Gov. Rick Scott announced the appointment of Tampa resident Jennifer Gabbard to the Hillsborough County Court on Thursday.

As a prosecutor for 14 years, Jennifer has gained valuable experience with the county court system, Scott stated in a release. During that time, she has handled a wide variety of cases and gained a reputation as a tough, fair and able prosecutor. I am confident she will continue to further the rule of law from the bench.

Gabbard replaces Judge Nick Nazaretian who has been appointed to the 13th Judicial Circuit Court

Gov. Rick Scott, Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, and the Rev. R. B. Holmes Jr.,pastor of the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahassee, announced Thursday the 17 members of the Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection.

The task force, which will have its first meeting May 1 in Tallahassee, was formed in reaction to the Feb. 26 shooting in Sanford of Trayvon Martin.

Mississippi, which perennially ranks among the poorest and least educated states in the union, looked a bit like Florida last week when it caved on an immigration bill.

The Mississippi House passed an immigration enforcement bill, but it failed to get a committee hearing in the Senate. An E-Verify employment-screening bill suffered a similar fate between the two houses in Tallahassee last year.

With Rick Santorum dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination last week, Mitt Romney is looming as the de facto nominee for the GOP despite Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul remaining in the contest. Gingrich went on the attack on Wednesday, slamming Romneys proposal to limit mortgage deductions.

Governor Romneys proposal to limit certain tax deductions based on income, including the deduction for mortgage interest on second homes, is a surrender to the class warfare rhetoric of the Left, insisted Gingrich in a statement.