Senate mapmakers will draw legislative districts that run east to west as they carve new political boundaries for the Panhandle, members of the Senate Reapportionment Committee agreed this week.

The bipartisan consensus answers the tricky question of how to divide Northwest Florida, where rural residents from the northern part of the region feared having their votes diluted by more urbanized coastal areas. Some residents at public meetings had pushed for districts that run north to south, only to encounter pushback from rural interests.

In a ruling likely to raise the stakes in the discussion over expansion of gambling in Florida, the 1st District Court of Appeal on Thursday said state lawmakers hold the cards when it comes to decisions about new venues.

In a closely watched opinion, a three-judge panel of the court unanimously ruled that a 2004 constitutional amendment allowing Miami-Dade and Broward county voters to approve slot machines didn't preclude lawmakers from later further expanding the scope of gambling around the state.

Everything in Floridas budget -- from turnpike authorities and prisons to education -- is on a potential chopping block as the state Legislature is now looking at a $2 billion shortfall for the next fiscal year, Senate President Mike Haridopolos said Thursday.

I hope everyone is going to be thoughtful and not just protect their own part of the budget and offer up some areas for savings, Haridopolos said during a meeting with the media in the presidents conference room.

Former state Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, one of five Democrat incumbents to lose their seats in the Florida House to Republicans in the 2010 elections, announced on Thursday that he will challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan in 2012.

First elected to the Florida House in 2006, Fitzgerald, a professor at New College of Florida, moved up to the leadership, serving as Democratic policy chair, during his two terms in Tallahassee.

With Florida voting early in the Republican presidential primary cycle, two of the leading hopefuls for the GOP nomination -- Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts -- continued to build their teams in the Sunshine State on Thursday.

I am proud to have these hard-working individuals join our campaign efforts in Florida, Perry said in a statement. They are crucial assets to my campaign team as we work together to share my plan to get America working again.

According to his supporters, Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, has the votes and will take over as president of the Florida Senate after the 2014 elections.

With 28 Republicans sitting in the Senate, Gardiner needed the backing of 15 of them to prevail over his opposition, Sen. Jack Latvala, R-St. Petersburg. Supporters of Gardiner told Sunshine State News on Wednesday that their candidate was close to getting 20 signed pledges -- meaning the leadership contest is over.

With three fresh endorsements from key state House leaders, GOP presidential candidate and front-runner Mitt Romney was able to get a few bites into the White House and his lunch during a campaign stop in Tallahassee Wednesday.

Romney sat down with 12 capital-area business leaders and the owner of the Seminole Wind, the buffet-style restaurant that brings together church and steak, before heading off to the Capitol for private meetings with Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi.