Gov. Rick Scott has appointed Eric W. Hendon, of Miami, to the 11th Judicial Circuit Court. Hendon, 56, has been a Miami-Dade County judge from 1999 to 2003 and since 2006, taking the break to practice privately. Judge Hendon has an exemplary record of service to the people of Miami-Dade County, Scott stated in a release. He is a fair, honest, and distinguished judge and understands and adheres to the important principle that judges apply, and does not make the law. Hendon will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Joseph Farina.

Gov. Rick Scott has appointed Betty Capote, of Miami, and Carlos M. Guzman, of Miami, to the Miami-Dade County Court. Capote, 35, has served as an assistant state attorney in the Office of the State Attorney, 11th Judicial Circuit, since 2001. Through her work as an assistant state attorney, Betty has demonstrated that she is a great fit for the Miami-Dade County Court, Scott stated in a release. I am confident that she will serve the residents of Miami-Dade County with fairness and integrity.

Not very, according to an analysis authored by researchers Chester E. Finn Jr. and Amber Winkler, that appears today in the pages of National Review; indeed, our teacher unions are among the weakest in the nation: "[A]re union biceps as brawny as ever, or growing flabby with age? Short answer: It depends, particularly on which state (or the District of Columbia) you look at, and at what point in time. Thats the central finding of our recently concluded three-year study of the relative strength of teacher unions state-bystate.

The Miami Herald has the scoop on what appears to be another jihadist terror plot foiled by the FBI: "Two Pakistani brothers from Oakland Park have been arrested on terrorism charges, accused of conspiring to deploy explosive weapons against an American target, according to a federal indictment released Friday.

For those living in the Tampa area, you were crazy that the most frequent characters on TV were politicians, with President Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney dominating the scene. According to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Tampa market was the third in the nation for political ads between Oct. 1 and Oct. 21, as 7,992 political commercials ran. The numbers were topped only by Denver with 9,950 ads and Las Vegas with 8,057. Tampa TV watchers also were flooded with 6,361 in September.

Gov. Rick Scott may still be on the negative side with Floridians when viewed personally, but they appear to have a much better view of his job performance as the focus has shifted to his 2014 re-election bid. Marian Johnson, Florida Chamber of Commerce senior vice president of political strategy, said the latest numbers could actually be seen as good news for the occupant of the governors mansion. He's not popular with the general public, but he has made tremendous strides in things that are not getting reported, Johnson said.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce released the following statement upon the pending decrease in the unemployment compensation tax rate: Unemployment compensation rates are set to drop for many Florida businesses which is good news for Floridas job creators.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement regarding the United Nations General Assemblys vote Thursday to adopt a resolution granting Palestine the status of non-member observer state at the U.N.:

Melanie Shanks Bostick has been promoted to the senior leadership team at the Tallahassee lobbying firm of Liberty Partners. Bostick, who was the firms director of government relations, will continue to focus on public policy issues related to insurance; condominium and homeowners associations; energy and utilities; and tax and elections. She will also now oversee client relations, client development and the coordination of all client political fundraising and campaign activities.

Attorney General Pam Bondis Medicaid Fraud Control Unitand the Miami-Dade County Police Department today arrested three Miami-DadeCounty residents for Medicaid fraud and grand theft. Noriel Batista, theowner of Westchester Pharmacy, Eduardo Marcos-Mone, a pharmacist, andBarbara Iglesias, a Medicaid recipient, allegedly participated in a schemethat resulted in billing the Medicaid program for more than $143,000 forprescribed medications that were never dispensed.

Broward County's newspaper of record is voicing its tentative support for Gov. Scott's latest education reform proposal: "Some are mocking the idea, calling it a political stunt or a gimmick. Others don't think it's possible. "But we like the challenge Governor Rick Scott has put before the state's 28 public colleges --previously known as community colleges --to offer discounted bachelor's degree programs for $10,000 or less to in-state students.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater praised freshman legislator Larry Lee, D-Port St. Lucie, at the Florida Chamber of Commerce Insurance Summit on Thursday. I watched this mans generosity, he gave more than he ever took, hes going to be a great legislator, Atwater said of Lee.

More than half of the 28 schools in the Florida College System have accepted the governors challenge of creating four-year degree programs that cost under $10,000, according to the state Department of Education. Brevard Community College, Northwest Florida State College, South Florida State College, and Chipola College are the latest schools to announce they would seek ways to offer programs in areas that include information technology, business and organizational management, education, and engineering technology that could be completed at a cheaper rate.

Couldn't believe my eyes. I just finished reading Amy Hollyfield's blog in the Tampa Bay Times' Buzz -- "Charlie Crist, how would you spend that Powerball money?" I wasn't sure whether to pop a tranquilizer or reach for a barf bag. It's so hard to believe. Charlie Crist is still -- STILL -- engaged in the deception of telling teachers what they want to hear. Same old baloney, but hey, teachers are one powerful voting bloc, baloney's worked before, so why not?

More vindication of Republican Gov. Rick Scott's policies? The News Service of Florida has the scoop: "Nearly half of the metro areas in the United States that saw their unemployment rate drop by more than 2 percentage points over the last year are in Florida, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report out Wednesday.