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Florida Leads Nation With 3 Cities on Amazon's 'Best-Read' List

Submitted by Anonymous on June 1, 2011 - 11:53am

Florida has some of America's most voracious readers, according to an Amazon.com survey.

Compiling book, magazine and newspaper sales data, Amazon rated per-capita readership in cities with more than 100,000 residents. Florida was the only state with more than two cities on the list, which included both print and kindle formats.

Placing ahead of such enlightened burgs as Seattle, Wash., and Arlington, Va., Miami ranked No. 6 and Gainesville came in at No. 8. Orlando placed 12th, finishing ahead of Washington, D.C., and Portland, Ore., to name a few.

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Florida Legislature Chips Away at Class-Size Budget Buster

Kenric Ward

May 31, 2011 - 6:00pm

Bloated by class-size reduction edicts, Florida's teaching force grew by a larger percentage than any other state's between 2003 and 2009 -- even though student enrollment inched up just 1.2 percent during that period.

To contain future personnel and related costs, which Florida TaxWatch estimated at a whopping $40 billion over the next 10 years, the 2011 Legislature scaled back the class-size mandates.

Lawmakers expect their modest move will shave expenses some $70 million a year by giving schools a bit more flexibility in meeting rigid class-size reduction formulas.

Scott Signs Sales Tax Holiday Bill

Submitted by Nancy Smith on June 1, 2011 - 11:01am

Gov. Rick Scott signed the Sales Tax Holiday Bill on Tuesday, creating a three-day sales tax hiatus for Florida consumers in August. It provides tax breaks on clothing items up to $75 and school supplies to $15.

After a two-year layoff, the popular back-to-school sales tax break was voted back last year. This year's holiday is set for Aug. 12-14.

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George LeMieux Names Brian Seitchik Campaign Manager

Kevin Derby

May 31, 2011 - 6:00pm

Mike Yost Bashes Corrine Brown on Debt Ceiling Vote

Submitted by Kevin Derby on June 1, 2011 - 10:28am

Every single member of the Florida congressional delegation voted against raising the debt ceiling on Tuesday with the exception of Democratic U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson -- but thats not good enough for Mike Yost.

Yost, who was the Republican nominee who took on Democratic U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown in 2010 and hopes to do so again in 2012, accused Brown of voting no on the proposal for other reasons. In an e-mail sent out on Wednesday morning, Yost insisted that Brown was following the party line and hinted that there were other factors that steered her vote.

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Former AG McCollum Joins DC Law Firm

Submitted by Kevin Derby on June 1, 2011 - 10:28am

Former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has joined Washington, D.C., law firm SNR Denton as part of its new "State AG practice." Former Indiana Attorney General Jeff Modisett will join SNR Denton's Los Angeles branch.

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Rick Scott Backs Heat With Pie; Rick Perry Takes Mavs With BBQ Sauce

Submitted by Nancy Smith on May 31, 2011 - 11:05pm

It's friendly wager time in the 2011 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks.

As the teams readied to suit up for Game 1 at American Airlines Arena in Miami Tuesday night, Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Texas Gov. Rick Perry took each other's bet. Scott put a Florida Key Lime pie on the Heat, Perry a case of barbecue sauce on the Mavs.

"Not even Dirk Nowitzki will be able to stop Miami from bringing home another NBA title," said Scott. "It might be warm in Texas, but there is no way the Dallas Mavericks will be able to withstand the Heat."

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Ed Stein Cartoon

May 31, 2011 - 6:00pm

State Poised to Approve New Teacher Evaluations

Lilly Rockwell News Service of Florida

May 31, 2011 - 6:00pm

Class attendance will count. A students socioeconomic status wont. Students with disabilities and gifted students will be a factor. But race and gender will not.

Thats a glimpse of the new test-based teacher evaluation formula the state is set to approve on Wednesday. As part of the requirements of the new teacher merit pay law and the mandates of the $700 million Race to the Top federal grant, the state and school districts are preparing for a major overhaul of how teachers are rated and paid.

The Huntsman Factor

George Will

May 31, 2011 - 6:00pm

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump's pathological political exhibitionism has ended, Newt Gingrich has incinerated himself with an incoherent retraction tour, Mitt Romney has reaffirmed his enthusiasm for his Massachusetts health care law, rendering himself incapable of articulating the case against Obamacare and the entitlement state generally, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee and Mitch Daniels, aware of the axiom that anyone who will do what must be done to become president should not be allowed to be president, are out.

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