Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente, more than once Tuesday, advised lawyers that arguments about a proposed constitutional amendment to expand the use of solar energy leaned toward campaign rhetoric rather than key legal issues.

Still, when justices finished hearing arguments about ballot language proposed by the group Floridians for Solar Choice, supporters and opponents of the controversial initiative emerged from the Supreme Court offering positive spins.

Backers of a proposed constitutional amendment to expand the use of solar energy say it might be four years before they would again seek voter approval if the current ballot language is rejected by the Florida Supreme Court.

But Leaders of Floridians for Solar Choice, which is seeking to allow businesses to generate and sell small amounts of solar power to customers on the same or neighboring properties, expressed confidence during a media conference Monday that the state's top court will sign off on the proposed amendment for the November 2016 ballot.

Florida Power & Light received pushback Tuesday from South Florida officials and other critics as it requested $34.2 million from customers to continue planning a pair of nuclear reactors at its Turkey Point complex in Miami-Dade County.

The request, if approved by the Florida Public Service Commission in October, would place the cost for new nuclear power at 34 cents on a typical residential customer's monthly bill in 2016.

When Fulham Football Club's Matt Smith headed home a goal against Cardiff on Saturday, cameras were immediately focused on the center forward as he wheeled away from the goal to celebrate.

More than 4,000 miles away, officials from Visit Florida, the state's tourism-marketing arm, were smiling.

Stamped in blue across Smith's predominately white away soccer jersey --- in photos picked up by the BBC, the Guardian and the Daily Mail --- was the name Visit Florida.

Less than a year into his second term as Florida's Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Atwater says he is asked daily about future political ambitions.

And so far, the former Senate president and former bank president --- who can't run again for the CFO post because of term limits --- professes that team Atwater hasn't made any decisions.

"We're not maneuvering our energy in any direction at this point for any future role," Atwater said, insisting that was his "straight up honest answer."

Florida's top environmental official was directed Wednesday to rethink a proposal to make state parks more financially self-sustaining, as he and the state's top law-enforcement officer received Cabinet approval for the second time this year.

Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jon Steverson and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen received unanimous support from the Cabinet to remain in their $150,000-a-year jobs.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement wants more investigators to handle an increase in shooting incidents involving officers at other police agencies across the state.

The department next week will present Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet an outline of its budget proposals, which include requests for a boost in salaries for forensic lab technicians and for additional staff to help investigate officer-involved shootings and use-of-force cases.

Florida, which already has the most concealed-weapon licenses in the nation, is now fast-tracking the process for active-duty military members and honorably discharged veterans.

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam announced Monday that active and retired service members will immediately begin to get top priority when applying for the licenses.

The expedited process is part of the state's reaction to a shooting rampage in Tennessee in which four Marines and a sailor were killed on July 16.

Attorney General Pam Bondi is dropping her opposition to Gov. Rick Scott's desired leader of the Department of Environmental Protection.
 
Bondi's office announced Thursday that she will support Interim DEP Secretary Jon Steverson at the Aug. 5 Cabinet meeting.

The midsummer classic in baseball usually means Florida gets to settle into a sweltering, snowbird-free serenity, with eyes throughout the peninsula shifting to the tropics for hurricanes and the near horizon for the latest brush fire.

In Tallahassee, summer also means a slowdown in the pace of life, including a respite from lawmakers, fewer cars on the road, open barstools and even more talk than usual about Florida State University football.

But this summer, it's hard to escape the politics filling the capital air.