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

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney established himself as the clear front-runner to take on President Barack Obama in November with a decisive win in Tuesdays Florida Republican presidential primary.

Gov. Rick Scott has suspended a commissioner of the Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue District who on Jan. 26 was charged with eight counts of sexual battery and lewd or lascivious molestation. Mark D. Ruben, who was first elected to the district in 2000, was charged with molesting three children over seven years, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, has announced he will seek to represent the proposed agricultural district that would be broken off his current seat instead of running for the Treasure Coast-dominated seat. The people of this district have always been good to me, and I look forward to representing this region for another two years, Rooney stated in a release. Rooney is expected to move to the Charlotte area. The move opens up the Treasure Coast for a run by U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation.

With the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandating that religious organizations provide insurance coverage for birth control under the federal health-care law that President Barack Obama signed, Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a measure allowing church-affiliated organizations the ability to opt out on grounds of religious liberty and right of conscience. Rubio introduced the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012 on Tuesday. Staffers told Sunshine State News they are working on securing Senate co-sponsors and backers in the U.S. House.