Unable to even decide on how to renumber the districts, the Senate Reapportionment Committee will try Wednesday to complete the state Supreme Court-mandated redrawing of the Senate redistricting map. The committee spent nearly nine hours attentively working on a new map Tuesday but made little progress.

Gov. Rick Scott will be on the east coast Wednesday as expansion projects by the Dallas-based 7-Eleven and Brazilian jet manufacturer Embraer S.A. are announced. Scott will be in Jacksonville at 10 a.m. as 7-Eleven breaks ground in the Jacksonville Landing area, as the convenience store chain returns to the northeast city after more than 20 years with the prospect of opening more stores. A release from the governors office projects the number of stores 7-Eleven plans to open in the Jacksonville area at 80 by 2015, creating more than 800 jobs.

Linda Charity was introduced by Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet as the interim commissioner of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation on Tuesday. Charity, who is the offices director of the Division of Financial Institutions and has been with the office since 1979, will serve while a replacement is sought for Tom Grady. Grady resigned after eight months in the post to take the interim president position with Citizens Property Insurance Corp. This is Charity's second stint as interim commissioner, serving in that position in 2009.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica was named "Port Person of the Year" by the American Association of Port Authorities on Tuesday. Mica, R-Orlando, speaking to a gathering of the nations port leaders in Washington on the AAPAs 100th anniversary, called ports "the nations gateways and economic engines."

Gov. Rick Scott told reporters Tuesday he has yet to decide on the Medicaid bill, HB 5301, now on his desk. The Florida Association of Counties has called for Scott to veto the bill that would require counties to pay more into the Medicaid system, including about $300 million in disputed past-due payments. The governor has until March 29 to act on this bill.

Rick Santorum got a boost to his bid for the Republican presidential nomination last week when he won primaries in Alabama and Mississippi. A poll unveiled on Tuesday shows Santorum should be able to keep his momentum going down South though he is expected to lose the Illinois primary to Mitt Romney on Tuesday night. Santorum leads in Louisiana which holds its primary on Saturday.

The two leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination -- former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania -- hit the airwaves and each other on Tuesday. Following their candidates lead from Monday, the Romney team hammered Santorum for comments that he made about the economy this week. For all those who still had questions, Rick Santorum has now provided a textbook example of what an economic lightweight looks like," said Gail Gitcho, a spokeswoman for Romney.

Mitt Romney is looking to kick President Obama in the two places it will hurt him most -- his wallet and his home state. Romney's latest conquest is Obama's old pal, Susan Crown. Crown says she is supporting a more pro-Israel candidate this year. Instead of supporting Barack Obama as she did in 2008, she's fundraising for Mitt Romney.

A poll by the Florida Coalition for the New Economy concluded Florida voters dont want local governments competing with private business. The survey of 801 Florida voters showed 73 percent oppose allowing local governments to use taxpayer funds, including federal stimulus dollars, to compete against the private sector. Only 14 percent favor using taxpayer funds for this purpose, while 13 percent were undecided.

While Democrats plan to target U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, R-Fla., in November, the freshman congressman can count on the support of an old ally -- former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, best known for his bid for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008 and for his various media appearances, including a show on Fox News and a national radio show set to be launched later this year.

In the aftermath of the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, state Sen. Oscar Braynon's call for hearings into the "Stand Your Ground" law drew sharp return fire on Tuesday. The Miami Democrat raised questions about the legal circumstances surrounding the shooting of Martin, 17, by an Orlando neighborhood watch volunteer last month. But gun-rights groups and libertarians rejected Braynon's suggestion that the Stand Your Ground law, also known as the Castle Doctrine, should be implicated in the actions of alleged gunman George Zimmerman.

During a reception for firefighters on the 22nd floor of the Capitol on Monday, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said a number of fires -- some controlled burns -- were on the horizon. Putnam told Gov. Rick Scott and other members of the state Cabinet on Tuesday that dry conditions again have placed the state in line for an active wildfire season. All indications are that it will be yet another busy fire season for all our state resources managers and firefighters, Putnam said.

Florida Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jeff Atwater recognized the Coral Springs Fire Academy and 11 fire- and rescue-service personnel for exceptional dedication to fire and rescue services during the past year. These men and women are true leaders, role models and heroes who put their lives at risk every time they respond to a fire call, CFO Atwater stated in a release. Those honored were:

Gov. Rick Scott was on the radio Tuesday morning discussing his Monday night signing of a bill, HB 1205, which would require 10 percent of state workers to submit to random drug testing once every three months. Most private companies now, they drug screen their employees to make sure they have a qualified work force, Scott said while on NewsTalk 1370 WCOA in Pensacola. We need to be doing the same thing with your tax dollars.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., won national attention for his win in the 2010 election cycle and started generating buzz that he could wind up on a Republican presidential ticket in 2012 or down the road.