Former Winter Park City Commissioner Beth Dillaha has formed a coalition to press Gov. Rick Scott to veto the SunRail commuter train project. VETO SunRail, whose members include former Osceola County Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr., contends that the planned 61-mile Central Florida train project will be a terminal drain on taxpayers. Projected to serve only 3,700 commuters -- roughly half the number carried by South Florida's money-losing Tri-Rail system -- SunRail was deemed "not cost-effective" by the Federal Transit Authority.

Having killed 29 immigration bills in recent sessions, Republican leaders at the Florida Legislature have apparently figured a way to deep-six an E-Verify measure. After a session-long delay, the Senate appears ready to pass a watered-down SB 2040 on Wednesday. But the bill may not even get a vote in the House, which now appears unlikely to even take up its own E-Verify enforcement package. The gory details are upcoming in Sunshine State News.

After the final budget committee conferencing Tuesday, Frank T. Brogan, chancellor of the State University System of Florida issued the following statement on the proposed 2011-12 state budget: We are grateful for the Legislatures commitment to the State University System of Florida, its 11 institutions with more than 320,000 students, and the many valued faculty, staff and researchers. Legislative budget leaders, in particular, have been diligent in their work to construct a comprehensive budget for public universities.

President Barack Obama's approval rating jumped a bunch in the immediate aftermath of the targeted killing of Osama bin Laden, according to a poll conducted Monday evening. But when it comes to handling the economy or satisfaction in the direction of the country, his approval is neither rising nor falling.

Updated Kenric Ward's blog | Originally Posted: May 3, 2011 1:12

The House leadership is confident in the budget agreement and look to adjourn on schedule come Friday. House Speaker Dean Cannon spoke to the House on Tuesday afternoon, calling it the most challenging budget year in modern Florida history and praising House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring. She did it with integrity, the strength and the quiet confidence of someone with nothing to prove and she is tough as nails, said Cannon. She never backed down in her fight

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick will be the keynote speaker at the Florida Democratic Partys Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Hollywood on June 11. I look forward to joining Chairman Rod Smith and the Florida Democratic Party for their annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, as Florida Democrats fight back against the Republicans extreme agenda and prepare for the 2012 elections, said Patrick on Tuesday.

A budget deal has been agreed upon by the House and Senate after early morning negotiations Tuesday. "We worked, (Senate President Mike Haridopolos) and I until 4-ish a.m. trying to bring about a resolution," said Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, the Senate's chief negotiator. He added that the budget, which cuts $3.8 billion and makes up the current shortfall, was one of the hardest to accomplish.

Immigration-control proponents are pointing a finger at Sen. J.D. Alexander as a stumbling block to passage of an E-Verify bill. As CEO of the agricultural concern Alico Inc., the Lake Wales Republican has said using the federal database would cost him $20 per hire. That figure, which could not be independently confirmed, was Alexander's latest tack against Senate Bill 2040, which would require employers to use E-Verify to screen new workers.

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan released a video statement in which he talked about American forces killing terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

Democratic activist Michael Hussey over at Pushing Rope has created his own Facebook group looking to stop former state CFO Alex Sink from running for statewide office in the future.

The opposition to immigration legislation comes from more than migrants chanting and prayer at the Capitol -- though the chants and prayers are clearly orchestrated. A document obtained by Sunshine State News lists 189 national and Florida-based organizations and individuals that have "stated their concern for the ramifications of the recently proposed anti-immigration laws in Florida."

Canadians handed that country's Conservative Party a big victory Monday in a national election that could be a forerunner of the U.S. 2012 campaign. Reuters reported early Tuesday that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives won 167 seats in Parliament -- a 54 percent margin that transforms their minority government into a stable four-year majority.

Former state CFO Alex Sink, the Democratic candidate who lost to Gov. Rick Scott, released an e-mail to supporters on Monday about American forces killing Osama bin Laden.

House Appropriations Chairwoman Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring, released a statement on the budget negotiations on Monday -- and swiped the Senates proposed funding of health and human services (HHS) projects.