With the unofficial holiday shopping period getting under way later this week, a Florida consumer group is once again advising parents to be mindful of what they purchase for their children.

A simple toy may be a choking hazard, have toxic substances that could hinder long-term health problems including a loss of reproductive abilities, or emit noises that cause hearing problems, said Brad Ashwell, with Florida Public Interest Research Group.

As Floridas leadership has focused on expanding port cargo traffic with the pending completion of an expanded Panama Canal, not every one of the states 14 ports is expected to directly benefit.

The gateway from the United States to the Bahamas and Caribbean, the Port of Palm Beach hopes to be able to revive a drop in trade through the creation of an inland port that would serve as a distribution point in western Palm Beach County.

Port of Palm Beach -- What is there

With natural gas costing less than expected, Florida Power & Light said Monday it will lower customers' electricity bills in 2012.

The announcement came as something of a surprise: About three weeks ago, state regulators approved FPL proposals that would have led to small increases in monthly bills.

Admitting defeat in their efforts to find a compromise on cutting the nation's debt, the co-chairmen of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., released the following statement:

After months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committees deadline.

Public university leaders, through thousands of pages of answers that include backup academic studies and appendixes, have replied to Gov. Rick Scotts request to outline what the schools are doing to ensure graduates meet the need of Florida employers.

The presidents of the states 11 public universities were given until last week to respond to Scotts Oct. 13 email sent to each school.And as diverse as each campus is, the schools replied using a variety of formats, from secured online pages to discs and pages of bound volumes.

Floridians dissatisfied with the major political parties will have fewer options next year.

When 2012 rolls around, there may no longer be a Real Food Party of the United States of America, Surfers Party of America or a British Reformed Sectarian Party for voters to join when they register.

Political parties in Florida with fewer than 5 percent of the states more than 11 million registered voters have been given deadlines that range through the first week in January to re-register after complying with a number of guidelines set by legislators last spring.

Florida business leaders welcomed the news announced Friday that job creation continues to grow in the state.

Creating greater economic certainty will help instill confidence among job creators and allow the free enterprise system to move more Floridians from the unemployment lines into jobs," stated David Heart, executive vice president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, in a news release.

Unemployment in Florida stood at 10.3 percent in October, the lowest point in more than two years, the Department of Economic Opportunity reported Friday.

When it comes to members of Congress, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, and eight others from Floridamay be viewed as being above average.

And Buchanan skews themidrange benchmark.

Nelson andBuchanan are among the nearly 50 percent of Congress who are millionaires, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Responsive Politics.

The center estimated the median net worth for a senator at $2.56 million, while members of the House had a median worth of $756,765, based upon lawmakers' 2010 personal financial disclosure forms.