While the White House and Congress look for ways to raise the nation's debt ceiling, three-quarters of Floridians are at least "somewhat wary" of the move, a poll reported Wednesday.

Viewpoint Florida, surveying 826 likely voters, found that 76 percent opposed President Barack Obama's initial call for a "clean" debt-ceiling increase with no corresponding budget cuts.

In more bad news for the president, 57 percent disapproved of Obama's handling of the negotiations. Nearly one in four said they opposed any increase in the debt ceiling on any terms.

Doubts about "stable" revenue sources are dogging the SunRail commuter train before it even has a locomotive. Tax increases or further cuts in social services appear to be the only way Central Florida governments will be able to satisfy federal funding requirements.

Last week, in a sign of current and future hard times, Orange County commissioners voted to close a foster-care facility in the poor neighborhood of Pine Hills for budget reasons.

After years of inexplicably large gaps between low reading results and sky-high writing scores, the Florida Department of Education admits to overly lenient grading of essays and says it is tightening standards.

A company that sells and operates red-light cameras says recent court victories signal "an end" to legal challenges against the controversial traffic enforcement program.

"As judges become more familiar with the evidence needed to convict under the Wandall Safety Act, the number of [ticket] dismissals will continue to fall," said Charles Territo of American Traffic Solutions.

"Recent legal victories in Broward and Miami-Dade courts are a clear sign that the days of legal challenges to red-light safety cameras are coming to an end."

An effort to derail a state constitutional amendment that would enable religious organizations to deliver state services is an ill-conceived "Hail Mary" ploy, defenders say.

Alleging a violation of church-state separation and a "misleading" ballot summary, the Florida Education Association and a handful of left-wing religious leaders want Amendment 7 thrown off the ballot before Floridians can vote on it in 2012.

The opponents' bid for an injunction is scheduled to be heard Thursday in circuit court in Tallahassee.

"Special interests" vs. "grass roots." That's the narrative emerging in the Republican race for U.S. Senate.

Adam Hasner appeared to win a public-relations skirmish after Mike Haridopolos' withdrawal from the contest Monday. Hasner's camp quickly claimed endorsements from the national tea party organization FreedomWorks, along with a nod from American Future Fund PAC and Concerned Women for America.

But George LeMieux is sitting on a growing pile of cash, and that $950,000 counts for a lot. It led the GOP field in the second quarter.

U.S. students grasp of geography has improved among fourth-graders, but flat-lined or fell with eighth- and 12th-graders, the National Assessment of Educational Progress reported Tuesday.

Overall, fewer than one-third of students scored at or above proficiency level in the subject a rate that mirrored previous dismal showings on civics and history exams.