Barbara Petersen wants the public to know everything it can about the government, and she spends much of her time in the Florida Press Center at the First Amendment Foundation headquarters researching public records and helping others learn.

Under her management the Foundation has evolved into an important asset that ensures residents are well-informed and government is held accountable.

Petersen took a few minutes to talk to Sunshine State News about her job and herlife in the capital.

Whats your title? President of the First Amendment Foundation

Financial reform dominated the U.S. Senate again this week as members debated and voted on dozens of amendments. One of the amendments that took some time on the floor was offered by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). It proposed to break up the government-sponsored enterprise we know as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

WASHINGTON -- When Chancellor Angela Merkel decided that Germany would pay part of Greece's bills, voters punished her party in elections in Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. How appropriate.

Be glad were not California.

Florida has been knocked out of the top five rankings of the best states in which to do business by Chief Executive Magazine, but it still holds a spot in the list of the top 10 business-friendly states. And its high above California, which has held the bottom spot on the list for the last several years.

From Uppsala, Sweden comes the news that cartoonist Lars Vilks was attacked and head-butted by an angry Muslim at a university lecture. A group of Muslims surrounding him shouted "God is great!" in Arabic as the cartoonist lay on the floor, his glasses broken. Ever since Vilks impolitely drew the prophet Muhammad's head on a dog, he's been a wanted man.

Gov. Charlie Crist signed a measure allowing more cameras to be installed at traffic signals to catch drivers who run through red lights While Crist may not have support from the Republican leadership of the House, he seems to be getting some from the Democrats.

The Seminole casino compact will help South Florida's horse tracks, but, as expected,hobbles pari-mutuel facilities elsewhere around the state, industry insiders say.

The number of Florida foreclosures fell in April from a year earlier, mirroring a national trend that indicates a slowing of defaults on mortgages, according to data released Thursday by RealtyTrac.

Floridas foreclosure fell 18 percent from March and was down 25 percent from April 2009. Despite the improvement, the state still posted the second highest number of foreclosures in the nation, with 48,384 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month.

Visitors to Florida will soon be able to find tourism hotspots on their iPhones and Blackberries.

Visit Florida, the states public-private tourism marketing corporation, is developing a mobile Web site so that visitors can research the best beaches as they stroll through historic St. Augustine or compare hotel rates while waiting to board Space Mountain at Walt Disney World.