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

Despite an appeal from Gov. Charlie Crist to support his bid for the U.S. Senate, the Florida AFL-CIO endorsed his chief Democratic rival, Congressman Kendrick Meek, on Sunday. Crist had attended the AFL-CIO endorsement convention on Friday and personally asked for their support, saying his campaign needed their backing. Meek gave a rousing speech on Saturday morning, asking for the backing of the AFL-CIO in passionate terms.

Florida is poised to extend the life of a program that exempts nearly 171,200 residents from the Medicaid program in favor of giving them greater choice in selecting health care providers,and the Agency for Health Care Administration spent Friday afternoon reviewing the program and seeking input for the program. .

Today's reported drop in Florida's unemployment rate from 12.3 percent to 12 percent is better news than a seemingly minor drop of 0.3 percent might indicate. Nearly 16,000 more people found work than lost work in the month of April. That's the first time that's happened since February of 2006. And for anyone who's keeping track, it's the first time since Gov. Charlie Crist took office in 2007 that the numbers didn't get worse. Unfortunately, according to an AP report, brightening hopes may be tinged with a brown oil sheen come next month.

While its not getting the attention that the AFL-CIO Endorsing Convention, the Florida Educational Association is also meeting and offering endorsements. They just backed Democratic CFO candidate Loranne Ausley who made opposition to SB 6 one of the cornerstone issues of her campaign.