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Higher gas prices have people at the pump and even some US Congressman considering the option of drilling off Florida’s coast. Oil companies already drill 1-hundred 25 miles out at sea. Federal laws keep them from coming closer. One person who hasn’t changed his tune about coastal drilling is Governor Charlie Crist. Crist said Florida’s coast is the last place he wants to see drills.

“I’m opposed to it. You know the higher the price goes its certainly has to have an impact at some point in time, a lot of people talk about our country being more aggressive about notion drilling in other places. The last place I would like to see that happen is off the coast of Florida,” said Crist.

If oil was found off the coast of Florida and drilling was allowed it would take at least eight years before it could be used.

A new law will make it harder for people trying to sell stolen copper. Soon people who give false contact information to metal recyclers will face felony charges. As Whitney Ray tells us, lawmakers hope better record keeping can help stop copper thieves.

Hear it Here: Lawmakers Increase Penalties for Copper Thieves, Beer Keg Crooks

Forget going for the gold, these days copper is the hot commodity and thieves are cashing in. Copper theft is on the rise, with thieves hitting everything from construction sites to city utility buildings. Police say the risk isn’t worth the payoff.

“It’s just not worth that much it’s worth about two dollars and 50 cents a pound, but you’ve got to get a lot of copper in order to get any money out of that,” said Tallahassee Policeman David McCranie.

People bring copper by the truck load to Gator Core, a metal recycler in Tallahassee. Co-Owner Joy Davis said they keep a suspicious eye on their customers.

“If they’ve got more than 30 or 40 pounds, you’re going to ask them where it came from, and if it looks pretty new, you’re definitely going to ask them where it came from,” said Davis.

Davis also copies the seller’s driver’s license and keeps it on file. Police officers will look at the file if they suspect a thief has visited the company.

“When they get there they’ve got to provide their identification and a lot of information which enables us to trace back who sold the product and make an arrest in a lot of cases,” said McCranie.

A new law will require metal recyclers to keep a record of their customers in an electronic database. It will also increase the penalties for anyone who gives a metal recycler a fake ID or false contact information.

The law adds kegs of beer to the list of regulated metals upping the ante for anyone who gambles and tries to cash in on a stolen keg. Many metal recyclers won’t buy kegs and according to Joy Davis they also won’t buy metal from anyone who can’t tell them where it came from.

A new poll claims Floridians will vote for a measure they didn’t like in order to get a school budget requirement written into the state constitution. A proposed amendment will allow voters to decide if schools should be required to spend 65 percent of government funds in the classroom. The second part of the amendment allows the state to offer school vouchers to parents who want to send their kids to private or religious schools. The Taxation and Budget Reform Commission married the two measures and placed them on the November ballot as a single constitutional amendment. A Quinnipiac polls claims voters like the budget measure, but don’t like the voucher idea. ACLU spokesman Larry Spalding said commissioners are trying to pull a fast one on voters.

“It’s a statement I think that they don’t believe the voters of this state, if they understand the issue, will support them. Consequently they take another route,” said Spalding.

The poll claims 63 percent of likely votes would cast ballots for the amendment. Sixty percent is all that’s needed in November in order to pass the amendment.

Billboards now being used to sell sodas and dress shirts could soon carry a more important message. Florida is joining forces with the Outdoor Advertising Association in a statewide effort to use digital billboards in emergency situations. The boards will carry weather alerts, evacuation routes and shelter location in the case of a hurricane or other emergency. Florida Outdoor Advertising Association spokeswoman Amy Bogner said she knows the plan will work, because the boards are already being used to help find missing children.

“The FOAA already provides a similar service to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with the posting of Amber Alert messages. For the last several years it’s been an excellent resource to that agency and we hope it will continue to be the same for this one,” said Bogner.

In an emergency situation, a message will be posted on more than 50 billboards around the state

The primary season will end today with South Dakota and Montana voters casting their ballots. Florida may still play a key role in selecting a Democratic nominee. As Whitney Ray tells us, the state’s undeclared superdelegates may hold the power to give one candidate the push needed to pass the delegate threshold.

Here it Hear: Superdelegates to Play Huge Role as Primary Season Comes to an End

Tuesday morning, Jon Ausman and 11 other superdelegates in Florida were undeclared. Ausman was leaning toward Barack Obama and then he made his announcement.

“He is going to be our democratic nominee. That being said Hillary Rodman Clinton is the person I’m supporting,” said Ausman.

Others came out Tuesday in support for Obama. Reports claim superdelegates could put voters in a position to push Obama over the top when the polls close. Superdelegate Allan Katz is supporting the Illinois senator.

“The pledged delegates are close enough between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama, even though Senator Obama clearly had a majority, that some of the superdelegates given the number of superdelegates available are necessary for whoever the candidate is,” said Katz.

Five of the superdelegates including two with offices in the Capitol say they won’t pick a side until there’s a clear nominee. Florida Democratic party Chairwoman Karen Thurman said it would be good if voters had the final say in selecting a nominee.

“That is the one thing that continues to grow with 35 million democrats voting for one of the other. They’ve already placed a vote much more so than the Republicans have they’re ready to go back in November,” said Thurman.

If more superdelegates don’t weight in before the votes from the final two primaries are tallied, Florida’s undeclared could play a huge role in the selecting a nominee.

Florida lost its water war with Georgia and Alabama. The US Fish and Wildlife Service sided with the bordering states, claiming dams upstream on the Apalachicola River wouldn’t kill hurt four threatened species living in the bay. Environmentalists fear the dams could cause Florida to lose some of those species. There’s also concern about the oyster industry taking a blow. Florida Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Sarah Williams says the decision could hit Floridians in the pocket book.

“Reduced fresh water can impact the humidity levels, can impact the health of some of the species that live there and many of those economies depend on the shrimp, the fish, the oysters for survival, that is there lively hood and so impacts to that system to the ecosystem will turn into impacts to the local economy,” said Sarah Williams.

Ten percent of the nation’s oysters are harvested from the Apalachicola Bay.

Florida has the 2nd highest foreclosure rate in the nation. In response, as Whitney Ray tells us, lawmakers voted to provide millions to help people buy homes.

Hear it Here: Housing Help

Tamela Nelloms grew up in an apartment complex. She always dreamed of owning her own home, but didn’t know where to begin.

“You just kind of knew that lifestyle and there wasn’t anyone else going through that process so I didn’t see a path being taken,” said Tamela.

The 33 year-old single mom learned what to look for when shopping for a home with help from Florida Housing Finance Corporation. The state funded group teaches first time buyers what questions to ask lenders and real estate agents. It also provides fixed interest loans.

“The loans are based on the average income per county. In some areas a person can get a loan even if their income is 99,000 dollars a year.

Lawmakers voted to give Florida Housing an extra 20 million dollars to lend. Tamela qualified for a 10 thousand dollar loan. She won’t have to pay it back until she sells her house.

“Once I was notified that I would be able to qualify for those dollars it made the process of purchasing a home a lot easier,” said Tamela.

Florida Housing Executive Director Steve Auger says education is the key, not money.

“We make sure that folks are ready for what they’re getting into and that accounts for our foreclosure rate which is dramatically lower than the conventional markets or the sub prime market,” said Auger.

The low foreclosure rate is good news to Tamela. She’s confident she hasn’t gotten her family into a financial nightmare she can’t afford. Florida Housing helped about 5,000 families buy homes last year.

While the state budget saw severe cuts, a taxpayer watchdog group has identified more than a hundred million dollars in government spending it says is wasteful. They call the items turkeys. As Whitney Ray tells us, some say these turkeys are gobbling up a starving budget.

Parks, recycling and some health care funds have all been identified as budget turkeys. Florida TaxWatch released its annual list of budget items it claims slipped through the system. They call the items turkeys. TaxWatch President Dominic Calabro said given the tough budget year he expected to come home empty handed from his turkey hunting trip.

“I’m surprised. We were really hoping that when it was all said and done, they were just, slam it down,” said Calabro.

TaxWatch identified 133 birds totaling more than 110 million dollars. Among the turkeys, two million dollars to finish a pharmacy school on FAMU’s campus. Senator Al Lawson said the school needs the money for its accreditation.

“To put this on the turkey list is really incomprehensible because this is a great thing for the state of Florida that helps bring in Federal dollars from the National Science Foundation,” said Lawson.

Funding for Family Café, a nonprofit helping families with disabled children, is on the turkey list. Eldalee Cook’s son has cerebral palsy. Family Café helped her find help for her boy. Cook begs Governor Crist to give the Family Café turkey a pardon.

“Numbers on papers don’t show you our pain and I pray that you look at our pain and see how we’re going through this cause it hurts and cutting it back isn’t helping anyone, finding a solution will,” Cook said.

In the end it will be up the governor to decide which turkeys get the ax. Last year Governor Charlie Crist vetoed about 70 percent of the budget turkeys TaxWatch Identified.

A deadly accident in New York is drawing attention to crane operator legislation that failed in Tallahassee. This morning in New York City a crane collapsed killing two people. Investigators are still trying to figure out what happened. Florida Lawmakers said no to a bill aimed at setting statewide standards for crane operators. The legislations came after a crane accident killed two people in Miami. North Florida Associated Builders and Contractors fought hard to pass the legislation. The Association’s Chairman Gary Stout says the New York accident highlights the need for statewide regulation.

“Recently accidents have happened during the erection and dismantling of these tower frames. So if we train the operators to be safer in this process, its going to make thing better for everyone,” said Stout.

Stout says his group will fight hard to get the statewide training and regulations approved by lawmakers next year.

A showdown over Florida’s 210 democratic delegates is on the agenda Saturday in Washington as a Democratic Rules and Bylaws meeting. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, at the meeting, state democrats are expected to win back at least half of the delegates it lost when the state moved the presidential preference primary to January 29th.
When more than one point seven million democrats voted January 29th, they cast ballots not knowing if there vote would count. They may find out Saturday. The national party took away their voice because the state GOP leadership moved up the primary date against party rules. Clinton delegate Cindy Hall says she feels like she is all dressed up with no where to go.

“I think if you only sit half of, what 200 and some odd delegates, you’re really going to have some people mad,” Hall said. “I’d rather do a half vote and seat the whole delegation.”

The Democrats own rules say the party can’t take away more than half the delegates. If the rules stands, Florida Democrats could get back anywhere from 92 to 111 votes. Obama delegate Rick Minor says no matter what happens, Democrats must start thinking about November.

“Right now we have a weak economy, home foreclosures, four dollar gas,” Minor said. “I think the important part here is to not lose sight of a greater goal, which is to elect a Democratic president.”

Not only did Republicans move up the presidential vote, they also scheduled the next primary for August 26th, right in the middle of the Democrat’s Convention.

While compromise is in the air, it’s good to remember the old adage that it isn’t over till it’s over, and challenges are possible after Saturday’s vote.

Attacks and abuse on the state’s elderly are on the rise. Last year the Department of Children and Families received 49,000 reports of physical abuse and neglect. As Whitney Ray tells us, an attack cost one Florida senior her life.

Hear it Here: Elderly Abuse on the Rise

Just hours after Janice Fore celebrated her 74th birthday she was killed in a robbery at her Manatee County home. Attacks on the elderly are becoming more common in Florida.

“I think we’re easy targets,” said senior Carol Arroyo.

A weak economy has Arroyo worried about her safety

“We get to be more vulnerable. We fell that way. We look at people and think is that a safe person to be around or not,” said Arroyo.

Rising gas prices and an increase in foreclosures are the main reasons the Department of Children and Families gives for a 15 percent increase in elderly abuse cases. The Department of Children and Families is calling for more training for investigators and asking people to keep an eye on their elderly neighbors. Police officers agree.

“Know your neighbor. At least introduce yourself to them. Know who the family members are so it there’s an emergency or if you haven’t seen that elderly neighbor in a day or two you can contact the family member and at least have them come over check on them,” said Tallahassee Policeman David McCranie.

The AARP says one reason we’re seeing more attacks on the elderly is because the 85 plus population has increased by almost half.

“We’re America’s grayest state and we’re getting grayer at a rapid pace,” said Dave Bruns with Florida AARP.

The best advice officials are giving to seniors is: watch your back, and make sure someone else is watching as well

Members of the Democratic National Committee will meet this weekend to try and agree on a plan to send a Florida Delegation to the party’s national convention. Florida was penalized for moving up its primary. The DNC initially took away all of the parties delegates. Now there’s support for plans to either seat half of the 211 member delegation, or seat the entire delegation and give every member half a vote. Florida Democratic Party Spokesman Alejandro Miyar said he hopes the problem gets solved this weekend.

“We’re looking for a resolution for this saga with the Democrats that has gone on for way too long. We’re looking for some sort of resolution that’s going to allow us to move ahead and make sure we do the work necessary to win come November,” said Miyar.

Hillary Clinton won the party’s primary in Florida; she wants all the delegates counted.

The environmental community appears to be split over legislation waiting for the Governor’s signature. A bill sets up a never before tried plan to plant grasses on state lands to offset losses from development. Once sea grass is killed or uprooted it doesn’t normally grow back. Jeff Beggins President of Seagrass Recovery said the legislation is needed in order to save the state’s underwater habitats.

“We’ve lost over sixty percent of the sea grass habitat since 1950 in the state, about 82 acres a day. What we offer as a solution to restore all these propeller scares and the boat grinding holes to bring this resource back to where it needs to be it is after all the nursery of the whole sea,” said Beggins.

Jay Lyles, a policy consultant for the Florida Wildlife Federation, said the technology to restore sea grass beds hasn’t been proven.

“There’s not enough technology there to indicate that you can mitigate for sea grass beds being destroyed is so much in the infant stage. We have not experienced or seen any incident in which that’s been successful. This bill needs to be vetoed by Governor Crist,” said Lyles.

Governor Charlie Crist said he needs to take a closer look at the bill before making a decision to either sign or veto the legislation.

The sea grass bill is in the hands of the Governor. One group, Seagrass Recovery, would like to see it pass. Hear what President and CEO Jeff Beggins has to say:

Hear it Here: Sea grass Bill

More than 160 dogs and more than 700 roosters were seized last year in animal fighting stings in Florida. Some of those animals were already dead by the time investigators reached them. As Whitney Ray tells us, the state’s Attorney General wants Floridians to take an active part in stopping animal fighting.

Hear it Here: AG Ups the Ante in Animal Fighting Gambling Rings

Florida’s Attorney General joined the Human Society of the United States to support a program offering 5,000 dollars to anyone who uncovers a ring that fights animals.

“In this supposedly civilized age the idea that people get entertainment and make their money off of two animals ripping each other apart in a pit is just wrong,” said Laura Bevan with the Humane Society of the United States.

In Florida hundreds of roosters and dogs die in competition every year. Attorney General Bill McCollum said animal fighting breeds a culture of violence that doesn’t stop with feathers and fur.

“There’s a correlations between the think pattern and criminal patterns of violence with animals and violence against people,” said McCollum.

Winston is about four years old. The pit bull was used as a punching bag for animal trainers in a thirty dog fighting ring. Amy Raddar saved his life.

“I suspect some pretty bad stuff was done to Winston at the hands of humans because he’s pretty skeptical of people,” said Raddar.

One sign that a dog has been used in fights is fresh wounds on the head, chest and legs. Winston’s wounds have healed, but if you take a closer look you can see his scars.

Winston was one of the lucky ones. Still the pit bull carries scars as signs of the end he avoided and the brutality hundreds of animals face everyday. People caught fighting animals in Florida face up to 5 years in prison and a 5,000 dollar fine.