James R. McDonough was the secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections from 2006 to 2008. He was tapped by Gov. Jeb Bush, for whom he'd worked as Florida's drug czar since 1999. McDonough moved to DOC after Bush fired Secretary James Crosby, who later went to prison for taking kickbacks.

His no-nonsense style proved the antidote to scandal at DOC. He fired or demoted dozens of prison officials and instituted random drug tests and mandatory fitness programs for employees. He angered many, but is widely credited for cleaning up the place.

Three Florida Supreme Court justices, facing a lawsuit that claims they violated state law by using court employees for election paperwork, dont want to give depositions.

Barbara Pariente, Peggy Quince and R. Fred Lewis have filed a motion asking a Leon County judge to block the discovery phase from starting until their motion can be heard to dismiss the lawsuit. The suit seeks to prohibit Secretary of State Ken Detzner from placing the justices on the November ballot.

A vicious attack mailer, an eyebrow-raiser, against former Florida Senate President Tom Lee hit mailboxes this week in Senate District 24, and among politicos in the state capital especially, it's still causing a stir.

Perhaps the rain made the teleprompter unreadable. That's one thought I had on pondering Barack Obama's comments to a rain-soaked rally in Roanoke, Va., last Friday.

The states new insurance marketplace website looks remarkably similar to the webpage of travel giant Expedia.

However, instead of checking for deals on hotels, airlines and car rentals, individuals working for small businesses in Florida will have the ability to compare health benefit plans.

The payoff may be years away, but Florida stakeholders are already coordinating efforts to make sure the state gets its share of BP oil spill compensation in what could be the largest Gulf restoration effort in history.

Floridas newest job creator opened Wednesday in Central Florida.

The world of Wawa -- or what the company calls Wawa Land.

The suburban Philadelphia-based convenience and build-to-order hoagie shop drew several hundred people, including Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Lottery Secretary Cynthia O'Connell, to celebrate the migration of the company to Orlando.

And Gov. Rick Scott later announced that another company -- Digital Risk -- has 1,000 more jobs on the way.

After running for the Florida Senate and coming up short in 2010, former Rep. Carl Domino is looking to return to the state House, but he has to defeat four opponents in the Republican primary first.

As he seeks a second term in the Florida House, Rep. Steve Perman, D-Boca Raton, faces a primary challenge from the man he replaced -- former Rep. Kevin Rader.

In 2010, Rader, who was elected to the House in 2008, ran unsuccessfully for the Florida Senate, allowing Perman to run for the open seat. Now they are clashing in the primary on Aug. 14.