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TSA, House Republicans Jostle Over Airport Screening

Submitted by Anonymous on March 13, 2012 - 11:00am

U.S. Rep. John Mica turned up the heat on the Transportation Security Administration Tuesday, prodding the agency to allow more airports to privatize their screening operations.

Speaking at Orlando-Sanford International Airport, whose "opt-out" application was denied by the TSA last year, Mica said the federal agency "attempted to shut down this cost-effective and more efficient screening model."

Sixteen airports operate under the Screening Partnership Program, and others are interested in doing so, but Mica said the TSA has dragged its feet.

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State Pension Watchdog: Legislature Missed Reform Chance

Submitted by Nancy Smith on March 13, 2012 - 10:51am

Seems I'm not alone in my concern for the direction and sustainability of Florida's retirement system. Robert McClure, a Ph.D. member of Floridians for Sustainable Pensions (FSP), has just released a statement on the opportunities lawmakers missed to deal with the crisis during the 2012 legislative session.

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Romney Edges Santorum While Ron Paul Struggles in Texas Poll

Submitted by Kevin Derby on March 13, 2012 - 10:45am

After a court fight over redistricting, the Texas Republican presidential primary was moved to May 29. A new Rasmussen Reports poll of likely Texas GOP primary voters released on Tuesday finds a close battle brewing in the Lone Star State with Mitt Romney leading with 32 percent followed by Rick Santorum with 30 percent. Newt Gingrich stands in third with 19 percent while Ron Paul garners 9 percent. Seven percent are undecided and 3 percent back other candidates.

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Unemployment Claims in Florida Lowest Since March 2009

Submitted by Anonymous on March 13, 2012 - 10:12am

Floridas seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in January 2012 was 9.6 percent, the lowest since March 2009 when the rate also was 9.6 percent, according to the state Department of Economic Opportunity on Tuesday.

The states unemployment rate was down 0.3 of a percentage point from December 2011. The U.S. unemployment rate was 8.3 percent in January.

More to come.

Read about Florida's private-sector job growth here.

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Rick Santorum Gets the Vote of Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley

Submitted by Kevin Derby on March 13, 2012 - 10:07am

Rick Santorum is battling in the Alabama Republican presidential primary on Tuesday-- and he just got some last-minute support when Gov. Robert Bentley announced on a radio show that he had voted for the former senator from Pennsylvania.

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GOP Congressional Hopeful Craig Miller Backs Repeal of the Death Tax

Submitted by Kevin Derby on March 13, 2012 - 10:00am

Restaurant executive Craig Miller is running in a crowded -- and competitive -- Republican primary for the new congressional seat stretching on the Atlantic Coast from Ponte Vedra down to Volusia County. Miller announced on Tuesday that he had signed a pledge to repeal the death tax being circulated by the American Family Business Institute.

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State Capitol Briefs

The News Service of Florida

March 12, 2012 - 7:00pm

SENATE RELEASES REDISTRICTING SESSION SKED

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, issued a proposed calendar Monday for the special redistricting session set to get under way Wednesday. The Senate will begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday, with the Reapportionment Committee meeting 15 minutes after that day's session wraps up. The panel will meet again the following Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to approve a new map. That plan is set to be considered on the floor Thursday and Friday of that week.

PROGRESS, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SETTLE

Obama Tanking Amid Gas Price Surge; Dems Running on Empty

Submitted by Anonymous on March 12, 2012 - 7:53pm

Rising gas prices could doom Democrats in November.

The presidents party has lost control of the presidency in three of the last four elections in which gas prices have risen significantly during his time in office.

And over the last 36 years, the presidents party has never made significant gains in Congress in an election year in which the price of gas rose significantly. More often than not, it has lost double-digit seats.

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Senate Outlines Plan to Revisit Invalidated Redistricting Map

Submitted by Anonymous on March 12, 2012 - 7:34pm

Members of the Senate Reapportionment Committee will travel to Tallahassee for a single meeting this week to hear what the state Supreme Court found wrong with the Senates plan to redraw their boundary lines.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, released a schedule for senators to respond to last Fridays ruling by the states top court.

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The Big Hoax

Thomas Sowell

March 12, 2012 - 7:00pm

There have been many frauds of historic proportions -- for example, the financial pyramid scheme for which Charles Ponzi was sent to prison in the 1920s, and for which Franklin D. Roosevelt was praised in the 1930s, when he called it Social Security. In our own times, Bernie Madoff's hoax has made headlines.

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