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A plan to release 5,000 Prisoners to help make up for a projected 2.6 billion dollar budget shortfall is being discussed by lawmakers. The plan arose after the Florida Department of Corrections was asked to draft a budget with 10 percent fewer dollars. As Whitney Ray tells us, the likelihood of prisoners being released is low, but finding money to keep them locked up could lead to more layoffs.

Tonight in Florida 100-thousand people will go to sleep in a state prison cell. But a 2.6 billion dollar budget shortfall could mean a get-out-of-jail-free card for 5,000 inmates. The proposal comes as Florida’s Department of Corrections looks for ways to cut 224 million dollars from its budget.

“This is just a budget exercise. Every state agency is required to do one for this year, so that’s what we did, but we don’t anticipate having to do this. We are pretty hopeful we can work with lawmakers,” said Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for DOC.

The suggestions DOC offered up include cuts to drug abuse programs, education programs, and closing offices.

The state could save 11 million dollars by closing three prisons, but the move could mean layoffs for correctional officers.

For the past three years, The Florida Police Benevolent Association has been fighting cuts that have put thousands of jobs at risk. PBA Executive Director David Murrell says law enforcement can’t stand any more reductions

“We are cut to the bone now and it is too the point were we just can’t do anymore. I don’t think the citizens will stand for it,” said Murrell.

But with Florida entering an election year and the governor fighting for votes, releasing prisoners and laying off correctional officers who’ve endorsed him isn’t likely.

The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is asking parents to double check their child’s safety seat.

Four out of every five seats are installed incorrectly, increasing the likely hood of injury of even death in a traffic accident. Marianne Trussell, Florida Department of Transportation’s Chief Safety Officer, says most parents don’t know the safety rules.

“We also see anywhere from the straps improperly installed. Sometimes people have them forward facing. They should be rear facing at least till 20 pounds and a year. Sometimes we see babies forward facing way too young,” said Trussell.

Today American Express donated 10-thousand dollars to the Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Board. The money will be used to buy 200 child safety seats for families. Last year the Florida DMV used donations money to buy more than 5-thousand car seats.

Home sales are up in Florida by 33 percent over a year ago while foreclosure filings have fallen for the first time since July of 2006. As Whitney Ray tells us, the good news comes amid warnings that Florida is on the path to financial destruction.

Floridians are buying new houses at a pace of 3,600 a month, cashing in on an 8,000 dollar tax credit and falling prices. Sales rose 33 percent in the third quarter of this year. Prices fell 22 percent.

“We are seeing the beginnings of a turnaround here in Florida. The real estate market has been increasing sales month over month for the last 18 months,” said Trey Price with the Florida Association of Realtors.

Low mortgage rates, the extension of the first time homebuyer credit, and a new credit for people trading up to a more expensive home could keep the market afloat though the holiday season. It’s also keeping state government above water.

The uptick in home sales is having a positive impact on the state’s bank account. Last month home sales brought the state 11 million dollars more than expected.

For the fourth straight month Florida’s revenue collections exceeded expectations. But the good new comes amid gloomy financial predictions. The Pew Research Center says Florida is on the path to financial destruction. Florida TaxWatch says the report is a warning not fate.

“When the recession hit, it hit us first, it hit us harder, it’s going to last longer here in Florida as a result, so these tiny upticks that you see are tiny bubbles of uptick in the bottom of the bath tub where we still are. We’ve got quite a ways to go,” said Harvey Bennett with Florida TaxWatch.

But the journey from the bottom gets easier with each home sold and every family willing to open their wallets to furnish those homes. The Florida Association of Realtors says every home sale has a 60,000 dollar impact on the state’s economy.

Drugs and alcohol claim the lives of nearly 11 thousand Floridians every year.

The deaths result from overdoses, car wrecks, and violent acts committed by the drug abusers. The addicts are costing state, city and county governments an estimate 43 billion dollars a year in emergency room visits, crime scene investigations, and prison costs. Florida TaxWatch spokesman Harvey Bennett says drugs and alcohol also keep people from paying taxes and using their skills for the greater good.

“There is more than the hard cost of emergency room visits, traffic accidents, and other health related costs. There is a human cost in the loss of individuals in the work place, being productive citizens, contributing to the economy of Florida,” said Bennett.

The Florida Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corporation and the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association are calling on state lawmakers to find funding for preventative programs. Studies show every dollar spent on prevention programs saves taxpayers an estimated nine dollars over time.

Fifty billion dollars. That’s the estimated cost of cleaning up Florida’s lakes, rivers, and canals.

The Environmental Protection Agency is asking Florida to reduce the amount of nutrient pollution in the state’s waterways and could enforce new regulations as early as next year. Several business groups are joining two former DEP secretaries to fight the EPA. Paul Steinbrecher, a spokesman with the Florida Water Environment Association says the new standard will require millions of dollars of upgrades to water treatment plants.

“The average combined water and sewer is 56 dollars per month. With this regulation and those billions of dollars of upgrades I just told you about it would by 62 dollars per month. So that is more than double,” said Steinbrecher.

The EPA has yet to reveal details of the new standards which raises questions about the opposition group’s math.

A former US Post Office employee is taking his claims of discrimination, intimidation, and physical abuse to the country’s highest court.

Kenneth Wills says from 1995 though 2005 some of his coworkers at the Tallahassee Post Office physically and verbally abused him and even threatened to take his life. Wills was fired from the Postal Service. After being fired, he says the intimidation continues as postal employees frequently go through his mail. Wills is asking the US Supreme Court to hear his case.

“It was some of the harassment, retaliation, the death threats, physical assault, and just a host of things that happened that I just didn’t want to stay silent on,” said Wills.

Wills is able to appeal his case under the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act signed into law by President Obama earlier this year. The act extends the deadline for people to bring suits against former employers who may have violated their civil rights.

The execution of the D.C. sniper John Muhammad in Virginia has raised questions about Florida’s death penalty. An analysis of Florida death row inmates shows 86 percent of them committed their crime before Muhammad, but are no where near an execution. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, Florida’s death penalty is a victim of its own popularity.

Florida has 17 inmates who were sentenced to death more than 30 years ago. The longest surviving is Gary Alvord, who was convicted in Tampa in 1974 for strangling three women.

Yet John Muhammad spent just 5 and a half years on Virginia’s death row, where the average stay is 7.1 years. Here in Florida it’s five years longer. The delay frustrates prosecutors.

“I think we all want it but I think most folks involved in it just don’t have the stomach for doing what needs to be done,” States Attorney Willie Meggs said.

With almost 400 complex death cases, the reality is Florida courts are just overwhelmed. Especially compared to Virginia, where they have just 15 death row inmates.

A recent California study found that housing on death row costs about three times as much as other prison space.  Using the California number of 138 thousand per year, Florida is spending 53 million just to house death row inmates, and likely that much again to fight their appeals. Advocates say the numbers don’t make sense.

“Florida is in serious financial trouble and you’ve got to start looking at places like capital punishment where you can save some serious dollars,” attorney Larry Spalding said.

More than four dozen Florida death row inmates are over the age of 60, and it’s becoming increasingly likely that most of them will die from natural causes rather than execution.

Of the 387 people on Florida’s death row, 343 of them committed their crimes before John Muhammad was arrested in October 2002.

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Federal regulators are raising questions over what the state promised local governments who used the state to invest taxpayers money.  The Securities and Exchange Commission has been looking at state practices for more than a year. And as Mike Vasilinda tells us, at least one state official says more investment advice is needed.

This sprawling New York City apartment complex and this county courthouse have one thing in common. Both point to failures by the State Board of Administration. The state pension fund invested 250 million in the complex in 2006, but now values the investment at zero.

Also in 2007 the state pool that helped local governments invest tax revenues got caught in shaky investments. The Federal government has been investigating for more than year.

The two incidents have Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink calling for more oversight.

“It should be more than just three elected officials who have no qualifications,” Sink said. “So I have a proposal to expand the board to include people who have financial and investment experience.”

What Securities investigators want to know is if local governments were told their investments were safe, within days of being frozen.

So far, local governments have gotten back 75 cents on the dollar. The new investment manager says it will be some time before everything is returned.

“Looking at the maturities of those securities, our conservative view is that in a period of five to seven years, we should be able to pay back most of the remainder,” State Board of Administration Executive Director Ash Williams said.

The federal government isn’t answering questions about its investigation.

The Governor and Attorney General, who share Pension fund oversight with the CFO, have tabled a plan to expand members of their board until the December meeting.

Thousands of brave men and women who served our country are now living on the streets. Mental health problems and drug addictions keep many veterans from holding down jobs. As Whitney Ray tells us, efforts are underway to find housing for down and out soldiers.

He spends his days at busy intersections, asking drivers for a hand out. At night he sleeps in the woods. He asked to be called Ralph. He served in the Navy during Vietnam and came home to contemp.

“I had them spit on me because I was in uniform. Now they are the ones making the big money now days and I ain’t making, you can see what I’m doing,” said Ralph.

In 1970, Ralph hung up his navy blue uniform and picked up a bottle. Drinking cost him his job, his family, and his dignity.

Unfortunately Ralph’s story is all too common among those who’ve served our country. One out of every five homeless people is a veteran.

The Volunteers of America, which has services for homeless vets in seven Florida cities, bought this Tallahassee apartment complex and next week its doors will open to homeless veterans. The Tallahassee American Legion helped furnish the 52 units. Commander Val Frailey says there aren’t enough spots.

“There are about 10 times that many who would like to be in there,” said Frailey.

And for many of those down and out soldiers, like Ralph, Veterans Day is…

“Just another day. Just Another day in the neighborhood,” Ralph said.

A day that serves as a reminder that the country has too often turned its back on those that have served. For more information on how you can help homeless veterans or if you know a homeless veteran who needs help go to www.voa.org

Tropical Depression Ida made landfall in Alabama this morning, but it’s shedding light on the fact Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance doesn’t collect enough money to pay claims. If the state-run insurer goes belly up, all Floridians would have to foot the bill. As Whitney Ray tells us, next year Citizens policyholders will begin paying more; the only question left is how much more.

As rain from Tropical Depression Ida pelted the state capitol Tuesday, inside state regulators debated how much to raise Citizen’s Property Insurance rates.

Citizen’s insures one million properties private companies deem too risky. In October the Office of Insurance Regulation approved a statewide average increase of 5.4 percent for 700-thousand of those policyholders. The remaining accounts, mostly coastal properties, mobile homes, and rentals, could go up ten percent.

But even if the max increase is approved the right storm in the wrong place could bankrupt the insurer. Lawmakers have limited hikes to ten percent a year for the next five years in order to better prepare Citizens to handle claims; OIR will have has the final say all increases.

“We just want to make sure that the rates are accurate and that people are paying what they should be paying,” said Belinda Miller, Deputy OIR Commissioner.

Not all Citizens customers will be paying more in January. Many inland home owners will pay less. Some argue homes built to with stand hurricane force winds should also see a discount.

“Why would anyone want to build a wind resistant structure if not to lower their risk of damage? A lower risk should translate into a lower premium rate,” said Colleen Repetto with Fair Property Taxes in Monroe.

But as the debate went on, outside the capitol the weather worsened forecasting darker days ahead for most policyholders who will be paying more. OIR has until Friday to make a ruling on a rate increase for the riskiest policies. The 5.4 percent statewide increase approved in October varies from county to county and home to home.

The state is scaling back efforts at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, as Ida dissipates in the Panhandle.

Ida has been downgraded to a tropical depression after making landfall at 6:40 this morning in Alabama. The storm is expected to move east across the panhandle over the next 48 hours. Mike Stone, a spokesman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, says Floridians need to keep an eye out for flooding.

“Be very careful out there. Please avoid flooded roadways; remember to turn around don’t drown if you are faced with a flooded roadway. Knowing that some of the schools be out for the Veteran’s holiday asking kids not to play in any open flood waters. Again common sense safety tips will get everybody through this,” said Stone.

Water from rainfall north of Florida is expected to flow into the state, increasing the risk of flooding.

Florida is in a state of emergency as Gulf coast residents brace for Tropical Storm Ida to make landfall. Emergency managers in Tallahassee are working around the clock to coordinate efforts with first responders. As Whitney Ray tells us, right now the threat is in the panhandle, but the entire state could experience high winds and tornadic activity later this week.

Florida is three weeks away from making it though the 2009 hurricane season without a major storm, but Sam and Mary Rogers know that streak could end Tuesday as Tropical Storm Ida threatens the Panhandle.

“I’ve said all along, “don’t say it until after Thanksgiving. Do say we’ve escaped,” but I hope we have,” said Mary Rogers as she removed the perishables from her refrigerator.

Sam spent Monday morning moving patio furniture up stairs, as winds from Ida force water closer to his beach house.

“If we have a two foot tide coming in here at high tide we’ll have water under our house,” said Sam Rogers.

Governor Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency sending the Emergency Operations Center into full activation mode.

“A storm doesn’t have to be a hurricane to be life-threatening. I urge all Floridians as a result to be vigilant, to be careful and make sure that even in the aftermath of the storm to be cautious,” said Crist.

As Ida makes her way through the gulf many coastal communities are closing schools and opening emergency shelters. The Roger’s are lucky. This Franklin County get away is their second home. They’ll weather the storm inland, and hope their luck doesn’t run out.

Tropical Storm Ida could hang around for a few days before dissipating. Emergency worker are asking swimmers and boater to keep an eye out for rip currents that will accompanying this storm and to stay out the water. There is also a high risk of spinoff tornados over the next couple of days.

There’s good news tonight for the state’s jobless. The President signed legislation to keep unemployment checks flowing to people at risk of running out or who have already exhausted their benefits. Whitney Ray tells us what eligible jobseekers need to know to make sure they’re ready to claim the extra cash.

More than a million Floridians are looking for work and struggling to make ends meet. Every day, thousands dial the state’s unemployment call center looking for money at the end of the line.

“A lot of them are folks who have been unemployed for upwards of two years, so they’re just trying to see if there’s anything else available,” said Rori Dunbar and Employment Security Representative with the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

62,000 Floridians have already exhausted their benefits, but now there is good news for some of those folks who many have already spent their last dollar.

President Barack Obama signed legislation extending unemployment pay by 20 weeks. The extension is for people who have already run out of benefits or are close to running out, although not everyone in those groups will qualify.

“For those who we can identify that will potentially qualify, we will be sending them letters in the mail,” said AWI Spokesman Robby Cunningham.

The letters will be sent in mid-November. For eligible candidates already receiving benefits, the extension will be seamless. Jobseekers whose benefits have already run out will have to jump through more hoops.

“They’ll need all their personal information, their social security card, social security number, all the information about their past employers, the names and addresses and the dates they worked for certain employers,” said Cunningham.

An estimated 250,000 Floridians will qualify for the extension. The money should begin flowing by mid-December.

The call center will be open Saturday and Sunday to take questions. The hotline number is 800-204-2418. Jobseekers are being asked to visit the Agency for Workforce Innovation’s webpage before calling to see if the answer to their question is posted online. The web address is www.floridajobs.org/unemployment/hottopics.html.

The fight is on to block an FDA ban on the sale of raw oysters during the warm months of the year. The Food and Drug Administration approved a ban, scheduled to go into effect in the spring of 2011 because of a bacteria found more commonly in oysters harvested in the summer. The bacteria can kill people with immune deficiency disorders. Congressional legislation aimed at blocking the FDA’s ban was introduced in Washington this week. Southeastern Fisheries Association Spokesman Bob Jones says the economic impact of the ban would be felt across the state.

“The impact of that would be felt all the away up the chain to people that depend on harvesting, depend on processing, depend on selling, and depend on serving them in their restaurants. It’s not just a small group of harvesters who would be hurt. It would hurt the whole economy,” Jones said.

Ten percent of the country’s oysters are harvested in Florida, from the state’s Apalachicola Bay.

Residents of the rural Florida Panhandle city of Chipley are breathing a sigh of relief tonight. A seven month-old girl, missing since Saturday, was found unharmed early this morning. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, both the mother and an aunt face multiple charges.

Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock was beaming with joy at 1 a.m. Thursday morning, as he held seven-month-old Shannon Dedrick.

The baby was found here, in her aunt’s trailer, hidden under the bed, in a 2 foot by 3 foot cedar box.

“She was in the box for almost 12 hours,” Haddock said. “In the closed box.”

The mother, Chrystina Mercer, and the baby’s aunt, Susan Baker, each face a bevy of charges for endangering a child and making false reports.

It was at this group of mailboxes, at 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning, that the mother and the aunt conspired to hid the child.

Police are still searching for a motive.

“We do not have one,” Haddock said. “We do not know. She will not tell us.”

Authorities aren’t releasing the 911 call made by the mother. But neighbor Tonya Wilt, who helped make that emergency call, was suspicious from the start.

“She just said she woke up and her baby was missing, then she proceeded to make daddy a cup of coffee and roll his cigarettes,” Wilt said.

Shannon’s grandmother is overjoyed but still supports her daughter.

“We just never gave up hope for the child and our role in this now is in the best interest of the child,” grandmother Candis Boyer said. “We love my daughter Tina deeply and we’re behind her.”

The search consumed more than 3,700 man hours but rescue workers from four counties got what they said was statistically unlikely, a happy ending.

The child is doing well in the local hospital and will be turned over to the Department of Children and Families who will determine where she’ll live next.