Gov. Rick Scott says he wants to get Florida back to work, but things aren't working out so well at the Bureau of Rehabilitation and Re-employment Services, which is tasked with helping injured employees get back on the job.
Effective Friday, the BRRS will lose 55 of its 82 staff positions and see its funding reduced by two-thirds. Regional offices are being consolidated, leaving some residents hundreds of miles away from services.
The White House announced this week there has been meaningful progressin the administration's negotiations with Congress on reforming the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program and in three pending free-trade agreements -- but a Florida Republican on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee said Wednesday that he isn't buying it.
State and local firefighters are continuing to battle more than 200 fires throughout Florida, but recent rains have lowered the threat in much of the state.
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam took solace in the precipitation that visited the central and southern parts of the state last week, but warned that drought conditions continue to exist in much of the Panhandle, and citizens should remain vigilant against the threat of the flames.
A poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP) shows Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson ahead of three leading Republican candidates, who remain mostly unknown -- but the GOP hopefuls are starting to close the gap.
The Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in the lawsuit alleging Gov. Rick Scott overstepped his constitutional authority in issuing an executive order halting new agency rules from being finalized until they had his approval.
Mike McCalister, a businessman and retired Army officer, kicked off his bid Wednesday for the Republican nomination to take on U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012.
McCalister, who took more than 10 percent when he ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010, was widely expected to enter the race. He had filed paperwork as early as September 2010 indicating that he intended to run for the Senate, and he had been touring the Sunshine State for months speaking to conservative and Republican organization.
Two polls released Wednesday offered a snapshot of the current state of the 2012 presidential race, as President Barack Obama continues to struggle with voters and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is increasingly becoming the alternative for conservative Republicans wary about front-runner Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.
A McClatchy-Marist poll found that Obama couldcount on only 36 percent who will definitely vote for him in 2012, as opposed to 43 percent of voters who said they would definitely vote against the president.
The Republican presidential contest is picking up steam.
