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

A few hours after former Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox --the Democratic candidate in the race for agriculture and consumer services commissioner -- announced the backing of the International Union of Police Associations, Republican rival U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam announced his own law-enforcement endorsement by the Florida State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) for the GOP nod. The group has backed Maddox for the Democratic nod.

The Florida State Board of Administration (SBA), which handles investments for state employees and retirees, announced that it oversaw solid growth in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) pension fund -- adding almost $10 billion to its market value in the 2009-2010 fiscal year and paying more than $4.5 billion to retirees. This represented an increase of more than 14 percent from last year.

Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins Jr., executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, was killed on Thursday morning when a car hit the bike he was riding in Tallahassee. Collins was the son of former Gov. LeRoy Collins who served as governor from 1955 until 1961. The younger Collins graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1956 and served for 34 years in the Navy and the Naval Reserves. He worked in real estate and finance after leaving the Navy.

Incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said on Thursday morning that he still did not receive an answer from a letter that he had sent to Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson earlier in the month on national issues. While Haridopolos said he was flattered that people were speculating he would consider taking a shot against Nelson in 2012, he said he was focusing on his work in the Senate -- though he did not flatly rule out a run in 2012. Haridopolos said that his increased focus on national issues was a result of his continued work in the Legislature.