Bay.

“The Apalachicola River is one of the most biologically diverse and important water bodies in the entire country,” Ferrulo said.  “And it supports a $134 million a year seafood industry in Apalachicola Bay.  And this eco-system is already stressed because of lowered water flows.  This is definitely going to make things worse.”

90 percent of the fresh oysters that come from Florida are found in the bay.