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It’s been almost a week since Olympic rider Darren Chiacchia was hospitalized. Now his family is speaking out. Chiacchia suffered life-threatening injuries after his horse landed on him at an event in Tallahassee Saturday. Chiacchie has several broken ribs and a brain injury. Despite his condition, his family remains optimistic that he’ll make a full recovery.

“He’s just that kind of kid I mean I don’t think you’re going to stop him and I think everybody’s got to think that way. You know I would never tell my brother that he’s never going to do that again because that’s his passion that’s what he’s always wanted to do his whole life so I’m confident and we’re all confident,” said Dan Chiacchia, Darren’s brother.

Chiacchia was on the U.S. equestrian Olympic team in 2004.

A federal appeals court has thrown out a lawsuit challenging the denial of delegates to Florida Democrats. The suit was filed by Tampa resident Victor DiMaio. DiMaio says the Democratic National Committee is disenfranchising voters by not counting the parties delegates. DiMaio plans to re-file his suit. National committeeman Jon Ausman said even if the suit is re-filed, the matter will have to be settled by the campaigns before the courts get to it.

“The federal lawsuits are a waste of the judge’s time as well as the citizen’s money. You have to go through the party because this is an internal party event. And you have to be willing to deal with the rules and bylaws of the committee or the convention credentials committee,“ said Ausman.

The state democratic party was also listed in the suit. A spokesperson for the Florida Democrats declined to comment about the court’s decision.

It could soon be harder for your 16 and 17 year olds to get their licenses. As Whitney Ray tells us, lawmakers want teens to pass a class before they hit the road.

Hear it here: Bill Aimed At Protecting Teens From Themselves

Sixteen, 17, and 18 year olds have the highest rate of car crashes and are involved in more fatal accidents than any other age group. New legislation approved by a house committee would make it harder for 16 and 17 year-olds to drive unless they’ve had a drivers ed course. Sponsor Kevin Ambler says the idea is to protect kids from themselves.

“The risk of teen accidents on the road are much higher from 15 to 20 years of age,” said Ambler.

Representative Kevin Ambler sponsored a bill, drafted by teens that would keep some of their classmates from driving until they turn 18. In 2006, more than a 130 underage drivers died in wrecks.

“Two thirds of those accidents could be avoided potentially by giving proper drivers education,” said Ambler.

The bill sets up a statewide drivers ed curriculum. The bill would raise the price you pay for a drivers license to help fund Driver’s education. Young drivers say it’s a small price to pay to save a life.

“There’s a lot of teens that don’t need to be driving,” said Philip Olcese.

T.J. Mouse is a 17 year-old who helped write the legislation.

“Well they may not like it but when it comes down to it, it’s better from them, It’s better from everyone if Florida, so they can just deal with it I guess,” said Mouse.

Teens under 18 could still drive, but could not carry more than one passenger.

Lawmakers gathered at the old capitol Thursday in Tallahassee, to rally support for a bill to ban hanging nooses in public. For many the noose is a reminder of the murders of hundreds of African Americans in the early and mid 1900s. Recently at a south Florida school, a group of teens hung a noose from a lunch table umbrella. Fourteen year-old Moreni Akinde saw the display and was shocked.

“At first I was mad. Then I was just disappointed they would actually, put it off as a joke, and then I was inspired that they should be educated, because this hate crime is derivative of ignorance,” said Akinde.

The proposed bill would also ban the public display of the swastika.

Lawmakers will have to decide how much a year of life is worth. A proposed bill would pay a man who spent 24 years in a Florida prison for a crime he didn’t committee. Al Crotzer met with Governor Charlie Crist Thursday in Tallahassee, to rally support for a bill that would pay Crotzer more than a million dollars for time served. Crotzer told a group of reporters he wants to give back to the community. But reporters weren’t the only ones asking questions.

“I want to set thing up where I would be able to deal with at risk youth, and trying to ask for a job on the side with criminal justice, with the juvenile justice system,” Crotzer said.

“What would you tell those at risk youth?” asked Crist.

“Make the best of the situation that you can, every chance that you get,” Crotzer responded.

Crist told reporters he thinks the bill will pass.

The Florida Supreme Court has ordered prison inmate Julio Mora to stop filing complaints with the court. His rants contain racy langauge not usually found in a Supreme Court opinion. You can read the opinion here: sc06-267.pdf

Senate Democrats in Tallahassee have a new plan to have their delegates counted at the national convention. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the authors of this plan are calling on the two candidates to agree on something

The latest plan awards half the democratic delegates based on the January 29th vote turned out. Score one for Clinton. The other 105 delegates would be split between Clinton and Obama based on the national vote as of June. Co-author Jeremy Ring says the plan offers hope.

“We do believe strongly that the January 29th vote has to count for something,” Ring said.

Not all Florida Democrats are embracing the plan. It is open to change. But State Senator Steve Geller says the two candidates have to agree to something.

“Show everybody else your leadership, the leadership we know that each of these two fine candidates have and step up to the plate and do what the DNC has been unable to do and resolve this issue,” Geller said.

Based on where the race is today, the plan will produce a net gain for the Clinton campaign of about 18 delegates.

Speaking to The Capital Tiger Bay Club, Governor Charlie Crist called the dilemma disappointing. He has been calling for all of the delegates of both parties to be seated. Afterwards he called the latest plan something that could work.

“You know, we have to count the votes of the people and that’s awfully important,” Crist said. “At least half is better than none.”

In addition to losing Florida, democrats worry they will lose seats in the state legislature and congress if they don’t get the delegate dilemma behind them soon

In November Floridians will have the chance to trade property taxes for a one cent increase in the sales tax. Early estimates predict the swap would create a budget short fall of more than 4 billion dollars. As Whitney Ray tells us, lawmakers would have to try and make up the difference and nothing is off limits.

Hear it here: Tax Trade Doesn’t Add Up

Property taxes dedicated to school funding raise almost 8 billion dollars a year. A penny increase in the sales tax raises less than half that much. If a proposed swap is approved by voters, lawmakers will have to make up the difference. House Speaker Marco Rubio said eliminating sales tax exemptions won’t do it.

“If there’s something that’s ridiculous that’s on there we should look at it and talk about it. I just don’t think we should be obsessed with constantly looking for revenue sources, when in fact we have a structural spending problem in government and many of the sources they out line really wouldn’t generate enough money,” said Rubio.

Rubio says a stimulated economy will make up part of the difference. Because of term limits Marco Rubio won’t be the Speaker of the House when the proposed amendment would go into effect. The next Speaker, Ray Sansom, will inherit any deficit left by the tax swap plan. He declined to talk about the budget, but Representative Susan Bucher had plenty to say and believes sales tax exemptions, like those on bottled eater and dry cleaning would have to go.

“They shouldn’t be off limits. Some of the tax exemptions have been there for years and years and we need to continually go out and measure the public benefit of these tax exemptions,” said Bucher.

School lobbyist Marshall Ogletree said the plan raises major concerns for education workers.

“Teachers are citizens too. Bus drivers are citizens too, they have to buy their groceries as well,” said Ogletree.

Finding the cash is sure to be part of the campaign for and against the amendment. The tax swap plan is just one of several proposals the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission has reviewed. In November, several tax reform amendments could be on the ballot.

Union groups say it’s time the legislature cut special interest hand-outs and corporate tax loopholes. State workers, lobbyist and union leaders were at the capitol today, begging the legislature to save education and health care funding, by cutting sales tax exemptions and corporate tax breaks. Florida’s facing billions of dollars in budget cuts. Union leaders say special interest groups have always received perks, but with a Florida’s failing economy, government needs to change.

“It’s just the nature of politics. I mean who funds campaigns? Working families with their vote or corporations with their vote and through millions of dollars in contributions? It’s just the nature of the beast,” said Rich Templin communication director with AFL–CIO United Labor Lobby.

One of Florida’s hundreds of sales tax exemptions is on bottled water. According to a report released by the group, taxing H2O would raise more than 40 million dollars a year.

Florida’s is in the top ten in the United States, in teen pregnancy and abortions. Today in Tallahassee, democratic lawmakers, rallied support for two bills aimed at lowering teen pregnancy. One bill titled Prevention First would prohibit pharmacist from denying women birth control. The Healthy Teens Act would require schools to provide more information about abstinence and birth control effectiveness.

“Above all else it encourages family communication about sex. It teaches skills for making responsible decisions,” State Representative Dorothy Bendross-Mindingal said.

“When you get into smaller communities and smaller counties, where they have one or two pharmacies, and if that’s the policy that they have that woman is not going to be able to get her prescription filled,” said Senator Nan Rich.

The bill would also require pharmacist to sell emergency contraception to rape victims.

Babies with an allergy to milk protein need an expensive formula in order to stay well nourished. Insurers say formula is food and they should be required to pay for it. In Tallahassee Tuesday, doctors and concerned parents asked lawmakers to make insurance companies pay for the formula. Only parents on WIC and babies on feeding tubes can get the special formula at a reduced rate. Erica Kinsey bought 5,000 dollars worth of the formula for her son, after she found out her insurance wouldn’t pay.

“Other families that can’t speak. Other infants. They can’t send an email. They can’t be here to say hey, help me get this formula; I don’t need a feeding tube so please help me get this formula,” said Erica Kinsey.

More than 800 hundred babies in Florida are allergic to milk protein and need the special formula.

The Florida Democratic Party has given up on seating the states delegates to the national convention. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, party leaders say they have done all they can do.

Hear it here: Democrats Relying on Campaigns to Sort Out

The Florida Democrats website says thousands of people responded when asked their opinion about a mail in re vote. Party leaders have so far refused to make the correspondence available. But from the writings, Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman says the mail-in was doomed to fail.

“People we would count on to help us carry this out just think we should move on from this,” Thurman said.

The Democrats have no alternative plan in the works.

What Florida Democrats are doing is throwing their hands up in the air and saying this is up to the national party and the candidates to work out.

Democratic national committeeman and Obama supporter Alan Katz says the only acceptable alternative is to split the delegates.

“Senator Clinton and Senator Obama both agree that no delegates would be selected on the 29th of January,” Katz said. “This is nothing new.”

But splitting delegates is being rejected by party leaders because it does not reflect the vote on January 29th. Another committeeman has filed an appeal, trying to seat half the delegates.

“The rules and bylaws committee gave us the death penalty instead of actually applying their own rules the way that they were written,” committeeman Jon Ausman said.

A decision in a federal lawsuit is also pending and could result in delegates being seated or not. But as the clock ticks, options for Democrats are dwindling.

Many people have gotten notices from the IRS that they may be receiving a tax rebate of up to 12 hundred dollars per family. The rebates were ordered by congress earlier this year and should arrive in May. But scammers are trying to take advantage of people according to the IRS. Spokesman Norm Meadows says don’t give your personal information to anyone who contacts you over the internet claiming to be from the IRS.

“But please, never respond to an original email from the IRS, allegedly from the IRS, that promises a refund, that threatens an audit, because it’s just a scammer, who again, is trying to get your personal ID information to sell via the internet for a multitude of other crimes,” Meadows said.

Meadows says the IRS will always contact you via mail, and likely certified mail before beginning an email communication with a taxpayer.

A new report by Florida’s Civil engineers says our quality of life is being diminished by a lack of state investment in roads, schools and other infrastructure. The report card gives Florida facilities an overall grade of “C”, but investment in schools and energy related structures were only a D+. State Representative Stephen Precourt, who is also an engineer, says the effects are showing up in our everyday lives.

“Every year it takes a little bit longer to get to and from work and school,” Precourt said. “Every year water pressure in your showers is going down and the quality of that water is potentially a problem and that could be a catastrophic problem as well. So every year you get less reliability out of your energy and that makes major employers look less and less at coming to Florida.”

The engineering society says Florida needs to invest a minimum of ten billion dollars a year over the next 20 years to bring critical infrastructure up to par.

In November, Floridians will have a chance to drastically change the state’s tax system. The Taxation and Budget Reform Commission approved a plan that would save property taxpayers eight billion dollars a year, but as Whitney Ray tells us it would leave lawmakers looking for ways to replace at least some of the money.

Hear it here: Tax Swap Plan Headed To November Ballot

Buying goods in Florida a year from now could cost more, while property taxes could go down. A plan, headed for November’s ballot and supported by Speaker of the House Marco Rubio, eliminates all school property taxes and replaces them with a one cent sales tax increase.

“Two years from now, if you pass something like this, you’re going to start to see positive economic indicators. That one cent will generate a lot more than it does right now.”

The amendment would change how Florida’s public Schools are funded. The plan would cut about eight billion dollars in property taxes a year, and replace it with less than half that amount with a sales tax increase. It would be up to lawmakers to decide how to raise the other four billion dollars. One idea is to eliminate hundreds of sales tax exemptions, like bottled water and dry cleaning. Budget cuts are also likely. State and county workers fear they’ll be part of those cuts.

“They keep raising health care, gasoline, food, everything rising that’s a fear, but no job at all after you put years of dedication into it, that’s a big fear,” said Linda Rued. Rued travel from Tampa to oppose the tax swap plan.

Commission member Les Miller said raising sales tax isn’t fair to low income families.

“It’s the every day things that you spend that not covered by tax exemptions, like medicines and food, that most people get hit by, and that’s the poor people the most,” said Miller.

The final decision will be left up to the people. The tax swap amendment will need approval by 60 percent of voters in November to pass.