After 10 Glorious Years, Sunshine State News and I Are Passing the Baton

While there was talk that South Floridas own U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz would win the prize, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named U.S. Rep. Steve Israel of New York to head up the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Congressman Israel knows how to win in tough districts. said Pelosi. He replaced a formidable Republican incumbent in 2000 and has worked every day since then to strengthen Democrats across the country.

According to a release from the Republican Party of Florida, Sen. Bill Nelson is "suddenly lashing out at President Obama" after historically supporting him. Nelson voted for the stimulus, health-care bill, and many other policies in line with President Obama's agenda. Via Politico, Nelson told colleagues that "Obama's unpopularity has become a serious liability" for Democrats in his state, and blamed the president for creating a toxic political environment. Sen. Nelson declined a response when the RPOF called asking for his statements.

In a release sent Nov. 19 from CFO Alex Sink, she said that on Wednesday she asked state employees to sign up to receive their W-2 forms electronically. She said it will "save Florida taxpayers $75,000 anually if all state employees participated." In addition, the employees would get earlier access to the form. Sink said she's always looking for ways to "save money and improve efficiency for the state," and then she reaffirmed that using the electronic version of the employees' W-2 forms is a way to be more cost-effective.

With the deadline coming up for veterans and current members of the armed services -- whose time in the military was involuntary extended between September 11, 2001 and September 30, 2009 -- to file for additional benefits, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis is encouraging them to contact the U.S. Department of Defense. Vets and service members may be eligible for up to $500 for each month of their military extension.