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

Gov. Rick Scott appointed Judge Nick Nazaretian of Tampa to the 13th Judicial Circuit Court. Judge Nazaretians service for the past nine years on the county court and during temporary duty on the circuit court has well-prepared him for elevation to the position of circuit court judge, Scott stated in a release. His extensive courtroom experience throughout his 25-year legal career, as well as his careful attention to the rule of law, will serve the 13th Judicial Circuit well. According to a release from the governors office:

Gov. Rick Scott has reappointed Kelly Horton to the Florida Film and Entertainment Advisory Council and named four others to the board. According to a release from the governor's office: "Horton, 43, of Tallahassee, is the vice president of governmental affairs for Heffley and Associates. She is reappointed for a term beginning Dec. 22, 2011, and ending Aug. 20, 2015." The four new members are: "Ronald H. Brown, 47, of Miami ... art director for SYNQ Studios. He succeeds Alan Randolph and is appointed for a term beginning Dec. 22, 2011, and ending Aug. 19, 2013.

In memory of slain Lakeland police officer Arnulfo Crispin, flags have been ordered to half-staff at the Lakeland Police Department, Lakeland City Hall and the Polk County Courthouse on Dec. 27, byGov. Rick Scott on Thursday. Crispin, 25, died at Lakeland Regional Medical Center shortly before 5 a.m. Wednesday, becoming the first LPD officer fatally shot on duty in nearly 80 years, police said, according to the Lakeland Ledger.

South Florida has again landed on the American Tort Reform Associations annual list of judicial hellholes. Areas highlighted are deemed by the association as being among the most unfair and out-of-balance in the nation.