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.
Floridas Agency for Health Care Administration began making plans to move the states long-term care Medicaid recipients into managed care plans Tuesday, but it has until Monday to submit the federal waiver request necessary to implement the changes.
The move of long-term care patients into managed care plans is part of the fundamental Medicaid reforms passed by the Legislature this year.
The prospective deals on the national debt ceiling are no deal at all, says the conservative Heartland Institute.
Annual federal spending has gone from $1.8 trillion to $3.7 trillion in 10 years. The problem is runaway spending. Raising the debt ceiling simply allows government spending to keep running away from fiscal reality," says Steve Stanek, Heartland's research fellow for budget and tax policy.
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The Florida Department of Environmental Protections (DEP) Florida Park Service today announced state park attendance at its 160 parks increased during the 2010-2011 fiscal year. More than 20.4 million people visited Florida state parks during the last fiscal year, an increase of approximately 300,000 people from the previous year.
Said DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard, The increase in visitors illustrates the demand for recreational and educational experiences that are affordable, close to home and protective of Floridas valuable natural and cultural resources.
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Politico has picked up on a blog from Virginia, where GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney was fundraising. It quotes Romney as mentioning U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, in addition to Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, as his preferred running mate on the ticket.
From the Bearing Drift blog:
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Following legislation passed earlier this year and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott, the Florida Public Service Commission repealed most of the rules regulating the state's land line telephones Tuesday.
"By embracing the regulatory reform approved by our Legislature and governor, we expand customer choice, allow pricing flexibility, and spur market expansion for Florida's economic and technological growth," said PSC chairman Art Graham.
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With Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine, facing term limits, money is starting to flow to candidates in his district, as two Republicans who've already filed to run for his seat and another candidate, who has filed for another seat but could be moved over due to redistricting, are starting to increase their fundraising.
Proctor currently represents parts of Clay, Flagler and St. Johns counties -- but the district could change with the Legislature tackling redistricting in early 2012.
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A proposed Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail project is officially dead now that the budget-cutting Wisconsin Legislature eliminated the regional transit authority that was pushing it.
Along with the derailment will come a reimbursement of $300,000 that was collected in rental-car fees for the ill-fated train venture.
That death blow in the Badger State has critics of Central Florida's SunRail project wishing for a similar fate here as the region's officials belatedly acknowledge a lack of long-term funding.
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Another group is jumping into the fight over red-light cameras in Florida.
The libertarian Floridians Against REAL ID has drafted legislation that would make the burden of proof in traffic courts the same as it is in criminal court.
"The Motorist Rights Restoration Act gives each person appearing in traffic court the right against self-incrimination, to confront witnesses, and standardizes evidence presentation in cases involving traffic infraction detectors, including red-light cameras, so they are to the same standard as other cases," said Paul Henry.
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With the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee kicking over the Fair Tax on Tuesday, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, who has represented parts of North Florida and the First Coast since 2000, doubled down his support of the proposal.
Each and every year, individuals and businesses must navigate thousands of pages of complicated tax code, said Crenshaw. These complex and wieldy regulations cost too much time and money. Simply put, Americans need a fairer and simpler tax code.
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