Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux spoke to Sunshine State News Wednesday, his first interview since Election Day less than a month ago.

The Florida Republican, appointed to the Senate by then-Gov. Charlie Crist as a replacement for retiring Sen. Mel Martinez, tells the News he is glad to be back in the private sector, has no plans to run for elected office in the near future, but will stay engaged in statewide and nationwide debates over public policy, especially on the issue of Medicare fraud.

Local government whistleblowers cannot bank on being protected unless they alert their local bosses of their allegations, the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday.

In a unanimous ruling, the appellate court said former Panama City Housing Authority maintenance man Kenneth Quintini could not be protected under state whistleblower protections after making charges to federal officials before he was laid off in 2008.

The head of a new committee in the Senate set to focus on gaming issues says he expects the panel to conduct a thorough study of gambling in Florida instead of moving quickly.

Sen. Garrett Richter, a Naples Republican who also serves as president pro tempore, said Wednesday that he viewed the recent redistricting process, which included several summer hearings across the state in 2011, as a potential model for the Senate Gaming Committee.

Elections are over and now elected officials will again focus on some of the critical policy issues facing our state and nation.