Welcome to

Nurses say they’re breaking their backs caring for Florida’s sick. About a hundred nurses gathered at the Capitol today, to support the Safe Lifting Act. Representative Ronald Brise helped demonstrate a lifting chair that allows nurses to easily move patients. The Safe Lifting Act would require hospitals to us machines like the lifting chair of come up with other plans to help nurses move patients. SEIU Health Care President Martha Baker said some nurses don’t have any other options, but to move patients by themselves.

“In the ICU I work in we have to turn them every two hours. If I don’t have help I’m going to do it because I want the patient to be turned and to not get bed sores. And we’ll turn a two or 300 pound person, that’s not a dead lift, but that’s lifting way more than 50 pounds,” said Baker.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nurses suffer more back injuries than people in any other profession.

Despite the state’s rising crime rate, the Department of Justice could be forced to eliminate thousands of jobs under proposed budget cuts. About 1,800 prison guards could be let go, but probation officers may suffer the biggest blow. The state employs less than 3,000 probation officers. Three hundred positions would be cut under one budget plan. Correctional Probation Officers Chapter President Richard Gordon said if the cuts happen the state wouldn’t be able to keep track of everyone on probation.

“The cases that were supervised by those officers would have to go to other officers and when you do that you’re going to impact public safety because that officer is going to have his case load bloated were he’s not going to be able to affectively supervise them,” said Gordon.

Adding to the work load for probation officers, a plan to release hundreds of prisoners if funding isn’t available to keep them behind bars.

A St. Petersburg man is just a signature away from collecting more than a million dollars. Alan Crotzer spent 24 years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit. In 2006, DNA evidence proved his innocence. A Bill that would award Crotzer 1.25 million dollars passed through both chambers and is awaiting the Governor’s signature. Another bill to set guidelines for compensating people who’ve served time for crimes they didn’t commit is facing opposition in the Senate. Governor Charlie Crist supports both bills.

“I think it is important to have a plan across the board that provides for people who have been wrongfully, convicted wrongfully incarcerated. I can’t imagine the gross injustice of somebody who served 25 years for something they didn’t even do. We have to provide for those people,” said Crist.

Crist is expected to sign the Crotzer Compensation bill later this week.

Investigators for Florida’s Attorney General spent 5 hours on line this morning and chatted with at least 20 people who crossed the line and could soon be arrested. But as Mike Vasilinda tells us, budget cuts may keep some perpetrators on the street and behind their keyboards.

Hear it here: Cyber Crime Fight in Jeopardy

Captain Cla Parker is a retired police officer. But online, he is a 14 year old Florida Girl.
And for an hour and a half, he chatted with a much older man.

“He takes me through a masturbation section, where he has me masturbate myself for his pleasure, and says we can do this on a regular basis if I’ll be his friend,” Parker said.

At lunch 338 other people were logged on to the same chat room. A click and a few key pecks away was another suitor, this time a woman.

“‘Burnout’ is the screenname.” Parker said. “She actually wanted me to get a candle and light it and touch it to various parts of my body.”

Every new chatter was told they were speaking to a 14 year old girl. Some danced around the obvious. Others jumped in with both feet, and what they wrote was too racy to show you here. Supervisor Maureen Horkan says it is almost too easy.

“It’s like shooting fish in a barrel,” Horkan said. “Like I said today, we could have issued twenty search warrants, just today.”

One reason for the demonstration, the program is facing budget cuts.

New offices in Tampa and Pensacola may not open and, offices in Ft. Myers and Tallahassee have already been scuttled.

Horkan says the cuts put kids at risk.

“Every single time one of these guys is put in jail, scores of children are saved from their abuse,” Horkan said. “It wasn’t a one-time thing.”

While legislators say the program is worthy, they also say they can’t spend money they don’t have.

One of the state’s most dangers jobs could get even more dangerous. Lawmakers want the state’s prison system to operate with about two thousand fewer correctional officers. As Whitney Ray tells us, correctional officers fear they’ll have to guard the state’s baddest inmates with fewer good guys.

Hear it here: Budget Cuts Could Make Dangerous Job Worse

James Baiardi has spent 22 years of his life keeping an eye on Florida’s most violent criminals. During his time as a correctional officer Baiardi has been bitten, had his tooth knocked out. He was even stabbed with a pencil.

“Over the years I’ve seen some violent acts. I’ve actually seen one inmate kill another inmate,” said Baiardi.

On the day of the killing in 1990, Baiardi had to take down the killer who was still armed with a shank.

“I had to disarm him from the weapon, I actually stuck the weapon down and secure the weapon,” Baiardi said

Stories like Baiardi’s could soon become more common as lawmakers follow through with plans to cut 1,800 correctional officers. The Senate’s latest plan would eliminate money to build new prisons. The Department of Corrections says with less money it wouldn’t be able to keep the prisons it has open.

“If we are forced to make significant budget cuts to our prison system, like eliminating the 1,800 correctional officers, more than likely what we would like to do is close down a prison,” said Gretl Plessinger a spokesperson with the Department of Corrections.

Which means some prisoners would be free. Under the cuts about six hundred probation officers would also lose their jobs.

Mothers who lost loved ones in drunk driving accidents want laws changed. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, also known as MADD, gathered at the Capitol Monday to persuade lawmakers to crack down on drunk drivers. One bill MADD supports would require some first time DUI offenders to have a device put in their cars that would keep them from starting the engine if they’d been drinking. The device is commonly referred to as a ‘Blow and Go.’ Anna Redgate lost her daughter to a habitual drunk driver. She said if the laws were different at the time of the accident, there wouldn’t have been an accident.

“Statistics show that giving people education and penalties is not the only thing. You really need to utilize technology because freewill is freewill,” said Redgate.

Reports show one in every nine drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes had a prior DUI and about a third of all drivers arrested for DUI are repeat offenders.

Just hours after a court decided to uphold a suspension against Allstate, the insurer released coveted company documents. Friday the First District Court of Appeals in Tallahassee upheld the state’s right to suspend the insurer from writing new policies until it turns over documents the state wants to see. Since then Allstate posted some of the documents on its website. The State Office of Insurance Regulation wonders why it took so much litigation to make Allstate turn them over.

“What they went through to protect those documents from us and from others, even court in Missouri where they have accrued up to 4 million dollars in fines and penalties and contempt, and not until their license was suspended in Florida, have they decided to issue those documents,” said Ed Domansky a spokesperson for the Office of Insurance Regulation.

Allstate has fifteen days to file an appeal to the courts decision.

Doctors, nurses, and activists were in Tallahassee today to draw attention to the health problems facing minorities. Minorities are less likely to have insurance, due to poverty. They’re also less likely to receive preventative care. The Secretary of the Florida Health Department Ana Viamonte-Ros says many health problems facing low income minorities face can be prevented with good oral hygiene.

“Minority populations are less likely to have access to the oral care that prevents and protects tooth decay, periodontal disease, gingivitis, oral cancer and others,” Viamonte-Ros said.

April is National Minority Health Month. This year’s focus is oral health.

Allstate insurance may soon find itself unable to write new policies in Florida. The First District Court of Appeals in Tallahassee Friday upheld the states right to suspend the insurer from writing new policies until it turns over documents the state wants to see. But as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the company may get a second chance.

Hear it here: State Battle With Allstate Continues

The ruling leaves Allstate still in business and able to sell new policies, for now. The First District Court of Appeals did uphold the states right to cancel Allstate’s certificate to sell new business, but it is giving the company 15 days to ask for another opinion. Until that second opinion is issued it will be business as usual. Still, the State said the ruling sends a message.

“I think it’s important for people to know that this is not about a rate hearing. This is about corporate behavior and corporate activity and how and were they involved and did this company collude with associations,” said Kevin McCarty, The State Insurance Commissioner.

In its opinion the court sited the January hearing in which witnesses were uncooperative. The court noted that witnesses answered some questions in part, but were unable to answer probing question about the subject required by the subpoenas. The state said upholding its right to see every document not only sends a message to Allstate, but every company.

“We feel very strongly that it’s important for regulators to have free and full access to all of the records of an insurance company. That is a term and condition for doing business,” said McCarty.

Allstate said its has submitted nearly 4,000 pages to the state.

Last fall, Actor Dennis Quaid’s twins survived an overdose. It became national news. But here in Florida, another child was given ten times what he should have been given and he quietly died. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the family is now trying to turn the tragedy into something
positive.

Hear it here: Infant Dies At Hospital, Parents Hope Son’s Death Helps Others

By all accounts, Sebastian Ferrero was a happy, healthy three year-old. His only problem, not growing fast enough. So his parents took him to Shands.

“It was supposed to be, you know, a simple four hour test,” said Sebastian’s mother Luisa Ferrero.

Halfway into the procedure, Sebastian showed stress. His mother questioned the doctors and the dosage.

“But she was reassured the dosage was appropriate,” said the infants father Horst Ferrero.

An emergency room visit and 48 hours later Sebastian was dead. The three year-old had been given 60 grams instead of 6 grams of a substance used
to test growth hormones. Now the family wants to turn their grief into action. They have offered to match up to a million dollars toward the construction of a children’s hospital. They are also on a campaign to make sure parents’ voices are heard.

“A child can not say ‘can you check to dose to see if it is correct.’ So
if a parent is asking those questions, they must be heard,” said Horst.

“We don’t want another family to go through we are going through and
what Sebastian went through,” said Luisa.

Medical errors kill an estimated 98,000 people in the U.S. every year. Sebastian is the face of one of them. The family did received 850,000 dollars from the Hospital. They are using that money as well as some of their own to match private donations. You can learn more about the case on the family web site at
http://www.sebastianferrero.org/

In 2006, about 120 Floridians died in wrecks in construction zones on Florida’s roads. A traffic cone for every person who died in road work zones that year was set in front of the Capitol Friday, to recognize Work Zone Safety Week. A father and son were killed last week while working on a road in Wildwood. The boss of the two men who were killed said his crew is still pretty shaken up.

“We had more people report not to come to work since the accidents happened because they’re scared. They’re scared of dieing, being badly injured. They’re scared,” said William Bachschmidt owner of DAB Constructors.

Only six of the nearly 120 people killed in road zone accidents were road workers.

A recent poll suggests Republicans, Democrats and Independent voters want lawmakers to ignore party lines and do something about climate change. The study was released Friday in Tallahassee. The poll suggests 70 percent of Florida Voters believe humans are causing the planet to heat up. Jerry Karnes, the Florida Director of the Environmental Defense Fund, said the poll suggests Republicans are catching up with democrats on their feelings about global warming and what should be done to save the ozone.

“We believe the Republican Party is going back to its roots, which is, they are the founding fathers of Americas conservation movement. They’re getting back to their trajectory and getting back to their history,” Karnes said.

About 80 percent of voter polled said they would cast ballots for a candidate that believes that climate change is a scientific fact.

Black lawmakers joined in Tallahassee Friday to pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King on the 40th anniversary of his death. State Representatives and Senators gathered at the Martin Luther King Tree in the Capitol Courtyard to remember the civil rights leader. Representative Curtis Richardson said if it wasn’t for Dr. King, he wouldn’t be a lawmaker.

“We wouldn’t be where we are but for the life that Dr. King lived and what he sacrificed for all of us so all of us could have a set at the table of government in our great state and be a part of the decision making process and shape policies that shape all Floridians,” said Richardson.

Richardson said the state apologizing for slavery is a good start, but more needs to be done to help minorities in Florida’s criminal justice system.

A plan in front of the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission puts power to raise local taxes in the hands of the State. City and county leaders from across Florida gathered in Tallahassee today to warn against the plan. As Whitney Ray tells us opponents of the plan say it would ruin the economy.

Hear it here: County, City Leaders Say Tax Cap Plan Would Destroy Economy

Decisions on how much money to spend for local roads, emergency health care services, and even local school funding would be made in Tallahassee under a plan being floated by a powerful commission. Education leaders say state lawmakers don’t know what each individual school districts need.

“It’s a one size fits all amendment,” Wayne Blanton with the Florida School Boards Association. “You don’t have any flexibility through out the state, and Florida’s one of the most diverse state in the nation and we have to have flexibility.”

City and County Leaders agree. They joined in opposition to the newest draft of the Tax Payer Bill of Rights. The plan caps tax increases at the rate of inflation and puts the power to raise taxes in the hands of lawmakers. Proponents of a Taxpayer Bill of Rights say local Governments haven’t been responsible with taxpayer money. Some said is about power hunger lawmakers who want more control. County Commissioners say they’re not interested in a power struggle.

“I don’t care about power, what I care about is a library system, getting the potholes fixed, clearing out the ponds, and providing the services that make a community work,” said Leon County Commissioner Bob Rackleff.

A Taxpayer Bill of Rights was adopted more than a decade ago in Colorado. Voters choose to postpone the plan. Carol Hedges, a financial analyst from Denver, said if a taxpayer bill of rights is written in to Florida law business would suffer.

“We’ve seen the attractiveness of our business climate decline because we don’t have quality roads. The school system is under funded,” said Hedges.

If a Taxpayer Bill of Rights is approved by the commission, the battle over who decides tax increases would be up to voters. The Taxation and Budget Reform Commission will review the Taxpayer Bill of Rights Tomorrow in Tallahassee. If 17 of the 25 members approve the plan it will be on the November ballot.

Cranes lift thousands of pounds, hundreds of feet above city streets, but Florida doesn’t have statewide regulations for crane operators. Legislation filed in Tallahassee, would set statewide certification standards for people wanting to operate cranes. Last week a crane accident in Miami killed two people. City leaders there want to adopt an ordinance to regulate how and where cranes are used. Crane Operators say local governments setting their own rules would hurt the industry.

“The potential for different regulations would cause some problems. If I’m working Tallahassee and I move to Miami to work tomorrow I know the same standard I’d have to work under tomorrow,” said Bruce Whitten with the Florida Crane Owners Council.

Shortly after the Miami accident, Governor Charlie Crist toured the construction site. Crist says he would support statewide standards.