Melissa Meeker, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, unveiled on Monday a draft settlement to a 24-year-old environmental lawsuit. The suit has dragged on for 24 years and cost taxpayers millions of dollars in useless attempts to restore the Everglades.

The governors Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection will convene its second meeting in Central Florida June 12. The task force will take public comment on the state's "Stand Your Ground" law at 1 p.m. at NorthLand Church, 530 Dog Track Road, Longwood. Formed by Gov. Rick Scott following the shooting of Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watch member George Zimmerman in Sanford, the task force, and the self-defense law, have come under heavy pressure.

Do Not Call, Telemarketing and Credit Banking continue to dominate the complaints of Floridians, according to Commissioner Adam Putnam. The three topics dominated the monthly list of calls from Floridians to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 1-800- HELP-FLA consumer hotline in May. More than 3,900 complaints were filed by consumers in May, during which time the department received 26,024 calls and 2,175 emails for consumer assistance and information.

American International Group (AIG) will pay $14.3 million to a number of Florida agencies as part of a $146.5 million multistate settlement over a dispute involving workers compensation insurance. AIG systematically underreported workers compensation insurance premium by putting this premium into the general liability or commercial automobile liability categories, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty stated in a release.

It isn't just Ed Rendell betting on Hillary Clinton in four years, it's House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, too. Pelosi said Hillary is the Dems' shot in 2016. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Pelosi said Clinton should run again in 2016. Why wouldn't she run? the former House speaker told the newspaper. She's a magnificent secretary of state.

On Monday, Utah Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a darling of the tea party movement for defeating longtime incumbent Bob Bennett back in 2010, announced that he was backing U.S. Rep. Connie Mack for the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

NewsMax.com's BuzzFeed is reporting a prediction from a fairly credible source that Hillary Clinton will run for president again in 2016. Former DNC Chair Ed Rendell acknowledges in his new book, "A Nation of Wusses," that Clinton claims she's "bone-tired" and insists she has no interest in running. But, says Rendell, "the job of secretary of state is far more grueling than that of the president, with the nonstop traveling, the constant jet lag, and the odd-hours phone calls to accommodate foreign officials' schedules.

Neal Boortz, the once self-anointed "Mouth of the South," is pulling the plug on his daily radio talk show and turning over his microphone to Herman Cain next year. RadioInsight.com reported late Sunday night that Boortz, who has a residence in Naples, will wrap up his show Jan. 18. Boortz's current show, which began on Atlanta's WSB in 1993, airs on more than 200 stations and claims 6 million weekly listeners. Overall, he had been in the talk radio business for 42 years.

Negative global economic news, including tumbling crude prices on the market, has resulted in one benefit for Floridians: gas prices. And the decline at the pump is expected to continue a downward trend through June, AAA is reporting. Across the globe, pessimistic job reports and demand numbers have added nothing but bearish pressure to the market during the past several weeks, AAA spokeswoman Jessica Brady stated in a release.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater released the following statement for the2012 Atlantic hurricane season:

A Republican challenger to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said she was "shocked, but not surprised" by the Fort Lauderdale Democrat's verbal slap at former Gov. Jeb Bush this week. Gineen Bresso said, "I am shocked, yet not that surprised, that on the same day that the Labor Department reported that unemployment in the U.S. rose to 8.2 percent, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz would launch a hollow attack on former Governor Jeb Bush for his successful initiative in recruiting Scripps Research Institute to Florida."

If the Badger State goes red, the Dems are dead. That's the chantable little slogan you'll hear around Washington about how both sides are looking at the recall election of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, his lieutenant governor and four Republican state senators. Trouble is, Dems on the national level aren't pouring enough money into the race between Walker and Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. And they've slipped as many as 7 points behind Walker in the polls.

Gov. Rick Scott announced today the appointment of Donald H. Mason, of Punta Gorda, to the 20th Judicial Circuit Court. Dons long career in law enforcement, as both a police officer and prosecutor, combined with his years of private practice, make him uniquely prepared to serve on the bench, Scott stated in a release. Throughout Dons career, he has demonstrated his intelligence, fairness and dedication, and I have every confidence that he will bring these qualities to his new position.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has signed a consent order that allows underwriters at the Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Insurance Ltd. to operate in Florida as a reinsurer. Florida allows ceding insurance companies to receive full credit on their financial statements for reinsurance purchased from non-U.S.-based reinsurers that are highly rated and financially sound. Endurance reported capital and surplus of $2.4 billion on their year-end financial statement, exceeding the states $250 million requirement, according to the OIR.

The attorney generals office has ordered 411-PAIN to change its advertising practices and make a $550,000 charitable contribution, as part of a settlement in Broward Circuit Court on Friday. We are protecting consumers by requiring 411-PAIN to change its representation of services and its advertising practices, Attorney General Pam Bondi stated in a release.