Ahead of next week’s Republican National Convention, the Party and its presidential front-runner Mitt Romney have made a compromise to allow some delegates who support Texas congressman Ron Paul to have a seat at the nominating table. As Jessica Palombo reports, some Florida Republicans are saying this inclusiveness should be a model for the state Republican Party.
The Florida Department of State is asking a federal court to take a second look at pre-clearing Florida’s new early voting rules. It’s the last piece of the new voting law that hasn’t been approved yet. Regan McCarthy the court said it might pre-clear the law if the five affected counties agree to hold early voting for the maximum number of hours allowed. So far only four of the five counties have said they will.
Much of this year’s Florida Legislative Session dealt with the issue of reforming the state’s personal injury protection or “PIP” auto insurance law. Lawmakers wound up passing a reform measure, but Tom Flanigan reports there are already questions about whether it will work as advertised…
State employees hoping to make the most of their vacation time might want to use it now, rather than later. State officials are working with the Florida Legislature to shore up what they see as a multi-million dollar liability in the budget by reducing the amount of money employees can receive for unused vacation time and sick leave. But, as Sascha Cordner reports, several state employees say legislation to do that will further dishearten state workers who have taken cuts and gone without a pay raise for several years.
School is back in session for more than two-and-a-half million public school students in Florida. And there are big changes in the way schools are going about feeding them. Lynn Hatter reports the menu calls for healthier lunches and more fruits and vegetables, but whether the kids will eat them and whether schools can afford the healthier food, is another matter.