Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux spoke to Sunshine State News Wednesday, his first interview since Election Day less than a month ago.

The Florida Republican, appointed to the Senate by then-Gov. Charlie Crist as a replacement for retiring Sen. Mel Martinez, tells the News he is glad to be back in the private sector, has no plans to run for elected office in the near future, but will stay engaged in statewide and nationwide debates over public policy, especially on the issue of Medicare fraud.

Florida State University announced Tuesday the formation of a new bipartisan think tank devoted to assisting policymakers in reforming the Sunshine State's criminal justice system.

The organization's chairman says one of the proposed reforms is something as simple as making it cheaper -- if not free -- for prisoners to call home.

The U.S. Senate is set to vote this week on the Sportsmen's Act of 2012 (S 3525), a 100-page bipartisan measure that has pitted the gun industrys trade association and a major gun-rights organization against each other.

And Sunshine State News has learned that this particular opposition to the bill originated with lawyers close to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

Encouraged by anti-prohibition ballot victories in three states Nov. 6, marijuana legalization advocates in the Sunshine State are bringing the fight for greater personal liberty and medical freedom straight to the Florida Capitol.

And theyre confident that reform is just what the doctor ordered.

I truly believe this is the year we're going to see some leadership on this issue, Jodi James, executive director of the Florida Cannabis Action Network (FLCAN), tells Sunshine State News. FLCAN calls itself the states leading cannabis (i.e., marijuana) reform group.

A Hallandale attorney has launched a website to help Florida motorists track the status of their drivers licenses. And hes doing it completely pro bono.

Just minutes after a series of legislative swearings-in, a state representative who might be on his way to a leadership reappointment tells Sunshine State News the Florida Legislatures 2013 session will probably focus on a two-fold reform: education, and health care.

Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, confirmed Tuesday what the News reported over two months ago: the Legislatures educational focus in 2013 will be the creation of a 13th state university, which will also be the states first completely online institution of higher learning.

The U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology has sent a letter to President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), demanding to know whether agency officials are using email aliases to avoid disclosing incriminating correspondence.

Last week the U.S. Census Bureau released a follow-up report to its most recent study on poverty rates in the United States. The proposed Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM)claims it measures poverty more accurately than the official statistics the federal government currently relies on.

And the picture it paints of Florida is less than flattering.

A Floridarestaurateur has distanced himself from media reports that he will be implementing a 5 percent "Obamacare surcharge" at his 45 restaurants. He now insists no such plans are in the offing.

At least, not quite yet.

As Republicans regain their bearings after last week's electoral defeats, and struggle to sell their ideology to a disenfranchised electorate, Florida's junior senator is getting ready to renew an effort that might resonate with the nation's Hispanics: immigration reform.