A day after the state and federal government announced they were suing each other over Floridas attempt to clean up its voter lists, Gov. Rick Scott took the Sunshine States case to the nations electronic airwaves.

Scott spent Tuesday morning doing interviews on a Tampa TV station, cable giants Fox News and CNN, and on radio via Americas News Network and Bill Bennetts Morning in America.

Florida has taken the Obama administration to court to gain access to the Homeland Security database the governors office has requested since September.

The state claims it has tried in vain to get DHS's help in finding noncitizens among Floridas registered voters.

The lawsuit comes as the U.S. Department of Justice reiterated the demand for the state to immediately cease the ongoing review of voters. The review violates federal law, being undertaken within 90 days of an election.

Dont expect a state university seeking the maximum 15 percent tuition hike to get the full request, State University System Chancellor Frank Brogan said Monday.

Brogan said a decision last week by the University of Floridas board of trustees not to seek the maximum increase should be considered a shot heard around the world -- or at least across the academic world of Florida -- that many people dont have the appetite for another year of hikes hitting 15 percent.

University of Florida trustees shouldnt limit the search to replace its president strictly to the academic world, said State University System Chancellor Frank Brogan on Monday.

Brogan, in the Capitol Monday for the governors Blue Ribbon Task Force on Education meeting, said nontraditional candidates should get as much consideration as those from the academic world.

Expect a highly active campaign season now that qualifying has come to an end.

Only a single member of the states congressional delegation, U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, managed to avoid a primary or general election challenger, while eight state senators technically won re-election because no one filed to challenge them.

The qualifying deadline came to an end Friday.

In the eyes of Gov. Rick Scott, Scott Walkers victory over the Democrats' and labor unions' recall effort in Wisconsin is validation for similar conservationactions he has pushed in Florida.

It shows you, if you go make the tough choices, and you do exactly what you said when you ran, you will get re-elected, Scott said during radio interviews Friday morning with Southwest Florida radio stations.

That is exactly what Governor Walker did," Scott reiterated on 97.3 FM SKY. "He went and made the tough choices. Weve got to start living within our means.

A trio of mini-sagas has been concluded as state senators Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, Steve Oelrich, R-Gainesville, and Jim Norman, R-Tampa, all filed their qualifying paperwork.

Friday is the final day for candidates to qualify, with paperwork due by noon with the state Division of Elections.

Flling for legislative office should be allowed on the local level. I think only filing in Tallahassee is sponsored by FedEx, Sen. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, joked on Twitter before qualifying on Thursday.

Now Florida is the aggressor, having turned the waiting-game tables on the Department of Justice.

Having imposed their own deadline for the DOJ, Florida officials are watching the clock.

With court battles anticipated, the state continues to wait for answers to questions on the legality of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security having for months kept the state from accessing a database requested to help check the voter rolls for noncitizens.

House Speaker-designate Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, has named a pair of popular insider appointments: Kathy Mears as his chief of staff, andhe will move Ryan Duffy from press secretary for leadership in the House to be his communications director.

Kathy is a true professional with invaluable experience in the highest levels of state government and the private sector, Weatherford stated in a release.

The state will not end efforts to keep ineligible voters from having a chance to cast a ballot, even though the U.S. Department of Justice deadline to stop the voter-list purge came and went Wednesday.

Instead, state officials want to know if the DOJ supports the possibly illegal attempt by the Obama administration-backed Department of Homeland Security to keep Florida for months from accessing a database to assist its efforts.