Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania did surprisingly well in the Iowa Republican straw poll held in Ames earlier in the month -- so much so that he is now adding to his team in the Hawkeye State and setting up a new campaign headquarters in Urbandale.

Audubon of Florida perhaps surprised a few people this week when it released its largely positive State of the Everglades report. The report is a summary of the most important issues to emerge from the Greater Everglades during the first six months of 2011. Audubon applauded a number of announcements including these:

Members of Florida's Cabinet rallied around Lenny Curry as the heir-apparent to outgoing RPOF Chairman Dave Bitner. Bitner, who announced Wednesday that he will resign for health reasons, recommended that the party elect his vice chairman to succeed him. Amid the condolences, top elected Republicans appeared to be embracing Curry as the new party chief. An election will be conducted during the RPOF's Presidency 5 summit in Orlando, Sept. 22-24. Bitner said his resignation would be effective Sept. 23.

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is taking off the gloves and ripping into his fellow candidates for the Republican nomination. With a variation of The Whos Wont Get Fooled Again in the background, Johnsons team is running a new web video attacking the current crop of Republican presidential candidates as similar toa host of presidents -- Nixon, both Bushes, Clinton and Obama.

Already leading in the polls in South Carolina, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is focusing on that crucial primary state over the Labor Day weekend. Perry will be hosting a town hall event in Myrtle Beach on Monday along with U.S. Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C. I am proud to welcome Governor Perry to Myrtle Beach to meet our voters, said Scott. Since his announcement speech in Charleston just over two weeks ago, the governor has excited our electorate, and I look forward to continuing that conversation.

A national poll released by Quinnipiac University on Wednesday found that former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts was tied with President Barack Obama, and Gov. Rick Perry of Texas was right on the presidents heels. The poll also found that Perry was beating Romney for the Republican nomination.

Republican Party of Florida Chairman Dave Bitner will step down due to health reasons after the Presidency 5 summit, according to a new report. But party officials dispute the story first posted at the political website Shark Tank. Bitner, who was elected to lead the RPOF earlier this year, was subsequently diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. RPOF spokesman Brian Hughes issued a statement, saying:

The immigration issue hit home again with President Obama when one of his African uncles was arrested on DUI charges in Massachusetts and detained by federal authorities. Onyango Obama -- or "Uncle Omar," as the president fondly called him in his 1995 memoir -- was busted outside the Chicken Bone Saloon in Framingham last week when he nearly hit a patrol car after running a stop sign. Obama, who registered a 0.14 blood alcohol level (nearly twice the legal limit in Massachusetts), insisted that the officers should have yielded to him.

On Tuesday, state Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad announced that he was appointing Brian Blanchard, who had been chief engineer in the department, as the assistant secretary for engineering and operations.

Incoming Florida Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, formally endorsed Gov. Rick Perry of Texas for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday.

A new tropical storm sprang up in the eastern Atlantic Ocean during the weekend and right now it's on a path that would map it northeast of Puerto Rico by Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center. NHC forecasters havent projected Tropical Storm Katias path beyond Sunday but they say it's moving on a path slightly north of the one Hurricane Irene took. According to the National Weather Service, the same general weather patterns are staying put that steered Irene to the North and away from Florida's coast.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul has joined a growing list of presidential candidates who will speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando on Sept. 23. Al Cardenas, chairman of the host American Conservative Union, called the Texas congressman, a previous winner of CPAC straw polls, "a leading voice for adhering to a limited constitutional government. His consistent voting record and unwavering commitment to his principles have earned Congressman Paul a strong and loyal grassroots base.

On Tuesday, former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, now part of a crowded field of Republican candidates looking to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, announced that he had the support of former Florida House Speaker Larry Cretul. Cretul, who served as speaker while Hasner was majority leader, will be a co-chairman of the Hasner campaign. Cretul praised his former House colleague in his endorsement.

Former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, now in a crowded Republican primary looking to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, took aim at President Barack Obamas appointment of Alan Krueger to lead the White House Council of Economic Advisers.