A proposal to reform Florida’s electoral process is moving through the Legislature with bipartisan support. Florida’s problems were highlighted during this past election between long ballots and long lines, and even gained a mention in the President’s State of the Union address. But, as Sascha Cordner reports, while the proposal is gaining ground among state lawmakers, some say there’s still more work to do.
It’s been five years since Floridians voted to define marriage as one man and one woman in the state constitution. But this year, bills that would ban discriminating against gay people and allow them to enter into domestic partnerships are getting bipartisan support in the Legislature. Jessica Palombo reports, supporters of the bills say the Legislature is changing its attitude toward equality.
Life in America has gotten much harder today if you don’t at least have a high school diploma. For millions of Americans, that little piece of paper makes the difference between landing a job and being unemployed. Everything from future earnings to quality of life are affected by whether a person has a diploma. With so much at stake Florida still ranks in the bottom of states when it comes to graduation rates. But as Lynn Hatter reports, those numbers don’t tell the full story.
Tune in next week, for a second installment of Lynn’s in depth look at Florida’s dropout issues and the challenges students face on the road toward graduation.
Florida Governor Rick Scott says if state officials want to grow businesses in Florida, they need to give companies more breaks when it comes to taxes. He’s targeting a couple specific breaks he’d like to see the legislature give in the coming session, but Regan McCarthy reports some lawmakers say they’re not convinced more breaks will mean more jobs.
Former Florida Republican Party Chair Jim Greer entered a surprise guilty plea in Orange County court Monday, just as his trial for grand theft was scheduled to begin. Nicole Creston from member station WMFE was tracking the case and reports, Greer’s plea deal reduces his possible jail time and puts an end to court proceedings that could have been embarrassing for the state G-O-P.
Not long ago, Florida lawmakers adopted some ambitious recycling goals for the state. Tom Flanigan reports those targets are now kicking in and the scramble is on to meet those expectations...