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

A representative of Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corporation told Florida lawmakers Tuesday that the way to take gaming in the state is to go big. Nick Iarossi, a lobbyist for the worlds largest destination-resort developer, told the House Select Committee on Gaming that they should create a tax rate that allows destination casinos to do it right on a large scale.

The idea of starting the regular session of the Florida Legislature in chilly January got a warm reception on Monday, as a Senate committee voted to move the measure forward. The Ethics and Elections committee heardSB 1356, sponsored by Sen. Anitere Flores, which takes advantage of a loophole provided in the states constitution regarding when the Florida Legislature must be in session. While the constitution says the regular session must start in March during odd-numbered years, it leaves room for lawmakers to set the opening day on even-numbered years.

The Land Report magazine compiles an annual list of America's 100 largest landowners, and five are in Florida, reports Florida Trend in its April issue.As one of the country's largest states, there's a whole lot of land to own. Who are Florida's top landowners?

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in an Easter morning statement that he won't be rushed to agree on immigration reform, in spite of the reports that the entire bipartisan group of eight senators are good to go with their legislative proposal. Rubio headlines his statement, "No final agreement on immigration legislation yet."