A deal is in the works among longshoremen and their employers that could avert a potentially crippling, multibillion-dollar hit on the Florida economy.

Just as he did when he was Florida's governor, Jeb Bush -- serving as a consultant -- likely will make a significant mark in restructuring education for success in Virginia public schools. In a teleconference call Friday to Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, Bush called the grading of public schools a "catalytic converter" for academic improvement and he urged Virginia to follow the Sunshine State's lead.

If President Obama was expecting religious conservatives to be satisfied with his proposed expansion of the religious exemptions to his executive mandate that employers subsidize their workers' contraceptives and abortifacients, he seems bound to be sorely disappointed, if the initial reactions reported by FOX News and the Associated Press are any indication. But how are Florida's conservative, pro-life leaders reacting to this latest development?

The Senate and House committees reviewing the federal health care law will hold a joint meeting Monday on Floridas options on health care exchanges. The choice to remain in the default federal exchange, build a state exchange, or pursue a partnership exchange is one of the most important policy options facing the state ofFlorida as the federal government implements PPACA, Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, stated in a release.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced that Titilayo Osholaja Dokun, owner of Capital City Area Care, a Leon County Medicaid home services company, was sentenced today to eight years in state prison for submitting more than $100,000 in false claims to the Florida Medicaid Program. Dokun was convicted last December on four counts of Medicaid provider fraud and grand theft.

Sandy D'Alemberte, former president of both the American Bar Association and Florida State University, and one of the eight plaintiffs in the landmark case Bob Graham v. Mike Haridopolos, has shared with Sunshine State News his reaction to yesterday's Florida Supreme Court decision, which ruled that it is the Legislature, not the state university system Board of Governors, that has authority to set tuition policy:

Gov. Rick Scott toured the college-prep campus of Allen Nease Senior High School in Ponte Vedraon Friday to again tout his proposal to give teachers a $2,500 pay hike and boost funding for K-12 education by $1.2 billion in the next fiscal year.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, called for continued space exploration on the 10th anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia disaster. Ten years ago today the country was shocked as the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over the southern United States, Nelson emailed supporters on Friday. Husbands and wives lost spouses. Kids lost parents. And our nation lost seven explorers who knew that space exploration helps us better understand the universe and our place in it.

FOX News reports the Obama administration has announced a broader religious employer opt-out of its controversial contraception-abortifacient mandate.

It's probably not what legislators have in mind when they refer to education reform. The Daily Caller reports that a public middle school teacher in Brandon is on paid leave while she's being investigated for allegedly using sandpaper to punish students who misspelled words.

Former U.S. Rep. Connie Mack has thrown his support behind U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Miami, who has taken flak for a bill he and seven other senators plan to introduce to give the nation set direction on immigration.

The Florida Department of Education and Commissioner of Education Tony Bennett highlighted the states effort to reach the Race to the Top requirements as outlined by the U.S. Department of Education. Florida has shown great progress in meeting its Race to the Top goals and I applaud the department for the strong leadership they have demonstrated in their thoughtful and pragmatic approach to implementing this grant, Bennett stated in a release.

Gov. Rick Scott is scheduled to meet with students at Allen Nease Senior High School in Ponte Vedre, St. Johns County, on Friday at 10 a.m., according to a release from the governor's office. The purpose of the visit isn't listed. The visit comes a day after Scott released his $74.2 billion spending plan and agenda for the 2013 legislative session that includes a $1.25 billion bump in spending toward K-12 education.

In a landmark ruling Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court decided that the Legislature, not the Board of Governors, has the right to set the tuition policy of state colleges and universities. How are the case's chief plaintiff and defendant reacting to the ruling?