Gov. Rick Scott has appointed Alan S. Fine and Fleur Lobree to the 11th Judicial Circuit. Fine, 55, of Coral Gables, has been in private practice since he began his legal career in 1984. Alan has a reputation as an intelligent and skilled attorney and his impressive career has prepared him well for a seat on the 11th Judicial Circuit, Scott stated in a release. I am confident that he will serve with fairness and integrity. Fine will replace Judge Ellen Leesfield who has retired.

In her ongoing efforts to encourage Floridians to adopt shelter dogs, Attorney General Pam Bondi included Socks, a year-old Border Collie/Lab mix, during the annual Christmas tree presentation ceremony in the Florida Capitol on Dec. 11.

Gov. Rick Scott has appointed Howard M. Maltz, of St. Johns, as judge of the 7th Judicial Circuit Court and Elizabeth A. Scherer, of Fort Lauderdale, to the 17th Judicial Circuit Court. Maltz, 51, is currently the chief deputy general counsel for Jacksonville. He has served as an assistant state attorney for the states attorneys office, 4th Judicial Circuit. I am confident that Howard will be an excellent addition to the 7th Circuit bench, Scott stated in a release. He is committed to enforcing the rule of law fairly and will serve the people well.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff outside local, state and federal buildings, and on state grounds, through Dec. 18. Scotts order comes in conjunction with President Obamas proclamation to lower the national flag in honor of Fridays victims of a rampage at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., in which 20 small children and six adults were killed.

Daily Caller's got a nice round-up of leftist Twitterverse response to the heinous Connecticut shootings.The consensus of Democrat-votingreporters, elected officials, pundits and Hollywood performers? Make it harder for innocent people to defend themselves against psychos: Roger Simon "I have only one question right now: Will President Obama use his political capital to take on the gun lobby in his second term?" Michael Moore: "The way to honor these dead children is to demand strict gun control, free mental health care, and an end to violence as public policy."

U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV, immensely forgettable as he is, continues to turn up in Election 2012 memoirs. The latest look-back belongs to editor and publisher Stuart Rothenberg. From "The Best and Worst of the 2012 Campaigns, Part II," just released in The Rothenberg Political Report, the national political observer and columnist for Roll Call identifies his most and least favorite candidate interviews during the campaign.

"Please pass the saltshaker -- er, I mean, the file!" According to the Daily Caller, Allen West and other congressmen booted out by voters last month have been evicted from their regular offices and are now working out of cubicles set up in the House cafeteria. "Go looking for the outgoing members of Congress in their offices, and you might find only the cleaning crew," says the Caller.

Ron Sachs Communications has offered a holiday video wrapping the regifting of fruitcake with appearances from some of Tallahassees most prominent movers and shakers.

U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, who has been part of a push to make NASA more independent by having the top administrator appointed for 10-year missions, has been appointed to the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. The committee has jurisdiction over NASA, space exploration, aerospace, energy research and development, and marine research.

The Florida Supreme Court issued a ruling today striking down, asunconstitutional, a state statute that made it illegal for motorists to play music loud enough to be "plainly audible" to someone 25 feet away. "Motorists are free to blast Justin Timberlake -- or any other music they choose -- as loud as they wish," the Florida Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

As the Florida Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on theconstitutionalityof red light camera citations issued before July 2010, Collier County has decided to nix the devices altogether, replacing them with longer yellow light times:

Former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, in a press call Thursday morning, warned that if Congress allows the nation to go over the "fiscal cliff" on Jan. 1, Florida will lose 80,000 jobs, 7.3 percent of all revenues it gets from the federal government will be cut and the state will follow the nation into recession.

The governors office highlighted a sharp increase in the number of online job openings in science, technology, engineering and math- (STEM) related fields. In November, there were 65,825 postings for jobs in those STEM fields, nearly 14 percent higher than one year earlier. As Floridas economy continues to grow, demand for STEM-related fields is increasing. Today, STEM jobs advertised online are up by nearly 14 percent from last year, providing tens of thousands of job opportunities for Florida families, Scott stated in a release on Thursday.

The Ledger has the scoop: "Since the end of Florida's 2010 budget year, state debt has plummeted from $28.2 billion to $26.2 billion. The debt dropped most precipitously in the last fiscal year -- $1.5 billion -- which was fully under Gov. Rick Scott's watch.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday that she and33 other attorneys general have reached a $42.9 million settlement with Pfizerresolving allegations that the company engaged in unfair anddeceptive trade practices while promoting its drugs Zyvox and Lyrica.Under the settlement, Florida will receive approximately $2.1 million.