On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott applauded the news that the state Department of Environmental Protection would look to cut its budget by $700 million, mostly through arrangements with the five water management districts across the state.

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, still a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination despite his campaigns struggles this summer, took aim at the 'supercommittee set up by Congress as part of the deal to raise the federal debt ceiling. The committee is tasked with cutting $1.2 trillion from the federal government over the next 10 years.

On Wednesday, state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Herschel Vinyard said that a new agreement between his agency and the five water management districts could lead to Florida taxpayers saving more than $700 million and he intends to cut their slice of budget by that much next year. These savings come from reducing staff levels, debt management and cutting nonessential costs.

Supporters of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, cheered the news that a new poll from Rasmussen Reports showed their candidate in a dead heat when matched against President Barack Obama. The poll had Obama taking 39 percent and Paul right behind him with 38 percent.

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams, who represents parts of the Space Coast, weighed in with the news that Hurricane Irene looks headed away from the Sunshine State. While it appears Hurricane Irene is going to miss Floridas coastline, it is a good reminder of the threat our state faces from the hurricane season, insisted Adams on Wednesday.

On Tuesday night, Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio spoke at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and he offered warm words of praise for that conservative icon.Before giving the speech, Rubio came in with former first lady Nancy Reagan. Mrs. Reagan, who is now 90, had a fall and Floridas junior senator helped her recover.

On Tuesday night, Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio spoke at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library as he continued a swing through California, raising his national profile and speculation that he is angling for the vice presidential spot on the 2012 Republican ticket. Praising Reagans leadership, Rubio took aim at the size and scope of the federal government.

He didn't come out with an endorsement, but Jeb Bush said Tuesday that he likes GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman "a lot." Bush's remarks on Neil Cavuto's Fox News show came in response to Huntsman's recent suggestion that neither Rick Perry nor Michele Bachmann was "electable" because of their hard-line conservative views. Complimenting Huntsman, Bush urged patience and open-mindedness by Republican voters. "It's early to be dissatisfied with the candidates," Bush said, reiterating that he is "definitely not running" for the White House.

A poll unveiled on Tuesday revealed that President Barack Obama is in serious trouble in Florida as he seeks re-election in 2012.

On Tuesday, the American Conservative Union (ACU)announced that Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, one of the leading candidates in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, will be speaking to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event that will be held in Orlando on Friday, Sept. 23.

Rasmussen Reports unveiled a new poll on Tuesday that found U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, would be in a statiscal dead heat with President Barack Obama in the general election. Paul, who is making his second bid for the Republican nomination, took 38 percent of likely voters -- only a whisker behind Obama who had the backing of 39 percent. In a Rasmussen poll released in July, Obama beat Paul 41 percent to 37 percent.

Attorney General Pam Bondi applauded the ruling of the Florida Supreme Court Tuesday to uphold a lower court ruling that denied a stay of execution to Manuel Valle, convicted of murdering a police officer in Broward County in 1978. He had appealed that one of the drugs used in the lethal injection process would violate the Eighth Amendment's protection from "cruel and unusual" punishment.

A poll unveiled on Tuesday from Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, found Gov. Rick Perry of Texas leading the Republican pack in Iowa, home of the first caucus. Perry topped the poll with 22 percent followed by former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts with 19 percent. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who won the Iowa straw poll in Ames earlier in the month, placed third with 18 percent followed by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who placed second in Ames, with 16 percent.

Democratic congressional candidate Patrick Murphy is taking aim at the tea party movement as he continues his bid to knock off Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West in South Florida. Murphy is trying to raise funds for his campaign by selling coffee mugs for $10 with Keep your tea bags out of this cup and Keep the tea party out of Congress.