Senate President Jeff Atwater, who thus far has stayed relatively quiet in his bid for chief financial officer against Loranne Ausley, fired back against his Democratic opponent this week over allegations that he was not serious about ethics reform.

A Leon County grand jury opted not to investigate the building of the new $48 million 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee.

The number of Floridians on food stamps has dipped slightly over the past year, but Department of Children and Families workers are still seeing a load of about 57,000 cases per month.

Taking advantage of federal funds, several Florida school districts will start to implement merit pay systems even though teachers earlier this year rallied against state legislative efforts to spur the performance-based movement throughout the entire state.

Democratic candidate for governor Alex Sink released five years of tax returns that showed a solid income for the state's chief financial officer, but offered little information about her other assets. The returns also forced the hand of Sinks husband, who showed his financial cards, reporting some big poker winnings and losses.

A proposal to relax limits on school class sizes should be thrown off the November ballot because voters may not realize the proposed change could alter how much money schools will get, a lawyer for the states teachers union told a judge on Wednesday.

Republican lawmakers have spent much of the past two years advocating a rollback of a constitutional cap on the number of students in school classrooms. But now that the proposed tweak is on the November ballot, one question remains: Who is going to campaign for a looser standard, and who will pay for it?

The tea party movement muscled its way into the American political psyche over the past year with huge rallies, angry voters and colorful rhetoric. Its not clear how much voters are responding, but in Florida, at least, the Republican Party appears to have taken notice.

Florida is set to collect $700 million for its schools, the U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday, naming the Sunshine State one of 10 winners in the second round of its $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition.

House Speaker Designate Dean Cannon went to the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday to defend the Legislatures attempt to blunt a pair of ballot measures that could threaten the Republican Partys grip on the Legislature and congressional delegation.