Gov. Rick Scott will embark on a tour of law enforcement agencies Friday as part of his signing of legislation aimed at combating "pill mills" throughout Florida. Scott will start with a morning signing at the Fort Lauderdale police department, head to the Hillsborough County sheriff's office at noon, and wrap up at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement headquarters in Orlando in the afternoon.

Carlos Gimenez has yet to respond to Sunshine State News' inquiries about questionable e-mail solicitations, but his Miami-Dade mayoral campaign found time to plead for more money Thursday. Blasting what he called opponent Julio Robaina's "vile campaign of lies," Gimenez is asking for additional campaign cash by the financial reporting deadline at midnight Friday. He did not specify the alleged "lies."

Big shakeup at The New York Times brings the Gray Lady its first female executive editor, Jill Abramson. It's no surprise, but it does represent a significant and historic change. Abramson, 57, a native New Yorker and a Pulitzer Prize winner, had been the Times' managing editor -- a newsroom leader long anticipated in this new role. She gained considerable fame when she testified in the perjury trial of Scooter Libby, United States v. Libby. She was called as a defense witness to undercut the credibility of Judith Miller.

Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, who is in a crowded pack of Republican candidates looking to challenge Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, noted late on Wednesday that he supported the federal budget proposal backed by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., adding that he preferred his own plan to take spending back to 2007 levels.

AmericanStyle magazine rates three Florida cities among its top 10 for fine art. Heading the list of 25 midsized cities, St. Petersburg ranks No. 1 on the strength of this year's opening of the $36 million Dali Museum. Just across the bay, Tampa placed sixth and Miami came in 10th. Read the full story and list here.

Under fire from his Republican rivals looking to run against Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, state Senate President Mike Haridopolos issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon insisting he backed the budget plan sponsored by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Julio Robaina called on opponent Carlos Gimenez to stop sending "unsolicited campaign-related e-mails" to county workers' office e-dresses. It appears that just like former Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, Gimenez believes that its acceptable to use county resources for his campaign purposes," Robaina said in a statement Wednesday.

Rep. Anthony Weiner notwithstanding, nearly half of the House Democrats abandoned President Barack Obama's call for a "clean" increase in the nation's $14.2 trillion debt ceiling. Even Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, joined Florida's Republican delegation in voting no. So did former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and ex-Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Florida has some of America's most voracious readers, according to an Amazon.com survey. Compiling book, magazine and newspaper sales data, Amazon rated per-capita readership in cities with more than 100,000 residents. Florida was the only state with more than two cities on the list, which included both print and kindle formats. Placing ahead of such enlightened burgs as Seattle, Wash., and Arlington, Va., Miami ranked No. 6 and Gainesville came in at No. 8. Orlando placed 12th, finishing ahead of Washington, D.C., and Portland, Ore., to name a few.

Gov. Rick Scott signed the Sales Tax Holiday Bill on Tuesday, creating a three-day sales tax hiatus for Florida consumers in August. It provides tax breaks on clothing items up to $75 and school supplies to $15. After a two-year layoff, the popular back-to-school sales tax break was voted back last year. This year's holiday is set for Aug. 12-14.

Every single member of the Florida congressional delegation voted against raising the debt ceiling on Tuesday with the exception of Democratic U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson -- but thats not good enough for Mike Yost. Yost, who was the Republican nominee who took on Democratic U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown in 2010 and hopes to do so again in 2012, accused Brown of voting no on the proposal for other reasons. In an e-mail sent out on Wednesday morning, Yost insisted that Brown was following the party line and hinted that there were other factors that steered her vote.

Former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has joined Washington, D.C., law firm SNR Denton as part of its new "State AG practice." Former Indiana Attorney General Jeff Modisett will join SNR Denton's Los Angeles branch.

It's friendly wager time in the 2011 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks. As the teams readied to suit up for Game 1 at American Airlines Arena in Miami Tuesday night, Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Texas Gov. Rick Perry took each other's bet. Scott put a Florida Key Lime pie on the Heat, Perry a case of barbecue sauce on the Mavs. "Not even Dirk Nowitzki will be able to stop Miami from bringing home another NBA title," said Scott. "It might be warm in Texas, but there is no way the Dallas Mavericks will be able to withstand the Heat."