The campaign for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, quickly sent out a call for more contributions after announcing they lagged behind the fundraising efforts of U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers, between July 1 and Sept. 1. Our opponent's contributions appear to be from deep-pocketed special interests who are trying to influence this election -- the message from Nelson for theSenate, Campaign Manager Pete Mitchell stated on Thursday.

Gov. Rick Scott, appearing at David Lawrence Jr. K-8 Center in North Miami, announced Thursday he will recommend a $2 million teacher training matching grant program for the 2013-14 state budget. The program will require private-sector matches. The best way to strengthen our education system is to have a great teacher in every classroom and this $2 million investment in a competitive education grant program for teacher professional development is a major step toward that goal, Scott stated in a release.

The Depopulation Committee for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has been rescheduled from Monday to give outside advisers a few more days to review the proposal. The meeting has been reset for Friday at 1 p.m. as part of a Board of Governors teleconference starting at 1 p.m. Earlier this week, Citizens Chairman Carlos Lacasas wrote a letter calling for outside experts to review the plan that calls for $350 million in low-interest loans going to private insurers -- up to $50 million per company -- to help the bloated state-backed insurer shed 350,000 policies.

Attorney General Pam Bondis Statewide Task Force on Prescription Drug Abuse and Newborns is set to meet Friday in Pembroke Pines. The task force, a priority for Bondi in the 2012 legislative session, is to convene at 1 p.m. at the Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center, 1633 Poinciana Drive.

An information security breach has been reported involving employee and student records at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville. Local, state and federal agencies are investigating the incident. We want to be sure that we fully understand the situation and provide accurate information to those impacted, Florida College System Chancellor Randy Hanna stated in a release. While some of the contact information is dated, we will be trying to reach every student whose records may have been captured.

A new English-language television news network that is a joint venture between Univision and ABC based out of Miami-Dade County is expected to bring 346 jobs, according to the governors office. Scott and the Beacon Council -- Miami-Dade County's official economic development partnership -- announced the network that will target the Hispanic market and include a $274.5 million capital investment in its headquarters at the Univision studios in Doral.

The PAC of Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has released a new television ad slamming Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida for his support of foreign aid of Islamist governments hostile to the United States. Check out the ad: http://youtu.be/txIm9-JNel8

In an announcement Tuesday by the state Financial Services Commission, Drew Breakspear has been appointed commissioner for the the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR). He will begin the new job Nov. 5. According to the press release, Breakspear, who lives in Naples, brings more than 40 years of experience to the OFR, having worked in the international banking industry and management consulting. My goal is to continue promoting a stronger, healthier financial industry, combating fraud, and showcasing the exceptional work at this agency, he said.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has been singled out for commendation and named an "outstanding tax reformer" in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal. Writing for the Wall Street Journal Tuesday, Chris Edwards bemoans members of Congress for creating an economic mess with "chronic overspending and inability to deliver stable, pro-growth tax policies." But, says Edwards, around the country are a few guys who who are making real fiscal progress -- and they're all in state capitols. Chief among them: Rick Scott.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committeehas cancelled another ad buy for congressional candidate Keith Fitzgerald, further distancing itself from the Democrat's campaign. This is the third consecutive week the DCCC has cancelled airtime in FL-16, totaling over $1.1 million.

The new Pew Research Center poll -- placing Mitt Romney ahead of Barack Obama by 4 points -- is perhaps the strongest evidence to date that the president has paid a political price for his lackluster performance in the first presidential debate, the debate closest to the hearts of voters. The debate on the economy.

Judge John C. Cooper of the Second Judicial Circuit Court of Floridahas just denied motions by former state Sen. Mike Haridopolos, state Sen. John Thrasher, and the Republican Party of Florida to dismiss a lawsuit brought against them by former RPOF Chairman Jim Greer. The lawsuit alleges the parties failed to follow through with their end of a severance agreement when Greer resigned in disgrace as RPOF chairman.

To help Florida small businesses focus on year-end tax planning strategies, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced on Monday a free webinar, giving participants a choice of three different dates. Called Tax Facts: A Guide for Small Business Owners, the event is part of Atwater's Money Matters initiative that follows up on his Small Business Leadership Forum in September. The Department of Financial Services is collaborating with the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA).

Brian Crowley, handler of the three Florida Supreme Court justices up for retention, apparently figures he's found the winning recipe for Team Supreme -- and he's dishing it all out today. Here's how you keep your judicial candidates in their jobs: You set Justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince down in a law school, in a 3 o'clock Friday afternoon forum -- same school where "Taj Mahal Paul" Hawkes serves as an adjunct professor, by the way -- and you preach to the converted over cucumber sandwiches. Some challenge.

This is the one! This, Romney fans, is what you've been longing to see but maybe never knew it. It's the YouTube video that went viral overnight. Here she is, a former nun, an Army major, a lawyer, a college professor and a physician. Now Dr. Barbara Bellar, obviously a Republican, wants to be a state senator from Illinois, and she has one question about Obamacare: What the blank could possibly go wrong? That's what she asks after delivering a mind-blowing, bitingly witty one-sentence indictment of President Obama's health care law.